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fig1 - 12 and the following description and exhibit depict specific examples to teach those skilled in the art how to make and use the best mode of the invention . for the purpose of teaching inventive principles , some conventional aspects have been simplified or omitted . those skilled in the art will appreciate variations from these examples that fall within the scope of the invention . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described below can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the invention . as a result , the invention is not limited to the specific examples described below , but only by the claims and their equivalents . fig1 is a sectional view of the optical layout of a particulate measurement system in an example embodiment of the invention . particulate measurement system comprises : light source 10 , flexure mount 27 , meniscus lens 1 , input lens 6 , output lens 7 , field lens 2 , device body 19 , integrating sphere 11 , transmit detector 17 , lens 3 , aperture mask 9 , lens 4 , and particle detector 5 . light source 10 is mounted in flexure mount 27 and projects a light along a first optical axis aa . flexure mount 27 is used to adjust or align the angular relationship between light source 10 and device body 19 . a cavity 8 is formed by meniscus lens 1 , input lens 6 , output lens 7 , field lens 2 , and device body 19 . the media to be tested flows through cavity 8 along an axis perpendicular to the plane of the paper . gaskets or sealing devices , for example o - rings , may be used between the lens and the device body to help form a fluid tight seal around cavity 8 . output lens 7 is mounted in device body 19 and aligned with first optical axis aa . integration sphere 11 is mounted onto device body 19 near output lens 7 . integration sphere 11 has an entrance port 15 aligned with the first optical axis aa . transmit detector 17 is mounted substantially 90 degrees to entrance port 15 at an exit port 16 of integrating sphere 11 . meniscus lens 1 , field lens 2 , lens 3 , aperture mask 9 , and lens 4 are aligned along a second optical axis bb . particle detector 5 is mounted to device body and aligned with the second optical axis bb . the inside surface 12 of integrating sphere 11 may be preferentially coated to alter the reflectivity or enhance stability , durability , or maintainability of the reflective surface . fig2 is a first side view of particulate measurement system in an example embodiment of the invention . light source 10 may be that of a laser , led , ( light emitting diode ), incandescent lamp , or discharge lamp , or any other source of coherent or non - coherent radiation capable of stimulating the detector to produce useful information . the ingress 41 and egress 44 of a flow through the nephelometric device is carried by inlet tube 40 and outlet tube 43 facilitated by connection 39 and 42 attached to device body 19 . a section view of clamp 33 in fig2 shows the means by which screw 36 applies force to clamp 33 to squeeze detector sleeve 32 to secure detector holder 34 to a fixed position . fig3 is a second side view , with the meniscus lens removed , of a particulate measurement system in an example embodiment of the invention . fig4 is a sectional view of the flow path of a particulate measurement system in an example embodiment of the invention . particulate measurement system comprises : meniscus lens 1 , output lens 7 , field lens 2 , device body 19 , lens 3 , aperture mask 9 , lens 4 , particle detector 5 , inlet tube 40 and outlet tube 43 . the ingress 41 and egress 44 of a flow through the nephelometric device is carried by inlet tube 40 and outlet tube 43 facilitated by connection 39 and 42 attached to device body 19 . o - ring seals 45 and 46 seal tubing 43 and 40 to device body 19 . the first optical axis aa forms a line perpendicular to the paper and is centered in output lens 7 . fig5 is a block diagram of the optical layout of the detection path in an example embodiment of the invention . fig5 shows light scattered in the direction of meniscus lens 1 by particles in suspension media 47 at object plane 49 . meniscus lens 1 , field lens 2 , and lenses 3 and 4 along optical axis bb form an erect image at image plane 49 ″ of the particle located at object plane 49 . an intermediate image of the particles is formed by meniscus lens 1 along optical axis bb at image plane 49 ′, within field lens 2 . by forming the intermediate image within field lens 2 only that light which is reflected , scattered or emitted from particles toward meniscus lens 1 are brought to focus at image plane 49 ″. as result , no image of particles in suspension is formed as direct result of lenses 3 and 4 , but only as result of light impinging upon meniscus lens 1 . in one example embodiment of the invention , meniscus lens 1 is an emersion lens of refracting material greater than the refractive index of the suspension media . meniscus lens 1 has a concave refracting first surface in contact with the suspension media , and a convex reflecting second surface . the first and second surfaces need not be concentric and neither surface needs be concentric with object plane 49 . in one example embodiment of the invention the first refracting surface of meniscus lens 1 may be inert to the suspension media . because the second reflecting surface of meniscus lens 1 is protected by the first refracting surface , meniscus lens 1 may be cleaned without danger of damaging the more delicate reflecting surface . the first refracting surface allows for an additional degree of freedom in the correction of optical aberrations that may otherwise degrade the image quality at image planes 49 ′ and 49 ″ without need of aspheric surfaces to the advantage of lower production cost . because the main optical power of the meniscus lens is provided by the reflecting surface , problems with dispersion over a wide range of test wavelengths may be minimized . marginal ray 50 from object plane 49 is refracted by the concave surface of meniscus lens 1 , and propagates as ray 50 a to reflective convex surface of meniscus lens 1 . upon reflection on the coated convex surface of the lens the reflected ray 50 b is again refracted by the concave surface of the meniscus lens 1 and exits the lens as refracted ray 50 c . because object plane 49 and intermediate image plane 49 ′, within field lens 2 , are displaced along optical axis bb little refraction takes place on either side of field lens 2 as the index of refraction between suspension media 47 and index of refraction of field lens 2 are similar and the intermediate image 49 ′ is concentric , or nearly so , to the convex surface of field lens 2 . meniscus lens 1 provides a large numerical aperture that captures a large portion of the light scattered from a particle in suspension media 47 . in one example embodiment of the invention , in excess of 1 / 7 of the total scattered light may be utilized to impinge upon particle detector 5 at image plane 49 ″. marginal ray 50 c is refracted by lens 3 , as marginal ray 50 d , and emerges from lens 3 as marginal ray 50 e . field stop 9 defines the extent to which marginal rays scattered from particle in suspension media 47 will propagate through the optical system . an image of field stop 9 is formed at or near the surface of meniscus lens 1 as field stop image 9 ′. marginal ray 50 e propagates to lens 4 and is refracted as marginal ray 50 f , emerging from lens 4 as marginal ray 50 g where an erect image of the particle is formed from the scatted light from object plane 49 at image plane 49 ″. principle ray 51 follows a similar path through the optical system passing through the center of field stop 9 and also through the center of the image 9 ′ of the field stop formed at the surface of meniscus lens 1 . field stop 9 is positioned from lens 4 such that particle detector 5 is at the infinite conjugate of field stop 9 . thus , any portion of the image formed at field stop 9 impinges equally at the surface of particle detector 5 . detector 5 may be that of a photodiode , photo - multiplier tube ( pmt ), charged coupled device ( ccd ) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor ( cmos ) image sensor , or any other means to convert light or radiation into quantifiable values of electrical potential or current . in one example embodiment of the invention , area array detectors such as ccd or cmos image sensors may be used to measure by spatial position and incremental area the intensity of the image formed on the image sensor . using this information , the device may measure size , shape , distribution , occurrence , and velocity of the particles in suspension at object plane 49 . the magnification of object to image along optical axis bb is selected to provide adequate resolution for the measurements of interest and defines the maximum area that can be measured in the suspension . if the size of the image sensor is 6 . 4 × 4 . 8 mm and the magnification of the optical system is 2 ×, then the maximum area that can be measured in the suspension is 3 . 2 × 2 . 4 mm . for a given image sensor a fixed number of photosensitive sites are present as example 640 × 480 pixels , therefore each pixel is 10 um and represents a resolution of 5 um object per pixel in suspension . if the particles to be measured are at least 2 to 3 times larger than the resolution of the system , then a reasonable measure of the size and shape of the object can be determined . the depth of the image along optical axis bb is a result of the diameter or width of the illuminating beam along optical axis bb and , or the depth of field of the imaging optical system . a defined measurement volume may be determined using the width of the illumination along optical axis bb , the depth of field of the imaging optical system , the magnification of the optical system , and the size of the particle detector . a count of the illuminated particles or fluorescent particles within the defined measurement volume may be reported as a count per cubic millimeter . if the image sensor is of an integrating type , as the case for ccd and cmos image sensors , the integration time — the time allotted for charge to accumulate on the photosensitive area of the device , may be used to determine the flow rate of the particles in suspension by measure of the number of pixels transgressed during the integration period . the resulting image is sometimes referred to as a “ streak ”, the length of which and the known integration time can be used to calculate the velocity of the particle , hence the flow rate of the suspension media . when the concentration of particles in suspension is sufficiently high , individual particles become indistinguishable at the image sensor but may be measured as a concentration of particles by means of the total charge accumulated during the known integration period on the image sensor , or ampere current product of particle detector 5 as that of a photodiode , that is correlated to nephelometric turbidity units ( ntu ), formazin nephelometric unit ( fnu ), mcfarlane units , or other standard nephelometric unit of measure of the cloudiness or haze of the suspension calibrated to a known concentration of nephelometric standard . the disclosed invention is not limited to a single detection path . fig6 is a block diagram of an optical layout when utilizing more than one detection path in an example embodiment of the invention . a second optical axis cc is introduced at substantially 90 degrees to optical axis bb , both at substantially 90 to the optical axis of the light source . light scatter from particle at object plane 49 is collected and transmitted along optical axis cc in the same manor as described for that of fig5 utilizing instead meniscus lens 1 a , field lens 2 a , lenses 3 a and 4 a , to form an erect image of the particle at particle detector 5 a . the two images are related , as the image formed at particle detector 5 a is the image profile of the image formed at particle detector 5 . in addition the two detectors , 5 and 5 a need not have the same spectral response nor is there a need for meniscus lens 1 and 1 a to have the same spectral reflectivity . indeed each optical path may be altered by the addition of optical filters or by means of coating reflectivity or by detector response such that each optical path is sensitive to different portion of the spectra so as to detect absorption or emission from particles in suspension media 47 at object plane 49 at unique wavelength ( s ). fig7 is a block diagram of the optical layout of the light source path in an example embodiment of the invention . it is desired to keep stray radiant energy from propagating along optical axis bb to particle detector 5 . it is therefore best practice not to illuminate more of the sample volume than that which can be imaged on to particle detector 5 . input lens 6 focuses light 53 as 53 a from light source 10 to illuminate that sample volume to which will contribute an image of the sample volume at particle detector 5 . after light has propagated through the sample volume , output lens 7 directs the transmitted light , not absorbed or scattered by the particles in suspension as light 53 b , into the entrance port 15 of integrating sphere 11 . coatings or finish on the inside surface 12 of the integrating sphere 11 are optimized to be diffusely reflective so as to uniformly illuminate the inside surfaces of the integrating sphere with the transmitted light . in so doing transmit detector 17 will measure the same intensity of light regardless of the exact angle or distribution of light within the transmit beam of light source 10 along optical axis of illumination aa . exit port 16 in the integrating sphere 11 is positioned at substantially 90 degrees to the entrance port of integrating sphere 11 . so as to prevent direct illumination of transmit detector 17 and thus reduce the sensitivities to beam incidence and position , the lines of sight of the detector 54 and 54 a of the transmit detector 17 does not include entrance port 15 or the incident transmit energy on the inside surface 12 of integrating sphere 11 . signals generated from transmit detector 17 and particle detector 5 can be utilized to determine the ratio of transmitted light to scatted light or to measure the absorption or fluorescence of particles . another advantage of the novel use of an integrating sphere for the measure of transmitted light in a nephelometer is due to the redistribution of light across the inner surface 12 of integrating sphere 11 , resulting in a decrease in surface intensity at the transmit detector 17 , thereby eliminating the need for light traps or neutral density filters to reduce the maximum value for incident light impinging on the transmit detector 17 . a unique quality of the disclosed invention is the ability to image an object or mask , positioned along optical axis bb at field stop 9 , onto or near the surface of meniscus lens 1 . as shown in fig7 a , an annular mask 9 a place at the location of field stop 9 , is utilized to discriminate by permissible propagation only those rays which are reflected or scattered from object plane 49 at a high angle relative to optical axis bb . annular masks 9 b and 9 c used in lieu of stop 9 are utilized to change the permissible propagation angle of scatter while maintaining a constant optical system etendue . etendue is used to specify the geometric capability of an optical system to transmit radiation , its throughput . the numeric value of the etendue is typically a constant of the system and gets calculated as the product of the opening size and the solid angle that the system accepts light from . etendue may also be known as the collecting or light gathering capability of an optical system . an iris diaphragm , as shown in fig7 b , substituted for fixed field stop 9 of fig7 can be adjusted to alter the amount of light impinging on particle detector 5 and also the total included angle of scatter from object plane 49 . light scattered from a particle ( s ) towards the incident beam of illumination is referred to as “ back scatter ” in nephelometric terms . conversely , light scattered away from the source of illumination is referred to as “ forward scatter ”. light scattered from a particle neither toward or away from the incident light source is referred to as “ side scatter ” in nephelometric terms . apertures or masks in the forms as shown in fig7 c through fig7 g permit measurement of the amount , by scatter type , of light scatted from a particle ( s ). this is useful so as to be able to measure different concentrations of particles , as different types of scatter are more useful as to linearity or sensitivity depending on the concentration of particle ( s ) in the suspension media . a circular mask offset from optical axis bb placed at the position of field stop 9 of fig7 , as in fig7 c , is rotated eccentric to optical axis bb as 9 a , 9 b , and 9 c , to keep constant the etendue of the optical system with preferential selection of the scatter angle about optical axis bb as a conic section . two semi - circular masks rotated independently about optical axis bb laminated in close proximity to one another at the position of field stop 9 of fig7 is shown as 9 a , 9 b , 9 c , and 9 d in fig7 d . rotation of the masks independently creates a sector aperture through which a portion of scattered light about optical axis bb is permitted to pass through the optical system to particle detector 5 at the selected direction of scatter . a mask in the form of a shutter ( s ) is utilized to select an angular portion of the scatted or emitted light from object plane 49 as shown in fig7 e . a shutter is slide across the face of aperture 9 of fig7 to preferentially transmit or block the propagation of rays to particle detector 5 dependent on the angle of scatter of emission from object plane 49 . the shutter in position 9 a of fig7 e transmits light that is forward scattered from object plane 49 . two shutters independently adjustable orthogonal to each other laminated in close proximity at the position of field stop 9 of fig7 is shown in fig7 f . the aperture , a sector , formed by the two shutters can be translated off optical axis bb unlike that of the sector formed by the semi - circular masks of fig7 d . a pixilated mask at position of field stop 9 controlled by means of selective polarization of the scattered light passing through a polarizing film and electrically polarized liquid crystals as in a transmission lcd , ( liquid crystal display ), is utilized to block , by means of cross polarization , light from propagating through said lcd along optical axis bb . a pixilated mask can be substituted for any or all of the described forms of apertures previously described without preference . the choice of the mask effectively selects the angles of reflection that detector 5 will eventually process . alternately , when only the angle and or intensity of scattered or emitted light is to measured from object plane 49 and no image need be formed of the scattering particle ( s ), as in the case of presence of particles or fluorescence , then a image array such as a ccd or cmos image plane sensor is placed in substitution to field stop 9 as shown in fig7 g . light impinging on pixels of the image plane sensor is thus discriminated by angle of scatter or emission since an image of the pixel is formed at the surface of meniscus lens 1 as field stop image 9 ′. using the optical layout having multiple detection paths as shown in fig6 , multiple masks may be used having different masking areas , such that different measurements of the angle of scatter for particles may be made simultaneously . fig8 is a block diagram of the optical layout of the view area of the suspension media in an example embodiment of the invention . light from light source 10 propagates as marginal ray 53 to input lens 6 to form a caustic of illumination or focused image of the source at the object plane 49 . light not scattered or absorbed continues along optical path aa to exit lens 7 where upon the unabsorbed or light not scattered by particulate matter is relayed to inside surface 12 of integrating sphere 11 through input port 15 . alternately lenses 6 and 7 need not have optical power in the case where the light being emitted into the suspension media is collimated or focused and the subtended angle into integrating sphere is small . lenses 6 and 7 may be completely removed in the case where the suspension media need not be isolated from the external elements of the device , for example when the particles are suspended in air or some other gas or vapor . in one example embodiment of the invention , a plurality of illumination paths may be used . fig9 is a block diagram of a particulate measurement system utilizing a plurality of light source paths in an example embodiment of the invention . fig9 has light sources 10 , 10 a and 100 b projecting illumination along optical axis 52 , 52 a , and 52 b . in one example embodiment of the invention light source 10 , 10 a and 10 b need not have the same spectral emission or may have selected wavelength ( s ) of emission of by the introduction of optical filter material along optical axis 52 , 52 a , or 52 b , or by judicial selection of optical materials or coatings used for lenses 6 , 6 a , 6 b and , or lenses 7 , 7 a , and 7 b . another aspect of the present invention is the ability to introduce light into the detection path ( s ) of a known amount or percentage so as to facilitate the calibration or verification the operational readiness of the device without disruption to the flow or particle stream . a non - disruptive calibration or verification is accomplished by the introduction of light within the field of view of the detection optics along optical axis bb at the image plane of the field stop 9 ′, synonymous to the surface of meniscus lens 1 , as shown in fig1 . annular waveguide 60 , of transparent plastic , glass , or other suitable materials transports light from second light source 56 along optical axis 59 between the two face surfaces by means of total internal reflection , ( tir ), from outer edge of annular waveguide 60 to inner edge of annular waveguide 60 . the inner edge of annular waveguide 60 may be preferentially ground , etched , or coated so as to scatter light along optical axis bb as an annulus of marginal rays to form an image of annular waveguide 60 at field stop 9 and subsequently impinges equally onto particle detector 5 since particle detector is at the infinite conjugate of lens 4 . by selectively permitting second light source 56 to emit light at a known intensity , by provision of electrical or mechanical means , light is introduced along optical axis bb in addition to light scattered or emitted from particles simulated by light source 10 . since light introduced by light source 10 must travel through the suspension media the light is affected by the concentration of particles in the suspension media by means of absorption , scatter , and emission of light in the same manor as the transmitted light from light source 10 to transmit detector 17 . the ratio of the amount of transmitted light to detector 17 from light source 10 to the amount of light transmitted from second light source 56 to particle detector 5 is constant provided light source 10 and second light source 56 emit at a constant intensity and that all optical surfaces degrade in like manor . an abnormal condition exists as result of the ratio from the established value is in deviation by more than a prescribed amount as to warrant action for either correction of the abnormal condition or to compensate of the ratio so as to restore the ratio to the established value . since lenses 3 and 4 relay an image from within field lens 2 it is also possible to utilize this arrangement to opt for a material or construction for field lens 2 that will partially scatter by applied electrical field or other stimulation cause field lens 2 to change optical characteristics to the objective as to redirect light emitted into the edge of field lens 2 by means of scatter or to emit light within field lens 2 along optical axis bb and thus impinge upon particle detector 5 . this arrangement has the advantage of the light scattered or emitted is unimpeded and not transmitted through the suspension media and is unaffected by biological films or depositions of materials that come in contact with the suspension media , thus a more stable and reproducible calibration or verification source is result . alternately light may be introduced along optical axis bb through a central uncoated portion or aperture 58 in the optical coating of the convex surface of meniscus lens 1 as shown in fig1 . an image of second light source 56 is brought to focus at the concave surface of meniscus lens 1 synonymous with image 9 ′ of field stop 9 , by lens 57 through the uncoated central aperture 58 in meniscus lens 1 . the alternate scheme for the introduction of light from a second light source differs from the previously described method of fig1 since no physical radiator is present at concave surface of meniscus lens 1 but instead an image of second light source 56 , and that the light comprised of principle rays and not marginal rays . the light impinging on particle detector 5 is however indistinguishable in result between the method of light introduction of fig1 and fig1 as both effectively emit light at image plane 9 ′ of field stop 9 within the field of view of the detection optics along optical axis bb . another means to introduce light along the optical axis bb for the purpose of calibration or verification of operational readiness is disclosed for the present invention without the need for a second light source is shown in fig1 . light from light source 10 is emitted along optical axis bb through input lens 6 and output lens 7 through input aperture 15 of integrating hemisphere 13 to impinge on the inside surface 12 of integrating sphere 11 . light is diffusely reflected by multiple incidences between inside surface 12 of the integrating sphere to emerge along optical axis 55 at exit aperture 16 of integrating sphere 11 . optical surface 62 , by example selectable by rotation about axis of rotation 63 with at least one transmitting surface or aperture 64 and at least one reflecting area 62 is positioned beyond the exit aperture 16 of integrating hemisphere 13 to reflect light substantially 90 degrees to optical axis 55 along optical axis 68 or transmit light along optical axis 55 dependent upon the alignment of aperture 64 or reflecting area 62 to optical axis 55 . positioning of reflecting surface 62 along optical axis 55 , reflects light emerging from exit aperture 16 to impinge upon transmit detector 17 positioned along optical axis 68 , thus a measure of the transmitted light from light source 10 is ascertained . positioning aperture 64 along optical axis 55 permits the transmission of light along optical axis bb through central aperture 58 of meniscus lens 1 by relay of emitted light from exit aperture 16 through aperture stop 65 , lens 66 , optical fiber 67 , and lens 57 . an image of the end of optical fiber 67 is formed at the concave surface of meniscus lens 1 through central aperture 58 synonymous to the image 9 , of field stop 9 , to impinge upon particle detector 5 in proportion to the light detected by transmit detector 17 by means of field lens 2 , and lens 3 , field stop 9 , and lens 4 . | 6 |
as can be seen in fig1 - 4 , the weft accumulator assembly of the invention consists in principle of at least one perforated cylidrical tube 1 , a control unit 1a to control the operation of the assembly , an airblower 2 mounted on one end 3 of the tube 1 with the nozzle pointing into the tube 1 , and a thread clamp or thread stopper 4 mounted on the opposite end of the tube 5 . a means for drawing off weft thread from the weft supply package 7a is also provided , e . g ., the rollers 6 . fig1 also shows how the accumulator is positioned with respect to certain other conventional parts of the weaving machine 7 which are known in the art , in particular the weft supply package 7a and the main nozzle 7b . the weft accumulator should preferably be constructed so that the blower 2 and the thread clamp 4 fit on the ends 3 and 5 of the tube 1 , and so form the end closures of the tube . the airblower 3 can of course be a conventional injector . the yarn clamp 4 in its simplest form can consist of two rectangular brake shoes or clamping blocks 8a and 8b whose plane of contact 9 lies in the diameter of the tube 1 and is preferably horizontal . the perforations 10 should preferably be distributed evenly over the wall of the tube 1 . thus , the openings 10 can be situated in axial planes with respect to the tube 1 , with the axial planes being separated from each other along the length of the tube by a constant distance a , as shown in fig2 . the method of operation of the weft accumulator is described in essence below . a length of weft thread is drawn off the weft supply package 7a by the weft supply rollers 6 , where the length of the weft is preferably a measured out , predetermined length , and is led by the supply rollers 6 to the air blower 2 . this blower or injector 2 blows the thread 11 into the tube 1 . the thread piles up in the tube at the clamp 4 so as to form coils of thread 12 against the inside wall of the tube 11 . the fact that the coils of thread 12 lie neatly and evenly against the inside wall of the tube can be explained as follows . when the tube 1 is empty , as shown in fig5 the airstream 13 from the airblower carries all the air to the end 5 of the tube 1 opposite the blower . it is therefore clear that , as shown schematically in fig5 the greatest quantity of air escapes through the perforations 10 nearest to the clamp 4 and opposite the blower . as a result , the thread 11 inside the tube 1 begins to coil at the end 5 of the tube 1 . this results in slightly less air escaping through the very last perforations , since they are blocked by the coils of thread 12 . since a greater proportion of air is thus forced to escape through the still unobstructed perforations adjacent the coiled thread in the tube , the thread 11 always comes to lie against the already formed coils 12 . the coils 12 are held against the inside wall of the tube 1 by the residual air flow through the perforations 10a against which the thread 11 lies . the warp thread 12 can then be drawn out of the tube 1 when the clamp 4 is opened . fig7 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the perforated cylindrical tube has one or more large openings or perforations 14 at the end 3 nearest the airblower 2 . this avoids the situation where the air blown into the tube by the airblower 2 is not able to escape when the tube 1 is nearly full of coiled thread , and thus prevents the coils 12 from being blown over one another as a result . excess air can always escape through the relatively large openings 14 . the preferred direction in which the thread 11 is coiled inside the tube depends on the direction of thread twist . the thread 11 is preferably coiled inside the tube 1 in a direction that partially untwists the thread . however , if the thread 11 is coiled inside the tube in the direction of the thread twist , is will not cause problems ; testing has shown that the direction of the thread coils laid inside the tube will reverse spontaneously at a certain moment to a direction that untwists the weft thread . in order to improve the airflow inside the tube 1 , and in particular to encourage the weft thread 11 to coil in partial direction , special measures can be taken according to a number of preferred embodiments . in a first embodiment to achieve this purpose , each perforation 10 in the tube forms an angle to the corresponding radius 15 of the tube , in a particular direction of rotation , as shown in the cross - section diagram in fig8 . another preferred embodiment ( fig9 ) comprises an airblower or injector which has a nozzle with a deflector element having spiral grooves 16 in order to impart a vortex motion to the airstream 13 blown into the tube 1 . this vortex motion forces the weft thread 11 to coil in a particular direction . in yet another embodiment , the warp thread 11 is encouraged to coil in a particular direction by positioning the perforations 10 in one or more spiral lines round the wall of the tube 1 , for example , as shown in fig1 . if the diameter of the perforated cylindrical tube 1 is made very small , in the order of 1 cm of smaller , preferably a small as 3 mm , this has the added advantage that the thread 11 is drawn out of the cylinder 1 with a minimum of resistance , thus providing a supply of weft thread for pick insertion with extremely low tension on the weft thread . the tube 1 can of course , be made of a large number of materials . however , it is preferably made of some transparent material so that the behaviour of the thread 11 inside the tube 1 can be checked visually . it is well known in the art that at high picking speeds the weft thread pick inserted into the shed must not be braked suddenly while it is being supplied in order to avoid breaking the weft thread . fig1 and 12 show embodiments of the weft accumulator of the present invention which offer a particular solution to this problem . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , the perforated cylindrical tube 11 is divided into two in - line sections 1a and 1b by an adjustable thread brake 17 mounted approximately in the middle of the tube 1 . this thread brake 17 can consist of , for example , two brake shoes 18 and 19 which form a complete closure of the tube when completely engaged . the thread clamp 4 and the thread brake 17 are worked in such a way that the following operation cycle is repeated throughout the weaving process . when the thread clamp 4 is closed , section 1b of the cylinder is filled with coiled weft thread . at a certain moment during the filling of section 1b , the thread brake 17 is closed , so that section 1b then contains an initial length of thread 12 equal to the length of weft thread inserted into the shed during acceleration of the pick , plus the remainder of the pick inserted into the shed at normal picking speed . an additional length l1 of weft thread is next introduced into section 1a of the cylinder 1 , equal to the length which has to be inserted into the shed during the deceleration stage of the pick . to start the pick insertion , the thread clamp 4 is first opened , and the initial thread length l2 is taken from the section 1b , accelerated and led through the shed . following the insetion of the initial thread length l2 , the brake 17 exercises a relatively light braking force on the additional length of weft thread 11 . this provides the necessary gradual braking of the pick when the last length of weft thread l1 to be inserted into the shed is drawn from the accumulator , i . e ., the length contained in the first section 1a of the cylinder 1 . in a variation of the embodiment shown in fig1 , two accumulators of the type shown in fig1 can be placed in series , for example , as shown in fig1 . however , in this case the first accumulator is fitted with a thread brake 17 and the second with a thread clamp 4 . the operation of the embodiment shown in fig1 may be analogous to that of the embodiment shown in fig1 . in each of these figures , corresponding parts are indicated with the same numbers . it is clear that the term &# 34 ; perforated cylindrical tube &# 34 ; must be taken to include all tubes with a circular cross - section as well as other tubes with a regularly curved inside wall , e . g ., with an elliptical cross - section . the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein by way of example and shown in the accompanying figures ; on the contrary , such weft accumulators for weaving machines , together with their components , can be made in all forms and dimensions while still remaining within the scope of the invention . | 3 |
in a general way , the developer vessel of the present invention comprises a vessel proper , a receiving plate , an opening tab and a shutter . the vessel proper comprises a closed portion acting as the bottom when the vessel proper is used as the packaging vessel and acting as the top when the vessel proper is used as the hopper , a barrel and a tapered inclined portion ( frustoconical shoulder ). the receiving plate is arranged integrally with the vessel proper so that the receiving plate is connected to the inclined portion of the vessel proper . one of the characteristic features of the developer vessel of the present invention is that a substantially flat surface , substantially straight two side edges for fitting and attachment to a developing device and an opening communicating with the vessel proper are formed on the receiving plate . more specifically , the opening of the receiving plate exerts a function of filling the developer in the vessel proper and a function of discharging or feeding the developer in the vessel proper when the vessel proper is used as the hopper . since substantially straight side edges are formed on both the ends of the receiving plate , only by fitting and inserting the receiving plate in the state where the opening is located below , attachment to the developing device and dismounting therefrom can be accomplished easily and assuredly . moreover , since the substantially flat surface is formed , attachment of an opening tab described hereinafter can be performed easily . the second characteristic feature of the developer vessel of the present invention is that an opening tab composed of a film is peelably bonded to the flat supporting surface to cover the opening of the receiving plate and this film has a width smaller than the distance between both the attachment side edges of the receiving plate and has such a length that the film is folded on the fitting and inserting end of the receiving plate and the lapel of the folded film is protruded from the other end of the receiving plate . according to the present invention , by dint of the foregoing characteristic features , the developer vessel can be opened in the state where the developer vessel is attached as the hopper to the developing device , and the trouble of scattering of the developer powder can be effectively eliminated . in the first place , since the opening tab is bonded to the flat supporting surface of the receiving plate to cover the opening of the receiving plate scattering of the developer and contact of the developer with the outer atomosphere can be effectively prevented until the developer vessel is attached as the hopper to the developing device and is opened . furthermore , since the film of the opening tab is peelably bonded to the receiving plate , opening can be performed by peeling the film of the opening tab from the supporting surface of the receiving plate as occasion demands . moreover , since the width of the film of the opening tab is smaller than the distance between both the side edges of the receiving plate , peeling is possible in the state where both the side edges of the receiving plate are completely fitted in the developing device , and since the film of the opening tab is formed with such a length that the film is folded on the fitting and inserting end of the receiving plate and the lapel of the folded film is protruded from the other end of the receiving plate , the grip portion of the film is located outside even in the state where both the side edges are completely fitted to the developing device , and the film can easily be peeled from the supporting surface of the receiving plate by pulling this grip portion . still further , in the present invention , since a shutter having , on both the sides thereof , engagement portions that are dismountably engaged with both the side edges of the receiving plate , the film covering the opening can be effectively protected . the present invention will now be described with reference to embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings . fig1 illustrates systematically respective members of a developer vessel according to one embodiment of the present invention in the disintegrated state . this developing vessel comprises a vessel proper 1 , a receiving plate 2 , an opening tab 3 and a shutter 4 . the vessel proper 1 is blow - formed from a single - layer or multi - player plastic parison , and the vessel proper 1 comprises a closed portion 11 acting as the bottom when the vessel is used as the packaging vessel and acting as the top when the vessel is used as the hopper , a barrel 12 and an inclined portion ( frustoconical portion ) 13 tapered toward the top end . in this embodiment , a short cylindrical neck 14 is formed on the top end of the inclined portion 13 , and a male screw 15 for connection to the receiving plate 2 is formed on the outer periphery of the neck 14 . the receiving plate 2 , for example , is injection - formed from a plastic material , and the receiving plate 2 has a substantially flat surface 21 , substantially straight side edges 22a ( 22b ) for fitting and attachment to the developing device , and an opening 23 communicating with the vessel proper 1 . the receiving plate 2 has a substantially square or rectangular shape , and it will be understood that the receiving plate 2 has an end 24 for fitting and insertion into the developing device and an opposite end 25 . in this embodiment , the receiving plate 2 has a short cylindrical connecting portion 26 on the side opposite to the flat supporting surface 21 and around the opening 23 , and a clamping female screw 27 is formed on the inner circumference of the connecting portion 26 . by engaging the male screw 15 of the vessel proper 1 with the female screw 27 of the receiving plate 2 , the vessel proper 1 and receiving plate 2 are clamped and integrated with each other . an engagement hole 28 or projection can be formed on the receiving plate 2 for regulating the position of the receiving plate 2 when it is fitted and attached to the developing device . furthermore , a dismounting grip 29 can be formed . a single - layer or multi - layer plastic film or a plastic film / aluminum foil laminate is used for the opening tab 3 . the opening tab 3 comprises a portion 31 to be bonded to the flat supporting surface 21 of the receiving plate 2 and a free lapel portion 32 . as shown in fig2 this film 3 has a width d 1 shorter than the distance d 0 between both the side edges 22a and 22b of the receiving plate 2 for fitting and attachment to the developing device , and as shown in fig3 the film 3 is folded along a folding line 33 in the vicinity of the fitting and inserting end 24 of the receiving plate 2 and a grip portion 34 is protruded outward from the opposite end 25 of the receiving plate 2 . at least the surface , confronting to the receiving plate 2 , of the opening tab 3 should be composed of a peelably bondable material , especially a heat - sealable material . by the peelable bonding or peelable heat sealing is meant a bonding or heat sealing capable of keeping a sealing state in an ordinary storage state but capable of being peeled by hands , and in general , a bonding or heat sealing having a seal strength ( peel strength ) of 100 to 1500 g / 1 . 5 cm of the width is meant . for example , it is impossible to attain a peelable bonding between polyethylene sheets or between polypropylene sheets but if a sealing layer of a blend comprising polyethylene ( polypropylene ) and a small amount of other resin such as polypropylene ( polyethylene ) or a rubber is used , it is possible to provide a peelable heat sealing . fig4 shows the sectional structure of an example of the opening tab preferably used in the present invention . a peelable heat - sealing layer 36 composed of a blend as mentioned above is formed on one surface of a base film 35 . the shutter 4 comprises a plate 42 having an engagement part 41 to be detachably engaged with both the side edges of the receiving plate . in the present embodiment , the engagement part 41 comprises a concave groove 43 slidably engaged with the side edges 22a ( 22b ) of the receiving plate . as shown in fig5 assembling of the developer vessel is completed by engaging the shutter 4 with the receiving plate 2 having the opening tab 3 peelably bonded thereto . incidentally , the grip portion 34 is secured to the barrel 12 by bonding . referring to fig6 -( a ) and 6 -( b ) showing a main portion of the developing device to which the developer vessel of the present invention is attached , a developer supply zone 5 comprises , in general , a fitting portion 51 capable of fitting and attaching both the fitting ends of the receiving plate 2 of the developer vessel thereto and supporting them thereon , a developer - receiving portion 52 for receiving the developer from the opening 23 of the developer vessel and a developer - delivering mechanism 53 for feeding the developer in the developer - receiving portion 52 to a known magnetic brush roller or stirring roller ( not shown ). the fitting portion 51 comprises an upper frame 54 and a lower frame 55 , which are spaced from each other by a certain distance . a sealing member 56 for effecting sealing to the receiving plate 2 , which is composed , for example , of a polyurethane foam layer , is formed on the lower frame 55 . the developer - delivering mechanism 53 can be a spiral conveyor driven by a motor 57 , and in order to assuredly discharge the developer from the developer vessel as the hopper , a hammer 59 intermittently driven by the motor 57 through a cam mechanism 58 can be disposed in the developer - delivering mechanism 53 . a positioning engagement projection 60 to be engaged with the engagement hole 28 of the receiving plate is arranged in front of the developer supply zone 5 . when the developer vessel is attached to the developing device of the copying machine and used as the hopper , at first , the shutter 4 is dismounted from the receiving plate 2 , and then , as shown in fig7 the developer vessel is fitted and inserted between the upper frame 54 and the sealing member 56 of the lower frame 55 of the developer supply zone 5 in such a manner that the receiving plate 2 is located below and the fitting end 24 of the receiving plate 2 is located ahead . at the time of insertion of the receiving plate , the fitting and attaching side edges 22a ( 22b ) of the receiving plate 2 slide between the upper frame 54 and the sealing member 56 of the lower frame 55 to effect fitting and insertion , and the positioning engagement projection 60 is engaged with the engagement hole 28 of the receiving plate 2 , whereby the receiving plate 2 is attached to the developer supply zone 5 in the correctly positioned state . as shown in fig8 -( a ), in this positioned state , the opening tab film 3 is kept sealed to the supporting surface 21 of the receiving plate 2 , but the grip portion 34 of the opening tab 3 protrudes outward ( front side ) from the sealing member 56 of the lower frame 55 . at the time of opening , as shown in fig8 -( b ), the grip portion 34 of the opening tab 3 is gripped by the fingers and pulled toward an operator . by this pulling , the lapel portion 32 of the opening tab 3 is allowed to slide between the supporting surface 21 and the sealing member 56 toward the operator and the sealed portion 31 of the opening tab 3 is gradually peeled from the fitting end 24 toward the opposite end 25 to effect opening of the opening 23 . at this time , the sealing member 56 allows peeling of the opening tab 3 but always presses the opening tab 3 by an elastic pressure to prevent scattering of the developer powder 61 . thus , the developer powder 61 is discharged to the developer - receiving portion 52 through the opening 23 and is fed to the developing mechanism through the developer - delivering mechanism 53 . the receiving plate 2 of the developer vessel is intermittently hit by the hammer 59 to give vibrations to the receiving plate 2 , whereby discharge of the developer 61 can be performed smoothly so far as the developer is present in the vessel . when the developer is consumed , the grip portion 29 of the receiving plate 2 is gripped , lifted up slightly and pulled toward the operator , whereby the engagement between the positioning engagement projection 60 of the developer supply zone 5 and the engagement hole 28 of the receiving plate 2 is released and the fitting side edges 22a ( 22b ) of the receiving plate 2 are slid between the upper frame 54 and the sealing member 56 of the lower frame 55 to detach the entire developer vessel from the developing device . if the shutter 4 is engaged with the fitting side edges 22a ( 22b ) of the receiving plate 2 through the concave groove 43 of the engagement portion 41 and the vessel is taken out in such manner that the receiving plate 2 gradually overlaps the shutter 4 , as shown in fig9 scattering of a very slight amount of the developer powder left adhering to the developer vessel can be completely prevented . various modifications can be made to the above - mentioned vessel of the present invention without departing from the spirit set forth in the appended claims . for example , if the vessel proper 1 is prepared by blow forming and the receiving plate 2 is prepared by injection forming and both the members are assembled , as shown in fig1 through 9 , there can be attained various advantages . namely , the vessel proper can be manufactured at a relatively low cost and the amount used of the resin can be reduced . furthermore , if a plurality of kinds of the vessel proper are prepared for one kind of the receiving plate , various combinations coping with a variety of copying machines and a variety of amounts filled of the developer can be provided . it must be understood that the vessel proper 1 and the receiving plate 2 are not limited to those of the above - mentioned embodiment . for example , as shown in fig1 illustrating another embodiment of the present invention , the vessel proper 1 can be constructed by an upper portion 16 and a lower portion 17 formed integrally with the receiving plate 2 . the upper portion 16 is prepared , for example , by injection forming and comprises a closed portion 11 acting as the bottom when the vessel is used as the packaging vessel and acting as the top when the vessel is used as the hopper , a short barrel 12a and a flange 18a arranged on the open end of the barrel 12a . the lower portion 17 is prepared integrally with the receiving plate 2 by injection forming and comprises a relatively long barrel 12b , an inclined part 13 and a flange 18b formed on the open end of the barrel 12b . the upper portion 16 and lower portion 17 are integrated with each other by ultrasonic welding or other welding between the flanges 18a and 18 b . in order to prevent scattering of the developer powder at the time of detachment of the developer vessel , it is preferred that the shutter 4 should have a structure as shown in fig1 . however , it must be understood that in order to protect the opening tab 3 attached to the receiving plate 2 , the shutter 4 can preferably have an engagement part to be fitted to the periphery of the receiving plate . referring to fig1 , 12 and 13 illustrating still another embodiment of the developer vessel of the present invention , the vessel proper 1 has a tapered short cylindrical neck 14a on the top end of the inclined portion 13 , and a plurality of projections 63 extending outward of the radius is formed on the outer periphery of the neck 14a ( see fig1 ). a sealing o - ring 64 is arranged on the outer periphery of the tapered neck 14a . the receiving plate 2 has a connecting part 26 having a shape corresponding to the outer periphery of the neck 14a of the vessel proper 1 on the side opposite to the flat supporting surface 21 , and an engagement part ( shoulder ) 65 to be engaged with the above - mentioned projections 63 is formed on the top end ( minimum diameter portion ) of this connecting part 26 . by pushing the neck 14a of the vessel proper into the connecting part 26 , the projections 63 are engaged with the engagement part 65 , whereby the vessel proper 1 and the receiving plate 2 are integrated with each other . moreover , since the o - ring 64 is disposed , the sealing can be attained between the inner circumference of the connecting part 26 and the outer periphery of the neck 14a even if a certain clearance or dimensional error is present between them . in the foregoing embodiments , the vessel proper and receiving plate are integrated with each other by mechanical clamping . however , it must be understood that the vessel proper and the receiving plate can be integrated by such means as bonding , heat sealing and ultrasonic welding . in order to prevent intrusion of moisture into the developer , it is preferred that the vessel proper 1 and receiving plate 2 be composed of a moisture - resistant resin , especially an olefin resin such as polyethylene , polypropylene or an ethylene / propylene copolymer . the developer vessel of the present invention has double actions . that is , the developer vessel of the present invention is used not only as a packaging vessel for containing the developer in the sealed state but also as a developer hopper attached to the developing device . this developer vessel can be opened after it has been attached to the developing device as the developer hopper , and the developer vessel can be opened and attached without scattering the developer in the environment . accordingly , prominent advantages can be attained by the present invention . | 6 |
specific reference is made in detail to the embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . while the invention is described in conjunction with the embodiments , it will be understood that the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . the various embodiments are intended to illustrate the invention in different applications . further , specific details are set forth in the embodiments for exemplary purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . in other instances , well - known methods , procedures , and components have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the invention . with reference to fig1 a system is shown for controlling 1394 devices by issuing audio video control ( av / c ) commands over a conventional network . in one embodiment , the conventional network is an internet protocol ( ip ) based network utilizing widely recognized tcp / ip standards . the system in fig1 is for illustrative purposes only . fewer or additional elements may be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention . further , elements may be combined or separated without departing from the scope of the invention . to illustrate the transmission of an av / c command from one 1394 device to another 1394 device over the ip network , two set - top boxes are utilized to illustrate this capability ; two set - top boxes are not required to implement the invention . the system includes a set - top box 100 , a 1394 bus 125 , a digital video cassette recorder ( vcr ) 130 , a mini - disc ( md ) 135 , an ip network 140 , a remote application 145 , a set - top box 150 , a 1394 bus 175 , a digital video camera 180 , and an audio / video hard drivel 85 . the ip network 140 is coupled to the set - top box 100 , the remote application 145 , and the set - top box 150 , such that the remote application 145 may communicate with the set - top boxes 100 and 140 . additionally , the set - top box 100 may communicate with the remote application 145 and the set - top box 140 . similarly , the set - top box 140 may communicate with the remote application 145 and the set - top box 100 . when the remote application 145 and the set - top boxes 100 and 140 communicate with each other , they utilize a recognized standard such as tcp / ip . in other embodiments , various other standards or protocols may be utilized to effectuate communication between these devices . the 1394 bus 125 is coupled to the set - top box 100 , the digital vcr 130 , and the md 135 , such that the set - top box 100 , the digital vcr 130 , and the md 135 may communicate with each other through the 1394 bus 125 . when the set - top box 100 , the digital vcr 130 , and the md 135 communicate with each other through the 1394 bus 125 , they utilize commands compatible with the 1394 standards . in other embodiments , various other standards or protocols may be utilized to effectuate communication between these devices . similarly , the 1394 bus 175 is coupled to the set - top box 150 , the digital video camera 180 , and the audio video hard drive 185 , such that the set - top box 150 , the digital video camera 180 , and the audio video hard drive 185 may communicate with each other through the 1394 bus 175 . when the set - top box 150 , the digital video camera 180 , and the audio video hard drive 185 communicate with each other through the 1394 bus 175 , they utilize commands compatible with the 1394 standards . in other embodiments , various other standards or protocols may be utilized to effectuate communication between these devices . the set - top box 100 includes a network av / c module 105 , tcp / udp socket 110 , an application 115 , and an application 120 . the network av / c module 105 is coupled between the 1394 bus 125 and the tcp / udp socket 110 . the applications 115 and 120 are coupled to the tcp / upd socket 110 . the tcp / upd socket 110 is coupled to the ip network 140 . in other embodiments , additional or fewer applications are utilized within the set - top box . similarly , the set - top box 150 includes a network av / c module 155 , tcp / udp socket 160 , an application 165 , and an application 170 . the network av / c module 155 is coupled between the 1394 bus 175 and the tcp / udp socket 160 . the applications 165 and 170 are coupled to the tcp / upd socket 160 . the tcp / upd socket 160 is coupled to the ip network 140 . in other embodiments , additional or fewer applications are utilized within the set - top box . [ 0024 ] fig2 illustrates an exemplary network av / c module 200 . paths 210 , 220 , 230 , and 240 merely illustrate an exemplary interface for the network av / c module 200 . the paths 210 and 220 couple the network av / c module 200 with an ip network 250 . the network av / c module 200 interfaces with the ip network 250 via the paths 210 and 220 utilizing a communications standard such as tcp / ip . the paths 230 and 24 couple the network av / c module 200 with a 1394 bus 260 . similarly , the network av / c module 200 interfaces with the 1394 bus 260 via the paths 230 and 240 utilizing a communications standard such as the 1394 command sets . commands from the ip network 250 pass through the path 220 and are received by the av / c module 200 . these commands received by the av / c module 200 from the ip network 250 are configured according to a standard such as tcp / ip . these commands may contain information such as a globally unique identification ( guid ) and av / c command as illustrated in fig3 b . the guid uniquely identifies a 1394 enabled device connected to a 1394 bus such as the 1394 bus 260 . however , the guid may identify a 1394 enabled device which is either not currently connected to a 1394 bus or currently connected to a 1394 bus that is connected to different network av / c module . the av / c command provides a signal to a 1394 enabled device . in this case , the signal is addressed to the unique 1394 enabled device which is identified by the guid . the signal may instruct the 1394 enabled device to start playing , start recording , stop all functions , fast forward , rewind , and the like . the av / c commands are quite varied depending on the specific capabilities of the associated 1394 enabled device . the network av / c module 200 tracks 1394 enabled devices connected to the 1394 bus 260 . each of these 1394 devices have a unique guid . the network av / c module 200 maintains a list of all 1394 enabled devices connected to the 1394 bus 260 by listing their unique guid and their respective location . an exemplary list is illustrated in fig3 b . other 1394 enabled devices which are not connected to the specific 1394 bus 260 are not tracked by the specific network av / c module 200 . after the network av / c module 200 receives a command from the ip network 250 , the network av / c module 200 checks if the guid identified in the command is associated with a 1394 enabled device connected to the av / c module 200 . the network av / c module 200 may check a list similar to the one in fig3 b . if the network av / c module 200 determines that guid in the command is associated with a 1394 enabled device connected to the av / c module 200 , then the network av / c module 200 translates the command from the ip network 250 into an appropriate av / c command conforming to 1394 standards and transmits this av / c command to the location of the 1394 device via the path 230 . the location of the 1394 device is tracked by the network av / c module 200 and may be referred to as a dynamic address . the location is stored in a list similar to the one in fig3 a . in one embodiment , if the network av / c module 200 determines that guid in the command is not associated with a 1394 enabled device connected to the av / c module 200 , then the network av / c module 200 takes no action . through the path 240 , 1394 enabled devices connected to the 1394 bus 160 may transmit av / c commands to the network av / c module 200 . these av / c commands may be status confirmations , connect signals , disconnect signals , functional instructions , and the like . if the av / c command through the path 240 changes the status and / or dynamic address of the particular 1394 enabled device , the network av / c module 200 updates the tracking list similar to the one shown in fig3 a . if the av / c command through the path 240 is directed to a different device other than a 1394 enable device connected to the 1394 bus 260 , the network av / c module 200 translates the av / c command into a format suitable for transmission over the ip network 250 via the path 250 . the operation of the system of fig1 while initiating the network av / c modules 105 and 155 is described with references to the flow diagram shown in fig4 . at block 400 , the process of initiating the network av / c modules 105 and 155 begins . at block 410 , the network av / c modules 105 and 155 obtain a list of 1394 devices by polling devices that are connected to the network busses 125 and 175 , respectively . for example , the digital vcr 130 and the md 135 would be discovered by the network av / c module 105 . in another example , the digital video camera 180 and the audio / video hard drive 185 are discovered by the network av / c module 155 . at block 420 , a device availability table is built by each of the network av / c modules 105 and 155 . the device availability table includes the guid of the device identified by the network av / c modules 105 and 155 . the device availability table may resemble the table in fig3 a . at block 430 , the dynamic addresses of the devices listed in the device availability table are discovered . at block 440 , the device availability table is updated with the dynamic addresses of the devices identified by the guid . in block 450 , the device availability table is selectively broadcasted to other devices that request this information . for example , the set - top box 150 and the remote application 145 may register that they are interested in the device availability table from the set - top box 100 . in this case , the network av / c 105 distributes the device availability table to the set - top box 150 and the remote application 145 . in one embodiment , the selective broadcast of the device availability table is performed via tcp / ip . in other embodiments , different transfer protocols may be utilized . in yet another embodiment , the device availability table may be broadcasted to other nodes which have registered to receive this information . in block 460 , the initiation of the network av / c terminates . the operation of the system of fig1 while updating the network av / c modules 105 and 155 of a status change is described with references to the flow diagram shown in fig5 . at block 500 , the process of updating the device availability table within the network av / c modules 105 and 155 begins . in block 510 , a 1394 enabled device changes status . a change in status includes a connection to a 1394 bus , disconnection to a 1394 bus , a connected device issues an autonomous bus reset without disconnecting from the bus , and the like . for example , the digital vcr 130 , the md 135 , the digital video camera 180 , and the a / v hard drive 185 being connected or removed from their respective 1394 busses would constitute a status change . in block 520 , a bus reset is performed on the appropriate 1394 bus . for example , if the digital vcr 130 or the md 135 is connected or disconnected from the 1394 bus 125 , a bus reset would be performed on the 1394 bus 125 . similarly , if the digital video camera 180 or the a / v hard drive 185 is connected or disconnected from the 1394 bus 175 , a bus reset would be performed on the 1394 bus 175 . in block 530 , a bus reset is received by a network av / c module . for example , if a bus reset is performed on the 1394 bus 125 , the network av / c module 105 receives the bus reset . similarly , if a bus reset is performed on the 1394 bus 175 , the network av / c module 155 receives the bus reset . in block 540 , the device availability table is updated based on the bus reset . for example , the bus reset is performed based on a connection or disconnection of a 1394 device , and the device availability table is updated accordingly . in block 550 , the device availability table , which was updated in the block 540 , is selectively broadcasted to other devices that request this information . in block 560 , the update of the network av / c terminates . the operation of the system of fig1 while the network av / c modules 105 and 155 process a command is described with references to the flow diagram shown in fig6 . at block 600 , processing a command within the network av / c modules 105 and 155 begins . at block 610 , a command is issued to a network av / c module via a tcp / ip message . for example , the network av / c module 105 may receive a command from the remote application 145 or the set - top box 150 . the command from the set - top box 150 may originate from the application 165 , the application 170 , the digital video camera 180 , or the av hard drive 185 . the command may include a play command , forward command , rewind command , stop command , record command , and the like . the particular command varies depending on the functionality of the device as the intended recipient of the command . the command may resemble the sample shown in fig3 b having a guid component and the actual av / c command . in block 620 , the network av / c module parses the command into the guid component and the av / c command . in block 630 , the network av / c module matches the guid from the command to the device availability table for the particular network av / c module . for example , if the network av / c module 105 parses the command , the network av / c module 105 matches the guid with the device availability table for the av / c module 105 . in block 640 , assuming that the guid was matched to the device availability table in the block 630 , the dynamic address is accessed from the device availability table with the network av / c module . in block 650 , the av / c command , previously parsed in the block 620 , is sent by the network av / c module to the dynamic address identified by the guid . in block 660 , the device identified by the dynamic address sends a confirmation back to the originating device through the corresponding network av / c module . in block 670 , the command processing within the network av / c terminates . for example , the an hard drive 185 originates a “ record ” command addressed to the digital vcr 130 . the network av / c module 155 receives the “ record ” command through the 1394 bus ; translates the “ record ” command into a tcp / ip message ; and broadcasts this message over the ip network 140 . [ block 610 ] the “ record ” command formatted is received by the network av / c module 105 and is parsed into the guid component ( digital vcr 130 ) and the av / c command ( record command ). [ block 620 ] the network av / c module 105 matches the guid component with the device availability table . the network av / c module 105 finds that the guid component matches the digital vcr 130 . [ block 630 ] the network av / c module 105 locates the dynamic address for the digital vcr 130 from the device availability table . [ block 640 ] the network av / c module 105 sends the av / c command ( record command ) to the dynamic address for the digital vcr 130 . [ block 650 ] the digital vcr 130 sends a confirmation back to the a / v hard drive 185 by sending a 1394 message back to the network av / c module 105 . the network av / c module 105 converts the 1394 message into a tcp / ip message addressed to the an hard drive with a “ confirmation ” command . the network av / c module 105 sends this tcp / ip message through the ip network 140 . [ block 660 ] by sending this “ confirmation ” command through the ip network 140 , the network av / c module 105 sends a command as described by block 610 . the operation of the system of fig1 while the network av / c modules 105 and 155 process an event notification is described with references to the flow diagram shown in fig7 . at block 700 , processing an event notification within the network av / c modules 105 and 155 begins . in block 710 , a 1394 enabled device generates an event notification . an event notification includes an end of tape message , a user initiated function , a battery warning , and the like . the user initiated function includes stop command , rewind command , record command , forward command , and the like . in block 720 , a network av / c module receives the event notification . for example , if the tape inside the digital video camera 180 runs out of tape , the digital video camera 180 generates an “ end of tape ” event notification . the network av / c module 155 receives this “ end of tape ” event notification . in block 730 , a network av / c module formats the event notification into a tcp / ip message and selectively broadcasts the notification to devices which are interested . in another embodiment the “ end of tape ” event notification is addressed to the md 135 . accordingly , the event notification is addressed to the guid corresponding to the md 135 . in block 740 , the event notification processing within the network av / c terminates . the flow diagrams as depicted in fig4 , 6 , and 7 are merely one embodiment of the invention . the blocks may be performed in a different sequence without departing from the spirit of the invention . further , blocks may be deleted , added or combined without departing from the spirit of the invention . the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description . for example , the invention is described within the context of set - top boxes as merely embodiments of the invention . the invention may be applied to a variety of other devices . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise embodiments disclosed , and naturally many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its practical application , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents . | 7 |
fig1 illustrates an embodiment of a nasal insert that includes upwardly spiraling support member or strut 12 extending between top ring 10 and bottom ring 11 . fig1 illustrates the top ring 10 being a closed ring and strut 12 being a partial spiral . the top ring may have a diameter d 1 or other traverse measure that is smaller than a diameter d 2 or other transverse measure of the bottom ring . fig2 , 3 , 5 , 5 a , and 6 - 10 show various other embodiments of nasal inserts with spirally - or helically - oriented support member ( s ). the various constituent parts of a nasal insert may be made from different materials and / or have different stiffnesses . nasal insert constituent parts may be formed from a first material that is partially or completely encapsulated in or coated by a second material . while it may be preferable that the surfaces of the insert that contact nasal surfaces are made of soft plastics or polymers , inserts may also be made of metals , plastics , and / or polymers . for example , a nasal insert may have constituent part ( s ) made from a relatively stiff material coated with a relatively soft and / or pliable material . in some embodiments , constituent part ( s ) of an insert may be made from one or more pliable or flexible materials , that range in instantaneous hardness , as rated by astm d - 2240 , from shore 00 to shore d 90 . certain portions of constituent part ( s ) of an insert may be made from one material durometer , while others may be made from two . for example , the bottom ring may be stiffened with the addition of an inner hoop or stiffening ring of a first instantaneous hardness astm d - 2240 value material that is over molded or embedded in a second different instantaneous hardness astm d - 2240 value material , while the rest of the insert is made from either the same instantaneous hardness astm d - 2240 value material as the second material , or from a third instantaneous hardness astm d - 2240 value material different from the first and second materials . in some embodiments , the materials may be bio - absorbable and / or biodegradable materials . the insert may be placed in the nose to aid correct structural growth or during or following surgery to stent the airway open to aid healing . placed in such a way , an insert made of bio - absorbable or biodegradable materials will absorb and / or disappear over time eliminating the need to surgically remove it . if two or more flexible materials are used to form a constituent part of a nasal insert , they may be bonded chemically , mechanically , or chemically and mechanically to one another . similarly , if different constituent parts of a nasal insert are made from different materials ( or different combinations of materials , such as when two constituent parts have certain material ( s ) in common and certain material ( s ) not in common ) they may be bonded , chemically , mechanically or chemically and mechanically to one another . the support member 12 may be made from a material that is selected for its elastic properties so that support member 12 may serve as a spring mechanism between one or more tubular elements , 10 and 11 . the support member may contain a stiffening element embedded or over molded inside to provide vertical support . this member may be made with two distinct materials . the tubular elements may be made from a third , distinct , material . fig2 illustrates a second embodiment where the spiral support member 20 , which may contain a stiffening element to provide vertical support , serves as a spring mechanism for one tubular element 21 , which has openings through the wall , and may be made with the first material , or with a second , distinct , material . the spiral support member , as with other constituent parts , may be embedded inside or overmolded with a less stiff material . fig3 illustrates a third embodiment where the spiral support member 30 made of a first material , serves as a spring mechanism for one tubular element 32 that may be made with the first material , or with a second , distinct , material . fig5 illustrates an insert having two tubular elements 54 and 56 , supported by two spiral support members 50 and 52 . the insert may also include a filter , such as conical filter 58 , shown in fig5 a . the filter may be affixed to the insert in a variety of ways , such as by snap - fitting , press - fitting , interference fit , integral formation , etc . the insert and filter may define groove ( s ) and complementary ridge ( s ). the spiral support members may wrap in the same direction and may be placed opposed to one another in connecting to the first tubular element , such as shown in fig5 . the first material may be an inner ring which may have an interruption as illustrated in fig4 ( top view ) 40 and fig4 a ( side view ), that may have two or more protrusions 42 ( outward - facing ), 43 ( inward - facing ), and / or one or more holes 44 through the ring . fig4 b illustrates an embodiment of an inner ring 48 embedded in an outer material 49 , in a manner such that the inner facing surface of the inner ring is exposed 46 . this inner surface can define one or more grooves 47 . fig8 illustrates an example of a fig4 inner ring integrated into a nasal insert , in which the protrusions on the inner ring are mechanically and chemically bonded to the second material , and appear on the outer surface at anchor holes 80 . the first material ( i . e ., the stiff core ) may also be a vertically oriented support member that may wrap upwards in a circular direction to form a series of curves or one or more helixes ( element 60 in fig6 ; element 70 in fig7 ). fig9 shows cores 90 embedded in helical support members with anchor holes or protrusions at the start 92 , end 94 , or mid points as necessary . the first material may have ring , spiral , horizontal or vertical parts that are formed as one part or are formed as separate parts and then assembled , as demonstrated in fig1 . resilient — capable of returning to an original shape or position , as after having been compressed . spiral —( a ) a curve on a plane that winds around a fixed center point at a continuously increasing or decreasing distance from the point ; ( b ) a three - dimensional curve that turns around an axis at a constant or continuously varying distance while moving parallel to the axis ; a helix , such as a cylindrical or conic helix . helix — a three - dimensional curve that lies on a cylinder or cone , so that its angle to a plane perpendicular to the axis is constant . fig1 - 17 depict exemplary embodiments of nasal inserts having non - ridge - containing protrusion ( s ). including a protrusion on an insert may aid in reshaping the nasal air space , through gentle outwardly facing pressure by the insert on the nasal pathway , to allow greater airflow to be inhaled through the nasal pathway . the protrusions ( nodules ) may be located on any surface of the nasal insert . the one or more protrusions may be custom - positioned on the insert to facilitate a refined and personal fit . as shown in fig1 - 13 and 16 - 17 , a nasal insert may include one or more nodules ( rounded , non - ridge containing protuberances ) 112 ( fig1 ) and 124 ( fig1 ). a nodule or protuberance may be shaped like half of a pear that is cut in the longitudinal or latitudinal plane , or as a button , a rounded plane , as a semisphere or hemisphere , or as other rounded shapes . nodules may be convex as shown , or concave , or both , as desired to conform to or interface with nasal mucosa . nodules may be integrally formed in a nasal insert or may be formed as a separate part and assembled ( fig1 ). the nodule may be formed from a material having a different durometer than that of the nasal insert . the nodule may be softer than the material of the nasal insert . the nodule may include or contain a magnet . such a magnet may be sized , shaped , positioned , and / or provided with sufficient magnetic strength so that it may attract a second magnet included in or contained in the nodule of a second nasal insert , or included in or contained in an exterior tabular element . the nodule ( s ) may be integrated or formed separately in a varying array of nodule shapes 112 , 122 and may protrude at varying slopes so as to allow for maximum customization . nodules formed separately may be made part of a nasal insert kit for an individual &# 39 ; s selection . the nodules may attach with a self - securing mechanism 123 , which may be fitted through one or more through - wall openings or receptacles 121 . customization and comfort may be enhanced and this permits a more affordable method to customize the nasal insert for improved function and comfort . the nasal insert with the nodules may be formed so that they are connected by a member that originates from the inner surface wall , as shown in cross section fig1 , 150 of the tubular element , and extends distal from the tubular element fig1 , 130 and then through a rounded or angular corner 132 continues across a width at least double the span of the tubular elements diameter 134 where a mirrored rounded or angular corner 136 then returns the connecting member to the second tubular element on the inner surface wall . in use , the tubular elements may be rotated 180 degrees upward , so that the connecting member 140 turns around and forms a loop 142 . the ends 150 of the connecting member may originate inside the tubular element as demonstrated in fig1 in a profile drawing . fig1 , 16 a , 17 , and 18 show another embodiment , in which the tubular elements may include a tabular member 160 , 170 that is designed in the shape of an arc . the tabular member may be so sized and shaped as to capture the nasal alar 180 , thereby helping to secure the tubular member in the nose . the features described herein may be combined with the various features described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 290 , 047 , filed nov . 30 , 2005 , u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 842 , 220 , filed may 10 , 2004 , u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 434 , 669 , filed may 9 , 2003 , and u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 862 , 966 , filed may 22 , 2001 , now u . s . pat . no . 6 , 562 , 057 , which are incorporated by reference herein for such teachings . for example , the nasal inserts described herein may include tabs , connecting members , filters , intranasal drug coating / delivery , interrupted members , shapes , and other features as described in the cited references . | 0 |
fig1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention and fig5 to 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention . the invention will now be described . the first embodiment will now be described in detail . three claws 4 having a tool gripping portion in their inner circumferential surfaces project to a tip end of a body 1 through a slant hole provided in the body 1 and are slanted to an axis of the body 1 . male screw portions 4 a are formed on the outside of the three claws 4 . a rotary nut 3 having a female screw portion 3 b is fitted around the claws 4 under the condition that it threadedly engages with the male screw portions 4 a . a rotary sleeve 2 made of synthetic resin ( may be made of metal material ) is fitted around the body 1 . a metallic annular member 8 is arranged within the rotary sleeve 2 . a plurality of small holes as recess portions 7 are provided in an annular shape at a predetermined interval in the annular member 8 . incidentally , this annular member 8 may be formed integrally with the rotary sleeve 2 or may be formed integrally with the rotary nut 3 . furthermore , it is possible to integrally form the annular member 8 , the rotary sleeve 2 and the rotary nut 3 with each other . also , the annular member 8 may be formed integrally with a flange portion 1 a of the body 1 . a back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 is formed into an outer conical surface . a receiving portion 5 is formed at the flange portion la of the body 1 and at a position facing the rotary nut 3 . a plurality of balls ( steel balls , ceramic balls , plastic balls ) as rolling members 6 are provided between the back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 and a front surface 5 a of the receiving portion 5 . incidentally , the receiving portion 5 may be formed to extend the flange portion 1 a of the body 1 . also , the conical slant surface is not provided on the back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 but may be provided on the front surface 5 a of the receiving portion 5 . alternatively , the conical slant surface may be formed both on the front surface 5 a of the receiving portion 5 and the back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 . the receiving portion 5 is made of elastic member so that the balls are moved forwardly when the claws 4 grip the tool and a fastening reactive force is applied thereto in a thrust direction . reference numeral 9 denotes a clearance for allowing the receiving portion to be flexed . reference numeral 10 denotes a grip sleeve provided on the body 1 in a rotation preventing condition . incidentally , it is possible to take a structure where the rotary sleeve 2 extends rearwardly to dispense with the grip sleeve 10 . in this case , the electric rotary tool to be described later , in which a spindle is locked , is used . reference numeral 11 denotes a stopper for the rotary sleeve 2 . also , the electric power rotary tool 12 shown in the fig1 is of the type that the spindle is kept in a free condition during non - operation . it is of course possible to apply the present invention to an electric rotary tool where the spindle is locked during non - operation or an electric power rotary tool where an abrupt brake is effected when the rotating spindle is stopped . since the first embodiment has been constructed as described above , the tool is inserted between the three claws 4 , the grip sleeve 10 is gripped by one hand in order to rotate the rotary nut 3 , the rotary sleeve 2 is gripped and rotated by the other hand ( in case of the above - described electric power rotary tool where the spindle is locked , it is unnecessary to grip the grip sleeve 10 ), and the claws 4 are moved forwardly to be closed to grip the tool . at this time , the fastening reactive force in the thrust direction in accordance with the fastening of the tool is applied to the rotary nut 3 . the rotary nut 3 is finely moved rearwardly by an amount of backlash of the screw portions 4 a and 3 a by a lead angle of the screw portions 4 a and 3 a . a radial component of the fastening reactive force in the thrust direction is applied to the balls which are orbited while rotating about their own axes by the rotation of the rotary nut 3 . the balls are engaged within the small holes of the annular member 8 from a position shown in fig2 to a position shown in fig3 . the worker may readily recognize , by a sound and his sense , whether or not the balls are engaged within the small holes because the balls are received into and released away from the small holes when he rotates the rotary sleeve 2 . when the power rotary driver is operated under this condition and a predetermined work is performed by the tool , even if , for example , vibrations and shocks are transmitted from the tool , since the balls are engaged within the small holes , the resistance occurs from the edges of the small holes upon the release away from the small holes . the orbital rotation of the balls is suppressed corresponding to this resistance . accordingly , the rotary sleeve 2 and the rotary nut 3 are prevented from being loosened . incidentally , when the rotary nut 3 is rotated in the direction that it is to be loosened , the radial component ( pressure force ) is eliminated . in the first embodiment , since the recess portions or the like are not provided on the front surface 5 a of the receiving portion 5 or the back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 which are the ball rolling surfaces , it is possible to perform the smooth rotation of the rotary sleeve 2 . accordingly , it is possible to obtain a large tool fastening force . it is possible to maintain the good fastening force , i . e ., the smooth rotation of the rotary sleeve 2 which is inevitable for the chuck device having the structure for gripping the tool only with the manual operation without any tool . also , in the case of the first embodiment , since the pressure force for engaging the balls with the small holes is not the entire fastening reactive force in the thrust direction but a part of the fastening reactive force , i . e ., the radial component , the pressure force is weak corresponding to this . even if the balls are located at the ridge line positions of the small holes , there is a little fear that the ridge lines would be damaged . also , in the first embodiment , by suitably selecting the slant angle of the back surface 3 a of the rotary nut 3 , it is possible to change the pressure force to the small holes for the balls . it is therefore possible to readily obtain the pressure force for the use . also , since the receiving portion 5 has an elasticity , the balls that have been fitted in the small holes are kept under that condition by the elastic force . accordingly , it is possible to obtain a good loosening prevention effect . of course , if the elasticity of the receiving portion 5 is too weak , the loosening prevention effect is suppressed , the elasticity of the receiving portion 5 should be set at a suitable elasticity . furthermore , when the balls that are present within the small holes ride over the small holes by their orbital rotation , the balls are moved inwardly ( downwardly in fig1 ). in this case , if the receiving portion 5 is not a member having the elasticity , the inward movement of the balls is prevented . however , in this embodiment , since the receiving member 5 is the elastic member , such a problem may be solved . incidentally , in the first embodiment , the small holes are formed in the annular member 8 . however , recess portions or corrugated roughened surfaces may be used for the small holes . in this case , it is possible to directly provide the recess portions or the corrugated roughened surface on the inner surface of the rotary sleeve 2 without providing the annular member 8 . if the rotary sleeve 2 is made of synthetic resin , it is possible to utilize its elasticity . recess grooves 14 are provided in the inner surface of the annular member 8 arranged inside of the rotary sleeve 2 . a plurality of recess grooves 14 are provided at a predetermined interval in the radial direction extending in the thrust direction of the rotary nut 3 . fig5 shows the state before fastening and fig6 shows the state upon the fastening . in the second embodiment , if an annular member is provided inside of the grip sleeve 10 on the rear side of the annular sleeve 8 , with a plurality of projections which are engageable with the recess grooves 14 of the annular member 8 and which are extended in the thrust direction and juxtaposed at a predetermined interval in the radial direction being provided at the front of the annular member , and the loosening of the rotary nut 3 is prevented by the engagement with a projection and the corresponding recess groove 14 ( this engagement of course allows the fastening rotation of the rotary nut 3 ), another fastening loosing function is performed in addition to the loosening preventing function by the above - described movement controlling surfaces ( small holes or the like ). thus , the loosening of the rotary nut 3 may be prevented more positively corresponding to this . incidentally , in case of the structure where the rotary sleeve 2 extends rearwardly and the grip sleeve 10 is not present , the above - described annular member is provided in the rotation prevention condition together with the body 1 within the rotary sleeve 2 . various details of the invention may be changed without departing from its spirit nor its scope . furthermore , the foregoing description of the embodiments according to the present invention is provided for the purpose of illustration only , and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . | 8 |
referring to the exploded view of fig1 the socket of the present invention includes bottom plate means comprising base plate 10 and bottom plate 30 , end plate 50 , cam or middle plate 100 and top plate 140 . the square metal base plate 10 contains a matrix of apertures 20 ; typically a 10 × 10 square matrix . additional apertures 25 are located in base plate 10 for aligning the additional plates above and adjacent to base plate 10 . alignment holes 25 are also used to receive screws to join together tightly the plates to form the socket . square metal bottom plate 30 has a flat bottom face and an upper face composed of two split level rectangular surfaces 34 , 36 which are split by a front facing surface 38 . in the large elevated surface 34 a matrix of apertures 40 is located which correspond to apertures 20 of base plate 10 . additional apertures 45 are located in bottom plate 30 which correspond with apertures 25 in base plate 10 . end plate 50 is substantially u - shaped and is positioned on the smaller rectangular upper surface 36 of bottom plate 30 . the longer , central section 54 of the end plate 50 , is a rectangular solid , with a midchannel 60 extending through section 54 from the front surface to the rear surface . two arms 56 a , b of end plate 50 abut surface 38 and have top surfaces slightly elevated above surface 34 of bottom plate 30 . end plate 50 contains several apertures 65 which correspond with certain of apertures 45 , 25 in the bottom plate 30 and the base plate 10 , respectively . between the arms 56 a , b of end plate 50 is positioned a cam pusher 70 which rests upon the surface 36 of bottom plate 30 . cam pusher 70 is composed of plastic and is essentially an l - shaped rectangular solid . there are two principal top surfaces 74 , 76 , one surface 76 being more elevated than the other surface 74 . the more elevated surface 76 has a cross channel 80 which aligns with the center of channel 60 in end plate 50 . three u - shaped co - linear sections 78 a , b , c extend from the lower surface 74 and form a channel for receiving a lever 90 , which is parallel with the longitudinal direction of the cam pusher 70 . lever 90 has two cam actuating surfaces 96 positioned between the three elevated sections 78 . when rotated by a lever handle 92 , cam plate 100 is actuated . cam plate 100 is composed of plastic or electrical insulating material similar to cam pusher 70 and slidably rests on surface 34 of middle plate 30 . the plate includes square section 112 which contains a matrix of square apertures 110 , typically a 10 × 10 square matrix , which corresponds to apertures 20 and 40 , and a narrow section 114 which is juxtaposed opposite cam pusher 70 . two protuberances 116 are juxtaposed opposite cam actuating surfaces 96 of lever 90 . cam friction wear plates 120 , each consisting of a right - angled piece of metal , are positioned on protuberances 116 . when lever handle 92 is fully lowered , cam actuating surfaces 96 touch inserts 120 and cause sliding motion of cam plate 100 . top plate 140 is composed of metal with a flat upper face containing a matrix of apertures 150 . two thicker sections on the bottom surface of top plate 140 ( not shown ) bridge cam plate 100 and rest directly on bottom plate 30 to space top plate 140 above and out of contact with cam plate 100 . apertures 155 in the top plate 140 align with corresponding apertures 65 , 45 , and 25 to juxtapose matrix 150 opposite matrix 110 . alignment holes 25 , 45 , 65 , 155 , secure the various parts together , such that only lever 90 and cam plate 100 can move with respect to top plate 140 . rectangular slot 160 directly above channel 60 and channel 80 allows lever handle 92 to be raised above top plate 140 . fig2 a is a cross - sectional view of a typical set of apertures . top plate 140 , cam plate 100 , bottom plate 30 , and base plate 10 when joined together align the respective matrices of aperatures 150 , 110 , 40 , 20 to form a clear path through all of the plates . the apertures in the matrices in top plate 140 , bottom plate 30 , and base plate 10 are typically circular . a cylindrical plastic insulator sleeve 170 is fitted inside each aperture in matrix 150 in top plate 140 and two cylindrical plastic insulator sleeves 172 , 174 are fitted inside each aperture in matrix 40 in bottom plate 30 . connector jack 181 includes a copper sleeve 178 which has two prongs 180 affixed to it at one end and extending from the other end the conducting electrical leads 184 . sleeve 178 is force fitted into sleeve 174 . prongs 180 extend upward through the apertures 110 in cam plate 100 and the apertures 150 in top plate 140 . in the &# 34 ; open &# 34 ; position , there is sufficient space between prongs 180 for insertion of a pin lead 182 of a semiconductor device without contacting either prong . thus , frictionless insertion of a multiple lead device into jacks 181 may be effected . when the cam lever handle 92 is lowered , cam plate 100 will slide to the left into the &# 34 ; closed &# 34 ; position as depicted in fig2 b . this forces prongs 180 to close with respect to each other , and to contact pin lead 182 . thus , electrical contact is made between each pin lead 182 of a multiple lead device and each connector jack 181 . as shown in fig2 a , affixed to and extending from each aperture within matrix 20 of base plate 10 is a cylindrical conducting tube 190 . fig3 shows the bottom side of base plate 10 and a portion of tubes 190 . the bottom plate means is separated , in the preferred embodiment , into bottom plate 30 and base plate 10 to allow tubes 190 to be affixed more conveniently . as shown in fig2 a , electrical leads 184 for each jack 181 pass through tubes 190 . a plastic insulating tube 198 is located inside each conducting tube 190 . this insulates the electrical leads 184 from the conductor tube 190 , and physically positions the conductor pair 184 in the center of tube 190 in order to optimize the transmission line characteristics thereof . tubes 190 are arranged in a configuration which extends electrical leads 184 into a predetermined number of planes which are parallel with the surface of base plate 10 . in the preferred embodiment four parallel planes are chosen which are designated in fig4 by the letters a , b , c , and d . there are thus four planes to which the tubes 190 extend and in which they terminate . fig5 shows the correlation between the apertures in matrix 20 of the base plate 10 and planes a , b , c , d to which their respective tubes 190 extend . to each of the apertures designated by the letter a is affixed a tube 190 which extends to plane a . similarly , to those apertures designated by the letters b , c , d , are affixed tubes 190 which extend to respective planes b , c , d . by this means , a high density concentration of electrical leads 184 passing through apertures in matrix 20 in the base plate 10 is distributed in a three - dimensional , multi - planar distribution in the half space defined by base plate 10 . in planes a , b , c , d circuit boards 195 are affixed to coaxial conductors formed by the tubes 190 and electrical leads 184 . the socket of the present invention is constructed principally of metal , and so each individual connector jack is electrically shielded from electromagnetic radiation emanating from adjacent connector jacks . the only region where coupling may take place is in that space occupied by the cam plate 100 . the thickness of cam plate 100 is minimized to diminish the possibility of &# 34 ; cross - talk &# 34 ; between the various connector jacks 181 . the effective shielding of each jack 181 allows for a high density arrangement of connector jacks 181 without a loss in resolution of electrical signal from the connections . as each electrical lead 184 emerges from the shielded region which is provided by the metallic plates , it passes through tubes 190 whose metallic conductance shields the electrical leads 184 from &# 34 ; cross - talk &# 34 ; with other leads 184 and from external radiation . the flaring or diverging of the coaxial conductor 184 , 190 into multiple planes to connect with circuit boards 195 , further reduces the possibility of significant interference from electromagnetic radiation from adjacent electrical leads 184 . also the multi - planar termination of the coaxial conductors minimizes their length which reduces electrical interference either by crosscoupling or from an external source of radiation , and minimizes transit time of signals on electrical leads 184 . the method for constructing the socket allows for a plurality of conducting leads to pass through the socket by inserting insulating sleeves into the apertures in the matrices of the conducting top plate and the conducting bottom plate means , through which the conducting leads pass . the conducting leads are electrically connected to a plurality of circuit boards containing testing circuitry . to minimize the required length of these leads , and to shield them from cross - talk and external radiation , they pass through a flared array of conducting tubes to connect with a multi - planar distribution of the circuit boards . as shown in fig6 the method for constructing the flared array of conducting tubes including bending a plurality of conducting tubes into predetermined forms , extracting the pre - existing insulation therein which has provided structural support , aligning one such tube in each of the apertures in the matrix in the base plate , and firmly affixing these tubes to the base plate to form a flared array in the half - space defined by the base plate and opposite the socket , so that the tubes terminate in a predetermined number of planes which are parallel with the base plate . insulating sleeves are inserted through the conducting tubes and into the base plate . these sleeves insulate the conducting leads from the conducting tubes , and center these leads in the tubes , to optimize the high impedance transmission line characteristics of the tubes and leads . the method further includes providing a connector jack with a conducting lead of sufficient length to extend through both the socket and the conducting tubes , and threading one such conducting lead through each set of insulated apertures in the matrices in the socket plates and through the insulated conducting tubes . the terminations of the tubes are attached to circuit boards to which the jacks can be electrically connected by means of the conducting leads . thus the present invention has provided an improved zero insertion force socket into which a semiconductor device having a high density array of pin leads may be inserted . each of said pins is protected and shielded from &# 34 ; cross - talk &# 34 ; and other electromagnetic radiation interference from adjacent pins . electrical connection between the pins and testing circuitry is shielded from &# 34 ; cross - talk &# 34 ; and other electromagnetic radiation interference . the testing circuitry is physically distributed in a multi - planar configuration to separate physically individual electrical connections , and to minimize the length of such connections by providing a high density arrangement of the testing circuitry . | 6 |
embodiment 1 of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows the cross - sectional structure of a ferroelectric capacitor , that is , a semiconductor device according to embodiment 1 . as shown in fig1 , on a hydrogen barrier film 14 composed of , for example , a first barrier layer 11 of titanium aluminum nitride ( tialn ) with a thickness of 100 nm , a second barrier layer 12 of iridium ( ir ) with a thickness of 50 nm and a third barrier layer 13 of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm formed in this order in the upward direction , a capacitor 19 in a three - dimensional shape , namely , having a concave cross - section with bends in bottom and upper portions thereof , is formed . the hydrogen barrier film 14 is buried in an underlying dielectric film 15 made of silicon oxide ( sio 2 ) or including silicon oxide as a principal component , and an opening 15 a with a diameter of , for example , 300 nm is formed in the underlying dielectric film 15 for exposing the third barrier layer 13 . the capacitor 19 includes a lower electrode 16 made of multilayered films of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm and platinum ( pt ) with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , a capacitor dielectric film 17 of a ferroelectric such as strontium bismuth tantalate ( srbi 2 ta 2 o 9 ; hereinafter referred to as the sbt ) with a thickness of approximately 60 nm and an upper electrode 18 of platinum with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , which are successively deposited in this order in the upward direction so as to cover the periphery , bottom and inner wall of the opening 15 a . the capacitor dielectric film 17 is deposited by cvd , the lower electrode 16 is deposited by sputtering or the cvd , and the upper electrode 18 is deposited by the cvd . it is noted that a contact plug for electrically connecting a semiconductor substrate not shown to the lower electrode 16 of the capacitor 19 may be provided below the hydrogen barrier film 14 . now , the reason why the upper electrode 18 of platinum is deposited by the cvd in embodiment i will be described . as described above , the present inventor has found that the upper electrode is broken in the conventional fabrication method because platinum deposited by the sputtering has a relatively large thermal shrinkage factor . fig2 shows the relationships between a deposition temperature and a thermal shrinkage factor of platinum obtained in the respective deposition methods . at this point , it is assumed that the platinum is annealed after the deposition at a temperature of 775 ° c . in an oxygen atmosphere for 60 seconds . in a conventional capacitor , the upper electrode 107 is deposited by the sputtering performed at a temperature of approximately 200 ° c . in this case , it is understood from fig2 that the platinum shrinks by approximately 15 % through the annealing . on the other hand , in the case where the upper electrode 107 is deposited by the cvd performed at a temperature of approximately 200 ° c ., the platinum shrinks by approximately 10 %, which is lower by 5 % than that attained by the sputtering . furthermore , in the case where the deposition temperature of the platinum film is increased in employing the cvd , the thermal shrinkage factor is approximately 7 % or less when the deposition temperature is 300 ° c . or more , and it is confirmed that the upper electrode 18 is not broken in this case . in other words , when the thermal shrinkage factor of the upper electrode 18 is lower than 10 %, the upper electrode 18 can be prevented from being broken . this phenomenon seems to occur because the platinum film deposited by the cvd attains a dense film quality and the thermal shrinkage minimally occurs in the platinum film with a dense film quality . in embodiment 1 , it is confirmed that the effect of the invention can be attained no matter whether the lower electrode 16 of platinum or the like is deposited by the sputtering or the cvd . in the case where the lower electrode 16 is made of platinum or the like deposited by the sputtering , it is apprehended that the lower electrode 16 is broken in the same manner as the upper electrode 18 . however , the lower electrode 16 is not broken because it is substantially annealed through the annealing performed for depositing the capacitor dielectric film 17 and is physically pressed by the capacitor dielectric film 17 . embodiment 2 of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig3 shows the cross - sectional stricture of a ferroelectric capacitor , that is , a semiconductor device of embodiment 2 . as shown in fig3 , on a hydrogen barrier film 24 composed of , for example , a first barrier layer 21 of titanium aluminum nitride ( tialn ) with a thickness of 100 nm , a second barrier layer 22 of iridium ( ir ) with a thickness of 50 nm and a third barrier layer 23 of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm deposited in this order in the upward direction , a capacitor 29 in a three - dimensional shape , namely , having a concave cross - section with bends in bottom and upper portions thereof , is formed . the hydrogen barrier film 24 is buried in an underlying dielectric film 25 made of silicon oxide ( sio 2 ) or including silicon oxide as a principal component , and an opening 25 a with a diameter of , for example , 300 nm is formed in the underlying dielectric film 25 for exposing the third barrier layer 23 . the capacitor 29 includes a lower electrode 26 made of multilayered films of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm and platinum ( pt ) with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , a capacitor dielectric film 27 of a ferroelectric such as strontium bismuth tantalate ( sbt ) with a thickness of approximately 60 nm , and an upper electrode 28 of platinum with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , which are successively deposited in this order in the upward direction so as to cover the periphery , bottom and inner wall of the opening 25 a . as a characteristic of embodiment 2 , the capacitor dielectric film 27 is crystallized through two annealing processes of preliminary annealing and regular annealing . now , a method for fabricating the ferroelectric capacitor having the aforementioned structure will be described with reference to a fabrication flowchart of fig4 . first , a first barrier layer 21 of tialn , a second barrier layer 22 of ir and a third barrier layer 23 of iro 2 are successively deposited by , for example , the cvd in an upper portion of a semiconductor substrate ( not shown ), and these barrier layers are patterned through dry etching using a gas including chlorine ( cl 2 ), so as to form a hydrogen barrier film 24 composed of the first barrier layer 21 , the second barrier layer 22 and the third barrier layer 23 . subsequently , an underlying dielectric film 25 is deposited by plasma cvd so as to cover the hydrogen barrier film 24 , and an opening 25 a for exposing the third barrier layer 23 is formed in the underlying dielectric film 25 through lithography and dry etching using an etching gas including fluorocarbon . next , in step st 11 of fig4 , a lower electrode 26 made of multilayered films of iro 2 and pt is deposited by the sputtering , and in step st 12 , a portion of the lower electrode 26 deposited outside the periphery of the opening 25 a is removed by patterning through the lithography and the dry etching . then , in step st 13 , a capacitor dielectric film 27 of sbt is deposited by the cvd . next , in step st 14 , an upper electrode 28 of platinum is deposited on the capacitor dielectric film 27 by the sputtering , and thereafter , in step st 15 , the deposited upper electrode 28 and capacitor dielectric film 27 are patterned through the lithography and the dry etching , resulting in obtaining a capacitor 29 . at this point , the etching gas used for the upper electrode 28 is a gas including chlorine ( cl 2 ) and the etching gas used for the capacitor dielectric film 27 is a gas including chlorine and fluorine : then , in step st 16 , the capacitor 29 is subjected to preliminary annealing ( first annealing ) at a temperature of approximately 500 ° c . in an oxygen atmosphere for 60 seconds , so as to preliminarily crystallize the sbt included in the capacitor dielectric film 27 . subsequently , in step st 17 , the capacitor 29 is subjected to regular annealing ( second annealing ) at a temperature of approximately 775 ° c . in an oxygen atmosphere for 60 seconds , so as to completely crystallize the sbt . now , the reason why the preliminary crystallization annealing of step st 16 , that is , the characteristic of this embodiment , is performed will be described . fig5 shows the relationship between an annealing temperature and a thermal shrinkage factor obtained when platinum is deposited by the sputtering . as is understood from fig5 , platinum generally shrinks by approximately 15 % through annealing at a temperature of 775 ° c ., but when annealing at a temperature of , for example , 500 ° c . is performed for preliminary crystallization , platinum shrinks by merely approximately 7 % through the preliminary crystallization . accordingly , when the regular crystallization annealing at a temperature of 775 ° c . is performed after the preliminary crystallization , it is presumed that the platinum shrinks by the remaining approximately 8 %. as described above , when platinum shrinks by approximately 15 % at a time , the upper electrode 28 is broken ( rent ). however , when the annealing is once performed at a temperature of approximately 650 ° c . or less as the preliminary crystallization annealing and the regular crystallization annealing is performed thereafter at a general temperature of 775 ° c . as in embodiment 2 , the thermal shrinkage caused in the upper electrode 28 at a time can be suppressed to 10 % or less , and therefore , the upper electrode 28 is not broken . as is understood from fig5 , when the preliminary annealing temperature is set to approximately 400 ° c . or less , platinum shrinks merely by less than 5 % through the preliminary annealing , and therefore , it shrinks by more than 10 % in the crystallization annealing subsequently performed at a temperature of 775 ° c . it is presumed that the upper electrode 28 is broken in this case . therefore , the temperature range to be employed in the preliminary crystallization annealing is preferably not less than 400 ° c . and not more than 650 ° c . and more preferably not less than 500 ° c . and not more than 550 ° c . furthermore , the preliminary crystallization annealing may be performed over a plurality of times . also , although the platinum deposited by the sputtering is used as the upper electrode 28 in embodiment 2 , when the upper electrode 28 is deposited by the cvd as in embodiment 1 , the effect that the film quality of the platinum film is made dense can be additionally attained . thus , the effect of embodiment 2 can be further definitely exhibited . embodiment 3 of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig6 shows the cross - sectional structure of a ferroelectric capacitor , that is , a semiconductor device of embodiment 3 . as shown in fig6 , on a hydrogen barrier film 34 composed of , for example , a first barrier layer 31 of titanium aluminum nitride ( tialn ) with a thickness of 100 nm , a second barrier layer 32 of iridium ( ir ) with a thickness of 50 nm and a third barrier layer 33 of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm deposited in this order in the upward direction , a capacitor 39 in a three - dimensional shape , namely , having a concave cross - section with bends in bottom and upper portions thereof , is formed . the hydrogen barrier film 34 is buried in an underlying dielectric film 35 made of silicon oxide ( sio 2 ) or including silicon oxide as a principal component , and an opening 35 a with a diameter of , for example , 300 nm is formed in the underlying dielectric film 35 for exposing the third barrier layer 33 . the capacitor 39 includes a lower electrode 36 made of multilayered films of iridium oxide ( iro 2 ) with a thickness of 100 nm and platinum ( pt ) with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , a capacitor dielectric film 37 of a ferroelectric such as strontium bismuth tantalate ( sbt ) with a thickness of approximately 60 nm , and an upper electrode 38 of platinum with a thickness of 50 nm through 100 nm and preferably of 50 nm , which are successively deposited in this order in the upward direction so as to cover the periphery , bottom and inner wall of the opening 35 a . as a characteristic of embodiment 3 , the capacitor dielectric film 37 is subjected to crystallization annealing after forming a protecting dielectric film 40 of , for example , silicon oxide ( sio 2 ) with a thickness of approximately 100 nm on the upper electrode 38 . now , a method for fabricating the ferroelectric capacitor having the aforementioned structure will be described with reference to a fabrication flowchart of fig7 . first , a first barrier layer 31 of tialn , a second barrier layer 32 of ir and a third barrier layer 33 of iro 2 are successively deposited by , for example , the cvd in an upper portion of a semiconductor substrate ( not shown ), and these barrier layers are patterned through the dry etching using a gas including chlorine ( cl 2 ), so as to form a hydrogen barrier film 34 composed of the first barrier layer 31 , the second barrier layer 32 and the third barrier layer 33 . subsequently , an underlying dielectric film 35 is deposited by the plasma cvd so as to cover the hydrogen barrier film 34 , and an opening 35 a for exposing the third barrier layer 33 is formed in the underlying dielectric film 35 through the lithography and the dry etching using an etching gas including fluorocarbon . next , in step st 21 of fig7 , a lower electrode 36 made of multilayered films of iro 2 and pt is deposited by the sputtering , and in step st 22 , a portion of the lower electrode 36 deposited outside the periphery of the opening 35 a is removed by the patterning through the lithography and the dry etching . then , in step st 23 , a capacitor dielectric film 37 of sbt is deposited by the cvd . next , in step st 24 , an upper electrode 38 of platinum is deposited on the capacitor dielectric film 37 by the sputtering , and thereafter , in step st 25 , the deposited upper electrode 38 and capacitor dielectric film 37 are patterned through the lithography and the dry etching , resulting in obtaining a capacitor 39 . at this point , the etching gas used for the upper electrode 38 is a gas including chlorine ( cl 2 ) and the etching gas used for the capacitor dielectric film 37 is a gas including chlorine and fluorine . subsequently , in step st 26 , a protecting dielectric film 40 of , for example , silicon oxide with a thickness of approximately 100 nm is deposited by the cvd over the underlying dielectric film 35 including the upper electrode 38 . at this point , the deposition temperature is approximately 550 ° c . then , in step st 27 , the capacitor 39 is subjected to annealing at a temperature of approximately 775 ° c . in an oxygen atmosphere for 60 seconds , so as to crystallize the sbt included in the capacitor dielectric film 37 . now , the reason why the upper electrode 38 is covered with the protecting dielectric film 40 before the crystallization annealing in embodiment 3 will be described . first , since the protecting dielectric film 40 is deposited at a temperature of approximately 550 ° c ., the upper electrode 38 is substantially subjected to preliminary crystallization annealing . when the preliminary crystallization annealing is performed , the upper electrode 38 can be prevented from being broken ( rent ) as in embodiment 2 . secondly , when the platinum film of the upper electrode 38 is covered with the protecting dielectric film 40 , the thermal shrinkage of the platinum film can be physically suppressed . owing to these two effects , the upper electrode 38 can be more effectively prevented from being broken than in embodiment 2 . although the platinum deposited by the sputtering is used as the upper electrode 38 in embodiment 3 , when the upper electrode 38 is deposited by the cvd as in embodiment 1 , the effect that the film quality of the platinum film is made dense can be additionally attained . thus , the effect of embodiment 3 can be further definitely exhibited . furthermore , although the protecting dielectric film 40 used for protecting the upper electrode 38 is made of silicon oxide in embodiment 3 , the material of the protecting dielectric film 40 is not limited to silicon oxide but the same effect can be attained by using silicon oxinitride or silicon nitride . in each of embodiments 1 through 3 , the cross - sectional structure of the capacitor and the like is what is called a concave type structure in which a capacitor and the like are formed in the concave of an underlying dielectric film or the like . however , similar effects can be attained also when the structure is what is called a column type structure in which a columnar lower electrode is formed on a flat underlying dielectric film and a capacitor dielectric film of a ferroelectric and an upper electrode are formed on the side and upper faces of the lower electrode . although the ferroelectric used in the capacitor dielectric film is sbt , namely , srbi 2 ta 2 o 9 , in each embodiment , the sbt may be replaced with strontium bismuth tantalate niobate ( srbi 2 ( ta x nb 1 - x ) 2 o 9 ), lead zirconate titanate ( pb ( zr x ti 1 - x ) o 3 ), barium strontium titanate (( ba x sr 1 - x ) tio 3 ) or bismuth lanthanum titanate (( bi x la 1 - x ) 4 ti 3 o 12 ) ( in all of which 0 ≦ x ≦ 1 ). furthermore , the material of the capacitor dielectric film may be a metal oxide and hence is not limited to a ferroelectric but may be a high dielectric constant material such as tantalum pentoxide ( ta 2 o 5 ). moreover , although the capacitor dielectric film is deposited by the cvd in each embodiment , the deposition method is not limited to the cvd as far as the capacitor dielectric film can be deposited at high coverage even on a portion with a level difference . additionally , although platinum is used for the lower electrode and the upper electrode in each embodiment , the platinum may be replaced with another platinum group element , such as ruthenium ( ru ), rhodium ( rh ), palladium ( pd ), osmium ( os ) or iridium ( ir ). each of the lower electrode and the upper electrode preferably has a thickness of approximately 50 nm through 100 nm . as described so far , the semiconductor device and the method for fabricating the same of this invention exhibit the effect to prevent break ( rent ) of an upper electrode otherwise caused in deposition of a ferroelectric capacitor in a three - dimensional shape , and hence are useful for fabricating a semiconductor device including a ferroelectric capacitor in a three - dimensional shape . | 7 |
referring now to fig1 , an exemplary embodiment of a coder / decoder - enabled television is generally depicted as 10 . the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 includes a display device 12 , a media input 14 , a processor 16 , and a communications port 18 . the display device 12 can include various types of display devices including , but not limited to , a cathode - ray tube ( crt ) display , a liquid crystal display ( lcd ), a plasma display , an electroluminescent ( el ) display , or the like . the display device 12 is in electrical communication with the processor 16 , which processes media signals received from the media input 14 and responsively transmits display signals to the display device 12 . the media input 14 can include various types of inputs including , but not limited to , s - video cable , coaxial cable , component video cable , hdmi video cable , dvi video cable , and the like . the processor 16 is also in electrical communication with the communications port 18 . in exemplary embodiments , the processor 16 is designed to handle a variety of media signals and formats including , but not limited to those specified by the advanced television systems committee ( atsc ) and the national television systems committee ( ntsc ). furthermore , the processor 16 is designed to process various types of media signals including , but not limited to , 480 i , 480 p , 720 p , 1080 i , and 1080 p signal types . in addition to processing the media signals and transmitting the display signals , the processor 16 also generates and transmits a monitoring signal to the communications port 18 . the monitoring signal is a compressed and optionally encoded version of the display signal that is transmitted to the communications port 18 . in exemplary embodiments , the communications port 18 may be connected to a variety of communications networks including , but not limited to , a plain old telephone service ( pots ), a broadband internet connection through a cable modem or dsl line , a local area network ( lan ), or a wireless communications network . continuing now with reference to fig2 , an exemplary embodiment of a remote monitoring system 20 including a coder / decoder - enabled television 10 is depicted . the remote monitoring system 20 also includes a communications network 22 in electrical communication with the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 and a remote device 24 . the remote device 24 can be any remote communications device that has a display and may include , but is not limited to , a cellular phone , a laptop , a pda , a blackberry ™, or the like . in exemplary embodiments , the remote device 24 establishes a connection to the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 over the communications network 22 and receives the monitoring signals transmitted by the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . in one embodiment , the user of the remote device 24 may dial a telephone number of the phone line that the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 is connected to thereby establishing a communications session between the remote device 24 and the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . in other embodiments , the coder / decoder - television 10 may be connected to a broadband network and may have an associated ip address that the remote device 24 may contact to establish the connection between the remote device 24 and the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . the remote device 24 decodes and / or decompresses the monitoring signals and displays , on the remote device 24 , what is currently being displayed on the display device 12 of the coder / decoder enabled television 10 . the processor 16 may use various codecs depending upon the type of communications network 22 the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 and the remote device 24 are connected to . as used herein a codec is a technology for compressing and decompressing images and sound that defines the video settings such as the frame rate and size . for example , the processor 16 may correlate the compression ratio of the monitoring signal with the available bandwidth of the communications network 22 ( e . g ., a higher bandwidth communications network would require less compression of the media signal ). in exemplary embodiments , the processor 16 may employ various codecs that are well known including , but not limited to , . asf , . avi , . mpeg , . qt , . mov , and . ra . in an exemplary embodiment , the communications port 18 is a modem connected to the communications network 22 , a pots network , and the remote device 24 is a cellular telephone . the cellular telephone is used to establish a secure connection to the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 through the modem . in exemplary embodiments , an authentication process may be used by the modem to restrict access to the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . various authentication methods may be used including , but not limited to , a user - supplied password , restricting access to specific incoming telephone numbers verified through a caller identification system ( cid ), and the like . in exemplary embodiments , the remote monitoring system 20 allows a user to monitor what is being displayed on the display device 12 of the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 regardless of the source of the media that is being displayed . for example , the source of the media can include , but is not limited to , a dvd player , a vhs player , a cable box , a satellite receiver , a digital video recorder , or the like . since the processor 16 generates and transmits both the display signals and the monitoring signals , the source of the media signals received by the processor does not affect the operation of the remote monitoring system 20 . in exemplary embodiments , the remote device 24 can be used to control the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . the remote device 24 may be used to selectively disable the display device 12 , change the channel of the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 , turn on or off the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 , lock a specific channel in the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 , send text messages to the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 , or other control functions . in yet further exemplary embodiments , the remote device 24 may include a camera and may be capable of transmitting a picture to the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 , which in turn can display the picture on the display device 12 . using these functions a user can not only monitor the media being displayed on the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 but also control the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 . for example , a parent could check to see what their children are watching and if they do not approve they can change the channel or turn off the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 for a specific period of time when , then for the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 to be turned on a security code will be required . in one embodiment , the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 may include a safety interlock that prevents the use of the coder / decoder - enabled television 10 unless the communications port 18 is connected to a communications network 22 . the capabilities of the present invention can be implemented in software , firmware , hardware or some combination thereof . as one example , one or more aspects of the present invention can be included in an article of manufacture ( e . g ., one or more computer program products ) having , for instance , computer usable media . the media has embodied therein , for instance , computer readable program code means for providing and facilitating the capabilities of the present invention . the article of manufacture can be included as a part of a computer system or sold separately . additionally , at least one program storage device readable by a machine , tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform the capabilities of the present invention can be provided . while the preferred embodiment to the invention has been described , it will be understood that those skilled in the art , both now and in the future , may make various improvements and enhancements which fall within the scope of the claims which follow . these claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for the invention first described . | 7 |
as depicted in fig1 and fig2 , the vast majority of envelopes or packages used in the us have small gaps or openings on the top corners where edges come together that can be probed without unsealing the subject . opening 101 still exists even when flap 106 on envelope 102 or package 105 is closed and sealed . in fig2 , an adhesive area 103 does not extend all the way out to the corner edge of the envelope . this creates the gap above , which exists to vent air in and out when being handled . without it , the envelope will not flatten as trapped air creates ballooning , which will then cause problems as it travels through the processing plants . the small opening is well concealed and covered by the flap . this cover usually keeps possible hazardous and contraband particles 107 trapped inside the envelope . as shown in fig3 , envelope 102 travels by conveyer belt mechanism 111 or gloved human hands to an airtight container 109 , which is a box in this embodiment . once inside the airtight box , envelope 102 is secured by holding clamps 112 on an outer edge of the envelope sides . in this embodiment , top and bottom clamps are utilized . the envelope is locked in the box by closing airtight door 110 . once envelope 102 has been secured by the operations just described , move side compressor clamps 108 with optical or pressure sensors ( not shown ) close against the side walls of the envelope . such that , when the envelope is inflated , the ballooning envelope sidewalls push back the side clamps . fig3 also illustrates the probe attached to control box 115 at rest prior to exploring the gap . by using optical or mechanical sensors , mechanically slide small probe 114 under the envelope flap by following arrow movements 116 . this operation is described in further detail below . fig4 shows the exposed front right half of the airtight box from fig3 in detail with items inside mechanical control and sensor box 115 with attached the probe . the control box contains mechanical devices with sensors ( not shown ) to guide probe 114 underneath envelope flap 106 . the exact mechanical and sensor devices to guide the probe into the gap are not included as part of the invention . the control box contains two air hoses inside . first hose 118 injects the air or gas to the probe tip and inflates 122 the envelope during the insertion process show in movement 116 . second hose 119 will be then used later for collecting a sample by vacuuming the air and particles inside the envelope after ballooning , as shown in fig8 and 8a . fig4 a shows a detailed perspective view of fig4 with one embodiment of the probe and the to control box movement . the probe is attached to control box 115 , which is attached to guiding rod 123 . the control box apparatus is lowered and rested along guide rod 123 on top of the envelope and insert it under the flap by mechanically traveling along the side of the envelope . as the probe slides up and approaches the flap , the probe expels a constant air stream from its tip , to push the envelope wall and the flap further apart to enlarge the gap . fig5 is a closer look at variants of a probe . the probe shape can be varied like a straight tip 114 a , a narrowed tip 114 b , a bent tip 114 c , or a slanted tip 114 d . however , regardless of the exact shape or material , the probe is thin , dull , pointed , and hollow device that can easily be slipped in the gap . materials of the probe can be metal , ceramic , plastic , or the like . the outer shape of the probe may resemble the end of a letter opener knife , but a hollowed middle channel 114 e extends from the tip to the end , which enables the air or gas movement back and forth from control box 115 . fig6 shows an optional embodiment of the airtight box in fig3 inverted to show possible rotation of the whole box apparatus in fig3 . the whole airtight box may be mechanically rotated 126 over on axis 125 by turning on a motor ( not shown ) attached to the axis . as the box turns , gravity and centrifugal force will help to loosen the particles . additionally , other motions like shaking or vibrating could achieve similar results . perform this step on the probed and ballooned envelope . if the envelope fails to balloon by flowing air from the probe tip , cut a small opening with a pair of scissors 130 or pokes a hole with a syringe 131 to create an opening that can be used to introduce air or gas inside the envelope , as seen in fig7 . as in fig8 a , determine if the gas has successfully penetrated the interior of the envelope and expanded envelope sidewalls 112 by checking the pressure exerted against the side clamp 108 . afterward , force the envelope to deflate to induce the air / gas out of the envelope carrying the possible hazardous material by squeezing envelope - walls together 117 on both sides with the side clamps . turning to fig8 , collect the airborne biochemical hazard particles sample 135 via probe channel 114 e using vacuum hose 119 and hole 141 in the box . send the sample to detection device 134 , which can be a laser analyzer , a photometer , an optical particle counter ( opc ), a condensation particle counter ( cpc ), an optoelectronic sensor , or other particle , optical , biological , or chemical analysis method . afterward , display unit 137 shows analyzed and stored results . the unit can be a combination of computer or electronic devices . the exact technical specification of the unit is not part of the invention . if certain selection and sensitivity criteria is reached in any one or more of criteria , like particle count , particle mass , particle density , particle concentration , chemical reaction , generic response , or the like , then an alarm alerts the operator by sound , flashing screen , e - mail , and / or other communication methods . in an alternative embodiment as shown in fig9 , instead of using the probe , a socket or lips device 138 could gently fit against the envelope corner . blow the air or gas 139 into the envelope via the socket device &# 39 ; s hollow channel 140 . as in the above procedures , check the inflation as in fig9 a and then deflate the envelope by the side clamps as in fig8 a . as the side clamps compress against the envelope , use vacuum tube opening 141 attached to the wall of the airtight box and collect the airborne particles sample . once collected , implement the same hazard detection and alert method , described above in operation 10 and 11 . another way to check for successful the airflow injection is illustrated in fig9 ; airflow meter 142 measures the flow of residual airflow 139 a . the residual flow rate and amount should diminish when some airflow penetrate inside the envelope . also , the injected airflow should cause backward pressure 143 on the top and bottom clamps . fig1 shows a socket or lips device 138 in detail . it &# 39 ; s called a socket or lips device because the device &# 39 ; s two front walls sandwich an envelope corner with opening 101 in the middle like a socket or lips would hold on to an item by grasping two opposite walls on the target item . additionally , the particle sample can be collected into a sealed container by this device for further testing . alternatively , the whole airtight box may be removed and sent into the lab for further testing . problems could arise from probing underneath the envelope . this may be against the law for the us post office ; however , addressee should not have a problem . addressee can even open the envelope fully by incision and fully test the contents . so , a pair of scissors or a cutting device could be used to either partially or fully create an incision to affect the particle test . alternatively , to avoid probing underneath the flap , the air can be simply pumped out utilizing a hole with a vacuum hose attached 141 on the wall of the box by squeezing the existing air pockets already in the envelope with the side clamp without inflating it or the envelope sidewalls could be pulled apart to let the air in through the gap by grasping on the envelope sidewalls using vacuum suction or light adhesive on the side compressor clamp 108 on the envelope side walls . this action creates air inflow to the envelope , just as air is drawn into an accordion by pulling its side apart . additionally , forced gas 133 into the envelope interior can be a toxin to kill any hazardous particles that might be inside the envelope . in summary , from the description above , a number of advantages of my biochemical tester and method become evident . the operation is quick and simple , the operation can be assured of success by checking the package inflation or flow rate of the air , and the operation provides the capability to vent contagions from the package or used to deliver toxins to kill the contaminant particles without unsealing the package . accordingly , the reader will see that the biochemical tester and accompanying method of this invention can detect the presence of possible hazardous materials and illegal contraband in a shipping container simply , easily , safely , and assuredly . furthermore , the testing apparatus and method has the additional advantages by providing quick alert against both real or false hazardous particles , providing effective detection not only against biological , but chemical contrabands , such as poison , bombs , and illegal drugs , allowing preservation of the evidence for prosecution , providing a verification method of successful operation via inflation of the package or measured airflow change , allowing testing of the vast majority of shipment or mail packages , including most envelopes , express mail packages , envelopes with forwarding address hole opening , many box packaging , and the like , providing - an adaptable platform to launch future improved analytic devices and approaches , allowing safe operation in detection only mode by using only air in a preferred embodiment rather than using toxins or irradiation , allowing a much more effective and assured way to kill certain biological hazards via the verification process described above , if a toxin is used rather than just air and ; allowing testing of packages in it original semi - sealed state . although the description above contains much specificity , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . for example , rather than checking for inflation of a package , which may have stiff and rigid walls , the slower flow rate and volume of air or pressure exerted on holding clamps can be used to check for infiltration of gas inside a package . thus , the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents , rather than by the example given . | 6 |
embodiments of the invention can provide a secure database for the storage of confidential information related to documents associated with a digital audio signal of speech to be transcribed . confidential information can be removed from the body of a medical records document . authorized users access the confidential information by listening to the audio associated with the document . confidential information is stored separately in textual form in a medical records database , and associated with a medical record document . confidential information is concealed from view in a text document being edited . the private information is accessible to authorized persons via a login or a password . other embodiments are within the scope of the disclosure . referring to fig1 , a system 10 for transcribing audio and editing transcribed audio includes a speaker / person 12 , a communications network 14 , a voice mailbox system 16 , an administrative console 18 , an editing device 20 , a communications network 22 , a database server 24 , a communications network 26 , and an automatic transcription device 30 . here , the network 14 is preferably a public switched telephone network ( pstn ) although other networks , including packet - switched networks could be used , e . g ., if the speaker 12 uses an internet phone for dictation . the network 22 is preferably a packet - switched network such as the global packet - switched network known as the internet . the network 26 is preferably a packet - switched , local area network ( lan ). other types of networks may be used , however , for the networks 14 , 22 , 26 , or any or all of the networks 14 , 22 , 26 may be eliminated , e . g ., if items shown in fig1 are combined or eliminated . preferably , the voice mailbox system 16 , the administrative console 18 , and the editing device 20 are situated “ off site ” from the database server 24 and the automatic transcription device 30 . these systems / devices 16 , 18 , 20 , however , could be located “ on site ,” and communications between them may take place , e . g ., over a local area network . similarly , it is possible to locate the automatic transcription device 30 off - site , and have the device 30 communicate with the database server 24 over the network 22 . the network 14 is configured to convey dictation from the speaker 12 to the voice mailbox system 16 . preferably , the speaker 12 dictates into an audio transducer such as a telephone , and the transduced audio is transmitted over the telephone network 14 into the voice mailbox system 16 , such as the intelliscript ™ product made by escription ™ of needham , mass . the speaker 12 may , however , use means other than a standard telephone for creating a digital audio file for each dictation . for example , the speaker 12 may dictate into a handheld pda device that includes its own digitization mechanism for storing the audio file . or , the speaker 12 may use a standard “ dictation station ,” such as those provided by many vendors . still other devices may be used by the speaker 12 for dictating , and possibly digitizing the dictation , and sending it to the voice mailbox system 16 . the voice mailbox system 16 is configured to digitize audio from the speaker 12 to produce a digital audio file of the dictation . for example , the system 16 may use the intelliscript ™ product made by escription . the voice mailbox system 16 is further configured to prompt the speaker 12 to enter an identification code and a worktype code . the speaker 12 can enter the codes , e . g ., by pressing buttons on a telephone to send dtmf tones , or by speaking the codes into the telephone . the system 16 may provide speech recognition to convert the spoken codes into a digital identification code and a digital worktype code . the mailbox system 16 is further configured to store the identifying code and the worktype code in association with the dictation . the system 16 preferably prompts the speaker 12 to provide the worktype code at least for each dictation related to the medical field . the worktype code designates a category of work to which the dictation pertains , e . g ., for medical applications this could include office note , consultation , operative note , discharge summary , radiology report , etc . the worktype code may be used to refine speed settings , such that settings may be specific not only to speaker - transcriptionist pairings , but further to worktype of dictations provided by the speaker , and / or to other parameters or indicia . the following discussion , however , focuses on using only speaker - transcriptionist pairings . the voice mailbox system 16 is further configured to transmit the digital audio file and speaker identification code over the network 22 to the database server 24 for storage . this transmission is accomplished by the system 16 product using standard network transmission protocols communicating with the database server 24 . the database server 24 is configured to store the incoming data from the voice mailbox system 16 , as well as from other sources . for example , information such as patient medical record number ( mrn ), date of dictation , date of encounter , account number , and other information can originate from the voice mailbox system 16 , from a hospital billing system , or from another source . the database server 24 may include the editscript server ™ database product from escription . software of the database server is configured to produce a database record for the dictation , including a file pointer to the digital audio data , and a field containing the identification code for the speaker 12 . if the audio and identifying data are stored on a pda , the pda may be connected to a computer running the handiscript ™ software product made by escription that will perform the data transfer and communication with the database server 24 to enable a database record to be produced for the dictation . preferably , all communication with the database server 24 is intermediated by a “ servlet ” application 32 that includes an in - memory cached representation of recent database entries . the servlet 32 is configured to service requests from the voice mailbox system 16 , the automatic transcription device 30 , the editing device 20 , and the administrative console 18 , reading from the database when the servlet &# 39 ; s cache does not contain the required information . the servlet 32 includes a separate software module that helps ensure that the servlet &# 39 ; s cache is synchronized with the contents of the database . this helps allow the database to be off - loaded of much of the real - time data - communication and to grow to be much larger than otherwise possible . for simplicity , however , the below discussion does not refer to the servlet , but all database access activities may be realized using the servlet application 32 as an intermediary . the automatic transcription device 30 may access the database 40 in the database server 24 over the data network 26 for transcribing the stored dictation . the automatic transcription device 30 uses an automatic speech recognition ( asr ) device ( e . g ., software ) to produce a draft transcription for the dictation . an example of asr technology is the autoscript ™ product made by escription that also uses the speaker and , optionally , worktype identifying information to access speaker and speaker - worktype dependent asr models with which to perform the transcription . the device 30 transmits the draft transcription over the data network 26 to the database server 24 for storage in the database and to be accessed , along with the digital audio file , by the editing device 20 . the device 30 is further configured to affect the presentation of the draft transcription . the device 30 , as part of speech recognition or as part of post - processing after speech recognition , can add or change items affecting document presentation such as formats , abbreviations , and other text features . the device 28 includes a speech recognizer and may also include a post - processor for performing operations in addition to the speech recognition , although the speech recognizer itself may perform some or all of these additional functions . automatic speech recognition ( asr ) models in the device 30 used to produce draft transcriptions include different types of grammars for recognizing the speaker &# 39 ; s dictation . the grammars can be , for example , generic , specific , or intermediate . generic grammars are designed to recognize speech from a random speaker . specific grammars are designed / adapted for a particular speaker , either being designed from scratch for the speaker 12 or having been adapted from a more general grammar in response to previous dictations and edited transcriptions . an example of an intermediate grammar is a grammar designed not for a particular speaker , but for speakers that are likely to follow a particular pattern . for example , doctors from a particular institution may be instructed to dictate patient records with a particular format , and the grammar can be designed to improve recognition based on knowledge of expected phrases and / or organization of the patient record . the automatic transcription device 30 is further configured to identify confidential portions of dictations , including particular data , header regions , and footer regions . confidential / private patient information includes , e . g ., patient name , medical record number , and / or other information from which a patient &# 39 ; s identity may be discerned , at least to reasonable ( or unacceptable ) degree of certainty . the asr models can be used to identify particular data , such as portions of the dictation that includes the provider name , patient name , patient names spelled out , date of encounter , worktype and / or medical record number ( mrn ). the device 30 also preferably is able to identify header and footer portions of a dictation as these introductory and closing portions often contain confidential information . the device 30 can analyze the text for the manner in which the speaker begins the dictation . for example , the device 30 may include a grammar such as , “ this is dr . & lt ; provider name & gt ; dictating an office note on & lt ; patient name & gt ;, medical record number & lt ; mrn & gt ;. date of visit is & lt ; date of encounter & gt ;”. the device 30 can additionally analyze the text for the manner in which a speaker 12 begins the body of a dictation , which indicates the completion of the header . for example , the device 30 may include a grammar such as , “ chief complaint : mr . & lt ; patient_last_name & gt ; comes in today complaining of chest pain .” the device 30 may also include a grammar related to the manner in which a speaker 12 dictates the end of a note , or footer . for example , the device 30 may include a grammar such as , “ this is & lt ; provider name & gt ;. please send a copy to & lt ; contact1 & gt ; and & lt ; contact2 & gt ;, as well as to my office .” preferably , the device 30 uses the grammars to identify the location of the header and footer in a dictation . these grammars provide trigger words or phrases that indicate the boundary from the header to the body of the dictation or from the body of the dictation to the footer . examples of additional end - of - header ( i . e . beginning - of - body ) trigger phrases include : “ the patient is a ”, followed by an age ; “ the patient comes in today complaining of . . . ”; “ history ”. examples of footer ( i . e . end - of - body ) trigger phrases include : “ that &# 39 ; s all ”; “ please send a copy of this to . . . ”. in many cases , these triggers by themselves will be sufficient to reliably identify the end of the header and beginning of the footer . these phrases may , however , be supplemented by a statistical trigger model to help identify the boundaries . the model is statistical in that it determines the likelihood of one or more locations being a header / body or body / footer transition , and uses the most likely location as the actual location of the transition . a statistical trigger model can be used alone , or can be combined with a duration model , such as a specified number of words , for the header , body , and footer in order to resolve ambiguities in determining whether particular grammar is a part of the header or the footer . for example , a statistical analysis may include that the phrase “ please send a copy to . . . ” has a 90 % probability of being a boundary phrase when it occurs within the final thirty words of a dictation . the statistical trigger model may be constrained by the structure of the document , for example , requiring that the footer follows the body , which follows the header . the header and footer region of the dictation can alternatively be identified by the transcription device 30 in one of the following ways . the header and footer may be identified by using an instance of a listened - to / transcribed header / footer to form the grammar which is used to remove the header / footer from subsequent dictations . a catalog of grammars from a database of providers may be employed to identify headers / footers . the grammars can be scored to determine likely instances of headers / footers in different grammars . a generalized search for words associated with tags in the token - alignment file , discussed below , can be conducted , and may be narrowed using the current date or medical record numbers . in the event that speech recognition errors occur , a ) known or common errors from speech recognition can be explicitly included ; b ) “ wild - cards ” that model words which are known to cause recognition errors can be utilized . for example , instead of “ the patient comes in today complaining of ”, the grammar might be “* patient comes * complaining *”, since the non - wildcarded words are known to be reliably recognized . the identified confidential information , including header and footer information , are stored separately and treated differently than non - confidential information for the editing process discussed below . portions of the dictation that include confidential information can be stored separately from non - confidential information in the database 40 . for example , the database 40 may include multiple databases , and the confidential information may be stored in a database separate from a database in which non - confidential information is stored . confidential information can be stored in the same database , but in a separate portion ( e . g ., a separate file ), as non - confidential information . the confidential information is stored separately in that access to the confidential information is inhibited / restricted such that a user that has access to non - confidential information in the database 40 does not necessarily have access to the confidential information . for example , access to the confidential information may require a password or other security measure . further , the confidential information that appears in the body of the dictation document is tagged , e . g ., to help inhibit access to the confidential information even if it is not contained in the header or footer . additional security can include encrypting the data before sending the data to the user terminal for the editing process , or encrypting the data while the data is en route to the user terminal . the transcription device 30 is further configured to produce a token - alignment file that synchronizes the audio with the corresponding text . this file comprises a set of token records , with each record preferably containing a token , a begin index , and an end index . the token comprises a character or a sequence of characters that are to appear on the screen during a word - processing session , or one or more sounds that may or may not appear as text on a screen . a begin index comprises an array reference into the audio file corresponding to the place in the audio file where the corresponding token begins . the end index comprises an array reference into the digital audio file corresponding to the point in the audio file where the corresponding token ends . as an alternative , the end index may not exist separately , with it being assumed that the starting point of the next token ( the next begin index ) is also the ending point of the previous token . the transcription device 30 can store the token - alignment file in the database 40 . the token - alignment file may contain further information , such as a display indicator and / or a playback indicator . the display indicator &# 39 ; s value indicates whether the corresponding token is to be displayed , e . g ., on a computer monitor , while the transcription is being edited . using non - displayed tokens can help facilitate editing of the transcription while maintaining synchronization between on - screen tokens and the digital audio file . for example , a speaker may use an alias , e . g ., for a heading , and standard heading ( e . g ., physical examination ) may be displayed while the words actually spoken by the speaker ( e . g ., “ on exam today ”) are audibly played but not displayed as text ( hidden ). the playback indicator &# 39 ; s value indicates whether the corresponding token has audio associated with the token . using the playback indicator can also help facilitate editing the transcription while maintaining synchronization between on - screen tokens and the digital audio file . the playback indicator &# 39 ; s value may be adjusted dynamically during audio playback , e . g ., by input from the transcriptionist . the adjustment may , e . g ., cause audio associated with corresponding tokens ( e . g ., hesitation words ) to be skipped partially or entirely , that may help increase the transcriptionist &# 39 ; s productivity . the tokens stored in the token - alignment file may or may not correspond to words . instead , a token may represent one or more characters that appear on a display during editing of the transcription , or sounds that occur in the audio file . thus , the written transcription may have a different form and / or format than the exact words that were spoken by the person 12 . for example , a token may represent conventional words such as “ the ,” “ patient ,” or “ esophagogastroduodenoscopy ,” multiple words , partial words , abbreviations or acronyms , numbers , dates , sounds ( e . g ., a cough , a yawn , a bell ), absence of sound ( silence ), etc . for example , the speaker 12 may say “ usa ” and the automatic transcription device 30 may interpret and expand this into “ united states of america .” in this example , the token is “ united states of america ” and the begin index would point to the beginning of the audio signal for “ usa ” and , if the token - alignment file uses end indexes , the end index would point to the end of the audio signal “ usa .” as another example , the speaker 12 might say “ april 2 of last year ,” and the text might appear on the display as “ 04 / 02 / 2003 .” the tokens , however , can synchronize the text “ 04 / 02 / 2003 ” with the audio of “ april 2 of last year .” as another example , the speaker 12 might say “ miles per hour ” while the text is displayed as “ mph .” using the tokens , the speech recognizer 30 , or a post - processor in or separate from the device 30 , may alter , expand , contract , and / or format the spoken words when converting to text without losing the audio synchronization . tokens preferably have variable lengths , with different tokens having different lengths . the token - alignment file provides an environment with many features . items may appear on a screen but not have any audio signal associated with them ( e . g ., implicit titles and headings ). items may have audio associated with them and may appear on the screen but may not appear as words ( e . g ., numeric tokens such as “ 120 / 88 ”). items may have audio associated with them , appear on the screen , and appear as words contained in the audio ( e . g ., “ the patient showed delayed recovery ”). multiple words may appear on the screen corresponding to audio that is an abbreviated form of what appears on the screen ( e . g ., “ united states of america ” may be displayed corresponding to audio of “ usa ”). items may have audio associated with them but not have corresponding symbols appear on the screen ( e . g ., a cough , an ending salutation such as “ that &# 39 ; s all ,” commands or instructions to the transcriptionist such as “ start a new paragraph ,” etc .). in addition , in the token - alignment file , xml tags , such as & lt ; header & gt ;, & lt ;/ header & gt ; and & lt ; footer & gt ;, & lt ;/ footer & gt ; are included as zero - duration , non - playable , non - displayable records . tags are also added around other data contained in the headers and footers . for example , tags can be added to identify & lt ; mrn & gt ;, & lt ; date of encounter & gt ;, and & lt ; contacts & gt ;. in the body of the dictation , tags are added around recognized information , including but not limited to & lt ; patient name & gt ;, & lt ; provider name & gt ;, and & lt ; contacts & gt ;. the tags allow identification of words in the dictation that contain specific information . the specified words can be manipulated due to the tag assigned to the words . for example , the words having specified tags associated with private / confidential information can be blocked from view in a transcribed document . at the time of editing , tagged words can be obfuscated . for example , & lt ; patient name & gt ; can be changed to “ the patient ” or to “ mr . ?? ?” for instances of its occurrence throughout the transcribed document to protect the identity of the patient . referring further to fig1 , the editing device 20 is configured to be used by a transcriptionist to access and edit the draft transcription stored in the database of the database server 24 . the editing device 20 includes a computer ( e . g ., display , keyboard , mouse , monitor , memory , and a processor , etc . ), an attached foot - pedal , and appropriate software such as the editscript ™ software product made by escription . the transcriptionist can log onto the database server 24 with a password . the transcriptionist can request a dictation job by , e . g ., clicking on an on - screen icon . the request is serviced by the database server 24 , which finds the dictation for the transcriptionist , and transmits the corresponding header , footer , and body audio files and the draft transcription text files . the transcriptionist edits the draft using the editing device 20 and sends the edited transcript back to the database server 24 . for example , to end the editing the transcriptionist can click on an on - screen icon button to instruct the editing device 20 to send the final edited document to the database server 24 via the network 22 , along with a unique identifier for the transcriptionist . with the data sent from the editing device 20 , the database in the server 24 contains , for each dictation : a speaker identifier , a transcriptionist identifier , a file pointer to the digital audio signal , and a file pointer to the edited text document . the edited text document can be transmitted directly to a customer &# 39 ; s medical record system or accessed over the data network 22 from the database by the administrative console 18 . the console 18 may include an administrative console software product such as emon ™ made by escription . referring to fig2 , components of the editing device 20 , e . g ., a computer , include a database interaction module 41 , a user interface 42 , non - confidential information storage 43 , confidential information storage 45 , a word processor module 44 , an audio playback module 46 , an audio file pointer 48 , a cursor module 50 , a monitor 52 , and an audio device 54 . a computer implementing portions of the editing device 20 includes a processor and memory that stores appropriate computer - readable , computer - executable software code instructions that can cause the processor to execute appropriate instructions for performing functions described . the monitor 52 and audio device 54 , e . g ., speakers , are physical components while the other components shown in fig2 are functional components that may be implemented with software , hardware , etc ., or combinations thereof . the audio playback device 46 , such as a soundblaster ® card , is attached to the audio output transducer 54 such as speakers or headphones . the transcriptionist can use the audio device 54 ( e . g ., headphones or a speaker ) to listen to audio and can view the monitor 52 to see the corresponding text . the transcriptionist can use the foot pedal 66 , the keyboard 62 , and / or the mouse 64 to control the audio playback . the database interaction , audio playback , and editing of the draft transcription is accomplished by means of the appropriate software such as the editscript client ™ software product made by escription . the body of dictation files 43 and the header / footer data files are sent to the user interface from the database . the editing software is loaded on the editing device computer 20 and configured appropriately for interaction with other components of the editing device 20 . the editing software can use a standard word processing software library , such as that provided with microsoft word ®, in order to load , edit and save documents corresponding to each dictation . the editing software includes the database interaction module 41 , the user interface module 42 , the word processing module 44 , the audio playback module 46 , the audio file pointer adjustment module 48 and the multi - cursor control module 50 . the interaction module 41 regulates communications between database server 24 and the editing device 20 via the network 22 . the control module 50 regulates the interaction between the interface module 42 and the word processors 44 , the audio playback modules 46 , and the audio file pointer 48 . the control module 50 regulates the flow of actions relating to processing of a transcription , including playing audio and providing cursors in the transcribed text . the user interface module 42 controls the activity of the other modules and includes keyboard detection 56 , mouse detection 58 , and foot pedal detection 60 sub - modules for processing input from a keyboard 62 , a mouse 64 , and a foot - pedal 66 . the foot pedal 66 is a standard transcription foot pedal and is connected to the editing device computer through the computer &# 39 ; s serial port . the foot pedal 66 preferably includes a “ fast forward ” portion and a “ rewind ” portion . the transcriptionist is permitted to access dictations downloaded to the user interface module 42 based on provider ( or groups of providers ) and patient identification . the transcriptionist logs onto the user interface module 42 with a logon name and a password so that dictations assigned to a particular transcriptionist are visible in a work queue . the transcriptionist can request a job from the database by selecting on - screen icon with the mouse 64 . the user interface module 42 interprets this mouse click and invokes the database interaction module 41 to request the next job from the database 40 . the database server 24 ( fig1 ) responds by transmitting the audio data files , the draft transcription files , and the token - alignment files to the user interaction module 42 . the audio for confidential information is preferably transmitted to the device 20 separately from the audio for the non - confidential information . likewise , the text for confidential information is preferably transmitted to the device 20 separately from the text for the non - confidential information . the confidential information is stored in the confidential information storage 43 separate from the non - confidential information storage 45 . the confidential information storage 43 can be access - restricted , e . g ., by a password and / or other security feature ( s ). also , portions of the confidential information can be restricted from access by a particular user , rather than all of the confidential information . with this downloaded information , the editing software can initialize a word - processing session by loading the draft text into the word processing module 44 . audio information is accessed through function calls of the editing program while the dictation is being edited . the audio playback module 46 is configured to play the audio file associated with the body of the dictation 43 and the audio associated with the header / footer 45 . the transcriptionist accesses the audio files 43 and 45 when prepared for editing . for initial playback , the module 46 plays the audio file sequentially . the playback module 46 can , however , jump to audio corresponding to an indicated portion of the transcription and begin playback from the indicated location . for example , the playback module 46 can request the header audio and begin playback of the header . the location may be indicated by a transcriptionist using appropriate portions of the editing device 20 such as the keyboard 62 , or the mouse 64 . for playback that starts at an indicated location , the playback module 46 uses the token - alignment file to determine the location in the audio file corresponding to the indicated transcription text . since many audio playback programs play audio in fixed - sized sections ( called “ frames ”), the audio playback module 46 may convert the indicated begin index to the nearest preceding frame for playback . for example , an audio device 54 may play only frames of 128 bytes in length . in this example , the audio playback module uses the token - alignment file to find the nearest prior starting frame that is a multiple of 128 bytes from the beginning of the audio file . thus , the starting point for audio playback may not correspond precisely to the selected text in the transcription . the transcriptionist can review and edit a document by appropriately controlling portions of the editing device 20 . the transcriptionist can regulate the playback using the foot pedal 66 , and listen to the audio corresponding to the text as played by the playback module 46 and converted to sound by the audio device 54 . further , the transcriptionist can move a cursor to a desired portion of the display of the monitor 52 using the keyboard 62 and / or mouse 64 , and can make edits at the location of the cursor using the keyboard 62 and / or mouse 64 . the user interface 42 downloads the text of the document to the word processor 44 according to the editing program , which provides restricted access and display of header / footer data and other confidential information . if the transcriptionist positions the cursor for playback of confidential information , then the transcriptionist can be prompted to enter a password , or otherwise fulfill a security measure ( e . g ., provide bioinformatic information such as a fingerprint ) in order to be provided with the text and / or audio corresponding to the confidential information . referring to fig3 - 5 , confidential information can be obscured / hidden from view absent authorization . as shown in fig3 , a header 70 and a footer data 72 appear as gray boxes on the monitor 52 . thus , the confidential data in the header 70 and the footer 72 is not apparent to the user , but is hidden from view . the gray box is preferably of a standard size . as shown in fig4 , confidential information contained in a body 74 of a document 76 is hidden with gray boxes 78 , 79 . the boxes 78 , 79 indicate data that have been tagged as confidential , and have been removed from appearing in the body of the text while the document is edited . the boxes 78 , 79 are preferably of a standard size to help prevent providing insight into confidential information ( e . g ., a length of a physician &# 39 ; s name ). in fig4 , the blocked access box 78 indicating a physician &# 39 ; s name has been blocked from view , although the name may be presented to the transcriptionist through the audio playback of the dictation . the blocked access boxes 78 , 79 allow presentation of the body of a document while concealing confidential information from a viewer . the blocked access boxes 78 , 79 may be interactive , allowing an authorized transcriptionist to edit data in or check data that appears in the blocked access block 78 during editing functions . data entered or reviewed in the boxes 78 , 79 may include patient name , provider name , mrn , contacts , etc . further , as shown in fig4 and fig5 , techniques other than gray boxes may be used for concealing confidential information , such as using a generic name 80 (“ patient x ”) in lieu of actual confidential information . other generic names include “ the patient ,” “ mr . ? ?,” etc . a second hot key sequence is used by the transcriptionist to reveal recognized words in the body of the document which have been obfuscated by internal tags . the transcriptionist may use the hot key sequence to call forth and edit the protected language . while the transcriptionist is editing the document , the user interface module 42 can service hardware interrupts from all three of its sub - modules 56 , 58 , 60 . the transcriptionist can use the foot pedal 66 to indicate that the audio should be “ rewound ,” or “ fast - forwarded ” to a different time point in the dictation . these foot - pedal presses are serviced as hardware interrupts by the user interaction module 42 . most standard key presses and on - document mouse - clicks are sent to the word processing module 44 to perform the document editing functions indicated and to update the monitor display . some user interaction , however , may be directed to the audio - playback oriented modules 46 , 48 , 50 , e . g ., cursor control , audio position control , and / or volume control . the transcriptionist may indicate that editing is complete by clicking another icon . in response to such an indication , the final text file is sent through the database interaction module 42 to the database server 24 . in operation , referring to fig6 , with further reference to fig1 - 2 , a process 100 for extracting information from a transcription of speech using the system 10 includes the stages shown . the process 100 , however , is exemplary only and not limiting . the process 100 may be altered , e . g ., by having stages added , removed , or rearranged . at stage 102 , the automatic transcription device 30 seeks to transcribe the audio file , and to extract the header and footer from a dictation audio file stored in the database 40 . the automatic transcription device 30 accesses and retrieves the audio file from the database through the lan 26 . the dictation is accompanied by the speaker name ( and variants ), the patient name ( and variants ), date information , mrn , as well as other available information . at stage 104 , a speech recognizer of the device 30 analyzes the audio file in accordance with asr models to produce a draft text document from the audio file . the asr model includes information on the manner in which physicians dictate to decode word sequence . at stage 106 , the device 30 identifies the header of the dictation using model grammars associated with header language . the identified header is removed from the dictation for separate storage in the database 40 . confidential terms in the header are separately tagged . at stage 108 , the device 30 identifies the footer of the dictation using model grammars associated with footer language . the identified footer is removed from the dictation for separate storage in the database 40 . confidential terms in the header are separately tagged . at stage 110 , the device 30 also produces a corresponding token - alignment file that includes the draft documents and associated portions of the audio file with the transcribed text of the documents . the token - alignment files include xml tags , such as & lt ; header & gt ;& lt ;/ header & gt ; and & lt ; footer & gt ;& lt ;/ footer & gt ; as meta information for the editing software , described below . the device 30 stores the token - alignment file in the database 40 via the lan 26 . at stage 112 , the header and the footer are stored in the database separate from other portions of the dictation . the header and footer are stored in a secure portion of memory in the server 24 . the remainder of the dictation is stored separately from the confidential information , e . g ., in a separate file . in operation , referring to fig7 , with further reference to fig1 - 6 , a process 200 for producing and editing a transcription of speech using the system 10 includes the stages shown . the process 200 , however , is exemplary only and not limiting . the process 200 may be altered , e . g ., by having stages added , removed , or rearranged . at stage 202 , the speaker 12 dictates desired speech to be converted to text . the speaker can use , e . g ., a hand - held device such as a personal digital assistant , to dictate audio that is transmitted over the network 14 to the voice mailbox 16 . the audio is stored in the voice mailbox 16 as at least one audio file . the audio file is transmitted over the network 22 to the database server 24 and is stored in the database 40 . at stage 204 , the automatic transcription device 30 seeks to transcribe the audio file according to the process 100 in fig6 . the automatic transcription device 30 accesses and retrieves the audio file from the database through the lan 26 . the dictation is accompanied by the speaker name ( and variants ), the patient name ( and variants ), date information , mrn , as well as other available information . at stage 206 , the transcriptionist reviews and edits the transcribed draft document as appropriate . the transcriptionist uses the editing device 20 to access the database 40 and retrieve the audio file and the token - alignment file that includes the draft text document . the editing of header and footer data is further described below with respect to fig8 . the transcriptionist plays the audio file and reviews the corresponding text as highlighted or otherwise indicated by an audio cursor and makes desired edits using , e . g ., a text cursor 72 . the word processor 44 produces and stores track - changes information in response to edits made by the transcriptionist . at stage 208 , the track - changes information is provided to the automatic transcription device 30 for use in improving the speech models used by the speech recognizer of the device 30 by analyzing the transcribed draft text and what revisions were made by the transcriptionist . the models can be adjusted so that the next time the speech recognizer analyzes speech that was edited by the transcriptionist , the recognizer will transcribe the same or similar audio to the edited text instead of the draft text previously provided . at stage 210 , the word processor provides a final , revised text document as edited by the transcriptionist . this final document can be stored in the database 40 and provided via the network 22 to interested parties , e . g ., the speaker that dictated the audio file . referring to fig8 , with further reference to fig1 - 7 , a process 300 for editing the header / footer data of the draft transcribed document , continued from stage 206 of fig7 , using the editing device 20 includes the stages shown . the process 300 , however , is exemplary only and not limiting . the process 300 may be altered , e . g ., by having stages added , removed , or rearranged . at stage 302 , the transcriptionist logs in with a user name and password , and dictations assigned to them are shown in the queue . when a dictation is chosen , the audio and document are downloaded , preferably separately , to the transcriptionist &# 39 ; s computer . the audio is preferably stored in a secure location . the audio may be separated into more than one file , such as a file for the header , a file for the footer , and a file for the body . information from the token alignment file is used to find the correct location in the audio file in order to accomplish the audio separation . in exemplary embodiments , audio separation is employed to additionally alter the audio file to remove patient identification information . for example , the audio might sound a tone in lieu of a spoken patient name is spoken . the audio exchanged for the confidential information may alternatively be an alias for the confidential term , such as a generic name , or other desired sound masking / concealing the actual spoken audio . when the document is being edited , particular audio files can be accessed . the file - read permissions on the audio files and the document can restrict access to anyone but the transcriptionist who has logged on . at stage 306 , the transcriptionist chooses an audio file associated with either the header , the footer , or the body . if the header or the footer are desired to be edited , the transcriptionist activates a hot key , at stage 312 , to call forth the grey boxes 78 , 79 so that the boxes appear on the monitor 52 . at stage 314 , the blocked access boxes 78 , 79 are displayed , and at stage 316 , the transcriptionist listens to audio associated with the header . a similar procedure would be used for editing other portions of a document containing confidential information . the transcriptionist may be required to enter a password or provide other security information before the grey boxes 78 , 79 appear on the monitor . at stage 318 , the header fields are reviewed and / or edited . data appearing in the grey boxes includes patient name and other confidential data that is reviewed for accuracy . upon completion of editing , at stage 320 , the grey boxes 78 , 79 are hidden from view once again . data entered into the boxes is no longer visible on the monitor 52 . other embodiments are within the scope and spirit of the appended claims . for example , due to the nature of software , functions described above can be implemented using software , hardware , firmware , hardwiring , or combinations of any of these . features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions , including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations . in exemplary embodiments of the invention , the header and footer data are identified and separately stored in a database . it is possible that only one of the header and the footer may be identified and separately stored , or both the header and the footer data can be stored , e . g ., in a common file separate from the remainder of the document . storage of the header and the footer may not be separate from the remainder of the document , but transmittal of the header and the footer may be separated from transmittal of the remainder of the document . in an alternative embodiment , the editing program can include a timeout portion which observes whether there has been a break in editing or audio playback for a given amount of time . | 6 |
forming a safety enclosure around an information handling system component with at least a portion of the housing of the information handling system limits the need for redundant enclosures of the component . for purposes of this disclosure , an information handling system may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute , classify , process , transmit , receive , retrieve , originate , switch , store , display , manifest , detect , record , reproduce , handle , or utilize any form of information , intelligence , or data for business , scientific , control , or other purposes . for example , an information handling system may be a personal computer , a network storage device , or any other suitable device and may vary in size , shape , performance , functionality , and price . the information handling system may include random access memory ( ram ), one or more processing resources such as a central processing unit ( cpu ) or hardware or software control logic , rom , and / or other types of nonvolatile memory . additional components of the information handling system may include one or more disk drives , one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various input and output ( i / o ) devices , such as a keyboard , a mouse , and a video display . the information handling system may also include one or more buses operable to transmit communications between the various hardware components . referring now to fig1 , a block diagram depicts an information handling system 10 having an internal component 12 with a safety enclosure formed at least in part by portions of the information handling system housing 14 . in the example embodiment depicted by fig1 , internal component 12 is an optical disc drive . information handling system 10 is built from a plurality of electronic components disposed in information handling system housing 14 , such as a cpu 16 that processes information , ram 18 that stores information for access by cpu 16 , a hard disk drive 18 that provides permanent storage of information and a chipset 20 that coordinates interaction of the electronic components to process information . information handling system 10 includes an integrated display 24 that presents information as visible images . a keyboard 26 fits over the top of the electronic components and accepts end user inputs . a palm rest 28 near keyboard 26 provides a resting surface for an end user during typing at keyboard 26 . optical disc drive 12 has a microcontroller 30 that controls a laser 32 for illumination of an optical disc 34 during information reads and writes . laser 32 is , for example , an infrared laser that reads and writes to cd optical media , a red laser that reads and writes to dvd optical media or a blue laser that reads and writes to bd optical media . optical disc drive 12 is an ansi class 1 enclosure that must restrict illumination of laser 32 if an end user is at risk of exposure to the illumination . in order to limit end user exposure to illumination by laser 32 , keyboard 26 and palm rest 28 rest across the upper surface of optical disc drive 12 so that information handling system housing 14 includes keyboard 26 and palm rest 28 and forms at least a portion of the safety enclosure around optical disc drive 12 to protect end users from exposure to illumination by laser 32 during operation of optical disc drive 12 . a lock out device 36 detects the presence of keyboard 26 and palm rest 28 to restrict operation of laser 32 in the event of removal of keyboard 26 and palm rest 28 . if keyboard 26 or palm rest 28 are removed , thus breaching the safety enclosure around optical disc drive 12 , disabling of laser 32 maintains optical disc drive 12 within the requirements for ansi class 1 enclosures . in alternative embodiments , information handling system housing 14 forms all or other portions of optical disc drive 12 &# 39 ; s safety enclosure . in other alternative embodiments , other types of components having a variety of functions have a safety enclosure defined by information handling system housing 14 , such as hard disk drives . lock out device 36 disables one or more of the functions as desired to maintain a desired safety standard . forming a safety enclosure of an internal component with the information handling system housing 14 reduces weight and footprint by limiting or eliminating the need for a separate housing around the component to form the safety enclosure . referring now to fig2 , a block diagram depicts an optical disc drive 12 having a safety enclosure formed at least in part by information handling system housing portions 14 , 26 and 28 . in the example embodiment depicted by fig2 , lock out device 36 is built from a hall effect sensor 38 disposed in optical disc drive 12 and a magnet 40 disposed in portions of information handling system housing 14 that form a safety enclosure about optical disc drive 12 . hall effect sensor 38 detects the presence of a magnet 40 and provides an enable signal to microcontroller 30 when in proximity to a magnet 40 . when microcontroller 30 has an enable signal , microcontroller 30 allows application of power to laser 32 ; when microcontroller 30 loses the enable signal , microcontroller 30 disables one or more functions of optical disc drive 12 . for example , in the absence of an enable signal , microcontroller 30 disables laser 32 but allows operation of other functions , such as spin at spindle 44 . disabling laser 32 in the absence of an enable signal from hall effect sensor 38 ensures that laser 32 will not operate if a safety enclosure formed by information handling system housing 14 is breached . requiring an enable signal by hall effect sensor 38 fails optical disc drive 12 to a safe condition in the event of a failure of hall effect sensor 38 . as depicted in the example embodiment of fig2 , multiple magnets 40 and hall effect sensors 38 may be used to monitor the enclosure about optical disc drive 12 . optical disc drive chassis 42 contains the operational components of optical disc drive 12 within a bottom surface 46 and two side surfaces 48 . a portion of information handling system housing 14 forms another side surface of optical disc drive 12 with a magnet 40 aligned with a hall effect sensor 38 . removal of the side portion of information handling system housing 14 to remove magnet 40 from proximity to hall effect sensor 38 will result in disablement of laser 32 . the upper surface of optical disc drive 12 is formed by keyboard 26 and palm rest 28 , each of which have a magnet 40 proximate a hall effect sensor 3 8 . if keyboard 26 or palm rest 28 are removed from their assigned positions over optical disc drive 12 , the loss of the enablement signal from hall effect sensor 38 causes microcontroller 30 to disable laser 32 . in alternative embodiments , the loss of the enablement signal can cause microcontroller 30 to remove power from other functions of optical disc drive 12 . in one alternative embodiment , magnet 40 is placed in optical disc drive chassis 42 and hall effect sensors are placed in housing portions 14 , 26 or 28 to command removal of power to optical disc drive 12 by components within information handling system 10 . optical disc drive chassis 42 can form a portion of the safety enclosure about optical disc drive 12 or , alternatively , the entire safety enclosure can be formed my information handling system housing 14 . in another alternative embodiment , specific portions of information handling system components form the safety enclosure , such as a keyboard deflection plate that rests underneath the keyboard to provide physical support during use of the keyboard . alternatively , the safety enclosure is formed by components , such as a pcimcia card , an express card , a hard disk drive , a battery or other components that are proximate the laser drive . in other alternative embodiments , other types of lock out devices 36 may be used , such as a physical switch that is engaged by proximity of housing 14 to optical disc drive 12 or other types of proximity sensors . referring now to fig3 , a block diagram depicts a blown - up view of an information handling system housing 14 having a component coupled to a housing portion that covers a component hazardous surface . housing 14 has housing assembly connectors 50 , such as screws or other fasteners , in an interior 52 that are inaccessible from an exterior 54 except through an open top portion that a keyboard support 56 covers . keyboard support 56 forms an upper casing to housing 14 so that when keyboard support 56 assembles to housing 14 , housing assembly connectors 50 are inaccessible from the exterior 54 of housing 14 . in alternative embodiments , keyboard support 56 may cover all or only a portion of the upper opening of housing 14 and may be separate from or integrated with a keyboard 26 . keyboard support 56 provides sufficient stiffness across the upper exterior surface of housing 14 so that end user inputs at keyboard 26 do not impact the operation of components within housing 14 . a component having an associated hazard couples to keyboard support 56 so that keyboard support 56 covers or otherwise protects against the component hazard . in the example embodiment depicted by fig3 , the component is an optical drive 12 having a laser that might emit energy through a hazardous surface 58 . optical drive 12 couples hazardous surface 58 to keyboard support 56 with attachment devices 60 so that keyboard support 56 acts as a cover that protects against laser emissions from optical drive 12 . attachment device 60 couples optical drive 12 to keyboard support 56 so that , upon assembly to housing 14 , attachment device 60 is inaccessible from the exterior of housing 14 . in order to access optical drive 14 , keyboard support 56 must be removed from housing 14 since other ways of disassembly of housing 14 require removal of keyboard support 56 . in this way , hazardous surface 58 of optical drive 12 remains inaccessible until keyboard support 56 is removed from information handling system housing 14 . attachment device 60 is , for example , screws that assemble optical drive 12 to housing support 56 so that , upon assembly of housing 14 , both optical drive 12 and attachment device 60 are inaccessible from exterior 54 of housing 14 . in alternative embodiments , different types of attachment devices may be used that will discourage removal of keyboard support 56 from hazardous surface 58 , such as screws with heads that have less common shapes or permanent attachment devices , such as glue or rivets that are not designed to allow removal . in the event that a replacement of the component is required , the component is replaced with another component that already has keyboard support 56 attached so that hazardous surface 58 is not exposed during the replacement process . referring now to fig4 , a block diagram depicts assembly of a housing portion 62 to an information handling system housing 14 so that the assembled housing 14 provides a protective enclosure for a hazard of the component coupled to housing portion 62 . housing portion 62 includes a keyboard 26 coupled to a keyboard support 56 and a component , which in the example embodiment of fig4 is an optical drive 12 . optical drive 12 has a power connector 64 that aligns with a power source connector 66 in housing 66 . housing portion 62 is placed over housing 14 and coupled into place so that power connector 64 obtains power from power source connector 66 when housing portion 62 is in place . removal of housing portion 62 from housing 14 automatically disconnects power from optical drive 12 to reduce the risk of inadvertent illumination of a laser from optical drive 12 . in one alternative embodiment , power is removed from the laser of optical drive 12 if optical drive is separated from keyboard support 56 , such as by tripping a switch at separation of keyboard support 56 from optical drive 12 or detection of separation using a hall effect sensor 38 as is set forth in fig2 . referring now to fig5 , an information handling system 10 is depicted having a component hazard enclosed in a housing 14 that keeps the hazard inaccessible from the housing exterior 54 . the component , such as an optical drive , is enclosed in information handling system housing 14 so that housing 14 acts as the safety enclosure of the component . the component is inaccessible from exterior 54 of housing 14 unless housing 14 is disassembled , such as by removing keyboard support attachment devices 68 at the exterior 54 of housing 14 . the portion of housing 14 that couples to and covers a hazardous surface of the component is the first portion of the housing to disassemble so that the component is removed with the housing portion before the interior of the housing is accessible . by using the housing 14 of information handling system 10 as a safety enclosure of the component , the size of the component and the information handling system are each reduced . although the present invention has been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
the following disclosure provides many different embodiments , or examples , for implementing different features of the provided subject matter . specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure . these are , of course , merely examples and are not intended to be limiting . for example , the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact , and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed between the first and second features , such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact . in addition , the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and / or letters in the various examples . this repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and / or configurations discussed . further , spatially relative terms , such as “ beneath ,” “ below ,” “ lower ,” “ above ,” “ upper ” and the like , may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature &# 39 ; s relationship to another element ( s ) or feature ( s ) as illustrated in the figures . the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures . the apparatus may be otherwise oriented ( rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations ) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may likewise be interpreted accordingly . fig1 shows a semiconductor device 100 with an sram macro 102 . the semiconductor device can be , e . g ., a microprocessor , an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), a field programmable gate array ( fpga ), or a digital signal processor ( dsp ). the exact functionality of the semiconductor device 100 is not a limitation to the provided subject matter . fig2 shows a more detailed view of a portion of the sram macro 102 , according to various aspects of the present disclosure . referring to fig2 , the sram macro 102 includes a plurality of sram cells 202 and a plurality of peripheral logic circuits 210 . each sram cell 202 is used to store one memory bit , while the peripheral logic circuits 210 are used to implement various logic functions , such as write and / or read address decoder , word / bit selector , data drivers , memory self - testing , etc . the logic circuits 210 include a plurality of finfets having gate features 218 and fin active lines 212 . although not shown , each of the sram cells 202 also includes a plurality of finfets having gate features and fin active lines . in addition , even though fig2 shows only 16 sram cells 202 , the sram macro 102 may include a large number of sram cells 202 for a given semiconductor device 100 . for example , the sram macro 102 may include thousands or millions of the sram cells 202 . as shown in fig2 , the sram cells 202 are formed over a plurality of p - wells or p - diffusions ( e . g ., for n - type finfets or n - finfets ) and n - wells or n - diffusions ( e . g ., for p - type finfets or p - finfets ) wherein the p - wells and the n - wells are rectangular semiconductor regions arranged in alternating order in an x direction . as will be shown in later , each of the sram cells 202 includes a plurality of n - finfets and a plurality of p - finfets . furthermore , the sram cells 202 are arranged in an array with one sram cell abutting another . each of the sram cells 202 occupies a rectangular region of the sram macro 102 wherein the rectangular region has a first dimension 204 in the x direction and a second dimension 206 in a y direction that is orthogonal to the x direction . in the following discussion , the first dimension 204 is also referred to as the sram cell 202 &# 39 ; s x - pitch , and the second dimension 206 the sram cell 202 &# 39 ; s y - pitch . furthermore , each of the sram cells 202 is configured in one of four orientations . as shown in fig2 , a group 203 includes four sram cells 202 in a two - by - two array , denoted as cell - r 0 , cell - mx , cell - my , and cell - r 180 for the convenience of discussion . in an embodiment , the gate features and fin active lines of the cell - r 0 are mirror images ( or reflection ) of those respective features of the cell - mx with respect to an imaginary lines a - a through a geometric center of the group 203 in the x direction . similarly , the gate features and fin active lines of the cell - r 0 are mirror images of those respective features of the cell - my with respect to an imaginary lines b - b through the geometric center of the group 203 in the y direction . similarly , the cell - r 180 is a mirror image of the cell - mx with respect to the imaginary lines b - b , and a mirror image of the cell - my with respect to the imaginary lines a - a . as semiconductor technology has progressed into small feature sizes , such as 32 nanometer ( nm ), 20 nm , and beyond , restricted design rules are often followed so as to improve design manufacturability . the configuration of the sram macro 102 , as shown in fig2 , allows alignment of the features of the peripheral logic circuits 210 ( e . g ., the gate features 218 and fin active lines 212 ) with those respective features of the sram cells 202 . this can be accomplished by careful consideration of ratios between the x - pitch 204 and fin pitch 214 , and between the y - pitch 206 and gate pitch 216 . such alignment enables dense fin active line definition and formation thereby providing many benefits , such as higher sram cell density , higher manufacturing reliability in view of optical proximity effect , etc . furthermore , having a fixed ratio between the y - pitch 206 and gate pitch 216 allows certain peripheral logic circuits ( e . g ., word - line drivers , decoders , etc .) to be automatically generated as a circuit block which is then repetitively placed along the sram cells . similarly , having a fixed ratio between the x - pitch 204 and fin pitch 214 allows certain peripheral logic circuits ( e . g ., column selector , bit - line pre - charge circuit , decoders , etc .) to be automatically generated and placed . fig3 illustrates a top view of a portion of the peripheral logic circuit 210 . each of the fin active lines 212 has a rectangular shape with its long edge extending in the y direction and its short edge extending in the x direction . in the present embodiment , the fin pitch 214 is defined as the edge - to - edge spacing between two adjacent fin active lines 212 . alternatively , the fin pitch 214 may be defined as the center - line - to - center - line spacing between two adjacent fin active lines 212 . the gate features 218 are oriented orthogonally with respect to the fin active lines 212 . each of the gate features 218 has a rectangular shape with its long edge extending in the x direction and its short edge extending in the y direction . in the present embodiment , the gate pitch 216 is defined as the edge - to - edge spacing between two adjacent gate features 218 . alternatively , the gate pitch 216 may be defined as the center - line - to - center - line spacing between two adjacent gate features 218 . the peripheral logic circuit 210 further includes a plurality of active contacts 220 that couple multiple fin active lines 212 to form common drains / sources for respective finfets . fig4 a shows a schematic view of a six - transistor ( 6t ) single port ( sp ) sram cell that may be implemented as the sram cell 202 of fig2 . referring to fig4 a , the 6t sp sram cell 202 , includes two p - finfets as pull - up transistors , pu - 1 and pu - 2 ; two n - finfets as pull - down transistors , pd - 1 and pd - 2 ; and two n - finfets as pass - gate transistors , pg - 1 and pg - 2 . the pu - 1 and pd - 1 are coupled to form an inverter ( inverter - 1 in fig4 b ). the pu - 2 and pd - 2 are coupled to form another inverter ( inverter - 2 in fig4 b ). the inverters , inverter - 1 and inverter - 2 , are cross - coupled to form a storage unit of the sram cell 202 . fig4 a further shows word line ( wl ), bit line ( bl ), and bit line bar ( bl ) for accessing the storage unit of the sram cell 202 . in practice , the sram cell 202 of fig4 a can be implemented physically ( e . g ., layout ) in many ways . the following discussion will describe some layout designs of three embodiments of the sram cell 202 , namely , sram cells 202 a , 202 b , and 202 c , according to various aspects of the present disclosure . a person having ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that these three embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the inventive scope of the provided subject matter . fig5 shows a top view of a portion of the sram macro 102 &# 39 ; s layout including the sram cell 202 a . referring to fig5 , the sram cell 202 a is indicated with a rectangular boundary ( a dotted line ) with a first dimension ( x - pitch ) 204 a and a second dimension ( y - pitch ) 206 a . the layout includes one n - well active region and two p - well active regions , one on each side of the n - well active region in the x direction . the layout further includes two fin active lines , 222 a and 224 a , with one in each of the p - well active regions , extending lengthwise in the y direction and overlapping the sram cell 202 a . the layout further includes two fin active lines , 226 a and 228 a , in the n - well active region , extending lengthwise in the y direction and partially overlapping the sram cell 202 a . the fin active lines 226 a and 228 a are shortened for reducing cell area . the four fin active lines , 222 a , 226 a , 228 a , and 224 a , are spaced edge - to - edge by about twice of the fin pitch 214 . in some embodiments , the spacing between these fin active lines are set to between about 2 and about 2 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 to allow enough design margin and process margin when forming the sram cell fin lines . in such cases , the x - pitch 204 a can still be maintained as an integer multiple of the fin pitch 214 . furthermore , the layout includes two gate features , 232 a and 234 a , extending lengthwise in the x direction and partially overlapping the sram cell 202 a and being shared between the sram cell 202 a and adjacent sram cells ( not shown ), and two gate features , 236 a and 238 a , extending lengthwise in the x direction within the sram cell 222 a . the above gate features and the fin active lines collectively define the six transistors , pu - 1 / 2 , pd - 1 / 2 , and pg - 1 / 2 of fig4 a . the y - pitch 206 a is substantially equal to the sum of the pass - gate transistor ( pg - 1 or pg - 2 ) pitch and the pull - down transistor ( pd - 1 or pd - 2 ) pitch , wherein a transistor &# 39 ; s pitch refers to a distance between the transistor &# 39 ; s source and drain . in an embodiment , the y - pitch 206 a is set to be about twice of the gate pitch 216 ( fig3 ), while the x - pitch 204 a is set to be about 8 , 8 . 5 , or 9 times of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ). such settings take into account the fact that proper alignment of respective features between the sram cells 202 a and the peripheral logic circuits 210 improves overall manufacturability of the semiconductor device 100 having the sram macro 102 ( fig1 and 2 ). for example , having a single fin pitch rule among the sram cells 202 a and the peripheral circuits 210 helps improve fin active lines &# 39 ; critical dimension uniformity during lithography process . due to its compact layout , the sram cell 202 a is well - suited for high density embedded sram applications . in an embodiment where high memory cell density is desired , the sram macro 102 ( fig2 ) includes only this type of sram cell and the x - pitch 204 a is set to about 8 times of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ). in another embodiment , the x - pitch 204 a is set to about 9 times of the fin pitch 214 . in some embodiments , the x - pitch 204 a is set to a non - integer multiple of the fin pitch 214 , such as 8 . 5 times . that is made possible by the configuration of the sram cells 202 a in the sram macro 102 ( fig2 ) wherein four adjacent sram cells 202 a will collectively have an x - dimension that is an integer multiple ( e . g ., 34 ×) of the fin pitch 214 . such flexibility in placing the sram cells 202 a yet still maintaining proper alignment of fin active lines between the sram cells 202 a and the peripheral logic circuits 210 is one of the many benefits provided by the present disclosure . fig6 shows a portion of the sram cell 202 b &# 39 ; s layout , while fig7 shows a portion of the sram cell 202 c &# 39 ; s layout . many aspects of the sram cells 202 b and 202 c are similar to those of the sram cell 202 a , and are hereby omitted from discussion for brevity . referring to fig6 , the sram cell 202 b is indicated with a rectangular boundary ( a dotted line ) with a first dimension ( x - pitch ) 204 b and a second dimension ( y - pitch ) 206 b . one difference between the sram cells 202 b and 202 a is that the sram cell 202 b includes two fin active lines in each of the two p - well active regions , 222 b - 1 / 2 and 224 b - 1 / 2 . in effect , the transistors pg - 1 / 2 and pd - 1 / 2 of the sram cell 202 b have dual - fin active lines for increased current sourcing capability . the two fins 222 b - 1 and 222 b - 2 are spaced edge - to - edge by one fin pitch 214 , so are the two fins 224 b - 1 and 224 b - 2 . in the present embodiment , the x - pitch 204 b is greater than the x - pitch 204 a ( fig5 ) by about twice of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ). for similar reasons stated above with respect to fig5 , the y - pitch 206 b is about twice of the gate pitch 216 . in an embodiment , a ratio between the x - pitch 204 b and the y - pitch 206 b is in a range of about 2 . 7 to about 2 . 9 . similar observations are made with respect to the sram cell 202 c in fig7 : the transistors pg - 1 / 2 and pd - 1 / 2 of the sram cell 202 c have triple - fin active lines 222 c - 1 / 2 / 3 and 224 c - 1 / 2 / 3 respectively for increased current sourcing capability ; the x - pitch 204 c is greater than the x - pitch 204 a ( fig5 ) by about four times of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ); and the y - pitch 206 c is about twice of the gate pitch 216 ( fig3 ). the three fins 222 c - 1 , 222 c - 2 , and 222 c - 3 are spaced edge - to - edge by one fin pitch 214 , so are the three fins 224 c - 1 , 2224 - 2 , and 2224 - 3 . fig8 shows a schematic view of a two - port ( tp ) sram cell 202 d that may be implemented as the sram cell 202 of fig2 . the sram cell 202 d , as shown in fig8 , includes a write - port portion 802 and a read - port portion 804 . the write - port portion 802 is effectively a 6t sp sram cell as shown in fig4 a . the read - port portion 804 includes a read pull - down transistor r_pd and read pass - gate transistor r_pg . in practice , the sram cell 202 d of fig8 can be implemented physically ( e . g ., layout ) in many ways . fig9 shows a top view of a portion of the sram cell 202 d &# 39 ; s layout , in accordance with an embodiment . referring to fig9 , the layout of the write - port portion 802 is substantially the same as that of the sram cell 202 b ( fig6 ), while the layout of the read - port portion 804 includes the transistors r_pd and r_pg , each as a dual - fin finfet . two fin active lines 902 - 1 and 902 - 2 are spaced edge - to - edge by one fin pitch 214 . many aspects of the sram cells 202 d are similar to those discussed above with respect to fig5 - 7 , and are hereby omitted from discussion for brevity . in an embodiment , to improve manufacturability and circuit density of the sram macro 102 having the sram cells 202 d , the y - pitch 206 d is set to about twice of the gate pitch 216 , while the x - pitch 204 d is an integer multiple , e . g ., 15 times , of the fin pitch 214 . fig1 a and 10b show metal routing of the sram cells thus far discussed , in accordance with some embodiments . fig1 a shows that the power supply lines ( cvdd ), bit lines ( bl ), and bit bar lines ( bl ) are routed in a first metal layer , while the word lines ( wl ) and the ground lines ( vss ) are routed in a second metal layer . fig1 b shows that the word lines ( wl ) are routed in the first metal layer ; and the power supply lines ( cvdd ), bit lines ( bl ), bit bar lines ( bl ), and the ground lines ( vss ) are routed in the second metal layer . in an embodiment , the first metal layer is located in between the second metal layer and the active regions of the respective sram cells . in an embodiment , the first and second metal layers are coupled through inter - layer vias . in some applications , a semiconductor device may include more than one sram macros . careful considerations must be taken to ensure manufacturability and circuit density of each of the sram macros as well as that at the device level . the present disclosure is well adapted to solving such a problem . fig1 shows that the semiconductor device 100 includes another sram macro 104 in addition to the sram macro 102 . although they are shown side by side in fig1 , in practice , the two sram macros may be placed anywhere in the semiconductor device 100 . furthermore , the two sram macros 102 and 104 may include the same or different types of sram cells . for example , the sram macro 102 includes an array of the sram cells 202 a , while the sram macro 104 includes an array of the sram cells 202 a , 202 b , 202 c , or 202 d . following are some embodiments of the semiconductor 100 wherein various dimensions of the sram macros and the peripheral logic circuits are designed so as to improve full - chip layout automation , fin active line critical dimension uniformity , and overall device manufacturability . in an embodiment , the sram macro 102 includes an array of the sram cells 202 a ( fig5 ) while the sram macro 104 includes an array of the sram cells 202 b ( fig6 ). the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about equal to the x - pitch 204 a plus twice of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ). in an embodiment , the x - pitch 204 a is set to be about 8 times of the fin pitch 214 and the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 10 times of the fin pitch 214 . in another embodiment , the x - pitch 204 a is set to be about 8 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 and the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 10 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 . in yet another embodiment , the x - pitch 204 a is set to be about 9 times of the fin pitch 214 and the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 11 times of the fin pitch 214 . both the y - pitch 206 a and the y - pitch 206 b are set to be about twice of the gate pitch 216 . furthermore , the ratio of the x - pitch 204 b to the y - pitch 206 b is in a range of about 2 . 7 to about 2 . 9 , such as 2 . 8 ; and the ratio of the x - pitch 204 a to the y - pitch 206 a is in a range of about 2 . 25 to about 2 . 28 , such as 2 . 2667 . in an embodiment , the sram macro 102 includes an array of the sram cells 202 b ( fig6 ) while the sram macro 104 includes an array of the sram cells 202 d ( fig8 ). the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 10 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ) and the x - pitch 204 d is set to be about 15 times of the fin pitch 214 . both the y - pitch 206 b and the y - pitch 206 d are set to be about twice of the gate pitch 216 . in an embodiment , the sram macro 102 includes an array of the sram cells 202 b ( fig6 ) while the sram macro 104 includes an array of the sram cells 202 c ( fig7 ). the x - pitch 204 c is set to be about the x - pitch 204 b plus twice of the fin pitch 214 ( fig3 ). for example , the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 10 times of the fin pitch 214 and the x - pitch 204 c is set to be about 12 times of the fin pitch 214 . for another example , the x - pitch 204 b is set to be about 10 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 and the x - pitch 204 c is set to be about 12 . 5 times of the fin pitch 214 . fig1 a shows fin active lines of the group 203 ( fig2 ) that includes four adjacent sram cells 202 a ( fig5 ), cell - r 0 , cell - my , cell - mx , and cell - r 180 . the four cells are arranged in two rows and two columns . the imaginary line a - a denotes their boundary along the x direction , and the imaginary line b - b denotes their boundary along the y direction . with respect to fin active line configuration ( shape , size , and position of the active lines within a cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are mirror images of cell - my and cell - r 180 along the line b - b . in the present disclosure , these fin active lines are formed using spacer lithography with three masks ( or reticles ), 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 , as shown in fig1 b . referring to fig1 b , the three masks , 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 , are three layers of the design layout of the sram macro 102 ( and of the semiconductor device 100 ). the mask 1202 defines mandrel patterns for spacer formation , the mask 1204 defines dummy - fin cut patterns for removing dummy spacers ( or dummy fin lines ), and the mask 1206 defines fin - end cut patterns , e . g ., for shortening fin lines for the pull - up transistors ( e . g . pu - 1 and pu - 2 in fig5 ). each mandrel pattern has a rectangular shape ( top view ) extending lengthwise in the y direction . in an embodiment , although not shown , each mandrel pattern extends over at least four sram cells 202 a ( see fig2 ). in an embodiment , there are four mandrel patterns extending over each sram cell 202 a . with respect to mandrel pattern configuration ( shape , size , and position of the mandrel patterns within each cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are translations of cell - my and cell - r 180 , i . e ., shifted by one x - pitch 204 a in the x direction . each dummy - fin cut pattern 1204 is also a rectangular shape ( top view ) extending lengthwise in the y direction . the fin - end cut patterns 1206 are located at the boundaries of the sram cells in the y direction for cutting fin lines , e . g ., for reducing active areas for the pu - 1 and pu - 2 transistors . partitioning the layout of fig1 a into three masks of fig1 b allows dense and / or regular patterns to be created with each of the masks 1202 , 1204 and 1206 , which greatly improves pattern critical dimension uniformity during photolithography . fig1 c shows the gate features of the group 203 superimposed onto the fin active lines of the same group . each gate feature is a rectangular shape extending lengthwise in the x direction . the gate features are spaced in the y direction having a pitch about half of the y - pitch 206 a . the gate features extend over the fin active lines for forming various p - finfets and n - finfets . with respect to gate feature configuration ( shape , size , and position of gate features within each cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are mirror images of cell - my and cell - r 180 along the line b - b . fig1 shows a method 1300 of forming the fin active lines of the group 203 ( fig1 a ) using the masks 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 ( fig1 b ), in accordance with an embodiment . additional operations can be provided before , during , and after the method 1300 , and some operations described can be replaced , eliminated , or moved around for additional embodiments of the method . the method 1300 will be described in conjunction with fig1 - 24c . at operation 1302 , the method 1300 ( fig1 ) deposits dielectric layers 1404 and 1406 over a silicon substrate 1402 ( e . g ., semiconductor wafer ). referring to fig1 , shown therein is the silicon substrate 1402 with the first dielectric layer 1404 ( such as silicon oxide ) and the second dielectric layer 1406 ( such as silicon nitride ) formed thereon . materials suitable for the dielectric layers 1404 and 1406 include , but not limited to , silicon oxide , silicon nitride , poly - silicon , si 3 n 4 , sion , teos , nitrogen - containing oxide , nitride oxide , high k material ( k & gt ; 5 ), or combinations thereof . the dielectric layers 1404 and 1406 are formed by a procedure that includes deposition . for example , the first dielectric layer 1404 of silicon oxide is formed by thermal oxidation . the second dielectric layer 1406 of silicon nitride ( sin ) is formed by chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ). for example , the sin layer is formed by cvd using chemicals including hexachlorodisilane ( hcd or si 2 c 16 ), dichlorosilane ( dcs or sih 2 c 12 ), bis ( tertiarybutylamino ) silane ( btbas or c 8 h 22 n 2 si ) and disilane ( ds or si 2 h 6 ). in an embodiment , the dielectric layer 1406 is about 20 nm to about 200 nm thick . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1304 to form mandrel patterns 1502 in the dielectric layer 1406 . referring to fig1 a ( top view ) and fig1 b ( cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig1 a ), the mandrel patterns 1502 are evenly distributed in the x direction . the mandrel patterns 1502 are formed by patterning the dielectric layer 1406 with a procedure including a lithography process and an etching process . in the present embodiment , a photoresist layer is formed on the dielectric layer 1406 using a spin - coating process and soft baking process . then , the photoresist layer is exposed to a radiation using the mask 1202 ( fig1 b ). the exposed photoresist layer is developed using post - exposure baking ( peb ), developing , and hard baking thereby forming a patterned photoresist layer over the dielectric layer 1406 . subsequently , the dielectric layer 1406 is etched through the openings of the patterned photoresist layer , forming a patterned dielectric layer 1406 . the patterned photoresist layer is removed thereafter using a suitable process , such as wet stripping or plasma ashing . in one example , the etching process includes applying a dry ( or plasma ) etch to remove the dielectric layer 1406 within the openings of the patterned photoresist layer . in another example , the etching process includes applying a wet etch with a hydrofluoric acid ( hf ) solution to remove the sio layer 1406 within the openings . during the above photolithography process , the pattern regularity of the mandrel patterns 1502 helps improve pattern critical dimension uniformity in view of optical proximity effect . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1306 to form spacers 1602 . referring to fig1 a ( top view ) and fig1 b ( cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig1 a ), shown therein are the spacers 1602 formed on the sidewalls of the mandrel patterns 1502 . the spacers 1602 include one or more material different from the mandrel patterns 1502 . in an embodiment , the spacers 1602 may include a dielectric material , such as titanium nitride , silicon nitride , or titanium oxide . other materials suitable for the spacers 1602 include , but not limited to , poly - silicon , sio 2 , si 3 n 4 , sion , teos , nitrogen - containing oxide , nitride oxide , high k material ( k & gt ; 5 ), or combinations thereof . the spacers 1602 can be formed by various processes , including a deposition process and an etching process . for example , the deposition process includes a chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) process or a physical vapor deposition ( pvd ) process . for example , the etching process includes an anisotropic etch such as plasma etch . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1308 to remove the mandrel patterns 1502 . referring to fig1 a ( top view ) and fig1 b ( cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig1 a ), the spacers 1602 remain over the dielectric layer 1404 after the mandrel patterns 1502 have been removed , e . g ., by an etching process selectively tuned to remove the dielectric material 1406 but not the spacer material . the etching process can be a wet etching , a dry etching , or a combination thereof . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1310 to form fin lines 1802 in the silicon substrate 1402 . referring to fig1 b which is cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig1 a , the silicon substrate 1402 are etched with the spacers 1602 as an etch mask . the spacers 1602 and the dielectric layer 1404 are subsequently removed thereby forming the fin lines 1802 in the silicon substrate 1402 ( fig1 c ). the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1312 to perform a first fin cut process with the mask 1204 ( fig1 b ) thereby removing dummy fin lines . referring to fig1 a ( top view ) and fig1 b ( cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig1 a ), dummy fin lines 1802 d are removed thereby leaving the fin lines 1802 a on the silicon substrate 1402 . in the present embodiment , the dummy fin lines 1802 d are removed by a procedure including a lithography process and an etching process . for example , a photoresist layer is formed on the silicon substrate using a spin - coating process and soft baking process . then , the photoresist layer is exposed to a radiation using the mask 1204 where the dotted lines of fig1 a indicate openings to be formed . the exposed photoresist layer is subsequently developed and stripped thereby forming a patterned photoresist layer . the fin lines 1802 a are protected by the patterned photoresist layer while the dummy fin lines 1802 d are not protected as such . subsequently , the dummy fin lines 1802 d are etched through the openings of the patterned photoresist layer . the patterned photoresist layer is removed thereafter using a suitable process , such as wet stripping or plasma ashing . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1314 to perform a second fin cut process with the mask 1206 ( fig1 b ) thereby cutting fin lines for pull - up transistors such as pu - 1 and pu - 2 of fig5 . referring to fig2 a ( top view ) and fig2 b ( cross - sectional view along the a - a lines of fig2 a ), portions of the fin lines 1802 a are removed across the boundaries of the sram cells 202 a thereby forming shortened fin lines for the pull - up transistors pu - 1 and pu - 2 . in the present embodiment , the second fin cut process is similar to the first fin cut process discussed with respect to fig1 a and 19b except that the second fin cut process uses the mask 1206 . the method 1300 ( fig1 ) proceeds to operation 1316 to form a final device with the fin lines 1802 a . for example , the operation 1316 may include implanting dopant for well and channel doping , forming gate dielectric , forming lightly doped source / drain , forming gate stacks , and so on . fig2 shows a method 2100 of forming the fin active lines of the group 203 ( fig1 a ) with the three masks , 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 , of fig1 b , in accordance with an embodiment . additional operations can be provided before , during , and after the method 2100 , and some operations described can be replaced , eliminated , or moved around for additional embodiments of the method . some operations of the method 2100 are the same or similar to those respective operations of the method 1300 , and are hereby omitted from discussion for brevity . after operation 1308 , the method 2100 ( fig2 ) has formed spacers 1602 a and 1602 d ( fig2 a and 22b ) where the spacers 1602 a will be used for forming fin active lines while the spacers 1602 d ( dummy spacers ) will not . at operation 2110 , the method 2100 ( fig2 ) removes the dummy spacers 1602 d with the aid of the mask 1204 , e . g ., by a photolithography process and an etching process as discussed above with reference to fig1 a and 19b , wherein the etching process is selectively tuned to remove the spacer material ( fig2 c ). at operation 2112 , the method 2100 ( fig2 ) cuts the spacers 1602 a across the boundaries of the sram cells 202 a with the aid of the mask 1206 ( fig2 a and 23b ). this can be done with a process similar to the photolithography process and the etching process as discussed above with reference to fig2 a and 20b , wherein the etching process is selectively tuned to remove the spacer material ( fig2 b ). at operation 2114 , the method 2100 ( fig2 ) etches the silicon substrate 1402 with the remaining spacers 1602 a as an etch mask ( fig2 a and 24b ). the spacers 1602 a and the dielectric layer 1404 are subsequently removed thereby forming fin lines 1802 a in the silicon substrate 1402 for the transistors pu - 1 / 2 , pd - 1 / 2 , and pg - 1 / 2 ( fig2 c ). the method 2100 ( fig2 ) proceeds to operation 1316 to form a final device with the fin lines 1802 a as discussed above . fig2 a shows fin active lines of the group 203 ( fig2 ) that includes four adjacent sram cells 202 b ( fig6 ), cell - r 0 , cell - my , cell - mx , and cell - r 180 . the four cells are arranged in two rows and two columns . the imaginary line a - a denotes their boundary along the x direction , and the imaginary line b - b denotes their boundary along the y direction . with respect to fin active line configuration ( shape , size , and position of the active lines within a cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are mirror images of cell - my and cell - r 180 along the line b - b . in the present disclosure , these fin active lines are formed using spacer lithography with three masks , 2502 , 2504 , and 2506 , as shown in fig2 b . referring to fig2 b , similar to the three masks 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 in fig1 b , the three masks 2502 , 2504 , and 2506 are three layers of the design layout of the sram macro 102 ( and of the semiconductor device 100 ). the mask 2502 defines mandrel patterns for spacer formation , the mask 2504 defines dummy - fin cut patterns for removing dummy fin lines ( or dummy spacers ), and the mask 2506 defines fin - end cut patterns for shortening fin lines for the pull - up transistors ( e . g . pu - 1 and pu - 2 in fig5 ). as shown in fig2 b , the mandrel patterns are evenly distributed in the x direction . each mandrel pattern has a rectangular shape ( top view ) extending lengthwise in the y direction . in an embodiment , although not shown , each mandrel pattern extends over at least four sram cells 202 b ( see fig2 ). in the present embodiment , the layout includes five mandrel patterns extending over each sram cell 202 b . with respect to mandrel pattern configuration ( shape , size , and position of the mandrel patterns within each cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are translations of cell - my and cell - r 180 , i . e ., shifted by one x - pitch 204 b in the x direction . each dummy - fin cut pattern is also a rectangular shape ( top view ) extending lengthwise in the y direction . the fin - end cut patterns are located at the boundaries of the sram cells 202 b in the y direction and are used for cutting fin lines , e . g ., for reducing active areas for the pu - 1 and pu - 2 transistors . partitioning the layout of fig2 a into three masks of fig2 b allows dense and / or regular patterns to be created with the masks , which improves pattern critical dimension uniformity during photolithography . the fin active lines of fig2 a can be formed with the masks of fig2 b using an embodiment of the method 1300 ( fig1 ) or the method 2100 ( fig2 ) as discussed above . fig2 c shows the gate features of the group 203 superimposed onto the fin active lines of the same group ( fig2 a ). each gate feature is a rectangular shape extending lengthwise in the x direction . the gate features are spaced in the y direction having a pitch about half of the y - pitch 206 b . the gate features extend over the fin active lines for forming various p - finfets and n - finfets . with respect to gate feature configuration ( shape , size , and position of gate features within each cell ), cell - r 0 and cell - my are mirror images of cell - mx and cell - r 180 along the line a - a , while cell - r 0 and cell - mx are mirror images of cell - my and cell - r 180 along the line b - b . although not intended to be limiting , the present disclosure provides many benefits . for example , the present disclosure defines an embedded finfet sram macro structure which enables alignment of respective features ( e . g ., fin active lines , gate features , etc .) between sram cells and peripheral logic circuits . such alignment enables dense fin active lines formation and single fin pitch design , as an example . the embedded finfet sram macro structure is flexible in that it may include high density sram cells , high current sram cells , single port sram cells , two - port sram cells , or a combination thereof . therefore , it can be deployed in a wide range of applications , such as computing , communication , mobile phones , and automotive electronics . the present disclosure further teaches layout designs of the fin active regions for some embodiments of the sram cells , as well as methods for making the same . in some embodiments , the fin active region layout is partitioned into a mandrel pattern layer ( mask ) and two cut pattern layers ( masks ). the mandrel patterns are dense , parallel , and rectangular shapes , enhancing critical dimension uniformity during photolithography process . in one exemplary aspect , the present disclosure is directed to an integrated circuit ( ic ) layout . the ic layout includes a first rectangular region , wherein the first rectangular region has its longer sides in a first direction and its shorter sides in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction ; and a first imaginary line through a geometric center of the first rectangular region in the first direction and a second imaginary line through the geometric center in the second direction divide the first rectangular region into a first , second , third , and fourth sub - regions in counter - clockwise order with the first sub - region located at an upper - right portion of the first rectangular region . the ic layout further includes at least eight first patterns located at a first layer of the ic layout , wherein each of the first patterns is a rectangular shape extending lengthwise in the second direction over the first rectangular region ; the first patterns are spaced from each other in the first direction ; a first , second , third , and fourth portions of the first patterns overlap with the first , second , third , and fourth sub - regions respectively ; the first and second portions of the first patterns are mirror images of the respective fourth and third portions of the first patterns with respect to the first imaginary line ; and the first and fourth portions of the first patterns are translations of the respective second and third portions of the first patterns . the ic layout further includes at least eight second patterns located at a second layer of the ic layout , wherein each of the second patterns is a rectangular shape extending lengthwise in the second direction , the second patterns are spaced from each other in the first direction , each of the second patterns partially overlaps with one of the first patterns and fully covers a longer side of the respective first pattern when the first and second layers are superimposed . the ic layout further includes a plurality of third patterns located at a third layer of the ic layout , wherein each of the third patterns is a rectangular shape , the third patterns are spaced from each other , each of the third patterns partially overlaps with one of the first patterns and covers a portion of a longer side of the respective first pattern that is not covered by the second patterns when the first , second , and third layers are superimposed . in the above ic layout , the first , second , and third patterns are used for collectively defining a plurality of active regions for forming transistors ; and the plurality of active regions are defined along longer sides of the first patterns that are not covered by the second and third patterns when the first , second , and third layers are superimposed . in another exemplary aspect , the present disclosure is directed to a semiconductor device . the semiconductor device includes a first sram macro , wherein the first sram macro includes a first plurality of single - port sram cells and a second plurality of peripheral logic circuits , the first plurality are arranged to have a first pitch in a first direction and a second pitch in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction , the first plurality include finfet transistors formed by first gate features and first fin active lines , the second plurality include finfet transistors formed by second gate features and second fin active lines , the second gate features are arranged to have a third pitch in the second direction , and the second fin active lines are arranged to have a fourth pitch in the first direction . the semiconductor device further includes a second sram macro , wherein the second sram macro includes a third plurality of single - port sram cells and a fourth plurality of peripheral logic circuits , the third plurality are arranged to have a fifth pitch in the first direction and a sixth pitch in the second direction , the third plurality include finfet transistors formed by third gate features and third fin active lines , the fourth plurality include finfet transistors formed by fourth gate features and fourth fin active lines , the fourth gate features are arranged to have the third pitch in the second direction , and the fourth fin active lines are arranged to have the fourth pitch in the first direction . in the semiconductor device above , the second pitch is about twice of the third pitch ; the sixth pitch is about the same as the second pitch ; and the fifth pitch is greater than the first pitch by about twice of the fourth pitch . in another exemplary aspect , the present disclosure is directed to a semiconductor device . the semiconductor device includes a first sram macro , wherein the first sram macro includes a first plurality of single - port sram cells and a second plurality of peripheral logic circuits , the first plurality are arranged to have a first pitch in a first direction and a second pitch in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction , the first plurality include first finfet transistors formed by first gate features and first fin active lines , the second plurality include second finfet transistors formed by second gate features and second fin active lines , the second gate features are arranged to have a third pitch in the second direction , and the second fin active lines are arranged to have a fourth pitch in the first direction . the semiconductor device further includes a second sram macro , wherein the second sram macro includes a third plurality of two - port sram cells and a fourth plurality of peripheral logic circuits , the third plurality are arranged to have a fifth pitch in the first direction and a sixth pitch in the second direction , the third plurality include third finfet transistors formed by third gate features and third fin active lines , the fourth plurality include fourth finfet transistors formed by fourth gate features and fourth fin active lines , the fourth gate features are arranged to have the third pitch in the second direction , and the fourth fin active lines are arranged to have the fourth pitch in the first direction . in the semiconductor device above , the second pitch is about twice of the third pitch ; the sixth pitch is about the same as the second pitch ; a first ratio between the first pitch and the fourth pitch is not an integer ; and a second ratio between the fifth pitch and the fourth pitch is an integer . the foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that those having ordinary skill in the art may better understand the aspects of the present disclosure . those having ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and / or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein . those having ordinary skill in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure , and that they may make various changes , substitutions , and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure . | 7 |
firstly , the method for manufacturing the dried foods will be described . the basic process of the method of the present invention is firstly to pretreat the raw food materials , then to immerse the raw food materials in the oil and to radiate the raw materials with microwaves under reduced pressure , and finally to carry out aftertreatment . any solid food material can be used for the raw food material . examples of these raw food materials are the following : seeds and nutlets , beans , fish and shellfish , meat of animals , birds and whales , vegetables , fruits , mushrooms , seaweed , processed foods made of flour such as noodles , pasta and the like , processed foods made of soybean , processed foods of made egg such as fried eggs and the like , processed foods made of milk such as cheese and the like , processed foods made of the meat of domestic animals such as sausage , ham and the like , processed foods of made fish such as boiled fish paste ( e . g . the japanese foods &# 34 ; kamaboko &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; chikuwa &# 34 ;), gelled foods such as jelly , devil &# 39 ; s - tongue ( the japanese food &# 34 ; konnyaku &# 34 ;) and the like , and processed foods made of rice such as rice cake ( the japanese food &# 34 ; mochi &# 34 ;) and the like . the pretreatment process is optional and can be carried out by properly selecting one or more from the following operations ( 1 )-( 6 ) based upon the kind of raw materials and the nature of the dried foods : ( 2 ) preparatory dry hot blow dry , freezing dry , sunlight dry , reduced pressure dry , and microwave dry , ( 3 ) immersion into solutions the object of the immersion is to add seasoning to the raw material and also to prevent the raw material from deterioration in quality . examples of dissolved substances monosaccharide , disaccharide , oligosaccharide , polysaccharide , thick malt syrup , dextrin , corn syrup , saccharogenic starch , sugar alcohol , antioxidant , phosphoric acid , and common salt , in the process of radiating the raw materials with microwaves while immersed in oil under reduced pressure , the temperature of the oil ( at the commencement of the drying process and during the drying process ) is about 70 °- 130 ° c ., the range of the reduced pressure is about 500 - 15 , 000 pa , and the output power of the microwaves is about 1 . 35 - 50 kw , which is properly selected based upon the amount of raw materials , etc . the drying period , i . e . the degree of dry , is properly selected based upon the kind of raw materials , the amount of raw materials , the temperature of the oil , the output power of the microwaves , the degree of pressure reduction , etc . in general , it is preferable , in order to have the dried foods rich in porosity , to continue the drying process until 80 or more weight -% of the moisture contained in the raw food materials is removed . the aftertreatment process is also optional and can be carried out by properly selecting one or more from the following operations ( 1 )-( 4 ): ( 2 ) finish dry hot blow dry , freezing dry , reduced pressure dry , sunlight dry , microwave dry , and reduced pressure fry dry , an apparatus for manufacturing the dried foods of the present invention will next be described with reference to the attached drawing . a cover 2 of a pressure reducing chamber 1 having a monitoring window 3 is mounted on the upper portion of the pressure reducing chamber 1 . the pressure reducing chamber 1 is provided with an oil tank 4 in which is arranged a table 6 on which a retainer 5 for containing the raw food materials is placed . the table 6 is mounted so that it can rotate and vertically move within the oil tank 4 , and it may also be provided with agitation blades 7 for agitating the oil in the tank 4 . there is no special limitation on the configuration of the retainer 5 , and it may be a box - shaped configuration as shown in the drawings or a bag - shaped configuration . the retainer 5 can be made of metal or other suitable materials through which microwaves are easily permeable . if the retainer 5 is made of a metal such as stainless steel , sufficiently large openings should be formed therein so the microwaves can permeate therethrough . materials through which microwaves are easily permeable are , for example , polycarbonate , fluoroplastic , polypropylene , polyester , etc . the oil tank 4 is provided with a steam jacket 8 and a steam delivering pipe 8a . both the steam jacket 8 and the steam delivering pipe 8a are used for raising the temperature of the oil in the oil tank 4 at the commencement of drying operation to a predetermined temperature , and are also used as auxiliary heat sources during the drying operation . a separate heat source may be arranged outside the oil tank 4 instead of , or together with , the steam jacket 8 and the steam delivering pipe 8a so as to circulate the oil between the oil tank 4 and the heat source . in another simple way , it may be possible to introduce the oil heated to a predetermined temperature to the oil tank 4 . the pressure reducing chamber 1 is further provided with a microwave radiating means 9 ( the preferred embodiment shown in the drawing has two microwave radiating means 9 ). each microwave radiating means 9 comprises a microwave oscillator 11 , a waveguide 10 and a microwave radiating port 19 . the microwave radiating port 19 can be arranged at a desired position . however , it is preferable to arrange the port 19 at a position higher than the oil level ( 0 . l .) to avoid the difficulty of sealing it . in such case , it is desirable to mount the microwave radiating means 9 such that the incident angle of the microwaves relative to the oil surface ( 0 . l .) is set within a range of 10 °- 90 ° c . ( preferably a range of 45 °- 80 ° c .). in addition , it is preferable to symmetrically arrange a plurality of the microwave radiating ports 19 so as to uniformly heat the oil . in such case , it may be possible to construct the apparatus so that the microwaves can be delivered to all ports 19 from a single microwave oscillator 11 via a plurality of waveguides 10 each extending between the ports 19 and the oscillator 11 . the pressure reducing chamber 1 is further provided with a pressure reducing means 12 for creating a reduced pressure condition in the chamber 1 . the pressure reducing means 12 comprises a suction pump 13 , a refrigerator 14 and a pressure reducing control valve 15 . the pressure in the chamber 1 is also controlled by a pressure controlling leak valve 20 . the oil tank 4 is provided with an oil purifying means 16 formed by a strainer 17 and a circulating pump 18 for removing suspended matter in the oil . a thermometer for measuring oil temperature may be arranged at a desired position in the oil tank 4 . it is preferable to use an optical fiber thermometer to prevent the thermometer from being affected by the microwaves . of course , other types of thermometers than the optical fiber thermometer can be used if the sensor portion and the lead wire portion of the thermometer are protected from the microwaves by metallic covers . when measuring the average temperature of the entire oil by using an optical fiber thermometer , it is preferable to mount the optical fiber thermometer on the turntable 6 via a slip ring to prevent twisting of the optical fiber . the detected temperature may be used for controlling the output power of the microwaves . the operation of the dried food manufacturing apparatus of the present invention will be hereinafter described . firstly , opening the cover 2 , the table 6 is elevated above the oil level ( 0 . l .) and the retainer 5 in which the raw food materials are contained is placed on the table 6 . then the cover 2 is closed and the pressure reducing chamber 1 is evacuated to a predetermined pressure by the pressure reducing means 12 . the table 6 is lowered until the retainer 5 is completely immersed in the oil and then rotated . by this time , the temperature of the oil should have been raised to the predetermined temperature by the steam jacket 8 and the steam delivering pipe 8a . simultaneously with the immersion of the retainer 5 in the oil , the microwave radiating means 9 are energized to radiate the raw materials in the retainer 5 with microwaves . thus , the raw food materials can be dried . during the drying operation , the degree of reduced pressure in the chamber 1 is kept within a predetermined range by the pressure reducing control valve 15 and the pressure controlling leak valve 20 . after completion of the drying process , the radiation of microwaves is stopped . then the table 6 is elevated above the oil level ( 0 . l .) and is rotated and / or vertically reciprocated to drain the oil from the finished dried food contained in the retainer 5 . then the cover 2 is opened and the retainer 5 containing the finished dried food therein is taken from the pressure reducing chamber 1 . finally , the used oil is purified by circulating the oil to the strainer 17 by the circulating pump 18 . following is a comparison between finished dried foods made by the method according to the present invention ( experimental example 1 ) and other methods not according to the present invention ( comparative examples 1 - 3 ). prior to carrying out the drying process of the raw food material , a pretreatment was carried out as follows . apples were selected as the raw food material . each of the apples was cut in four pieces after having been washed by water . then , after having removed the core from the pieces , they were sliced into apple chips each having a thickness of 5 - 6 mm . the sliced apple chips were then immersed into syrup ( aqueous solution including 15 % sucrose and 0 . 5 % sodium l - ascorbinate ). then a vacuum replacement treatment ( i . e . reducing the pressure from normal pressure to 2 , 660 pa during two minutes with the apple chips immersed in the syrup and after keeping this pressure for five minutes , gradually recovering to the normal pressure over five minutes ) was carried out . finally , taking the apple chips out from the syrup , the syrup was drained from the apple chips by a centrifugal separator . the apple chips ( 100 g ) pretreated as abovementioned were placed in the metal retainer 5 formed with a great many of apertures and then the retainer 5 was placed on the table 6 . the pressure in the chamber 1 was reduced to a pressure of 2 , 660 pa and the temperature of the oil was initially set at 90 ° c . then , the table 6 was lowered into the oil and radiated with microwaves of an output power of 3 . 0 kw simultaneously with the immersion of the retainer 5 into the oil . after a lapse of three minutes , the radiation of microwaves was stopped . then , as a finish dry , the apple chips were kept under reduced pressure at the set temperature of 90 ° c . for three minutes ( i . e . &# 34 ; reduced pressure fry drying &# 34 ;), the retainer 5 was elevated and taken out from the oil and was kept stationary there for three minutes to drain the oil from the dried foods in the retainer 5 . finally , by recovering to normal pressure , the dried apple chips were completed . the apple chips ( 100 g ) pretreated as abovementioned were placed in the metal retainer 5 formed with a great many apertures and the retainer 5 was placed on the table 6 . the pressure in the chamber 1 was reduced to a pressure of 2 , 660 pa and the temperature of the oil was initially set at 90 ° c . then the table 6 was lowered into the oil and immersed in the retainer 5 containing the apple chips for fifteen minutes . then the retainer 5 was elevated and taken out from the oil and was kept stationary there for three minutes to drain the oil from the dried foods in the retainer 5 . finally , by recovering to normal pressure , the dried apple chips were completed . the apple chips ( 100 g ) pretreated as abovementioned were placed in the retainer 5 made of polycarbonate and the retainer 5 was placed on the table 6 . the pressure in the chamber 1 from which the oil had been taken out was reduced to a pressure of 2 , 660 pa and then the apple chips were radiated by microwaves of an output power of 1 . 5 kw . the operation of microwave radiation was intermittently carried out as follows to prevent the apple chips from being unevenly dried . that is , after repeating five times a pattern of five minutes microwave radiation and ten minutes stoppage , the microwaves were continuously radiated for ten minutes . the dried apple chips were thus completed by recovering to normal pressure after having kept the apple chips stationary for thirty minutes . the apple chips ( 100 g ) pretreated as abovementioned were placed in the retainer 5 made of polycarbonate and the retainer 5 was placed on the table 6 . the pressure in the chamber 1 from which the oil had been taken out was reduced to a pressure of 2 , 660 pa and then the apple chips were radiated by microwaves of an output power of 3 . 0 kw . the operation of microwave radiation was separately carried out as follows to prevent the apple chips from unevenly drying . that is , after three minutes of microwave radiation , the microwave radiation was stopped for ten minutes . then after repeating four times a pattern of two minutes microwave radiation and four minutes stoppage , the microwaves were continuously radiated for one minute . the dried apple chips were thus completed by recovering to normal pressure after having kept the apple chips stationary for thirty minutes . the conclusion derived from comparing the quality of the dried apple chips manufactured according to the methods of experimental example 1 and comparative examples 1 - 3 is as follows : in the dried apple chips manufactured by the method of experimental example 1 , all the apple chips were moderately dried and no volume reduction of any apple chips due to drying were found therein . the color of the dried apples was maintained in their good original color and no scorching was found therein . the flesh of the apple chip was porous over the entire volume thereof , and therefore the feeling it gave to the palate was soft - dry and spongy . in the dried apple chips manufactured by the method of comparative example 1 , all the apple chips were moderately dried . however , a slight volume reduction was found therein and the color was slightly darkened . several large apertures like blisters were formed in the flesh of the apple chips , and therefore the distribution of pores was not even . in addition , oily brown scorchings were found thereon . the feeling to the palate was soft , but was inferior in lightness and meltability in the mouth . in the dried apple chips manufactured by the method of comparative example 2 , 30 % of the apple chips were moderately dried . however , the other 40 % were not dried yet , and the remaining 30 % were remarkably scorched and had undergone remarkable volume reduction . also in the remaining 30 %, the color of the apple chips was darkened and the distribution of pores was not even . in addition , although the feeling to the palate was soft , it lacked both lightness and meltability in the mouth . also , there was a hard dried part and a moist part in the finished dry food . in the dried apple chips manufactured by the method of comparative example 3 , 30 % of the apple chips were moderately dried . however , 10 % were not dried yet and the remaining 60 % were remarkably scorched and had undergone to remarkable volume reduction . also in the remaining 60 %, the color of the apple chips was darkened and even distribution of pores was not found therein . in addition , although the feeling to the palate was soft , it lacked both lightness and meltability in the mouth , and there was a hard dried part and a moist part in the finished dry food . furthermore , glow discharge frequently occurred after the third microwave radiation and thus the retainer of polycarbonate was deformed and the bolts in the oil tank were also partially discolored and melted . evaluation with respect to volume reduction , color , porosity and feeling to the palate were made only on the moderately dried apple chips . it is apparent from the comparison between the experimental example according to the present method and the comparative examples not according to the present method that the present method is excellent in manufacturing dried foods . this is because the greater part of the moisture in the raw materials to be removed can be evaporated in a short time after the commencement of the drying process according to the present invention . according to the present invention , it is possible to manufacture dried foods rich in porosity by radiating the raw food materials with microwaves while immersed in oil under reduced pressure conditions . the dried foods manufactured by the present invention can be eaten as is or after swelling them with water or boiled water . while a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail , it will be understood that various modifications and alternations of the two rotors may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims . | 0 |
fig3 depicts a variable - width memory 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . memory 300 is similar to sdram 200 of fig2 , like - numbered elements being the same . memory 300 differs from sdram 200 , however , in that the memory core organization changes with device width , resulting in reduced power usage for relatively narrow memory configurations . also advantageous , reorganizing the core for relatively narrow memory widths increases the number of logical memory banks , and consequently reduces the likelihood of bank conflicts . fewer conflicts means improved speed performance . these and other benefits of the invention are detailed below . much of the operation of memory 300 is similar to sdram 200 of fig2 . a discussion of those portions of memory 300 in common with sdram 200 is omitted here for brevity . the elements of fig3 described above in connection with fig2 are numbered in the two - hundreds ( e . g ., 2xx ) for convenience . in general , the first digit of numerical designations indicates the figure in which the identified element is introduced . memory 300 includes a configurable memory core 305 . in the example , memory core 305 includes eight physical memory banks pb0 - pb7 , though the number of physical banks may vary according to need . physical banks pb0 - pb7 are interconnected such that they can be combined to form different numbers of logical banks . in the example , pairs of physical banks ( e . g ., pb0 and pb1 ) can be combined to form four logical banks lb0 - lb3 , collections of four physical banks ( e . g ., pb0 - pb3 ) can be combined to form two logical banks lb4 and lb5 , and all eight physical banks can be combined to form a single logical bank lb0 - 7 . assuming , for simplicity , that each physical bank pb0 - pb7 includes a single data i / o terminal , memory core 305 can be configured as a one - bit - wide memory with eight logical banks , a two - bit - wide memory with four logical banks , a four - bit - wide memory with two logical banks , or an eight - bit - wide memory with one logical bank . some configuration logic 310 controls the configuration of memory core 305 via a data control circuit 315 . configuration logic 310 also controls the data width through a collection of latches 320 and a collection of i / o buffers 325 . as detailed below , data control circuit 315 includes some data routing logic , such as a crossbar switch , to provide flexible routing between the memory banks and data terminals dqs . the purpose and operation of these blocks is described below in more detail . as noted in fig3 , the data terminals ( dqs ) can be configured to have widths of x1 , x2 , x4 , and x8 . fig4 a shows a specific implementation of a configurable core 400 and associated circuitry . in one embodiment , core 400 is a portion of memory 300 of fig3 . the number of physical banks is reduced to four physical banks pb0 - pb3 in fig4 for brevity . memory 300 might include two memory “ slices ,” each of which comprises a memory core 400 . the manner of extending the memory core of fig4 a to eight or more banks will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art . the components of core 400 are similar to like - numbered elements in fig3 . for this embodiment , the serialization ratio is 1 : 1 . serialization ratios greater than 1 : 1 are possible with the addition of serial - to - parallel ( write ) and parallel - to - serial ( read ) conversion circuits . in this example , there are four physical banks pb0 - 3 supporting four read data bits and four write data bits . generally , data control circuit 315 contains multiplexing logic for read operations and demultiplexing logic for write operations . the multiplexing logic and demultiplexing logic are designed to allow one , two , or four device data lines dq0 - dq3 to be routed to the four physical banks pb0 - pb3 . in the one - bit wide configuration , device data line d0 can be routed to / from any of the four physical banks pb0 - pb3 . in the 2 - bit wide configuration (“ x2 ”), device data lines dq0 and dq1 can be routed to / from physical banks pb0 and pb1 ( collectively , logical bank lb0 , 1 ) or physical banks pb2 and pb3 ( collectively logical banks lb2 , 3 ). finally , in the 4 - bit wide configuration , device data lines dq0 , dq1 , dq2 , and dq3 can be routed to / from respective physical banks pb0 , pb1 , pb2 , and pb3 ( collectively , logical bank lb0 - 3 ). core 400 can thus be configured as a one -, two -, or four - bank memory with respective widths of four ( x4 ), two ( x2 ), and one ( x1 ) data bits . core 400 is a synchronous memory ; consequently , each physical bank pb0 - pb3 includes an input latch 405 and an output latch 410 . physical banks pb0 - pb3 additionally include respective memory arrays ma0 - ma3 , sense amplifiers sa0 - sa3 , and bank - select terminals bs1 - bs3 . asserting a bank select signal on one of terminals bs1 - bs3 loads the data in the addressed location within the selected memory array into the respective one of sense amplifiers sa1 - 1a3 . latch 320 includes a pair of latches 415 and 420 for each physical bank pb0 - pb3 . data control circuit 315 includes five multiplexers 425 , 430 , 435 , 440 , and 445 that communicate data between latch 320 and physical banks pb0 - pb3 . multiplexers 425 and 430 are controlled by a write control signal wb ; multiplexer 435 is controlled by a read control signal ra ; multiplexer 440 is controlled by a write control signal wa ; and multiplexer 445 is controlled by two read control signals ra and rb . write control signals wa and wb and read control signals ra and rb are based on the selected data path width and bits of the requested memory address or transfer phase . configuration logic 310 ( fig3 ) produces these signals in response to the programmed data width , whether the operation is a read or write operation , and appropriate addressing information . table 1 shows the control values used for data path slice widths of one , two , and four . table 1 also indicates which of data terminals d0 - d3 are used for each data width . when a width of one is selected during a read operation , the configuration logic 310 allows data from any one of the four physical banks pb0 - pb3 to be presented at data terminal dq0 . control signals ra and rb determine which data - bit signals will be presented at any given time . control signals ra and rb are set ( at this data width ) to equal the two least - significant bits ( a1 , a0 ) of the memory address corresponding to the current read operation . when a width of one is selected during a write operation , the circuit accepts the data bit signal from data terminal dq0 and routes it to all four physical banks pb0 - pb3 simultaneously . control signals wa and wb are both set to a logical value of one to produce this routing . other logic circuits ( not shown ) within configuration logic 310 control which of input latches 405 and 410 are active during any single write operation , so that each data bit signal is latched into the appropriate physical bank . for a given physical bank , only one of latches 405 and 410 is active during any given memory cycle . when a width of two is selected during a read operation , configuration logic 310 allows two of the four data bit signals associated with physical banks pb0 - pb3 to be present at data terminals dq0 and dq1 . to obtain this result , control signal ra is set to 0 , and control signal rb is equal to the lower bit ( a0 ) of the memory address corresponding to the current read operation . control signal rb determines which of two pairs of data bit signals ( 0 and 1 or 2 and 3 ) are presented at data terminals dq0 and dq1 during a given read operation . when a width of two is selected during a write operation , configuration logic 310 accepts the data bit signals from physical banks pb0 and pb 1 and routes them either to data terminals dq0 and dq1 or dq2 and dq3 . in this configuration , physical banks pb0 and pb1 collectively form one logical bank lb0 , 1 and physical banks pb2 and pb3 collectively form a second logical bank lb2 , 3 . control signals wa and wb are set to 0 and 1 , respectively , to obtain this result . a width of four is selected by setting all of the control signals ( ra , rb , wa , and w ,) to 0 . read and write data signals are then passed directly between physical banks pb0 - pb3 and corresponding data terminals dq0 - dq3 . for each row access , data moves from memory arrays ma0 - ma3 to their respective sense amplifiers sa0 - sa3 . core 400 minimizes the power required to perform a row access by limiting each row access to the selected physical bank ( s ). to this end , bank - select signals on lines bs0 - bs3 are only asserted to selected banks . configuration logic 310 determines which of physical banks pb0 - pb3 are selected , and consequently which bank - select signals are asserted , based upon the selected device width and memory address . the following table 2 summarizes the logic within configuration logic 310 that generates the appropriate bank - select signals . when core 400 is configured to have a width of one , the two least - significant address bits a0 and a1 are decoded to select one of physical banks pb0 - pb3 ; when core 400 is configured to have a width of two , address bit a0 enables the physical banks within either of logical banks lb0 , 1 or lb2 , 3 ; and when core 400 is configured to have a width of four , address bits a0 and a1 are ignored and all physical banks pb0 - pb3 are selected ( i . e ., enabled ). the circuit of fig4 a is just one example of many possible designs . other embodiments will benefit from other configurations . for example , it is possible to use more or less elaborate data routing schemes to account for the different connection needs for memory systems with more or fewer modules . moreover , multiple memory cores 400 may be used to construct devices with greater than four device data connections . for example , a device having sixteen device data connections could use four memory cores while supporting three programmable widths ; namely , 16 , 8 , or 4 - bits widths . there are many possible alternatives for the number and width of physical and logical banks , the number of device data connections per device , serialization ratios , and data - path widths . all data to and from memory core 400 passes through data terminal dq0 in the x1 mode , terminals dq0 and dq1 in the x2 mode , and terminals dq0 - dq3 in the x4 mode . fig4 b depicts an embodiment 450 that benefits from a more flexible routing scheme in which the data terminals dq0 - dq3 can be routed to different input / output pins of the memory module upon which core 305 is mounted . embodiment 450 substitutes data control circuit 315 of fig4 a with a more flexible crossbar switch 460 . in the depicted embodiment , the data terminals to and from physical bank pb0 can be routed to any of data connections dq0 - dq3 in the x1 mode ; the data terminals to and from physical banks pb0 and pb1 can be routed to either data connections dq0 and dq1 or data connections dq2 and dq3 , respectively , in the x2 mode ; and the data terminals to and from physical banks pb0 - pb3 can be routed to data connections dq0 - dq3 , respectively , in the x4 mode . u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 530 , 814 and 5 , 717 , 871 describe various types of crossbar switches , and are incorporated herein by reference . fig5 a depicts a memory module 500 that includes four variable - width memories 502 of the type described above in connection with fig3 , 4 a , and 4 b . module 500 , typically a printed circuit board , also includes a number of conductive traces 505 that convey data between the data pins ( 3 , 2 , 1 , 0 ) of memories 502 and corresponding module pins 510 . in fig5 a , each memory 502 is configured to be one - bit wide , and the resulting four data bits are connected to four consecutive ones of pins 510 . the selected traces are identified as bold lines ; the selected module pins are crosshatched . fig5 b depicts the same memory module 500 of fig5 a ; unlike in fig5 a , however , each memory 502 is configured to be two - bits wide , and the resulting eight data bits are connected to eight consecutive ones of pins 510 . the memory module 500 of fig5 b is thus configured to be twice as wide ( and half as deep ) as the same module 500 of fig5 a . as in fig5 a , the selected traces are identified as bold lines ; the selected pins are crosshatched . fig5 c depicts the same memory module 500 of fig5 a and 5b ; unlike in fig5 a and 5b , however , each memory 502 is configured to be four - bits wide , and the resulting sixteen data bits are connected to sixteen consecutive ones of pins 510 . the memory module 500 of fig5 c is thus configured to be twice as wide ( and half as deep ) as the same module 500 of fig5 b and four times as wide ( and one forth as deep ) as the same memory module 500 of fig5 a . once again , the selected traces are identified as bold lines ; the selected pins are crosshatched . fig6 a and 6b depict a computer motherboard ( or system backplane ) 600 adapted to use a variable - width memory in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . motherboard 600 includes a memory controller 605 and a plurality of electrical receptacles or connectors 610 and 615 . the connectors are memory module sockets , and are configured to receive installable / removable memory modules 620 and 625 . each of memory modules 620 and 625 comprises a module backplane 630 and a plurality of integrated memory circuits 635 . each memory module also includes first and second opposed rows of electrical contacts ( module pins ) 640 along opposite surfaces of its backplane . only one row of contacts 640 is visible in fig6 a . there are corresponding rows of connector contacts ( not visible in fig6 a ) in each of connectors 610 and 615 . a plurality of signal lines , or “ traces ,” extends between memory controller 605 and electrical connectors 610 and 615 for electrical communication with memory modules 620 and 625 . more specifically , there are a plurality of sets of signal lines , each set extending to a corresponding , different one of connectors 610 and 615 . a first set of signal lines 645 extends to first electrical connector 610 , and a second set of signal lines 650 extends to second electrical connector 615 . motherboard 600 also has a third set of signal lines 655 that extends between the two connectors . in the embodiment shown , the signal lines comprise system data lines — they carry data that has been read from or that is to be written to memory modules 620 and 625 . it is also possible that other signal lines , such as address and control lines , would couple to the memory modules through the connectors . these additional signal lines could have a different interconnection topology than what is shown for signal lines 645 , 650 , and 655 . the routing of the signal lines is more clearly visible in fig6 b , in which memory modules 620 and 625 have been omitted for clarity . the illustrated physical routing is shown only as a conceptual aid — actual routing is likely to be more direct , through multiple layers of a printed - circuit board . fig7 a depicts a portion 700 of motherboard 600 detailing the signal - line configuration . this view shows cross - sections of connectors 610 and 615 . electrical conductors , traces , and / or contacts are indicated symbolically in fig7 a by relatively thick solid or dashed lines . each of the three previously described sets of signal lines is represented by a single one of its conductors , which has been labeled with the reference numeral of the signal line set to which it belongs . the respective lines of a particular set of signal lines are routed individually in the manner shown . as discussed above , each connector 610 and 615 has first and second opposed rows of contacts . fig7 a shows individual contacts 705 and 710 corresponding respectively to the two contact rows of each connector . it is to be understood that these , again , are representative of the remaining contacts of the respective contact rows . as is apparent in fig7 a , the first set of signal lines 645 extends to first contact row 705 of first connector 610 . the second set of signal lines 650 extends to the first contact row 705 of second connector 615 . in addition , a third set of signal lines 655 extends between the second contact row 710 of first connector 610 and second contact row 710 of second connector 615 . the third set of signal lines 655 is represented by a dashed line , indicating that these lines are used only in certain configurations ; specifically , signal lines 655 are used only when a shorting module is inserted into connector 610 or 615 . such a shorting module , the use of which will be explained in more detail below , results in both sets of signal lines 645 and 650 being configured for communications with a single memory module . the system of fig7 a can be configured to include either one or two memory modules . fig8 illustrates the first configuration , which includes a memory module 800 in the first connector 610 and a shorting module 810 in the second connector 615 . the shorting module has shorting conductors 815 , corresponding to opposing pairs of connector contacts , between the first and second rows of the second connector . inserting shorting module 810 into connector 615 connects or couples the second set 650 of signal lines to the second contact row 705 of first connector 610 through the third set of signal lines 655 . in this configuration , the two sets of signal lines 645 and 650 are used collectively to communicate between memory controller 605 and memory module 800 . in a two - module configuration , shorting bar 810 is replaced with a second memory module 800 . if modules 800 are adapted in accordance with the invention to support two width configurations and to include one half of the module pins 640 on either side , then there is no need for a switch matrix like data control circuit 315 of fig4 a or crossbar switch 460 of fig4 b . instead , merely including shorting module 810 provides the memory controller access to the module pins 640 on both sides of the one module 800 . alternatively , including two memory modules 800 will provide the memory controller access to the same half of the module pins 640 ( those on the left - hand side of connector 610 ) on both memory modules ; the other half of the module pins 640 are not used . more complex routing schemes can likewise be employed to support additional modules and width configurations . the two - module configuration thus provides the same data width as the single - module configuration , with each module providing half the width . for a more detailed discussion of motherboard 600 , see u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 797 , 099 filed feb . 28 , 2001 , entitled “ upgradeable memory system with reconfigurable interconnect ,” by richard e . perego et al ., which issued oct . 27 , 2009 , as u . s . pat . no . 7 , 610 , 447 and is incorporated herein by reference . in some embodiments , the access configurations of the memory modules are controllable and programmable by memory controller 605 in the manner described above in connection with fig3 , 4 a , 4 b , 5 a , and 5 b . in such embodiments , the memory controller may be adapted to detect which connectors have installed memory modules , and to set the configuration of each module accordingly . this allows either one or two memory module to be used in a system without requiring manual configuration steps . if one module is used , it may be configured to use two signal - line sets for the best possible performance . if two memory modules are present , they may each be configured to use one signal - line set . this idea can be extended to support memory systems that can accommodate more than two memory modules , though the routing scheme becomes more complex with support for additional modules . the integrated memory circuit can be configured for the appropriate access mode using control pins . these control pins might be part of the signal line sets 645 , 650 , and 655 , or they might be part of a different set of signal lines . these control pins might be dedicated to this configuration function , or they might be shared with other functions . also , the integrated memory circuit might utilize programmable fuses to specify the configuration mode . integrated memory circuit configurability might also be implemented , for example , by the use of jumpers on the memory modules . note that the memory capacity of a module remains the same regardless of how it is configured . however , when it is accessed through one signal line set it requires a greater memory addressing range than when it is accessed through two signal line sets . also note that the two configurations shown in fig6 - 8 could also be implemented with a shorting connector instead of a shorting module . a shorting connector shorts its opposing contacts when no module is inserted ( the same result as when the connector 615 of fig7 b has a shorting module inserted ). a shorting connector with a memory module inserted is functionally identical to the connector 610 in fig7 . as noted above , the general signal line scheme can be generalized for use with n connectors and memory modules . generally stated , a system such as this uses a plurality of signal - line sets , each extending to a respective module connector . at least one of these sets is configurable or bypassable to extend to a connector other than its own respective connector . stated alternatively , there are 1 through n sets of signal lines that extend respectively to corresponding connectors 1 through n . sets 1 through n − 1 of the signal lines are configurable to extend respectively to additional ones of the connectors other than their corresponding connectors . fig9 a - 9d illustrate this generalization , in a memory system 900 in which n = 4 . referring first to fig9 a , this configuration includes a memory controller 905 ; four memory slots or connectors 910 , 915 , 920 , and 925 ; and four signal line sets 930 , 935 , 940 , and 945 . each signal line set is shown as a single line , and is shown as a dashed line when it extends beneath one of the connectors without connection . physical connections of the signal line sets to the connectors are shown as solid dots . inserted memory modules are shown as diagonally hatched rectangles , with solid dots indicating signal connections . note that each inserted memory module can connect to up to four signal line sets . the number of signal line sets to which it actually connects depends upon the connector into which it is inserted . the connectors are identical components , but appear different to the memory modules because of the routing pattern of the four signal line sets on the motherboard . each signal line set extends to a corresponding connector . furthermore , signal lines sets 935 , 940 , and 945 are extendable to connectors other than their corresponding connectors : signal line set 935 is extendable to connector 925 ; signal line set 940 is extendable to both connectors 920 and 925 ; signal line set 945 is extendable to connector 925 . more specifically , a first signal line set 930 extends directly to a first memory connector 925 without connection to any of the other connectors . it connects to corresponding contacts of the first contact row of connector 925 . a second signal line set 935 extends directly to a second memory connector 920 , where it connects to corresponding contacts of the first contact row . the corresponding contacts of the second contact row are connected to corresponding contacts of the first contact row of first connector 925 , allowing the second signal line set to bypass second connector 920 when a shorting module is placed in connector 920 . a third signal line set 940 extends directly to a third memory connector 915 , where it connects to corresponding contacts of the first contact row . the corresponding contacts of the second contact row are connected to corresponding contacts of the first contact row of connector 920 . the corresponding second contact row contacts of connector 920 are connected to the corresponding contacts of the first contact row of connector 925 . a fourth signal line set 945 extends directly to a fourth memory connector 910 , where it connects to corresponding contacts of the first contact row of connector 910 . the corresponding contacts of the second contact row are connected to corresponding contacts of the first contact row of first connector 925 . this configuration , with appropriate use of shorting or bypass modules , accommodates one , two , three , or four physically identical memory modules . each memory module permits simultaneous access through one , two , or four of its four available signal line sets . in the configuration of fig9 a , a single memory module is inserted in first connector 925 . this memory module is configured to permit simultaneous accesses on all of its four signal line sets , which correspond to all four signal line sets . connectors 910 , 915 , and 920 are shorted by inserted shorting modules as shown so that signal line sets 935 , 940 , and 945 extend to connector 925 . fig9 b illustrates a second configuration in which connectors 910 and 915 are shorted by inserting shorting modules . thus , signal line sets 930 and 945 extend to connector 925 and the inserted memory module is configured to permit simultaneous accesses on these two signal line sets . signal line sets 935 and 940 extend to connector 920 and the inserted memory module is configured to permit simultaneous accesses on these two signal line sets . fig9 c illustrates a third configuration in which connector 910 is shorted by inserting a shorting module , and memory modules are positioned in connectors 915 , 920 , and 925 . signal line sets 930 and 945 extend to connector 925 and the inserted memory module is configured to permit simultaneous accesses on these two signal line sets . signal line set 935 extends to connector 920 and the inserted memory module is configured to permit accesses on this signal line set . signal line set 940 extends to connector 915 and the inserted memory module is configured to permit accesses on this signal line set . fig9 d illustrates a fourth configuration , with a memory module in each of the four available memory connectors . each module is connected to use a respective one of the four signal line sets , with no shorting modules in use . an interesting aspect of a memory device with programmable data access width relates to the characteristic of the device that its bandwidth may generally be reduced as its data width is narrowed . as device bandwidth is reduced , opportunities increase for altering the device &# 39 ; s memory array configuration to provide greater independence between array partitions . fig1 shows an example of a conventional 1 gb density dram 1000 with a 16 - bit wide data path d0 - d15 . fig1 shows a high - level floor plan of the dram die , including left (“ l ”) and right (“ r ”) bank subdivisions , row decoders , column decoders , i / o sense amps ( i / o ), and data pin locations d0 - d7 and d8 - d15 . a pair of regions 1005 and 1012 within memory banks b0 - l and b0 - r ( i . e ., the left and right halves of bank 0 ) indicates a sample page location for an 8 kb page within bank zero . 4 kb worth of sense amp circuitry for the left and right halves of dram 1000 are accessed in parallel via a pair of multiplexers 1010 and 1015 to form an 8 kb page . in this design , data from left and right halves of the die are accessed in parallel to meet the device peak bandwidth requirement . this also allows the data paths for the left and right halves of the die to be largely independent . ( this aspect of some embodiments is discussed in more detail below in connection with fig1 .) fig1 a and 11b depict a high - level floor plan of a dram 1100 featuring a configurable core in accordance with one embodiment . dram 1100 can operate as dram 1000 of fig1 , but can also be configured to reduce peak device bandwidth by a factor of two . such a bandwidth reduction allows the full amount of device bandwidth to be serviced by either the left half ( fig1 a ) or right half ( fig1 b ) of the device . in this embodiment , the eight active device data connections d0 - d7 — shown in bold — are located on the left side of the die , requiring that a data path 1105 be provided from the right side memory array to the left side data connections d0 - d7 . with the memory array divided into left and right halves , it becomes feasible to manage banks on each side independently . in this case , the 16 - bit wide device that supported eight independent banks accessed via data terminals d0 - d15 ( like dram 1000 of fig1 ) can be reconfigured as an 8 - bit wide device supporting 16 independent banks , with data access provided via either data terminals d0 - d7 or d8 - d15 . there is typically some incremental circuit overhead associated with increasing the bank count of the device , setting a practical limit to the number of independent banks that could potentially be supported . however , a performance improvement related to the increased number of banks may justify some increase in device cost . in the embodiment of fig1 a and 11b , device page size is reduced for the 8 - bit wide configuration ( 4 kb ) relative to the 16 - bit wide configuration ( 8 kb ). reducing the page size is attractive from a power consumption perspective because fewer sense amps are activated during a ras operation . in addition to activating fewer sense amps , it is also possible to subdivide word lines using a technique known as “ sub - page activation .” in this scheme , word lines are divided into multiple sections , one or more of which are activated for a particular ras operation . this technique typically adds some incremental die area overhead in exchange for reduced power consumption and potentially improved array access or cycle times . the examples highlighted in fig1 a and 11b are intended to illustrate the concept of how a configurable array organization can be used to reduce power consumption and increase the number of logical memory banks write transactions are not described for this embodiment , although the same principles of power reduction and memory bank count apply to writes as well . the basic principles of configurable array organization can be exploited regardless of the type or capacity of memory device . fig1 depicts a specific implementation of a configurable core 1200 and associated circuitry , the combination of which may be integrated to form a memory component . core 1200 is similar to core 450 of fig4 b , like - named elements being the same . core 1200 provides the same functionality as core 450 , but the configuration and switching logic is modified to afford users the ability to partition the four physical banks pb0 - pb3 into two separately addressable memories , each of which can be either one or two bits wide . some elements are omitted from the depiction of fig1 for brevity . for example , core 1200 may also include registers 405 and 410 . physical bank pb0 includes a row decoder rd0 , a memory array ma0 , a sense amp sa0 ( actually a collection of sense amplifiers ), and a column decoder cd0 . each of the remaining physical banks pb1 - pb3 includes identical structures . the row decoders , memory banks , sense amps , and column decoders are omitted from fig4 b for brevity , but are included in fig1 to illustrate an addressing scheme that enables core 1200 to independently access logical blocks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 . address buffers 225 and 230 , introduced in fig3 , connect directly to the row and column decoders of physical banks pb2 and pb3 . configuration logic 310 , also introduced in fig3 , connects to the bank - select terminals bs3 - 0 and to a crossbar switch 1207 . address buffers 225 and 230 are also selectively connected to the row and column decoders in physical banks pb0 and pb1 via a multiplexer 1205 . the configuration and switching logic of core 1200 is extended to include a second set of address buffers ( row and column ) 1209 and a second set of configuration logic 1210 . address buffers 1209 connect to the row and column decoders in physical banks pb0 and pb1 via multiplexer 1205 . configuration logic 1210 connects to crossbar switch 1207 — the data control circuit in this embodiment — and to bank - select terminals bs0 and bs1 via multiplexer 1205 . a configuration - select bus conf from configuration logic 310 includes three control lines c0 - c2 that connect to crossbar switch 1207 . line c2 additionally connects to the select terminal of multiplexer 1205 . in this embodiment , mode register 220 ( fig3 ) is adapted to store configuration data establishing the levels provided on lines c0 - c2 . core 1200 supports four operational modes , or “ configurations ,” in addition to those described above in connection with fig3 , 4 a , and 4 b . these modes are summarized below in table 3 . core 1200 is operationally identical to core 450 of fig4 b if each of lines c0 - c2 is set to logic one . in that case , the logic one on line c2 causes multiplexer 1205 to pass the address from address buffers 225 and 230 to physical banks pb0 and pb1 . the logic levels on lines c0 and c1 are irrelevant in this configuration . driving line c2 to a voltage level representative of a logic zero causes multiplexer 1205 to convey the contents of the second set of address buffers 1209 to physical banks pb0 and pb1 , and additionally causes crossbar switch 1207 to respond to the control signals on lines c0 and c1 . logical banks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 are thereby separated to provide independent memory access . logical banks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 are separately addressable in each of configurations two through five of table 3 . though not shown , logical banks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 can be adapted to receive either the same clock signal or separate clock signals . in configuration number two , crossbar switch 1207 accesses logical bank lb0 , 1 on lines dq0 and dq1 and logical bank lb2 , 3 on lines dq2 and dq3 . core 1200 is therefore divided into a pair of two - bit memories accessed via separate two - bit data busses . in configuration number three , crossbar switch 1207 alternatively accesses either logical bank lb0 , 1 or logical bank lb2 , 3 via lines dq0 and dq1 . core 1200 is therefore divided into two separately addressable two - bit memories that share a two - bit data bus . configuration number four is similar , but access is provided via lines dq2 and dq3 . configuration number five divides core 1200 into two separately addressable , one - bit - wide memories . in effect , each pair of physical blocks within logical blocks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 is combined to form a single - bit memory with twice the address locations of a parallel configuration . each of the resulting one - bit - wide memories is then separately accessible via one bus line . the modes of table 3 are not exhaustive . more control signals and / or additional control logic can be included to increase the available memory configurations . for example , configuration number five might be extended to include the ability to select the bus line upon which data is made available , or the two - bit modes could be extended to provide data on additional pairs of bus lines . the mode - select aspect allows core 1200 to efficiently support data of different word lengths . processors , which receive instructions and data from memory like core 1200 , are sometimes asked to alternatively perform complex sets of instructions on relatively small data structures or perform simple instructions on relatively large data structures . in graphics programs , for example , the computationally simple task of refreshing an image employs large data structures , while more complex image processing tasks ( e . g ., texture mapping and removing hidden features ) often employ relatively small data structures . core 1200 can dynamically switch between configurations to best support the task at hand by altering the contents of mode register 220 ( fig3 ). in the graphics - program example , instructions that contend with relatively large data structures might simultaneously access both logical blocks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 in parallel , and instructions that contend with relatively small data structures might access logical blocks lb0 , 1 and lb2 , 3 separately using separate addresses . core 1200 may therefore provide more efficient memory usage . as with cores 400 and 450 , core 1200 minimizes the power required to perform a row access by limiting each row access to the selected physical bank ( s ). fig1 a is a simplified block diagram 1300 of core 1200 of fig1 illustrating memory access timing in one memory - access mode . in this example , core 1200 is configured to deliver full - width data from combined logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 . the pairs of memory blocks within each logical block lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 are combined for simplicity of illustration . at time t1 , the data stored in row address location add0 in each of logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 are each loaded simultaneously into respective sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 and sa0 / 1 . the row address add0 used for each logical block is the same . then , at time t2 , the contents at the same column address of the two sense amplifiers are accessed simultaneously with data lines dq3 / 2 and dq1 / 0 via switch 1207 . time t1 precedes time t2 . fig1 b is a block diagram 1310 of core 1200 of fig1 illustrating access timing in a second memory - access mode . in this example , core 1200 is configured to alternatively deliver half - width data by separately accessing logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 . at time t1 , the contents of row address add0 in logical block lb2 , 3 loads into sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 . at another time t2 ( where t2 may be earlier or later than t1 ), the contents of row address add0 in local block lb0 / 1 loads into sense amplifiers sa0 / 1 . of interest , at each of times t1 and t2 only the accessed physical blocks are enabled using the appropriate bank - select signals bs3 - 0 ( see fig1 ). the content at a column address of sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 is accessed at time t3 via the data lines dq0 / 1 . the content at the same column address of sense amplifiers sa0 / 1 is accessed at another time t4 via the data lines dq0 / 1 ( where t4 may be earlier or later than t3 ). time t1 precedes time t3 , and time t2 precedes t4 . fig1 c is a simplified block diagram 1315 of core 1200 of fig1 illustrating access timing in a third memory - access configuration . as in the example of fig1 a , core 1200 is configured to deliver full - width data from combined logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 ; unlike the example of fig1 a , however , diagram 1315 illustrates the case in which logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 are addressed separately . at time t1 , the contents of row address add0 in logical block lb2 , 3 and row address add1 in logical block lb0 , 1 are loaded substantially simultaneously into respective sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 and sa0 / 1 . the term “ substantially simultaneous ” is used here to indicate the possibility that these two operations are not precisely simultaneous ( coincident ), but nevertheless overlap . the content at a first column address of sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 is accessed at time t2 via the data lines dq0 / 1 . the content at a second column address of sense amplifiers sa0 / 1 is accessed substantially simultaneously at time t2 via the data lines dq0 / 1 . time t1 precedes time t2 . fig1 d is a block diagram 1320 of core 1200 of fig1 illustrating access timing in a fourth memory - access mode . with respect to timing , diagram 1320 is similar to diagram 1310 of fig1 b . diagram 1320 differs from diagram 1310 , however , in that each of logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 is independently addressed . core 1200 can therefore interleave data from different addresses in logical banks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 and provide the resulting data on data lines dq1 and dq0 . specifically , at time t1 , the contents of row address add0 in logical block lb2 , 3 loads into sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 . at another time t2 ( where t2 may be earlier or later or the same as t1 ), the contents of another row address add1 in logical block lb0 / 1 loads into sense amplifiers sa0 / 1 ( add0 and add1 may be the same or different ). the content at a first column address of sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 is accessed at time t3 via the data lines dq0 / 1 . the content at a second column address of sense amplifiers sa0 / 1 is accessed at another time t4 via the data lines dq0 / 1 ( where t4 may be earlier or later than t3 ). time t1 precedes time t3 , and time t2 precedes t4 . fig1 e is a simplified block diagram 1325 of core 1200 illustrating access timing in a mode that delivers full - width data from combined logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 . with respect to timing , diagram 1325 is similar to diagram 1300 of fig1 a . diagram 1325 differs from diagram 1300 , however , in that each of logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 is independently addressed . fig1 f is a simplified block diagram 1330 of core 1200 illustrating access timing in a mode that delivers half - width data from independently addressed logical blocks lb2 , 3 and lb0 , 1 . the flow of data in diagram 1330 is similar to that of diagram 1320 of fig1 d . however , diagram 1330 differs from diagram 1320 with respect to timing because the contents of address locations add0 of logical block lb2 , 3 and add1 of logical block lb0 , 1 are delivered to respective sense amplifiers sa2 / 3 and sa0 / 1 substantially simultaneously . although details of specific implementations and embodiments are described above , such details are intended to satisfy statutory disclosure obligations rather than to limit the scope of the following claims . thus , the invention as defined by the claims is not limited to the specific features described above . rather , the invention is claimed in any of its forms or modifications that fall within the proper scope of the appended claims , appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents . | 8 |
referring to fig1 , a preferred embodiment of the invention is presented . this embodiment is designed to produce heating only and preferably comprises two main sections : heating element section 1 a and air delivery section 1 b which lock together via bayonet type joint 12 . heating element section 1 a is generally cylindrical , with air intake 5 on one ( rear ) end and forward - projecting handle 2 attached at the top rear . the front of elongated air delivery section 1 b is flattened into a flare that terminates in primary air exit 4 . patterns of holes on the top and bottom of the front flare serve as secondary air exits 3 , providing auxiliary air exits for the device or alternative exits in the event that primary exit 4 becomes obstructed . both heating element section 1 a and air delivery section 1 b are preferably constructed of a plastic , more preferably an injection - molded thermoplastic . mounted inside heating element section 1 a are the following : high efficiency fan or other device for moving air 10 , heating coil 8 and temperature sensor 11 . temperature sensor 11 is used to monitor the temperature of heating coil 8 and / or the air heated by heating coil 8 and produces signals that are processed by a control circuit ( not shown ) that is operative to maintain the temperature of heating coil 8 and / or the air heated by heating coil 8 at or below a selected temperature ( e . g ., 100 f ). a manual set timer 9 is preferably mounted on the right side of the casing of fan 10 . lining the entire inside of the plastic casing of both heating element section 1 a and air delivery section 1 b is heat - resistant insulating liner 6 . power cord 19 terminated in standard 120 - volt wall plug 20 preferably connects to the device circuitry ( not shown ) through the left side of handle 2 . referring to fig2 , another preferred embodiment of the invention is presented . this embodiment is designed to produce both heating and cooling and comprises two main sections : heating / cooling element section 1 a and thermal mass air delivery section 1 d that lock together via bayonet type joint 12 . heating / cooling element section 1 a is generally cylindrical with air intake 5 on one end and forward projecting handle 2 attached at the top rear . air delivery section 1 d generally defines a flattened oval composed of a semi - rigid thermal gel through which run a plurality of tortuous air passages 24 terminating at primary air exit 4 . mounted inside heating / cooling element section 1 a are the following : high efficiency fan or device for moving air 10 , thermoelectric module 15 , upper heat transfer element 17 , lower heat transfer element 14 and temperature sensor 11 . manual timer dial 9 and polarity switch 14 are preferably mounted on the right side of the casing of fan 10 . heating / cooling element section 1 a is divided into two separate chambers , one located above and one located below thermoelectric element 15 . top chamber 16 forms an airtight reverse air plenum that terminates at reverse air exit 18 in the back end of handle 2 . lining the inside of the preferably plastic casing of heating / cooling element section 1 a is heat - resistant , insulating liner 6 . power cord 19 terminated in a standard 120 volt wall plug 20 is connected to the device circuitry ( not shown ), preferably through the left side of handle 2 . referring to fig3 is an external right - side perspective view of the device of fig1 is presented . this view shows basic air delivery section 1 b with primary air exit 4 and secondary air exits 3 attached via bayonet type joint 12 to heating element section 1 a . dial 9 a for setting the timer is preferably located on the outside of the right rear of heating / cooling element section 1 a . referring to fig4 , an external right - side perspective view of the device of fig1 is presented . this view shows child &# 39 ; s stuffed toy air delivery section 1 c attached to heating element section 1 a . stuffed toy air delivery section 1 c consists of a flexible , heat - resistant tube 26 inside thermal mass covering 23 . this assembly is then mounted inside a stuffed animal , toy or other object and terminates in primary air exit 4 at the toy &# 39 ; s mouth or object &# 39 ; s front opening and secondary air exits 3 at the toy &# 39 ; s head or front of the object which preferably direct air rearward or to the sides . bayonet type joint 12 locks the two sections 1 a , 1 c together . dial 9 a for setting the timer is preferably located on the outside of the right rear of heating element section 1 a . examples of preferred objects include varieties of toys or stylized figurines other than animals such as cars , airplanes , boats , robots or unique cartoon characters . preferably , these embodiments are constructed in a similar manner to the animal objects disclosed herein , e . g ., with a layer of thermal mass material to retain heat . these embodiments are , in effect , functional stuffed toys , in that that they can be left on top of the bed with other conventional stuffed animals or toys . at bedtime , the object is simply attached for a short period of time to heating element section 1 a to warm the bed and charge the object with heat . then , the object is left in the bed for the child to sleep with . varieties of these embodiments may be designed to meet the needs of slightly older children . these embodiments preferably include objects in the form of another type of soft toy , such a rocket ship , car , airplane , cartoon character , etc . or objects that are not considered toys , e . g ., novelty items like a stuffed flower bouquet or a small stylized pillow . other examples of preferred objects include small firm pillows such as cylindrical or oval bolster pillows that may be covered with decorative prints and / or soft textured fabric like flannel cotton or acrylic pile . these embodiments are also preferably in a similar manner to the animal objects disclosed herein , e . g ., with a layer of thermal mass material ( e . g ., gel pac ) to retain heat . these embodiments preferably have semi flexible air channels running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the object , perhaps with a series of auxiliary tortuous air channels to facilitate thermal mass charging . the bayonet mount air entry opening and opposing air exit opening are preferably flush with the pillow ends such that they are not readily differentiated from the main body of the pillow . these embodiments can be left on top of the made bed as or with other decorative pillows . the object functions in a similar fashion to the stuffed toys and gel pac , i . e ., at bedtime , it is attached to heating element section 1 a which simultaneously warms the bed and charges the object with heat . the object is then be detached and used in the bed to be placed under the neck , lower back , etc . to provide comfort and relaxation to specific body areas . referring to fig5 , a right side perspective view of the device of fig2 is presented . this view shows an exterior view of heating element section 1 aa detached from thermal gel air delivery section 1 d and basic air delivery section 1 b . the different air delivery sections are thus easily interchangeable via bayonet type joint 12 , which utilizes lugs 13 to engage receptacles in air delivery sections 1 b , 1 d that lock heating element section 1 aa to air delivery section 1 b or air delivery section 1 d . referring to fig6 , a right side perspective view of the device of fig1 is presented , showing an exterior view of heating element section 1 a detached from child &# 39 ; s toy air delivery section 1 c and basic air delivery section 1 b . the different air delivery sections are thus easily interchangeable via bayonet type joint 12 , which utilizes lugs 13 to engage receptacles in the air delivery sections that lock the heating element and air delivery sections together . referring to fig7 , a 3d rendering of a preferred embodiment of the device of fig1 is presented . this view shows a camera / perspective view in fig7 a , a top view in fig7 b , a side view in fig7 c , a front view in fig7 d and a back view in fig7 e . in fig7 c , air conditioning section 1 a is shown to be u - shaped and to be adapted to receive the edge of a cover between its lower body portion 1 a and its upper handle portion 2 . in this configuration , the blanket is prevented from covering air intake 5 during operation of the device . referring to fig8 , a 3d view of the device in use is presented . in use , the device is plugged into an electrical receptacle and placed under the undisturbed covers or blankets on a bed , either from the front of the bed facing the foot , from the side , or from the foot facing forward . in this instance , the device is placed in a bed on top of bottom sheet 30 so that the edge of cover 32 fits in slot 34 . the device is positioned such that the entire main body 1 a and 1 b of the device is under the covers or blankets 32 , resting on top of the bottom sheet or bed linen 30 , with the handle 2 on top of the covers or blankets 32 . in this way , the handle acts not only as a means of easily manipulating and positioning the device , but also as a catch that helps to hold the unit in place and that prevents the covers from falling over rear air intake 5 and blocking the flow of air . the device is then activated and left to complete an automatic run cycle of 1 to 5 minutes by setting the timer dial 9 a . if further heating or cooling is desired , timer dial 9 a may be re - set such that the device re - activates and operates for additional cycles . preferably , air delivery section 1 b is sufficiently elongated that air discharged by the device inflates the bedding before escaping . a preferred embodiment of heating element section 1 a utilizes a heating coil to heat the air passing through it . this version is used during the cold months of the year for warming a bed . another preferred embodiment of heating / cooling section 1 aa contains thermoelectric module 15 that utilizes the peltier effect to either heat or cool air passing through the device . it is used at any time during the seasonal cycles to either warm or cool a bed as desired . to this end , the heating / cooling embodiment of the invention can be easily switched from heating to cooling via polarity switch 21 . peltier effect elements are well known in the art as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 777 , 802 , the disclosure of which patent is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein . either embodiment of the invention may be used interchangeably with different air delivery sections . fig3 shows basic air delivery section 1 b that is designed for general use that is suitable for a variety of beds . fig2 shows thermal gel air delivery section 1 d , which is designed as a thermal mass to absorb and retain the temperature of the air passing through the tortuous channels within it . after deactivation of the device , thermal gel air delivery section 1 d may be detached and placed anywhere in the bed or against the resting body to provide additional passive radiant and direct contact heating or cooling . fig4 shows a child &# 39 ; s version of an air delivery section created in the form of a stuffed toy dragon 1 c . a variety of toy sections may be created using elongated creatures like snakes or alligators that will work in the same manner as the dragon toy depicted . the materials comprising the exterior of the toy air delivery section 1 c are soft and flexible and able to be easily deformed . the interior is comprised of a length of semi - rigid heat resistant tubing that may slightly deform but not collapse . this tubing therefore maintains an unrestricted air channel that conducts the flow of air from the connection point to the primary air exit 4 and secondary air exits 3 . the tubing is covered in a layer of thermal mass gel , allowing toy air delivery section 1 c to retain heat or cold from the conditioned air that passes through it . after the bed has been initially warmed or cooled , child &# 39 ; s stuffed toy air delivery section 1 c can be detached from heating / cooling element section 1 a and left with the child to cuddle with , providing an additional level of comfort as a further aid to sound sleep . referring to fig9 , a right side perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the device is presented . this figure shows an exterior view of heating element section 1 a detached from herbal infuser air delivery section 1 e . herbal infuser enclosure door 36 is located on the top of the air delivery section and is shown in the closed position with the size and position of internal enclosure 35 indicated by dotted lines . heating element section 1 a is also shown with the size and position of digital timer unit 40 indicated by dotted lines . exterior pushbuttons 39 are used for setting the activation time for the device and the number of minutes the device remains in operation . lcd panel 41 displays the activation time and associated numeric timer information . referring to fig1 , a right side perspective view of herbal infuser air delivery section 1 e is presented , showing a cutaway view of its interior structure wherein the perforated herbal infuser enclosure 35 is illustrated . infuser enclosure cover 36 is shown in the open position , allowing shaped herbal packet 38 to be placed in the enclosure basket . enclosure door 36 is then snapped closed and the device operated in the manner heretofore described . heated air passing through herbal infuser air delivery section 1 e passes over and warms herbal packet 38 by virtue of numerous enclosure perforations 37 , thereby infusing the aromatic herbal scent and influence into the bed . different varieties of aromatic herbal packets may thus be used and fresh packets easily installed as often as desired . alternatively , aromatic packets that are not derived from herbs may be used . a person skilled in the art would understand that any aromatic substance may be held in the stream of warm air moving through the device and incorporated into that stream of warm air . many variations of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art . some variations include heat / cold storage . other variations call for a toy - shaped air delivery section . still other variations call for an aromatic infuser air delivery section . all such variations are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the invention . | 0 |
embodiments of the invention may provide for a stand - alone load regulation tuner , which is capable of accurately canceling the load regulation effect and inter - connection voltage loss due to an inter - connection resistance for any type of linear regulator without affecting the regulator &# 39 ; s stability and power supply rejection ratio ( psrr ) performance . further , the load regulation tuner may reduce or cancel the load regulation effect by tuning a dc feedback factor to reduce or cancel the load regulation effect as well as the inter - connection resistance loss for different load current and output voltage levels . embodiments of the invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which some , but not all embodiments of the invention are shown . indeed , these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements . like numbers refer to like elements throughout . a simple conceptual block diagram of a low drop - out voltage regulator with a load regulation tuner is shown in fig4 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig4 , the voltage regulator may include a voltage reference 12 , an amplifier such as an error - amplifier 16 , a pass device 18 , and an output load 14 . the voltage regulator may also include a load regulation tuner comprising a feedback block 22 and a load current sensing block 20 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . still referring to fig4 , during operation of the voltage regulator , the error amplifier 16 may receive the reference voltage 12 as well as a feedback voltage from the feedback block 22 . using the voltage reference 12 and the feedback voltage , the error amplifier 16 may determine an error signal as the difference between the reference voltage 12 and the feedback voltage , according to an example embodiment of the invention . the error amplifier 16 may control a gate voltage of the pass device 18 ( e . g ., power transistor ) that outputs the constant output voltage . the constant output voltage is provided to both the output load 14 and the feedback block 22 . the feedback block 22 outputs a feedback voltage to the error amplifier 16 for use in canceling the load regulation effect . according to an example embodiment of the invention , the load current sensing block 20 may change a feedback factor of the feedback block 22 to cancel the load regulation effect to obtain a desired constant output voltage . fig5 illustrates a more detailed schematic diagram of a load regulation tuner 402 utilized in a voltage regulator , in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig5 , it will be appreciated that the load regulation effect may be based upon a dc voltage difference between the actual output voltage level and the desired output voltage level ( i . e ., reference voltage v ref 404 ), according to an example embodiment of the invention . referring to the input nodes , the feedback voltage difference δv fb may be equal to δv ldr * β , where δv ldr is the voltage difference across the regulator and β is the feedback factor of the regulator . to fully cancel the load regulation effect , the load regulation ( ldr ) tuner 402 may need to compensate for the voltage difference δv fb such that the output voltage v out 410 may be equal to the reference voltage v ref 404 . according to an example embodiment of the invention , the ldr tuner 402 may include a resistor 408 and a current controlled current source 406 to compensate for the voltage difference δv fb . in particular , the resistor 408 and current controlled current source 406 may be operative to provide a feedback voltage difference δv fb of δv ldr * β . in other words , a load current controlled current source 406 with a resistor r ldr 408 ( according to thevenin &# 39 ; s theorem , δv fb = i f * r ldr = δv fb = δv ldr * β ) may be inserted into the feedback loop to cancel the load regulation effect , so the output voltage v out 410 may be exactly equal to the reference voltage v ref 404 , as shown in fig5 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . still referring to fig5 , to further reduce the inter - connection voltage loss due to inter - connection resistance , the ldr tuner 402 may also compensate for the inter - connection resistance . more specifically , the current controlled current source 406 ( i f ) and / or the resistance r ldr 408 may be tuned so that δv fb / β = δv ldr +( r x * δi l ), where r x represents the inter - connection resistance and δi l is the change in load current . the ldr tuner 402 may also help minimize the variations of load regulation performance over process corners for products . example embodiments of the load regulation tuner operating in conjunction with linear regulators are shown in fig6 . as shown in fig6 , capacitor c d 618 and resistor r d 614 may be inserted between the gates of the current mirror ( transistors m n2 612 and m n3 608 ) for a time delay to make sure the response time of the load regulation tuner is slower than that of the regulator itself and further guarantee the stability of the regulator is not affected by the load regulation tuner . the load regulation tuner of fig6 may include a pmos transistor m p1 602 , a pmos transistor m p2 610 , a pmos transistor m p3 606 , a nmos transistor m n2 612 , a nmos transistor m n3 608 , a nmos transistor m n1 612 , a resistor r d 614 and a capacitor c d 618 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . the gate of the pmos transistor m p1 602 may be connected the gate of the pmos power transistor m p0 604 . the pmos transistor m p1 608 may have its source connected to the supply voltage and a drain connected to the source of the pmos transistor m p3 606 . the pmos transistor m p3 606 may have a gate connected the gate of the pmos transistor m p2 610 and a drain connected to a drain of the nmos transistor m n3 608 . the nmos transistor m p2 610 may have a source connected to a drain of the pmos power transistor m p0 604 , and a gate connected to its drain and a drain of the nmos transistor m n2 612 . the nmos transistor m n2 612 may have a gate connected to a gate of the m n3 608 and a source connected to a ground . the nmos transistor m n3 608 may have a gate connected to the gate of the nmos transistor m n2 612 and a source connected to a ground . the resistor r d 614 may be connected between the gate of the transistor m n3 608 and a capacitor c d 618 . the top plate of the capacitor c d 618 may be connected to the resistor r d 614 and a gate of the transistor m n1 620 . the bottom plate of the capacitor c d 618 may be connected to a ground . the nmos transistor m n1 620 may have a drain connected to a node v x 626 , which is a junction of the resistor r 2a 622 and r 2b 624 , and a source connected to a ground . as shown in fig6 , transistors mp 1 602 , m p2 610 , m p3 606 , m n2 612 , m n3 608 , capacitor c d 618 and resistor r d 614 may construct a load current sensing block such as the load current sensing block 20 of fig4 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . the transistor m p1 602 may sense the load current of the power transistor m p0 604 . the size of the transistor m p1 602 may be much smaller than that of the power transistor m p0 604 so that only small fraction of the load current flows in the transistor m p1 602 , according to an example embodiment of the invention . the feedback composed with m p2 610 , m p3 606 , m n2 612 , m n3 608 may ensure that the current in both branches are equal or substantially equal , according to an example embodiment of the invention . it also improves the accuracy of the ratio between the load current of the transistor m p0 604 and the sensed current of the transistor m p1 602 because the feedback ensures the drain - source voltage of the transistors m p0 604 and m p1 602 are equal or substantially equal . the overall current consumption of the load regulation tuner may be very minimal . when load current changes , the current flow in the transistor m p1 may change as well as the gate - source voltage of the transistor m n3 608 causing the output resistance of the transistor m n1 620 to change . this leads the feedback factor to vary to cancel the load regulation effect so that the desired output voltage of the regulator is achieved . as shown in fig6 , the operation of this load regulation tuner can be controlled by adjusting the size of transistor m n1 620 and resistance r 2b 624 to suit different loading environments and applications . the load regulation tuner may tune the dc feedback factor of the voltage regulator to cancel the load regulation effect and the inter - connection voltage loss due to the inter - connection resistance without affecting the frequency response and psrr performance of the regulator . in the example embodiment of the invention shown in fig6 , the feedback circuit may include a resistor ladder composed of r 2a 622 and r 2b 624 . in alternative embodiments of the invention , the feedback circuit should be verified by checking whether the load regulation is fully cancelled in the regulator output . it will be appreciated that the load regulator of fig6 is operative to generate δv fb o cancel the voltage difference ( δv ldr ) between the desired output voltage and the actual output voltage with increased output current δi l . according to an example embodiment of the invention , δv fb may be generated by r 1 , r 2a , r 2b and mn 1 with sensed load current , as illustrated in fig6 . many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings . therefore , it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims . although specific terms are employed herein , they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings , wherein like numerals designate like elements , there is shown in fig1 the relevant portions of a power supply designated generally as 10 . the power supply 10 has been arranged into two separate sections for convenience in discussion . those sections are an automatic frequency control section 12 and a power output section 14 . power output section 14 represents the section of the power supply 10 wherein is generated the electrical power signal that is used to drive the mechanical bonding tool of the ultrasonic bonding device ( not depicted in the drawings ). in power output section 14 is power amplifier 16 . power amplifier 16 receives a signal from voltage control oscillator 18 , which sets the wave shape and frequency for the power signal . this signal from voltage control oscillator 18 is amplified by power amplifier 16 to provide the power signal . oscillator 18 and amplifier 16 are elements that would be expected to be found in virtually any variable frequency power supply , even one controlled manually . however , in this embodiment of the present invention , the output of the power amplifier is first directed through a directional coupler 20 . the function of directional coupler 20 will soon become apparent . the electrical output passes through directional coupler 20 and is conditioned by impedence matching network 22 , where upon it is made available to a transducer 24 for the purpose of transforming the periodic electrical power signal into mechanical vibratory energy of the same frequency . transducer 24 may be one of a variety of transducers , such as a magnetostrictive transducer or a piezoelectric crystal transducer . the mechanical vibratory energy produced by the mechanical portion of the bonding device is delivered to the work piece to effect a bond in the well known manner . when vibratory energy is delivered from the bonding device to the work piece , not all of the energy is absorbed by the work piece . a small amount of the vibratory energy is reflected back from the workpiece through the bonding device . the resultant of the vibratory energy waves incident on the work piece from the bonding device and the waves reflected back from the work piece produces a standing wave with planes of maximum and minimum motion , commonly referred to anti - nodes and nodes , respectively . the ratio of the maximum to minimum amplitudes of motion is referred to herein as the standing wave ratio ( hereinafter swr ). it has been found that the swr is minimum when the frequency of operation is at the resonant frequency for the mechanical device and hence at the time when the efficiency of power transformation is optimum . since the transducer 24 will convert electrical energy to mechanical energy and vice - versa , an analagous electrical standing wave system occurs upstream of the transducer 24 between power amplifier 16 and transducer 24 . this electrical standing wave is the resultant of the forward voltage signal ( vf .) from power amplifier 16 and a reflected voltage ( vr .) coming back from transducer 24 . the relationship between these voltages defines the standing wave ratio ( swr ) in the following equation : thus , the swr can be determined and an acceptable swr maintained by comparison of the relative values of the signals v f and v r . directional coupler 20 , mentioned previously , is therefore provided to segregate the respective voltage signals v f and v r . while there may be a variety of means to perform the directional segregation required of directional coupler 20 , it is presently envisioned that a simple center - tap transformer with diode rectification be used . this will be discussed in detail with reference to the detailed schematics to follow . the v r signal is sent from directional coupler 20 to an input of comparator 28 . the v f signal is sent from directional coupler 20 to a reference generator 26 , which produces an output voltage ( v ref ) which is proportional to v f . reference generator 26 may simply be a voltage divider as shown in fig1 or may be any of a variety of well known amplifier circuits for producing linear proportional voltages . the v ref signal is sent to the other input of comparator 28 . a sweep generator 30 provides a periodic voltage output signal having a frequency which is substantially less than the ultrasonic frequencies associated with voltage control oscillator 18 . sweep generator 30 may be any of a variety of well known integrated circuits which put out a periodic signal . moreover , the output signal from sweep generator 30 may be a sinusoidal wave , a triangular wave , or any other function having a periodically repeating increase and decrease form . the sweep generator 30 may simply be another voltage controlled oscillator similar to oscillator 18 . the output of sweep generator 30 is input to an operational amplifier functioning as a d . c . level shifter 32 . level shifter 32 is a well known operational amplifier configuration and is used to increase the direct current component of the output signal from sweep generator 30 . the sweep signal from level shifter 32 is gated through a sample and hold network 34 . sample and hold network 34 has two functions . in its sample mode , it allows the sweep voltage to pass and be coupled to the voltage control oscillator 18 . in the hold mode , it holds the voltage level of the sweep signal that existed at the instant when the mode switched from sample mode to hold mode . the sample and hold modes of network 34 are controlled by the output of comparator 28 . specifically , when the output of comparator 28 indicates that the reflected voltage vr is greater than the reference voltage v ref , the sample and hold network 34 is driven to the sample mode . conversely , when vr is less than or equal to v ref , network 34 is driven to the hold mode . the voltage signal from sample and hold network 34 is coupled through a buffer amplifier 36 to voltage controlled oscillator 18 . there is also provided a manual frequency adjustment 38 , which may be used to set the initial frequency of voltage control oscillator 18 , and may also be used for manual frequency control if the automatic frequency control is inoperative . however , it is envisioned that automatic frequency control will be the normal mode of operation . it can be seen that the output frequency of the signal from voltage control oscillator 18 will be caused to increase and decrease by the amplitude of the sweep signal from sweep generator 30 . sample and hold network 34 acts as a switch which allows sweep generator 30 to control oscillator 18 . sweep generator 30 thus controls voltage control oscillator 18 whenever the signal from comparator 28 indicates that the swr has exceeded a certain value , which may be pre - set by adjusting reference generator 26 . as the output of voltage control oscillator 18 is varied by sweep generator 30 , it will eventually pass through a frequency which will cause the swr to fall below the pre - set value , in which case the signal from comparator 28 will cause sample and hold network 34 to cease gating the variable signal from sweep generator 30 to oscillator 18 , and to hold the last voltage input to oscillator 18 so that the output frequency of oscillator 18 remains constant . a more detailed schematic of the relevant elements of this embodiment of a power supply is shown in the composite drawing which comprises fig3 a , 3b and 3c . fig3 a and 3b comprise the section labeled automatic frequency control section in fig1 . referring now to fig3 a , there is shown sweep generator 30 . sweep generator 30 is a standard integrated circuit ( herein an xr - 205 ) for generating a periodic triangular wave shape . the amplitude of the triangular output may be adjusted by sweep deviation potentiometer 40 . the frequency of the output may be adjusted by sweep rate adjust potentiometer 42 . power for generator 30 is supplied from a 15 volt dc common bus which is used as a power supply for the other elements in the circuit . the output of generator 30 is amplified and imposed on a dc carrier signal by level shifter 32 . the output of level shifter 32 is connected to an n - channel fet 44 . the output of level shifter 32 is also connected to the gate region of fet 44 , so that fet 44 is normally switched off and will block the output of level shifter 32 . however , when a negative voltage is produced at the gate of fet 44 by comparator 28 ( shown on fig3 b ), fet 44 will gate through the signal from level shifter 32 to operational amplifier 36 . amplifier 36 is a voltage follower serving as a buffer between fet 44 and the voltage control oscillator 18 . capacitor 46 is connected in parallel between fet 44 and buffer 36 . capacitor 46 provides the &# 34 ; hold &# 34 ; function of the sample and hold network . when fet 44 is in the sample mode , the charge on capacitor 46 follows the sweep signal . when fet 44 switches off the sweep signal , the voltage on capacitor 46 remains at the last value of the sweep signal before it was gated off , due to the very high input impedence of amplifier 36 . thus , fet 44 and capacitor 46 in combination comprise the sample and hold network 34 of fig1 . turning now to fig3 b , the output of buffer 36 is sent to the inverting side of amplifier 48 . the noninverting side of amplifier 48 receives a signal from manual frequency adjust potentiometer 50 . adjustment of pot 50 provides manual frequency control and also enables the operator to set a center frequency around which frequency control will be initiated . the output of amplifier 48 is sent to the control voltage input pin of voltage control oscillator 18 . voltage control oscillator 18 as shown herein is also an xr - 205 triangular wave generator . the output of voltage control oscillator 18 is directed to the power output section ( fig3 c ). at the bottom of fig3 b there may be seen two lines connected to comparator 28 . on the upper line is carried the reflected voltage v r . on the lower line is carried the forward voltage v f . v f passes through a voltage divider comprised of resistor 52 and v ref adjustment potentiometer 54 . the v ref signal is input to comparator 28 to be compared to the reflected v r . referring now to fig3 c , there is shown the section which was previously labeled power output section 14 in fig1 . the output of voltage control oscillator 18 is amplified by power amplifier 16 to produce a power signal having the same frequency and wave shape as input from oscillator 18 . in the output of power amplifier 16 there will be present an electrical standing wave resulting from the output signal of amplifier 16 combining with the reflected voltage produced by transducer 24 . the resultant standing wave signal may be broken down into two component voltages , v f and v r . the output of amplifier 16 is sent through the primary side of transformer 56 . the secondary side of transformer 56 is connected to a center tap between the secondary windings of two identical transformers 58 and 60 . the output of amplifier 16 also passes through the primary coil of transformers 58 and 60 . diodes 62 and 64 provide rectification required to produce v f and v r . transformers 56 , 58 and 60 and diodes 62 , 64 cooperate to form the directional coupler 20 of fig1 . the output of power amplifier 16 is connected to a variable tap transformer 66 . the primary and secondary taps for transformer 66 may be varied to provide impedence matching . the secondary of transformer 66 is connected to transducer 24 . referring now to fig2 there is shown a second embodiment of a power supply having automatic frequency control . the second embodiment shown in fig2 has many elements in common with the embodiment in fig1 . thus , this embodiment has a sweep generator 70 , a dc level shifter 72 , a sample and hold network 74 , a buffer 76 , manual frequency adjustment 78 , voltage controlled oscillator 80 , and power amplifier 82 which perform the same functions as the corresponding elements in fig1 . however , in the embodiment shown in fig2 there is no directional coupler following the power amplifier 82 . instead , power amplifier 82 is a switching inverter and the output goes directly to impedence matching network 84 and to the mechanical transducer , herein depicted as load 86 . no directional coupler is necessary because it has been observed by experimentation that the current ( i pa ) through switching inverter 82 increases as the swr decreases . therefore , the swr can be maintained below a pre - selected value by maintaining the power amplifier current above a preselected value . a reference voltage is tapped across resistor 88 through which the amplifier current i pa is shunted to ground . this reference voltage is input to voltage amplifier 90 . the voltage across resistor 88 is a rectified periodic signal which is converted by amplifier 90 into a level dc signal . this signal is applied to the (+) terminal of comparator 92 . the signal is also sent through dc level shifter 94 . level shifter 94 increases the dc value of the signal . the increased signal is sent through a second sample and hold network 96 which is controlled by the one - shot device 98 . when sample and hold network 96 is in the sample position , the signal passes through sample and hold network 96 to buffer 100 . buffer 100 is a voltage follower , the output of which is sent to ground through a voltage divider comprising resistor 102 and potentiometer 104 . the voltage tapped from potentiometer 104 is sent to the (-) terminal of comparator 92 , where it is compared to the original signal coming from voltage amplifier 90 . this network serves as a level - detector for the voltage signal across resistor 88 . the voltage signal is integrated by the action of capacitor 89 and sent to comparator 92 . it is also shifted up in dc level and divided down a pre - set amount by potentiometer 104 before it is compared to its original value by comparator 92 . thus , by setting potentiometer 104 , one can set the value of the voltage signal across resistor 88 which will cause comparator 92 to output a positive voltage . as indicated by the legend 93 below comparator 92 , a positive 12 volt output ( logic 1 signal ) of comparator 92 provides the hold signal for the automatic frequency adjustment circuit . conversely , a zero volt output ( logic 0 signal ) of comparator 92 provides the sweep signal . also provided is a switch 106 which connects a 15 volt source to the (+) terminal of comparator 92 when the weld head is not engaging the work piece . this prevents the automatic frequency control from searching for a resonant frequency while the head is not engaged . when the weld head engages the work piece , switch 106 disconnects from the 15 volt power supply and enables the automatic frequency control to the sweep mode . also included in the circuit is a one - shot timing device , 98 . one - shot 98 is triggered by the output of comparator 92 and controls sample and hold network 96 . the function of one - shot 98 is to allow comparator 92 to control sample and hold network 96 in steps . when comparator 92 puts out a sweep signal to sample and hold network 74 , it also triggers one - shot 98 . the output of one - shot 98 opens the sample and hold switch 96 , which causes the last voltage level from dc level shifter 94 to be held on capacitor 106 . comparator 92 will continue putting out a sweep signal until the new system frequency has caused the voltage signal across shunt resistor 88 to become equal to the reference voltage tapped from potentiometer 104 . at that time , comparator 92 puts out a hold signal to sample and hold network 74 . when one - shot 98 times out , the new output for voltage amplifier 90 is allowed to pass through dc level shifter 94 , sample and hold switch 96 , and buffer 100 through potentiometer 104 , where it becomes the new input to the (-) side of comparator 92 . this new value on the (-) terminal of comparator 92 is compared to the signal from voltage amplifier 90 , and if it is larger , comparator 92 again puts out a sweep signal . the effect is that comparator 92 ratchets the system frequency up or down in steps . the above embodiment is shown in detail in the composite schematic diagram comprising fig4 a , 4b and 4a . there is seen on fig4 a a sweep generator integrated circuit chip 70 . sweep generator 70 is herein an xr - 205 function generator putting out a triangular wave form . the frequency of the wave form may be controlled by potentiometer 71 , and the amplitude of the triangular wave form may be controlled by potentiometer 73 . the output of sweep generator 70 is sent through dc level shifter 72 to n - channel fet 75 . the drain of fet 75 is input to buffer 76 ( on fig4 b ). the output of fet 75 is also connected to ground through capacitor 77 . fet 75 and capacitor 77 comprise the sample and hold network 96 of fig2 . referring now to fig4 b and 4c , the output of buffer 76 is sent through auto / manual switch 108 . if auto / manual switch is in the manual position , the output of buffer 76 is isolated from the rest of the circuitry . instead , a reference voltage signal tapped across potentiometer 112 is sent to voltage control oscillator 80 through amplifier 78 . this allows for manual control of the output of voltage control oscillator 80 , and thus of the system frequency . when auto / manual switch 108 is in the auto mode , the output of buffer 76 is coupled through amplifier 78 to voltage control oscillator 80 , and provides voltage control of the output of oscillator 80 . oscillator 80 is also an xr - 205 function generator . the output of voltage control oscillator 80 is applied to capacitor 81 , which removes the dc component . the filtered signal is sent through amplifier 83 to the base of transistor 85 ( on fig4 c ). transistor 85 amplifies the signal and converts it to a square wave having the same frequency as the output of voltage control oscillator 80 . this square wave signal is sent to the power amplifier shown as 82 in fig2 . referring back to fig4 c , the voltage signal tapped from the shunt resistor 88 in fig2 is returned to the (+) terminal of voltage amplifier 90 . this signal is integrated by capacitor 89 and appears on the output of voltage amplifier 90 as a dc voltage . this signal from the output of amplifier 90 is sent to the (+) terminal of comparator 92 and also sent to dc level shifter 94 ( fig4 b ). the output of level shifter 94 is sent to the source terminal of n - channel fet 95 . the gate of fet 95 is held low by the output terminal of one - shot 98 , as shown in the legend designated 97 to the right of one - shot 98 . this low at the gate of fet 95 holds fet 95 in a conducting mode . the drain terminal of fet 95 is connected to ground through resistor 116 . the voltage across resistor 116 is tapped as an input to buffer 100 , which is a voltage - follower operational amplifier . a capacitor 114 is also connected in parallel to resistor 116 . a transistor 122 is connected across capacitor 114 in such a manner that capacitor 114 will be shorted out when transistor 122 is conducting . thus , when transistor 122 is conducting there will be no voltage across resistor 116 and therefore no input to buffer 100 . when transistor 122 is not conducting , there will be an input voltage to buffer 100 which will be held by capacitor 114 . transistor 122 is switched on and off by the output of one - shot 98 . when one - shot 98 puts out a + 15 volt signal , the initial effect is to switch on transistor 122 , which allows capacitor 114 to discharge slightly . however , the + 15 volts from one - shot 98 will rapidly cause capacitor 118 to charge , switching off transistor 122 . this causes the output of buffer 100 to drop slightly , but then hold steady . the output of buffer 100 is sent to ground through potentiometer 102 . a voltage tapped from potentiometer 102 is sent to the (-) input of comparator 92 ( fig4 a ). this signal is compared to the original signal at the output of voltage amplifier 90 . as long as the output of amplifier 90 is greater than the voltage tapped from potentiometer 104 , comparator 92 will put out a + 12 volt &# 34 ; hold &# 34 ; signal . if the voltage from amplifier 90 drops below the voltage tapped across potentiometer 104 , comparator 92 will put out a &# 34 ; sweep &# 34 ; signal or low voltage . this is indicated in the legend designated 93 which appears below comparator 92 . the output of comparator 92 is sent to the base of transistor 124 . transistor 124 is normally switched off . this allows the 12 volt power supply to be felt at the base of fet 75 . fet 75 is therefore held in a non - conducting mode . when transistor 124 is switched into a conducting mode by the output of comparator 92 , the 12 volts is conducted to ground across transistor 124 and a low voltage is felt on the gate of fet 75 . this allows the sweep signal from sweep generator 70 to be gated through fet 75 and varies the frequency of voltage control oscillator 80 . voltage control oscillator 80 will then vary the system frequency , and produce a variation in the feedback signal from shunt resistor 88 . one - shot 98 will time out and a new comparison will take place . two additional circuits are provided for initial startup and during the time when the weld head is not engaged . when the device is first turned on , a signal comes in from a startup timer ( not shown ). this signal is sent to the base of transistor 126 and turns it on , shortening out the input to the base of transistor 124 , and thus disabling the sweep generator 70 from trying to vary the frequency of voltage controlled oscillator 80 . the system will not begin to operate in the automatic mode until the timer signal has ceased . a signal is also received from the weld head timer ( not shown ). this signal is sent to the base of transistor 128 . when transistor 128 conducts , it grounds out the 15 volts that would normally hold the (+) terminal of comparator 92 much higher than the feedback signal thus effectively holding the comparison circuit off . therefore the signal from the weld head timer keeps the circuit from sweeping when the weld head is not engaged . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and , accordingly , reference should be made to the appended claims , rather than to the foregoing specification , as indicating the scope of the invention . | 1 |
the terms a or an , as used herein , are defined as one or more than one , the term plurality , as used herein , is defined as two or more than two . the term another , as used herein , is defined as at least a second or more . referring to fig1 , the phc memory type all - optical “ aor ” logic gate of the present invention includes phc structure , the phc structure includes two input port , an output port and idle port . the first input port and second input port of a phc structure are respectively connected with a signal a and a signal b , i . e ., the signal a is connected with the first input port 1 of a 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity , and the signal b is connected with the second input port 2 of the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity . the phc structure unit 01 is a 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity , the circular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 5 is made of a silicon ( si ) material , and has a refractive index of 3 . 4 , twelve rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillars and one square nonlinear - dielectric pillar are arranged in the center of the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity in the form of a quasi - 1d phc along longitudinal and transverse waveguide directions , the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 has a refractive index of 3 . 4 , the second rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 has a dimension equal to that of the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 7 ; the central nonlinear - dielectric pillar clings to the four adjacent rectangular linear - dielectric pillars and the distance there between is 0 , and the central square nonlinear - dielectric pillar 28 is made of a kerr type nonlinear material , and has a dielectric constant of 7 . 9 under low - light - power conditions . the high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar has a dielectric constant being the same as that of a nonlinear - dielectric pillar under low -- light - power conditions , the high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillars are constituted by a 2d phc cross - waveguide four - port network , two mutually - orthogonal quasi - 1d phc structures are placed in two waveguide directions crossed at the center of across waveguide , a dielectric pillar is arranged in the middle of the cross waveguide , the dielectric pillar is made of a nonlinear material , and the quasi - 1d phc structures and the dielectric pillar constitute a waveguide defect cavity ; and the lattice constant of the 2d phc array is d , and the array number is 11 × 11 . the present invention based on the photonic bandgap characteristic , quasi - 1d phc defect state , tunneling effect and optical kerr nonlinear effect of the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity , the function of the phc memory type all - optical “ aor ” logic gate can be realized . introduced first is the basic principle of the phc nonlinear cavity in the present invention : a 2d phc provides a photonic bandgap with certain bandwidth , a light wave with its wavelength falling into this bandgap can be propagated in an optical circuit designed inside the phc , and the operating wavelength of the device is thus set to certain wavelength in the photonic bandgap ; the quasi - 1d phc structure arranged in the center of the cross waveguide and the nonlinear effect of the central nonlinear - dielectric pillar together provide a defect state mode , which , as the input light wave reaches a certain light intensity , shifts to the operating frequency of the system , so that the structure produces the tunneling effect and signals are output from the output port 4 . in the two input ports of the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity as shown in fig1 , as a light wave is input to one of the input ports , after the light wave arrives at the center of a phc cross waveguide , because the light intensity of the single light wave is not enough to meet defect mode offset of the central nonlinear cavity , the light wave cannot arouse resonance in the cavity and thus cannot produce a tunneling effect , and the light wave is output along the routing input port ; as alight wave is simultaneously input to the two input ports , after the light wave arrives at the center of the phc cross waveguide , the light intensity of the two channels of light wave meets the defect mode offset in the cavity , the light wave arouses resonance in the cavity and thus produces the tunneling effect , and the input light wave in the vertical direction is output from a system output port ; at the moment , if the input light wave in the horizontal direction as shown in fig1 is closed , because the central nonlinear cavity at the moment has been in the resonant state and the input light wave in the vertical direction is enough to maintain the resonance in the cavity , the light wave in the vertical direction still can be output from the output port , i . e ., the present invention has a memory function . according to the characteristic of the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity , the devices of the present invention can realize a memory type all - optical “ aor ” logic gate . the phc structure of the device of the present invention is a ( 2 k + 1 )×( 2 k + 1 ) array structure , where k is an integer more than or equal to 3 , design and simulation results will be provided below in an embodiment given in combination with the accompanying drawings , wherein the embodiment is exemplified by an 11 × 11 array structure , and design and simulation results are given , taking the lattice constant d of the 2d phc array being 1 μm and 0 . 5208 μm respectively as an example . for the lattice constant d of 1 μm and the operating wavelength of 2 . 976 μm , the circular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 5 has the radius of 0 . 18 μm ; the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 has the long sides of 0 . 613 μm and short sides of 0 . 162 μm ; the second rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 7 is as large as the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 ; the central nonlinear - dielectric pillar 8 has the side length of 1 . 5 μm , and the third - order nonlinear coefficient of 1 . 33 × 10 − 2 μm 2 / v 2 ; and the distance between every two adjacent rectangular linear - dielectric pillar s is 0 . 2668 μm . referring to the 2d phc cross - waveguide nonlinear cavity shown in fig1 , a signal a is input to the first input port 1 , and a signal b is input to the second input port 2 . for the 2d phc nonlinear cavity shown in fig1 in the present invention and for the signal wave forms a and b , which are input respectively from the first signal - input port 1 and the second signal - input port 2 in fig1 , shown by the upper two diagrams in fig2 , the logic output waveforms are obtained and indicated at the lower part in fig2 . a logic operation truth table of the structure shown in fig1 can be obtained according to the logic operation characteristic shown in fig2 , as illustrated in fig4 . in fig4 , c is current state q n , and y is signal output of the output port ( of the nonlinear cavity unit ), i . e ., the next state a logic expression of the nonlinear cavity unit can be obtained according to the truth table . it can be known from the above formula that as the signal a and the signal b are respectively input to the first input port 1 and the second input port 2 , the output of the system is equal to the “ or ” operation of the signal a and the current state q n and the “ and ” operation with the signal b . hence , the output of the system is not only related to the logic input quantities of the signal a and the signal b , but also related to the output q n of the system at the last moment . it can be obtained from formula ( 2 ) that for a = 1 , the output 4 of the system is that is , the next state of the system is equal to the logic input quantity of the signal b . at the moment , the next state of the system is equal to the logic input quantity of the signal b and the output of the system at the last moment , i . e ., an “ and ” logic operation is made to the output quantity of the current state q n . that is , the system has a memory function . for the output quantity of the current state q n of the system at the last moment being 0 , no matter the input quantity of the signal b is a 1 or 0 of setting signal , the output of the system is 0 ; and for the output quantity of the current state q n of the system at the last moment being 1 , the output of the system is equal to the logic input quantity of the signal b . to sum up , the present invention can realize a memory type all - optical “ aor ” logic function . when the lattice constant d is 0 . 5208 μm and the operating wavelength is 1 . 55 μm , the circular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 5 has the radius of 0 . 093744 μm ; the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 has the long sides of 0 . 3192504 μm and short sides of 0 . 0843696 μm ; the second rectangular high - refractive - index ear - dielectric pillar 7 is as large as the first rectangular high - refractive - index linear - dielectric pillar 6 ; the central nonlinear - dielectric pillar 8 has the side length of 0 . 7812 μm and the third - order nonlinear coefficient of 1 . 33 × 10 − 2 μm 2 / v 2 ; and the distance between every two adjacent rectangular linear - dielectric pillars is 0 . 13894944 μm . based on the above dimension parameters , for a signal a and a signal b with the waveforms shown in fig3 are respectively input to the first input port 1 and the second input port 2 , output waveform diagrams at the lower part of fig3 can be obtained . it can be known from the logic relation between the input and the output shown in fig3 that the present invention can also realize the memory type all - optical “ aor ” logic function shown in formula ( 2 ) of embodiment 1 by scaling . based on the above two embodiments , the device of the present invention can realize the same logic function by scaling under different lattice constants and corresponding working wavelengths in conclusion , the devices of the present invention can realize the memory type all - optical “ or and ” logic function . while the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims . | 6 |
this invention relates to relief valves and , more particularly , to a gas pressure relief valve which may be field retrofit onto an existing domestic gas pressure regulator . at the present time , there are many pressure regulators installed for house service applications which function solely as gas pressure regulators . in other words , they merely regulate the pressure of gas in the outlet . however , as these regulators age , they tend not to shut off completely tight so that they let a small flow of natural gas get past the soft seat of the regulator . under normal circumstances , a small amount of extra gas going past the regulator is no problem because most homes have pilot lights in their appliances that are constantly burning and any leakage of gas merely causes the pilot lights to burn a little bit brighter . however , under present day conditions where energy conservation is at a premium , many of the new appliances such as , for example , hot water heaters , stoves , ovens , heating furnaces , etc ., do not have pilot lights . instead , they utilize an electric ignition . under such circumstances , if there is a flow of gas past the regulator , a dangerous gas pressure buildup can occur inside the home . normally , when regulators are new and shut off tightly , there is a penalty of slightly higher pressure on the downstream side . when this higher pressure is coupled with a little bit of sealing seat wear , there is a little extra flow at a slightly higher pressure and if this gas is not being burned by a pilot light , this can create a dangerous situation . it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a pressure relief valve for a regulator used in house service applications . regulators exist that have built in pressure relief valves . however , it is economically undesirable to shut off the gas , take the old regulator out and put a new regulator in . this is both expensive and time consuming . it is therefore an additional object of this invention to provide a pressure relief valve which may be retrofit onto an existing regulator without removing the regulator from the gas line . the foregoing and additional objects are attained in accordance with the principles of this invention by providing a gas pressure relief valve comprising a resilient diaphragm having a first side , a second side , and a central opening , the diaphragm being formed with an annular sealing lip about the central opening on the first side thereof ; a body member including a central seat , an inlet to a source of gas to be pressure relieved , and a continuous shoulder adapted to contact the periphery of the first side of the diaphragm ; means for biasing the diaphragm in a direction such that the sealing lip is forced in sealing engagement with the seat , the biasing means exerting sufficient biasing force against the diaphragm so that the sealing lip remains sealingly engaged with the seat when the gas pressure at the inlet is below a predetermined value ; a top member including an outlet for relieved gas and a continuous shoulder adapted to contact the periphery of the second side of the diaphragm opposite the shoulder of the body member ; and means for connecting the body member to the top member so that the periphery of the diaphragm is maintained sealingly engaged between the shoulders of the body and top members . the foregoing will be more readily apparent upon reading the following description in conjunction with the drawing wherein : fig1 is an exploded perspective view of a relief valve constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention ; fig2 is a cross - sectional view of the assembled valve of fig1 wherein the top half shows the valve in the fully open position and the bottom half shows the valve in the fully closed position ; and fig3 illustrates how the valve of fig1 and 2 may be installed on a pressure regulator . referring to the drawings , wherein like elements in different figures thereof have the same reference character applied thereto , fig1 is an exploded perspective view of a pressure relief valve , designated generally by the reference numeral 10 , constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention . the operating element in the valve 10 is a resilient diaphragm 12 which has a first side 14 and a second side 16 . the diaphragm 12 is formed with a central opening 18 and an annular sealing lip 20 about the central opening 18 on the first side 14 of the diaphragm 12 . the valve 10 further includes a body member 22 and a top member 24 . the body member 22 includes an inlet region 26 which is adapted for connection to a source of gas which is to be pressure relieved . toward that end , the body member 22 is provided with an externally threaded extension 28 which is adapted to be screwed into an internally threaded opening to the gas source and sealed thereto by means of a sealing gasket 30 . the body member 22 also includes a central seat 32 which is connected to the remainder of the body member 22 by means of a plurality of ribs 34 . body member 22 also includes a continuous shoulder 36 which is adapted to contact the periphery of the first side 14 of the diaphragm 12 . the top member 24 includes an open outlet 38 for allowing over - pressure gas to be relieved therethrough . the top member 24 also includes a continuous shoulder 40 adapted to contact the periphery of the second side 16 of the diaphragm 12 opposite the shoulder 36 of the body member 22 . the top member 24 is also formed with a hollow cylindrical projection 42 which is internally threaded for at least a portion of its length , as shown in fig2 . the valve 10 also includes a plate 44 . the plate 44 has a central opening 46 and an island region 48 disposed within the central opening 46 and connected to the plate 44 by a plurality of relatively slender spokes 50 which do not substantially block the central opening 46 . the spokes 50 illustratively extend radially outwardly from the island region 48 . the island 48 has , on the side opposite the side of the plate disposed adjacent the diaphragm 12 , an upstanding wall 52 , radially inward of which there is an opening 54 . preferably , the plate 44 has an upstanding wall 56 at its outer periphery , which upstanding wall 56 lies within the convoluted portion 58 of the diaphragm 12 . to provide a biasing force , a helically wound compression spring 60 is provided . the spring 60 has one end thereof fitted around the wall 52 and the other end fitted inside the projection 42 . this spring 60 provides a biasing force through the plate 44 against the diaphragm 12 to maintain the sealing lip 20 in sealing engagement with the seat 32 . to connect together the parts shown in fig1 to provide an operative valve assembly , there is provided a connecting member 62 , illustratively a screw . the connecting member 62 is externally threaded at one end 64 and has a slotted head 66 at the other end . to accommodate the threaded end 64 , the seat 32 is provided with an internally threaded opening 68 therein . accordingly , the connecting member 62 extends through the projection 42 , inside the spring 60 , through the opening 54 of the island region 48 of the plate 44 , through the opening 18 of the diaphragm 12 , and is threadably secured into the opening 68 of the seat 32 . when the connecting member 62 is tightened , the periphery of the diaphragm 12 is maintained sealingly engaged between the shoulder 36 of the body member 22 and the shoulder 40 of the body member 24 . in order to vary the biasing force exerted by the spring 20 , there is provided a plug 70 . the plug 70 is formed with external threads and is threaded into the internally threaded projection 42 . the spring 60 bears against inward surface 72 of the plug 70 . by varying the position of the plug 70 , this provides a positionally adjustable stop for the spring 60 to vary the compression thereof , and hence the compressive biasing force exerted by the spring 60 to the diaphragm 12 . the plug 70 is formed with a longitudinal bore 74 therethrough . the bore 74 is of sufficient size to allow the connecting member 62 to pass therethrough but not to allow the head 66 from passing therethrough . to prevent the top member 24 from rotating relative to the body member 22 when the valve 10 is assembled or installed on a regulator in the field , the construction of these parts is such that the shoulder 36 of the body member is notched at 75 and the outer surface of the top member 24 has longitudinal extensions 76 which complementarily extend into the notched shoulder 36 . additionally , the notches 75 and extensions 76 allow for repositioning of the direction of the outlet 38 without a complete disassembly of the entire unit by merely loosening the connecting member 62 sufficiently to allow the extensions 76 to clear the notches 75 . further , the extensions 76 provide for a positive transmission of installation torque from the top member 24 to the body member 22 . fig2 is a cross - sectional view of the assembled valve 10 wherein the upper half illustrates the valve 10 in its fully opened position and the lower half illustrates the valve 10 when it is fully closed . when the pressure at the inlet 26 provides a force against the first side 14 of the diaphragm 12 which is less than the biasing force exerted by the spring 60 , the annular sealing lip 20 is maintained in sealing engagement with the seat 32 , as shown in the lower half of fig2 . however , when the inlet pressure provides a force greater than the force exerted by the spring 60 , the force is transmitted through the diaphragm 12 and the plate 44 to compress the spring 60 , as shown in the upper half of fig2 . this brings the lip 20 out of sealing engagement with the seat 32 and allows the over - pressure gas to be relieved from the inlet 26 , around the seat 32 , through the opening 18 of the diaphragm 12 , through the opening 46 of the plate 44 , and to the outlet 38 , as illustrated by the arrows 78 . fig3 illustrates the mounting of the valve 10 on an otherwise unrelieved regulator 80 , illustratively a type k pressure regulator manufactured by the meter division of the singer company . the valve 10 is designed so that its externally threaded portion 28 may be secured in an otherwise plugged inspection port on the downstream side of the regulator 80 . this may be done in the field without removing the regulator 80 from the line . in order to prevent excessive loss of gas while the valve 10 is being installed , the line is preferably &# 34 ; bagged &# 34 ; wherein a transparent plastic bag is placed over the regulator 80 and the line to which it is connected . the relief valve 10 and an appropriate wrench are within the bag and the bag is only open to the inspection port which is to be unplugged . the wrench is then utilized by gripping it from outside the bag to remove the inspection port plug and the valve 10 is then inserted and threadably secured to the inspection port . accordingly , the only gas that is lost is that gas which fills the bag . the above described valve constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention provides a number of distinct features and advantages . the diaphragm 12 acts as both a pressure sensing element and a throttling element . additionally , it functions as a sealing element at two places , i . e ., at its periphery and at the sealing lip 20 . the above construction provides a constant effective diaphragm area . further , the diaphragm 12 has a rolling action when it is moved by excessive pressure so that it acts as a frictionless piston . accordingly , there has been disclosed a relief valve assembly . it is understood that the above - described embodiment is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of this invention , and it is only intended that this invention be limited by the scope of the appended claims . | 5 |
describing now the drawings , the apparatus construction shown by way of example in fig1 and 2 will be seen to consist of a hollow mold embodying two mold halves 1 and 2 for the outside surfaces of the side walls of a tire and a ring - shaped mold portion 3 for profiling the tread of the tire . within these mold portions 1 , 2 and 3 there is arranged a mold core 4 . the mold halves 1 and 2 will be seen to be equipped at the shoulder region of the tire with ring - shaped compartments 5 and 6 concentrically disposed with respect to the tire axis . within the compartments 5 and 6 there are arranged ring - shaped pistons 8 and 9 which can be moved in the axial direction of the tire towards the hollow tire mold 7 . the work surfaces 10 and 11 of these pistons 8 and 9 form a portion of such hollow tire mold . at the beginning of the tire fabrication operation there are inserted into the compartment of the hollow tire mold 7 , a tread 12 and the bead cores 13 and 14 , and for the purpose of fixing such in position there can be provided any suitable and therefore nonillustrated support devices , as is quite well known in this particular art . as best seen by referring to fig1 there is then inserted a material ( preform ) web 15 having fibers , filaments or the like , oriented in the peripheral direction of the article . thereafter , the pistons 8 and 9 are displaced towards the interior of the hollow tire mold 7 , so that the material located in the compartments 5 and 6 flows into the regions of the side walls 16 and 17 of such hollow mold , as best seen by referring to fig2 . during this so - called flow operation the fibers or the like at the side wall region or section are reoriented and following completion of such flow operation such fibers are located so as to be oriented essentially in the radial direction . stated in another way , if the section of the flowable material at the tread region and the side wall sections are projected into a common plane then it will be apparent the orientation of the fibers at the tread region and side wall sections will be respectively different from one another . the grooves 18 provided at the mold core 4 serve for stabilizing the flow direction . at the tire shoulder region the fibers , following completion of the flow operation , are essentially in a random orientation so that a good transition zone is achieved . the tread surface section of the material web 15 is not subjected to any flow movement so that the above - mentioned peripheral fiber orientation is not altered . now in fig3 there is shown a construction of appratus which is quite similar to that of the arrangement of fig1 and 2 . however , with this arrangement the apparatus is here additionally provided at the tire bead region with two ring - shaped mold sections 19 and 20 rotatable in the peripheral direction . during or after completion of the flow operation both of these mold sections 19 and 20 are placed into rotational movement , so that the material located at the tire bead section is likewise moved in the peripheral direction and the fibers located at such bead section are oriented in the same direction . with sufficient fiber orientation it is possible to dispense with the use of the bead cores previously discussed . now with the embodiment of apparatus as depicted in fig4 and 5 compartments 23 and 24 are provided at the mold halves 21 and 22 at the bead region of the tire . these compartments 23 and 24 correspond to the compartments 5 and 6 of the apparatus structure depicted in fig1 and 2 . here also there are provided pistons 25 and 26 which are guided in such compartments 23 and 24 respectively . as best seen by referring to fig4 after insertion of the tread 12 , the material is deposited into the mold in the form of two rings at the bead region , the fibers being oriented in the peripheral direction and the bead core 14 , if desired , can already be embedded in the material . by displacing the pistons 25 and 26 towards one another there is initiated the flow of the material . through the provision of the ribs 18 and 28 at the mold core 27 the material at the side wall regions , as best seen by referring to fig5 is initially guided essentially in radial direction and at the region of the tread 12 essentially in the peripheral direction . now in order to achieve an improved orientation in the peripheral direction at the region of the tread , with the embodiment of apparatus as depicted in fig6 there is advantageously provided at the mold core 29 a substantially ring - shaped section 30 which is located directly beneath the tread region . this ring - shaped section 30 is movable in the peripheral direction with respect to the stationary mold core 29 . as particularly well seen by referring to fig7 this movable section 30 is provided with ribs 31 serving to improve the fiber orientation at the tread region . now in order to maintain the radial flow direction at the region of the side walls grooves 32 are advantageously provided at the mold core 29 . for all the embodiments disclosed herein the shape and number of ribs or grooves is dependent upon the desired orientation sat the individual article sections . for instance , the ribs or grooves can be arranged in a crossover or intersecting fashion at two oppositely situated surfaces of the hollow tire mold . in so doing the fibers or the like are oriented in two superimposed layers in different directions so that there is obtained an approximately crosswise oriented assembly . in the case of elastomers which can be vulcanized the hollow tire mold can simultaneously serve as the vulcanization mold . fig8 illustrates in sectional view an embodiment of inventive tire produced in accordance with the teachings of this development wherein the fibers , filaments 33 or the like at the tread region 34 and at the bead region 35 are oriented in the peripheral direction . the fibers or filaments 36 at the side wall region 37 are oriented essentially perpendicular to the peripheral direction . in much the same manner it is possible to fabricate also wound - up or heating bellows for the production of tires . a different orientation of the fibers at different tire sections or portions can also be obtained , as already explained , by winding - up layers with appropriate differently oriented embedded fibers . now the tire as shown in fig9 consists of two carcass layers 41 and 42 , each of which has a thickness of about 1 . 2 millimeters and in which there are embedded threads or fibers which are oriented in the radial direction . now a belt layer 43 is applied , at the tread region , to the outer carcass layer 42 , this belt layer 43 having embedded therein fibers which are oriented in the peripheral direction . the side wall sections of the tire are reinforced by side strips 44 possessing fibers which are embedded therein so as to be oriented in the radial direction . the belt layer 43 and partially also the side strips 44 are covered by the tread 45 . the tire construction shown in fig1 will be seen to embody four carcass layers 46 , 47 , 48 and 49 . by virtue of this arrangement it is possible to construct the individual layers so as to be thinner , namely each such layer possessing a thickness of about 0 . 6 millimeters , so that during fabrication it is possible to obtain a better orientation of the embedded fibers . the layers themselves are produced in a well known fashion by injection molding or calendering so that the degree of the fiber orientation is dependent upon the processing speed ( flow velocity ) and upon the cross - section . in the embodiment under consideration the side wall 50 consists of a rubber mixture which is free of fibers , so that there can be obtained at this region a better surface quality and so as to prevent surface fissure formation by the fibers . the bead wedge 51 consists of a rubber mixture having fibers embedded so as to be oriented in the peripheral direction . consequently , at this region of the tire there is obtained an optimum rigidity or stiffness . the belt layer 52 will be seen to be equipped with lateral bevelled portions 53 so that at the shoulder region 54 of the tire there is formed a much better transition zone . now with the embodiment of tire as depicted in fig1 the bevelled or chamfered arrangement discussed above is here obtained by providing partial belt layers 55 , 56 and 57 which possess a different width with respect to one another and are arranged in superimposed fashion so as to form a substantially step - shaped transistion zone . the orientation direction of the fibers in this layer arrangement is , for each of the three layers , different and specifically amounts to 30 ° for the layer 55 , + 78 ° for the layer 56 and - 78 ° for the layer 57 , measured with respect to the radial direction , so that there is formed in the usual well known manner a triangular assembly . with the embodiment of tire construction shown in fig1 the previously mentioned error source is prevented in that a layer 60 is arranged between the carcass 58 and the belt 59 , layer 60 being wider than the belt layer 59 and preventing , at this region , a pressing - in of the belt layer and the tread into the carcass . this layer 60 can be formed of a harder material or a material which is similar to the material of the tread , however pre - vulcanized . furthermore , by specially designing the hollow tire mold , for instance by providing different desgins for the dimensions and / or the grooves or ribs , it is also possible in accordance with the teachings of this invention to produce asymmetrical tires . turning now to the article shown in fig1 such is a conveyor or transport band , illustrated in sectional view , which has been produced in accordance with the teachings of the present invention and consists of a base or bottom section 61 and two side walls 62 . at this base or bottom section 61 the fibers 63 are oriented in the lengthwise direction and at the side walls 62 in the transverse direction . due to these measures as taught by this invention there is provided a conveyor band capable of taking - up tensional forces at the base section whereas the side walls are sufficiently elastic in order to be able to take - up the different elongations which occur at the region of the deflecting rolls . now in fig1 and 15 there is illustrated a form of apparatus which can be successfully utilized for fabricating the conveyor band depicted in fig1 . more particularly , it will be seen that fig1 illustrates the first phase of operation during which a semi - finished product or preform 65 for forming the conveyor band is inserted into the mold 64 . the ends 65a of this semi - finished product 65 are located at the auxiliary compartments 66 of the mold 64 in which there are displaceably arranged pistons or slide - shaped elements or sections 67 . during the second manufacturing step of phase , as best seen by referring to fig1 , these movable elements 67 are displaced towards the hollow compartment of the mold so that the working surfaces 68 of these movable elements 67 form at their terminal position portions of the hollow mold . the ends 65a of the semifinished product 65 are displaced into the remaining hollow portion 69 of the mold 64 , resulting in a reorientation of the fibers . finally there will now be presented certain exemplary illustrations of specific examples for the purpose of even more fully explaining the teachings of the present invention : a natural rubber mixture is mixed in a kneader with 20 % by weight polyester fibers having a length of 80 millimeters and possessing a titer of 3 . 3 den . from this mixture there are drawn plates at the calender and such are vulcanized in a conventional way . a comparison of the obtained properties of such a fiber layer in contrast to a cord reinforced rubber layer or a cord fabric layer with pressed - on rubber has been set forth in the following table , and specifically in each instance separate values have been given for the lengthwise direction ( l ) and transverse direction ( q ) of the fiber orientation . __________________________________________________________________________ cord reinforced fiber reinforced 1 q 1 q__________________________________________________________________________strength in kg / m . sup . 2 1000 80 520 74rupture or breakingelongation in % 14 400 21 200m 100 in kg / cm . sup . 2 ( modulus ) -- 22 -- 43elongation in % at100 kg / cm . sup . 2 load 1 . 5 -- 4 . 5 -- __________________________________________________________________________ in the above table , in the case of a tire , the values of 520 and 21 would be approximately 500 and 20 respectively . such plates are , for instance , utilized for the inventive winding - up of raw tire products , for instance of the type disclosed in fig1 . it has been found that even the strength in the lengthwise direction , which has been reduced to one - half in comparison to a cord reinforced layer , is sufficient owing to the improved uniformity since there is attained a uniform force distribution . therefore , a tire equipped with such inserts can exhibit the same longevity since there is available a larger surface for the adhesion between the rubber and the fibers . the rupture or breaking elongation of 200 % attained with the inventive fiber layers in the transverse direction is considerably more advantageous for the behavior of the tire than the considerable higher rupture elongation which previals in the case of conventionally manufactured tires , since with the last mentioned tires there oftentimes is present too great an elasticity which is disadvantageous . in analogous manner as in example 1 a rubber mixture formed on the basis of 70 % natural rubber and 30 % oil extended styrene butadiene rubber is mixed with 25 % by weight ( based upon the entire mixture ) glass fibers of 8 millimeters length . these fibers possessing a diameter in the range of 0 . 01 - 0 . 05 millimeters . the shorter the fiber pieces at the polymeric material containing the fibers that much greater must and can be filled the polymeric material with the fibers in order to achieve a desired modulus and that much better must there be designed the adhesion system . the greater the fiber filling of the polymeric material , that much higher will become also the modulus of elasticity . however , the mixture also becomes stiffer and is more difficult to work , and in the completely vulcanized condition generally produces an increased heat development . on the other hand , the modulus also increases with the length of the fiber pieces at the polymeric material . in the same manner as described in conjunction with examples 1 and 2 above there is mixed into a rubber mixture formed on the basis of 50 % natural rubber , 20 % polybutadiene and 30 % styrene butadiene , a respective 15 % by weight ( based upon the entire mixture ) of 40 millimeter long polyamide fibers of a thickness 0 . 01 - 0 . 03 millimeters and 60 millimeter long polyester fibers having a titer of 3 . 3 den . with such a mixture it can be especially advantageous to maintain as large as possible the ratio of the modulus in the lengthwise direction and transverse direction whereby when using such fiber reinforced plates in two different directions ( namely approximately radially for the carcass and approximately in the direction of travel of the tire with respect to the belt ) it is possible to produce exceptional properties for radial tires . the average length of the fibers used in practising the invention as disclosed herein is generally approximately in a range of 8 to 80 millimeters . in the case of high viscosity rubber mixtures it is approximately in the range of 15 to 40 millimeters and in the case of liquid rubber preferably should amount to approximately 40 to 75 millimeters . finally , it is mentioned that either before and / or during and / or after the flow operation the section or portion of the molded article not subjected to such flow operation can be pre - vulcanized . the term &# 34 ; fibers &# 34 ; as used herein is employed in its broader sense and generally is intended to encompass not only fibers as such , but also yarns , threads , filaments , and the like . while there is shown and described present preferred embodiments of the invention , it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims . | 1 |
the invention and its various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments , which are presented as illustrated examples of the invention defined in the claims . it is expressly understood that the invention as defined by the claims may be broader than the illustrated embodiments described below . many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims . for example , notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination , it must be expressly understood that the invention includes other combinations of fewer , more or different elements , which are disclosed herein even when not initially claimed in such combinations . the words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings , but to include by special definition in this specification structure , material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings . thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning , then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself . the definitions of the words or elements of the following claims therefore include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth , but all equivalent structure , material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result . in this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim . although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such , it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination . as used herein , the term “ duct ” is synonymus with “ side channel ”, both are used herein to describe fluid delivery paths branching off of the main lumen of the catheter . referring now to fig1 , which illustrate a catheter system 10 , having control unit body 12 , tubing sets 14 and 16 , and an elongated catheter body 18 with distal region 20 . tubing sets 14 and 16 can be connected to any suitable known devices in the art such as monitor / display , rf generator , signal processor , fluid pump , etc . the preferred system 10 can also use temperature sensor and mapping tool such as those described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 217 , 573 , incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . in fig2 , catheter distal region 20 has bands of electrodes 22 positioned spaced apart in different longitudinal sections . each band of electrodes 22 has elution holes 25 located in the same longitudinal sections . at the terminal end is catheter tip 21 , also having electrodes . catheter tip 21 can be manufactured separately and attached to the rest of the elongated catheter body . the contemplated catheter tip 21 can be made of suitable biocompatible materials to conduct rf energy and to withstand temperature extreme , such materials include natural and synthetic polymers , various metals and metal alloys , naturally occurring materials , textile fibers , glass and ceramic materials , sol - gel materials , and all reasonable combinations thereof . more preferably , the catheter tip 21 is made of 90 % platinum with 10 % iridium . fig3 shows one preferred embodiment of the catheter tip 21 , having a through hole 26 and groove 28 . hole 26 and groove 28 are used to help attaching the catheter tip 21 to the catheter body 18 . catheter body 18 has corresponding structures to matingly couple to the groove 28 and hole 26 . fig4 is a side view of the catheter tip 21 . preferred embodiments of the catheter tip 21 have two rows of elution holes 25 . in this figure , line a - a represents the first row of elution holes , and line b - b represents the second row of elution holes . the terminal end of the tip can be in any configuration , and is preferably spherical . the distance k 1 between the most distal tip of the spherical end to the center of the first row of elation holes is preferably 0 . 039 inches . the distance iq between edge 29 to the center of the second row of elution holes is preferably 0 . 020 inches . the diameter of both rows of elution holes are preferably 0 . 016 inches . as for arrangement of electrodes , mapping devices and sensors , these can be referenced from known ablation catheters such as u . s . pat . no . 6 , 611 , 699 issued to messing , all of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . the number and configuration of elution holes 25 depends on the intended use of the catheter . for example , fig4 shows a configuration where six elution holes 25 in each of the two rows . each elution hole 25 is fluidly connected with main lumen 23 via ducts 24 . referring to fig4 a and 4b , this configuration provides six ducts 24 radially spread out and spaced evenly from each other in substantially the same degree of angle . this configuration allows all around irrigation and cooling . in comparing fig4 a and 4b , the two rows of elation holes are offset by about 15 degrees . by doing so , the offset rows of elution holes provide more evenly distributed irrigation . it is also contemplated that these two rows may be offset by between 15 - 45 degrees , or more preferably , by about 30 degrees . fig5 provides preferred dimensions of the various elements in the catheter tip 21 . in a preferred embodiment , the diameter d 1 of the distal portion of the main lumen is about 0 . 019 inches , and the proximal portion of the lumen , after the tapered flow constrictor 27 , has a diameter d 2 of about 0 . 028 inches . the diameter d 3 of the main lumen at the neck portion of the catheter tip 21 is about 0 . 034 inches . in other preferred embodiments , the diameter of main lumen ranges from about 0 . 005 inch to about 0 . 045 inch , and wherein the tapered section decreases the diameter by about 5 % to about 40 % comparing the two diameters immediately adjacent the tapered section . the terminal end of the main lumen ends in a flat cone shape , and the distance l 1 from the edge of the flat cone to the proximal end of the neck portion is about 0 . 194 inches . and distance l 2 from the tip of the spherical end to the edge 29 is about 0 . 158 inches . the distance l 3 of the neck from the end of the neck to the edge 29 is about 0 . 065 inches . the distance l 4 from the edge of the flat cone to the terminal tip of the sphere is about 0 . 030 inches . distance l 5 is measured from the larger edge of the tapered flow constrictor 27 to the end of neck , and it is about 0 . 135 inches . fig6 and 7 illustrate different possible configurations of the flow constrictor 27 . the idea of a flow constrictor 27 is to limit or constrict the volume of fluid as the fluid passes toward the distal end of the catheter tip . by decreasing the main lumen 23 diameter using a flow constrictor 27 located substantially equidistance from the first row and from the second row , as shown in fig6 , the volume of fluid reaching the first row of elution holes 25 is effectively decreased . a preferred goal is to cause fluid output in the first row of elution holes 25 to be substantially the same volume as the fluid output in the second row . or more preferably , that all rows of the elution holes 25 that are disposed along the length of electrode region have substantially the same outflow rate . without a flow constrictor 27 , the irrigation system will have an imbalanced outflow pattern where more fluid outflow occurs at the first row . a number of factors are involved in designing an irrigation system with even distribution rate along all of the elution holes . some of these factors include : size of lumen diameter , percentage differences in diameter decrease , distance between adjacent rows , of ducts , diameter of ducts , tilt angle ( if any ) of the ducts relative to the main lumen . as those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize , the irrigation path described may readily be modified as dictated by the functional needs of particular applications . for example , in some medical applications more irrigation may be desired in the proximal end . one skilled in the art would adjust any one or more of the above factors to create an irrigation system to provide more output flow in the proximal region . in some preferred embodiments , the ducts 25 have walls with spiral grooves , influencing flow pattern of the fluid flowing through the ducts 25 . with such spiral grooves , the fluid comes out of elution holes 25 with an outwardly spraying swirl . this spraying pattern tends to minimize direct impact of the fluid on vessel walls . the spiral grooves can be formed by using appropriate drill bit . the duet wall can have other irregular patterns to create other outflow patterns . in fig7 , the flow constrictor 27 is a gradual taper that gradually decreases the main lumen diameter , as opposed to a relatively more abrupt taper seen in fig6 . either abrupt taper or gradual taper , both are preferred over straight angle drop in diameter , because a straight angle drop in diameter can create undesirable eddy currents in the main lumen . fig8 , 9 , 10 show yet other preferred embodiments of the present invention . these embodiments have two separate lumens 123 a , 123 b , with each lumen supplying fluid to corresponding rows of ducts 124 . these embodiments are less preferred because multiple lumens take up precious cross sectional space in catheter body 118 . however , one skilled in the art will recognize that even distribution of fluid can be achieved by having separate fluid delivery lumens for separate rows of conduct , each lumen precisely pressure and volume flow controlled . as will be illustrated in connection with fig1 - 13 , the irrigation system can be advantageously enhanced by arranging the angle of the ducts 24 relative to the main lumen 23 . flow constrictor is omitted from these figures but one skilled in the art would immediately appreciate that flow constrict is required depending on the type of flow output desired . preferably , a longitudinal axis of each of the plurality of duct 24 and the longitudinal axis of the main lumen are frowned at between 35 to 90 degree angles , even more preferably , they are angled at between 45 to 90 degree angles , most preferably , at between 80 to 90 degree angles . in fig1 , the ducts 24 are substantially perpendicular to the main lumen 23 . in fig1 , all of the ducts 24 are tilted towards the distal end , creating a general flow towards the front . in fig1 , all of the ducts 24 are tilted towards the proximal end , creating a general flow towards the back . in fig1 , a mixture of all three types is provided , creating a general flow away from the ablation area . in fig1 - 17 , three inflatable balloons 230 a , 230 b , 230 c can be optionally provided to the electrode catheter as discussed above . alternatively , this can be a balloon catheter with optional electrodes for ablation . the balloons 230 help navigate and position the electrode 222 to the targeted ablation site . as discussed earlier in other preferred embodiments , elution holes 225 are provided for irrigation purposes , and the catheter has a catheter tip 221 . the catheter is first inserted into the patient while the balloon 230 is deflated . once the user finds the targeted ablation location , the balloon 230 inflates , pushing the electrode side 222 of the catheter region against or closer to the ablation area . as opposed to electrodes described above , these embodiments have electrodes 222 on only the top side of the catheter distal portion . the underside has inflatable balloons 230 . contemplated device can have just a single balloon 230 , or a plurality of balloons 230 . where a plurality of balloons 230 are provided , the balloon can be of the same size and shape , or alternatively , each balloon 230 can have a distinct shape and size . the preferred embodiment has three balloons 230 a , 230 b , 230 c , with the smallest one at the distal end , and the largest one on the proximal end . this configuration facilitates manipulation of the catheter in a funnel - shaped vessel . when in a funnel - shaped vessel closely corresponds to the shape of the balloon catheter distal region when inflated , the balloon catheter in fig1 - 17 can more fittingly secure itself and position electrode to the ablation region . preferred balloons are half - dome shaped , and have a cross - sectional shape resembling a half circle . also contemplated configuration is having at least one inflatable balloon , where at least one balloon has an inhaled shaped that resembles a longitudinally - dissected cone , or half - cone . the idea is to have one balloon , or a plurality of balloons , where the single balloon or the group of balloons has together an overall general shape that corresponds to the funnel - shaped . vessel . this overall general shape can be a longitudinally dissected cone shape , a longitudinally dissected oval ( egg - like ) shape where a distal end is smaller than the proximal end , or any other shapes where the cross - sectional area is smaller at the distal portion of the overall shape than at its proximal portion . the preferred device uses typical controlling parts and other related configuration for using and positioning the balloon 230 , such as those disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 7 , 137 , 395 and 6 , 780 , 183 , all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . balloon catheter devices are well known , therefore , general features ( e . g . size , shape , materials ) of the balloon 230 may be in accordance with conventional balloons . in a preferred embodiment , the balloon 230 is made of flexible medical - grade silicone rubber . alternatively , the balloon 230 may be made of other biocompatible and distendable materials , such as polyethylene terepthalate ( pet ). while the various embodiments of the irrigation system is herein disclosed as suitable for ablation catheters that perform tissue ablation , and the fluid being suitable cooling fluid such as saline , the same uniform distribution concept can be applied to drug delivery catheters desiring to delivery therapeutic fluid at a uniform rate among the many delivery bores on the catheter distal region . thus , specific embodiments and applications of multi - electrode irrigated catheter with balloons have been disclosed . it should be apparent , however , to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein . the inventive subject matter , therefore , is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims . moreover , in interpreting both the specification and the claims , all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context . in particular , the terms “ comprises ” and “ comprising ” should be interpreted as referring to elements , components , or steps in a non - exclusive manner , indicting that the referenced elements , components , or steps may be present , or utilized , or combined with other elements , components , or steps that are not expressly referenced . insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art , now known or later devised , are expressly contemplated as being equivalent within the scope of the claims . therefore , obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements . the claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above , what is conceptually equivalent , what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the invention . in addition , where the specification and claims refer to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of a , b , c . . . , and n , the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group , note a plus n , or b plus n , etc . | 0 |
reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of the invention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts . the drawings are in simplified form , not to scale , and omit apparatus elements and method steps that can be added to the described systems and methods , while including certain optional elements and steps . for purposes of convenience and clarity only , directional terms , such as top , bottom , left , right , up , down , over , above , below , beneath , rear , and front may be used with respect to the accompanying drawings . these and similar directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any manner . referring more particularly to the drawings , fig1 is a high - level flow chart of selected steps of a process 100 for detecting a period of silence and terminating voice recording ( or performing another function ) when silence is detected . among other uses , implementation of the process 100 in a telephone answering system can improve a caller &# 39 ; s ability to use a voice - activated voice mail system from a noisy environment in a hands - free mode . the telephone answering system identifies when the caller has stopped speaking , and hangs up automatically . the process begins at step 110 with receiving coded audio blocks from the system &# 39 ; s module responsible for digitizing and coding incoming sound . in one exemplary embodiment of the system , the blocks are generated by a computer telephony subsystem card , such as the bri / pci series cards , available from intel corporation , 2200 mission college blvd ., santa clara , calif . 95052 , ( 800 ) 628 - 8686 . in this embodiment , the blocks are 1 , 536 one - byte samples in length , generated at a rate of 8 , 000 samples per second . thus , each block is 192 milliseconds in duration . at step 115 , each block is segmented into windows . in the illustrated embodiment , each window is also 1 , 536 bytes in length . in one variant , the windows overlap by 160 bytes . thus , there is about a 10 percent overlap between consecutive windows . the overlap is not strictly necessary , but it provides better handling of audio events occurring close to borderline of a particular window , and of events that would span two consecutive non - overlapping windows . in variants of the illustrated embodiment , the overlap ranges from about 2 percent to about 20 percent ; in more specific variants , the overlap ranges between about 4 percent and about 12 percent . the windows are sent to a classifier engine , at step 120 . the classifier engine examines the audio data of the windows to determine whether the sound within a particular window is likely to be speech , silence , or noise . in effect , the classifier engine 120 acts as a speech versus non - speech ( non - voice ) discriminator . note that if the windows do not overlap and are the same length as the blocks , the segmentation step is essentially obviated or merged with the following step 120 . at step 125 , output of the classifier engine is received . at step 130 , the output of the classifier engine is evaluated . in some embodiments , the evaluation process is relatively uninvolved , particularly if the classifier engine output is a simple yes / no classification of the window ; in other embodiments , the classifier output is subject to interpretation , which is carried out in this step 130 . for example , the classifier engine can return a value corresponding to the energy level of the signal within the window , a number or rate of zero - crossings in the window , and a classification tag . in this case , the numerical output of the classifier engine can be evaluated or interpreted within a context dependent on the classification tag received . according to one alternative , the two numbers and the classification tag returned by the classifier engine can be evaluated together , for example , by attaching a third number to the classification tag received , weighting the three numbers in an appropriate manner , combining ( e . g ., adding ) the three numbers , and comparing the result to one or more thresholds . in one variant of the illustrated process , the energy level output of the classifier engine is compared to a predefined threshold , while the zero - crossing output is practically ignored . in another variant , the zero - crossing number or rate is compared to a threshold , with little or no significance attached to the energy level . in yet another variant , classification also includes comparison of the energy level and zero - crossing rate ( or number ) to bounded ranges . for example , the zero - crossing output of the classifier engine is compared to a range bounded by a set of two real numbers ( hfzclow , hfzchigh ), while the energy level output is compared to another set of two real numbers ( hfelow , hfehigh ). the window is then classified as noise if the zero - crossing and energy level outputs fall within their respective bounded ranges . the bounded ranges test can also be applied in context of the classification of the window by the classifier engine . using the “ endpointer ” classifier engine discussed below , the bounded ranges test may be applied when the classifier engine tags the window with a signal tag ( which is discussed below in relation to the “ endpointer ” algorithm . if voiced speech is detected in the window being processed , a speech count accumulator is incremented , at step 140 . the value held by the speech count accumulator is then compared a predetermined limit l 1 , at step 145 . if the value in the speech count accumulator is equal to or exceeds l 1 , then both accumulators are cleared and process flow turns to processing the next window . if the speech count accumulator does not exceed the l 1 limit , process flow turns to the next window without clearing the speech count and non - voice count accumulators . in one variant of the illustrated embodiment , l 1 is set to seven . this corresponds to a time period about 1 . 3 seconds ( 1536 samples / block 8000 samples / sec * 7 blocks = 1 . 344 sec ) . note that the seven windows of speech need not occur consecutively for the accumulators to be cleared ; it suffices if the seven windows accumulate before end - of - speech is detected . in some variants of this process , l 1 is set to correspond to a time period between about 0 . 7 and about 2 . 5 seconds . in more specific variants , l 1 corresponds to time periods between about 1 and about 1 . 8 seconds . in yet more specific variants , l 1 corresponds to time periods between about 1 and about 1 . 5 seconds . if speech is not detected within the currently - processed window , a non - voice count accumulator is incremented , at step 155 . the non - voice count accumulator is then compared to a second limit l 2 , at step 160 . if the value in the non - voice count accumulator is less than l 2 , process flow once again turns to processing the next window of coded speech , at step 120 . otherwise , a command to terminate recording is issued at step 165 . in alternative embodiments , step 165 corresponds to other functions . for example , and end - of - speech can be marked within the audio stream to delimit an audio section , which can then be sent to a speech recognizer , i . e ., a speech recognition device or process . in one variant of the illustrated embodiment , l 2 is set to 15 windows , corresponding to about 3 seconds . in some variants of the illustrated embodiment , l 2 corresponds to a time period between about 1 second and about 4 seconds . in more specific variants , l 2 corresponds to time periods between about 2 . 5 and about 3 . 5 seconds . the classifier engine used in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 is an “ endpointer ” ( or “ endpoint ”) algorithm published by bruce t . lowerre . the algorithm , available at ftp :// svr - ftp . eng . cam . ac . uk / pub / comp . speech / tools / ep . 1 . 0 . tar . gz , is filed together with this document and is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein . the endpointer algorithm examines both energy content of the signal in the window , and zero - crossings of the signal . the inventive process 100 works by attaching a state machine to the basic methods of the endpointer algorithm for detection of speech , silence , and noise . the endpointer algorithm analyzes segments of audio in 192 millisecond windows , using zero - crossing and energy detection calculations to produce an intermediate classification tag of each window , given the classification of the preceding window . the set of window classification tags generated by the endpointer algorithm includes the following : ( 1 ) silence , ( 2 ) signal , ( 3 ) in_utterance , ( 4 ) continue_utterance , and ( 5 ) end_utterance_final . the state machine uses higher - level energy and zero - crossing thresholds for making a speech - versus - silence - versus - noise determination , using the output generated by the endpointer algorithm . by taking the classification of each audio window , a non - voice accumulator or a speech count accumulator is either incremented , cleared , or left in its previous state . when the non - voice accumulator reaches the required threshold ( l 2 ) indicating that the maximum number of silence or noise windows has been detected , message recording is automatically stopped . note that the classifier engine provides sufficient information to make distinctions within the various windows that fall within the non - voice classification . for example , these windows can be subdivided into silence windows and noise windows , and the state machine algorithm can be modified to assign different weights to the silence and noise windows , or to associate different thresholds with these windows . fig2 illustrates selected steps of a process 200 that employs the former approach . in the process 200 , steps 210 , 215 , and 220 are similar or identical to the like - numbered steps of the process 100 : audio blocks are received , segmented into windows , and the windows are sent to the classifier engine . at step 225 , the output corresponding to each window is received from the classifier engine . window classifications are determined at step 227 , based on the output of the classifier engine . here , each window is classified in one of three categories : speech , silence , or noise . if the window is classified as speech , the speech count accumulator is incremented at step 240 , and the value of the speech count accumulator is tested against the limit l 1 , at step 245 . as in the process 100 , all accumulators are cleared once the value in the speech count accumulator exceeds l 1 , and process flow turns to processing the next window . if the value in the speech count accumulator does not exceed l 1 , process flow turns to the next window without clearing the accumulators . if the currently - processed window is not classified as speech , it is tested to determine whether the window has been classified as silence , at step 252 . in case of silence , a silence count accumulator is incremented , at step 255 . if the window has not been classified as silence , it is a noise window . in this case , a noise count accumulator is incremented , at step 257 . the silence and noise count accumulators are then appropriately weighted and summed to obtain the total non - voice count , at step 258 . in one variant of the process 200 , the weighting factor assigned to the noise windows is half the weighting factor assigned to silence windows . thus , the total non - voice count is equal to ( n 1 + n 2 / 2 ), where n 1 denotes the silence count accumulator value , and n 2 denotes the noise count accumulator value . in other variants , the weighting factor assigned to the noise windows varies between about 30 and about 80 percent of the weighting factor assigned to the silence windows . the total non - voice count is next compared to the limit l 2 , at step 160 . if the total non - voice count is less than l 2 , process flow proceeds to the next window . otherwise , a command to terminate recording is issued at step 265 . note that if the weighting factors for the silence and noise windows are both the same and equal to one , the process 200 becomes essentially the same as the process 100 . turning now to the code in the computer program listing appendix and code of the endpointer algorithm used in certain embodiments of the processes 100 and 200 , several observations may help the reader &# 39 ; s understanding of the operation and functionality of these processes . a person skilled in the art would of course be well advised to turn to the actual code for better and more precise understanding of its operation . the state machine implemented in the code has different boolean modes , such as a mode determined by an end_mode tag . the tag together with its corresponding mode can be either true or false . three counters are maintained by the code : ( 1 ) a speech counter , ( 2 ) a silence counter , and ( 3 ) a noise - counter ; these counters implement the speech , silence , and noise count accumulators described above . three threshold sets of { zero - crossing , energy } parameter combinations are used by the code , to wit : noise - threshold , silence - threshold , and speech - threshold . the noise - threshold is used to determine when the currently - processed window is noise . the silence - threshold is used to determine silence in end_mode , and when silence is otherwise observed . the speech - threshold is used to determine when the window contains speech . when the currently - processed window is classified as signal by the classifier engine , and values computed for the { zero - crossing , energy } parameter combination are greater than the speech - threshold , a speech - counter is incremented . when a predetermined number of speech windows is encountered ( as determined by observing the speech - counter ), both the silence - counter and the noise - counter are reset . when the state machine is in end_mode , the currently - processed window has been classified as signal , and the values computed for the { zero - crossing , energy } parameter combination are less than a silence - threshold , the silence - counter is incremented . when the state machine observes silence returned by the classifier engine and the energy parameter is less than the silence energy - threshold , the silence - counter is incremented . when the state machine observes a continue_utterance return from the classifier engine , the silence - counter and noise - counter are cleared , unless the current { zero - crossing , energy } parameters are less than the silence - threshold set . after each window of audio is classified , the current values in the noise and silence counters are observed , and if the values exceed the pre - configured time - based threshold for maximum combined silence and noise periods , the recording is terminated . to facilitate understanding of the code further , fig3 illustrates a simplified visual “ chain ” model of the operation of the state machine when audio windows are classified . as each audio window is classified , the window is added to one of three classification chains : speech chain , silence chain , or noise chain . all chains are cleared when the number of speech windows received exceeds a first predetermined number ( l 1 ), i . e ., when the speech chain exceeds l 1 windows . the window classification process then continues , allowing the chains to grow once again . if the combination of the silence and noise chains reaches a second predetermined number ( l 2 ), then the end - of - speech command is issued and recording is terminated . in alternative embodiments in accordance with the invention , different classifier engines are used , including classifier engines that examine various attributes of the signal instead of or in addition to the energy and zero - crossing attributes . for example , classifier engines in accordance with the present invention can discriminate between silence and speech using high - order statistics of the signal ; or an algorithm promulgated in itu g . 729 annex b standard , entitled a silence compression scheme for g . 729 optimized for terminals conforming to r ecommendation v . 70 , incorporated herein by reference . although digital , software - driven classifier engines have been described above , digital hardware - based and analogue techniques can be employed to classify the windows . generally , there is no requirement that the classifier engine be limited to using any particular attribute or a particular combination of attributes of the signal , or a specific technique . processes in accordance with the present invention can be practiced on both dedicated hardware and general purpose computing systems controlled by custom program code . fig4 illustrates selected blocks of a general - purpose computer system 400 capable of being configured by such code to perform the process steps in accordance with the invention . in various embodiments , the general purpose computer 400 can be a wintel machine , an apple machine , a unix / linux machine , or a custom - built computer . note that some processes in accordance with the invention can run in real time , on a generic processor ( e . g ., an intel &# 39 ; 386 ), and within a multitasking environment where the processor performs additional tasks . at the heart of the computer 400 lies a processor subsystem 405 , which may include a processor , a cache , a bus controller , and other devices commonly present in processor subsystems . the computer 400 further includes a human interface device 420 that allows a person to control operations of the computer . typically , the human interface device 420 includes a display , a keyboard , and a pointing device , such as a mouse . a memory subsystem 415 is used by the processor subsystem to store the program code during execution , and to store intermediate results that are too bulky for the cache . the memory subsystem 415 can also be used to store digitized voice mail messages prior to transfer of the messages to a mass storage device 410 . a computer telephony ( ct ) subsystem card 425 and a connection 435 tie the computer 400 to a private branch exchange ( pbx ) 402 . the ct card 425 can be an intel ( dialogic ) card such as has already been described above . the pbx 402 is in turn connected to a telephone network 401 , for example , a public switched telephone network ( pstn ), from which the voice mail messages stored by the computer 400 originate . the program code is initially transferred to the memory subsystem 415 or to the mass storage device 410 from a portable storage unit 440 , which can be a cd drive , a dvd drive , a floppy disk drive , a flash memory reader , or another device used for loading program code into a computer . prior to transfer of the program code to the computer 400 , the code can be embodied on a suitable medium capable of being read by the portable storage unit 440 . for example , the program code can be embodied on a hard drive , a floppy diskette , a cd , a dvd , or any other machine - readable storage medium . alternatively , the program code can be downloaded to the computer 400 , for example , from the internet , an extranet , an intranet , or another network using a communication device , such as a modem or a network card . ( the communication device is not illustrated in fig4 .) finally , a bus 430 provides a communication channel that connects the various components of the computer 400 . in operation , the pbx 402 receives telephone calls from the telephone network 401 and channels them to appropriate telephone extensions 403 . when a particular telephone call is unanswered for a preprogrammed number of rings , the pbx 402 plays a message to the caller , optionally providing the caller with various choices for proceeding . if the caller chooses to leave a message , the call is connected to the ct card 425 , which digitizes the audio signal received from the caller and hands the digitized audio to the processor subsystem 405 in blocks , for example , blocks of 1 , 536 samples ( bytes ). the processor subsystem 405 , which is executing the program code , segments the blocks into windows and writes the windows to the mass storage device 415 . at the same time , the processor subsystem 405 monitors the windows as has been described above with reference to the processes 100 and 200 . when the combination of silence and noise count accumulators reaches a critical value ( l 2 ), the processor subsystem 405 issues terminate recording commands to the ct card 425 and to the pbx 402 , and stops recording the windows to the mass storage device 410 . upon receipt of the terminate recording command , the pbx 402 and the ct card 425 drop the telephone call , disconnecting the caller . the invention can also be practiced in a networked , client / server environment , with the computer 400 being integrated within a networked computer configured to receive , route , answer , and record calls , e . g ., within an integrated pbx , telephone server , or audio processor device . it should be understood that fig4 illustrates many components that are not necessary for performing the processes in accordance with the invention . for example , the inventive processes can be practiced on an appliance - type of computer that boots up and runs the code , without direct user control , interfacing only with a computer telephony subsystem . the above is of course a greatly simplified description of the operation of the hardware that can be used to practice the invention , but a person skilled in the art will no doubt be able to fill - in the details of the configuration and operation of both the hardware and software . this document describes the inventive apparatus , methods , and articles of manufacture for detecting silence in considerable detail for illustration purposes only . neither the specific embodiments and methods of the invention as a whole , nor those of its features limit the general principles underlying the invention . the specific features described herein may be used in some embodiments , but not in others , without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth . various physical arrangements of components and various step sequences also fall within the intended scope of the invention . the invention is not limited to the use of specific components , such as the computer telephony cards mentioned above . furthermore , in the description and the appended claims the words “ couple ,” “ connect ,” and similar expressions with their inflectional morphemes do not necessarily import an immediate or direct connection , but include connections through mediate elements within their meaning . it should also be noted that , as used in this document , the words “ counter ” and “ accumulator ” have similar meanings . many additional modifications are intended in the foregoing disclosure , and it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that in some instances some features of the invention will be employed in the absence of a corresponding use of other features . the illustrative examples therefore do not define the metes and bounds of the invention and the legal protection afforded the invention , which function is carried out by the claims and their equivalents . | 6 |
the term &# 34 ; analyte &# 34 ; means any chemical or elemental compound of clinical and / or medical , environmental , or industrial significance and for which quantitative or qualitative measurements may be desired . examples of specific analytes are well known and include analytes of clinical significance such as glucose , hemoglobin , lipids , cholesterol , proteins , etc . other analytes will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . a preferred biological compound is glucose . the present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for enhancing the transdermal transport of analytes . as illustrated in fig1 an apparatus of the invention generally consists of a sampling device 10 comprising a ultrasonic source 12 , a pressure reducing source 14 , a pressure boundary 16 which , together with a surface 20 of a body part , contains a sampling region 18 , and an analysis device 22 . any ultrasonic source 12 is suitable for use in the present invention . preferably , the source is an ultrasonic transducer capable of generating ultrasonic energy at a frequency range suitable for optimum extraction of glucose , e . g ., 20 khz to 1 mhz . the pressure reducing source 14 is capable of reducing pressure in the sampling , region 18 to an absolute pressure of about 400 mmhg , a vacuum pump is preferred . in one embodiment , the pump is powered by normal movements , such as the self - actuated pump described in u . s . patent application ser . no . ( not yet available ; atty docket number 5845 . us . 01 , filed dec . 18 , 1995 ). the pressure boundary 16 maintains a pneumatic seal against the surface 20 of the body , and may be any of a variety of well known materials suitable for this purpose , e . g ,., adhesive tape or an elastomeric ring . in those embodiments where analysis of analyte in sampling region 18 is provided , analysis of collected sample is provided by analysis element 22 located adjacent or , as shown in fig1 in contact with sampling region 18 . analysis element 22 is used to determine the presence or amount of at least one analyte of interest and the particular features of analysis element 22 are not critical to the invention . thus , any analyte detection method , sensor , or system suitable for use with the analyte of interest , for example optical or electrochemical sensors known in the art , may be used in analysis element 22 . an example of a suitable analysis device is an interference - free biosensor such as that described in u . s . patent application ser . no . not yet available ; atty docket number 5843 . us . 01 , filed dec . 18 , 1995 ). the operation of a particular embodiment of the invention may be understood with reference to fig2 . the ultrasound source 12 generates ultrasonic energy directed at the body surface 20 . the transmission of this ultrasonic energy may be facilitated by the use of a coupling medium ( such as a gel ) within the sampling region 18 . the interaction of the ultrasonic energy with the body surface 20 increases the permeability of the skin at the body surface as described in current scientific literature ( mitragotri et al , j . pharm . sci . 84 : 697 - 706 , 1995 ). the pressure reducing , source 14 reduces the pressure in the sampling region 18 by removing air within the region 18 . note that the presence of a coupling medium within the region 18 should not affect the ability of the pressure reducing source 14 to reduce the pressure within the region 18 , and may in fact facilitate the pressure reduction by assisting in maintaining a seal between the pressure boundary 16 and the body surface 20 . any coupling medium should as well not interfere with the operation of the analysis device 22 . the combination of the enhanced permeability of the skin due to the ultrasonic energy and the pressure difference between the tissue and the sampling region will cause the enhanced flow of body fluid through the body surface 20 into the sampling region , where the concentration of the analyte is measured by the analysis device 22 . a second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig3 . in this embodiment pressure reducing source 14 is in vacuum connection with the pressure boundary 16 and the ultrasound source 12 and the analysis device 22 are contained within the sampling region 18 . such an arrangement facilitates ultrasound transmission , as the ultrasound source 12 may be directly coupled to the body surface 20 , if necessary with the local application of a coupling medium such as a gel . this arrangement also facilitates the measurement of the analyte , as the analysis device 22 is not affected by the coupling medium and may directly sense body fluid emerging from the body surface 20 . a third embodiment is illustrated in fig4 . two or more ultrasound sources 12 are placed on opposite sides of the pressure boundary 16 , so that they create a standing wave such as that described in u . s . patent application ser . no . not yet available ; atty docket number 5867 . us . 01 , filed feb . 23 , 1996 ) in the body surface 20 adjacent to the sampling region 18 . the reduced pressure source 14 reduces the pressure in the sampling region 18 . the combination of the ultrasound enhanced permeability of the skin and the difference in pressure between the tissue and the sampling region 18 causes fluid to exude from the body surface 18 . the concentration of the analyte of interest may then be measured by the analysis device 22 . all of the references cited in this application are incorporated by reference . the present invention has been described with reference to preferred and / or alternate embodiments . one of skill in the art will readily appreciate that changes , alterations or modifications can be made to these embodiments without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention . | 0 |
the present invention is directed to the regeneration by tissue culture of cotton plants particularly plants of the genus gossypium hirsutum from somatic cells for propagation in the field . optionally , the cells may be transformed to include foreign genetic information . the various growth medium useful in accordance with this invention are as follows : with any of the above solutions , the following procedure is used to prepare one liter of the medium . there is provided as a base , 200 ml of deionized water and the various stock solutions are added in the amounts stated for 1 liter . for example , if there is to be employed 10 ml of a stock in the final medium , then 10 ml of the stock are added to the 200 ml of the distilled water . to ensure the salts stay in solution , stock solutions are normally added in the order shown in the formulations above . after thoroughly mixing additional deionized water is added to the mixture to bring it to , as required 500 ml , and the mixture adjusted in ph to a value of from about 5 . 8 to 6 . 0 . the final volume is brought to 1 , 000 ml and there is normally added tissue culture agar , or its equivalent to a level of about 0 . 8 % by weight . this is to provide some solidity to solution to reduce flow . the mixture is then autoclaved for about 5 to 20 minutes at a pressure 15 - 21 lbs / in 2 to kill any contaminating organism , and suitably labeled and stored as a sterile medium . briefly , cotton seeds are sterilized and germinated on a suitable seed germination medium such as a basal agar medium in the dark for a time sufficient to produce seedlings . the normal period of growth is up to about 4 weeks , typically 7 to 14 days . segments of explants are excised from the seedling . it is preferred that the explant come from the hypocotyl or cotyledon . in the alternative , one can equally use immature embryos obtained from the developing fruits of greenhouse or field grown cotton plants as the explant . the explant segments are cultured on a suitable first callus growth medium , preferably a or full murashige and skoog ( ms ) nutrient medium containing glucose . growth occurs by culturing at a temperature of from about 25 to about 35 ° c . in a light / dark cycle of about 16 hours of light and above 8 hours of dark . culturing is the procedure whereby the medium is replaced at periodic intervals as the nutrients are consumed and continued for approximately about 3 to about 4 weeks , or until undifferentiated callus are formed . the callus are transferred to a second callus growth medium , preferably an ms medium supplemented with naphthaleneacetic acid ( naa ) and sucrose as the carbon source and cultured for three to four months to produce embryos . the embryos may then be maintained in the second callus growth medium to maintain an embryo supply or transferred to a plant germination medium such as beasley and ting &# 39 ; s medium preferably containing casein hydrolysate and source of ammonium cultured for 2 to 3 weeks to produce plantlets . the plantlets are transferred to soil under high humidity conditions , then transplanted to larger pots in a greenhouse and finally transferred to the field for growth to maturity . the methods briefly described herein have been successfully employed to induce somatic embryo formation in cotton of the species gossypium hirsutum by tissue and suspension cultures and , ultimately , to obtain mature plants from hypocotyl and cotyledon derived callus cultures of acala varieties of gossypium hirsutum including acala sj2 , acala sj4 , acala sj5 , acala sj - c1 , acala b1644 , acala b1654 - 26 , acala b1654 - 43 , acala b3991 , acala gc356 ( plants not obtained ), acala gc510 , acala gam1 , acala royale , acala maxxa ( callus only formed ), acala prema , acala b638 ( plants not formed ), acala b1810 , acala b2724 , acala b4894 , acala b5002 ( plants not formed ), non acala “ picker ” siokra , “ stripper ” variety fc2017 , coker 315 , stoneville 506 , stoneville 825 ( plants not formed ), dp50 ( callus only formed ), dp61 ( callus only formed ), dp90 ( callus only formed ), dp77 ( callus only formed ), des119 ( callus only formed ), mcn235 ( callus only formed ), hbx87 ( plants not formed ), hbx191 ( callus only formed ), hbx107 ( callus only formed ), fc 3027 , chembred a1 ( callus only formed ), chembred a2 ( callus only formed ), chembred a3 ( callus only formed ), chembred a4 ( callus only formed ), chembred b1 ( callus only formed ), chembred b2 , chembred b3 ( callus only formed ), chembred c1 ( callus only formed ), chembred c2 ( callus only formed ), chembred c3 ( callus only formed ), chembred c4 , paymaster 145 ( callus only formed ), hs26 ( callus only formed ), hs46 ( callus only formed ), sicala ( plants not formed ), pima s6 ( plants not formed ) and oro blanco pima ( plants not formed ). cultures have been transformed to normal plants with novel traits or properties . the acala sj2 was obtained from a the cross axte1 × nm 2302 . the acala sj4 , sj5 , sj - c1 , b1644 , b1654 - 26 , b1654 - 43 , b3991 , gc356 , gc510 , gam1 were obtained from the cross c6te × nm b3080 . acala royale was obtained from the cross [ c6te × nm b3080 ]×[ axte 1 - 57 × tex e364 ]. acala maxxa was obtained from the cross [ s196 × 1900 - 1 ]×[ 12302 - 4 ×( c6te × b7378 )]. acala prema was obtained from the cross [ ate - 11 × nm49 - 2 ]×[ c6te × nm b3080 ]. more particularly , the procedure involves first the sterilizing of the cotton seeds . suitable sterilization may be achieved by immersing the seeds in 95 % ethanol for 2 to 3 minutes , rinsing in sterile water one or more times , then soaking the seeds in a 15 % solution of sodium hypochlorite for 15 to 20 minutes , and rinsing several times with sterile water . the sterilized seeds are then transferred to a first medium , termed a seed germination medium . a seed germination medium is one of normal salt content . a suitable germination medium is a basal agar medium , including white &# 39 ; s medium or half - strength ms medium . ( one - half ingredient strength ). germination normally occurs in the dark over an about 12 to about 14 day period . hypocotyl and / or cotyledons are preferably excised from the germinated seed , subdivided or cut into segments and cultured on a first callus growth medium such as an ms medium supplemented with growth substances . the presently preferred medium is the ms . medium supplemented with about 0 . 4 mg / l thiamine hydrochloride , about 30 g / l glucose , about . 2 mg / l naa , about 1 mg / l kinetin , a common growth regulator , and about 100 mg / l inositol and agar . thiamine hydrochloride can generally range in concentration from 0 . 1 to about 0 . 5 mg / l , glucose about 20 to about 30 g / l , about 1 to about 10 mg / l naa , about 1 to about 2 mg / l kinetin and about 50 to about 100 mg / l inositol . the cultures are maintained at a temperature of about 25 to about 35 ° c ., preferably about 30 ° c . and with a light / dark cycle of about 16 hours of light and about 8 hours of dark . it is preferred to have a light intensity of about 2000 to 4000 lux , more preferably about 3000 to 4000 lux . the calli formed are periodically subcultured at 3 to 4 week intervals and transferred to a fresh first callus growth medium . in the culturing of the explants , secretions of phenolic compounds from the explants can occur as evidenced by darkening of the cultured medium . in this instance , the medium is changed more regularly . darkening has been avoided by changing the culture medium every 10 days . normally , after three to five medium changes , phenolic secretions will disappear . when this occurs , the first callus growth medium can be replaced by fresh callus growth medium containing sucrose or supplemented with sucrose as a carbon source . after 3 to 4 weeks of culture , active calli develop on the cut surfaces of the explants . the calli are then transferred to a fresh second callus growth maintenance medium which is preferably an ms medium combined with about 1 to about 10 mg / l , preferably about 1 to about 5 mg / l naa . cytokinin is employed at a concentration of from 0 to about 1 g / l . a callus growth medium is characterized as a high salt content medium containing as much as 10 times more salt than the seed germination medium . the essential difference between first and second callus growth medium is the carbon source . glucose is used during period of phenolic secretions . sucrose is used when secretion have stopped . the balance of the callus growth medium can remain the same or changed . the calli are transferred in regular intervals to a fresh callus growth medium and , after generally about 5 to 7 passages or until an anthocyanin pigmentation becomes evident in a portion of the calli , which is followed by development of a yellowish - white embryogenic callus . the embryogenic callus are then selectively subcultured and maintained by regular subculturing . the embryogenic callus contain somatic embryos at various stages of development . some may have reached the point of development that enables growth into small plantlets . most , however , require further development . some may be advanced to germination . other may be maintained as a source of embryos for future use . with reference to fig2 there is illustrated this stage of development showing calli of acala cotton 10 with somatic embryos 12 of differing size with some having emerging leaves 14 and roots 16 . fig3 illustrates a somatic embryo isolated at a late globular stage . with reference to fig4 further development may be achieved by transferring the somatic embryos to a third growth medium termed herein an embryo germination medium , a medium rich in nitrogen usually in the form of ammonia or its equivalent . suitable media include beasley and ting &# 39 ; s medium , preferably supplemented with up to about 500 mg / l casein hydrolysate . germination occurs from somatic embryos and , within 2 to 3 weeks , a well developed plantlet 18 of up to 6 leaves and good root system is generally formed . at this stage , the plantlets are transferred to soil in small clumps and grown in a standard incubator under conditions of high humidity . temperature is normally maintained at about 25 to 30 ° c . ( see fig7 ). after a period of growth , the small plants are transferred to larger pots in a greenhouse and thereafter transferred to field and grown to maturity . all the . regenerated plants are preferably self - pollinated either while growing in the green house or in field conditions and the seeds collected . seeds are then germinated and 4 to 5 week old seedlings transferred to the field for progeny row trials and other standard plant breeding procedures . practicing the above procedure produces viable cotton plants from about 35 % of the explants in the period of time from about 6 to about 8 months . as an alternative to allowing the growing embryogenic calli to be developed into a plant , the callus may be cut into smaller pieces and further developed using suspension culture techniques . in this procedure , suspension concentration is normally from about 750 to 1000 mg of callus parts to 8 ml callus growth medium such as the second callus growth medium ( ms medium supplemented with naa ), and allowed to grow in suspension . in a preferred embodiment , the suspension of the callus is inserted in t - tubes and placed on a roller drum rotating at about 1 . 5 rpm under a light regime of about 16 hours of light and about 8 hours of dark . growth is for about 3 to 4 weeks . after about every 3 to 4 weeks , the suspension is filtered to remove large cell clumps of embryogenic callus depicted in groups in fig5 and as isolated at late globular stages as shown in fig6 . the filtrate is returned to a nutrient medium for a 3 to 4 week period of growth . this procedure is repeated over and over with harvesting of large clumps at about 3 to 4 week intervals , at which time the medium is supplanted in whole or in part with fresh callus growth medium . preferably , about 4 volumes or more of the fresh medium are added to about one volume of residual suspension . it is presently preferred that the filter employed have a mesh size greater than about 600 microns , preferably greater than 800 microns , as it has been observed the cell masses of a particle size less than 600 microns will not develop into plants , whereas cell masses greater than 600 microns and preferably greater than 800 microns have undergone sufficient differentiation so as to become embryogenic and capable of developing into viable plants . suspension cultures can also be initiated by transferring of embryogenic calli to a flask , such as a delong or erlenmeyer flask , containing the liquid embryo growth medium in an amount of about 20 ml of ms and naa at a concentration of 2 . 0 mg / l . the flask is placed on a gyrotory shaker and is shaken at about 100 - 110 strokes per minute . after 3 to 4 weeks the suspension is suitable for filtration as described above to remove the large cell clumps for plant development . more typically , after the third or fourth subculture , the cell suspension from the “ t ” tube or de long or erlenmeyer flask is plated onto agar - solidified ms medium containing naa ( 2 . 0 mg / l ) or beasley & amp ; ting &# 39 ; s medium containing casein hydrolysate ( 500 mg / l ) media and a source of nitrogen . within 3 - 4 weeks embryogenic calli with developing embryos become visible . likewise , the larger cell clumps when plated on the above media give rise to embryogenic clumps with developing embryos . in both suspension growth methods , the ms media is used to promote and / or sustain embryos whereas the germination medium is employed for rapid plant development . the seedling explants , if desired , can be transformed . in this procedure , cotyledon and / or hypocotyl segments of the sterilized seed can be used . cotyledons are preferred . the segments are placed in a medium containing an agrobacterium vector containing a code ( genetic marker ) such as resistance to an antibiotic , such as for instance kanamycin for a time sufficient for the vector to transfer the gene to the cells of the explant . generally , contact times ranging from 1 minute to 24 hours may be used and may be accompanied with intermittent or gentle agitation . the explants are then removed and placed on agar - solidified callus growth medium such as a ms medium supplemented with naa ( 2 mg / l ) and incubated about 15 to 200 hours at 25 to 35 ° c ., preferably 30 ° c ., on a 16 : 8 hour light : dark regime . after incubation , the explants are transferred to the same medium supplemented with the antibiotic cefotaxime preferably in a concentration of 200 mg / l . cefotaxime is included to prevent any remaining agrobacterium from proliferating and overgrowing the plant tissues . alternatively , the explants can be rinsed with ms medium supplemented with naa ( 2 mg / l ) and incubated an additional 4 to 28 days before rinsing , then incubating the same medium containing cefotaxime . at the end of 4 - 5 weeks of culture on fresh medium , the developing callus , i . e ., primary callus , is separated from the remainder of the primary explant tissue and transferred to ms medium containing naa ( 2 mg / l ), cefotaxime ( 200 mg / l ) and an antibiotic such as kanamycin sulfate ( 50 mg / l ). transformed primary callus , identified by virtue of its ability to grow in the presence of the antibiotic ( kanamycin ), is selected and embryos developed , germinated and plants obtained following the procedure set forth above . it is also feasible to achieve transformation of a cell suspension . following a normal subculture growth cycle of 7 to 14 days , usually 7 to 10 days , cells are allowed to settle leaving a supernatant which is removed . the remaining concentrated suspended cells may be centrifuged at 4000 × g for 5 minutes and the excess medium is discarded . the concentrated suspension cultures are resuspended in the 8 ml of the same medium which contains the agrobacterium . the suspension is transferred to “ t ” tubes and suitably agitated for incubation . following about 2 to 24 hours , preferably 3 to 5 hours , of incubation to allow for bacterial attachment and dna transfer , the suspension is removed and allowed to settle . the supernatant containing the bacteria is discarded and the cells are washed with fresh medium . the suspension may , if desired , be centrifuged for about 5 minutes and the supernatant removed . in either event , the cells are resuspended in the same medium and transferred to a “ t ” tube or flask and suspension subculture resumed . the object is to minimize the amount of unattached agrobacterium vector left in the cell - suspension . after about 15 to about 200 hours , typically 15 to about 72 hours , preferably 18 to 20 hours , the suspension is filtered to remove large clumps and washed with fresh liquid medium and allowed to settle . the suspension is resuspended in the fresh liquid medium containing cefotaxime ( 200 mg / l ) plated on a solidified medium in petri dishes . alternatively , the suspension may be resuspended in fresh medium containing cefotaxime and allowed to grow an additional 4 to 28 days prior plating on solidified medium in petri dishes . cell concentration is 1 vol . of suspension cells plus 3 vol . of medium with cefotaxime . kanamycin at 10 to 300 mg / l preferably about 20 to 200 mg / l more preferably about 40 to 80 mg / l is included in the medium for selection of transformed cells expressing the neomycin phosphotransferase ( npt ) gene . cells and embryos proliferating in the selective concentration of kanamycin are further grown as set forth above to mature somatic embryos capable of germinating and regenerating into whole plants according to the procedures described herein . using the above procedure and with reference to fig9 there is shown variable cell colonies which is consequence of transformation . there exists cotton cells 20 exhibiting resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin . with reference to fig1 , transformed calli are shown developing into somatic embryos on an antibiotic ms medium . fig1 exemplifies transformed somatic embryos established to have kanamycin resistance and transformed to have resistance to the herbicide glyphosate . fig1 exemplifies cotton plants obtained by inoculating tissues with agrobacterium containing a mutant aroa gene and thereafter growing the tissues on non - selective media . fig1 shows germinating somatic embryos of variety b1644 obtained from suspension cultures treated with the vector pcib10 / bta - 5 , and selected on kanamycin ( 50 mg / l ) or g418 ( 25 mg / l ) supplemented media . fig1 shows plantlets developed from the embryos of fig1 . fig1 shows a plantlet of the variety siokra developed from transformed embryos exhibiting a resistance to kanamycin . seeds of acala cotton variety sj2 of gossypium hirsutum were sterilized by contact with 95 % alcohol for three minutes , then twice rinsed with sterile water and immersed with a 15 % solution of sodium hypochlorite for 15 minutes , then rinsed in sterile water . sterilized seeds were germinated on a basal agar medium in the dark for approximately 14 days to produce a seedling . the cotyledons of the seedlings were cut into segments of 2 - 4 mm 2 which were transferred aseptically to a callus inducing medium consisting of murashige and skoog ( ms ) major and minor salts supplemented with 0 . 4 mg / l thiamine - hcl , 30 g / l glucose , 2 . 0 mg / l naa , 1 mg / l kinetin , 100 mg / l of m - inositol , and agar ( 0 . 8 % w / v ). the cultures were incubated at about 30 ° c . under conditions of 16 hours light and 8 hours darkness in a percival incubator with fluorescent lights ( cool daylight ) providing a light intensity of about 2000 - 4000 lux . calli were formed on the cultured tissue segments within 3 to 4 weeks and were white to gray - greenish in color . the calli formed were subcultured every three to four weeks onto a callus growth medium comprising ms medium containing 100 mg / l m - inositol , 20 g / l sucrose , 2 mg / l naa and agar . somatic embryos formed four to six months after first placing tissue explants on a callus inducing medium . the callus and embryos were maintained on a callus growth medium by subculturing onto fresh callus growth medium every three to four weeks . somatic embryos which formed on tissue pieces were explanted either to fresh callus growth medium , or to beasley & amp ; ting &# 39 ; s medium ( embryo germination medium ). the somatic plantlets which were formed from somatic embryos were transferred onto beasley and ting &# 39 ; s medium which contained 1200 mg / l ammonium nitrate and 500 mg / l casein hydrolysate as an organic nitrogen source . the medium was solidified by a solidifying agent ( gelrite ) and plantlets were placed in magenta boxes . the somatic embryos developed into plantlets within about three months . the plantlets were rooted with six to eight leaves and about three to four inches tall and were transferred to soil and maintained in an incubator under high humidity for three to four weeks and then transferred to a greenhouse . after hardening , plants were also transferred to open tilled soil . the procedure of example 1 was repeated using instead half - strength ms medium in which all medium components have been reduced to one - half the specified concentration . essentially the same results were obtained . the procedures of examples 1 and 2 were repeated except that the explant was the hypocotyl segments . the same results were obtained . the procedure of examples 1 and 2 were repeated except that the explant was the immature zygotic embryo . essentially the same results were obtained . the procedure of examples 1 and 2 was repeated with acala cotton varieties sj4 , sj5 , sj2c - 1 , gc510 , b1644 , b2724 , b1810 , the picker variety siokra and the stripper variety fc2017 . all were successfully regenerated . the procedure of example 1 was repeated to the extent of obtaining callus capable of forming somatic embryos . pieces of about 750 - 1000 mg of actively growing embryogenic callus was suspended in 8 ml units of liquid suspension culture medium comprised of ms major and minor salts , supplemented with 0 . 4 mg / l thiamine hcl , 20 g / l sucrose , 100 mg / l of inositol and naphthaleneacetic acid ( 2 mg / l ) in t - tubes and placed on a roller drum rotating at 1 . 5 rpm under 16 : 8 light : dark regime . light intensity of about 2000 - 4500 lux was again provided by fluorescent lights ( cool daylight ). after four weeks , the suspension was filtered through an 840 micron size nylon mesh to remove larger cell clumps . the fraction smaller than 840 microns were allowed to settle , washed once with about 20 - 25 ml of fresh suspension culture medium . this suspension was transferred to t - tubes ( 2 ml per tube ) and each tube diluted with 6 ml of fresh suspension culture medium . the cultures were maintained by repeating the above procedure at 10 - 12 day intervals . namely , the suspension was filtered and only the fraction containing cell aggregates smaller than 840 microns was transferred to fresh suspension culture medium . in all instances , the fraction containing cell clumps larger than 840 microns was placed onto the callus growth medium to obtain mature somatic embryos . the somatic embryos that were formed on callus growth medium were removed and transferred to embryo germination medium and using the protocol of example 1 were germinated , developed into plantlets and then field grown plants . the procedure of example 6 was repeated except that suspension cultures were formed by transferring 750 - 1000 mg of embryogenic calli to a delong flask containing 15 - 20 ml of the ms liquid medium containing 2 mg / l naa . the culture containing flask was placed on a gyrotory shaker and shaken at 100 - 110 strokes / minute . after three weeks the suspension was filtered through an 840 micron nylon mesh to remove the large cell clumps for plant growth , as in example 4 . the less than 840 micron suspension was allowed to settle , washed once in the ms liquid medium and resuspended in 2 to 5 ml of the ms liquid medium . the suspension was subcultured by transfer to fresh medium in a delong flask containing 1 - 2 ml of suspension and 15 ml of fresh ms liquid medium . the cultures are maintained by repeating this procedure at seven to ten day intervals . at each subculture only the less than 840 micron suspension was subcultured and the large clumps ( 840 microns or greater ) were used for plant growth . after three or four subcultures using the suspension growth procedure of examples 6 and 7 , 1 . 5 to 2 . 0 ml of cell suspension from the t - tube and delong flask were in each instance plated onto agar - solidified ms medium containing 2 mg / l naa and beasley & amp ; ting medium containing 500 mg / l casein hydrolysate . within three to four weeks embryogenic calli with developing embryos became visible . again , the 840 micron or greater cell clumps were plated on the callus growth medium giving rise to embryogenic clumps with developing embryos - which ultimately grew into plants . the method of example 1 was repeated with cotton varieties b1654 - 26 , b1654 - 43 , b3991 , acala royale , b4894 , coker 315 , stoneville 506 , fc 3027 , chembred b2 and chembred c4 . the method of example 1 was repeated with cotton varieties gc356 , gam1 , b638 , b5002 , stoneville 825 , hbx87 , sicala , pima s6 , oro blanco pima except plants were not obtained from the somatic embryos . the method of example 1 was repeated with cotton varieties acala maxxa , acala prema , b2086 , fc 3027 , dp50 , dp61 , dp90 , dp77 , des119 , mcn235 , hbx191 , hbx107 , chembred a1 , chembred a2 , chembred a3 , chembred a4 , chembred b1 , chembred b3 , chembred c1 , chembred c2 , chembred c3 , paymaster 145 , hs26 and hs46 except embryos and plants were not developed from the callus . below is a summary of the varieties which have been regenerated and the stage to which they have been grown : an acala cotton suspension culture was subcultured for three to four months in t - tubes with the medium ( ms medium containing 2 mg / l naa ) being changed every seven to ten days . after any medium change thereafter the cells can be allowed to settle and harvested for transformation . the supernatant was removed by pipeting and cells transformed with the agrobacterium strain lba 4434 . the agrobacterium strain lea 4434 [ described in hoekema et al ., nature 303 179 - 180 ( 1983 ), incorporated herein by reference ] contains a ti plasmid - derived binary plant transformation system . in such binary systems , one plasmid contains the t - dna of a ti - plasmid , the second plasmid contains the vir - region of a ti - plasmid . the two plasmids cooperate to effect plant transformation . in the strain lba 4434 , the t - dna plasmid , pal1050 , contains t l of ptiach5 , an octopine ti - plasmid and the vir - plasmid in strain lba4434 , pal4404 , contains the intact virulence regions of ptiach5 [ ooms et al ., plasmid 7 15 - 29 ( 1982 ), incorporated herein by reference ]. strain lba 4434 is available from dr . robert schilperoort of the department of biochemistry , university of leiden , the netherlands . the transforming agrobacterium strain was taken from a glycerol stock , inoculated in a small overnight culture , from which a 50 - ml culture was inoculated the following day . agrobacteria was grown on yeb medium containing per liter in water adjusted to ph 7 . 2 with naoh , 5 g beef extract , 1 g yeast extract , 5 g peptone , 5 g sucrose . after autoclaving , 1 ml of 2 m mgcl 2 is added after which antibiotics , as required to kill other strains . the absorbance at 600 nm of the 50 ml overnight culture is read , the culture centrifuged and the formed pellet resuspended in the plant cell growth medium ( ms medium plus naa at 2 mg / l ) to a final absorbance at 600 nm of 0 . 5 . eight ml of this bacterial suspension of agrobacterium lba 4434 was added to each t - tube containing the suspension plant cells after removal of the supernatant liquid . the t - tube containing the plant and bacteria cells was agitated to resuspend the cells and returned to a roller drum for three hours to allow the agrobacteria to attach to the plant cells . the cells were then allowed to settle and the residual supernatant removed . a fresh aliquot of growth medium was added to the t - tube and the suspension allowed to incubate on a roller drum for a period of 18 to 20 hours in the presence of any residual agrobacteria which remained . after this time , the cells were again allowed to settle , the supernatant removed and the cells washed twice with a solution of growth medium containing cefotaxime ( 200 μg / ml ). after washing , the cells from each t - tube were resuspended in 10 ml growth medium containing cefotaxime ( 200 μg / ml in all cases ) and 1 ml aliquots of the suspension plated on petri dishes . infected cells grew on the growth medium to which no phytohormones were added establishing the tissue had received the wild - type phytohormone genes in t - dna . the cells developed tumors , further indicating transformation of the cultures . the suspension culture as obtained in example 12 is transformed using an agrobacteria containing the t - dna which contains binary vector pcib10 [ rothstein et al ., gene 53 153 - 161 ( 1987 ), incorporated herein by reference ] as well as the pal4404 vir - plasmid . the t - dna of pcib10 contains a chimeric gene composed of the promoter from nopaline synthase , the coding region from tn5 encoding the enzyme neomycin phosphotransferase , and the terminator from nopaline synthase . the agrobacteria containing pcib10 are grown on yeb medium containing kanamycin ( 50 μg / ml ) transformation is accomplished in the same manner as in example 12 except that the 1 ml aliquots resulting in cells and agrobacteria are immediately plated on selective media containing either kanamycin ( 50 μg / ml ) or g418 ( 25 μg / ml ). expression of the nos / neo / nos chimeric gene in transformed plant tissue allows the selection of this tissue in the presence of both antibiotics . the existence of transformed tissue is apparent on the selection plates in two to four weeks . uninfected tissue as well as added control tissue wilt show no signs of growth , turn brown and die . transformed tissue grows very well in the presence of both kanamycin and g418 . at this time , tissue pieces which are growing well are sub cultured to fresh selection medium . somatic embryos form on these tissue pieces and are explanted to fresh non - selective growth media . when the embryos begin to differentiate and germinate , i . e ., at the point where they begin to form roots and leave two or three leaves , they are transferred to magenta boxes containing growth medium described in example 1 . growth is allowed to proceed until the plantlet has six to eight leaves , at which time it is removed from the agar medium . the plantlets are now placed in potting soil , covered with a beaker to maintain humidity and placed in a percival incubator for four to eight weeks . at this time , the plant is removed from the beaker and transferred to a greenhouse . the plants grow in the greenhouse , flower and set seed . the procedure of example 13 was followed , except that the transforming agrobacteria used contained the t - dna vector dei pep10 as well as the pal4404 vir plasmid . dei pep10 , shown in fig3 , utilizes two t - dna psti cleaved right border sequences from a . tumefaciens ( strain c - 58 ) which had been further subdivided with bamhi for integration in the plant genome , a passenger maize phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene ( pepcase gene ), and a chimeric gene ( nos / npt / tk ) capable of expression in plants and conferring resistance to the antibiotics kanamycin and g418 . this chimeric gene utilizes a nopaline synthetase promoter , the neomycin phosphotransferase ii coding region from tn5 , and the terminator from the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene . following transformation , embryogenic callus and embryos were obtained by selection on kanamycin ( 50 mg / l ). no resistant callus was obtained from the control ( non - transformed callus ) plated on kanamycin at this level ( 50 mg / l ). the procedure of example 13 was followed , except that the transforming agrobacteria used contained the t - dna vector ppmg85 / 587 [ fillatti et al ., mol . gen . genet . 206 192 - 199 ( 1987 ) incorporated herein by reference ] as well as the pal4404 vir plasmid . the plasmid ppmg85 / 587 carries three chimeric genes capable of expression in plants . two genes code for neomycin phosphotransferase ( npt ) which confers resistance to the antibiotics kanamycin and g418 . the third chimeric gene , containing the coding sequence from a mutant aroa gene of s . typhimuriurn , confers tolerance - to the herbicide glyphosate [ comai et al ., science 221 370 - 371 ( 1983 ), incorporated herein by reference ]. the agrobacteria containing ppmg85 / 587 were grown on medium containing kanamycin ( 100 μg / ml ). transformation is accomplished as detailed in example 13 except that the suspension is allowed to grow for 28 days at which time 1 ml aliquots were plated on medium containing selective antibiotics . expression of the npt chimeric gene in transformed plant tissue allowed selection of this tissue on both antibiotics . in this instance the selective antibiotic was kanamycin ( 50 μg / ml ). in two to four weeks , transformed tissue became apparent on the selection plates . plant tissue , individual embryos and callus were then placed on growth medium containing the herbicide glyphosate 1 mm and transformed tissue continued to grow well . extraction and analysis of the proteins of both callus and embryos confirmed the presence of the product of the glyphosate tolerance gene . transformation of cotton suspension culture cells to a hygromycin - resistant non - tumorous phenotype the transformation procedure of example 13 was followed except there was used as the transforming agrobacteria one containing the t - dna binary vector pcib715 [ rothstein et al . gene 53 153 - 161 ( 1987 )] as well as the vir plasmid . the t - dna of pcib715 contains a chimeric gene composed of the promoter and terminator from the cauliflower mosaic virus ( camv ) 35s transcript [ odell et al ., nature 313 810 - 812 ( 1985 ), incorporated herein by reference ] and the coding sequence for hygromycin b phosphotransferase [ gritz et al ., gene 25 179 - 188 ( 1983 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. agrobacteria containing pcib715 was grown on yeb containing kanamycin ( 50 μg / ml ). transformation was accomplished as detailed in example 14 again with the change that the 1 ml aliquots were plated immediately on medium containing as the selective antibiotic 50 μg / ml hygromycin . expression of the chimeric hygromycin gene in transformed plant tissue allows the selection of this tissue on the medium containing hygromycin . transformed tissue was grown in the manner described in example 8 on the selection growth medium establishing transformation had occurred . transformation of cotton suspension culture cells to confer resistance to lepidopteran insects the procedure of example 14 was followed except where changes are noted below . different transforming agrobacteria were used . also , after plant tissue was selected on an antibiotic for the selection of transformed material , it was further selected for expression of the bt gene as defined herein . the agrobacteria used contained the t - dna vector pcib10 [ rothstein et al ., gene 53 153 - 161 ( 1987 ) incorporated herein by reference ] into which had been inserted the following chimeric bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin genes (“ bt genes ”): to prepare the agrobacterium vector there was fused the camv gene vi promotor and protoxin coding sequences . a derivative of phage vector mp19 [ yanish - perron et al ., 1985 ] was first constructed . the steps are shown in fig1 and 17 . first , a dna fragment containing approximately 155 nucleotides 5 ′ to the protoxin coding region and the adjacent approximately 1346 nucleotides of coding sequence are inserted into mp19 . phage mp19 ds rf ( double - stranded replicative form ) dna was digested with restriction endonucleases saci and smai and the approximately 7 . 2 - kb ( kilobase pairs ) vector fragment was purified after electrophoresis through low - gelling temperature agarose by standard procedures . plasmid pku25 / 4 , containing approximately 10 kb of bacillus thuringiensis dna , including the protoxin gene , was obtained from dr . j . nueesch , ciba - geigy ltd ., basle , switzerland . the nucleotide sequence of the protoxin gene present in plasmid pku25 / 4 is shown in seq id no : 1 below . plasmid pku25 / 4 dna was digested with endonucleases hpai and saci , and a 1503 bp fragment containing nucleotides 2 to 1505 of seq id no : 1 and purified . this fragment contains approximately 155 bp of bacteria promotor sequences and approximately 1346 bp of the start of the protoxin coding sequence . approximately 100 ng of each fragment is then mixed , t4 dna ligase added , and incubated at 15 ° c . overnight . the resulting mixture was transformed into e . coli strain hb101 , mixed with indicator bacteria e . coli jm101 and plated . one phage ( mp19 / bt ) was used for further construction below . next , a fragment of dna containing the camv gene vi promotor , and some of the coding sequences for gene vi , was inserted into mp19 / bt . phage mp19 / bt ds rf dna is digested with bamhi , treated with the large fragment of dna polymerase to create flush ends and recleaved with endonuclease psti . the larger vector fragment was purified by electrophoresis as described above . plasmid pabd1 [ described in paszkowski et al ., embo j . 3 2717 - 2722 ( 1984 ) incorporated herein by reference ] plasmid pabd1 dna is digested with psti and hindiii . the fragment approximately 465 bp long containing the camv gene vi promotor and approximately 75 bp of gene vi coding sequence was purified . the two fragments were ligated and plated as described above . one of the resulting recombinant phages , mp19 / btca contained the camv gene vi promotor sequences , a portion of the gene vi coding sequence , approximately 155 bp of bacillus thuringiensis dna upstream of the protoxin coding sequence , and approximately 1346 bp of the protoxin coding sequence . to fuse the camv promotor sequences precisely to the protoxin coding sequences , the intervening dna was deleted using oligonucleotide - directed mutagenesis of mp19 / btca dna . a dna oligonucleotide with the sequence 5 ′- ttcggattgttatccatggttggaggtctga - 3 ′ was synthesized by routine procedures using an applied biosystems dna synthesizer . this oligonucleotide is complimentary to those sequences in phage mp19 / btca dna at the 3 ′ end of the camv promotor [ nucleotides 5762 to 5778 see hohn current topics in microbiology and immunology 96 193 - 235 ( 1982 ) incorporate herein by reference ] and the beginning of the protoxin coding sequence ( nucleotides 156 to 172 in formula i above ). the general procedure for the mutagenesis is that described in zoller et al . [ methods in enzymology 100 468 - 500 ( 1983 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. approximately five micrograms of single - stranded phage mp19 / btca dna was mixed with 0 . 3 mg of phosphorylated oligonucleotide in a volume of 40 μl . the mixture was heated to 65 ° c . for 5 min , cooled to 50 ° c ., and slowly cooled to 4 ° c . next , buffer , nucleotide triphosphates , atp , t 4 dna ligase and large fragment of dna polymerase were added and incubated overnight at 15 ° c . as described by zoller et al . [ methods in enzymology 100 468 - 500 ( 1983 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. after agarose gel electrophoresis , circular double - stranded dna was purified and transfected into e . coli strain jm101 . the resulting plaques are screened for sequences that hybridize with 32p - labeled oligonucleotide , and phage are analyzed by dna restriction endonuclease analysis . among the resulting phage clones were ones which have correctly deleted the unwanted sequences between the camv gene vi promotor and the protoxin coding sequence . this phage is called mp19 / btca / del ( see fig1 ). next , a plasmid was constructed in which the 3 ′ coding region of the protoxin gene was fused to camv transcription termination signals . the steps are shown in fig1 . first , plasmid pabdi dna was digested with endonucleases bamhi and bglii and a 0 . 5 kb fragment containing the camv transcription terminator sequences isolated . next plasmid puc19 [ yanisch - perron et al ., gene 33 103 - 119 ( 1985 ) incorporated herein by reference ] was digested with bamhi , mixed with the 0 . 5 kb fragment and incubated - with t 4 dna ligase . after transformation of the dna into e . coli strain hb101 , one of the resulting clones , called plasmid p702 , was obtained which has the structure shown in fig1 . next , plasmid p702 dna was cleaved with endonucleases saci and smai , and the larger , approximately 3 . 2 kb fragment isolated by gel electrophoresis . plasmid pku25 / 4 dna was digested with endonucleases ahaiii and saci , and the 2 . 3 - kb fragment ( nucleotides 1502 to 3773 of seq id no : 1 ) containing the 3 ′ portion of the protoxin coding sequence ( nucleotides 1504 to 3773 of seq id no : 1 ) was isolated after gel electrophoresis . these two dna fragments are mixed , incubated with t 4 dna , ligase and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid was p702 / bt ( fig1 ). finally , portions of phage mp19 / btca / del ds rf dna and plasmid p702 / bt were joined to create a plasmid containing the complete protoxin coding sequence flanked by camv promoter and terminator sequences ( see fig1 ). phage mp19 / btca / del dna was digested with endonucleases saci and sphi , and a fragment of approximately 1 . 75 kb is purified following agarose gel electrophoresis . similarly , plasmid p702 / bt dna is digested with endonucleases saci and sali and a fragment of approximately 2 . 5 kb is isolated . finally , plasmid pbr322 dna [ bolivar et al ., gene 2 95 - 113 ( 1977 ) incorporated herein by reference ] was digested with sali and sphi and the larger 4 . 2 - kb fragment isolated . all three dna fragments were mixed and incubated with t4 dna ligase and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid , pbr322 / bt14 is a derivative of pbr322 containing the camv gene vi promoter and translation start signals fused to the bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein coding sequence , followed by camv transcription termination signals ( shown in fig1 ). the vector pcib10 is a ti - plasmid - derived vector useful for transfer of the chimeric gene to plants via agrobacterium tumefaciens . the vector is derived from the broad host range plasmid prk252 , which may be obtained from dr . w . barnes , washington university , st . louis , mo . the vector also contains a gene for kanamycin resistance in agrobacterium , from tn903 , and left and right t - dna border sequences from the ti plasmid ptit37 . between the border sequences are the polylinker region from the plasmid puc18 and a chimeric gene that confers kanamycin resistance in plants . first , plasmid prk252 was modified to replace the gene conferring tetracycline - resistance with one conferring resistance to kanamycin from the transposon tn903 [ oka et al ., j . mol . biol . 147 217 - 226 ( 1981 ) incorporated herein by reference ], and was also modified by replacing the unique ecori site in prk252 with a bglii site ( see fig2 for a summary of these modifications ). plasmid prk252 was first digested with endonucleases sali and smai , then treated with the large fragment of dna polymerase i to create flush ends , and the large vector fragment purified by agarose gel electrophoresis . next , plasmid p368 was digested with endonuclease bamhi , treated with the large fragment of dna polymerase , and an approximately 1050 - bp fragment isolated after agarose gel electrophoresis ; this fragment containing the gene from transposon tn903 which confers resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin [ oka et al ., j . mol . biol . 147 217 - 226 ( 1981 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. both fragments were then treated with the large fragment of dna polymerase to create flush ends . both fragments are mixed and incubated with t4 dna ligase overnight at 15 ° c . after transformation into e . coli strain hb101 and selection for kanamycin resistant colonies , plasmid prk252 / tn903 is obtained ( see fig1 ). plasmid prk252 / tn903 was digested at its ecori site , followed by treatment with the large fragment of e . coli dna polymerase to create flush ends . this fragment was added to synthetic bglii restriction site linkers , and incubated overnight with t 4 dna ligase . the resulting dna was digested with an excess of bglii restriction endonuclease and the larger vector fragment purified by agarose gel electrophoresis . the resulting fragment was again incubated with t4 dna ligase to recircularize the fragment via its newly - added bglii cohesive ends . following transformation into e . coli strain hb101 , plasmid prk252 / tn903 / bglii is obtained ( see fig2 ). a derivative of plasmid pbr322 was constructed which contains the ti plasmid t - dna borders , the polylinker region of plasmid puc19 , and the selectable gene for kanamycin resistance in plants ( see fig2 ). plasmid pbr325 / eco29 contains the 1 . 5 - kb ecori fragment from the nopaline ti plasmid ptit37 . this fragment contains the t - dna left border sequence [ yadav et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 79 6322 - 6326 ( 1982 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. to replace the ecori ends of this fragment with hindiii ends , plasmid pbr325 / eco29 dna was digested with ecori , then incubated with nuclease sl , followed by incubation with the large fragment of dna polymerase to create flush ends , then mixed - with synthetic hindiii linkers and incubated with t4 dna ligase . the resulting dna was digested with endonucleases clai and an excess of hindiii , and the resulting 1 . 1 - kb fragment containing the t - dna left border purified by gel electrophoresis . next , the polylinker region of plasmid puc19 was isolated by digestion of the plasmid dna with endonucleases ecori and hindiii and the smaller fragment ( approximately 53 bp ) isolated by agarose gel electrophoresis . next , plasmid pbr322 was digested with endonucleases ecori and clai , mixed with the other two isolated fragments , incubated with t4 dna ligase and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid , pcib5 , contains the polylinker and t - dna left border in a derivative of plasmid pbr322 ( see fig2 ). a plasmid containing the gene for expression of kanamycin resistance in plants was constructed ( see fig2 and 23 ). plasmid bin6 obtained from dr . m . bevan , plant breeding institute , cambridge , uk . this plasmid is described in the reference by bevan [ nucl . acids res . 12 8711 - 8721 ( 1984 ) incorporate herein by reference ]. plasmid bin6 dna was digested with ecori and hindiii and the fragment approximately 1 . 5 kb in size containing the chimeric neomycin phosphotransferase ( npt ) gene is isolated and purified following agarose gel electrophoresis . this fragment was then mixed with plasmid puc18 dna which had been cleaved with endonucleases ecori and hindiii . following incubation with t4 dna ligase , the resulting dna was transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid is called puc18 / neo . this plasmid dna containing an unwanted bamhi recognition sequence between the neomycin phosphotransferase gene and the terminator sequence for nopaline synthase [ see bevan nucl . acids res . 12 8711 - 8721 ( 1984 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. to remove this recognition sequence , plasmid puc18 / neo was digested with endonuclease bamhi , followed by treatment with the large fragment of dna polymerase to create flush ends . the fragment was then incubated with t4 dna ligase to recircularize the fragment , and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid , puc18 / neo ( bam ) has lost the bamhi recognition sequence . the t - dna right border sequence was then added next to the chimeric npt gene ( see fig2 ). plasmid pbr325 / hind23 contains the 3 . 4 - kb hindiii fragment of plasmid ptit37 . this fragment contains the right t - dna border sequence [ bevan et al ., nucl . acids res . 11 369 - 385 ( 1983 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. plasmid pbr325 / hind23 dna was cleaved with endonucleases sacii and hindiii , and a 1 . 0 kb fragment containing the right border isolated and purified following agarose gel electrophoresis . plasmid puc18 / neo ( bam ) dna was digested with endonucleases sacii and hindiii and the 4 . 0 kb vector fragment isolated by agarose gel electrophoresis . the two fragments were mixed , incubated with t4 dna ligase and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid , pcib4 ( shown in fig2 ), contains the t - dna right border and the plant - selectable marker for kanamycin resistance in a derivative of plasmid puc18 . next , a plasmid was constructed which contains both the t - dna left and right borders , with the plant selectable kanamycin - resistance gene and the polylinker of puc18 between the borders ( see fig2 ). plasmid pcib4 dna was digested with endonuclease hindiii , followed by treatment with the large fragment of dna polymerase to create flush ends , followed by digestion with endonuclease ecori . the 2 . 6 - kb fragment containing the chimeric kanamycin - resistance gene and the right border of t - dna was isolated by agarose gel electrophoresis . plasmid pcib5 dna was digested with endonuclease aatii , treated with t4 dna polymerase to create flush ends , then cleaved with endonuclease ecori . the larger vector fragment was purified by agarose gel electrophoresis , mixed with the pcib4 fragment , incubated with t4 dna ligase , and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid , pcib2 ( shown in fig2 ) is a derivative of plasmic pbr322 containing the desired sequences between the two t - dna borders . the following steps complete construction of the vector pcib10 , and are shown in fig2 . plasmid pcib2 dna was digested with endonuclease ecorv , and synthetic linkers containing bglii recognition sites are added as described above . after digestion with an excess of bglii endonuclease , the approximately 2 . 6 - kb fragment was isolated after agarose gel electrophoresis . plasmid prk252 / tn903 / bglii , described above ( see fig2 ) was digested with endonuclease bglii and then treated with phosphatase to prevent recircularization . these two dna fragments are mixed , incubated with t4 dna ligase and transformed into e . coli strain hb101 . the resulting plasmid is the completed vector , pcib10 . insertion of the chimeric protoxin gene into vector pcib10 is by the steps shown in fig2 . plasmid pbr322 / bt14 dna was digested with endonucleases pvui and sali , and then partially digested with endonuclease bamhi . a bamhi - sali fragment approximately 4 . 2 kb in size , containing the chimeric gene , was isolated following agarose gel electrophoresis , and mixed with plasmid pcib10 dna which had been digested with endonucleases bamhi and sali . after incubation with t4 dna ligase and transformation into e . coli strain hb101 , plasmid shown in fig2 and contained the chimeric protoxin gene in the plasmid vector pcib10 . in order to transfer plasmid pcib10 / 19sbt from e . coli hb101 to agrobacterium , an intermediate e . coli host strain s17 - 1 was used . this strain , obtainable from agrigenetics . research corp ., boulder , colo . contains mobilization functions that transfer plasmid pcib10 directly to agrobacterium via conjugation , thus avoiding the necessity to transform naked plasmid dna directly into agrobacterium [ reference for strain s17 - 1 is simon et al ., “ molecular genetics of the bacteria - plant interaction ”, a puhler , ed ., springer verlag , berlin , pages 98 - 106 ( 1983 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. first , plasmid pcib10 / 19sbt dna is introduced into calcium chloride - treated s17 - 1 cells . next , cultures of transformed s17 - 1 cells and agrobacterium tumefaciens strain lba4404 [ ooms et al ., gene 14 33 - 50 ( 1981 ) incorporated herein by reference ] were mixed and mated on an n agar ( difco ) plate overnight at room temperature . a loopful of the resulting bacteria are streaked onto ab minimal media [ chilton et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 77 7347 - 7351 ( 1974 ) incorporated herein by reference ] plated with 50g / ml kanamycin and incubated at 28 ° c . colonies were restreaked onto the same media , then restreaked onto nb agar plates . slow - growing colonies were picked , restreaked onto ab minimal media with kanamycin and single colonies isolated . this procedure selects for agrobacteria containing the pcib10 / 19sbt plasmid . construction of a bacillus thuringiensis protoxin chimeric gene with the camv 35s promoter was achieved by construction of a camv 35s promoter cassette plasmid pcib710 was constructed as shown in fig2 . this plasmid contained camv promoter and transcription termination sequences for the 35s rna transcript [ covey et al ., nucl . acids res . 9 6735 - 6747 ( 1981 ) incorporated herein by reference ]. a 1149 - bp bglii restriction fragment of camv dna [ hohn et al . in : current topics in microbiology and immunology 96 194 - 220 and appendices a to g ( 1982 ) incorporated herein by reference ] was isolated from plasmid plvlll ( obtained from dr . s . howell univ . california - san diego ; alternatively , the fragment can be isolated directly from camv dna ) by preparative agarose gel electrophoresis as described earlier and mixed with bamhi - cleaved plasmid puc19 dna , treated with , t4 dna ligase , and transformed into e . coli . the bamhi restriction site in the resulting plasmid has been destroyed by ligation of the bglii cohesive ends to the bamhi cohesive ends . the resulting plasmid , called puc19 / 35s , was then used in oligonucleotide - directed in vitro mutagenesis to insert the bamhi recognition sequence ggatcc immediately following camv nucleotide 7483 in the hohn reference . the resulting plasmid , pcib710 , contains the camv 35s promotor region and transcription termination region separated by a bamhi restriction site . dna sequences inserted into this bamhi site will be expressed in plants by the camv transcription regulation sequences . pcib710 does not contain any atg translation initiation codons - between the start of transcription and the bamhi site . insertion of the camv 35s promoter / terminator cassette into pcib10 occurred by the steps outlined in fig2 . plasmids pcib10 and pcib710 dnas were digested with ecori and sali , mixed and ligated . the resulting plasmid , pcib10 / 710 has the camv 35s promoter / terminator cassette inserted into the plant transformation vector pcib10 . the camv 35s sequences are between the t - dna borders in pcib10 , and thus will be inserted into the plant genome in plant transformation . insertion of the bacillus thuringiensis protoxin gene into pcib10 / 710 occurred by the steps outlined in fig2 . as a source of the protoxin gene , plasmid pcib10 / 19sbt was digested with bamhi and ncoi , and the 3 . 6 - kb fragment containing the protoxin gene was isolated by preparative gel electrophoresis . the fragment was then mixed with synthetic ncoi - bamhi adapter with the sequence 5 ′ - catggccggatccggc - 3 ′, then digested with bamhi . this step creates bamhi cohesive ends at both ends of the protoxin fragment . this fragment was then inserted into bamhi - cleaved pcib10 / 710 . the resulting plasmid , pcib10 / 35sbt , shown in fig2 , contains the protoxin gene between the camv 35s promoter and transcription termination sequences . transfer of the plasmid pcib10 / 35sbt into agrobacterium tumefaciens strain lba4404 was as described above . construction of a deleted bacillus thuringiensis protoxin gene containing approximately 725 amino acids , and construction of a chimeric gene containing this deleted gene with the camv 35s promoter was made by removing the cooh - terminal portion of the gene by cleaving at the kpni restriction endonuclease site at position 2325 in the sequence shown in seq id no : 1 . plasmid pcib10 / 35sbt ( fig2 ) was digested with bamhi and kpni , and the approximately 2 . 2 - kb bamhi / kpni fragment containing the deleted protoxin gene isolated by preparative agarose gel - electrophoresis . to convert the kpni site at the 3 ′ end to a bamhi site , the fragment was mixed with a kpni / bamhi adapter oligonucleotide and ligated . this fragment is then mixed with bamhi - cleaved pcib10 / 710 ( fig2 ). a deleted protoxin gene containing approximately g45 amino acids was made by removing the cooh - terminal portion of the gene by cleaving at the bcli restriction endonuclease site at position 2090 in the sequence shown in seq id no : 1 . plasmid pcib10 / 35sbt ( fig2 ) was digested with bamhi and bcli , and the approximately 1 . 9 - kb bamhi / bcii fragment containing the deleted protoxin gene isolated by preparative agarose gel electrophoresis . since bcli creates a cohesive end compatible with bamhi , no further manipulation is required prior to ligating this fragment into bamhi - cleaved pcib10 / 710 ( fig2 ). the resulting plasmid , which has the structure pcib10 / 35sbt ( bcli ) shown in fig3 was selected on kanamycin . the resulting transformants , designated pcib10 / 35sbt ( kpni ) and shown in fig3 , contain the deleted protoxin gene of approximately 725 amino acids . these transformants are selected on kanamycin . a deleted protoxin gene was made by introducing a bamhi cleavage site ( ggatcc ). this is done by cloning the bamhi fragment containing the protoxin sequence from pcib10 / 35sbt into mp18 , and using standard oligonucleotide mutagenesis procedures described above . after mutagenesis , double - stranded replicative form dna is prepared from the m13 clone , which is then digested with bamhi . the approximately 1 . 9 - kb fragment containing the deleted protoxin gene is inserted into bamhi - cleaved pcib10 / 710 . the resulting plasmid , which the structure pcib10 / 35sbt ( 607 ) shown in fig3 is selected for on kanamycin . the pcib10 / sbt 607 was used . transformation was accomplished as detailed in example 7 with the change that the 1 ml aliquots were plated immediately on medium containing selective antibiotics . this selection medium contained kanamycin ( 50 μg / ml ) or g418 ( 25 μg / ml ). expression of the npt chimeric gene in both transformed plant tissue allows the selection of this tissue on either antibiotic . in 2 - 4 weeks , transformed tissue became apparent on the selection plates . plant material was selected on kanamycin or g418 . plant tissue ( either individual embryos or callus ) was then extracted with buffer and assayed for expression of the bt gene product by elisa assay . the conditions of extraction are as follows : per 100 mg of tissue , homogenize in 0 . 1 ml of extraction buffer containing 50 mm naco 3 ( ph 9 . 5 ), 0 . 05 % triton , 0 . 05 % tween , 100 mm nacl , 10 mm edta , 1 mm leupeptine , and 1 mm pmsf . the leupeptine and pmsf are added immediately prior to use from 100 × stock solutions . the tissue was ground with a motor driven pestle . after extraction , 2 m tris ph 7 was added to adjust ph to 8 . 0 - 8 . 5 then centrifuged at 12 , 000 rpm in a beckman microfuge 12 ( 10 minutes at 4 ° c . ), and the supernatant saved for enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (“ elisa ”). elisa techniques are a general tool [ described by clark et al ., methods in enzymology 118 742 - 766 ( 1986 ) incorporated by reference ]. an elisa for the bt toxin was developed using standard procedures and used to analyze transgenic plant material for expression of bt sequences . for this procedure , an elisa plate is pretreated with ethanol and affinity - purified rabbit anti - bt antiserum ( 50 μl ) at a concentration of 3 μg / ml in borate - buffered saline ( see below ) is added to the plate . this was allowed to incubate overnight at 4 ° c . antiserum was produced in response to immunizing rabbits with gradient - purified bt crystals [ ang et al ., appl . environ . microbiol . 36 625 - 626 ( 1978 )), incorporated herein by reference ] solubilized with sodium dodecyl sulfate and washed with elisa wash buffer ( see below ). it was then treated for 1 hour at room temperature with blocking buffer ( see below ) washed with elisa wash buffer . plant extract was added in an amount to give 50 μg of protein ( this is typically about 5 microliters of extract ). leaf extraction buffer as protein is determined by the bradford method [ bradford anal . biochem . 72 248 ( 1976 ) incorporated herein by reference ] using a commercially available kit obtained from bio - rad , richmond , calif . if dilution of the leaf extract is necessary , elisa diluent ( see below )] is used . allow this to incubate overnight at 4 ° c . after a wash with elisa wash buffer , 50 μl affinity - purified goat anti - bt antiserum is added at a concentration of 3 μg / ml protein in elisa diluent . this is allowed to incubate for 1 hour at 37 ° c ., then washed with elisa wash buffer . 50 μl rabbit anti - goat antibody bound to alkaline phosphatase [ commercially available from sigma chemicals , st . louis , mo .] is diluted 1 : 500 in elisa . diluent and allowed to incubate for 1 hour at 37 ° c ., then washed with elisa wash buffer . 50 microliters substrate [ 0 . 6 mg / ml p - nitrophenyl phosphate in elisa substrate buffer ( see below ) are added and incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature . reaction is terminated by adding 50 μl of 3 m naoh . absorbance is read at 405 nm in modified elisa reader [ hewlett packard , stanford , calif .]. plant tissue transformed with the pcib10 / 35sbt ( bcli ) when assayed using this elisa procedure showed a positive reaction , indicating expression of the bt gene . for bioassays , cell suspensions from antibiotic - resistant cell cultures obtained from transformations with these agrobactryia were initiated . suspensions were grown in medium supplemented with g418 ( 25 mg / l ), and subcultured into fresh antibiotic - containing medium on 7 - 10 day intervals . samples of these cultures are used in bioassays to test for toxicity to lepidopterous insects . twenty ml aliquots of these cultures were allowed to settle ( cell volume is about34 ml ), and resuspended in medium lacking antibiotics . suspensions were then allowed to grow for an additional two days in this medium to deplete the cells of any residual antibiotic . two circles of wet whatman 2 . 3 cm filter paper were placed in the bottom of a ¾ oz portion cup . a layer of transformed suspension culture cells 0 . 2 cm deep was placed onto the filter paper disk . a newly - hatched manduca sexta or heliothis viresceis larva was placed into each portion cup . controls were made tip of larvae fed on non - transformed suspension culture cells . discs were replenished on 2 - day intervals or as needed . manduca larvae generally require more plant material . the growth rate and mortality of the larvae feeding on transformed cells compared with the growth rate of larvae feeding on untransformed cells is scored after 5 days , and clearly affirms the toxicity of the bt genie product in transformed cotton cells . plant segments were placed in a medium containing an agrobacterium vector containing a selectable marker such as resistance to an antibiotic , kanamycin , for 1 minute to 24 hours to transfer the gene to the cells of the explant . the explants were then removed and placed on agar - solidified callus growth medium ( ms medium supplemented with 2 mg / l naa and incubated for 15 to 200 hours at 30 ° c ., on a 16 : 8 hour light : dark regime . after incubation , the explants were transferred to the same medium supplemented with 200 mg / l cefotaxime to kill any agrobacterium present in the culture . at the end of 4 - 5 weeks of culture on fresh medium , the developing callus was separated from the remainder of the primary explant tissue and transferred to ms medium containing 2 mg / l naa , 200 mg / ml cefotaxime and 50 mg / l kanamycin sulfate . transformed primary callus was selected . embryos were placed in a medium containing an agrobacterium vector containing resistance to kanamycin for 1 minute to 24 hours to transfer the gene to the cells of the embryos . the embryos were then removed and placed on agar - solidified callus growth medium ( ms medium supplemented with 2 mg / l naa and incubated for 15 to 200 hours at 30 ° c ., on a 16 : 8 hour light : dark regime . after incubation , the embryos - were transferred to the same medium supplemented with 200 mg / l cefotaxime . at the end of 4 - 5 weeks of culture on fresh medium , the embryos were transferred to ms medium containing 2 mg / l naa , 200 mg / ml cefotaxime and 50 mg / l kanamycin sulfate . transformed embryos were selected . callus was placed in a medium containing an agrobacterium vector containing resistance to kanamycin for 1 minute to 24 hours to transfer the gene to the cells of the embryos . the callus was then removed and placed on agar - solidified callus growth medium ( ms medium supplemented with 2 mg / l naa and incubated for 15 to 200 hours at 30 ° c ., on a 16 : 8 hour light : dark regime . after incubation , the callus is transferred to the same medium supplemented with 200 mg / l cefotaxime . at the end of 4 - 5 weeks of culture on fresh medium , the developing callus was transferred to ms medium containing 2 mg / l naa , 200 mg / ml cefotaxime and 50 mg / l kanamycin sulfate . transformed callus was selected . the method of examples 18 , 19 and 20 were used to transform plants , embryos and callus of the following cotton varieties : sj2 , sj5 , sj - c1 , gc510 , b1644 , b1654 - 26 , b1654 - 43 , b1810 , b2724 , coker 315 , stoneville 506 , chembred b2 , chembred c4 and siokra . the method of examples 19 and 20 were used to transform embryos and callus of the following cotton varieties : acala royale , fc 3027 and sicala . the method of example 20 was used to transform callus of the following cotton varieties : gc356 , acala maxxa , acala prema , b4894 , dp50 , dp61 , dp90 and oro blanco pima . the method of example 18 was repeated except kanamycin was used at a concentration of 5 mg / l . the method of example 18 was repeated except kanamycin was added when the explants were transferred to the ms medium supplemented with 200 mg / l cefotamine . the method of example 18 was repeated except g418 at a concentration of 25 mg / l was used in place of kanamycin . 5 + indicates that transformation of the tissue was not obtained heliothis virescens eggs laid on sheets of cheesecloth are obtained from the tobacco insect control laboratory at north carolina state university , raleigh , n . c . the cheesecloth sheets are transferred to a large covered glass beaker and incubated at 29 ° c . with wet paper towels to maintain humidity . the eggs hatched within three days . as soon as possible after hatching , the larvae ( one - larva per cup ) are transferred to covered ¾ oz . plastic cups . each cup contains cotton leaf discs . larvae are transferred using a fine bristle paint brush . leaf discs one centimeter in diameter are punched from leaves of cotton plants and placed on a circle of wet filter paper in the cup with the larva . at least 6 - 10 leaf discs , representing both young and old leaves , are tested from each plant . leaf discs are replaced at two - day intervals , or as necessary to feed the larvae . growth rates [ size or combined weight of all replica worms ] and mortality of larvae feeding on leaves of transformed plants are compared with those of larva feeding on untransformed cotton leaves . larvae feeding on discs of cotton transformed with pcib10 / 35sb5 ( bcli ) show a decrease in growth rate and increase in mortality compared with controls . it was observed that a certain number of our regenerated plants ( 5 - 10 %) appeared to have acquired genetically heritable phenotypic variations as a consequence of the process of regeneration . this variation is known as somaclonal variation . the following examples illustrate how somaclonal variation as a consequence of our regeneration procedure has been used to introduce commercially useful new traits into cotton varieties . the procedure of example 1 was followed , and regenerated cotton plants obtained of the variety sj5 and sj4 were hardened and placed in the soil . these plants were self - pollinated and the seed , representing the f1 generation , collected . to obtain regenerants ( somaclonal variants ) more tolerant to verticillium , the f1 generation was planted in a verticillium infested field for progeny row analysis . seed of the varieties sj4 and sj5 were planted in the field as controls . somaclonal variants more tolerant than the parental varieties to the verticillium fungus were identified in a few of the progeny rows ( 5 %) by assessing overall plant vigor , yield , and the absence of foliar symptoms associated with the disease . fig3 shows the progeny rows of regenerants planted in a verticillium infested field . fig3 shows a verticillium tolerant somaclonal variant of variety sj4 . this improvement in tolerance to the fungal pathogen was found to be genetically stable and passed on to subsequent generations . the procedure of example 28 was followed except that , rather than planting in disease - infested soil , the f1 generation was planted in a cotton breeding nursery . the overall growth habit of the f1 regenerated progeny was compared to that of the control varieties . somaclonal variants were identified which were more uniform in growth habit and shorter in stature than the parental variety . one sj5 regenerant , identified in our trials as phy 6 , was 20 % shorter in stature than the parental variety . this kind of growth habit is desirable in cotton grown under narrow row ( 30 ″ row spacing ) cultural conditions . these traits were found to be genetically stable and passed on to subsequent generations . the procedure of example 28 was followed except that the f1 progeny of regenerants were planted in a cotton breeding nursery and allowed to set fruit . when the bolls were mature , the cotton was harvested and subjected to an analysis of several fiber quality traits including length , uniformity , tensile strength , elasticity , and micronaire . somaclonal variants were identified which were improved significantly over the parental variety in one or more of these traits . representative data from f2 progeny ( cell pollination of the f1 ) are included in the following table 1 . values marked with an asterisk represent improvements in sj5 regenerants which are statistically significant and have been found to breed true in subsequent generations . the procedure of example 28 was followed except that the f1 progeny of regenerants of the variety sj4 were planted in replicated yield trials along with nonregenerated controls . one variant , which exhibited a more uniform growth habit and more vigorous growth habit , yielded 4 % more cotton than the parental variety in the same trial . the data are given in table 2 below . a 4 % increase in yield would represent a return of almost $ 20 per acre to the average cotton grower in california , where over one million acres of cotton are grown annually . suspension cultures of the cotton variety b1644 were developed according to the method of example 5 . suspension cultures were then plated onto an agar medium as described in example 6 , but supplemented with the herbicide ( antibiotic ) kanamycin ( 25 mg / l ). most of the cells in the population died , but a few ( 1 to 5 %) were tolerant and survived . these were selectively subcultured onto agarsolidified media supplemented with increasing concentrations of kanamycin , until the final concentration reached 50 mg / l . embryos were then developed from this callus , and those resistant embryos were germinated into kanamycin resistant plants . | 0 |
several aspects and various embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail . small molecule organic solar cells have drawn a great deal of researcher &# 39 ; s interest due to their superior reproducibility over polymer organic solar cells . for such small molecule organic solar cells , p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 was developed as a typical photovoltaic active material . the use of a mixture of p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 and a c 71 fullerene derivative with high electron affinity for the fabrication of devices having a conventional structure can achieve high efficiencies of ˜ 7 %. however , due to the tendency for the low molecular weight compounds to aggregate , the morphology of the photovoltaic active layers is not optimized , and as a result , a further increase in efficiency is no longer achieved . the present inventors have carried out research to solve the above problems and found that when a low molecular weight compound as a first organic semiconductor material is mixed with an appropriate amount of a second organic semiconductor material to form a photoactive layer of a small molecule organic solar cell , the low molecular weight compound is prevented from aggregating and the morphology of the photoactive layer is optimized , achieving greatly improved photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell . one aspect of the present invention is directed to an organic solar cell including : a lower electrode formed on a substrate ; a photoactive layer formed on the lower electrode and including ( a ) a p - type organic semiconductor material , ( b ) an n - type organic semiconductor material , and ( c ) a solvent ; and an upper electrode formed on the photoactive layer wherein the p - type organic semiconductor material includes ( a - 1 ) a first organic semiconductor material represented by formula 1 : wherein x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 may be the same or different and are each independently hydrogen ( h ) or a halogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may be the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , and ( a - 2 ) a second organic semiconductor material represented by formula 2 : wherein r 5 and r 6 may be the same or different and are each independently h , a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , n is an integer from 1 to 10 , 000 , 000 , and ar is selected from aromatic groups having the following structures 2a : wherein r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group . it is preferred that when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure . such structures of the first and second organic semiconductor materials are advantageous for intermolecular energy transfer . it is most preferred that r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 7 linear alkyl group , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group , and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . when the first organic semiconductor material is mixed with the second organic semiconductor materials , their side chains provide the most improved intermolecular stacking and supramolecular alignment . the above - described effects are most profound when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 7 and r 8 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 linear alkyl group , and r 9 and r 10 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . in particular , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or f . the structure of the organic solar cell according to the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to fig1 . fig1 is a cross - sectional view illustrating the organic solar cell 100 of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a lower electrode 120 , a photoactive layer 130 , and an upper electrode 140 are formed in this order on a substrate 110 . the organic solar cell 100 may further include a polyethylenimine ethoxylated ( peie ) surface modified layer 120 a between the lower electrode 120 and the photoactive layer 130 . the photoactive layer 130 includes ( a ) a p - type organic semiconductor material , ( b ) an n - type organic semiconductor material , and ( c ) a solvent . the p - type organic semiconductor material ( a ) includes ( a - 1 ) a first organic semiconductor material represented by formula 1 : wherein x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 may be the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or a halogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may be the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , and ( a - 2 ) a second organic semiconductor material represented by formula 2 : wherein r 5 and r 6 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , n is an integer from 1 to 10 , 000 , 000 , and ar is selected from aromatic groups having the following structures 2a : wherein r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group . it is preferred that when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure . such structures of the first and second organic semiconductor materials are advantageous for intermolecular energy transfer . it is most preferred that r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 7 linear alkyl group , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group , and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . when the first organic semiconductor material is mixed with the second organic semiconductor materials , their side chains provide the most improved intermolecular stacking and supramolecular alignment . the above - described effects are most profound when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 7 and r 8 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 linear alkyl group , and r 9 and r 10 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . in particular , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or f . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the substrate 110 may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of glass , polycarbonate ( pc ), polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ), polyethylene naphthalate ( pen ), and polyether sulfonate ( pes ). the substrate 110 is preferably a glass substrate . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the lower electrode 120 may be an anode or a cathode . the lower electrode 120 may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide ( ito ), fluorinated tin oxide ( fto ), indium zinc oxide ( izo ), al - doped zinc oxide ( azo ), indium zinc tin oxide ( izto ), sno 2 , zno , carbon nanotubes , graphene , and silver nanowires . the lower electrode 120 is preferably made of indium tin oxide ( ito ). according to one embodiment of the present invention , the surface modified layer 120 a made of polyethylenimine ethoxylated ( peie ) is preferably formed to a thickness of 1 to 20 nm on the lower electrode 120 . the peie surface modified layer 120 a formed on the lower electrode 120 has the effect to lower the work function of the lower electrode 120 due to the surface dipole of the amine ( nh 2 ) groups included in the peie . the amine groups chemically interact with the photoactive layer 130 formed on the peie surface modified layer 120 a to improve the adhesion between the lower electrode 120 and the photoactive layer 130 . the formation of the peie surface modified layer 120 a on the lower electrode 120 can contribute to improvement of the adhesion between the lower electrode 120 and the photoactive layer 130 . the peie surface modified layer 120 a lowers the work function of the lower electrode 120 , allowing the use of the lower electrode 120 as a cathode . the photoactive layer 130 has a bulk heterojunction ( bhj ) structure in which an electron donating material and an electron accepting material are mixed together . as described above , the photoactive layer 130 includes ( a ) a p - type organic semiconductor material , ( b ) an n - type organic semiconductor material , and ( c ) a solvent . the p - type organic semiconductor material ( a ) includes ( a - 1 ) a first organic semiconductor material represented by formula 1 : wherein x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 may be the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or a halogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may be the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , and ( a - 2 ) a second organic semiconductor material represented by formula 2 : wherein r 5 and r 6 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , n is an integer from 1 to 10 , 000 , 000 , and ar is selected from aromatic groups having the following structures 2a : wherein r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group . it is preferred that when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure . such structures of the first and second organic semiconductor materials are advantageous for intermolecular energy transfer . it is most preferred that r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 7 linear alkyl group , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group , and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . when the first organic semiconductor material is mixed with the second organic semiconductor materials , their side chains provide the most improved intermolecular stacking and supramolecular alignment . the above - described effects are most profound when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 7 and r 8 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 linear alkyl group , and r 9 and r 10 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . in particular , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or f . in other words , considering that the photoactive layer 130 is formed using a solution of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 , the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 , and the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ) in the solvent ( c ), it includes the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 , the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 , the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ), and the solvent ( c ). the photoactive layer 130 having a bulk - heterojunction structure is formed by a solution process . the solution process may be selected from the group consisting of spin coating , ink - jet printing , doctor blade coating , electrospray , dip coating , and screen printing . the solution process is preferably spin coating . the characteristics ( such as uniformity and morphology ) of the photoactive layer 130 have the greatest influence on the performance of the organic solar cell and are dependent on such factors as the mixing weight ratio between the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) and the kind and content of the solvent . accordingly , the numerical limitations and kinds of these components are of great significance in the performance of the organic solar cell . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 is a low molecular weight compound having a molecular weight of 1000 to 2000 g / mol and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 is a high molecular weight compound having a molecular weight 50 , 000 to 100 , 000 g / mol . when an appropriate amount of the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 is mixed with the low molecular weight compound as the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 , the first organic semiconductor material is inhibited from aggregating , resulting in improvements in the morphology of the photoactive layer and the network structure of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 . as a result , the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell is improved by at least 1 % while maintaining the hole mobility and absorbance of the organic solar cell at high levels . the organic solar cell may have the most optimized structure of prior art small molecule organic solar cells . also in this case , the introduction of the photoactive layer can improve the efficiency of the organic solar cell by a maximum of at least 1 %, as confirmed in the experimental examples section that follows . that is , the use of the photoactive layer including the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 in a small molecule organic solar cell having an optimized structure is very effective in achieving further improved photoelectric conversion efficiency . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) may be selected from the low molecular weight compounds represented by formulae 3 to 7 : preferably , the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) is the low molecular weight compound represented by formula 5 . the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) may be a high molecular weight compound represented by formula 8 or 9 : preferably , the second organic semiconductor material has a molecular weight of 50000 to 100000 g / mol . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) may be mixed with the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 . if the mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) to the second organic semiconductor material is 1 :& lt ; 0 . 01 , the morphology of the photoactive layer cannot be effectively improved , making it impossible to expect an improvement in the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell . meanwhile , if the mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) to the second organic semiconductor material is 1 :≧ 0 . 05 , the efficiency of the organic solar cell is drastically reduced by at least about 2 . 5 times . it is thus preferred to limit the mixing weight ratio to the range defined above . the solvent ( c ) is preferably a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane . the use of other solvents significantly reduces the photoelectric conversion efficiency to 1 % or less , with a maximum of 2 % or less , as confirmed in the following experimental examples section . the mixing volume ratio of the chlorobenzene to the 1 , 8 - diiodooctane is preferably 1 : 0 . 002 - 5 . in conclusion , the most preferred composition of the photoactive layer 130 in the organic solar cell of the present invention is obtained when the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 is mixed with the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 and the solvent ( c ) is a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a volume ratio of 1 : 0 . 002 - 5 . if any one of these relations is not satisfied , the photoelectric conversion efficiency is significantly lowered , which was confirmed in the following experimental examples section . the introduction of the photoactive layer 130 satisfying the above relations can further improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell by a minimum of 0 . 1 % and by a maximum of 1 % or more although the structure of the organic solar cell is already optimized . the further improved photoelectric conversion efficiency of the optimized organic solar cell is regarded as significant in the art . the significantly (≧ 1 %) improved efficiency demonstrates that the present invention has a noticeable effect . if the mixing weight ratio between the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 in the photoactive layer 130 is outside the range defined above , the desired effect of the present invention cannot be achieved and the photoelectric conversion efficiency is lowered , making it meaningless to use the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 in admixture with the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 . the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ) may be selected from the group consisting of methyl ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c61 - butyrate ( pc 60 bm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c61 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 60 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c71 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 70 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c77 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 76 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c79 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 78 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c81 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 80 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c83 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 82 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c85 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 84 - pcbm ), bis ( 1 -[ 3 -( methoxycarbonyl ) propyl ]- 1 - phenyl ) ( bis - c 60 - pcbm ), 3 ′- phenyl - 3 ′ h - cyclopropa ( 8 , 25 )( 5 , 6 ) fullerene - c70 - bis - d5h ( 6 )- 3 ′- butyric acid methyl ester ( bis - c 70 - pcbm ), indene - c60 - bisadduct ( icba ), monoindenyl c60 ( icma ), and combinations thereof . the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ) is most preferably ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c71 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 70 - pcbm ). according to one embodiment of the present invention , the upper electrode may be made of , for example , moo 3 / ag , au or pt . most preferably , the organic solar cell of the present invention has a typical structure in which the ito layer and the peie surface modified layer are sequentially formed on a substrate , the photoactive layer is formed by coating a solution of the low molecular weight compound and the high molecular weight compound in the solvent on the polymer surface modified layer , and the upper electrode made of moo 3 / ag is formed on the photoactive layer . a further aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for fabricating an organic solar cell , including : ii ) mixing ( a - 1 ) a first organic semiconductor material represented by formula 1 : wherein x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 may be the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or a halogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may be the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , ( a - 2 ) a second organic semiconductor material represented by formula 2 : wherein r 5 and r 6 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , n is an integer from 1 to 10 , 000 , 000 , and ar is selected from aromatic groups having the following structures 2a : wherein r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , ( b ) an n - type organic semiconductor material , and ( c ) a solvent to prepare a first solution ; iii ) coating the first solution on the lower electrode to form a photoactive layer ; and below is a more detailed description of the method according to the present invention . first , a lower electrode is formed on a substrate ( step i )). the lower electrode may be formed by a deposition technique . the deposition technique is not particularly limited and may be any of those known in the art . the deposition technique is preferably selected from the group consisting of chemical vapor deposition and physical vapor deposition . particularly preferred is sputtering by which the lower electrode can be rapidly deposited on a large area at relatively low temperature . for example , the substrate may be made of a material selected from glass , polycarbonate ( pc ), polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ), polyethylene naphthalate ( pen ), and polyether sulfonate ( pes ). more preferably , the substrate is a glass substrate . the lower electrode may be an anode or a cathode . the lower electrode may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide ( ito ), fluorinated tin oxide ( fto ), indium zinc oxide ( izo ), al - doped zinc oxide ( azo ), indium zinc tin oxide ( izto ), sno 2 , zno , carbon nanotubes , graphene , and silver nanowires . the lower electrode is preferably made of indium tin oxide ( ito ). the method may further include i - 1 ) forming a polyethylenimine ethoxylated ( peie ) surface modified layer on the lower electrode after step i ) and prior to step ii ). the peie surface modified layer may be formed by spin coating a solution of peie on the lower electrode . the peie surface modified layer has the effect to lower the work function of an underlying electrode . this effect enables the use of the lower electrode even when the lower electrode has a high work function . accordingly , the peie surface modified layer can provide a solution to the problem of short lifetime caused by the use of a low work function electrode . that is , the peie surface modified layer is effective in improving the lifetime of the organic solar cell . the peie surface modified layer may be formed using polyethylenimine ethoxylated ( peie ) and is preferably from 1 to 20 nm in thickness . the peie surface modified layer formed on the lower electrode has the effect to lower the work function of the lower electrode due to the surface dipole of the amine ( nh 2 ) groups included in the peie . the amine groups chemically interact with a photoactive layer to be formed on the peie surface modified layer to improve the adhesion between the lower electrode and the photoactive layer . the method may further include i - 2 ) drying the peie surface modified layer at 80 to 130 ° c . for 5 to 15 minutes after step i - 1 ). next , ( a - 1 ) a first organic semiconductor material represented by formula 1 : wherein x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 may be the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or a halogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may be the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , ( a - 2 ) a second organic semiconductor material represented by formula 2 : wherein r 5 and r 6 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , n is an integer from 1 to 10 , 000 , 000 , and ar is selected from aromatic groups having the following structures 2a : wherein r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 may be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 1 - c 22 linear or branched alkyl group , ( b ) an n - type organic semiconductor material , and ( c ) a solvent are mixed to prepare a first solution ( step ii )). thereafter , the first solution is coated on the lower electrode to form a photoactive layer ( step iii )). it is preferred that when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure . such structures of the first and second organic semiconductor materials are advantageous for intermolecular energy transfer . it is most preferred that r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 1 - c 7 linear alkyl group , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group , and r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . when the first organic semiconductor material is mixed with the second organic semiconductor materials , their side chains provide the most improved intermolecular stacking and supramolecular alignment . the above - described effects are most profound when r 1 and r 2 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 3 and r 4 in formula 1 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 5 and r 6 in formula 2 are symmetric and have the same structure , r 7 and r 8 in formula 2a are the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 linear alkyl group , and r 9 and r 10 in formula 2a are be the same or different and are each independently h or a c 8 - c 22 branched alkyl group . in particular , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 in formula 1 are the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or f . the characteristics ( such as uniformity and morphology ) of the photoactive layer have the greatest influence on the performance of the organic solar cell and are dependent on such factors as the mixing weight ratio between the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) and the kind and content of the solvent . accordingly , such factors of the photoactive layer are very important in the performance of the organic solar cell . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) is a low molecular weight compound having a molecular weight of 1000 to 2000 g / mol and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) is a high molecular weight compound having a molecular weight of 50 , 000 to 100 , 000 g / mol . when an appropriate amount of the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 is mixed with the low molecular weight compound as the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 , the first organic semiconductor material is inhibited from aggregating , resulting in improvements in the morphology of the photoactive layer and the network structure of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 . as a result , the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell is improved by at least 1 % while maintaining the hole mobility and absorbance of the organic solar cell at high levels . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) may be selected from the low molecular weight compounds represented by formulae 3 to 7 : preferably , the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) is the low molecular weight compound represented by formula 5 . the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) may be a high molecular weight compound represented by formula 8 or 9 : preferably , the second organic semiconductor material has a molecular weight of 50000 to 100000 g / mol . the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) is preferably mixed the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 . if the mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) to the second organic semiconductor material is 1 :& lt ; 0 . 01 , the morphology of the photoactive layer cannot be effectively improved , making it impossible to expect an improvement in the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell . meanwhile , if the mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) to the second organic semiconductor material is 1 :≧ 0 . 05 , the efficiency of the organic solar cell is drastically reduced by at least about 2 . 5 times . it is thus preferred to limit the mixing weight ratio to the range defined above . the solvent ( c ) is preferably a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane . the use of other solvents significantly reduces the photoelectric conversion efficiency to 1 % or less , with a maximum of 2 % or less , as confirmed in the following experimental examples section . the mixing volume ratio of the chlorobenzene to the 1 , 8 - diiodooctane is preferably 1 : 0 . 002 - 5 . in conclusion , the most preferred composition of the first solution for the formation of the photoactive layer in the method of the present invention is obtained when the mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 to the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 in a weight ratio is 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 and the solvent ( c ) is a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a volume ratio of 1 : 0 . 002 - 5 . if any one of these relations is not satisfied , the performance of the organic solar cell is significantly lowered , which was confirmed in the following experimental examples section . the use of the first solution satisfying the above relations can further improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell by a minimum of 0 . 1 % and by a maximum of 1 % or more although the structure of the organic solar cell is already optimized . if the mixing weight ratio between the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 and the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 in the photoactive layer is outside the range defined above , the desired effect of the present invention cannot be achieved and the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic solar cell is lowered , making it meaningless to use the first organic semiconductor material ( a - 1 ) represented by formula 1 in admixture with the second organic semiconductor material ( a - 2 ) represented by formula 2 . the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ) may be selected from the group consisting of methyl ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c61 - butyrate ( pc 60 bm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c61 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 60 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c71 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 70 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c77 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 76 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c79 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 78 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c81 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 80 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c83 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 82 - pcbm ), ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c85 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 84 - pcbm ), bis ( 1 -[ 3 -( methoxycarbonyl ) propyl ]- 1 - phenyl ) ( bis - c 60 - pcbm ), 3 ′- phenyl - 3 ′ h - cyclopropa ( 8 , 25 )( 5 , 6 ) fullerene - c70 - bis - d5h ( 6 )- 3 ′- butyric acid methyl ester ( bis - c 70 - pcbm ), indene - c60 - bisadduct ( icba ), monoindenyl c60 ( icma ), and combinations thereof . the n - type organic semiconductor material ( b ) is most preferably ( 6 , 6 )- phenyl - c71 - butyric acid methyl ester ( c 70 - pcbm ). in step iii ), the photoactive layer may be formed by coating the first solution on the lower electrode or the peie surface modified layer . the coating may be selected from the group consisting of spin coating , nozzle coating , spray coating , inkjet coating , and slit coating . spin coating is preferred . finally , an upper electrode is formed on the photoactive layer ( step iv )). the formation of the upper electrode on the photoactive layer may be accomplished by any suitable technique known in the art . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the upper electrode may be made of , for example , moo 3 / ag , au or pt . the formation of the photoactive layer using the first solution allows the organic solar cell to have high photoelectric conversion efficiency and enables the fabrication of the organic solar cell in a simpler manner . the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the following examples . however , these examples are not to be construed as limiting or restricting the scope and disclosure of the invention . it is to be understood that based on the teachings of the present invention including the following examples , those skilled in the art can readily practice other embodiments of the present invention whose experimental results are not presented . it will also be understood that such modifications and variations are intended to come within the scope of the appended claims . the experimental results presented herein are merely representative results of the following examples and comparative examples and the effects of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are specifically described in the respective sections although they are not explicitly presented below . a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 10 ( 0 . 55 g , 1 . 18 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 11 ( 0 . 40 g , 0 . 54 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 5 . 4 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 062 g , 0 . 05 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 0 . 504 g ( yield 86 %) of the compound represented by formula 3 . the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 1 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 19 ( t , 2h ), 8 . 00 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 78 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 16 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 09 ( d , 2h ), 6 . 71 ( d , 2h ), 2 . 81 ( t , 4h ), 1 . 68 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 38 - 1 . 09 ( m , 34h ), 0 . 92 - 0 . 81 ( m , 18h ). a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 12 ( 0 . 87 g , 1 . 51 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 13 ( 0 . 60 g , 1 . 25 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 7 . 4 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 071 g , 0 . 06 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 0 . 85 g ( yield 82 . 6 %) of the compound represented by formula 14 . the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 2 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 28 ( t , 1h ), 8 . 03 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 73 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 27 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 19 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 12 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 08 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 73 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 82 ( t , 2h ), 1 . 70 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 47 - 0 . 97 ( m , 28h ) 0 . 96 - 0 . 76 ( m , 15h ). 2 - 2 ) synthesis of compound represented by formula 14 ( dts - 1f ): 4 -( 4 , 4 - bis ( 2 - ethylhexyl )- 6 -( 7 -( 5 ′- hexyl -[ 2 , 2 ′- bithiophen ]- 5 - yl ) benzo [ c ][ 1 , 2 , 5 ] thiadiazol - 4 - yl )- 4h - silolo [ 3 , 2 - b : 4 , 5 - b ′] dithiophen - 2 - yl )- 5 - fluoro - 7 -( 5 ′- hexyl -[ 2 , 2 ′- bithiophen ]- 5 - yl ) benzo [ c ][ 1 , 2 , 5 ] thiadiazole ) a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 10 ( 0 . 26 g , 0 . 56 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 15 ( 0 . 53 g , 0 . 54 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 7 . 7 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 031 g , 0 . 02 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 0 . 461 g ( yield 71 %) of the compound represented by formula 4 ( dts - 1f ). the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 3 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 33 ( t , 1h ), 8 . 20 ( t , 1h ), 8 . 03 - 8 . 01 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 82 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 70 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 18 - 7 . 17 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 12 - 7 . 10 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 73 - 6 . 71 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 84 - 2 . 80 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 74 - 1 . 67 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 42 - 1 . 05 ( m , 34h ), 0 . 92 - 0 . 80 ( m , 18h ). the compound represented by formula 14 ( 0 . 81 g , 0 . 99 mmol ) and chloroform ( 76 ml ) were placed in a 250 ml reaction tube . the mixture was stirred in ice water at 0 ° c . in the dark . to the mixture was added portionwise n - bromosuccinimide ( 0 . 18 g , 1 . 04 mmol ). the reaction was continued at room temperature for 16 h . the reaction mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel and extracted with water and dichloromethane . the solvent was removed from the dichloromethane layer using a rotary evaporator . the crude product was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 0 . 85 ( yield 94 %) g of the compound represented by formula 16 . the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 4 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 26 ( t , 1h ), 8 . 03 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 72 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 18 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 11 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 04 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 72 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 82 ( t , 2h ), 1 . 68 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 45 - 0 . 98 ( m , 28h ) 0 . 92 - 0 . 77 ( m , 15h ). the compound represented by formula 16 ( 0 . 81 g , 0 . 90 mmol ) and hexamethylditin ( 1 . 48 g , 4 . 53 mmol ) were placed in a 250 ml reaction tube and vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 12 . 9 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 052 g , 0 . 04 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the reaction mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel , extracted with diethyl ether , and washed sufficiently with distilled water . the solvent was removed from the diethyl ether layer using a rotary evaporator . the residue was washed with methanol at 40 ° c . until the hexamethylditin disappeared , and sufficiently dried , affording 0 . 83 g ( yield 94 %) of the compound represented by formula 17 . the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 5 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 29 ( t , 1h ), 8 . 02 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 72 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 18 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 13 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 11 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 72 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 82 ( t , 2h ), 1 . 70 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 60 - 1 . 17 ( m , 24h ), 1 . 03 - 0 . 77 ( m , 19h ), 0 . 46 ( s , 9h ). a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 19 ( 0 . 46 g , 1 . 26 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 20 ( 0 . 26 g , 0 . 64 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 13 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 037 g , 0 . 03 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 194 mg ( yield 61 %) of the compound represented by formula 18 . the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 6 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 17 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 21 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 14 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 73 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 82 ( t , 2h ), 1 . 74 - 1 . 66 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 41 - 1 . 32 ( m , 6h ), 0 . 88 ( t , 3h ). a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 18 ( 0 . 26 g , 0 . 56 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 17 ( 0 . 53 g , 0 . 54 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 7 . 7 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 031 g , 0 . 02 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 0 . 461 g ( yield 71 %) of the compound represented by formula 6 ( dts - 3f ). the above reaction procedure is shown in reaction scheme 7 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , 60 ° c ., c 2 d 2 cl 4 ): δ = 8 . 37 ( m , 2h ), 8 . 23 ( d , 1h ), 8 . 06 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 74 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 26 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 22 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 18 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 15 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 78 - 6 . 77 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 88 - 2 . 84 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 79 - 1 . 71 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 62 - 1 . 03 ( m , 34h ), 0 . 97 - 0 . 87 ( m , 18h ). synthesis example 4 : synthesis of compound represented by formula 7 ( 7 , 7 ′-( 4 , 4 - bis ( 2 - ethylhexyl )- 4h - silolo [ 3 , 2 - b : 4 , 5 - b ′] dithiophene - 2 , 6 - diyl ) bis ( 5 , 6 - difluoro - 4 -( 5 ′- hexyl -[ 2 , 2 ′- bithiophen ]- 5 - yl ) benzo [ c ][ 1 , 2 , 5 ] thiadiazole )) a 15 ml reaction tube was evacuated and flame dried at least 3 times to remove moisture therefrom . after the addition of the compound represented by formula 11 ( 0 . 18 g , 0 . 37 mmol ) and the compound represented by formula 18 ( 0 . 13 g , 0 . 18 mmol ), vacuuming and venting were repeated 3 times to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the reaction tube . purified toluene ( 9 ml ) and pd ( pph 3 ) 4 ( 0 . 024 g , 0 . 03 mmol ) were added and stirred under microwave irradiation . after stirring at 160 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction was stopped . the solvent was removed from the reaction mixture using a rotary evaporator . the residue was subjected to column chromatography using hexane and chloroform , affording 170 mg ( yield 74 %) of the compound represented by formula 7 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 34 ( t , 2h ), 8 . 13 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 15 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 09 ( d , 2h ), 6 . 69 ( d , 2h ), 2 . 79 ( t , 4h ), 1 . 73 - 1 . 65 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 41 - 1 . 07 ( m , 34h ), 0 . 92 - 0 . 88 ( m , 18h ). synthesis example 5 : synthesis of compound represented by formula 9 as second organic semiconductor material the compound represented by formula 9 was used as a second organic semiconductor material . the second organic semiconductor material had a molecular weight of 10 , 000 to 100 , 000 g / mol but was not particularly limited thereto . in the following experiments , however , the molecular weight of the second organic semiconductor material was limited to 14 , 000 g / mol to clearly evaluate the influence of numerous variables . unless otherwise indicated in the following experimental examples , the compound of formula 9 having a molecular weight of 14 , 000 g / mol was used as the second organic semiconductor material . 4 , 7 - bis ( 5 - bromo - 4 -( 2 - octyldodecyl ) thiophen - 2 - yl ) benzo [ c ][ 1 , 2 , 5 ] thiadiazole ( 102 mg , 0 . 1 mmol ), 5 , 5 ′- bis ( trimethylstannyl )- 2 , 2 ′- bithiophene ( 49 . 2 mg , 0 . 1 mmol ), and tetrakis ( triphenylphosphine ) palladium ( 0 ) ( pd [ pph 3 ] 4 ( 0 ) ( 2 . 3 mg , 0 . 002 mmol ) were added all at once to a 20 ml microwave polymerization flask equipped with a magnetic bar under an argon atmosphere and 5 ml of toluene was added thereto . the mixture was sufficiently stirred under microwave irradiation at 18 ° c . for 40 min . after cooling to room temperature , the reaction mixture was reprecipitated in methanol ( 100 ml ) and an aqueous hydrochloric acid solution ( 5 ml ), followed by stirring at room temperature for 6 h . the resulting precipitate was collected by filtration , washed by soxhlet extraction using methanol , hexane , and chloroform in this order , and extracted with chlorobenzene . the solvents were removed from the extract using a rotary evaporator . the extract was reprecipitated in methanol ( 150 ml ) and dried under vacuum for 24 h or more , affording 117 mg ( yield 94 %) of the compound represented by formula 9 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , c 2 d 2 cl 4 , 80 ° c . ): δ = 8 . 21 ( br , 2h ), 8 . 05 ( br , 2h ), 7 . 46 - 7 . 29 ( br , 4h ), 2 . 56 ( br , 4h ), 1 . 60 ( br , 2h ), 1 . 40 - 1 . 00 ( br , 48h ), 0 . 95 - 0 . 80 ( br , 12h ). synthesis example 6 : synthesis of compound represented by formula 19 as second organic semiconductor material ( without bt unit ) the compound represented by formula 19 was used as a second organic semiconductor material . the second organic semiconductor material had a molecular weight of 10 , 000 to 100 , 000 g / mol but was not particularly limited thereto . in the following experiments , however , the molecular weight of the second organic semiconductor material was limited to 25 , 000 g / mol to clearly evaluate the influence of numerous variables . unless otherwise indicated in the following experimental examples , the compound of formula 19 having a molecular weight of 25 , 000 g / mol was used as the second organic semiconductor material . 2 , 7 - bis ( 4 ′, 4 ′, 5 ′, 5 ′- tetramethyl - 1 ′, 3 ′, 2 ′- dioxaborolan - 2 ′- yl )- n - 9 ″- heptadecanyl - carbazole ( 657 . 6 mg , 1 . 00 mmol ), 5 , 5 ′- dibromo - 2 , 2 ′- bithiophene ( 324 . 1 mg , 1 . 00 mmol ), tris ( dibenzylidineacetone ) dipalladium ( 0 ) ( pd 2 [ dba ] 3 ) ( 4 . 6 mg , 0 . 005 mmol ), and tri ( o - tolyl ) phosphine ( p ( o - tol ) 3 ) ( 6 . 1 mg , 0 . 002 mmol ) were added all at once to a 50 ml flask equipped with a magnetic bar under an argon atmosphere and the mixture was dissolved in a mixture of 10 . 0 ml of oxygen - free toluene and 3 . 4 ml of an aqueous 20 wt % tetraethylammonium hydroxide solution . the solution was stirred at 95 ° c . for 72 h . thereafter , the solution was added with bromobenzene ( 11 μl , 0 . 10 mmol ), followed by stirring for 1 h . after the addition of phenylboronic acid ( 12 mg , 0 . 10 mmol ), the resulting mixture was refluxed for 12 h until end - capping was completed . after the reaction was finished , the reaction mixture was reprecipitated in 150 ml of methanol and water ( 10 : 1 ), filtered through a 0 . 45 μm nylon filter , washed by soxhlet extraction using acetone , hexane , and dichloromethane in this order , and extracted with chloroform . the solvents were removed from the extract using a rotary evaporator . the extract was reprecipitated in 150 ml of a mixture of methanol and water ( 10 : 1 ) and dried under vacuum for 24 h or more , affording 402 mg ( yield 71 %) of the compound represented by formula 19 . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , c 2 d 2 cl 4 , 80 ° c . ): δ = 8 . 15 ( br , 2h ), 7 . 81 ( br , 2h ), 7 . 59 ( br , 2h ), 7 . 45 - 7 . 30 ( br , 4h ) 4 . 71 ( br , 1h ), 2 . 42 ( br , 4h ), 2 . 12 ( br , 4h ), 1 . 40 - 1 . 15 ( br , 20h ), 0 . 90 ( t , 6h ). preparative examples 1 - 4 : blending solutions for the formation of photoactive layers a mixture of appropriate amounts of a first organic semiconductor material , a second organic semiconductor material , and a fullerene compound was blended with a solvent . the blending solution was used to form a photoactive layer . the compounds represented by formulae 3 - 7 synthesized in synthesis examples 1 - 4 were used as first organic semiconductor materials . the first organic semiconductor materials are simply designated by formulae 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 to distinguish from each other in the following experiments . the compound represented by formula 8 was purchased from nanoclean tech . ( lot no . yy7010 ) and used as a second organic semiconductor material . the second organic semiconductor material had a molecular weight of 50 , 000 to 100 , 000 g / mol but was not particularly limited thereto . in the following experiments , however , the molecular weight of the second organic semiconductor material was limited to 93000 g / mol to clarify the influence of numerous variables . unless otherwise indicated in the following experimental examples , the compound of formula 8 having a molecular weight of 93000 g / mol was used as the second organic semiconductor material . the first organic semiconductor material , the second organic semiconductor material , and a fullerene compound were dissolved in 1 ml of a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a ratio of 99 . 6 : 0 . 4 at 90 ° c . for at least 1 h to prepare a blending solution . the kinds of the first organic semiconductor material , the second organic semiconductor material , the fullerene compound , and the solvent and mixing ratios thereof are shown in table 1 . the compound represented by formula 5 ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ), the compound represented by formula 8 ( pcdtbt ), and pc 71 bm as a fullerene compound were mixed in an appropriate ratio and blended with 1 ml of a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a ratio of 99 . 6 : 0 . 4 to prepare a blending solution ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 : pcdtbt : pc 71 bm ). the mixing ratios of the low molecular weight compound represented by formula 5 ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ), the compound represented by formula 8 ( pcdtbt ), the fullerene compound ( pc 71 bm ), and the solvent are shown in table 2 . 19 . 4 mg of the compound represented by formula 5 ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ), 0 . 4 mg of the second organic semiconductor material of formula 9 synthesized in synthesis example 5 , and 13 . 2 mg pc 71 bm as a fullerene compound were mixed and blended with 1 ml of a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a ratio of 99 . 6 : 0 . 4 to prepare a blending solution ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 : pcdtbt : pc 71 bm ). preparative example 10 : blending solution for the formation of photoactive layer using the second semiconductor material of formula 19 without bt unit 19 . 4 mg of the compound represented by formula 5 ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ), 0 . 4 mg of the second organic semiconductor material of formula 19 synthesized in synthesis example 6 , and 13 . 2 mg pc 71 bm as a fullerene compound were mixed and blended with 1 ml of a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane in a ratio of 99 . 6 : 0 . 4 to prepare a blending solution ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 : pcdtbt : pc 71 bm ). organic solar cells having the following structure were fabricated : ito / peie / photoactive layer / moo 3 / ag first , ito was coated on a substrate . the ito - coated substrate ( hereinafter referred to as “ ito lower electrode ”) was sequentially washed with isopropyl alcohol for 10 min , acetone for 10 min , and isopropyl alcohol for 10 min , and dried before use . peie was diluted with 2 - methoxyethanol to prepare a solution of 0 . 2 wt % peie . the polymer solution was spin coated at 6000 rpm on the ito lower electrode for 60 s and dried at 100 ° c . for 10 min to form a 5 nm thick peie surface modified layer . each of the blending solutions prepared in preparative examples 1 - 5 was spin coated to a thickness of 80 nm on the peie surface modified layer to form a photoactive layer . the spin coating was performed at 3000 rpm for 60 s . subsequently , moo 3 was deposited to a thickness of 4 nm on the photoactive layer and an aluminum electrode was deposited to a thickness of 100 nm on the moo 3 to form an upper electrode . organic solar cells were fabricated in the same manner as in example 1 , except that each of the blending solutions prepared in preparative examples 6 - 8 was used to form a photoactive layer instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . specifically , the photoactive layer of the organic solar cell of example 6 was formed using the blending solution prepared in preparative example 6 instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . the photoactive layer of the organic solar cell of example 7 was formed using the blending solution prepared in preparative example 7 instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . the photoactive layer of the organic solar cell of example 8 was formed using the blending solution prepared in preparative example 8 instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . an organic solar cell was fabricated in the same manner as in example 1 . the characteristics of the organic solar cell were measured at 65 ° c . and 85 % relative humidity ( rh ) in experimental example 7 . example 10 : fabrication of organic solar cell using the second organic semiconductor material of formula 9 an organic solar cell was fabricated in the same manner as in example 1 , except that the blending solution prepared in preparative example 9 was used to form a photoactive layer instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . organic solar cells were fabricated in the same manner as in examples 1 - 5 , except that a photoactive layer was formed using a blending solution of 19 . 8 mg of each of the low molecular weight compounds ( formulae 3 - 7 ) and 13 . 2 mg of pc 71 bm in 1 ml of a mixture of chlorobenzene and 1 , 8 - diiodooctane ( 99 . 6 : 0 . 4 ) as a solvent without mixing with pcdtbt . specifically , the low molecular weight compounds represented by formulae 3 - 7 were used in comparative examples 1 - 5 , respectively . comparative examples 6 - 20 : fabrication of organic solar cells ( with controlled factors such as kind of solvent and mixing ratio ) organic solar cells having the following structure were fabricated : ito / peie / photoactive layer / moo 3 / ag first , ito was coated on a substrate . the ito - coated substrate ( hereinafter referred to as “ ito lower electrode ”) was sequentially washed with isopropyl alcohol for 10 min , acetone for 10 min , and isopropyl alcohol for 10 min , and dried before use . peie was diluted with 2 - methoxyethanol to prepare a solution of 0 . 2 wt % peie . the polymer solution was spin coated at 2500 rpm on the ito lower electrode for 10 s and dried at 100 ° c . for 10 min to form a 5 nm thick peie surface modified layer . blending solutions were prepared to have the compositions shown in table 3 . each of the blending solutions was spin coated to a thickness of 80 nm on the peie surface modified layer to form a photoactive layer . the spin coating was performed at 1000 rpm for 60 s . subsequently , moo 3 was deposited to a thickness of 4 nm on the photoactive layer and an aluminum electrode was deposited to a thickness of 100 nm on the moo 3 to form an upper electrode . an organic solar cell was fabricated in the same manner as in example 1 , except that the blending solution prepared in preparative example 10 was used to form a photoactive layer instead of the blending solution prepared in preparative example 1 . experimental example 1 : comparison of performance of the organic solar cells depending on the weights of the first and second organic semiconductor materials ( 1 ) changes in the performance of the organic solar cells fabricated in examples 1 - 5 and comparative examples 1 - 5 depending on the kinds of the first and second organic semiconductor materials were investigated by measuring and comparing the characteristics of the organic solar cells . specifically , after the organic solar cells were irradiated with light at an energy of 100 mw / cm 2 , their j - v characteristics were measured . fig3 and 5 show the j - v characteristics of the organic solar cells fabricated in examples 1 - 5 and comparative example 1 - 5 , respectively . fig4 and 6 show the external quantum efficiencies ( eqe , %) of the organic solar cells fabricated in examples 1 - 5 and comparative examples 1 - 5 , respectively . the measured parameters of the organic solar cells shown in fig3 - 6 are summarized in table 4 . referring to fig3 - 6 and table 4 , the organic solar cells of examples 1 - 5 showed , on average , open circuit voltages ( v oc ) of 0 . 7 - 0 . 86 v , j sc values of 4 . 21 - 15 . 37 ma / cm 2 , fill factors of 5 . 01 - 66 . 36 , and photoelectric conversion efficiencies ( pce ) of 1 . 28 - 8 . 13 %. the most optimized organic solar cell of example 3 showed a j sc of 15 . 37 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 80 v , a fill factor of 66 . 36 , and a pce of 8 . 13 %. in contrast , the organic solar cell of comparative examples 1 - 5 , whose photoactive layer was formed without pcdtbt ( formula 8 ), showed , on average , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 70 - 0 . 87 v , a j sc of 4 . 0 - 14 . 63 ma / cm 2 , a fill factor of 34 . 32 - 68 . 75 , and a pce of 1 . 06 - 6 . 68 %. the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 as a counterpart of the organic solar cell of example 3 was found to have an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 79 v , a j sc of 14 . 63 ma / cm 2 , a fill factor of 59 . 64 , and a pce of 6 . 68 %. that is , when the organic solar cells of examples 1 - 5 were compared with those of comparative examples 1 - 5 , the presence of the high molecular weight compound ( pcdtbt ) of formula 8 was found to increase the pce (%) by a minimum of 0 . 1 % to 1 . 0 %. the most optimized organic solar cell was already designed such that the efficiency reached as high as 7 %. the formation of the photoactive layer using the mixture of the first organic semiconductor material , the second organic semiconductor material , and the fullerene compound was found to achieve a 1 % increase in efficiency , which is regarded as significant in the art . experimental example 2 : comparison of characteristics of the organic solar cells ( 2 ) changes in the performance of the organic solar cells of examples 6 - 8 and comparative example 3 depending on the mixing ratio of the first and second organic semiconductor materials were investigated by measuring and comparing the characteristics of the organic solar cells . referring to table 5 and fig7 , the organic solar cell of example 7 , whose photoactive layer was formed using the mixture of the first and second organic semiconductor materials in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 02 , showed a j sc of 15 . 37 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 80 v , a fill factor of 66 . 36 , and a pce of 8 . 13 %. in contrast , the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 , whose photoactive layer was formed without the high molecular weight compound of formula 8 ( pcdtbt ), showed a j sc of 14 . 63 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 79 v , a fill factor of 59 . 64 , and a pce of 6 . 68 %. the organic solar cell of example 8 , whose photoactive layer was formed using the mixture of the first organic semiconductor material and the second organic semiconductor material of formula 8 ( pcdtbt ) in a weight ratio of 1 :≧ 0 . 05 , in which the high molecular weight compound of formula 8 as the second organic semiconductor material was present in a relatively large amount , showed a j sc of 10 . 08 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 70 v , a fill factor of 46 . 38 , and a pce of 3 . 29 %. taken together , the jsc , ff , and pce values of the inventive organic solar cells increased with gradually increasing mixing weight ratio of the first organic semiconductor material to the second organic semiconductor material in the photoactive layers from 1 : 0 . 01 to 1 : 0 . 02 . however , for the organic solar cell of example 8 , the efficiency was considerably lowered to ˜ 3 % in the higher mixing ratio ( 1 :≧ 0 . 05 ). these results demonstrate that the highest efficiencies can be achieved when the first organic semiconductor material and the second organic semiconductor material are mixed in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 , and particularly , efficiencies of ≧ 7 %, with a maximum of 8 . 13 %, can be achieved when the low molecular weight compound represented by formula 5 ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ) is used as the first organic semiconductor material . in contrast , the efficiency of the organic solar cell of example 8 whose photoactive layer was formed using the mixture of the first organic semiconductor material and the second organic semiconductor material in a weight ratio of 1 :≧ 0 . 05 was significantly lowered by at least about 2 . 5 times . these results lead to the conclusion that it is preferred to mix the first organic semiconductor material with the second organic semiconductor material in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 . experimental example 3 : comparison of characteristics of the organic solar cell ( 3 )— morphology images of the photoactive layers of the organic solar cells of example 3 and comparative example 3 were taken by transmission electron microscopy ( tem ) and energy - filtering transmission electron microscopy ( eftem ) to compare the morphologies of the photoactive layers depending on the presence or absence of the second organic semiconductor material . fig8 shows transmission electron microscopy ( tem ) images of the photoactive layers formed in example 3 ( a ) and comparative example 3 ( b ) and fig9 shows energy - filtering transmission electron microscopy ( ef - tem ) images of the photoactive layers formed in example 3 ( a ) and comparative example 3 ( b ). referring to fig8 , the photoactive layer formed in example 3 was more uniform than that formed in comparative example 3 . in fig8 , si and c atoms are colored green and red , respectively . the si atoms are estimated to be derived from the low molecular weight compound p (- dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ) as the first organic semiconductor material . the c atoms are those included in the first organic semiconductor material , the second organic semiconductor material , and the fullerene compound constituting the photoactive layer and are not considered to represent one of the constituent materials . in light of the above , the presence of the high molecular weight compound as the second organic semiconductor material in the photoactive layer formed in example 3 caused the low molecular weight compound to deaggregate , and as a result , the green portions were more uniformly distributed in the photoactive layer formed in example 3 than in the photoactive layer formed in comparative example 3 . experimental example 4 : comparison of characteristics of the organic solar cells ( 4 )— morphology images of the photoactive layers of the organic solar cells of example 3 and comparative example 3 were taken by atomic force microscopy ( afm ) to compare the morphologies of the photoactive layers depending on the presence or absence of the second organic semiconductor material . fig1 shows afm images showing the surface morphologies of the photoactive layer formed in example 3 ( r q = 0 . 75 nm ) and fig1 shows afm images of the photoactive layer formed in comparative example 3 ( r q = 1 . 36 nm ). referring to fig1 and 11 , the surface morphology of the photoactive layer of the photoactive layer formed in example 3 was sharper than that that of the photoactive layer of the photoactive layer formed in comparative example 3 . the improved morphology of the photoactive layer formed in example 3 is thought to be because the presence of the high molecular weight compound ( pcdtbt ) of formula 8 as the second organic semiconductor material in the photoactive layer formed in example 3 caused the first organic semiconductor material ( p - dts ( fbtth 2 ) 2 ) to deaggregate or suppressed and prevented aggregation of the first organic semiconductor material . experimental example 5 : comparison of characteristics of the organic solar cells ( 5 ) changes in the performance of the organic solar cells of comparative examples 6 - 20 depending on the kind of the solvent were investigate by measuring and comparing the characteristics of the organic solar cells . fig1 , 13 , and 14 show the j - v characteristics of the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 , comparative examples 11 - 15 , and comparative examples 16 - 20 when irradiated with light at an energy of 100 mw / cm 2 , respectively . referring to fig1 - 14 and table 6 , the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 were different from the inventive organic solar cells , typified by the organic solar cell of example 3 , in the mixing weight ratio of the second organic semiconductor material and the first organic semiconductor material constituting the photoactive layers . in the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 , the first organic semiconductor material was mixed with the second organic semiconductor material in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 3 - 3 . due to this difference , the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 showed j sc values of 1 . 62 - 3 . 22 ma / cm 2 , open circuit voltages ( v oc ) of 0 . 67 - 0 . 72 v , fill factors of 30 . 38 - 37 . 01 , and pce values of 1 % or less , which were significantly low compared to those of the organic solar cell of example 3 . specifically , the j sc , ff , and pce values of the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 were at least 5 times , 2 times , and 11 times lower than those of the organic solar cell of example 3 , respectively . the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 11 - 15 were different from the organic solar cell fabricated in example 3 in the mixing weight ratio ( 1 : 0 . 3 - 3 ) of the first and second organic semiconductor materials constituting the photoactive layers and the kind of the solvent . due to these differences , the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 11 - 15 showed j sc values of 1 . 46 - 7 . 32 ma / cm 2 , open circuit voltages ( v oc ) of 0 . 57 - 0 . 91 v , fill factors of 30 - 44 , and pce values of 0 . 78 - 2 %. the performance of the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 11 - 15 was slightly improved compared to that of the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 6 - 10 but was still significantly lower than that of the inventive organic solar cell . particularly , the pce values of the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 11 - 15 were a minimum of at least 4 times and a maximum of at least 11 times lower than those of the inventive organic solar cell . the organic solar cells fabricated in comparative examples 10 - 20 were different from the organic solar cell fabricated in example 3 in the mixing weight ratio of the first and second organic semiconductor materials . the organic solar cell of comparative example 16 , whose photoactive layer was formed without the second organic semiconductor material , was measured to have the highest pce (˜ 4 %). from these results , it can be concluded that the inventive organic solar cell achieves a high efficiency of ˜ 8 % when the first organic semiconductor material is mixed with the second organic semiconductor material in a weight ratio of 1 : 0 . 01 - 0 . 04 and a slight increase in the weight proportion of the high molecular weight compound as the second organic semiconductor material leads to a considerable deterioration in performance . furthermore , the performance of the inventive organic solar cells was influenced by the kind of the solvent as well as the mixing weight ratio of the first and second organic semiconductor materials . specifically , the performance of the organic solar cells of comparative examples 16 - 20 , where the solvent was the same as that used in the organic solar cell of example 3 , was slightly increased to ˜ 4 % but the performance of the organic solar cell of comparative examples 6 - 15 , where the solvent was different from that used in the organic solar cell of example 3 , achieved considerably low efficiencies of only & lt ; 2 %. changes in the performance of the organic solar cell of example 3 at a high temperature of 110 ° c . were investigated by measuring and comparing the characteristics of the organic solar cells of example 3 and comparative example 3 . specifically , 20 min , 40 min , 60 min , 80 min , 100 min , and 120 min after each of the organic solar cells of example 3 and comparative example 3 was heated in an oven at 110 ° c ., the photoelectric conversion efficiency ( pce ), fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values of the organic solar cell were measured . the measured photoelectric conversion efficiency ( pce ), fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values are shown in fig1 , 16 , and 17 , respectively . fig1 shows changes in the photoelectric conversion efficiency ( pce ) of the organic solar cells fabricated in example 3 and comparative example 3 , which were measured at 110 ° c . at the given time points . fig1 shows changes in the fill factor ( ff ) of the organic solar cells fabricated in example 3 and comparative example 3 , which were measured at 110 ° c . at the given time points . fig1 shows changes in the j sc of the organic solar cells fabricated in example 3 and comparative example 3 , which were measured at 110 ° c . at the given time points . as shown in fig1 , 16 , and 17 , the organic solar cell of example 3 maintained its initial pce , fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values for up to 20 min , and thereafter , began to gradually lose its performance . the maximum pce , fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values of the organic solar cell of example 3 were reduced by 40 %, 10 %, and 20 - 30 % for 40 - 120 min , respectively . unlike the inventive organic solar cell , the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 , whose photoactive layer was formed using the same solvent as that used in the inventive organic solar cell without the second organic semiconductor material , began to rapidly lose its performance from the beginning of exposure to high temperature . specifically , the pce , fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 were reduced by 10 %, 10 - 20 %, and 10 % for the initial 20 min , respectively . thereafter , the pce , fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 fell to half their initial values for 40 - 120 min . the performance of the organic solar cell of example 3 after exposure to 110 ° c . for 120 min was compared with that of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 . as a result , the pce of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 was reduced to 0 . 2 , which is 3 times lower than that of the organic solar cell of example 3 . the fill factor ( ff ) of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 was reduced to 0 . 6 , which is 1 . 3 times lower than that of the organic solar cell of example 3 . the j sc of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 was reduced to 0 . 4 , which is at least 2 times lower than that of the organic solar cell of example 3 . these results concluded that despite the use of the same solvent , the life characteristics of the comparative organic solar cell of comparative example 3 , whose photoactive layer was formed without the second organic semiconductor material , were deteriorated considerably when exposed to high temperature . specifically , the pce , ff , and j sc values of the inventive organic solar cell were maintained at 60 - 80 % of their initial values when exposed to a high temperature of 100 - 200 ° c . for 40 - 150 min . in contrast , the pce , ff , and j sc values of the organic solar cell fabricated without using the second organic semiconductor material were reduced to 60 % or less ( a maximum of 20 %) of their initial values when exposed to the same temperature for 1 h . these values are 1 . 3 times ( a maximum of 3 times ) lower than those of the inventive organic solar cell . time - dependent changes in the performance of the organic solar cell fabricated in example 9 were measured in order to investigate whether the performance of the organic solar cell was maintained stable for a long time . specifically , changes in the photoelectric conversion efficiency ( pce ), fill factor ( ff ), j sc , and v oc of the organic solar cell of example 9 were measured at 65 ° c . and 85 % relative humidity ( rh ) for 0 - 1000 h . fig1 shows the photoelectric conversion efficiency ( pce ), fill factor ( ff ), j sc , and v oc values of the organic solar cell of example 9 , which were measured at 65 ° c . and 85 % relative humidity ( rh ) at given time points . as shown in fig1 , the organic solar cell of example 9 maintained its initial pce , fill factor ( ff ), and j sc values for up to 700 h , and thereafter , began to gradually lose its performance . however , fig1 shows that the pce and ff values of the organic solar cell of example 9 were reduced by at most 10 % even after 800 h and the initial j sc and v oc values of the organic solar cell were substantially maintained for up to 1000 h . these results demonstrate high stability of the inventive organic solar cell in the ordinary environment at 85 % rh for a maximum of 1000 - 1500 h . experiment example 8 : analysis of performance of the organic solar cells depending on the presence or absence of bt unit in the second organic semiconductor materials significant changes in the performance of the organic solar cells were observed depending on the presence or absence of the bt unit in the second organic semiconductor materials although the second organic semiconductor materials are represented by the same formula . this was verified by measuring and comparing the characteristics of the organic solar cells of example 10 and comparative examples 3 and 21 . specifically , the organic solar cells fabricated in example 10 and comparative examples 3 and 21 were measured for j - v characteristics when irradiated with light at an energy of 100 mw / cm 2 . the results are shown in fig1 . the organic solar cells fabricated in example 10 and comparative examples 3 and 21 were measured for external quantum efficiency ( eqe , %). the results are shown in fig2 . the measured parameters of the organic solar cells of example 10 and comparative examples 3 and 21 shown in fig1 and 20 are summarized in table 7 . as shown in fig1 and 20 and table 7 , the organic solar cell of comparative example 21 showed the same performance as the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 fabricated without using any second organic semiconductor material . specifically , the organic solar cell of comparative example 21 showed a j sc of 14 . 57 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 76 v , a fill factor of 59 . 10 , and a pce of 6 . 54 %. in contrast , the organic solar cell of example 10 showed a j sc of 15 . 18 ma / cm 2 , an open circuit voltage ( v oc ) of 0 . 79 v , a fill factor of 66 . 04 , and a pce of 7 . 92 %, which are comparable to those of the organic solar cells using the polymer compound of formula 8 as a second organic semiconductor material . these results conclude that the organic solar cell using the second organic semiconductor material of formula 9 including the bt unit can achieve a high efficiency of at least 7 % with a maximum of 7 . 92 %, which is significantly higher by ≧ 1 % than the pces of the organic solar cell of comparative example 3 fabricated without using any second organic semiconductor material and the organic solar cell of comparative example 21 fabricated using the second organic semiconductor material without the bt unit . | 2 |
the objects , characteristics and effects of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the illustration of related drawings as follows . with reference to fig1 and 2 for a partial cross - sectional view and an exploded view of an antenna of a wireless communication device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively , the antenna 1 comprises a first flexible laminate substrate 11 , a second flexible laminate substrate 13 and an antenna metal layer 15 . the antenna 1 is installed on a surface of a case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 . in fig1 and 2 , the antenna 1 of this preferred embodiment is attached onto the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 by the second flexible laminate substrate 13 , and the antenna metal layer 15 is disposed between the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 , and the antenna metal layer 15 is in contact with the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 . therefore , a side opposite to the contact side of the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the antenna metal layer 15 is aligned outwardly and provided for forming a trademark , a text or a symbol onto the first flexible laminate substrate 11 directly to achieve an aesthetic antenna of this preferred embodiment of the present invention . in another preferred embodiment , a slot 23 is formed on the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 and provided for installing the antenna 1 therein . wherein , the slot 23 serves as a space for installing the antenna 1 as shown in fig2 . in actual implementations , the slot 23 is not absolutely necessary , since the antenna 1 can be attached onto the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 directly . the antenna 1 can be attached by the following methods . for example , an adhesive 25 is applied to a part of the whole bottom surface of the second flexible laminate substrate 13 for attaching the antenna 1 onto a surface of the case 21 ; or the antenna 1 is snapped into the slot 23 formed on the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 ; or both methods of applying adhesive 25 and snapping the antenna 1 into the slot 23 can be used at the same time . however , these methods are provided as examples for illustrating the way of attaching the antenna 1 , and the invention is not limited to these methods only , and thus any other equivalent method of attaching the antenna 1 onto the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 can be used in the present invention . the antenna metal layer 15 is made of metal ; for example , the antenna metal layer 15 is formed by etching a copper foil . in fig1 , the antenna metal layer 15 has a connection portion 151 for electrically connecting the antenna 1 to a control processing circuit substrate in the wireless communication device 2 . in a preferred embodiment , the connection portion 151 is coupled to a metal wire 27 by a solder 153 ( in other preferred embodiment , a port can be used for the electric connection , and the metal wire 27 is passed through the case 21 and electrically coupled to the control processing circuit substrate in the wireless communication device 2 ( wherein the electric connection is not shown in the figure ). since the antenna 1 is installed on the surface of the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 , therefore the control processing circuit substrate has relatively less signal interference to the antenna 1 . in the preferred embodiment as shown in fig2 , a pattern 10 is directly formed or printed on a surface opposite to the contact surface of the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the antenna metal layer 15 , so that the antenna 1 of this preferred embodiment can have both displaying and indicating functions . the pattern 10 can be formed by the conventional methods such as front - side printing , back - side printing , bronzing , hair - lining , etching , polishing , sand blasting , transprinting , spray - coating or boli processing . the aforementioned pattern can be any pattern , text , symbol or trademark , so that the invention has the functions of integrating pattern display / indication with the antenna . in another preferred embodiment , the antenna metal layer 15 is etched and formed , and then a pattern is formed on the surface of the first flexible laminate substrate 11 opposite to the antenna metal layer 15 , and then the first flexible laminate substrate 11 , the antenna metal layer 15 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 are hot pressed , or the first flexible laminate substrate 11 , the antenna metal layer 15 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 are hot pressed , and then the pattern 10 is formed on a surface of the first flexible laminate substrate 11 opposite to the antenna metal layer 15 . in this preferred embodiment , the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 are made of polycarbonate ( pc ), polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ), polystyrene ( ps ) or mylar . however , the material used for making the first and second laminate substrates 11 , 13 is not limited to those given above , and the persons skilled in the art should be able to adopt an appropriate equivalent material for making the flexible laminate substrates . with reference to fig3 for an exploded view of an antenna of a wireless communication device in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention , the antenna 1 ′ further comprises a flexible circuit board 17 , in addition to the first flexible laminate substrate 11 , the second flexible laminate substrate 13 and the antenna metal layer 15 . the flexible circuit board 17 is installed on the first flexible laminate substrate 11 , and the flexible circuit board 17 is an operation or indication panel of the wireless communication device 2 ′. more specifically , the flexible circuit board 17 includes at least one electronic component embedded therein and a circuit ( not shown in the figure ) electrically coupled to the at least one electronic component . in fig3 , the at least one electronic component is a four - key membrane keypad 171 , and the corresponding through holes 12 formed on the first flexible laminate substrate 11 and the second flexible laminate substrate 13 are provided for passing the case 21 of the wireless communication device 2 ′ and electrically connecting to the control processing circuit substrate ( not shown in the figure ). wherein , the flexible circuit board 17 can be used together with the first flexible laminate substrate 11 having the pattern . for example , the flexible circuit board 17 is a transparent substrate that can show the pattern formed on the first flexible laminate substrate 11 below . it is noteworthy to point out that the antenna metal layer 15 of this preferred embodiment is not disposed at the through hole 12 , but it is disposed at the periphery of the through hole 12 to avoid the through hole 12 . for example , the aforementioned antenna metal layer 15 is disposed in the l - shaped area enclosed by a dotted line as shown in fig3 . of course , other designs ( designed according to specific requirements or specific appearance of an electronic component ) can be adopted , and the installation position of the antenna or the shape of the block can be changed flexibly as long as the circuits of the electronic component are not interfered . in view of the description above , the design of the flexible circuit board 17 of this preferred embodiment further provides a control / operation function of the antenna 1 ′. in other implementation modes , a combination of other electronic components or different electronic components can be adopted . for example , the at least one electronic component can be a set of four light emitting diodes ( not shown in the figure ) used as displays ; or can be combined with the led and the aforementioned membrane keypad , so that users can operate the keypad in a dark environment . in the foregoing preferred embodiment , the plate body of the antenna is in a rectangular shape . of course , the shape of the antenna can be changed in other implementation mode according to the actual requirements of the wireless communication device , and the interior design of the antenna metal layer can be adjusted to change the etched pattern . in the foregoing preferred embodiment , the mobile phone is used as an example for illustrating the wireless communication device with the antenna of the present invention . of course , those skilled in the art can easily think of other implementation modes of the antenna of the wireless communication device such as a wireless mouse , a wireless keyboard , a pda , a notebook computer , an automatic signal return device , or any other equivalent electronic device with an antenna . in summation of the description above , the present invention provide an antenna installed on an outer surface of a wireless communication device case , and the antenna is designed at a position outside the wireless communication device to save the space occupied by related circuits of the antenna inside the wireless communication device , so that the wireless communication device can have a smaller volume and a lighter weight and provide a better and smoother wireless communication effect . in addition , the manufacturers and sellers of the wireless communication device can label the contents of the wireless communication device such as a trademark , a product name or a part number on a surface of the antenna . the invention not only provides more functions of the antenna , but also simplifies pattern labeling elements required by the wireless communication device and replaces the conventional way of labeling the wireless communication device by a plastic name plate , so as to lower the production cost of the wireless communication device and improve the competitiveness of the wireless communication device . while the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments , numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims . | 7 |
the preferred embodiment of the process by which calendar entries are automatically created or detected is shown in fig1 . preferably incoming email , or any other alternate unstructured text ( including the web / html ), is first parsed for any dates , an executive summary , and any relevant text near each date [ 101 ]. unstructured text is assumed to be any form of text that is not already formatted in a documented calendar format ( e . g . vcal ) that would make calendar event creation trivial , but it can also be the latter . if no dates or possible dates are found , no calendar event or additional data is created . in the preferred embodiment , partial dates are allowed , with full dates inferred using heuristics . examples include , but are not limited to : if a day is stated ( e . g . wednesday ), the closest upcoming wednesday &# 39 ; s date is used ( no time ). if a month day is detected ( e . g . the 26 th ) but not the month or year , the current month and year is assumed . in both these examples , additional context also helps set the baseline from which to extrapolate the complete date . one example is the receipt date of the source ( e . g . email message ) itself . the executive summary can also be created using heuristics — e . g . the subject of the email , or the title element of a html page , or the text near the date if all obvious summary elements are missing , etc . if one or more dates are found [ 102 ], a scan is then done to see if this email or source , or the calendar event candidates , are linked to prior sources or calendar entries [ 103 ]. here , the definition of linked is a statistical measure of correlation or relation to prior sources or entries , but also includes direct links ( e . g . the relation is stored directly in a database ). examples of links include , but are not limited to : the source was a reply to an earlier email that contained its own dates / calendar entry candidates , the calendar event candidate is an exact or near duplicate of a currently existing candidate , the source itself appears to be an exact or near duplicate of a prior one , or the calendar event candidate appears to be an exact or near duplicate of popular , frequently discovered entries across multiple users / sources . it should be noted that in another variation of this invention , this check and subsequent actions could be done after scoring , or skipped entirely . if links are found , and new dates are found to be replacements of the old dates ( e . g . the new dates have or will have high scores , and the old dates have equal or lower scores ) [ 105 ], the old calendar entries are either automatically removed , or their score , if not already low , is set to the minimum . alternatively , depending on context , the user may be prompted on what to do with the old entries [ 106 ]. if no new dates are found , or they do not appear to be valid replacements for the prior entries , no additional special action is done for this case . for all cases , a score is then created for each event candidate based off of each date found , the original text , and any relevant context associated with the text ( e . g . prior event creations or other links [ 103 ] [ 104 ]. scores of any linked calendar entries still existing are also recalculated , if necessary . examples of score weights include , but are not limited to : the spam level measured for an email message source ( measured by any currently existing spam filter technology , including detection of bulk emailings vs . individual ), an email source was a reply to a previous email and the date is in the reply vs . the date was found in text copied from the original email ( i . e . the score is adjusted as a function of the chronological history and placement within the entire email thread for the date in question ), the email is from someone in the user &# 39 ; s preferred contact list , the strength of the date inference ( e . g . was the date a full date in the original text in lieu of a partial ), and the uniqueness of the date in general ( e . g . did the unstructured text include many dates or just one ), and the sent to / receive from frequency ratio for that sender in general . after these steps , whether or not the text is found to be linked , the final list of calendar entries is pruned to remove redundant entries or entries whose score is below a bottom threshold [ 107 ]. finally , these entries are created with their score , date , executive summary , links to the original text / email , and links to all relevant and connected calendar entries ( e . g . all entries just created from this text , or linked text ) [ 108 ]. in any system where events are automatically created , it is likely that the user &# 39 ; s calendar will contain far more events than the typical calendar today . it is also possible that errant events could be created ( e . g . two separate calendar entry candidates might be created from the same text : one is correct , one is incorrect ). in order to retain the benefit of automatic event creation , it is critical that the user have immediate global control , including visualization , over the events on the calendar . the first key control for the preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in fig2 and fig4 . this diagram shows the event rendering process . for a day view ( one day displayed ), or week view ( one week displayed ), month view ( month view displayed ), or any alternate sized view in time , a dynamic filter is applied to events to be shown based solely on the score of each event and their date . first , the user adjusts a simple single slider or single input box to set a score threshold [ 401 ]. the calendar is then re - rendered , beginning with the retrieval of event candidates [ 201 ]. for each event , if the event &# 39 ; s score ( priority ) is greater than the set threshold , and if the event &# 39 ; s date is within the range of the current view selected on the calendar [ 202 ], it is rendered [ 203 ]. otherwise it is not . if the event e is rendered , it is rendered visually behind ( and slightly offset ) any overlapping events with a score greater than event e &# 39 ; s score , and visually in front of ( and slightly offset ) any events with a score less than e &# 39 ; s score . if there is enough screen real estate , overlapping events can be rendered next to each other , with the position being denoted by the event outline shadow only . the rendering does not have to be completely behind or in front — visually showing prominence is all that is required . unless overridden , each event &# 39 ; s background color , or alternatively , the text color , is also dictated by its score . in this process , if the user sets the threshold to the max , the calendar will immediately display only the most important / relevant calendar entries . in the preferred embodiment , these entries represent entries that the user has carefully created or manually marked as important / correct . if the user sets the threshold to the minimum , all discovered entries will be shown . thresholds set in between render a set of events in between these two . such a system not only allows the user to quickly visualize and adjust large amounts of calendar events — it also allows them to quickly fill / see possibilities for calendar dates that do not contain important / top score events ( e . g . all choice dates / time for a meeting not yet set are rendered , or all event choices for an otherwise empty evening without an important calendar event can be shown ). this is in contrast with alternate calendar interfaces , where the user would have to repeatedly click multiple channels on and off to get the event mix they need , or , the events they would like to visualize are not even present since they were not automatically created . in order to highlight any new calendar entries , the preferred embodiment of this invention also includes the ability to temporarily highlight — via a different color , border , or border animation — new automatically created entries or entry candidates independent of their score , or rather , temporary increase the score of new calendar entries . this rendering can be done in any manner , but it is preferred that it be complimentary and not mutually exclusive or conflicting in how all other calendar entries are rendered . this allows the user to quickly identify new entries , and take action on them . a visual example of a simple calendar system with global threshold control is shown in fig4 . by adjusting the slider [ 401 ] to the minimum setting , only important events [ 402 ] will be rendered . by adjusting the slider to the maximum , all events will be rendered [ 402 , 403 ]. the second key user calendar control for the preferred embodiment of this invention is the ability of the user to quickly adjust or mark a particular event of a set as valid / unique , or perform an alternate action that globally modifies that event and all related events . this is shown in fig3 . since it is possible for the automated system to find multiple candidate dates from a source ( e . g . someone sent an email with three choices of dates , and later confirmed verbally or via email which was the right date ), and not automatically detect that it should remove or adjust a particular entry instead of creating a new one , in this case , the user must adjust their calendar . for a particular group of events that originated all from the same text source , or were linked via the process in fig1 to other calendar entries , by clicking on any one event ( or any other alternate control that references that event ) that the user knows is the right date and time of a valid event , or of interest in some other fashion [ 301 ], the user can mark this event as valid / unique , or perform an alternate action across the entire group of events . in doing so , all the other related events are immediately dropped from the calendar without further user intervention [ 302 , 303 ], or , alternatively , adjusted according to the user &# 39 ; s wish ( e . g . all events should be raised in priority ). the net result is a single user click ( on occasion ), as opposed to the user repeatedly updating / changing an event with the new information . in the preferred embodiment of this invention , the single source of unstructured text that is used as the source for calendar entries is email , as this is a primary source from which users receive calendar - worthy notes from work , friends , or favorite websites that send email updates . in an alternate variation of this invention , other sources could also be linked in and used , which include , but are not limited to : sms , favorite websites ( direct from the site , not via emails ), published databases or calendars , or the entire web in general ( filtered by high level preferences ) in the preferred embodiment of this invention , a calendar and email application are an integrated system — there is no separate calendar event storage , or , at a minimum , each application component has full access to the other &# 39 ; s data . one example would be to store additional calendar event data as headers or as separate emails within a specific folder on an imap server . another would be to add additional link and parsed mail information into a traditional calendar event database . this allows for streamlined performance , and a cleaner , integrated interface ( e . g . “ today &# 39 ; s ” unread emails that have no additional date / event information would show up as moving event items in the current day view ), assisting in presenting email and calendar data as the same tools , with each just being a different view of the same data or integrated data . in an alternate variation , this entire system can be implemented on top of any preexisting calendar system feature set or application that has an api for event manipulation . for example , a current calendar system that uses channels or category to color calendar entries , in lieu of a score , can continue to do so . the additional automatic creation and visualization would apply only to those events automatically created , which could be done per channel or category , or , globally , for example . in another variation , the primary calendar can use background images rendered behind or around the text of each calendar event as the identifying marker for the calendar entry &# 39 ; s category , and keep color as the marker for priority or score . in another variation , the use of background images and color could be reversed . the background images need not be square or of any traditional shape . the background images can also be used simultaneously with color — in one variation , the background images can be skewed in color according to a color chosen for the event &# 39 ; s score if background images are used for category , or for the event &# 39 ; s category if background images are used for score . | 6 |
the compounds of the present invention provide a novel class of heterocyclic ureas and thioureas which are acat inhibitors , rendering them useful in treating hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis . illustrative examples of straight or branched alkyl groups having from 1 to 16 carbon atoms are methyl , ethyl , n propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , iso - butyl , tert - butyl , n - pentyl , isopentyl , n - hexyl , n - heptyl , n - octyl , n - undecyl , n - dodecyl , n - hexadecyl , 2 , 2 - dimethyldodecyl , and 2 - ethyltetradecyl . as is apparent from formula i above , the compounds of the present invention are arylureas and arylthioureas containing a substituted heterocyclic group selected from triazoles ( 1 and 2 ); 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazoles ( 3 ); 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazoles ( 4 ); 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazoles ( 5 ); and 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazoles ( 6 ). pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of formula i are also included as a part of the present invention . suitable acids for forming acid salts of the compounds of this invention containing a basic group include , but are not necessarily limited to acetic , benzoic , benzenesulfonic , tartaric , hydrobromic , hydrochloric , citric , fumaric , gluconic , glucuronic , glutamic , lactic , malic , maleic , methanesulfonic , pamoic , salicylic , stearic , succinic , sulfuric , and tartaric acids . the acid addition salts are formed by procedures well known in the art . the base salts may be generated from compounds of formula i by reaction of the latter with one equivalent of a suitable nontoxic , pharmaceutically acceptable base followed by evaporation of the solvent employed for the reaction and recrystallization of the salt , if required . the compounds of formula i may be recovered from the base salt by reaction of the salt with an aqueous solution of a suitable acid such as hydrobromic , hydrochloric , or acetic acid . suitable bases for forming base salts of the compounds of this invention include amines such as triethylamine or dibutylamine , or alkali metal bases and alkaline earth metal bases . preferred alkali metal hydroxides and alkaline earth metal hydroxides as salt formers are the hydroxides of lithium , sodium , potassium , magnesium , or calcium . the class of bases suitable for the formation of nontoxic , pharmaceutically acceptable salts is well known to practitioners of the pharmaceutical formulation arts . see , for example , stephen n . berge , et al , j pharm sci 16 , 1 19 ( 1977 ). certain compounds of the present invention may also exist in different stereoisomeric forms by virtue of the presence of asymmetric centers in the compound . the present invention contemplates all stereoisomeric forms of the compounds as well as mixtures thereof , including racemic mixtures . individual stereoisomers may be obtained , if desired , by methods known in the art as , for example , the separation of stereoisomers on chiral chromatographic columns . further , the compounds of this invention may exist in unsolvated as well as solvated forms with pharmaceutically acceptable solvents such as water , ethanol , and the like . in general , the solvated forms are considered equivalent to the unsolvated forms for the purposes of this invention . as shown by the data presented below in table 1 , the compounds of the present invention are potent inhibitors of the enzyme acyl - coa : cholesterol acyltransferase ( acat ), and are thus effective in inhibiting the esterification and transport of cholesterol across the intestinal cell wall . the compounds of the present invention are thus useful in pharmaceutical formulations for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia or atherosclerosis . the ability of representative compounds of the present invention to inhibit acat was measured using an in vitro test more fully described by field , f . j . and salone , r . g ., in biochemica et biophysica 712 : 557 - 570 ( 1982 ). the test assesses the ability of a test compound to inhibit the acylation of cholesterol by oleic acid by measuring the amount of radiolabeled cholesterol oleate formed from radiolabeled oleic acid in a tissue preparation containing rabbit intestinal microsomes . the data appear in table 1 where they are expressed in ic 50 values ; i . e ., the concentration of test compound required to inhibit 50 % expression of the enzyme . table 1______________________________________compound ic . sub . 50of example ( μm ) ______________________________________ 1 & gt ; 5 2 & gt ; 5 4 4 . 2 6 & gt ; 5 7 0 . 14 8 0 . 11 9 0 . 6710 0 . 2511 1 . 512 1 . 513 0 . 6014 0 . 6815 0 . 3916 1 . 717 4 . 718 0 . 03919 & gt ; 520 0 . 4021 0 . 15022 0 . 03623 0 . 03424 & gt ; 525 0 . 01826 0 . 00727 & gt ; 5______________________________________ in one in vivo screen designated apcc , male sprague - dawley rats ( 200 to 225 g ) were randomly divided into treatment groups and dosed orally at 4 pm with either vehicle ( cmc / tween ) or suspensions of test compounds in vehicle . the control group received vehicle alone . immediately after dosing , all animals received ad libitum a chow diet supplemented with peanut oil ( 5 . 5 %), cholesterol ( 1 . 5 %) and cholic acid ( 0 . 5 %). the next day the animals were sacrificed at 8 am to obtain blood samples for cholesterol analysis using standard procedures . statistical differences between mean cholesterol values for the same vehicle were determined using analysis of variance followed by fisher &# 39 ; s least significant test . the results of this trial for representative compounds of the present invention appear in table 2 . the compounds were administered at 30 milligrams per kilogram of body weight . table 2______________________________________compound % changeof example ( mg / dl ) ______________________________________ 1 - 38 2 - 31 4 + 12 6 - 1 7 - 38 8 - 39 9 - 2110 - 3611 - 3012 - 2813 - 4114 - 2115 + 1216 - 617 - 1118 - 4420 - 2521 - 4522 - 823 - 3225 - 62______________________________________ in therapeutic use as agents for treating hypercholesterolemia or atherosclerosis , the compounds of formula i or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof are administered to the patient at dosage levels of from 250 to 300 mg per 70 kg of body weight , this translates into a dosage of from 5 to 40 mg / kg of body weight per day . the specific dosages employed , however , may be varied depending upon the requirements of the patient , the severity of the condition being treated , and the activity of the compound being employed . the determination of optimum dosages for a particular situation is within the skill of the art . for preparing the pharmaceutical compositions from the compounds of this invention , inert , pharmaceutically acceptable carriers can be either solid or liquid . solid form preparations include powders , tablets , dispersible granules , capsules , and cachets . a solid carrier can be one or more substances which may also act as diluents , flavoring agents , solubilizers , lubricants , suspending agents , binders , or tablet disintegrating agents ; it can also be an encapsulating material . in powders , the carrier is a finely divided solid which is in a mixture with the finely divided active component . in tablets , the active compound is mixed with the carrier having the necessary binding properties in suitable proportions and compacted in the shape and size desired . powders and tablets preferably contain between about 5 % to about 70 % by weight of the active ingredient . suitable carriers are magnesium dicarbonate , magnesium stearate , talc , lactose , sugar , pectin , dextrin , starch , tragacanth , methyl cellulose , sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , a low melting wax , cocoa butter , and the like . the term &# 34 ; preparation &# 34 ; is intended to include the formulation of the active compound with encapsulating material as a carrier providing a capsule in which the active component ( with or without other carriers ) is surrounded by a carrier , which is thus in association with it . in a similar manner , cachets are also included . tablets , powders , cachets , and capsules can be used as solid dosage form suitable for oral administration . liquid form preparations include solutions , suspensions , or emulsions suitable for oral administration . aqueous solutions for oral administration can be prepared by dissolving the active compound in water and adding suitable flavorants , coloring agents , stabilizers , and thickening agents as desired . aqueous suspensions for oral use can be made by dispersing the finely divided active component in water together with a viscous material such as natural or synthetic gums , resins , methyl cellulose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , and other suspending agents known to the pharmaceutical formulation art . preferably , the pharmaceutical preparation is in unit dosage form . in such form , the preparation is divided into unit doses containing appropriate quantities of the active component . the unit dosage form can be a packaged preparation containing discrete quantities of the preparation , for example , packeted tablets , capsules , and powders in vials or ampoules . the unit dosage form can also be a capsule , cachet , or tablet itself , or it can be the appropriate number of these packaged forms . the compounds of formula i are prepared by various routes as depicted in the flow chart hereof . in scheme i of the flow chart there is depicted the synthesis of compounds of formula i wherein het is the group ( 2 ) wherein r 9 is a straight or branched alkylc 1 - c 16 . in scheme i the aminoguanidine ( a ), which is commercially available , is reacted with an appropriate acid , wherein r a is a straight or branched alkylc 1 - c 16 , in the presence of n , n - dimethylaniline to give the substituted triazole amine ( c ). the amine ( c ) is reacted with an appropriate acylhalide ( d ) wherein alkyl is straight or branched and has from 1 to 6 carbon atoms to give the acyl amine derivative ( e ), which is reacted with an isocyanate or isothiocyanate ( f ) to give compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 2 ) and further wherein r 8 is ## str5 ## and r 9 is a straight or branched alkyl c 1 - c 16 . compounds ( g ) can be hydrolyzed to the corresponding compounds of formula i wherein r 8 is hydrogen . in scheme i r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and x have the meanings defined in formula i . the compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 2 ) wherein r 9 is -- s ( o ) p alkyl wherein the alkyl moiety is straight or branched and has from 1 to 16 carbon atoms are prepared as depicted in scheme ii of the flow chart . the commercially available thiotriazolamine ( i ) is alkylated using an appropriate r b halo reagent wherein halo is , e . g ., chlorine and r b is a straight or branched alkyl group having from 1 to 16 carbon atoms , to give compounds ( j ) which are acylated to give the intermediate compounds ( k ). the intermediates ( k ) are reacted with an appropriate isocyanate or isothiocyanate to give compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 2 ) and wherein r 9 is -- salkylc 1 - 16 wherein the alkyl moiety is straight or branched and wherein r 8 is ## str6 ## these latter compounds are represented by ( 1 ) in scheme ii and can be hydrolyzed to the corresponding compounds ( m ) of formula i wherein r 8 is hydrogen . the compounds of formulas ( 1 ) and ( m ) can be oxidized to the corresponding compounds of formula i wherein p is one by treatment with one equivalent of m - chloroperbenzoic acid in dichloromethane at from 0 ° c . to 25 ° c . and to the corresponding compounds of formula i wherein p is two by treatment with two equivalents of m - chloroperbenzoic acid in dichloromethane at from 0 ° c . to 25 ° c . the compounds of formula i wherein het represents group ( 1 ), i . e ., wherein het is : ## str7 ## are prepared as shown in scheme iii of the flow chart . the triazole amine ( n ) is alkylated using an appropriate r 7 halo compound ( o ) to give a mixture of compounds ( p ), ( q ), and ( r ) which can be separated chromatographically . the alkylated triazole amine is then reacted with an isocyanate or isothiocyanate to give compounds ( s ), ( t ), and ( u ) which correspond to compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 1 ). in scheme iii the various symbols r 7 , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and x have the meanings defined in formula i . the compounds of formula i wherein the het moiety is group ( 3 ) are prepared as set forth in scheme iv of the flow chart . an appropriate acyl halide ( v ) is reacted with thiosemicarbazide ( w ) to give the intermediate ( x ) which is cyclized by treatment with an acid such as methanesulfonic acid to give the substituted thiadiazole amine ( y ). reaction of ( y ) with an isocyanate or a isothiocyanate gives compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 3 ). the acyl halides ( v ) are commercially available or are prepared from the corresponding acid . in scheme iv , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 7 , and x have the meanings defined in formula i . in scheme v of the flow chart is depicted the synthesis of compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 4 ), i . e ., the 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazoles . the substituted thiadiazole amines ( cc ) are reacted with an isocyanate or isothiocyanate ( dd ) to give compounds ( ee ) which correspond to formula i wherein het is group ( 4 ). the thiadiazole amine ( cc ) is commercially available or can be prepared from an amidine of formula ( aa ) by treatment with potassium thiocyanate as generally described in adv . heterocyl . chem . 5 : 119 ( 1965 ). the amidines are commercially available or can be prepared by treatment of a nitrile , r 10 cn , with ammonia in ammonium chloride under pressure . the nitriles can be obtained from the corresponding alcohols , r 10 oh , by procedures well known in the art . the preparation of compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 5 ) is shown in scheme vi of the flow chart . the substituted oxadiazole amine ( hh ) is obtained by treating a commercially available acid ester ( ff ) with hydrazine in a lower alcohol to give the acylhydrazide ( gg ) which is cyclized with cyanogen bromide by treatment with khco 3 . the oxadiazole amine ( hh ) may also be commercially available . the acid ester ( ff ) can also be prepared readily from the corresponding acid . the oxadiazole amine ( hh ) is reacted with an appropriate isocyanate or isothiocyanate to give compounds ( ii ), which correspond to formula i compounds wherein het is group ( 5 ). in scheme vii of the flow chart is shown the synthesis of compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 6 ). hydroxyguanidine ( jj ) is reacted with an appropriate acid ester , r 7 co 2 me , which is commercially available or can be prepared readily from the acid , to give the oxadiazole amine ( kk ), which is reacted with an isocyanate or thioisocyanate to give compounds ( 11 ), which correspond to compounds of formula i wherein het is group ( 6 ). in schemes vi and vii , the symbols r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 7 , and x have the meanings defined in formula i . the isocyanates and isothiocyanates depicted in the flow charts as ## str8 ## are commercially available or can be prepared by procedures well known in the art , e . g ., see jerry march , advanced organic chemistry , third edition , john wiley & amp ; sons , 1985 , p . 370 . the following specific examples further illustrate the preparation of compounds of the invention . a slurry of aminoguanidine bicarbonate ( 8 . 0 g , 59 mmol ), dodecanoic acid ( 11 . 8 g , 59 mmol ), and n , n - dimethylaniline ( 0 . 1 ml , 0 . 8 mmol ) in toluene ( 100 ml ) was heated under reflux with the azeotropic removal of water ( 72 hours ). the resulting slurry was cooled ( 25 ° c .) and concentrated in vacuo . the residue was partitioned between ethyl acetate ( 300 ml ) and saturated sodium bicarbonate ( 300 ml ). the aqueous layer was back extracted with ethyl acetate , and the combined organics were washed with brine ( 1 × 250 ml ), then dried ( mgso 4 ), and concentrated in vacuo . the resulting solid was dissolved in hot chloroform and chromatographed on silica ( first ethyl acetate , then 90 : 10 chloroform : methanol ). the product containing fractions were combined and concentrated in vacuo to yield 6 . 9 g ( 49 . 1 %) of 3 - amino 5 - undecyl - 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole as an off - white powder , m . p . 128 . 5 °- 132 . 0 ° c . acetyl chloride ( 1 . 04 ml , 14 . 7 mmol ) was added in one portion to a slurry of 3 - amino - 5 - undecyl - 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 3 . 50 g , 14 . 7 mmol ) in thf ( 100 ml ). the resulting slurry was stirred ( 1 hour , 25 ° c . ), then concentrated in vacuo . the residue was suspended in ethyl acetate ( 300 ml ), washed with ice cold water ( 2 × 100 ml ), washed with ice cold brine ( 1 × 100 ml ), then dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated to yield 3 . 66 g ( 89 . 3 %) of 2 - acetyl - 3 - amino - 5 - undecyl - 2h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole as a waxy solid . a slurry of 1 - acetyl - 5 - amino - 3 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 3 . 56 g , 12 . 7 mmol ) was warmed until homogeneous . 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenyl isocyanate ( 2 . 71 ml , 12 . 7 mmol ) was added and the resulting solution was heated under reflux for 15 hours . the resulting solution was cooled ( 20 ° c .) and the precipitate was removed by filtration . the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo and the resulting oil was chromatographed on silica ( 85 : 15 hexane : ethyl acetate ) to yield 4 . 07 g ( 66 . 3 %) of the title compound as a light yellow oil . analysis for c 28 h 45 n 5 o 2 : a solution of n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl )- n &# 39 ;-( 2 - acetyl - 5 - undecyl - 2n - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - yl ) urea ( 2 . 17 g , 4 . 49 mmol ) in methanol ( 50 ml ) was stirred for 24 hours at 25 ° c . the resulting slurry was cooled (- 20 ° c . ), then the precipitate collected by filtration , washed with cold methanol , and dried in a vacuum oven ( 16 hours , 40 ° c .) to yield 1 . 78 g ( 89 . 9 %) of the title compound as a white powder ; m . p . 168 °- 170 ° c . ( resolidified and decomposed at 210 ° c .). employing the general method of example 1 , but using tridecanoic acid instead of dodecanoic acid in step 1 , the title compound was prepared . analysis for c 29 h 47 n 5 o 2 : employing the general method of example 2 but using n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 2 - acetyl - 5 - dodecyl - 2h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - yl ) urea instead of n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl - n &# 39 ;-( 2 - acetyl - 5 - undecyl - 2h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - yl ) urea , the title compound was prepared ; m . p . 154 °- 164 ° c . employing the general method of example 1 but using pentadecanoic acid instead of dodecanoic acid in step 1 , the title compound was prepared . analysis for c 31 h 51 n 5 o 2 : employing the general method of example 2 , but using n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 2 - acetyl - 5 - tetradecyl - 2h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - yl ) urea instead of n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 2 - acetyl - 5 - undecyl - 2h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - yl ) urea , the title compound was prepared ; mp 211 ° c . decomposes . a methanol solution of sodium methoxide was generated by dissolving sodium ( 2 . 06 g , 89 . 6 mmol ) in methanol ( 300 ml ). 3 - amino - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 7 . 5 g , 89 . 6 mmol ) was added and the resulting solution was stirred ( 10 minutes , 25 ° c .). undecylbromide ( 20 . 0 ml , 89 . 6 mmol ) was then added and the resulting solution was heated under reflux for 24 hours . the resulting solution was cooled ( 25 ° c .) and concentrated in vacuo . the residue was taken up in ethyl acetate ( 450 ml ), washed with brine ( 2 × 150 ml ), then dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated in vacuo . the resulting solid was dissolved in a minimal amount of chloroform and chromatographed on silica ( 98 : 2 chloroform : methanol ) to yield 3 . 0 g ( 14 . 0 %) of 3 - amino - 2 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol ( analysis for c 13 h 26 n 4 : calcd : c , 65 . 50 ; h , 10 . 99 ; n , 23 . 50 ; found : c , 65 . 49 ; h , 10 . 98 ; n , 23 . 88 ), 4 . 0 g ( 18 . 7 %) of 3 - amino - 1 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( analysis for c 13 h 26 n 4 : calcd : c , 65 . 50 ; h , 10 . 99 ; n , 23 . 50 ; found : c , 65 . 42 ; h , 10 . 93 ; n , 23 . 48 ), and 0 . 9 g ( 4 . 2 %) of 3 - amino - 4 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( analysis for c 13 h 26 n 4 : calcd : c , 65 . 50 ; h , 10 . 99 ; n , 23 . 50 ; found : c , 65 . 20 ; h , 10 . 92 ; n , 23 . 52 ). a solution of 3 - amino - 2 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 3 . 0 g , 12 . 6 mmol ) and 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenyl isocyanate ( 3 . 9 ml , 19 . 2 mmol ) in thf ( 100 ml ) was heated under reflux ( 40 hours ). the resulting solution was cooled ( 25 ° c .) and concentrated in vacuo . the resulting oil was triturated with hexane and the resulting solid was collected by filtration and recrystallized from hot hexane to yield 2 . 1 g ( 37 . 8 %) of the title compound as a white solid ; mp 146 . 5 °- 147 . 5 ° c . using the procedure of step 2 of example 7 , but using 3 - amino - 1 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole instead of 3 - amino - 1 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole , the title compound was prepared . using the procedure of step 2 of example 7 , but using 3 - amino - 4 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole instead of 3 - amino - 2 - undecyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole , the title compound was prepared . 1 h nmr ( 250 mhz , dmso ) δ 9 . 57 ( s , 1h ), 9 . 31 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 39 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 20 ( m , 3h ), 3 . 92 ( t , 2h ), 3 . 33 ( p , 2h ), 1 . 67 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 20 ( m , 28h ), 0 . 85 ( t , 3h ). employing the general method of example 7 , but using dodecylbromide instead of undecylbromide in step 1 , the title compound was prepared ; mp 128 °- 140 ° c . employing the general method of example 7 , but using dodecyl bromide instead of undecyl bromide in step 1 , the title compound was prepared . employing the general method of example 7 , but using dodecylbromide instead of undecylbromide in step 1 , the title compound was prepared . 12 - bromododecane ( 11 . 7 g , 0 . 05 mol ) was added to a slurry of 3 amino 5 mercapto - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 5 . 0 g , 0 . 043 mol ) and triethyl amine ( 4 . 7 g , 0 . 05 mol ) in acetonitrile ( 150 ml ). the mixture was allowed to reflux for 4 hours , cooled , and the precipitate filtered and recrystallized from acetonitrile to give 9 . 55 g of 2 dodecylthio - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole as a white solid , m . p . 93 °- 99 ° c . acetyl chloride ( 0 . 61 g , 0 . 007 mol ) was added to a cooled ( 0 ° c .) solution of the product of step 1 ( 2 . 0 g , 0 . 007 mol ) and triethyl amine ( 0 . 80 g , 0 . 008 mol ) in thf ( 50 ml ). the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes at 0 ° c ., poured into ethyl acetate , and washed with ice cold water and brine , dried over na 2 so 4 , filtered , and concentrated in vacuo . the solid obtained was washed with acetonitrile and dried in vaco to give 1 - acetyl - 2 - dodecylthio - 5 - aminotriazole as a white solid ( 1 . 5 g ), m . p . 92 °- 97 ° c . 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenylisocyanate ( 2 . 1 g , 0 . 01 mol ) was added to a solution of 4 - acetyl - 5 - dodecylthio - 3 - aminotriazole ( 2 . 8 g , 0 . 09 mol ) in thf ( 80 ml ) and the mixture refluxed for 24 hours . the solution was concentrated in vacuo and the residue triturated with acetonitrile . the mixture obtained was filtered and the filtrate concentrated in vacuo and chromatographed on silica gel , eluting with 5 % to 8 % ethyl acetate in hexanes to give 1 . 1 g of the title compound as an oil . when in the procedure of example 13 an appropriate amount of 13 - bromotridecane was substituted for 12 - bromododecane and the general procedure of steps 1 , 2 , and 3 of example 13 were followed , the title compound was obtained as an oil . the urea of example 14 ( 4 . 4 g , 0 . 0081 mol ) was stirred in methanol ( 100 ml ) at room temperature for 2 hours , the solution was then allowed to stand overnight . the solid obtained was filtered and dried in vacuo to give a white solid ( 2 . 57 g ), m . p . 131 °- 135 ° c . m - chloroperbenzoic acid ( 0 . 26 g , 1 . 49 mmol ) was added to a cooled ( 0 ° c .) solution of the compound of example 15 in dichloromethane ( 25 ml ). the solution was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 4 hours . the mixture was diluted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 100 ml ) and washed sequentially with nahso 3 , water , nahco 3 , and brine , dried over na 2 so 4 , concentrated , and triturated with hexane to give a white solid which was filtered and dried in vacuo to yield 0 . 42 g ; m . p . 178 °- 181 ° c . m - chloroperbenzoic acid ( 0 . 52 g , 3 . 0 mmol ) was added to a cooled ( 0 ° c .) suspension of the compound of example 16 ( 0 . 5 g , 1 mmol ) in dichloromethane ( 25 ml ). the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 18 hours . the reaction was diluted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 100 ml ) and washed sequentially with nahso 3 , water , nahco 3 , dried with na 2 so 4 , filtered , concentrated , and recrystallized from acetonitrile to give 0 . 36 g of a solid , m . p . 136 °- 138 ° c . lauroyl chloride ( 12 . 9 g , 0 . 06 mol ) in thf ( 70 ml ) was added dropwise to a vigorously stirred suspension of thiosemicarbazide ( 10 . 9 g , 0 . 12 mol ) in thf ( 300 ml ) at 0 ° c . after the addition was complete , the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 24 hours . the mixture was concentrated in vacuo to one - quarter of the original volume and filtered through a silica pad , eluting with ethyl acetate ( 500 ml ). the filtrate was concentrated to 250 ml , filtered , and the residue washed with ethyl acetate and dried in vacuo to give 12 . 0 g of a white solid . methanesulfonic acid ( 6 . 26 g , 0 . 065 mol ) was added in one portion to a slurry of the compound prepared in step 1 above ( 11 . 9 g , 0 . 044 mol ) in toluene ( 300 ml ) at 0 ° c . after 5 minutes , the mixture was heated to reflux for 18 hours , allowed to cool to 0 ° c ., filtered , and the residue washed with cold toluene ( 50 ml at 5 ° c ). the solid was dried in vacuo , suspended in water ( 200 ml ), and made basic with ammonium hydroxide ( 0 . 1m ) while stirring vigorously . the resulting solid was filtered , washed with water , dried in vacuo to give 7 . 2 g of a white solid . 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenylisocyanate ( 3 . 85 g , 0 . 019 mol ) was added to a solution of the compound from step 2 above ( 4 . 4 g , 0 . 017 mol ) in acetonitrile ( 150 ml ). the mixture was refluxed for 1 hour and then allowed to stand at room temperature overnight , concentrated to 3 / 4 volume , and filtered . the residue obtained was washed with acetonitrile ( 50 ml ) and hexanes ( 200 ml ) to give 5 . 9 g of a white solid , m . p . 111 °- 113 ° c . when in the procedure of example 18 , step 1 , an appropriate amount of the acyl chloride listed below was substituted for lauroyl chloride and the general procedure of steps 1 , 2 , and 3 of example 18 were followed , the respective compounds listed below were obtained : ______________________________________examplenumber acylchloride compound______________________________________19 acetyl chloride n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methyl - ethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 5 - methyl - 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazol - 2 - yl ) urea , m . p . 295 - 297 ° c ., dec . 20 octanoyl chloride n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methyl - ethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 5 - heptyl - 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazol - 2 - yl ) urea , m . p . 102 - 110 ° c . 21 decanoyl chloride n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methyl - ethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 5 - nonyl - 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazol - 2 - yl ) urea , m . p . 94 - 98 ° c . 22 tetradecanoyl n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methyl - chloride ethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 5 - tridecyl - 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazol - 2 - yl ) urea , m . p . 85 - 91 ° c . 23 tridecanoyl n -[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methyl - chloride ethyl ) phenyl ]- n &# 39 ;-( 5 - dodecyl - 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazol - 2 - yl ) urea , m . p . 93 - 105 ° c . ______________________________________ 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenylisocyanate ( 1 . 9 g , 9 . 4 mmol ) was added to a refluxing solution of 5 - amino - 3 - phenyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole ( 1 . 5 g , 8 . 5 mmol ) in acetonitrile ( 60 ml ). the mixture was refluxed for 18 hours , allowed to cool , filtered , and the filtrate concentrated , taken up in ethyl acetate ( 150 ml ), and washed with water ( 3 × 50 ml ). the organics were dried over na 2 so 4 , filtered , concentrated , and the resulting solid washed with hexane and recrystallized from acetonitrile to give a white solid ( 1 . 50 g , 46 %), m . p . 180 °- 183 ° c . hydrazine ( 1 . 9 ml , 0 . 058 mol ) was added to a solution of methyl tetradecanoate ( 13 . 96 g , 0 . 058 mol ) in methanol ( 300 ml ) and the solution refluxed for 3 days . the mixture was allowed to cool and filtered to yield 6 . 17 g of a crystalline solid , m . p . 107 °- 111 ° c . cyanogen bromide ( 2 . 9 g , 0 . 027 mol ) was added to a mixture of the compound prepared in step 1 above ( 6 . 1 g , 0 . 025 ) and khco 3 ( 2 . 8 g , 0 . 028 mol ) in dioxane / water ( 1 : 1 , 50 ml ) at room temperature . the mixture was refluxed for 1 hour , allowed to cool , filtered , washed with dioxane / water ( 1 : 1 , 20 ml ), then water ( 50 ml ), and dried in vacuo . the solid was recrystallized from chloroform to yield 4 . 16 g , m . p . 147 °- 150 ° c . triethylamine ( 1 . 67 g , 0 . 017 mol ) was added to a solution of the compound prepared in step 2 above ( 4 . 0 g , 0 . 015 mol ) in acetonitrile ( 200 ml ) and the mixture refluxed for 30 minutes or until solution becomes homogeneous . 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenyl isocyanate ( 3 . 71 g , 0 . 018 mol ) was then added and reflux continued for 18 hours . the mixture was allowed to cool , concentrated , diluted with water ( 20 ml ), filtered , and the solid columned on silica gel , eluting with 20 % ethyl acetate in hexanes ( loaded in chloroform ) to give 0 . 54 g of a solid ; m . p 114 °- 116 . 5 ° c . sodium metal ( 1 . 6 g , 0 . 068 mol ) was added to 4 å molecular sieves ( 12 g ) and ethanol ( 200 ml ) under nitrogen . the mixture was stirred for 15 minutes , then hydroxyguanidine sulfate ( 9 . 32 g , 0 . 035 mol ) added and the mixture stirred for 30 minutes . methyltetradecanoate ( 1 . 43 g , 0 . 006 mol ) was then added and the mixture refluxed for 1 . 5 hours , allowed to cool , filtered , and concentrated . the concentrate was partitioned between ch 2 cl 2 and water . the organic layer was washed with water and brine , dried with na 2 so 4 , filtered , concentrated , and triturated with hexane . the resulting solid was filtered , washed with hexane , and dried in vacuo to yield 0 . 23 g , m . p . 90 °- 91 ° c . 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenylisocyanate ( 0 . 29 g , 0 . 0013 mol ) was added to a refluxing solution of the compound prepared in step 1above ( 0 . 18 g , 0 . 65 mmol ) in acetonitrile ( 20 ml ) and the mixture refluxed overnight . the solution was allowed to cool to room temperature , concentrated , triturated with acetonitrile to yield a solid which was recrystallized from acetonitrile to yield 0 . 15 g , m . p . 99 °- 101 °. when in the procedure of example 13 , step 1 , an appropriate amount of methyliodide is substituted for 12 - bromododecane and the general procedure of steps 1 , 2 , and 3 of example 13 are followed , 4 - acetyl - n -[[[ 2 , 6 - bis ( 1 - methylethyl ) phenyl ] amino ] carbonyl ]- 5 -( 1 - methylthio )- 4h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - amine is obtained . when this 4 - acetyl derivative is substituted for the compound of example 14 in the procedure of example 15 , the title compound is obtained , m . p . 192 °- 197 ° c . ( dec .). ## str9 ## | 2 |
referring to fig1 a device containing the visual message waiting indicator ( vmwi ) circuit 12 and a telephone handset 20 are coupled through a line 19 to a telephone jack 18 . the telephone jack 18 is coupled to a telephone line coupled to a central telephone office ( not shown ). the line 19 receives a frequency shift keying ( fsk ) class signal 14 or a stutter dial tone signal 16 from the central telephone office to identify waiting voice mail messages . the vmwi circuit 12 detects either the class signal 14 or stutter tone signal 16 according to different triggering situations described in detail below . if the vmwi circuit 12 detects a class signal 14 identifying a waiting voice mail message , a visual indicator 34 is activated . the vmwi circuit 12 selectively enables stutter dial tone detection if the class signal is not detected after certain triggering conditions . if stutter dial tone detection is enabled and a stutter dial tone signal 16 is detected , the visual indicator 34 is activated . after the visual indicator 13 is activated , the vmwi circuit 12 no longer monitors the stutter dial tone signal 16 until another triggering event occurs . after the next triggering event , if neither the class or stutter dial tone signals are present , light 13 is shut off . the vmwi circuit 12 is shown located in a separate device from the telephone handset 20 . however , it is understood that the vmwi circuit 12 can be integrated inside a variety of devices including the same casing with the telephone handset 20 , the same casing with a caller id unit , the same casing with a personal computer , or the same casing with any number of telephone accessories . referring to fig2 the vmwi signal detection circuit 12 includes an fsk receiver 26 coupled between the telephone lines 13 and a micro - controller 28 . a diode bridge circuit 22 couples the tip and ring telephone lines to a transistor 30 and a voltage divider circuit 31 . an operational amplifier circuit 32 is coupled between the telephone lines 13 and the micro - controller 28 . a light - emitting diode ( led ) 34 is activated by the micro - controller 28 during a voice mail waiting condition . a low power monitoring circuit 36 is coupled between a battery supply 39 and the micro - controller 28 . the diodes 22 protect against improperly wired phone jacks . the voltage divider 31 divides the voltage on the telephone line 13 down to particular voltage levels corresponding to an off - hook condition and a phone ringing condition . the micro - controller 28 monitors the off - hook and ringing signals to determine triggering conditions that initiate class and stutter dial tone detection schemes . the transistor circuit 30 is activated by the micro - controller 28 to simulate an off - hook condition and then the vmwi circuit 12 is enabled to detect stutter dial tones . the operational amplifier ( op - amp ) circuit 32 is shown in detail in fig3 . telephone lines 13 are coupled to the inverting terminal of an operational amplifier ( op - amp ) 41 . the op - amp circuit 32 includes a filtering circuit 40 that screens out some low and high frequencies from the telephone lines 13 . an output terminal of op - amp 41 generates a tone signal . a power control signal ( opgnd ) is coupled between the op - amp 41 and the micro - controller 28 . the amplifier circuit 32 translates signals on the telephone line 13 into square waves and outputs the conditioned tone signal to the micro - controller 28 . the opgnd line is driven by the micro - controller 28 and turns the op - amp 41 on and off . referring back to fig2 the low power monitoring circuit 36 checks the condition of the battery supply 39 . the micro - controller 28 pulls the emitter terminal of transistor q2 to ground . if the battery supply 39 is higher than 4 volts , transistor q2 is turned on and the collector terminal of q2 is pulled low . if the battery supply 39 drops below 4 volts , transistor q2 does not turn on and the voltage at the collector terminal is not driven low . after pulling the emitter terminal of transistor q2 to ground , the micro - controller 28 monitors the voltage level at the collector terminal of q2 . after identifying a high logic level at the collector terminal of q2 ( low battery voltage less than 4 volts ), the microprocessor blinks the led 34 twice every second . the double blink of led 34 identifies a low battery condition to the phone user . blinking the led 34 is performed by the micro - controller 28 by driving the line to the led 34 to ground for one 1 / 16 second period every second . during a low battery condition , the micro - controller 28 double blinks the led . a double blink comprises driving the line to led 34 low for a 1 / 32 of a second , driving the line high for a 1 / 32 of a second , driving the line low again for a 1 / 32 of a second and then driving the line high for the remainder of a one second period . the double blink provides an indication to a user of both a voice mail waiting condition and a low battery condition . the fractional activation of led 34 conserves power used by the vmwi circuit 12 . to check for a stutter dial tone , the micro - controller 28 simulates an off - hook condition by activating the seize signal which turns on transistor q1 30 . the micro - controller 28 also turns on the op - amp circuit 32 by grounding the opgnd signal . the co switch responds either with a normal dial tone or , if a message is waiting , a stutter dial tone . the micro - controller 28 identifies a stutter dial tone by monitoring the amplitude of the square waves output from op - amp circuit 32 . since the op - amp circuit 32 is activated only while checking for stutter dial tone , the amount of energy required to detect stutter dial tones is reduced . of particular interest is the operation of the frequency shift keying ( fsk ) receiver 26 . the fsk receiver is manufactured by the exar corporation and is well known to those skilled in the art . the capacitor / resistor network 24 isolates d . c . so there is no d . c . load on the telephone line 13 and acts as a filter . the class signal which identifies a message waiting signal can come into the fsk receiver 26 at any time . the receiver typically would be activated continuously to identify any randomly transmitted class signals from the co . however , continuously activating the receiver 26 requires too much power for a battery - operated vmwi circuit 12 device . to conserve energy , the vmwi circuit 12 conducts a two - phase polling protocol . referring to fig4 class signals comprise a 250 millisecond channel seizure signal which contains a 12 thousand hertz ( 12 khz ) and 22 khz alternating burst of the class signal . the class signal 14 then includes a mark signal followed by a data bit field . the data bit field contains information regarding voice mail waiting conditions . the channel seizure signal and mark signal together will be referred to as the preamble . the micro - controller 20 activates the receiver pwrup signal that turns on the fsk receiver 26 for a 20 millisecond ( msec ) period . if the receiver 26 does not identify the 1200 hz and 2200 hz signals during the 20 msec period 42 , the micro - controller 28 shuts off the receiver 26 . the micro - controller turns the receiver 26 back on after 250 msecs at time period 44 . if the preamble is detected during the second 20 millisecond interval , the micro - controller 28 keeps the receiver on for decoding the data field . the micro - controller 28 turns the led 34 on when the data field of the class signal 14 indicates a voice mail waiting condition or turns the led 34 off if the data field indicates a no voice mail waiting condition . the time period that the micro - controller 28 uses to poll the preamble ensures detection of the preamble 14 . polling activation periods less than 20 msecs can be repeated for periods longer than 250 msecs and still detect the class signal thereby further increasing power conservation . other polling techniques are also possible and come within the scope of the invention . other class vmwi receivers remain in a continuous powered - on state . the receiver in vmwi circuit 12 is turned on for short time periods while polling for a valid class signal . thus , the vmwi circuit 12 uses only a fraction of the energy of current class detection circuits . as a result , the vmwi circuit 12 can be powered by four aa batteries for approximately one year . battery power allows the vmwi circuit 12 to be installed more easily in different phone locations , operate more reliably during a . c . power line outages and prevents damage from a . c . power surges . fig5 is a step diagram describing the steps performed by the vmwi circuit 12 when polling the class signal 14 . the micro - controller 28 of the vmwi circuit 12 is powered up in step 50 . in step 52 , the micro - controller 28 puts the fsk receiver 26 to sleep for a predetermined period of time ( t1 ). the time period t1 is less than the time period of the preamble of the class signal 14 ( fig4 ). for example , the preamble for the class signal 14 is 400 milliseconds . accordingly , the micro - controller 28 is preprogrammed to turn on the fsk receiver 26 at a time period t1 of 300 msecs . in step 54 , the micro - controller 28 is programmed to keep the fsk receiver on during each polling period for a duration t2 . in the embodiment shown in fig4 the time period t2 is 20 msec . decision step 56 determines whether the class frequency exists in the preamble . if no class signal is detected , the micro - controller 28 jumps back to step 52 , shutting off the fsk receiver 26 until the next sampling time t1 . if the class signal is detected , the micro - controller 28 keeps the fsk receiver 26 on in step 58 to read the data field of the class signal 14 . decision step 60 processes the class data to determine if a voice mail message exists or has been deleted . if no voice mail message is identified and the led 34 was previously activated , the micro - controller 28 turns off the led 34 in step 61 . the vmwi circuit 12 then jumps back to step 52 and puts the fsk receiver back to sleep until the next time period t1 . if a voice mail message is indicated by the class signal 14 , the micro - controller 28 activates the led 34 in step 62 . to conserve energy , the led 34 is blinked once every second for a fraction of a second . the vmwi circuit 12 then puts the fsk receiver 26 back to sleep until the next polling period t1 . as described above , the vmwi circuit 12 operates for both stutter dial tone and class signal environments . not only does the vmwi circuit 12 operate in both environments , but maximizes performance of voice mail detection by exploiting the advantageous characteristics of both the class and stutter dial tone signals transmitted from the co . referring to fig6 the vmwi circuit 12 is powered up in step 64 . stutter dial detection and class signal detection are both enabled in step 66 at initial power up ( multisensing ). decision step 68 periodically monitors for a class signal as described above in fig5 . if a class signal is detected , stutter dial tone detection is cancelled in step 70 . if the class signal is not detected by the vmwi circuit 12 , decision step 69 then continues to monitor for a valid fsk / class signal until a scheduled time for a dial tone test . step 72 conducts a stutter dial tone detection test . of significant importance in the current invention is the detection evaluation process that takes place after every voice mail triggering condition . decision step 74 represents two triggering conditions which may prelude leaving a voice mail message . for example , voice mail messages are often left if a caller is attempting to make a call to a telephone number that is currently in use . thus , one triggering condition occurs any time the telephone is put back on hook . voice mail messages may also be left after a phone goes unanswered after ringing . thus , a second trigger condition is prompted by a telephone ring that is not followed by an off - hook condition . decision step 74 continuously monitors for any one of the possible voice mail waiting triggering conditions described above . at the same time , the micro - controller 28 continues to periodically poll for the class signal . if a triggering condition occurs , step 76 sets a predetermined amount of time and then jumps back to decision step 68 . the time period is around 30 seconds after an off - hook condition and around four minutes after a ring no - answer condition . decision step 68 again determines whether a class signal was transmitted from the co during the predetermined time period . if no class signal was detected , stutter dial tone is tested in step 72 . a central telephone office generally generates a stutter dial tone representing a voice mail waiting condition with higher priority than a class signal identifying a similar voice mail waiting condition . for example , a class signal may be transmitted several minutes after a telephone is placed &# 34 ; on - hook &# 34 ;. conversely , a stutter dial tone signal is transmitted within a few seconds after identifying the voice mail condition . if a phone operator is continuously on the phone , a vmwi circuit 12 may indefinitely delay detection of a voice mail message from a class signal . because stutter dial tone detection is automatically reenabled after a predetermined time period , the vmwi circuit 12 can detect voice mail messages more quickly than a vmwi system detecting only class signals . further , the vmwi circuit 12 continues to monitor for class signals and accordingly cancels stutter dial tone detection when a class signal is detected . thus , the vmwi circuit 12 will not burden the central telephone office by unnecessarily taking the phone off - hook to detect stutter dial tone if the class signaling environment is available . thus , the vmwi circuit 12 maximizes performance of voice mail detection by exploiting the different characteristics of both the class and stutter dial tone signals transmitted from the co . for stutter dial tone , the vmwi circuit 12 exploits the quicker stutter tone response time after an on - hook / off - hook condition . for class signaling , the vmwi circuit 12 takes advantage of the more robust controlling environment of class signaling which also allows detection of voice mail waiting conditions without taking the telephone off - hook . the vmwi circuit 12 has the added advantage of reliable operation in subscriber loop carrier ( slc ). slcs intermittently pass class signals to residential phones . the vmwi circuit 12 continues to reevaluate , and possibly reconfigure detection modes , for each voice mail triggering conditions . thus , the vmwi circuit 12 is not lulled into unreliable voice mail detection modes . in another embodiment of the invention , the micro - controller 28 detects the class / fsk signal without using fsk receiver 26 . the micro - controller 28 uses internal voltage comparators and amplifiers to detect the class signal . because a power intensive fsk receiver chip is not used , the vmwi circuit 12 operates on battery power for longer periods of time and is less expensive to manufacture . referring to fig7 the telephone lines 13 are coupled into mircocontroller 28 . an oscillator circuit 78 and a resistor network 80 are each coupled to the micro - controller 28 . the mircocontroller 28 is a model number 16lc621 manufactured by microchip , inc . the micro - controller 28 includes multiple internal comparators and detects the fsk / class signal and stutter dial - tone through telephone lines 13 . on - hook and off - hook voltages and ringing signals are monitored from the voltage divider circuit 31 . resistors in network 80 are selectively coupled to ground or placed at floating voltage levels to generate different d . c . voltage levels for comparing to the different input signals . the micro - controller 28 places itself in a sleep mode when not testing for the class signal as described above in fig2 . if the preamble is detected , the micro - controller 28 remains on and decodes the digital data field of the class signal . if the preamble is not detected , the micro - controller 28 does back to sleep for 300 msec until the next sampling period . the classifsk input signal on telephone lines 13 is shown in fig8 . the class / fsk signal comprises a sinusoidal wave alternating between a positive half cycle and negative half cycle . the micro - controller 28 amplifies the positive half cycle of the class / fsk signal into a square pulse as shown in fig9 . the micro - controller counts the number of clock cycles from the rising edge to the falling edge of the first pulse reflecting the time period t1 of the first positive half cycle . the micro - controller 28 then counts the number of clock cycles from the falling edge of the first pulse to the rising edge of the next pulse reflecting the time period t2 of the negative half of the first cycle . the micro - controller 28 compares the time periods t1 and t2 with prestored values for t1 and t2 for a 1200 hertz signal . for example , if the measured t1 is approximately 0 . 5 milliseconds and the measured t2 is approximately 0 . 5 milliseconds , then the input signal is considered a 1200 hertz fsk / class signal . pulses t3 and t4 represent the amplified square pulses for a 2200 hertz fsk / class signal . if a 1200 hertz signal or a 2200 hertz signal is detected , the micro - controller 28 remains in an active state and decodes the digital data field of the class signal . a logical filtering process is conducted by the micro - controller 28 . if multiple voltage spikes occur within a predetermined number of clock periods , the micro - controller 28 considers the group of spikes to be all part of the same sinusoidal half - cycle . however , if only one spike or a few random spikes are detected , the micro - controller ignores the spikes as noise . during the sleep mode , the micro - controller 28 shuts - off power to the oscillator circuit 78 and runs off a watch dog timer internal to the micro - controller 28 . the watch dog timer is always running even when the oscillator 78 is running . generally , internal timer circuits are not as accurate as externally connected oscillator circuit 78 . if more than one vmwi circuit 12 is connected to the same telephone line , fcc regulations requires each vmwi circuit 12 to test for stutter dial tone at the same time . however , if the timing for the internal clocks of each vmwi circuit 12 are slightly different , the vmwi circuit 12 &# 39 ; s may simulate off - hook conditions at different times . to eliminate timing inconsistencies between multiple vmwi circuit 12 &# 39 ; s , the micro - controller 28 continuously recalibrates the internal watch dog timer . the watch dog timer is always running including while the micro - controller 28 is shut - off during a sleep mode . about every minute , when the micro - controller 28 clock is running , the watch dog timer is reset . the micro - controller 28 measures the time taken by the watch dog timer to time out according to the crystal oscillator circuit 78 . this timing measurement is then used to update timing calculations which determine how long the micro - controller 28 will wait to test for stutter dial tone after a triggering event . normal on - hook voltage for a telephone system is 50 volts and normal off - hook voltage for a telephone system is 6 to 10 volts . a reference voltage of around 20 volts is used to detect a change from an on - hook condition to an off - hook condition . however , many telephone systems have inconsistent on - hook and off - hooks voltages . for example , slcs have on - hook and off - hook voltages that are substantially different than the typical 50 volt on - hook and 6 - 10 volt off - hook condition . the following is a list of corresponding on - hook and off - hook voltage measurements taken from residential telephone line voltages . ______________________________________on - hook voltage off - hook voltage______________________________________12 . 5 v 6 . 5 v12 . 0 v 7 . 0 v12 . 0 v 9 . 0 v24 . 0 v 5 . 0 v20 . 0 v 4 . 0 v62 . 0 v 9 . 5 v14 . 0 v 7 . 5 v13 . 0 v 7 . 0 v56 . 0 v 16 . 0 v______________________________________ as shown in the above voltages , a single reference voltage set at 20 volts would not be accurate in detecting changes between an on - hook and off - hook condition for each of the telephone line voltages shown above . the present invention readjusts the reference voltage for the current telephone line voltage to ensure accurate on - hook and off - hook detection for any telephone system . referring to fig1 , the vmwi circuit 12 is powered on in step 100 and the on - hook voltage is measured in step 102 . step 104 initiates an off - hook condition by turning on transistor 30 ( fig2 and 7 ) through the seize line . after the telephone lines 13 are seized and a dial tone ( or stutter dial tone ) is heard , the off - hook line voltage is measured again . decision step 106 compares the measured on - hook voltage with the measured off - hook voltage . if the off - hook voltage is not at least two volts below the on - hook voltage , the previous reference voltage is retained in step 108 . for example , if the on - hook voltage was measured while someone was using the phone , the measured on - hook voltage and measured off - hook voltage would be about the same . the micro - controller 28 rejects any on - hook and off - hook measurements that do not change by the predefined minimum voltage difference . if the difference between the on - hook and off - hook voltage is greater than two volts , step 110 sets a new reference voltage by taking the average of the on - hook and off - hook voltage . for example , if the measured on - hook voltage is 12 . 0 volts and the measured off - hook voltage is 8 . 0 volts , the micro - controller 28 sets the reference voltage to 10 . 0 volts . whenever the telephone line voltage drops below 10 . 0 volts , the vmwi circuit 12 considers the phone to be in an off - hook condition . decision step 112 waits for another trigger event and then remeasures the on - hook and off - hook voltages before updating the reference voltage . thus , the vmwi device 12 operates in a wider variety of telephone systems having different on - hook and off - hook voltage levels . having described and illustrated the principles of the invention in a preferred embodiment thereof , it should be apparent that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles . i claim all modifications and variation coming within the spirit and scope of the following claims . | 7 |
preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a first embodiment of the invention . in fig1 numeral 1 designates a cruise measuring means for measuring an actual cruise speed of a vehicle , and numeral 2 designates a speed setting means for setting a target speed desired by the driver . a cruise speed signal from the cruise speed measuring means 1 and a target speed signal from the speed setting means 2 are outputted to a speed deviation computing means 3 , in which a speed deviation is calculated with respect to the actual speed and the target speed , the result of the calculation being outputted , as a speed deviation signal , to a controlled variable computing means 7 and also to a shift control decision means 12 which will both be described hereinafter . a cruise speed signal is also outputted from the cruise speed measuring means 1 to an acceleration computing means 4 , in which a vehicle acceleration value is calculated on the basis of the cruise speed signal , and the result of the calculation is outputted , as an acceleration signal , to the controlled variable computing means 7 . the controlled variable computing means 7 outputs a pulse signal , which is determined on the basis of both the speed deviation signal and the acceleration signal , to a throttle drive means 6 which drives a throttle valve 5 for controlling the drive force of the vehicle , in order to reconcile the cruise speed with the target speed . a throttle opening detecting means 8 detects the opening of the throttle valve 5 , and the result of the detection is outputted , as a throttle opening signal , from the throttle opening detecting means 8 to a road gradient estimating means 11 which is to be described hereinafter . a cruise performance memory means 10 stores therein cruise performance characteristics of the vehicle as expressed in terms of the relationship between the cruise speed and the throttle opening in cruising on a sloped road , and the content of the memory means 10 is outputted to the road gradient estimating means 11 as required . the road gradient estimating means 11 receives a cruise speed signal from the cruise speed measuring means 1 and estimates an actual gradient of the road while a vehicle is cruising on the basis of the cruise speed signal , the throttle opening signals and the cruise performance characteristics , after that the estimation is outputted as road gradient information to the shift control decision means 12 . numeral 9 designates an automatic speed change means capable of automatic shift - up or shift - down of vehicle transmissions . when the shift control decision means 12 decides that the road is uphill on the basis of the speed deviation signal and the road gradient information , and moreover , the speed deviation is greater than a predetermined value , it outputs a shift - down command to the automatic speed change means 9 . subsequently , if the speed deviation is greater than the predetermined value and the road is determined to be downhill , a shift - up command is outputted to the automatic speed change means 9 . next , the manner of operation of the first embodiment will be explained with reference to a flow chart shown in fig2 . when power is inputted , a microcomputer starts arithmetic operation at step 101 and initial setting is effected with individual ports and memories . at step 102 , cruise speed v n is calculated by using a cycle of vehicle speed pulses stored through an interrupt handling routine ( not shown ). it is noted that step 102 and subsequent steps constitute a loop completing each in a predetermined time t o which is controlled by standby step 117 . at step 103 , vehicle acceleration α n is calculated according to the following equation : ## equ1 ## in which v n - 1 is a cruise speed at the time of previous sampling . at step 104 , speed deviation ε n of cruise speed v n relative to target speed v m ( not shown ) is determined . at step 105 , a throttle opening signal θ n is inputted . at step 106 , road gradient tan δ n is estimated in such a manner as will be hereinafter described . at step 107 , decision is made as to whether the vehicle is cruising at constant speed . if the decision is no , the program proceeds to step 117 . if the vehicle is cruising at constant speed , at step 108 , decision is made as to whether the state of shift down is on or not . if the decision is no , at step 109 , checking is made to ascertain | ε . sub . η |≧ a , that is , whether or not cruise speed v n is lower than target speed v m by more than specified value a . if the cruise speed is lower by the value a , at step 110 checking is made to determine whether or not gradient tan δ n is more than specified value b , that is , whether or not the road involves an uphill having a gradient greater than specified value b . if it is determined that the road is uphill , a shift - down signal is issued at step 111 . if decision at step 108 is that the state of shift - down is on , at step 112 , checking is made to ascertain whether | ε . sub . η | is lower than specified value c . if | ε . sub . η |≦ c , at step 113 checking is made to see whether or not gradient tan δ n is lower than specified value d . if tan δ . sub . η ≦ d , a shift - up signal is issued at step 114 . a step 115 , a controlled variable is calculated on the basis of acceleration α n and speed deviation ε . sub . η according to the following equation for example , so that the cruise speed v n can be equal to the target speed v m . at step 116 , pulse signals are outputted so that the throttle can be opened or closed according to each relevant t n expression ( symbol and value ). in other words , if t n & gt ; 0 , pulse signals are outputted in a throttle closing direction ; if t n & lt ; 0 , pulse signals are outputted in a throttle opening direction ; and if t n ≈ 0 , pulse signals are outputted only for the value of t n so that the throttle opening can be kept as it is . a step 117 , the program returns to step 102 after waiting until the specified time t o has lapsed , and individual steps are executed in the same way as described above . next , how to determine a road gradient will be explained with reference to the flow chart showing in fig3 and the graph in fig4 . it is noted that in fig4 the axis of ordinates represents throttle opening θ and the axis of abscissas represents cruise speed v . the microcomputer stores the curves shown in the graph , namely , θ 1 = x 1 v + y 1 ( cruise performance characteristics in case of gradient tan δ 1 ) and θ 2 = x 2 v + y 2 ( cruise performance characteristics in case of gradient tan δ 2 ). first , at step 201 , throttle openings θ 1 , θ 2 on the tan δ 1 and tan δ 2 roads at cruise speed v n are calculated . at step 202 , gradient tan δ . sub . η on which the vehicle is cruising is calculated according to the following equation : ## equ2 ## following which it is possible to determine the gradient of the road . control of the timing for shift - up / shift - down changeover from one to the other can thereby be effected according to the actual road condition . fig5 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of the second embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment , a shift line , which designates a specific value at determining the timing for issuing a shift - up command , is stored after being predetermined on the basis of the gradient of a road at the time when a shift - down command is issued . if the road gradient becomes lower than this shift line , and moreover , the absolute value of the speed deviation is smaller than the specific value , a shift - up command is issued . in fig5 the shift control decision means 12 outputs to a shift - line memory means 13 the road gradient taken at the time when the shift - down command is issued to the automatic speed change means 9 . the shift - line memory means 13 determines a shift line on the basis of this gradient and stores it therein . at determining a timing for shifting up , the shift line stored in memory is , as required , outputted from the shift line memory means 13 to the shift control decision means 12 . in fig5 since those components , which are designated by numerals identical with those in fig1 represent parts identical with those in fig1 description of those parts is omitted herein . fig6 is a flow chart illustrating the sequence of operation in the second embodiment . in fig6 since the steps 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 perform the same functions as those designated by the same numerals in the fig2 flow chart , description thereof is omitted herein . in this second embodiment , if a descision is made that the road is uphill ( yes at step 110 ), at step 210 , shift line value tan δ 1 for next shift - up is calculated using the road gradient tan δ at the time , as shown in the following equation : wherein it is understood that β ( t ) decreases with time t as 0 ≦ β ( t ). if it is determined that the road is uphill , at step 111 a shift - down signal is outputted as in the above - described first embodiment . if , at step 108 , it is determined that a shift - down is on , at step 112 , checking is made to see whether or not the absolute value | ε . sub . η | of the speed deviation is lower than the specified value c . if | ε . sub . η |≦ c , at step 113 , the magnitude of the present road gradient tan δ is checked in relation to the relevant specified value ( specified value d in the first embodiment ). in the present embodiment , for the specified value , shift line value tan δ 1 calculated at step 210 is used . if tan δ . sub . η ≦ tan δ 1 , at step 114 , a shift - up signal is outputted . in fig6 since steps 115 , 116 , 117 perform the same functions as those designated by the same numerals in the fig2 chart , description thereof is omitted herein . the manner of estimating road gradients in this second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment . with the second embodiment , needless to say , it is possible to control the timing for shift - up / shift - down changeover according to the actual road condition in the same manner as in the first embodiment . further , the second embodiment makes it possible to positively cope with variations in cruise performance characteristics of the vehicle . in both the first and the second embodiments , the apparatus incorporates throttle opening detecting means 8 , cruise performance characteristic memory means 10 , road gradient estimating means 11 , and shift control decision means 12 . alternatively , it is practicable to arrange so that an electronic speed change control apparatus incorporates all these means and the apparatus of the invention transmits speed deviation signals to the relevant components of the electronic apparatus , thereby constituting a system . in the above embodiments , the case , where shifting down takes place first on an uphill road , and shifting up takes place next , is described . needless to say , it can also be said in the case where shifting up first on a downhill road and shifting down next . as this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit of essential characteristics thereof , the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive , since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them , and all changes that fall within meets and bounds of the claims , or equivalence of such meets and bounds thereof are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims . | 1 |
referring now to the accompanying drawings , there is shown preferred embodiment of the invention . fig1 shows a block diagram of the apparatus for initial synchronization and adjacent cell search based on the multipath energy window of the apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention . the apparatus comprises s tap delay lines , s parallel correlators , a local cell pn code generation unit , an adjacent cell pn code generation unit , amplitude judgment units , a buffer unit , a parallel - series converter unit , a sliding multipath energy window calculation unit , a maximal energy window calculation unit , and a initial synchronization confirmation unit . the functions of each of the units will be described as follows . the baseband signals r ( t ) sampled in t c / m rate is sent to the s tap delay lines . the number s of the tap delay lines is determined by the time taken for initial synchronization and cell search . s tap outputs are provided to the s parallel correlators respectively . each of the s parallel correlators ( multiplying accumulation units ) performs channel evaluation integration operation as shown in equation 3 . if it is used for initial synchronization process , the integration operation is performed with the pn code output from the pn code generation unit for current cell . if it is used for cell search process , the integration operation is performed with the pn code output from the pn code generation unit for adjacent cell . each of the correlators performs the channel evaluation for one path in one integration period nt c . the integrated results are supplied to the corresponding followed amplitude judgement units , and then the multiplying accumulation units are cleared . the amplitude judgement units judge the amplitude square values of the channel evaluation obtained from the correlators , send the evaluated results of which pure interference channels are removed to the buffer unit . then , the evaluated results output from the buffer unit is sent to the sliding multipath energy window calculation unit through the parallel - series converter unit . the sliding multipath energy window calculation unit performs the calculation as shown in equation 6 . s output values of the sliding multipath energy windows could be obtained for the s channel evaluation in each of integration periods . the maximal energy window calculation unit compares the calculated energy output from the sliding multipath energy window calculation units , selects the energy having maximal value and the phase of the local pilot pn code which corresponds to the energy . this result is sent to the initial synchronization confirmation unit ( acquisition confirmation ). the initial synchronization confirmation unit may judges initial synchronization using threshold judgement method for one time ( the threshold is determined as desired , in general , the threshold is larger 1 / 10 than the total energy of the input signals ). if the maximal energy is larger than the threshold , the initial synchronization process or cell search process is valid . thus , the phase of local pilot pn code , which corresponds to the energy window having maximal value , is the best pn code phase k opt . otherwise , this initial synchronization process or cell search process is fail . naturally , the threshold judgement method can be performed more times for confirming the initial synchronization . next , the phase of the local pn code generation unit in a receiver is shifted to the best pn code phase k opt . after that , the process of initial synchronization or cell search is completed . since evaluations of s multipath energy windows can be obtained in each of integration periods , the local cell pn code generation unit or the adjacent cell pn code generation unit as shown in fig1 jumps s phases backward or forward after completing integration once . next , the time taken for initial synchronization is calculation . since the local pn sequence has m × p possible pn code phase , the present embodiment uses s parallels calculation units , therefore , s phases can be searched within t d = nt c integration , period . thus , the time taken for initial synchronization is : the principle of adjacent cell search is similar with that of initial synchronization , therefore , the process of adjacent cell search can be implement in a maser of time division multiplexing . after initial synchronization , the phase difference between the pilot sequence of the adjacent cells and the pilot sequence of the local cell and , the search range can be obtained by receiving the information broadcast from the local base station . the adjacent cell search can be performed by replacing the local pilot sequence and whole search range used in initial synchronization process with the local pilot sequence and search range of adjacent cells . fig1 shows this time division multiplexing manner . similarly , the time taken for adjacent cell search is calculated as follows : t srch = m × p srch s nt c ( 8 ) wherein p srch is the area to be searched ( t c as time unit ). after searching , the obtained maximal multipath energy window is reported to the base station to determined whether or not hand - off or macro - diversity shall be performed . the implement of the present invention is described with a mobile terminal in cdma 2000 - 1x system as an example . the downstream channel in cdma 2000 - 1x system includes continuously transmitting pilot channels used for extracting timing , initial synchronization , cell search and coherent demodulation etc . in this system , the spreading chip rate is 1 . 2288 mcps , chip interval is t c = 1 / 1 . 2288 ms , the pilot channel pn code is a pseudo random sequence with length n = 2 15 . if the receiver employs 4 times the chip sampling rate , that is , m = 4 , each integration period is 256 t c and the maximal initial synchronization time required for the system is t acq — max , the number of the parallel correlators is then : s & gt ; ⌈ 4 × 2 15 × 256 t c t acq_max ⌉ + 1 in fact , it may take t acq — max & lt ; 0 . 5 s , then , the number of the parallel correlators is s = 64 since cdma 2000 - 1x system has a low spreading chip rate , the complexity associated with hardware can be reduced with a manner of time division multiplexing . in this example , each of physical correlators multiplexes 32 times . therefore , it needs 4 correlators in plural form . the threshold used for judging interference paths is set to 1 / 32 the energy of received signals . the threshold used for initial synchronization of maximal multipath energy window is set to 1 / 16 the energy of received signals . this example can apply to a vehicle mobile station in cdma2000 - 1x cellular mobile communication system fitting standard 3gpp2 release a . the spread spectrum receiving part in the mobile station can be implemented by , for example , a xc4085x1a fpga chip , a product of xilinx company . the spread spectrum receiver to which the apparatus according to the invention is applied can provide excellent stability in the circumstances of vehicle mobile terminals . the initial synchronization method based on multipath energy window according to the invention can maximize the multipath time - delay distribution energy , can overcome the non - determinacy of the system due to the processing of single path signals in conventional initial synchronization method . therefore , the apparatus according to the invention is applicable to mobile cellular communication system in the circumstances of multipath fading channel . the apparatus of the invention employs a sliding multipath energy window calculation method and is facilitated to implement . the apparatus of the invention integrates the initial synchronization and adjacent cell search of a cdma receiver in the manner of time division multiplexing ( tdm ), the complexity of the hardware used in a system is therefore greatly reduced . it takes a shorter time for initial synchronization and adjacent cell search since the calculation is operated in parallel . | 7 |
deschampsia antarctica desv . ( poacea ) is one of the two vascular plant species that have naturally colonized maritime antarctic peninsula . during the recent years , d . antarctica has experienced an increasing exposure to ultraviolet radiation , due fundamentally to the hole in the ozone layer present in the antarctic region . consequently , this plant species has modified its metabolism to increase the production of secondary metabolites that intervene in the photoprotection process . the fact that d . antarctica is naturally acclimated to conditions that expose it to oxidative stress ( high light and low temperature ) let us to consider this plant as a source of antioxidative compounds . it was possible to obtain antioxidative compounds from the plants that grew in wild in antarctica but the feature was practically lost when the plants were cultivated in vitro . this disclosure provides methods to induce antioxidative compounds in in vitro grown plants and further more the invention according to this disclosure provides an antineoplastic extract obtained from the plants . this invention authentically establishes the antitumorigenic effect of the extracts obtained from d . antarctica and their capacity to prevent the disease through the study of their in vitro effects . this invention also describes a method to induce antineoplastic compounds in in vitro grown plants and isolation of the compounds , as well as their potential applications . the products according to this invention are based on the metabolites with antineoplastic activity present in d . antarctica . the invention is described below by means of examples . the examples are not meant to limit the scope of the invention . comparison of the absorption peaks of extract from naturally grown plants to the extract of in vitro grown plants without stress induction deschampsia antarctica material was collected from robert island , a copper mine peninsula ( 62 ° 22 ′ s ; 59 ° 43 ′ w ), and it was carried in plastic bags . the material was disinfected with fungicide ( benomyl and captan ) and sodium hypochlorite . plant material was micropropagated in vitro . the culture medium was prepared based on the murashige and skoog ( ms ) medium . 1 mg / l of bap hormone ( n6 benzylaminopurine ) was added as well as 35 mg / l saccharose and 9 g / l of agar at a final ph of 5 . 7 . the in vitro growing plants were kept in growth chambers at 22 ° c . with a photoperiod of 16 / 8 h ( light / darkness ) and a photon flow of 2000 μmol m − 2 s − 1 . the aerial parts of the in vivo or in vitro growing plants were collected and macerated in 5 ml of distilled water . the maceration is later sonicated for 10 minutes and centrifuged at 1 , 000 rpm for 15 minutes a thin layer chromatography was performed . the extracts were seeded on a 60 f 254 silica gel slide ( merck ) to visualize the compounds present . a uv - vis shimadzu uv - 160 spectrophotometric analysis was used to analyze the extracts . an absorbency screening was consequently conducted between 200 and 400 nm to determine the presence of absorption maximums characteristic of the families of compounds present in the extracts ( fig1 ). when the flavonoids are dissolved in methanol , flavones and flavonols exhibit two major peaks of absorption in the 240 - 400 nm region when they are examined by uv spectroscopy and visible light . these peaks commonly refer to band i ( 300 - 400 nm ) and band ii ( 240 - 280 nm ). according to the uv - visible 200 - 400 nm spectrum analysis ( fig1 ), flavonoids are seen in the metabolic extracts of plants collected in vivo in the antarctic . they are virtually absent in the extracts of plants cultivated in vitro in the laboratory . the flavonoids exhibit characteristic peaks . as the previous example shows , flavonoids were virtually absent from the in vitro grown plants . this example shows that the flavonoid production in deschampisa antarctica plants is inducible by various stress conditions . after 50 days , the in vitro propagated deschampsia antarctica plants were fully removed from the agar , and the roots were cleaned from all the agar . after being removed from the agar , the plants were submerged in aqueous solutions of different concentrations of nacl ( 2 , 3 and 4 m ) for a period of 30 minutes , after which the aerial part of the plant is macerated in 5 ml of distilled water . the maceration is later sonicated for 10 minutes and centrifuged at 1 , 000 rpm for 15 minutes . the plantlets grown in agar were irradiated by uv light , in the same jar in which they grew , at intensities of 45 μw / cm 2 and 70 μw / cm 2 for 2 hours . plantlets were then removed from the agar and the aerial part of the samples was cut off , macerated with 5 ml of methanol , sonicated for 10 minutes and centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 15 minutes . the extracted samples were concentrated , lyophilized and stored at − 20 ° c . polyphenol concentration in the extract of in vivo and in vitro grown plants unlike deschampsia antarctica plants cultivated in vitro , the plants cultivated in natural conditions showed continuous induction of polyphenols throughout their entire stage of development . the plants are exposed to constant risks of saline solutions with a concentration of 0 . 5 m ( concentration in sea water ) and to the conditions of the natural radiation in antarctica . the extracts obtained from the plants of deschampsia antarctica cultivated in vitro and in in vivo were submitted to analysis through a uv - vis 200 - 400 nm spectrum to determine the peak absorbencies of the compounds present in the extracts against methanol in a shimadzu uv - 160 spectrophotometer . 100 μl of the extract ( macerated ) was used , specifically from the supernatant , and dissolved in 10 ml of methanol . deschampsia antarctica plants cultivated in vitro without any treatment were used as controls in order to evaluate the effects of the treatment it can be clearly seen in the spectra that all stress treatments to which the plants were submitted caused an increase in the concentration of polyphenols as compared to the control ( fig1 - 3 ). the treatment with nacl solutions ( fig2 ) that caused the greatest increase in the concentration of polyphenols was observed when the plant was submerged in 3m nacl , although nacl at concentrations of 2 and 4 m exhibited a similar effect . the present data also revealed that 3m nacl is the concentration at which deschampsia antarctica exhibited the highest polyphenol concentration . the response of deschampsia antarctica in terms of polyphenol production in the presence of different concentrations of nacl is : 3m & gt ; 4m & gt ; 2 m . the plants that were exposed to 45 μw / cm 2 of uv radiation for 2 hours showed the greatest increase in polyphenols ( fig3 ). the plant exposed to greater radiation intensity ( 70 μw / cm 2 ) during the same period of time did not reveal an increase as high as for 45 μw / cm 2 . this may occur because the plants suffered some type of damage that caused the green matter to die or the plants spent resources on recovering from the damage , thereby diminishing the concentration of secondary metabolites . a comparison of the results obtained with deschampsia antarctica submitted to different treatments clearly reveals that the best result or the greatest increase in polyphenols was observed when the plants were submitted to uv radiation at an intensity of 45 μw / cm 2 for 2 hours ( fig1 , 2 and 3 ). the aqueous extract of deschampia antarctica was analyzed with hpcl analysis . fig7 shows a chromatogram of the hplc analysis . the chromatogram shows the main components of deschampsia antarctica aqueous extract . two major peaks ( peak 1 with retention time of 10 . 6667 min and peak 2 with retention time of 12 . 0167 min ) account to 80 % ( w / w ) of the total amount of injected sample . both of the peaks were collected separately by using a semipreparative column . for purity assessment an hplc - dad equipped with an analytical column was used . the chromatograms corresponding to the isolated peaks are presented in fig8 . each chromatogram shows only one peak with purity higher than 95 % indicating that the peaks were essentially pure . by using a diode array analytical hplc it was possible to obtain a uv - visible 200 - 400 nm spectrum for both of the compounds . the spectra are shown in fig9 . both spectrums showed major absorption bands in 240 - 400 nm region . both exhibited first absorption band at 260 nm and second one at 350 nm . those peaks are in close agreement with the absorption spectra exhibited by flavonoids when analyzed using uv - visible spectroscopy . when flavonoids are dissolved in methanol , flavones and flavonols show tow major peaks known as band i ( 300 - 400 nm ) and band ii ( 240 - 280 nm ), respectively . in order to elucidate the chemical structures of the compounds , we coupled hplc to mass spectrometer to obtain the mass chromatogram of peaks 1 and 2 ( fig1 ). the mass spectra chromatogram showed the main peaks at m / z 580 for peak 1 and m / z 593 for peak 2 . this information was compared with other mass spectra by using a mass spectra library for natural compounds and the resulting structures are presented in fig1 . peak 1 corresponds to isoswertiajaponin (( 7 - o - methylorientin ) 2 ″- o - beta - arabinopyranoside ) and peak 2 corresponds to orientin 2 ″- beta - arabinopyranoside . these compounds have been previously identified in deschampisa antarctica leaves ( webby r . and markham k , 1994 , isoswertijaponin 2 ″- o ′ beta - arabinopyranoisee and other flavone - c - glycosides from the antarctic grass deschampisa antarctica . phytochemistry 36 ( 5 ): 1323 - 1326 ). however , no biological activity of the identified compounds has been proposed . thus , the present disclosure is the first report concerning the biological activity of these natural products . the mass spectra of both of the compounds showed a common fragment which appears at m / z 448 that belongs to orientin ( fig1 ). several biological activities , such as radioprotection , vessel relaxation , antioxidant properties , free radical inhibitor properties and antiviral activity have been published for orientin . the total plant extracts were fractionated into compounds by paper chromatography . the sample was seeded on whatman no . 3 paper using 15 % glacial acetic acid as the mobile phase . the different compounds were visualized under uv light . the different fractions , called b1 , b2 and b3 , were recovered from the paper by immersion in methanol and then concentrated in a rotoevaporator . the slide chromatography was conducted to visualize the isolated compounds in each fraction according to the results provided by the hplc - mass spectrometry ( example 3 above ) it can be assumed that luteolin with different degrees of glycosylation and substitution of glycosides through c — c bonds ( orientin compounds ) is the molecule that is largely present and causing biological activity . this type of structure increases the stability of the active compound . moreover , these compounds were present in extracts of in vivo grown antarctic deschampsia plants or plants subjected to 4 ° c . for 72 hours , but they are not present in plants produced in vitro at 13 ° c . ( data not shown ). this indicates that these compounds are inducible at low temperatures or other types of stress the plants experience in wild . it is known that flavones play an important role in the human body as an antioxidant , chelators of free radicals , anti - inflammatory agents , promoters of the metabolism of carbohydrates and stimulators of the immune system ( rahman , i ., biswas , s . k ., kirkham , p . a . 2006 . regulation of inflammation and redox signaling by dietary polyphenols . biochem pharmocol . 702 ( 11 ): 1439 - 1452 ; kandaswami , c . lee , l . t . lee , p . p , hwang j . j . ; ke . f . c ., huang , y . t . lee , m . t . 2005 in vivo 19 ( 5 ) 895 - 909 ). however , there is no research or indications of deschampsia antactica extracts of being antineoplastic . in order to determine whether the methanol extracts obtained from d . antarctica could have some antineoplastic effect , the soluble fractions b1 , b2 and b3 were tested . these fractions were obtained from the total fraction and have different degrees of glucoside substitution . fig4 shows the effect of the b1 , b2 and b3 fractions on in vitro growth of colon cancer cells and hepatic cancer cells . it can be seen that these fractions effectively inhibit the proliferation of human ht 29 and lovo colorectal cancer cells and hep3b hepatoma cancer cells while the b3 fraction , with the highest degree of glucoside substitution , presents the greatest level of inhibition on malignant cellular proliferation ( fig4 ht29 , lovo and hep 3b ). its effect on wi38 ( normal lung fibroblasts ) was tested at the maximum concentration to determine specificity and toxicity . no inhibitory effect on wi38 cells proliferation was observed ( fig4 ). it can be concluded that these compounds can inhibit malignant cells growth in vitro , but showed no inhibitory effect on the proliferation of normal fibroblasts . this data indicate the antineoplastic effect of these fractions . as shown in examples above , the antineoplastic compounds extracted from deschampsia antarctica could be induced in vitro . therefore , the amount of antioxidants to be produced in plants by exposure to uv light , salt treatment or low temperature can be modulated . moreover , the production of the antineoplastic extract becomes actually practicable as the plant material can be cultivated in large amounts in vitro . besides working with the soluble fractions mentioned before , deschampsia antarctica plant material was extracted with solvents of increasing polarity ( ethyl acetate and methanol ). the aim of this approach was to divide plant constituents into fractions of different polarity on extraction . organic solvent extracts were made in a soxhlet apparatus . fig5 a shows the effect of an ethyl acetate extract on in vitro growth of human colon cancer cells ( lovo ). an inhibition of 50 % was observed in the cellular proliferation of these tumoral cells . the same extract was tested in wi 38 cells ( normal lung fibroblasts ). no inhibitory effect on wi 38 cells proliferation was observed ( 5 b ). on the other hand , fig5 c shows the effect of a methanol extract , which produced more than 50 % of inhibition on the proliferation of colon tumoral cells ( lovo ). this extract was tested in non - tumoral cells ( wi38 ), showing an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation ( fig5 d ). the methanol and ethyl acetic extracts were active against lovo colorectal cancer cells at the lowest concentration of 75 ug / ml . the most active fractions were used for further fractionation steps . this procedure led to the isolation of pure compounds ( see example 3 above ). we also tested these pure compounds ( peak 1 and peak 2 of example 3 above ) and a combination of them on tumoral and non - tumoral cells . fig6 a and 6 b show the inhibitory effect of pure compounds , alone and in combination ( peak 2 and the combination of peak 1 and peak 2 ) on colon cancer cells ( lovo ). these compounds were isolated from deschampsia antarctica extracts as described in example 3 above . the inhibitory effect on cellular proliferation was observed with peak 2 and with a combination of peak 1 and 2 at concentrations of 1 . 7 mm , which correspond to 1000 μg / ml , this concentration being 10 times higher than the inhibitory concentration of the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts . this result proves that methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of deschampsia antarctica are efficient in 10 times lower concentration than the purified compounds . preparation of fast - dissolving tablets for oral administration comprising 500 mg of despchampsia antarcica extract we provide here a composition for oral administration of the deschampsia antarcica extract for prophylactic , preventive and curing purposes for patients suffering or prone to cancerous and tumoral diseases . tablets each exhibiting the following qualitative and quantitative composition : deschampsia antarctica extract 500 mg , d - glucosa monohydrate 597 . 6 mg , sodium croscarmellose 35 . 2 mg , microcrystaline cellulose 160 . 0 mg , anhydrous citric acid 35 . 2 mg , granulated sorbitol 160 . 0 mg , aspartame 28 . 8 mg , saccharin sodium 14 . 4 mg , glycerol dibehenate 16 . 0 mg , magnesium stearate 6 . 4 mg , orange flavoring 46 . 4 mg , are preparared in the following way : all the components , with the exception of lubricating agents ( magnesium stearate and glycerol dibehenate ), are mixed by means of a tumbler until a homogeneous whole is obtained , the magnesium stearate and glycerol dibehenate are added and mixing is again carried out until homogeneous , then the resulting mixture is subjected to tableting in order to obtain tablets exhibiting a unit weight 1 . 6 g which measure 20 mm in diameter and 4 . 5 in height . the tablets thus prepared disintegrate in the mouth in 30 seconds . preparation of fast - dissolving tablets comprising 7 . 5 g of deschampsia antarctica extract tablets exhibiting the following qualitative and quantitative composition for 100 g : ingredients quantity : deschampsia antarctica extract 7 . 5 g , spray - dried mannitol 71 . 0 g , microcrystalline cellulose 15 . 0 g , sodium croscarmellose 3 . 0 g , ammonium glycyrrhizinate 0 . 3 g , aspartame 1 . 0 g , l - menthol 0 . 2 g , mint flavouring 1 . 0 g , magnesium stearate 1 . 0 g are prepared in the following way : all the components , with the exception of magnesium stearate , are mixed by a tumbler until a homogeneous whole is obtained , the magnesium stearate is added and mixing again carried out until homogenous , then the mixture is subjected to tableting . the tablets thus prepared disintegrate in the mouth in 20 seconds . 900 g of deschampsia antarctica extract , 800 g of microcrystalline cellulose , 12 g of colloidal silicon dioxide , 684 g of sodium chloride and 36 g of potassium chloride were mixed . the mixture was transferred to a fluidization rotogranulator , and a mixture of 40 g of 35 % dimethyl polysiloxane emulsion and 2000 ml of ion - exchanged water was sprayed onto it . spraying speed of the pelletizing liquid was set at 50 ml / min , pressure of the spraying air was 2 . 5 bar . the speed of the rotor was set at 450 rev / min in the first 15 minutes of the pelletization and later kept at 600 rev / min . speed by volume of the fluidization air was kept at 60 m3 / hour in the first 15 minutes of the pelletization and later at 90 m 3 / hour . the temperature of the fluidization air was set at 25 ° c . in the first part of the pelletization and 40 ° c . for the drying procedure . the dried pellets were passed through sieves 1 . 6 mm . | 0 |
the manipulator shown in fig1 has a base plate 3 arranged in a fixed frame 1 . a vertical bilaterally clamped wire spring 5 ( the third coupling member ) having a circular cross - section is provided near its two ends with thin flexible parts 7 and 9 . between the flexible ends , wire spring 5 has a thicker , comparatively rigid central part 6 . the flexible ends 7 and 9 are secured in bearing bushings 11 and 12 . the bearing bushing 11 is itself resiliently clamped in a recess 13 in a dish 15 . the bearing bushing 12 is resiliently clamped in a recess 14 of a lever 16 ( the lever of the first kind ) to be described below . the dish 15 is connected by a bolt 17 to a disk 19 . an object holder in the form of a table 21 is secured to disk 19 . the table 21 extends partially around the disk 19 and is fixed to the disk 19 by a screw 23 . by means of the flexible end 9 , the bilaterally clamped wire spring 5 can be bent in all directions with respect the lever 16 . the thickness ( rigidity ) of the wire spring 5 and the weights of the dish 15 , the disk 19 and the table 21 are such that the wire spring 5 will not buckle . an intermediate block 25 is secured to base plate 3 and a second base plate 27 which is parallel to the first base plate 3 . the base plates 3 and 27 and the intermediate block 25 together form the frame 1 . a first coupling member for the first direction of translation , x ( see fig1 and 5 ), comprises a bilaterally clamped circular wire spring 29 . by way of spring 29 , a tensile force can be exerted on the dish 15 . the wire spring 29 is provided at its end near the dish 15 with a bearing bushing 31 . bushing 31 is resiliently clamped in a recess 33 of the dish 15 . the wire spring 29 is clamped at its other end in a lever 35 of the first kind . lever 35 is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in fig1 . the wire spring 29 is clamped in the lever 35 in a bearing bushing 37 . bushing 37 is clamped resiliently in lever 35 by a bolt 39 in a bore in the lever 35 . the first base plate 3 has secured to it a block 41 . two pairs of perpendicularly crossing leaf springs 43 and 45 are clamped to block 41 . the leaf springs 43 and 45 are also clamped to the lever 35 so that they are clamped bilaterally . the crossing axes of the two pairs of leaf springs 43 and 45 form an axis of rotation 47 for the lever 35 . the axis of rotation 47 remains substantially fixed during the rotation of the lever 35 . a tensile spring 49 is connected at one end to the lever 35 and at its other end to the first base plate 3 . rotation of the lever 35 about the axis of rotation 47 is obtained by a known so - called differential microdrive 51 ( see the book feinmechanische bauelemente , 1972 , by s . hildebrand , page 239 ). the microdrive 51 has a ram 53 which engages the lever 35 . the microdrive 51 is operated manually , but may alternatively be coupled to an electric motor which may be servo - controlled . the lever 35 and the microdrive 51 together form the first driving member . a second coupling member for the second direction of translation , y ( see fig5 ), is identical to the first coupling member for the first direction of translation , x , and is therefore not described further . a wire spring 53 identical to the wire spring 29 is partly visible in fig5 . also , the relevant lever is rotated by a known microdrive , which is identical to the microdrive 51 . the lever and the microdrive together form the second driving member . the third coupling member , comprising the wire spring 5 , for the third direction of translation , z ( see fig4 ), is identical to the first and the second coupling members . the third coupling member also is not described for the sake of brevity . by means of the bearing bushing 12 , the wire spring 5 is resiliently clamped in the lever 16 . it should be noted that the wire springs 29 and 53 also have , like the wire spring 5 , a comparatively rigid thicker central part and thin flexible ends ( not designated by reference numerals ). in the neutral position of the manipulator and of the table 21 , the wire springs 29 and 53 are perpendicular to each other and are located in the same plane . the wire spring 5 then extends vertically in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane of the wires springs 29 and 53 . a fourth coupling member for the first direction of rotation , q x ( see fig1 and 2 ), comprises a rigid connection member ( pipe ) 57 and two pairs of parallel and identical wire springs 59 and 61 . springs 59 and 61 are resiliently clamped to the dish 15 and to a lever 63 of the second kind , respectively . the two wire springs 59 are both clamped near one end to the connection member 57 and near the other end to a flange 65 of the dish 15 . the two wire springs 61 are both clamped near one end to the connection member 15 and near the other end to the lever 63 . thus , the wire springs 59 form a parallelogram connection between the connection member 57 and the flange 65 , while the wire springs 61 form a parallelogram connection between the connection member 57 and the lever 63 . the connection member 57 is a pipe 67 with flanges 69 and 71 . the wire springs 59 and 61 are resiliently clamped in flanges 69 and 71 ( see fig1 ). the wire spring 29 , for the first direction of translation , x , extends inside the pipe 67 . the lever 63 of the second kind is rotatable about an axis 73 if the first direction of rotation , q x . the axis 73 is formed by two pairs of perpendicularly crossing leaf springs 75 and 77 . the leaf springs 75 and 77 are clamped at one end to the lever 63 and at the other end to the first base plate 3 . the rotation in the first direction of rotation , q x , about the axis 73 is obtained by a known so - called microdrive 79 . microdrive 79 has a ram 81 which engages the lever 63 ( see fig2 ). the microdrive 79 is operated manually , but may alternatively be driven by an electric motor . a compression spring 83 is clamped between the lever 63 and a support 85 secured to the first base plate 3 . the axis 73 remains substantially in place during rotation of the lever 63 . due to the rigid connection member 57 , wire springs 59 and 61 , and flange 65 on dish 15 , rotation of the lever 63 about the axis 73 causes the dish 15 to rotate the same amount . a fifth coupling member for the second direction of rotation , q y ( see fig5 ), is identical to the fourth coupling member for the first direction of rotation , q x , and is therefore not described further . a connection member ( pipe ) 87 identical to the connection member ( pipe ) 57 is partly visible in fig5 . the rotation q y is also obtained by a microdrive identical to the microdrive 79 . the connection members 57 and 87 ( for q x and q y ) can be positioned by wire springs 89 and 91 . springs 89 and 91 are secured at one end to the relevant connection member and at the other end to a fixed block 93 . a sixth coupling member for the third direction of rotation , q z , has the same construction as the fourth and the fifth coupling members for the directions of rotation q x and q y . the rotation in the direction q z has , however , an effect on the dish 15 and the wire spring 5 which different from that of the rotations in the directions q x and q y , as will be explained more fully . the sixth coupling member comprises a rigid connection member ( pipe ) 95 and a lever 97 of the second kind . the connection member 95 is connected by two pairs of parallel and identical wire springs 99 and 101 ( see fig4 ) to the dish 15 and to the lever 97 , respectively . the four wire springs 99 and 101 are all clamped near one end to the connection member 95 . the other ends of the springs 99 and 101 are clamped to a block 103 secured to the flange 65 of the dish 15 and to the lever 97 , respectively . the two wire springs 99 thus form a parallelogram connection between the connection member 95 and the block 103 . the two wire springs 101 form a parallelogram connection between the connection member 95 and the lever 97 . the connection member 95 comprises a pipe 105 with flanges 107 and 109 . the wire springs 99 and 101 are clamped in flanges 107 and 109 . the wire spring 5 extends inside the pipe 105 for the third direction of translation , z . the lever 97 is rotatable about an axis 111 in the third direction of rotation , q z . the axis 111 is formed by two pairs of perpendicularly crossing leaf springs 113 and 115 . leaf springs 113 and 115 are clamped at one end to the lever 97 and at the other end to the intermediate block 25 . block 25 is secured both to the first base plate 3 and to the second base plate 27 . the rotation in the third direction of rotation , q z , about the axis 11 is obtained by a known microdrive 119 . microdrive 119 has a ram 121 which engages the lever 97 ( see fig3 ). the microdrive 119 is operated manually , but may alternatively be driven by an electric motor . the axis 111 remains substantially in place during rotation of the lever 97 . the connection member ( pipe ) 95 is also positioned by a wire spring 118 , which is secured to a fixed block 120 . the wire spring 5 is subjected to a bending load during rotations in both directions of rotation q x and q y . on rotation in the direction of rotation q z , the wire spring 5 is subjected to a torsional load ( see fig3 ). since all translations and rotations are made by flexible wire springs , all movements ( i . e . three translations and three rotations ) can be made simultaneously . a translation in one of the directions of translation also results in a translation in the two remaining directions of translation . this is not the case with the rotations . the rotations do not influence each other . it should be noted that all wire springs are glued in the bearing bushings . all bearing bushings are clamped resiliently . as is apparent from fig5 such a clamping can be obtained by incisions , which are resiliently loaded by a bolt . the manipulator is further provided with a hood 121 and a shield 123 . the coupling members may consist of wires which have a constant cross - sections throughout their length . however , thinned circular end portions are used , the central part may have a different cross - section , for example a square cross - section . the wire springs 5 , 29 and 53 may be replaced by comparatively rigid rods which have ball engagements at both ends . such rods can tilt in all necessary directions . the rotatable levers of the first and second kinds may be replaced by translation mechanisms of many different constructions . the microdrives may also be of a kind different from that indicated . for example , it is possible to use piezoelectrically or magnetostrictively acting microdrives . the manipulator can be used especially successfully for performing small displacements of an object in the submicron range . in this case , the object holder may be , for example , a gripper for a robot . for example , the alignment of solid state lasers to optical fibers , the positioning of video recorder heads , the positioning of an object to be illuminated with respect to the illumination source in integrated circuit manufacture , and the positioning of a sample to be examined in an x - ray diffraction apparatus may all be performed by using the manipulator according to the invention . | 1 |
referring now to the single figure , it may be seen that a broadband driver stage 10 according to this invention includes a conventional coaxial impatt diode oscillator ( not numbered ) that is coupled to a rectangular waveguide cavity 11 . the coaxial impatt diode oscillator ( not numbered ) comprises an impatt diode 13 mounted in a section of coaxial line ( not numbered ) here fabricated by forming a substantially cylindrical opening in complementary metallic members ( not numbered ) making up a block 15 with a section of double - ridged waveguide 17 formed therein . the impatt diode 13 is mounted between a heat sink 19 and an impedance transformer section 21 to match the relatively low diode impedance to the 50 ohm characteristic impedance of the coaxial line . a dielectric sleeve 23 is provided to prevent the transformer section 21 from being shorted to the outer conductor of the coaxial line section . a tapered termination load 25 is provided on the opposite end of the coaxial line . the material of the termination load 25 here is the material known as &# 34 ; eccosorb &# 34 ; ( a trademark of emerson & amp ; cuming , incorporated , microwave products division , canton , mass .). it will now be appreciated that the impatt diode 13 and associated elements constitute an assembly similar to the low power stage shown in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 097 , 823 . it will also be appreciated that , as compared to the just - mentioned stage , the loading provided here by the ridges of the double - ridged waveguide 17 is effective to lower the impedance of the waveguide section 17 and to lower the cutoff frequency of the dominant mode , so that the useful bandwidth of the here - contemplated driver stage 10 is wider than that of the mentioned low power stage , or of any known driver stage . the impedance of the waveguide section 17 is matched to that of a conventional waveguide circulator 27 by means of an asymmetrical compound coupling iris 29 . it is well known that discontinuities in waveguides provide reactance which approximates a lumped capacitance , a lumped inductance , or a combination of the two . thus , discontinuities which constrict the guide in the direction of the electric field as , for example , an e - plane iris , act as a capacitance and discontinuities which constrict the guide in the direction of the magnetic field act as an inductance . when thin metal irises are used as matching elements , the thicker the iris the greater the amount of susceptance provided . the coupling iris 29 has a pair of dissimilar apertures 31 , 33 provided therein that are separated by a section of wr90 waveguide which is less than one - eighth of a guide wavelength in length at the center frequency of the amplifier 10 . the dimensions of each of the apertures 31 , 33 here was empirically determined , respectively , to be 0 . 475 &# 34 ;× 0 . 175 &# 34 ; ( with a wall thickness of 0 . 032 &# 34 ;) and 0 . 700 &# 34 ;× 0 . 060 &# 34 ; ( with a wall thickness of 0 . 100 &# 34 ;). the spacing between apertures 31 , 33 was 0 . 100 &# 34 ;. the coupling iris 29 is asymmetric because of the need to match the relatively low impedance of the double - ridged waveguide section 17 to the higher impedance of the conventional waveguide circulator 27 . to complete the illustrated apparatus , a locking signal source 35 and at least one power - combining stage 37 are connected as shown to the circulator 27 . the locking signal source 35 may , for example , be a pulsed or continuous wave oscillator operating at a desired microwave frequency with an output power level of , say , 200 milliwatts . such a level is too low to injection - lock any power - combining stage 37 so the contemplated broadband driver stage 10 is effective to provide ( out of the circulator 27 ) an amplified locking signal at a power level of 1 . 6 watts . further , it will be noted that the power level of the amplified locking signal here remains substantially constant as the frequency of the locking signal source 35 is changed over a bandwidth of about 3 . 5 % and that the duty cycle of the locking signal source 35 ( if pulsed ) may be changed within wide limits . the bias for the impatt diode 13 is derived from a conventional bias source 39 . having described a preferred embodiment of the invention , it will now be apparent to one of skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating its concept may be used . it is felt , therefore , that this invention should not be restricted to the disclosed embodiment , but rather should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
referring to the figures , there is shown a partial area of a roller conveyor 10 of the type used , for example , in dryers employed in the manufacture of drywall , particle , flake or chipboard , ceiling tile , and like products that are formed by drying a slurry or wet intermediate product . the conveyor 10 has cylindrical rollers 11 carried on respective concentric round shafts 12 mounted in bearings 13 as is conventional . normally , a large number of rollers 11 are used in a conveyor but for simplicity only three are shown in the figures . it will be understood that a bearing 13 is provided at each end of each roller 11 . the rollers 11 are arranged parallel to one another in a common horizontal plane , typically , with a uniform center - to - center spacing . the rollers 11 can be mounted close to one another to adequately support the material being conveyed which is often in a weak state incapable of supporting itself across a significant span . ordinarily , in a typical dryer , there are several vertically spaced layers or decks of rollers 11 . the rollers 11 of each level or deck are all driven in the same direction of rotation by a common chain 14 , which may be of the conventional roller type . customarily , the chain 14 contacts only one or a limited number of teeth 16 of a sprocket 17 associated with a respective roller 11 at any given time . usually , the rollers 11 of a level or deck are driven by a single chain at one side of the conveyor 10 . the sprockets 17 , in accordance with the invention , are assemblies of a sprocket plate 18 on which are formed the teeth 16 , and a hub 19 that is mounted on a roller shaft 12 . as will be described , the sprocket plate 18 and hub 19 are specially configured to interfit or mate with one another for a positive rotational drive between these elements and , alternatively , for passage of the sprocket plate axially completely over the hub . more particularly , the sprocket plate 18 has a spider - like internal bore 21 while the hub has a complementary external spider profile , characterized by radially extending legs or spokes 22 that can fit through the bore . each hub 19 is preferably a metal body with a plurality of three internally radially extending legs or spokes 22 . the hubs 19 can be formed of any suitable material such as a ferrous metal like cast iron , cast steel , or hot roll steel . a bore 26 of the hub 19 is sized to fit the shaft 12 of a respective roller 11 which shaft typically is 1¼ inch in diameter . the sprocket bore 26 includes an internal keyway 27 for receiving a key 28 . the key 28 is also received in an external keyway in the shaft 12 as is conventional . a set screw 29 threaded into a radial hole 31 in the hub 19 locks against the key 28 and releasably fixes the hub 19 onto the shaft 12 . the sprocket assemblies 17 along the conveying direction alternate between two constructions or styles , one 36 lying outside , with reference to a zone occupied by the rollers 11 , of an imaginary vertical plane passing through the middle width of the chain 14 , and the other 37 lying to the inside of this imaginary plane . in other words , the inside and outside designations of these sprocket assembly styles 36 , 37 is made with the understanding that parts on the side of the imaginary vertical mid - plane of the chain adjacent the rollers 11 are “ inside ” and parts on the other side of this imaginary plane are “ outside ”. to the extent that the features of the sprocket plates and hubs are the same or similar in shape or function , the same reference numerals will apply . the sprocket plates of both styles 36 , 37 have essentially the same axial profile , including number of teeth and outside diameter . the sprocket assemblies 17 , as mentioned , are all driven in the same rotational direction so that their respective rollers 11 also revolve in this same direction . adjacent leading edges of the hub legs or spokes 22 , with reference to their direction of rotation , are radially extending lugs or stops 41 . the lugs 41 are formed with abutment surfaces 42 that facing rearwardly with reference to their rotational direction , preferably lie in radial planes that are parallel to and pass through the center of rotation or axis of the hub 19 . the abutment surfaces 42 extend radially outward from an imaginary cylinder concentric with the hub axis and coincident with cylindrical surface segments 43 at the base or radially inward ends of the legs 22 . the abutment surfaces 42 terminate radially outwardly at cylindrical outer surface segments 45 of the legs 22 on a common imaginary cylinder concentric with the bore 26 and forming the major outside hub diameter . the sprocket plates 18 have asymmetric unidirectional teeth 16 that are shaped to provide a positive drive from limited tangential engagement of the chain 14 . tips 56 of the teeth 16 represent the outside maximum diameter of the sprockets 17 . the sprocket plates 18 have central bores 57 . arcuate surface areas 58 of the bore 57 , represent a major diameter area and three intervening arcuate surface areas 59 represent the minor diameter of the bore 57 . the internal sprocket legs 23 are equally angularly spaced and form the minor diameter areas 59 at their inner ends . as seen , the legs 23 span the arcuate space between the major diameter arcuate surfaces 58 . leading abutment faces 61 , with reference to the direction of rotation of the sprocket assemblies 17 , extend between the inside diameter and outside diameter bore surfaces 58 , 59 and preferably lie in flat planes that are radial to , pass through , and are parallel to a central axis of the sprocket plate 18 . in the illustrated embodiment , the hub legs 22 of either sprocket style 36 or 37 , are three in number and the sprocket plate legs 23 are of the same number . the arcuate extent of each hub leg 22 is slightly less than an arcuate gap 44 between the internal legs or spokes 23 of the internal sprocket plate bore 21 . this arcuate geometry of the hub and sprocket plate legs as well as the limited radial extent of these legs results in an outer hub profile that is complimentary to and slightly smaller than the interior bore 57 of the sprocket plate thereby enabling a sprocket plate to pass completely over a hub . a face 47 of the hub 19 lies in a flat radial plane transverse to the hub axis and serves as a seat or abutment surface against which the sprocket plate 18 is secured by machine screws 62 , 63 . the sprocket plates 18 are removably assembled on corresponding hubs with the axes of these elements coincident and held in place by a set of the machine screws 62 or 63 . in the case of the outside style of sprocket assembly 36 , the sprocket plate 18 is held to the hub 19 with socket head machine screws 62 threaded into the sprocket plate and in the case of the inside style of sprocket 37 the sprocket plate 18 is held to the hub 19 by flat head machine screws 63 threaded into the hub . the screws 62 , 63 , hold the respective sprocket plates 18 in abutting contact with the radial hub face 47 . it is this surface 47 from which the hub lugs 41 axially project . when mounted on a hub 19 , radial sprocket surfaces 61 abut the radial lug or abutment surfaces 42 enabling the torque developing forces imposed by the chain 14 to be transmitted to the hub with low compressive stresses imposed on these surfaces as a result of being relatively large and being disposed radially outwardly significantly from their rotational axis . non - threaded clearance holes 66 , 67 , that receive the machine screws 62 , 63 in the hubs of the respective outside sprocket styles 36 or in the sprocket plates of the inside sprocket style 37 , ensure that the torque transmitted from the sprocket plate 18 to the hub 19 is isolated from the screws , it being understood that this torque is developed by the abutment surfaces 61 , 42 . as seen in fig2 , and as discussed , the inside and outside styles 37 , 36 of the sprocket assembly 17 can alternate along the feed direction of the conveyor 10 to permit a relatively large sprocket diameter to be used in proportion to the center - to - center distance of the shafts 12 . by offsetting the sprocket assemblies 17 to either side of a center plane of the chain 14 , the sprocket plate 18 of one assembly does not interfere with the sprocket 18 or hub 19 of an adjacent sprocket assembly even where , as shown , the center - to - center distance of adjacent shafts 12 is less than the combined radius of a sprocket and a radius of essentially any part of the sprocket hub on the adjacent shaft . this geometry thereby allows relatively large sprockets to be used and , in turn , reduces the forces required of the chain on the sprocket teeth to develop a given level of torque . at least the sprocket plates 18 on the outer sprocket assemblies 36 , and preferably the sprocket plates on the inner sprocket assemblies 37 , are able to be passed completely over their associated hubs 19 for purposes of removal and replacement . the sprocket plates 18 can experience relatively high wear rates due to their operating environment and from time - to - time may need to be replaced . both the inside and outside sprocket plates can be changed without removal of their associated hubs . moreover , removal and replacement of these plates can be readily accomplished because the machine screws 62 , 63 securing these plates on their respective hubs can be conveniently reached from the outside , i . e . the space outward of the chain 14 , with the convention that the conveyor rollers 11 are to the inside . with the invention , replacing each of the sprocket plates 18 is a simple matter of removing three screws 62 or 63 , and separating the plate from its hub . the need for breaking the hub loose from its fit on a shaft 12 is eliminated . prior to assembly , the screws 62 , 63 , can be coated with a suitable protective sealant so that the risk of corrosion in the threaded holes in the sprocket plate 18 , or hub 19 is reduced . the torque between the sprocket plate and hub developed by the chain force is transmitted between the radial abutment faces 42 and 61 and is preferably isolated from the screws by appropriately dimensioning the parts and especially as mentioned , the clearance holes . typically , where desired , the shaft 12 can be lifted slightly for access to any of the machine screws 63 on the inside sprocket plates . fig4 shows that a sprocket plate 18 can be removed by sliding it axially over the respective roller 11 . this optional method of removal is permitted where , as shown , the minor inside diameter of the sprocket plate is slightly larger than the diameter of the roller . this geometry can be used on the inside sprocket assembly 37 enabling the inside sprocket to be removed , for example , while the adjacent outside sprockets remain in place or can be used on both inside and outside sprocket assemblies for greater flexibility in maintenance or replace operations . in many instances , the rollers 11 can be spaced apart far enough to allow the sprockets of each roller to be in - line , i . e . in a common plane without interference . in this case , the width or thickness of a sprocket plate can be double that shown in the figures , while still using the illustrated chain and the axial sprocket plate profile can be the same as that of the described and shown sprocket plates . such a wide or full width sprocket plate is conveniently used with the inside sprocket style hub illustrated in fig2 . fig4 - 11 illustrate a second embodiment of a sprocket assembly 70 that has structure and function analogous to that of the assembly 17 described in connection with fig1 - 3 . the sprocket assembly 70 comprises a sprocket plate 71 and a hub 72 each of which is made from a suitable material such as steel or other ferrous metal . the sprocket plate 71 and hub 72 can be cast , stamped , forged , machined or otherwise made into their respective shapes as desired . the sprocket plate 71 has peripheral unidirectional teeth 73 , distributed about its geometric center , to cooperate with the roller chain 14 like that shown in fig1 and 3 . the hub 72 has a keyed cylindrical bore 74 with an associated set screw 76 for locking a key 77 onto a shaft such as the shaft 12 shown in fig1 and 3 . when assembled on the hub 72 , the ring - like sprocket plate 71 has its teeth 73 concentrically disposed about the axis of the bore 74 . the hub 72 has a central core 78 with a generally circular exterior surface 79 concentric with the bore 74 and with a plurality of three equally angularly spaced legs 81 extending radially outwardly from this core surface 79 . the legs 81 have radially outer surfaces 82 lying on a common imaginary cylinder concentric with the bore 74 . between the legs 81 are arcuate spaces 83 . as shown in fig8 , 10 and 11 , the legs 81 each have a slot 84 at mid - length in the axial direction of the bore 74 . each hub leg slot 84 is open at one arcuate side of the leg 81 and adjacent the cylindrical surface 82 . each slot 84 has a bottom 86 concentric with the bore 74 on a radius equal or larger than the radius of the core 78 . in an angular direction with respect to the axis of the bore 74 the slot 84 ends to form a generally radially oriented abutment surface 87 that can be semi - cylindrical or otherwise somewhat rounded , when viewed in a plane transverse to the radial direction , for ease of manufacture . the sprocket plate 71 is ring - like in form and has a plurality of three radially inwardly extending equally angularly spaced legs 89 . the legs have inner surfaces 91 on a common imaginary cylinder concentric with the geometric center of the body of the sprocket plate 71 . arcuate spaces or gaps 92 between each sprocket plate leg are larger in profile than the profile of a hub leg 81 . the sprocket plate legs 89 have leading edges 93 in a rotational sense that are generally radial with respect to the center of the sprocket plate 71 . as indicated in fig5 , showing a sprocket of “ half ” thickness , the legs 89 lie in a plane that is offset from the plane of the peripheral teeth 73 a distance that preferably is at least equal to the thickness of the sprocket in the base area of the teeth . the spaces 92 are radially bounded by surfaces 94 lying on a common imaginary cylindrical surface concentric with the center of the sprocket plate 71 . the surfaces 94 form the major inside diameter or bore of the sprocket plate while the surfaces 91 form the minor inside diameter of the sprocket . as the case with the sprocket and hub shown in fig1 - 3 , the major and minor inside diameters of the sprocket plate 71 are at least as large as the major and minor outside diameters of the hub 72 . this relationship , in addition to the gaps between the sprocket legs 89 being larger than the arcuate widths of the hub legs 81 enables the sprocket plate 71 to pass completely over the hub 72 . the sprocket plate 71 is assembled on the hub 72 by angularly aligning its legs 89 with the hub spaces 83 and slipping it onto the hub until the plane of the legs 89 is coincident with the plane of the hub grooves or slots 84 . the sprocket plate 71 is then rotated relative to the hub 72 in a manner similar to a bayonet connection such that the sprocket plate becomes rotationally coupled to the hub with the radial edge abutment faces 93 on the sprocket legs 89 abutting respective end walls or abutment surfaces 87 at the arcuate ends of the hub slots 84 . the sprocket plate 71 can be releasably locked in position on the hub 72 with a roll pin 95 received in holes drilled through the hub and sprocket plate parallel to their axis . fig5 and 10 illustrate a “ half ” width sprocket that can be used as described earlier where the roller shaft centers are close and inside and outside half width sprockets are alternately mounted from shaft - to - shaft . the sprocket of fig5 can be an outside sprocket and a complementary inside sprocket can be configured as a mirror image of it . a “ full ” sprocket useful when the conveyor roller spacing is large is illustrated in fig6 and 11 . it is desirable to proportion the hub 72 widthwise in the manner shown such that its axial length is three times the nominal thickness of a half sprocket at the base of the teeth or 1½ times the width of a full sprocket at the base of its teeth and it is symmetrical about a mid - plane perpendicular to the axis of the bore 74 . this length permits the hub 72 to be used with both inside and outside style sprockets without interference with an adjacent sprocket as well as with full width sprockets . it will be understood that sprocket plates of the style illustrated in fig4 can be readily removed from a hub for replacement while the hub remains locked on a shaft . removal of a sprocket plate 71 only requires the roll pin 95 to be knocked out and the sprocket plate to be rotated in a reverse direction relative to the hub until its legs 89 are aligned with the spaces 83 between the hub legs 81 and then moved axially off of the hub . it should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding , modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure . for example , in the embodiment of fig1 - 3 , the sprocket plate can be retained against the hub by elements other than machine bolts such as a wedge or a horseshoe clip . the invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited . | 5 |
this invention shows how simple and cheap equipment can be used for different analyses as efficiently as with previously described complicated instrumentation , when the immunoassay or dna hybridization are performed on a single - use ee chip or using also a porous layer on top of the ee chip . by this means both the measurement device and the measuring cell are cheap enough for the needs of decentralized analysis . this invention describes different ways of producing ee cells on top of different cheap materials . these materials include , among others , different sorts of plastic , polymers , paper , paper with different types of coatings , and cardboard . materials like these are easy to couple to a micro analysis system or a cassette , which takes care of all other functions needed for the analysis . in mass production when one strives to manufacture high quality goods at low prices , printing methods are a very good option as a production method . electrodes described in this invention are extremely well suited to be manufactured by methods of printing technology , which gives a significant competitive advantage on the market . it is previously known that carbon electrodes can be used as single - use anodes in context of electrochemiluminescence of ruthenium ( fi981568 ( a ), kulmala , s ., et al . ), but single carbon anodes cannot be used to excite terbium chelates . an expert in the area could not imagine that by replacing the platinum electrode in a carbon - platinum electrode pair with a carbon electrode one could achieve a special electrode system with special behavior at least when the electrodes are level and near each other ( so far we do not have experience of different geometries ). we are not entirely certain yet whether the light is produced when the electrodes function anodically or cathodically or if the reaction is a result of the combined effect of intermediates produced at different polarities . from the experimental results it appears that the main part of the light at least is produced at the cathode . this invention presents a significant enhancement on the instrumentation and methods meant for the decentralized analysis market and makes cheap , quantitative and fast testing possible . the above is achieved by using ee cells either in their simplest form , fitted with a hydrophobic ring defining the cell area , or as an integrated element in a more complex analysis cassette . the objective of this invention is a method and a device to excite labels in bioaffinity assays either directly from the surface of the ee chips or with the help of porous layers ( porous membranes ) in the ee chip device . the method can be used in immunochemical and dna probe quick assays . it may also be possible that in time some other labels than terbium chelates can be excited with ee chips and methods described in this invention . the invention consists of a device , where the main part is an ee chip . the surface of the electrodes of the ee chip can be coated by known means with antibodies or dna and label molecules attached to the coating can be excited by electric pulses . according to the invention the electrode part ( or the surface of the optional porous layer that comes in contact with the electrode part ) can be coated with langmuir - blodgett films or other easily made films that create special advantages . sometimes great advantages are reached when using porous membranes in bioaffinity assays . with help of the porous layer the sample is uniformly spread on the antibody - coated electrode complex . the porous layers also appear to function as homogenic compensators of liquid flow and to prevent in microfluidistc systems bubble formation , temperature diffusion and surface forces as well as to eliminate problems caused by these e . g ., in microfluidistic micro - flow cells or microlayered cells . films ( porous layers , aka porous membranes ) sometimes used in the invention on electrode surfaces , are characterized by their microporosity and their less than 100 μm thickness . these kinds of materials are commercially available from many sources , such as millipore , msi , sartorius , pall , sigma and dupont . the membranes can be either isotropic or anisotropic . the manufacturing techniques of the films are varied and may contain pressing or stretching , the pores may be formed either chemically or physically , and in anisotropic films , by phase transfer . suitable materials include ptfe , polyvinylidene fluoride , polycarbonate , polysulphone , nylon and cellulose esthers . these are available from commercial sources with different pore sizes and thicknesses and with different physicochemical properties . fibrous materials that can be used include fiber filters , filtration paper , filtration cloth , etc . for manufacturing reasons the ee chips are best kept dry . the devices are then set to working order by adding liquid sample or buffer solution on the ee chips or on the porous layer in the chips . thus conditions suitable for bioaffinity reactions are achieved either directly on the electrodes or between the membrane and the electrode . there are plenty of different , alternative options for the ee chips this invention describes . the basic choice is to directly use a sufficiently conductive carbon paste to manufacture the electrodes on the chip , which is typically either plastic , paper or glass chip or strip , and most typically the manufacturing is done by printing technologies . should the conductance of the carbon paste be insufficient , one can make a highly conductive layer below the carbon paste from e . g . silver ink or thin metal layer , which is then extensively covered with the carbon paste . thus already relatively low voltages are enough to produce ecl as the potential drop does not happen in a long distance inside the resistive carbon paste film . ee chips are usually attached to be part of a diagnostic cassette by various different techniques and by utilizing the best properties of different materials . the aim is to prepare the parts of the cassette , usually made of polymers , e . g ., channels and cells , so that after the addition of the reagents by dry chemistry they allow all the necessary functions of the diagnostic measurement , typically so that the single - use cassette is never opened during use or afterwards . in the following the invention is further illustrated by diagrams and non - limiting examples and figures related to the examples . manufacturing ee chip electrodes so that in the cell area the electrode material consists only of carbon paste an electrode pair , shown in fig1 , was painted from carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) on top of a 10 × 19 mm plastic chip using a template . a 0 . 2 mm high and 0 . 5 mm wide shoulder had been left in the middle of the chip when it was manufactured by milling , and this shoulder was used as a resistor between the electrodes ( fig2 ( b )). after the carbon paste had dried an extra layer was painted with silver ink ( bison electro g - 22 , bison inc , netherlands ) and this silver layer nearly reached the cell area ( fig2 ). the cell area was formed by attaching a perforated piece of teflon tape ( irpola oy , turku , finland ) or an ordinary perforated tape piece ( a square one , unlike the round piece shown in fig1 , with a 7 mm or 8 mm i . d . hole in the middle of the piece ) to the left end of the electrode as shown in fig1 . both tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate and tb ( iii )- n 1 - 4 - isothiocyanatobenzyl ) diethylenetriamine - n 1 , n 2 , n 3 , n 3 tetraacetate chelate could be excited and measured with time resolution in this cell . a significantly higher intensity is , however , reached with ee chips of example 2 , with which however the corresponding chelates of other lanthanide ions gave significantly lower intensities than terbium . an electrode pair , shown in fig1 , was painted from silver ink ( bison electro g - 22 , bison inc , netherlands ) on top of a 10 × 19 mm plastic chip using a template . an 0 . 2 mm high and 0 . 5 mm wide shoulder had been left in the middle of the chip when it was manufactured by milling , and this shoulder was used as a resistor between the electrodes . after the silver ink had dried ( 5 h ) a covering layer of carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) was added on top of it and left to dry at room temperature overnight . the cell area was formed by attaching a perforated piece of teflon tape ( irpola oy , turku , finland ) or an ordinary perforated tape piece to the left end of the electrode as shown in fig1 . the calibration curve of tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate is presented in fig3 ( a ), open circles . the measuring instrument consisted of a stanford research sr400 photon counter , a coulostatic pulse generator and a black plastic electrode chamber with a perkin elmer channel photomultiplier tube module attached . the parameters in the measurements were : pulsed voltage − 67v , pulse charge 30 μc / pulse , pulse frequency 20 hz . ecl intensity was integrated over 1000 excitation cycles , delay time 0 . 05 ms , measuring window 6 . 0 ms . 0 . 05 m sodium tetraborate buffer , ph 9 . 2 , was used . at first baking paper ( greaseproof paper ) was coated with silver ink ( bison electro g - 22 , bison inc , netherlands ), after which a layer of carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) was coated on top of the silver . templates were used in the coating to imitate silk - screen printing . after the carbon paste had dried at room temperature for 2 h , strips fit to be used on the bases in fig2 were cut from the paper . the edge of the paper by the shoulder of the base was painted with carbon paste so that silver would not be in direct contact with the electrolyte solutions . finally the paper was attached to the plastic base by double - sided tape ( 3m ) and the tape rings forming the cell area were attached to the chip . the calibration curve of tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate is presented in fig3 ( b ), closed circles . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 2 . manufacturing ee chip from metal foil strips coated with carbon paste at first the electrode pair was made by gluing aluminium foil strips on top of a 10 × 19 mm plastic chip . an 0 . 2 mm high ( or optionally 0 . 3 mm or 0 . 4 mm high ) and 0 . 5 mm wide shoulder was left in milling in the middle of the chip to function as resistor between the electrodes ( fig1 ). the aluminium foil strips were coated with carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) so that at the right edge the contact areas of spring loaded studs / pins ( which attach the chip to the pulse generator of the device ) were left uncovered . the cell area was formed by attaching either a perforated piece of teflon tape ( irpola oy , turku , finland ) or an ordinary perforated piece of tape at the left end of the electrode according to fig1 . the calibration curve of tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate is presented in fig3 ( c ), closed squares . similar electrodes can also be made by starting from aluminium plates produced by vapor deposition , as in example 8 . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 2 . manufacturing ee chip from commercially available metal stickers covered with carbon paste at first the electrode couple was manufactured by gluing copper folio stickers ( screen house , turku , finland ) with their own adhesive on top of the 10 × 19 mm plastic chip . an 0 . 3 mm high and 0 . 5 mm wide shoulder was left during milling in the middle of the strip to function as a resistor between the electrodes ( fig1 ). the copper folio strips were coated with carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) so that the contact areas of spring loaded pins to the pulse generator at the right edge of the strip were left unpainted . the cell area was formed by attaching either a perforated piece of teflon tape ( irpola oy , turku , finland ) or an ordinary perforated piece of tape at the left end of the electrode according to fig1 . the calibration curve of tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate is presented in fig3 ( d ), closed circles . similar electrodes can also be made by starting from aluminium plates produced by vapor deposition , as in example 8 . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 2 . at first enough ee chips were manufactured with the procedure of example 2 . when studying the effect of various additives on the electrochemiluminescence , it was noticed that addition of persulfate increased the electroluminescence . this in all probability means that the persulfate was reduced in the process to produce sulfate radical . sulfate radicals are known to produce chemiluminescence from tb ( iii ) ions and chelates in aqueous solution ( s . kulmala et al ., anal . chim . acta 294 ( 1994 ) 13 - 25 .). when the effect of potassium persulfate concentration on signal intensity was further studied it was noticed that increasing the persulfate concentration appeared to strongly enhance the ecl intensity of the tb ( iii ) chelate ( 1 × 10 − 6 m tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol ) throughout the studied concentration range ( fig4 ). it is probable that the increase of the intensity continues up to the highest dissolving amount of potassium persulfate ( about 50 mm ), and even higher concentrations can be reached with sodium persulfate . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 2 . when the stability of the electrodes was studied under acidic conditions and under basic conditions , it was found that the performance was better if the electrodes were used a second time . because of this finding a comparison was made , in which ee chips manufactured by the process described in example 2 were incubated for 15 minutes in 1m naoh solution , 1m h 2 so 4 solution , or in 1m hcl solution . after the incubation the electrodes were washed with distilled water and measurements were made using 1 μm tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol chelate . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 2 . the results are given in the table below , and both the acid treatment and the basic treatment clearly increased the efficiency of the electrodes . immunoassay with ee chips formed into a whole cell with pdms chip pdms chip was manufactured by moulding from sylgard 184 silicon elastomer ( curing agent 1 : 10 ) using a form on a petri dish . the wet pdms was degassed under vacuum and cured at 50 ° c . for 2 hours . the solidified pdms was separated from the form and cut to pieces . the pdms chips had a sample and reagents feeding chamber at the left edge ( part 6 in fig5 ) where the reagents needed for bioaffinity assay were dried before the analysis . this sample input chamber had been attached via microchannels ( part 7 in fig5 ) to a combined incubation and measurement chamber ( part 5 in fig5 ). capillary forces and hydrostatic pressure moved the liquid to the incubation / measurement chamber while the air exited from the chamber via microchannels ( part 8 in fig5 ). the incubation / measurement chamber had miniature pillars to keep the pdms chip chamber at a constant size and to prevent it from compressing . the height of the incubation / measurement chamber was 0 . 35 mm , the volume was ca . 15 μl and the total thickness of the pdms chip was 5 mm . at first the top surface of glass chips ( 19 . 0 mm × 10 . 0 mm ) were plasma treated briefly . then , a ca . 0 . 3 mm thick aluminium layer was vacuum deposited through a mask on the glass chips attached below the mask ; both of the chip &# 39 ; s electrodes ( 2 and 3 in fig1 ) were formed . after this the aluminium electrodes were comprehensively coated with carbon paste ( creative materials 110 - 04 carbon ink , tyngsboro , mass ., usa ) so that the contact areas of spring - loaded pins ( to the pulse generator ) at the right edge of the strip were left unpainted . human tsh was used as the model analyte . α - subunit attaching anti - tsh ( moab , lot : m - 21310 , catalogue number mit0406 , conc . 6 . 87 mg / ml ; medix inc , usa ) was used as the primary ( capturing ) antibody , and the secondary ( labeled ) antibody was β - subunit specific anti - tsh ( clone 5404 , lot spc099 , conc . 5 . 5 mg / ml , medix biochemica oy ab , finland ). calibration standards of htsh were made by dilution from wallac &# 39 ; s concentrated stock solution ( delfia htsh kit , 324 miu / ml tsh ). the labeled secondary antibody ( anti - htsh , clone 5404 , 5 . 5 mg / ml , medix biochemica oy ab ) was made by letting the isothiocyanate derivative of tb chelate ( tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - bentsoylphenol chelate ) react in 80 times molar excess with the antibody . the reaction was left to proceed overnight at ph 9 . 5 . the labeled antibody was separated in a column which was 1 cm in diameter and had 5 . 5 cm sephadex g - 50 on top of 52 cm sepharose 6b . once the carbon paste had dried , the electrodes were coated with the antibody in the well formed by the tape at the measuring cell area on the ee chip according to the following procedure : 150 μl of the solution containing 30 μg / ml of the capturing antibody ( 0 . 1m mes , 0 . 2 m borate , 0 . 025 % bovine gammaglobuline ph 6 . 5 ) was added to the incubation well and incubated for 3 hours in closed plastic boxes with azide - containing water at the bottom beneath stands . after the coating the cell area was washed with a washing solution ( 0 . 05m tris - h 2 so 4 buffer , ph 7 . 75 , 0 . 1 % bovine albumin , 0 . 1 % tween 20 , and 0 . 1 % nan 3 ). next a pdms chip ( 25 mm × 14 mm , 5 mm thick ; part 4 in fig5 ) was attached to the ee chip with clamps so that the chips pressed suitably tightly against each other . after this , 20 μl of the solution was added to the sample inlet chamber ( part 6 in fig5 ) located at the left edge of the pdms - ee cassette . the solution contained 100 ng of the labeled secondary antibody in 0 . 05 m tris - h 2 so 4 buffer ( ph 7 . 75 , 0 . 1 % bovine albumin , 0 . 1 % tween 20 , and 0 . 1 % nan 3 ). 0 . 2 m sodium tetraborate buffer ( ph set to 7 . 8 with h 2 so 4 ; 0 . 5 % bovine albumin , 0 . 05 % bovine gammaglobulin , 0 . 01 % tween 20 , and 0 . 1 % nan 3 ) was used as the immunoassay and measurement buffer . at first 25 μl of htsh standard was added to 175 μl of immunoassay / measurement buffer . the mixture was pipetted to the sample inlet chamber ( part 6 , fig5 ), where the label was already in dried form . the sample dissolved the label and the mixture moved by capillary forces and hydrostatic pressure to the incubation / measurement chamber ( part 5 , fig5 ) via microchannels ( part 7 , fig5 ) while air exited from the cell via other microchannels ( part 8 , fig5 ). after 15 minutes of incubation the ecl intensity was measured from each pdms - ee cassette using a measurement apparatus consisting of a laboratory - made coulostatic pulse generator , a stanford research instruments sr400 photon counter , a nucleus mcs - ii multichannel card and a closed cell measurement space made of black plastic and with a perkin elmer channel photomultiplier tube module ( pulse amplitude − 45v , pulse charge 15 μc / pulse , pulse frequency 20 hz ; ecl intensity was integrated over 200 excitation cycles with delay time 0 . 05 ms and measuring window 6 . 0 ms ). the results of the measurement are shown in fig6 . ee chips were manufactured of vaporised aluminium and carbon paste in the same way as in example 6 . the cell area of the chips was formed with tape in the same way as in example 1 . the sequence to be determined was a 120 nucleotide fragment that is common to human entero - and rhinoviruses . the fragment had been copied with rt - pcr ( lönnrot et al ., j . med . vir . 56 ( 1999 ) 378 - 84 .). this sequence is in routine use in centralized diagnostic laboratories to determine entero - and rhinoviruses . the probe 1 ( tta - gcc - gca - ttc - agg - ggg - cga - aaa - aa - c 6 — nh 2 , medprobe ab , sweden ), which was complementary to the 5 ′ end of the sequence to be determined , was coated on carbon paste electrodes . for the coating , ( aptes ) amino groups were added through silanization with ( 3 - aminopropyl ) triethoxysilane on electrodes covered with an oxide layer . a poly - a tail , a six - carbon aliphatic carbon chain and an ending amino group were added to the 3 ′ end of probe 1 . the final covalent bonding was done with dss double reagent ( disuccinimidyl suberate ) according to the instructions of the producer . the second probe “ probe 2 ” (( nh 2 ) 4 - ga - aac - acg - gac - acc - caa - agt - a ) was labeled with the isothiocyanate derivative of tb chelate ( tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - bentsoylphenol chelate ) by incubating the probe with 80 times excess chelate in 0 . 5 m sodium carbonate buffer ( ph 9 . 5 ) overnight . after the incubation the labeled probe was cleaned with a sephadex g50 column ( nap - 5 column , ge healthcare ). the hybridization was performed by the following means . the rt - pcr multiplied dna sample ( 20 μl , dilutions 1 : 50 , 1 : 100 and 1 : 1000 ) was denatured by addition of 180 μl naoh ( 50 mmol / l ) and incubated at 37 ° c . for 5 min . the samples were then neutralized by addition of 200 μl neutralization buffer ( 6 × ssc , 0 . 3 % tween 20 , 20 mmol / l citric acid ). 10 μl of both the neutralized sample and the labeled probe 2 ( 0 . 6 ng / 4 , 50 mmol / l tris - hcl buffer ph 7 . 8 , 600 mmol / l nacl , 1 % triton x 100 and 1 % blocking reagent ( roche )) were transferred to a new test tube . after mixing , 3 . 5 μl of the mixture was pipetted on the membrane part of the test strip . after hybridization ( 5 min ) the membrane was removed from the silicon electrode , the ee chip was washed 3 times and ecl was measured . the graph of the sample dilutions is shown in fig7 . the measurement parameters were the same as in example 8 . c - reactive protein ( crp ) and thyroid stimulating hormone ( tsh ) were determined simultaneously so that one of the electrodes was coated with a crp capturing antibody and the other with a tsh capturing one . the electrodes of the ee chip were coated with the capturing antibody in rectangle - shaped wells made of tape . the rectangular holes were made in the tape with a scalpel using a template . each of the wells covered a slightly larger area of the corresponding electrode than the final , round cell area , which was at the end of the pretreatment manufactured by adding another tape with a round hole , as in fig1 . both of the antibodies were simultaneously coated on the electrode , each in its own tape wells . anti - tsh ( anti - htsh , mit0406 , medix biotech inc ., usa ) was coated on the electrode by incubating the antibody ( 25 μg / ml , 150 μl ) for 2 hours at room temperature in a solution containing 0 . 1 m mes , 0 . 03m h 3 bo 3 , 0 . 5 mm potassium citrate , 0 . 025 % glutaraldehyde , and 0 . 05 % bovine gammaglobuline . after the incubation the tape well was washed 3 times with a washing solution ( 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ph 7 . 8 with 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 09 % nan 3 and 0 . 05 % tween 20 ). after the washing the coated electrode was saturated by incubating a saturation solution ( 50 mm tris - hcl ph 7 . 8 with 0 . 05 % nan 3 , 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 1 % bsa and 6 % d - sorbitol ) in the tape well for 30 min . after the saturation the tape well was removed ( simultaneously with the one from the anti - crp coating ) from the electrode area and the ee chip was dried at 30 ° c . for 2 . 5 h . in an analogous manner , anti - crp was coated by incubating ( in the tape well on the other electrode ) the antibody ( 20 μg / ml , 150 μl ) for 2 hours at room temperature with 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 8 with 0 . 05 % nan 3 and 0 . 9 % nacl ). after the incubation the tape well was washed 3 times with washing solution ( 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ph 7 . 8 with 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 09 % nan 3 and 0 . 05 % tween 20 ). after washing the coated electrode was saturated by incubating a saturation solution ( 50 mm tris - hcl ph 7 . 8 with 0 . 05 % nan 3 , 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 1 % bsa and 6 % d - sorbitol and 1 mm cacl 2 ) in the tape well for 30 min . after the saturation the tape well was removed ( simultaneously with the one from the anti - tsh coating step ) from the electrode area and the ee chip was dried at 30 ° c . for 2 . 5 h . labeled antibodies were dried in the membrane in the following manner . anti - hcrp antibody ( 74 μg / ml , medix biochemica oy ab anti - hcrp clone 6404 ) labeled with tb ( iii ) chelate ( tb - 2 , 6 - bis [ n , n - bis ( carboxymethyl ) aminomethyl ]- 4 - benzoylphenol ) and anti - htsh antibody ( 80 μg / ml , clone 5404 , medix biochemica oy ab ) labeled with the same tb ( iii ) chelate were dissolved in 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 7 , 0 . 05 % nan 3 , 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 5 % bsa , 0 . 05 % bovine gammaglobulin , 0 . 01 % tween 20 , 1 mm cacl 2 * h 2 o ). 0 . 5 μl of the antibody - buffer solution was pipetted in the middle of a membrane ( 10 × 10 mm , nuclepore membrane 112110 , whatman ) and dried overnight at room temperature and room air . the hcrp standard samples needed in immunoassays ( crp content 1 , 10 and 100 ng / ml ) were made in test tubes by diluting the crp standard solution ( scripps , cat . no . 00124 ) with 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 7 , 0 . 05 % nan 3 , 0 . 9 % nacl , 0 . 5 % bsa , 1 mm cacl 2 * h 2 o ). analogously the tsh standard samples ( 1 , 10 and 100 miu / ml ) were made by diluting the tsh standard ( 324 miu / ml , wallac , delfia htsh kit ) with 50 mm tris - hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 7 , 0 . 05 % nan 3 , 0 . 9 % nacl ). the immunoassay was performed so that both the ee chip and the porous membrane were dry in the beginning . the membrane was applied exactly on top of the tape - well defined cell area of the ee chip and locked in place with tape from the other end . the immunoassay was begun by adding both analyte standards 3 . 5 μl in the middle of the porous membrane ( crp 0 ng / ml and tsh 0 miu / ml ; crp 1 ng / ml and tsh 1 miu / ml ; crp 10 ng / ml and tsh 10 miu / ml ; crp 100 ng / ml and tsh 100 miu / ml ). after incubating 10 min at room temperature the membrane was removed , the cell area of the ee chip was washed with the measurement buffer and 80 μl of the measurement buffer ( 0 . 05 m na 2 b 4 o 7 and 2 × 10 − 4 m k 2 s 2 o 8 ) was added . both analytes were measured so that first 10 excitation cycles were measured with the anti - tsh electrode as the cathode , then the polarity was changed for another 10 cycles with anti - crp electrode as the cathode . the measurement was repeated 5 times and signals from both electrodes were summed together . from the results it would appear that light is primarily produced at the cathode , because the tsh response was received from the left electrode , and such a double assay would seem to work , although it may not necessarily be sensible to measure these particular compounds , tsh and crp , in the same sample . the measurement results have been presented in fig8 and the parameters were the same as in example 8 . | 6 |
by the term “ coordinating metal ” and “ coordinating metals ” and derivatives thereof , as used herein is meant a metal or a metal containing excipient , suitably a diluent , or metal containing tablet coating material , which forms a complex , such as a chelate complex , in the presence of eltrombopag olamine . examples of such metals include : by the term “ reducing sugar ” as used herein is meant a sugar or sugar containing excipient , suitably a diluent , which reacts with eltrombopag olamine to form a maillard product when admixed together . examples of such reducing sugars include : the term maillard reaction is well known in the art and is utilized herein as to its standard meaning . generally , the term maillard reaction is used herein to mean the reaction of a reducing sugar , as defined herein , in a formulation , suitably granules or solid dosage forms , with eltrombopag olamine that produces a pigment or pigments , suitably a brown pigment . the pigments are referred to herein as maillard products . the production of such maillard products is an indication of chemical instability . as used herein , the term “ improved properties ” and derivatives thereof , contemplates several advantages to the pharmacokinetic profile of the in vivo release of compound b from a formulation , suitably granules or a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form , that utilizes an aspect of the present invention when compared to a formulation that does not utilize that aspect of the present invention , suitably the formulation is produced on a commercial scale , and will vary depending on the particular aspect of the invention being utilized . examples of improved properties include : increased oral bioavailability , reduced formation of insoluble metal complexes , improved chemical stability , a consistent pharmacokinetic profile and a consistent dissolution rate . as used herein , the term “ drug ” or “ active ingredient ” and derivatives thereof , means compound b or eltrombopag olamine . by the term “ commercial scale ” and derivatives thereof , as used herein is meant , preparation of a batch scale greater than about 20 kg of granulation mix , suitably greater than 50 kg , suitably greater than 75 kg or a batch size suitable to prepare at least about 50 , 000 tablets , suitably at least 75 , 000 tablets , suitably at least 100 , 000 tablets . when indicating that the diluents for use herein and in the claims are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , it is contemplated that minor amounts , for example : about 5 % or less , of the diluent component could contain a coordinating metal or metals and / or a reducing sugar or reducing sugars . in this aspect of the invention , it is believed that very minor amounts of coordinating metals and / or reducing sugars can be incorporated into the diluent component without adversely effecting tablet performance . the term “ effective amount ” and derivatives thereof , means that amount of a drug or active ingredient that will elicit the biological or medical response of a tissue , system , animal or human that is being sought , for instance , by a researcher or clinician . furthermore , the term “ therapeutically effective amount ” means any amount which , as compared to a corresponding subject who has not received such amount , results in improved treatment , healing , prevention , or amelioration of a disease , disorder , or side effect , or a decrease in the rate of advancement of a disease or disorder . the term also includes within its scope amounts effective to enhance normal physiological function . as used herein , the term “ formulation ” and derivatives thereof , unless otherwise defined refers to granules and / or solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the invention that contain eltrombopag olamine . by the term “ co - administering ” and derivatives thereof as used herein is meant either simultaneous administration or any manner of separate sequential administration of granules and / or a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form of the present invention and a further active ingredient or ingredients , known to treat thrombocytopenia , including chemotherapy - induced thrombocytopenia and bone marrow transplantation and other conditions with depressed platelet production . the term further active ingredient or ingredients , as used herein , includes any compound or therapeutic agent known to or that demonstrates advantageous properties when administered with tpo or a tpo mimetic . preferably , if the administration is not simultaneous , the compounds are administered in a close time proximity to each other . furthermore , it does not matter if the compounds are administered in the same dosage form , e . g . one compound may be administered topically and another compound may be administered orally . examples of a further active ingredient or ingredients for use in combination with the presently invented formulations include but are not limited to : chemoprotective or myeloprotective agents such as g - csf , bb110010 ( clemons et al ., breast cancer res . treatment , 1999 , 57 , 127 ), amifostine ( ethyol ) ( fetscher et al ., current opinion in hemat ., 2000 , 7 , 255 - 60 ), scf , il - 11 , mcp - 4 , il - 1 - beta , acsdkp ( gaudron et al ., stem cells , 1999 , 17 , 100 - 6 ), tnf - a , tgf - b , mip - 1a ( egger et al ., bone marrow transpl ., 1998 , 22 ( suppl . 2 ), 34 - 35 ), and other molecules identified as having anti - apoptotic , survival or proliferative properties . by the term “ granules ” and derivatives thereof , as used herein refers to formulated particles that comprise eltrombopag olamine , diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and suitably also binders and / or lubricants and / or disintegrants such that the particles are suitable for utilization in preparing solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms . it is also possible to administer the granules directly to a subject in need thereof as a medicament . however , it is anticipated that the granules are most appropriately utilized in the preparation of solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms as indicated above . by the term “ solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form ” and “ solid dosage form ” and derivatives thereof , as used herein refers to a final pharmaceutical preparation that comprises eltrombopag olamine , such tablets , capsules , pellets , lozenges and powders ( including coated versions of any of such preparations ) that are suitable for in vivo administration . suitably , the granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the present invention comprise eltrombopag olamine , a diluent ( also known as filler or bulking agent ), and suitably also a binder and / or a lubricant and / or a disintegrant . those skilled in the art will recognize that a given material may provide one or more functions in the tablet formulation , although the material is usually included for a primary function . the percentages of diluent , binder , lubricant and disintegrant provided herein and in the claims are by weight of the tablet . diluents provide bulk , for example , in order to make the tablet a practical size for processing . diluents may also aid processing , for example , by providing improved physical properties such as flow , compressibility , and tablet hardness . because of the relatively high percentage of diluent and the amount of direct contact between the diluent and the active compound in the typical pharmaceutical formulation , the interaction of the diluent with the active compound is of particular concern to the formulator . examples of diluents suitable for general use include : water - soluble fillers and water - insoluble fillers , such as calcium phosphate ( e . g ., di and tri basic , hydrated or anhydrous ), calcium sulfate , calcium carbonate , magnesium carbonate , kaolin , spray dried or anhydrous lactose , cellulose ( e . g ., microcrystalline cellulose , powdered cellulose ), pregelatinized starch , starch , lactitol , mannitol , sorbitol , maltodextrin , powdered sugar , compressible sugar , sucrose , dextrose , and inositol . the diluents that do not contain coordinating metals and diluents that are non - reducing sugars are suitable for tablets of the current invention . suitable diluents for use in this invention include microcrystalline cellulose , powdered cellulose , pregelatinized starch , starch , lactitol , mannitol , sorbitol , and maltodextrin . unsuitable diluents include calcium phosphate ( e . g ., di and tri basic , hydrated or anhydrous ), calcium sulfate , calcium carbonate , magnesium carbonate , kaolin , and spray dried or anhydrous lactose . in one embodiment of the present invention , the diluent is composed of one or both of mannitol and microcrystalline cellulose . the granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the present invention typically comprise from about 25 % to about 89 %, of one or more diluents . one aspect of the present invention comprises granules wherein the granules are formulated using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . one aspect of the present invention comprises solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms wherein the solid dosage forms are formulated using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . one aspect of the present invention comprises pharmaceutical tablets , wherein the tablets are formulated using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . one aspect of the present invention comprises pharmaceutical capsules , wherein the capsules are formulated using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . binders impart cohesive properties to the powdered material . examples of binders suitable for use in the present invention include : starch ( e . g ., paste , pregelatinized , mucilage ), gelatin , sugars ( e . g ., sucrose , glucose , dextrose , molasses , lactose , dextrin , xylitol , sorbitol ), polymethacrylates , natural and synthetic gums ( e . g ., acacia , alginic acids and salts thereof such as sodium alginate , gum tragacanth , irish moss extract , panwar gum , ghatti gum , guar gum , zein ), cellulose derivatives [ such as carboxymethyl cellulose and salts thereof , methyl cellulose ( mc ), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ( hpmc ), hydroxypropyl cellulose ( hpc ), hydroxyethyl cellulose ( hec ) and ethyl cellulose ( ec )], polyvinylpyrrolidone , veegum , larch arabogalactan , polyethylene glycol , waxes , water , alcohol , magnesium aluminum silicate , and bentonites . in one embodiment of the present invention , the binder comprises polyvinylpyrrolidone ( pvp ). the granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the present invention typically comprise up to about 8 % binder . the formulations suitably comprise up to about 5 %, suitably up to about 2 % binder . lubricants are generally used to enhance processing , for example , to prevent adhesion of the formulation material to manufacturing equipment , reduce interparticle friction , improve rate of flow of the formulation , and / or assist ejection of the formulations from the manufacturing equipment . examples of lubricants suitable for use in the present invention include : talc , stearates ( e . g ., magnesium stearate , calcium stearate , zinc stearate , palmitostearate ), stearic acid , hydrogenated vegetable oils , glyceryl behanate , polyethylene glycol , ethylene oxide polymers ( e . g ., carbowaxes ), liquid paraffin , sodium lauryl sulfate , magnesium lauryl sulfate , sodium oleate , sodium stearyl fumarate , dl - leucine , and silica derivatives ( e . g ., colloidal silicon dioxide , colloidal silica , pyrogenic silica , and hydrated sodium silicoaluminate ). in one embodiment of the present invention , the lubricant comprises magnesium stearate . the granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the present invention typically comprise up to about 2 % lubricant . the formulations suitably comprise up to about 1 . 5 %, suitably up to about 1 % lubricant . disintegrants are employed to facilitate breakup or disintegration of the formulation after administration . examples of disintegrants suitable for use in the present invention include : starches , celluloses , gums , crosslinked polymers , and effervescent agents , such as corn starch , potato starch , pregelatinized starch , modified corn starch , croscarmellose sodium , crospovidone , sodium starch glycolate , veegum hv , methyl cellulose , microcrystalline cellulose , cellulose , modified cellulose gum ( e . g ., ac - di - sol r ), agar , bentonite , montmorillonite clay , natural sponge , cation exchange resins , ion exchange resins ( e . g ., polyacrin potassium ), alginic acid and alginates , guar gum , citrus pulp , carboxymethylcellulose and salts thereof such as sodium lauryl sulfate , magnesium aluminum silicate , hydrous aluminum silicate , sodium bicarbonate in admixture with an acidulant such as tartaric acid or citric acid . in one embodiment of the present invention , the disintegrant is sodium starch glycolate . the granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms of the present invention typically comprise an amount from 4 % to about 12 % disintegrant . the formulations suitably comprise from about 6 % to about 10 %, suitably from about 7 % to 9 % disintegrant . the solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms , suitably tablets , suitably capsules , of the present invention will typically be sized up to 1 gram , e . g ., from about 0 . 01 gram to about 0 . 8 gram . these solid dosage forms typically comprise from about 5 mg to about 900 mg of eltrombopag olamine per dosage form . in suitable embodiments , the solid dosage forms comprise from about 5 to about 200 mg eltrombopag olamine ( e . g ., in an about 100 - 800 mg dosage form ). tablet formulations of the invention may have a variety of shapes , including diamond , modified capsule , modified oval , and hexagonal , and may optionally have a tilt . the choice of particular types and amounts of excipients , and tabletting technique employed depends on the further properties of eltrombopag olamine and the excipients , e . g ., compressibility , flowability , particle size , compatibility , and density . the tablets may be prepared according to methods known in the art , including direct compression , dry granulation , fluid bed granulation , and wet granulation , and the type of excipients used will vary accordingly . it has been found that wet granulation is particularly suitable for providing high strength , low breakage tablets comprising relatively high concentrations of eltrombopag olamine ( e . g ., about 40 % or more ), on a scale suitable for commercial production . suitable wet granulated tablets of the invention comprise granules comprising eltrombopag olamine and one or more of fillers , binders and disintegrants , wherein the granules are mixed with additional filler , binder , disintegrant and / or lubricant to form a compression mixture that is compressed to form tablets . included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions in tablet form , suitably prepared on a commercial scale , that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the tablet is made by a wet granulation process using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . also included in the present invention are such pharmaceutical compositions that contain a film coat , wherein the film coat contains no coordinating metals , or only an amount of coordinating metal approximately equal to or less than 0 . 025 parts of compound b . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the tablet is made by a wet granulation process , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 90 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 10 micron but less than 90 micron . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the tablet is made by a wet granulation process , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 90 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 10 micron but less than 90 micron , suitably greater than 20 micron but less than 50 micron . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the tablet is made by a wet granulation process , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 50 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 5 micron but less than 50 micron , suitably greater than 5 micron but less than 20 micron . ( i ) from about 2 % to about 65 % eltrombopag olamine ; ( ii ) from about 25 % to about 89 % of diluent ; ( iii ) up to about 8 % binder , suitably up to about 5 %, suitably up to about 4 %; ( iv ) up to about 2 % lubricant , suitably up to about 1 . 5 %, suitably up to about 1 %; and ( v ) from 4 % to about 12 % disintegrant , suitably 6 % to 10 %, suitably from 7 % to 9 %. suitable wet granulated tablets comprise , by weight of the tablet , from about 10 % to about 95 % of eltrombopag olamine active intragranules and from about 5 % to about 90 % of external excipients ; wherein the eltrombopag olamine active intragranules comprise , by weight of the intragranules : ( i ) from about 2 % to about 88 % eltrombopag olamine ; ( ii ) from about 10 % to about 96 % diluent ; ( iii ) from about 2 % to about 5 % binder ; and ( iv ) optionally from 0 % to about 4 % disintegrant ; ( i ) from 0 % to about 70 % diluent ; ( ii ) from about 0 . 25 % to about 2 %, suitably from about 0 . 25 % to about 1 . 25 % lubricant ; and ( iii ) from 4 % to about 10 % disintegrant . in the foregoing embodiments , the diluent is suitably a combination of mannitol and microcrystalline cellulose , the non - reducing sugar is suitably mannitol , the binder is suitably polyvinylpyrolidone , the lubricant is suitably magnesium stearate , and the disintegrant is suitably sodium starch glycolate . suitably , the intragranule filler is a mixture of mannitol and microcrystalline cellulose and the external filler is microcrystalline cellulose . in one embodiment of the current invention , tablets are coated with a film coat formed from an aqueous film coat composition . aqueous film coat compositions suitable for use in the present invention comprise a film - forming polymer , water as a vehicle , and optionally one or more adjuvants such as are known in the film - coating art . when the film coat contains a coordinating metal , as used herein , the amount of coordinating metal is approximately equal to or less than 0 . 025 parts of compound b . the film - forming polymer is selected to form coatings with mechanical properties ( e . g ., mechanical strength , flexibility ) suitable to meet performance requirements , such as those required by the intended use environment ( e . g ., dissolution profile in gastrointestinal fluids ), and / or use ( e . g . solution viscosity ). examples of suitable film - forming polymers include cellulosic polymers ( e . g ., cellulose ethers such as hpmc , hpc , mc , ec , hec , cap , sodium ethyl cellulose sulfate , carboxymethyl cellulose and the like ); polyvinylpyrolidone ; zein ; and acrylic polymers ( e . g ., methacrylic acid / methacrylic acid ester copolymers such as methacrylic acid / methylmethacrylate copolymers and the like ). cellulosic polymers are preferred in the present invention , especially cellulosic ethers and more especially hpmc and hpc . the polymers are typically provided in either aqueous or organic solvent based solutions or aqueous dispersions . however , the polymers may be provided in dry form , alone or in a powdery mixture with other components ( e . g ., a plasticizer and / or colorant ), which is made into a solution or dispersion by the user by admixing with the aqueous vehicle . the aqueous film coat composition further comprises water as a vehicle for the other components , to facilitate their delivery to the tablet surface . the vehicle may optionally further comprise one or more water soluble solvents , e . g ., alcohols ( e . g ., methanol , isopropanol , propanol ) and ketones ( e . g ., acetone ). the skilled artisan can select appropriate vehicle components to provide good interaction between the film - forming polymer and the vehicle to ensure good film properties . in general , polymer — vehicle interaction is designed to yield maximum polymer chain extension to produce films having the greatest cohesive strength and thus mechanical properties . the components are also selected to provide good deposition of the film - forming polymer onto the tablet surface , such that a coherent and adherent film is achieved . the aqueous film coating composition may optionally comprise one or more adjuvants known in the art , such as plasticizers , colorants , detackifiers , secondary film - forming polymers , flow aids , surfactants ( e . g ., to assist spreading ), maltodextrin , and polydextrose . plasticizers provide flexibility to the film , which may reduce film cracking and improve adhesion to the tablet . suitable plasticizers will generally have a high degree of compatibility with the film - forming polymer and sufficient permanence such that the coating properties are generally stable . examples of suitable plasticizers include glycerin , propylene glycol , polyethylene glycols ( e . g ., molecular weight from 200 to 20 , 000 , including union carbide &# 39 ; s peg 400 , 4000 , 6000 , 8000 , and 20 , 000 ), glycerin triacetate ( aka triacetin ), acetylated monoglyceride , citrate esters ( e . g ., triethyl citrate , acetyl triethyl citrate , tributyl citrate , acetyl tributyl citrate ), phthalate esters ( e . g ., diethyl phthalate ), mineral oil and hydrogenated glucose syrup . in one embodiment of the present invention , the plasticizer is chosen from polyethylene glycols , triacetin , propylene glycol , glycerin , and mixtures thereof . the aqueous film coat composition suitably comprises one or more colorants . in addition to enhancing esthetic appeal , the colorant provides product identification . suitable colorants include those approved and certified by the fda , including fd & amp ; c and d & amp ; c approved dyes , lakes , and pigments , and titanium dioxide , provided that the film coat contains no coordinating metals , or only an amount of coordinating metal approximately equal to or less than 0 . 025 parts of compound b . suitably , the colorant comprises one or more coloring agents selected from the group consisting of red iron oxides , red dyes and lakes , yellow iron oxides , yellow dyes and lakes , titanium dioxide , and indigo carmine . for example , the colorant may be selected to provide a light beige shade , for example consisting essentially of a ) red iron oxide , red dye , and / or red lake , b ) yellow iron oxide , yellow dye , and / or yellow lake , and c ) titanium dioxide . alternatively , the colorant may be selected to provide a pink shade ( e . g ., consisting essentially of titanium dioxide and red iron oxide , red dye and / or red lake ); a light green shade ( e . g ., consisting essentially of yellow iron oxide , yellow dye and / or yellow lake , indigo carmine , and titanium dioxide ); a light blue shade ( e . g ., consisting essentially of titanium dioxide and indigo carmine ); or an orange shade ( e . g ., consisting of essentially of titanium dioxide and sunset yellow ). the above mentioned colorants that contain a coordinating metal are acceptable at a level approximately equal to or less than 0 . 025 parts of compound b . in suitable alternative embodiments , the aqueous film coating composition for use in the current invention comprises : suitably , such compositions further comprise a colorant . such compositions may optionally further comprise one or more additional adjuvants such as a detackifier , flow aid , surfactant , and secondary film - forming polymer . examples of optional detackifiers include lecithin , stearic acid , mineral oil , modified derivatized starch , tapioca dextrin , and polyethylene glycol . examples of optional secondary film - forming polymers include sodium alginate , propylene glycol alginate , and polyvinylpyrrolidone . examples of optional surfactants include dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate and polysorbate 80 . examples of optional flow aids include talc , fumed silica , bentonite , hydrogenated vegetable oils , stearines , and waxes . the aqueous film coat composition will typically comprise from about 5 % to about 25 %, suitably about 5 % to about 20 %, coating solids in the vehicle . in suitable embodiments , the solids typically comprise from about 25 % to about 70 %, suitably about 60 % to about 70 % film - forming polymer , about 5 % to about 10 %, suitably about 6 % to about 8 %, plasticizer , and about 20 % to about 35 % colorant , by weight . a number of suitable aqueous film coating compositions are commercially available . the aqueous film coat composition may be provided in the form of a solution or dispersion . alternatively , the composition may be provided in a dry form that can be combined with the vehicle components according to supplier instructions prior to coating the tablet . suitably , aqueous film coating compositions are those commercially available from colorcon , inc . of west point , pa ., under the trade name opadry and opadry ti ( nonlimiting examples include opadry ys - 1 - 7706 - g white , opadry yellow 03b92357 , opadry blue 03b90842 ). these compositions are available as dry film coating compositions that can be diluted in water shortly before use . opadry and opadry ii formulations comprise a cellulosic film forming polymer ( e . g ., hpmc and / or hpc ), and may contain polydextrose , maltodextrin , a plasticizer ( e . g ., triacetin , polyethylene glycol ), polysorbate 80 , a colorant ( e . g ., titanium dioxide , one or more dyes or lakes ), and / or other suitable film - forming polymers ( e . g ., acrylate - methacrylate copolymers ). suitable opadry or opadry ii formulations may comprise a plasticizer and one or more of maltodextrin , and polydextrose ( including but not limited to a ) triacetin and polydextrose or maltodextrin or lactose , or b ) polyethylene glycol and polydextrose or maltodextrin ). the tablets are also suitably coated to provide a uniform coating without speckling . the tablets are typically coated to provide a dry tablet weight gain of from about 2 to about 5 %, suitably about 3 to 4 %. the uncoated tablet cores are coated with the aqueous film coating composition by methods well known in the art using commercially available equipment ( e . g ., thomas accela - cota , vector hi - coater , compu - lab 36 ). in general , the process usually involves rolling or tumbling the tablets in a pan , or suspending the tablets on a cushion of air ( fluidized bed ), and intermittently or continuously ( preferably continuously ) spraying a fine mist of atomized droplets of the coating composition onto the tablets , the droplets wetting , spreading and coalescing on the surface of the tablets to form an adherent and coherent film coating . the tablets are typically heated to about 40 to 50 ° c ., suitably about 45 to 50 ° c ., e . g ., by air having a temperature of up to about 75 ° c ., suitably about 65 to 70 ° c . pharmaceutical tablets of the invention that are wet - granulated can be prepared by a process comprising the steps of : a ) mixing together the dry materials comprising eltrombopag olamine , a diluent , a binder , and optionally a disintegrant for a time sufficient to homogenize the materials ; b ) adding a granulating fluid to the mixture of dry materials , preferably while mixing ; c ) mixing the granulating fluid with the mixture of dry materials for a granulating time sufficient to generally uniformly wet the dry materials , so as to form wet granules ; d ) wet - milling the wet granules ; e ) drying the wet - milled granules to form dry granules ; and f ) dry milling the dry granules to form granules of desired size ; a ) mixing the granules prepared in step i ) f ) with external excipients comprising a filler , a lubricant and a disintegrant for a time sufficient to homogenize the granules and external excipients ; and b ) compressing the mixture comprising the granules and external excipients to form a tablet . in preparing wet - granulated granules , the dry materials may be mixed with suitable equipment such as known in the art ( e . g ., niro - fielder blender / granulator , bear varimixer , key high shear mixer / granulator ) for a time sufficient to homogenize the materials , e . g ., for about 3 minutes . the granulating fluid is then added to the dry mixture , preferably while mixing . the granulating fluid is suitably water , although may alternatively be comprised of water in admixture with one or more of binders such as pvp and hpmc , from about 10 v / w % to about 30 v / w % of the granulating fluid , based on the total wet granulation mixture , is suitably used . the granulating fluid and dry materials may be mixed using suitable equipment such as known in the art ( e . g ., niro - fielder blender / granulator , bear varimixer , key high shear mixer / granulator ) for a total time sufficient to generally uniformly wet the dry material so as to form wet granules , suitably for about 3 to about 15 minutes . typically the fluid is added to the dry material with mixing over a period of about 1 to about 15 minutes , then the total batch is mixed for an additional time ( post - granulating fluid - addition time ), of about 0 . 5 minutes to about 6 minutes . in a suitable embodiment , about 10 v / w % to about 30 v / w % granulating fluid and a post - granulating fluid - addition granulating time of about 6 minutes or less is used . suitably , about 24 v / w % granulating fluid and a post - granulating fluid - addition granulating time of less than 3 minutes is used , e . g ., about 2 . 5 minutes . suitably , about 16 v / w % granulating fluid and a post - granulating fluid - addition granulating time of more than 2 . 5 minutes is used , e . g ., about 4 minutes . the wet granules are then wet - milled by methods such as are known in the art for providing a generally uniformly sized wet mass ( such that the granules dry relatively evenly ). suitable wet - milling techniques may involve screening ( e . g ., manual screens ), comminuting mills ( such as a co - mil , including but not limited to a 0 . 375 ″ screen ), or extruders . the wet - milled granules are dried by methods such as are known in the art for providing generally uniform drying , to a low residual amount of granulating fluid ( preferably about 0 . 5 % to about 1 . 0 %). fluid bed dryers are suitable drying equipment . the dried granules are then dry - milled using known methods to provide generally uniformly sized granules ( unimodal distribution ), suitably having a mean particle diameter of less than 240 microns ( found to provide improved content uniformity ). suitable dry - milling equipment includes co - mils , including but not limited to having a 0 . 094 ″ screen . suitably the granules and the dry materials of the compression mix are generally unimodal in size distribution , in order to facilitate formation of a homogeneous mix and to mitigate possible segregation of the mix after blending . if necessary , the dry materials may be pre - screened to provide the desired particle size distribution . screening of the lubricant may be particularly useful to deagglomerate the lubricant . in preparing the compression mixture , the granules , filler , and disintegrant are mixed over a suitable period of time , about 5 to 15 minutes . lubricant is then added and mixed for a suitable period of time , about 1 to 4 minutes . the mixture is then compressed into tablets using presses such as are known in the art ( e . g ., rotary tablet press ). it has been found that the above granulating fluid levels , granulating times , and excipients provide improved processing . the choice of particular types and amounts of excipients , and capsulation technique employed depends on the further properties of eltrombopag olamine and the excipients , e . g ., compressibility , flowability , particle size , compatibility , and density . the capsules may be prepared according to methods known in the art , suitably filling a standard two piece hard gelatin capsule with eltrombopag olamine admixed with excipients , suitably filling a standard two piece hard gelatin capsule with granules prepared according to this invention , suitably on a scale suitable for commercial production . suitable capsules of the invention comprise granules comprising eltrombopag olamine and one or more of fillers , binders and disintegrants , wherein the granules are mixed with additional filler , binder , disintegrant and / or lubricant to form a granular mixture that is filled into capsules . included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions in capsule form , suitably prepared on a commercial scale , that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the capsule is made using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the capsule is made , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 90 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 10 micron but less than 90 micron . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the capsule is made , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 90 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 10 micron but less than 90 micron , suitably greater than 20 micron but less than 50 micron . also included in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions that comprise eltrombopag olamine , wherein the capsule is made , suitably on a commercial scale , using a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars , and about 50 % of the eltrombopag olamine particles have a particle size greater than 5 micron but less than 50 micron , suitably greater than 5 micron but less than 20 micron . the invented granules and solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms may be administered in therapeutically effective amounts to treat or prevent a disease state , e . g ., as described in the above referenced international applications nos . pct / us01 / 16863 , pct / us03 / 16255 and pct / us04 / 013468 , the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference . it will be recognized by one of skill in the art that the optimal quantity and spacing of individual dosages of eltrombopag olamine formulations of the invention will be determined by the nature and extent of the condition being treated and the particular patient being treated , and that such optimums can be determined by conventional techniques . it will also be appreciated by one of skill in the art that the optimal course of treatment , i . e ., the number of doses of eltrombopag olamine given per day for a defined number of days , can be ascertained by those skilled in the art using conventional course of treatment determination tests . a method of this invention of inducing tpo agonist activity in humans comprises administering to a subject in need of such activity a therapeutically effective amount of a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form of the present invention . the invention also provides for the use of eltrombopag olamine in the manufacture of a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form of the present invention . the invention also provides for the use of eltrombopag olamine in the manufacture of a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form of the present invention for use in enhancing platelet production . the invention also provides for the use of eltrombopag olamine in the manufacture of a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form of the present invention for use in treating thrombocytopenia . the invention also provides for a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form for use as a tpo mimetic which comprises eltrombopag olamine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier of the present invention . the invention also provides for a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form for use in the treatment of thrombocytopenia which comprises eltrombopag olamine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier of the present invention . the invention also provides for a solid oral pharmaceutical dosage form for use in enhancing platelet production which comprises eltrombopag olamine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier of the present invention . the invention also provides a process for preparing solid oral pharmaceutical dosage forms containing a diluent or diluents that are substantially free of coordinating metals and / or that are substantially free of reducing sugars and a therapeutically effective amount of eltrombopag olamine , which process comprises bringing eltrombopag olamine into association with the diluent or diluents . no unacceptable toxicological effects are expected when the compound of the invention is administered in accordance with the present invention . without further elaboration , it is believed that one skilled in the art can , using the preceding description , utilize the present invention to its fullest extent . the following examples , therefore , are to be construed as merely illustrative and not a limitation of the scope of the present invention . all the excipients utilized herein are standard pharmaceutical grade excipients available from numerous manufacturers well known to those in the art . wet granulated , tablets comprising eltrombopag olamine and the ingredients in table 1 were prepared . as a general procedure , the ingredients were blended with the active ingredient and then wet - granulated ( in a high - shear wet - granulator ) with purified water . the wet - granule mass was wet - milled , then dried in a fluid - bed dryer and the dried granules were milled . then extragranular ingredients ( microcrystalline cellulose , if needed , and sodium starch glycolate ) were separately weighed , screened and blended with the granules . magnesium stearate was added and blended with the mixture . the blend was compressed and the tablet cores were then film coated . the tablets were film coated with an aqueous suspension of opadry film coating preparation . eltrombopag olamine tablets containing diluents with the coordinating metal calcium phosphate dibasic anhydrous were manufactured in a similar manner as described above . tablet composition for the tablet coordinating metal diluent is provided in table 2 . in fig1 , the tablet prepared with no coordinating metal diluent ( indicated as “ with non - coordinating metal diluent ”) is a eltrombopag 50 mg tablet generally prepared as described in table 1 above and the tablet prepared with the coordinating metal diluent — calcium phopshate dibasic anhydrous —( indicated as “ with co - ordinating metal diluent ”) is a eltrombopag 50 mg tablet generally prepared as described in table 2 above . dissolution comparison was performed using usp apparatus ii , 50 rpm , in phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 containing 0 . 5 % tween 80 . fig2 depicts the effect of api particle size distribution on eltrombopag olamine dissolution . eltrombopag olamine 75 mg tablets were generally prepared in the manner described in example 5 , using different particle sizes . the particle size refers to the particle size of the drug granules used in the formulation . dissolution comparison was performed using usp apparatus ii , 50 rpm , in phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 containing 0 . 5 % tween 80 . | 0 |
with reference to fig1 , the electricity meter 1 comprises a box 2 that houses various electrical elements used for measuring a quantity of energy that has been consumed , a cover 3 hiding a connection terminal block , a display 4 for displaying information relating to energy consumption , and various buttons enabling the various functions of the electricity meter to be controlled . the cover 3 is held in the closed position on the box 2 with the help of a quarter - turn type screw 6 . the screw 6 passes through the cover 3 and is held captive therein axially while being free to turn . fig3 shows the screw 6 , which screw comprises a head 12 , a shank 13 , and two projections 14 extending perpendicularly to the axis of the shank of the screw 6 from the free end of the shank 13 . the box 2 defines an orifice 11 arranged in the box 2 so that when the screw 6 is engaged in the orifice 11 and is turned through one - quarter of a turn in the orifice , the cover 3 is held to the box in a closed position where it covers the terminal block . the box 2 also defines a housing 7 directly molded therewith that is suitable for receiving and holding the head of the screw 6 , as shown in fig2 , which shows the same electricity meter 1 as fig1 but in an open position of the cover , which is thus held on the box 2 in such a manner as to uncover the box 2 while showing an inside face of the cover . for this purpose , the head of the screw 6 is forced into the housing 7 and then holds the cover 3 in the open position . such a configuration thus gives a user access to information 8 specific to the wiring and the installation , which information may be printed , etched , or stuck onto the inside face of the cover 3 . the cover 3 as fastened in this way uncovers the terminal block and gives access to the various cable connections 10 of the meter . it should be observed that the screw 6 is mounted on the cover 3 with axial clearance between the screw 6 and the cover 3 . the screw 6 is thus axially movable between a first position in which the head is sunk in the cover so as to allow the cover to be fastened on the box over the terminal block ( fig1 ), and a second position in which the head projects from the cover in order to enable the head to be inserted in the housing in the box that is used for fastening the cover 3 in the open position ( fig2 ). the cover 3 is thus fastened in the closed position and in the open position by using opposite ends of the screw 6 depending on the desired configuration . fig4 shows a second embodiment of the invention in which the cover 3 hiding the electrical connections of the meter also constitutes trim for the meter 17 by defining a front plate thereof . the cover 3 has a rectangular opening 19 provided so that the cover surrounds the display when the cover 3 is in the closed position as shown in fig4 . for this purpose , the meter includes a shoulder zone 22 surrounding the display and of thickness equal to the thickness of the cover 3 . the cover 3 is then fastened to a support zone 23 extending immediately beyond the shoulder 22 over the entire periphery of the meter 17 with the help of a single screw 16 passing through the cover 3 . the cover 3 is shown here in the closed position . in a variant , the cover 3 may also be fastened to the meter 17 by snap - fastening . fig5 shows the cover 3 in the open position of the second embodiment . the top portion of the support zone 23 of the meter 17 includes a lug 18 , or more particularly an abutment , against which one of the edges of the opening 19 in the cover 3 comes to rest so that the information 8 specific to the wiring and the installation and arranged on the inside face of the cover is made visible to a user and the electrical connections 10 of the meter are made accessible . for the connections 10 of the meter 17 to be accessible , the cover 3 of rectangular shape is arranged with its long direction vertical in the closed position as shown in fig4 , and with its long direction horizontal in the open position . the arrangement of the support zone 23 of the meter 17 and of the cover 3 in the open position therefore does not allow the opening 19 to surround the support zone 23 of the meter 17 complementary . consequently , the cover 3 is fastened onto the abutment 18 by elastically deforming the cover 3 in the edge of the opening 19 that comes into abutment against the lug 18 . naturally , the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and may be subjected to variants that will appear to the person skilled in the art without going beyond the ambit of the invention as defined by the claims . the cover may be held mechanically on the box by any means , and for example by elastic deformation , by clip - fastening , by snap - fastening , by locking , . . . . | 6 |
apparatus , systems and methods that implement the embodiments of the various features of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings . the drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate some embodiments of the present invention and not to limit the scope of the present invention . throughout the drawings , reference numbers are re - used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements . fig1 illustrates a battery 100 , for example , as used in a motor vehicle to power the electronic systems related to the motor vehicle . while certain aspects of the battery 100 have been omitted for clarity , the battery 100 is shown to have an outer casing 105 , a terminal post 110 corresponding to the cathode , a terminal post corresponding 115 to the anode , and a plug 120 ( e . g ., universal plug ) having two connection points , 125 and 130 . the connection points 125 and 130 may be a prong ( male ) or a receptacle ( female ) for connecting a cable or wiring functioning as an electrical conduit between the battery 100 and a coupled vehicle apparatus , such as the electronic system or the engine starter ( not shown ). fig2 illustrates a perspective view of the battery 100 of fig1 with cut - out portions 200 and 220 , respectively , to show certain features inside the battery 100 . this figure is to be used as an example for highlighting certain features of the invention . certain portions of the battery 100 have been omitted for clarity . furthermore , some characteristics have been altered for clarity as well ( e . g ., while only shown to be partially filled in fig2 , electrolyte fluid 205 in practice may fill the entire cavity of the battery 100 ). as shown in fig2 , the cut - out portion 200 allows viewing of a cathode 210 extending from the terminal post 110 and an anode 215 extending from the terminal post 115 . both the cathode 210 and the anode 215 are immersed in the electrolyte fluid 205 . the electrolyte fluid 205 may incorporate several elements further described herein . the cut - out portion 220 allows viewing of a conductor 230 coupled on one end to the cathode 210 and coupled on the other end to connection point 130 of the plug 120 . the cut - out 220 portion further allows viewing of a conductor 225 coupled to the anode 215 on one end and coupled on the other end to the connection point 125 of the plug 120 . in one embodiment , the cathode 210 is constructed out of a transition metal oxide and the anode 215 is constructed out of a carbon - based material . however , other materials may be used to construct the cathode 210 and the anode 215 . performance of the battery 100 , in part , may be impacted by how long the carbon - based anode 215 is able to function properly . a direct factor in anode functionality is whether the additives are able to form a sei layer on the outside surface of the anode 215 based on the chemical reactions that take place during the operation of the battery 100 . elements ( e . g ., additives ) added into the electrolyte fluid 205 or used in the manufacturing of the electrolyte fluid 205 may significantly impact the performance of the sei . indeed , as with the solvent , the additive ( s ) used determines the properties of the sei , and hence the anode 215 . different additives will reduce at different voltages , so the selection of the additive must be carefully considered so that the additive is reduced prior to the occurrence of other deleterious reactions . sei performance may be measured by the discharge capacity of the battery 100 as it undergoes many cycles , with one cycle defined as one discharge and one recharge of the battery 100 . in essence , sei performance may be inferred from data related to measuring discharge capacities over a period of cycles . stellar sei performance may be concluded based on data suggesting that a discharge capacity is constant or near constant over a period of cycles . conversely , less - than - optimal sei performance may be inferred based on data illustrating that a discharge capacity is decreasing over a period of cycles . fig3 , reproduced from gorkovenko et al ., u . s . pat . no . 7 , 598 , 002 , is a prior art representation of a discharge capacity for a lithium - ion cell with 1 m lidn ec : emc 1 : 3 electrolyte . as shown in fig3 , the discharge capacity for the gorkovenko lidn battery dropped from 10 - 11 mah to 8 - 9 mah after less than 10 cycles , and continued to drop through the next 40 cycles to about 6 mah . by the end of the 50th cycle , the gorkovenko lidn battery discharged approximately 40 % less power than it did at the outset . the severity of the drop , as well as its continued downward trend , is indicative of poor sei performance . fig4 illustrates results obtained in a preliminary discharge capacity test performed on a full cell battery with a first electrolyte solution 405 having a 1 m lipf6 salt ( industry standard ) and on a full cell battery with a second electrolyte solution 410 having a 1 m lidn salt . as shown in graph 400 , the 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution 410 not only has a lower discharge capacity compared to the 1 m lipf6 salt electrolyte solution 405 , but also appears to decrease in effectiveness between the third cycle and the sixth cycle . the results were not surprising and confirmed that the use of lidn as the sole salt , while providing some advantages , could not replicate certain aspects of success achieved by the lipf6 based salt , namely , higher discharge capacity . the inventors began to study the cause of the decreased discharge capacities by isolating and testing the cathode ( e . g ., cathode 210 ) and the anode ( e . g ., anode 215 ) separately in the electrolyte solution ( e . g ., electrolyte fluid 205 ). further investigation led to the data illustrated in graph 500 of fig5 , which depicts the result obtained for a negative ( anode ) half cell with a first electrolyte solution 505 having a 1 m lipf6 salt , and for a negative ( anode ) half cell with a second electrolyte solution 510 having a 1 m lidn salt . as shown , the 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution 510 has a lower discharge capacity than the 1 m lipf6 salt electrolyte solution 505 . the results of data illustrated in fig5 thus appear to indicate that improving the performance of the anode ( e . g ., anode 215 ) of the battery ( e . g ., battery 100 ) would lead to the overall increase of the performance of the battery ( e . g ., battery 100 ). one hypothesis tested by the experimentation was the addition of additives to the electrolyte solution ( e . g ., electrolyte fluid 205 ). fig6 includes a graph 600 illustrating discharge capacities for a 1 m lipf6 salt electrolyte solution 605 , a 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution with a 0 . 5 % libob additive 610 and a 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution without any additives 615 . as the graph 600 shows , the 1 m lipf6 salt electrolyte solution 605 performed the best with respect to discharge capacity . noteworthy was the discovery that the addition of the 0 . 5 % libob to the 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution ( shown by the 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution with a 0 . 5 % libob additive 610 ) yielded discharge capacities higher than that yielded by the 1 m lidn salt electrolyte solution 615 over the first 6 cycles . although the discharge capacities achieved by the 1 m lidn + 0 . 5 % libob salt electrolyte solution 610 did not match the levels yielded by the 1 m lipf6 salt electrolyte solution 605 , the results suggest that further improved performance of lidn - based electrolyte may be possible if the additive is selected properly with respect to , for example , concentration , among other factors . in one embodiment , the additive was raised to 2 % and added to the 1 m lidn . for example , the additive may include vc , among other additives . the magnitude of the resulting increase was unexpected : as illustrated by graph 700 of fig7 , the discharge capacities of the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 not only exceeded the 1 m lidn solution 715 , but surpassed even that of the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 . arrow 720 shows the extent of improvement over the 1 m lidn solution 715 . these remarkable results indicate that the use of the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 may be superior to the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 with respect to discharge capacity while simultaneously improving on the drawbacks of the lipf6 - based solution , and does not suffer from the above described drawbacks presented by any lipf6 - based electrolyte solutions . while some further improvement on discharge capacity was expected with the further introduction of additives , the improvement in discharge capacity beyond industry standard was not expected . instead , the inventors anticipated that improvement in discharge capacity would level off with further introduction of additives beyond the 0 . 5 % concentration level and offer diminishing returns . more particularly , the results of the discharge capacity test of the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 as shown in graph 700 of fig7 , indicates that the discharge capacity of the corresponding battery maintains a level between 350 and 325 mah / g over the first seven cycles . however , unexpectedly , the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 offers a higher discharge capacity for each and every cycle over the first seven cycles . as shown , after the first cycle , the discharge capacity of the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 was slightly below 350 mah / g while the discharge capacity of the 1 m lidn solution 705 was well above 350 mah / g ( near 375 mah / g ), or over 7 % higher than the discharge capacity of the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 . even after the sixth cycle , the discharge capacity of the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 was about 340 mah / g or over 3 % higher than the discharge capacity ( about 330 mah / g ) of the 1 m lipf6 solution 710 . such improved performance is likely attributable to the concentration of additives being substantial enough to form the sei on the outside surface of the anode ( e . g ., anode 215 of fig2 ) without impacting performance of the battery ( e . g ., battery 100 ) in other ways . in addition , the differential in discharge capacity ( e . g ., as evidenced by the slope of fig7 ) for the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 is shown to be relatively flat , thereby providing another desirable benefit of forming the sei so that it has low resistance , while maintaining durability . indeed , results providing for this “ near flat or near zero slope ” of the discharge capacity over multiple cycles renders the 1 m lidn + 2 % additive solution 705 a very commercially viable solution as it appears to provide advantages over both the lipf6 - based electrolyte and the lidn ( without additives ) electrolyte with minimal drawbacks . while example 2 illustrates results when the additive concentration is 2 % ( as added to the 1 m lidn solution ), the improved performance may also be achievable , in one embodiment , with additive concentrations within a small range ( e . g ., between 0 . 5 % and 10 %). however , even within this range , performance may vary . based on the obtained results ( e . g ., by comparing the results of 2 % additive to the results of the 0 . 5 % additive ), the inventors naturally expected that increasing the additive concentration would further improve performance . however , further testing of additives up to 10 % additives did not support this hypothesis . unexpectedly , 2 %- 5 % additives yielded better results than both 0 . 5 % additive concentration and & gt ; 5 % additives concentration . indeed , additive concentrations between 2 %- 5 % may be preferred over additive concentrations between 5 %- 10 %. in one embodiment , additive concentration within the range of 1 . 75 %- 2 . 25 % is preferred . in addition to concentration , the particular additive compounds may impact battery performance . in one embodiment , libob may be used as the additive ( e . g ., as a sole 2 % additive ). however , in addition and / or as an alternative , other additives may also provide a significantly improved electrolyte solution for a lithium or lithium - ion battery . in one embodiment , the main salt may be lidn and the additives include other film - forming , non - organic compounds such as litfsi , libf4 , liclo4 , lib12 - xf12hx , among other compounds . these film - forming salts may be used alone or in combination with libob and each other , and may be added to the lidn electrolyte solution in a 0 . 5 %- 5 % concentration to form the additives . in addition to non - organic compounds , organic compounds may also be used to form the additive . for example , vc and / or vec may be used either alone or in combination as the additive ( e . g ., in addition to other organic compounds ). however , using vc as the additive may provide for improved performance . indeed , the inclusion of vc provided further unexpected results when compared to other organic compounds such as vec . due to similar characteristics , vc was not anticipated to provide significantly different results when compared to vec . however , by utilizing vc as an additive , an unexpected result of improved performance over vec was realized . more particularly , it was discovered that vc has a characteristic of high reduction protection qualities , which renders it the driver when used in a lidn electrolyte solution ( as opposed to the result when using vec as the additive , which due to its respectively lower reduction protection , allowed lidn to remain the driver ). while either vc or vec may be used as an additive in a lidn electrolyte solution , using vc may be more effective as the sei is sufficiently protected . in one embodiment , the main salt is lidn and the additives may include a combination of different compounds adding up to 0 . 5 %- 10 % wt % such as litfsi , libf4 , liclo4 , lib12 - xf12hx , vc and vec . these film - forming compounds may be used alone or in combination . in one embodiment , the salts ( e . g ., litfsi , libf4 , liclo4 , lib12 - xf12hx , among other compounds ) may be mixed with the non - salts ( e . g ., vc and / or vec , among other compounds ) to form the additive . for example , a 1 . 5 % vc may be mixed with 0 . 5 % libob to form a 2 % additive concentration . in one embodiment , one or more solvents may be used in the production of the battery . for example , ethylene carbonate ( ec ) and ethylmethocarbonate ( emc ) may be used to produce the electrolyte . different volume ratios between the ec and the emc may be incorporated . for example a 1 : 3 ec / emc ratio may be employed in one embodiment . in another embodiment , at 4 : 6 ec / emc ratio may be employed . unless otherwise indicated , all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients , properties such as molecular weight , reaction conditions , and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “ about .” accordingly , unless indicated to the contrary , the numerical parameters set forth in the specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained . at the very least , and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims , each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques . the terms “ a ,” “ an ,” “ the ” and similar referents used in the context of describing the invention ( especially in the context of the following claims ) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural , unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context . recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range . unless otherwise indicated herein , each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein . all methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . the use of any and all examples , or exemplary language ( e . g ., “ such as ”) provided herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed . no language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non - claimed element essential to the practice of the invention . groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations . each group member may be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein . it is anticipated that one or more members of a group may be included in , or deleted from , a group for reasons of convenience and / or patentability . when any such inclusion or deletion occurs , the specification is deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all markush groups used in the appended claims . the previous examples are provided to enable any person of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosed methods and apparatus . various modifications to these examples will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the principles defined herein may be applied to other examples without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosed method and apparatus . the elements and uses of the above - described embodiments may be rearranged and combined in manners other than specifically described above , with any and all permutations within the scope of invention . the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive and the scope of the invention is , therefore , indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description . all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope . in addition , the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments , and all embodiments of the invention need not necessarily achieve all the advantages or purposes or possess all characteristics identified herein . | 8 |
accompanying fig2 shows an automatic gain control circuit 10 , a coupler 12 , a local oscillator 14 , a cell 16 , two mixers 20 and 30 , two filters 22 and 32 , two amplifiers 24 and 34 , two analog - to - digital converters 26 and 36 , and a digital processing unit 40 which are the same as described above with reference to fig1 . in addition , fig2 shows fault estimation means 100 and correction means 200 inserted between the outputs from the analog - to - digital converters 26 and 36 and the inputs to the synchronizing and decision - making circuit 40 . as mentioned above , the fault estimation means 100 estimate the value of faults in the form of five parameters , on the basis of a sequence of samples y p , k and y q , k . thereafter , the correction means 200 reconstitute corrected samples z p , n and z q , n on the basis of the current samples y p , n and y q , n . the parameter a corresponding to any offset in the voltage on the in - phase channel is estimated by taking the average of the samples y p , k : ## equ1 ## the parameter b corresponding to any voltage offset on the quadrature channel is similarly estimated by taking the average of the samples y q , k : ## equ2 ## the number n of samples to be taken into account in this calculation is selected as a function of the noise level on the link and as a function of the desired accuracy . if there is no desire to provide additional level regulation on the corrected samples z p , n and z q , n , then there is no need to evaluate the parameters α and β which correspond respectively to the corrective gain to be inserted on the in - phase channel and the corrective gain to be inserted on the quadrature channel , and it suffices to evaluate only the ratio α / β . under such circumstances , the value of α ( or β ) can be fixed arbitrarily , and there is one less parameter to be estimated . the ratio α / β is obtained by averaging the squares of the differences ( y p , k - a ) and ( y q , k - b ): ## equ3 ## in order to estimate α and β individually and also the parameter which represents phase error compared with true quadrature , it is also necessary to calculate the average of the products of the differences ( y p , k - a ) and ( y a , k - b ). the parameters α and β are obtained on the basis of the following equations : ## equ4 ## in the above equations , σ represents the reference value for the mean of the squares of the corrected samples . the parameter δθ may be obtained in the form : ## equ5 ## given the slowness of variations in the parameters to be estimated , the estimation means 100 may operate at a speed which is slow compared with the rate at which the samples y p , k and y q , k are output . it suffices merely to repeat estimation periodically on a block of n samples which need not even necessarily be immediately consecutive . the correction means 200 then determine the corrected samples using the following equations : although the estimation means 100 may operate at a speed which is relatively slow compared with the sample rate , as mentioned above , the correction means 200 must necessarily operate at the rate at which the samples y p , n and y q , n are delivered from the analog - to - digital converters 26 and 36 . since estimating faults in the form of the five parameters a , b , α , β , and δθ by the means 100 can be done relatively slowly and requires several calculation steps , it appears advantageous , at present , to constitute the estimation means 100 by means of a microprocessor . in contrast , since the correction means 200 are required to operate at high speed ( up to 6m samples per second ) the correction means 200 are preferably constituted by hard wired logic . accompanying fig3 shows the flow chart of the processing for estimating the faults a , b , α , β , and δθ as performed by the means 100 . the flow chart shown in accompanying fig3 can be split into two distinct stages : a running calculation corresponding essentially to steps 101 to 105 , and a final calculation corresponding to steps 110 to 123 and to steps 130 to 135 . in the stage corresponding to running calculation , the means 100 take n successive samples y p , k and y q , k of the input signals as coded on 8 bits , for example , and calculate the sums : ## equ6 ## once a block of n samples y p , k and y q , k has been taken into account for calculating the above sums , the means 100 calculate the following terms : ## equ7 ## in order to simplify subsequent correction operations in the means 200 , the means 100 do not provide α , β , sin δθ , and cos δθ directly , but their logarithms to base 2 : log α , log β , log | sin δθ |, log | cos δθ | and the signs of sin δθ and cos δθ . step 130 for obtaining the parameter a , e . g . on 8 bits , after step 110 ; step 131 for obtaining the parameter log α , e . g . on 12 bits , after step 119 ; step 132 , for obtaining the parameter b , e . g . on 8 bits , after step 112 ; step 133 , for obtaining the parameter log β , e . g . on 12 bits , after step 121 ; step 134 , for obtaining the parameter log | sin δθ |, e . g . on 12 bits , together with the sign of sin δθ , after step 122 ; and step 135 , for obtaining the parameter log | cos δθ |, e . g . on 12 bits , together with the sign of cos δθ , after step 123 . in an advantageous implementation , the logarithms are provided on 12 bits , comprising 8 bits for the mantissa and 4 bits for the integer portion and the sign . the parameters σ and n are programmable , typical values may be : σ = 64 and n = 4096 . fig4 is a block diagram of the correction means 200 . these means calculate corrected samples z p and 2 q as a function of the samples y p and y q and of the estimated correction parameters : a , b , log | α |, log | β |, log | sin δθ |, and log | cos δθ |, using equations ( 7 ) and ( 8 ) mentioned above . in order to simplify the structure of the means 200 , the products are calculated by means of logarithms , thereby avoiding any need to multiply and replacing multiplication by addition . when signs are involved , they are represented by separate bits and treated separately . converting numbers into their logarithms and vice versa are operations performed by reading programmable read only memories ( proms ). as shown in fig4 in order to synchronize the signals and avoid random effects , the parameters a , b , log | α |, log | β |, log | sin δθ |, and log | cos δθ | are buffered via sets of bistables 202 , 203 , 204 , 205 , 206 , and 207 , respectively . more precisely , as shown in detail in fig5 for the parameters a , b , and log | α |, each set of bistables comprises a set of input bistables and two sets of readback bistables . fig5 thus shows a set of input bistables 202a for the parameter a , a set of input bistables 203a for the parameters b , and two sets of input bistables 204a and 204c for the parameter log | α |, with these sets of input bistables having their own inputs connected to a data bus 201 . the set of input bistables 202a is loaded when an a - enable signal appears . similarly , the set of input bistables 203a is loaded when a b - enable signal appears . finally , the two sets of inputs bistables 204a and 204c are loaded when an α - enable signal appears . sets of readback bistables 202e , 203e , 204e , and 204f are connected respectively to the outputs of the sets of input bistables 202a , 203a , 204a , and 204c . the readback bistables 202e , 203e , 204e , and 204f are loaded with the values contained in the corresponding sets of input bistables 202a , 203a , 204a , and 204c when a general load signal appears . sets of readback bistables 202b , 203b , 204b , and 204d are connected respectively to the outputs of the sets of readback bistables 202e , 203e , 204e , and 204f . the readback bistables 202b , 203b , 204b , and 204d are loaded with the values contained in the sets of readback bistables 202a , 203a , 204a , and 204c when a sample enable signal appears indicating that the samples y p and y q are valid . the parameter a is available from the output of readback bistables 202b . the parameter b is available from the output of the set of readback bistables 203b . the parameter log | α | is available from the outputs of the sets of readback bistables 204b and 204d . the parameters log | β |, log | sin δθ |, and log | cos δθ |, and the signs of sin δθ and cos δθ are read in similar manner using sets of bistables 205 , 206 , and 207 . an adder 210 has one input receiving the samples y p and another input receiving the parameter a from the bistables 202 . at its output it generates the difference | y p - a |, together with a signal representative of the sign of the difference . similarly , an adder 220 has one input receiving the samples y q and another input receiving the parameter b from the bistable 203 . at its output it provides the difference | y q - b | together with a signal representative of the sign of the difference . the signal representing the difference | y p - a | from the adder 210 is applied to the input of a prom 211 . this generates a signal at its output representative of the logarithm log | y p - a |. the signal log | y p - a | is applied to a set of synchronizing bistables 212 . this set of bistables also receives the sign signal from the adder 210 . similarly , the difference signal | y q - b | from the adder 210 is applied to the input of a prom whose output provides the logarithm log | y q - b |. the logarithm log | y q - b | is applied to the input of a set of synchronization bistables 222 . this set of bistables also receives the sign signal from the adder 220 . an adder 230 has an input receiving the signal log | y p - a | from the bistable 212 , and an input receiving the signal log | α | from the bistable 204 . at its output it provides the signal log | y p - a |+ log | α |. similarly , an adder 231 has one input receiving the signal log | y q - b | from the bistables 222 and another input receiving the signal log | β | from the bistables 205 . its output provides the signal log | y q - b |+ log | β |. accompanying fig6 shows the detail of an embodiment of the adder 210 , the prom 211 , the bistables 212 and the adder 230 . the same structure is used in adder 220 , prom 221 , bistables 222 , and adder 231 for calculating ( in the form of a sign and a logarithm ) the product log | y q - b |+ log | β |. as shown in accompanying fig6 adder 210 comprises two cascade - mounted 4 - bit adder chips 210a and 210b , e . g . of the type 74f181 . chip 210a has inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four least significant bits of samples the y p . chip 210a has inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four least significant bits of the parameter a from the bistables 202 . chip 210b has inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four most significant bits of the parameter a and inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four most significant bits of samples y p . the prom 211 comprises two 8 - bit prom chips 211a and 211b , e . g . of the type 82s135 ( 256 × 8 prom ). prom chip 211a receives the four bits from adder chip 210a on its inputs a0 to a3 and the four bits from adder chip 210b on its input a4 to a7 . similarly , prom 211b receives the four bits from adder 210a on its inputs a0 to a3 and the four bits from adder chip 210b on its inputs a4 to a7 . the set of bistables 212 comprises two 8 - bistable chips 212a and 212b , e . g . of the type 74f374 . the inputs of bistable chips 212a and 212b are connected to the outputs from prom chips 211a and 211b respectively . adder 230 comprises three 4 - bit adder chips 230a , 230b , 230c , e . g . of type 74f181 . inputs a0 to a3 of adder chip 230a receive the four least significant bits of the mantissa of log ( α ) from the set of readback bistables 204b , and inputs b0 to b3 receive the four mantissa bits from bistables 212a . adder chip 230b has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four most significant bits of the mantissa of log ( α ) from the set of readback bistables 204d , and has its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four most significant bits of the mantissa from the set of bistables 212b . adder chip 230c has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving four bits comprising the integer portion and the sign of log ( α ) from the set of readback bistables 204d , and has its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four bits representing the integer portion and the sign from the set of bistables 212b . the sign of y p - a is identical to the sign of the product α ( y p - a ) and is output separately . it is taken from the output of adder chip 210b and preferably transits through a stage of the set of readback bistables 204b . an adder 240 has one set of inputs connected to receive the signal log | y q - b |+ log | β | from adder 231 and another set receiving the signal log | sin δθ | from the set of bistables 206 . it generates an output signal log | y q - b |+ log | β |+ log | sin δθ |. this signal together with the sign bit delivered by an exclusive - or gate 243 is applied to a set of bistables 241 whose output is applied to a prom 242 which delivers the antilogarithm . the signal β ( y q - b ) sin ( δθ ) is consequently available at the output from the prom 242 . accompanying fig7 shows an implementation of adder 240 , the set of bistables 241 , and the prom 242 . as shown in fig7 adder 240 comprises three 4 - bit adder chips 240a , 240b , and 240c . chip 240a has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four least significant bits of the mantissa of the signal log | y q - b |+ log | β | from adder 231 and has its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four least significant bits of the mantissa of the signal log | sin δθ | from the set of bistables 206 . adder chip 240b has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four most significant bits of the mantissa of the signal from adder 231 and has its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four most significant bits of the mantissa of the signal from the bistables 206 . adder chip 240c has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four bits representing the integer portion and the sign of the signal from adder 231 , and its input b0 and b3 receiving the four bits representing the integer portion and the sign of the signal from the bistables 206 . the adder chips 240a , 240b , and 240c may be of the 74f181 type , for example . the set of bistables 241 comprises two 8 - bistable chips 241a and 241b , e . g . of the type 74f374 . bistable chip 241a has its inputs d0 to d3 receiving the 4 bits from adder chip 240a , and its inputs d4 to d7 receiving the four bits from adder chip 240b . bistable chip 241b has its inputs d2 to d5 receiving the four bits from adder chip 240c , its input d6 receiving the carry bit from adder chip 240c , and its input d7 receiving the signal output by exclusive - or gate 243 , e . g . of the type 74f86 . this exclusive - or gate has one input connected to receive a signal representative of the sign of ( y q - b ), and its other input connected to receive the signal representative of the sign of sin δθ . the prom 242 shown in fig7 comprises a chip having 14 address inputs and 8 outputs , e . g . of the type 82hs1281 . the eight least significant inputs of the prom 242 are connected to the outputs from bistable chip 241a . the six most significant inputs of memory chip 242 are connected to the most significant outputs of bistable chip 241b . the product β ( y q - b ) cos δθ is obtained by means of an adder 250 , a set of bistables 251 , a prom 252 , and an exclusive - or gate 253 entirely similar to the adder 240 , the bistables 241 , the prom 242 , and the exclusive - or gate 243 . the adder 250 has one input receiving the signal from adder 231 and another input receiving the signal from bistables 207 . the outputs from the adder 250 are connected to the inputs of bistables 251 . the outputs from these bistables are connected to the inputs of prom 252 . the exclusive - or gate 253 has one input connecting a signal representative of the sign of ( y q - b ), and another input receiving a signal representative of the sign of cos δθ from the bistables 207 . corrected samples z q are available at the output from prom 252 . the inputs of a set of bistables 260 receive the outputs from adder 230 and the signal representative of the sign of ( y p - a ) from bistables 212 . the outputs from the bistables 260 are connected to the address inputs of a prom 261 . this prom serves to take the antilogarithm of the signal log | y p - a |+ log | α |. this causes the signal α ( y p - a ) to be made available at the output from prom 261 . final calculation of z p is performed in an adder 262 having one input receiving the output from prom 261 and having another input receiving the output from prom 242 . accompanying fig8 shows an embodiment of the prom 261 and the adder 262 . as shown fig8 prom 261 comprises a chip having 14 address inputs and 8 output bits , e . g . of the type 82hs1281 . the outputs from the prom 261 are preferably connected to a set of intermediate bistables 263 . the adder 262 shown in fig8 comprises two 4 - bit adder chips 262a , 262b , e . g . of the type 74f181 . the chip 262a has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four least significant bits from bistable chip 263 and has its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four least significant bits of the signal from prom 242 . adder chip 262b has its inputs a0 to a3 receiving the four most significant bits from prom 242 , and its inputs b0 to b3 receiving the four most significant bits from the set of bistables 263 . it enables faults in the analog portion of the demodulator to be estimated and corrected dynamically . it also makes it possible to regulate the level of the processed signal . the digital implementation facilitates insertion in demodulators which process the signal digitally . the fault corrector of the present invention may be used on an existing digital link without requiring that link to be modified . naturally , the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described above , but extends to any variant coming within the scope of the claims . | 7 |
the best modes contemplated for carrying out the process of this invention are illustrated by the following examples : ten ml of a 0 . 25 molar ( m ) solution of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide in absolute ethyl alcohol and 15 ml of 1 . 67 molar ( m ) aqueous ammonium hydroxide ( approximately 6 m with respect to water ) are placed in a 25 ml volumetric flask and absolute ethyl alcohol is then added to make 25 ml of solution which is 0 . 1 m with respect to the ethyl n - acetyl glucosaminide , 1 . 0 m with respect to ammonia and 4 m with respect to water ( or in other terms the solution contains 3 . 4 % water ). the observed optical rotation , θ , immediately after mixing the ingredients is 5 . 2 , which corresponds to [ α ] d =+ 100 °. this value indicates an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 81 / 19 . the basic solution is placed in a water bath maintained at a temperature of 53 ° c .± 3 ° for 24 hours . at the end of this period θ is found to be 4 . 0 , which corresponds to [ α ] d =+ 76 °, which in turn indicates an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 67 / 33 . no further change in θ occurs during storage at 53 ° c . for another 24 hours . another 25 ml solution of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide ( 0 . 1 m ) in ammoniacal ethyl alcohol is made up in the same manner as described in example i except that the ammonia concentration is 0 . 1 m and the water concentration is 0 . 4 m ( or 0 . 34 %). the optical rotation , θ , of the freshly prepared solution is 5 . 2 . after 24 hours at 53 ° c .± 3 ° the solution has a value of θ = 4 . 2 . this corresponds to [ α ] d =+ 80 °, which indicates the α -/ β - anomer to be 70 / 30 . the original ratio was 83 / 17 . ten ml of a 0 . 25 m solution of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide in absolute ethyl alcohol and 1 . 0 g of sodium hydroxide are placed in a 25 ml volumetric flask and absolute ethyl alcohol is added to make 25 ml of solution which is 0 . 1 m with respect to the ethyl glycoside , 1 . 0 m with respect to sodium hydroxide , and approximately 0 . 1 m with respect to water ( which was absorbed on the solid sodium hydroxide ). the observed optical activity , θ , of the freshly prepared solution is 5 . 2 , which corresponds to [ α ] d =+ 100 ° and to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 81 / 19 . the test solution is maintained at a temperature of 53 ° c .± 3 ° for 24 hours . at the end of this period the solution has a θ value of 3 . 8 , which corresponds to [ α ] d =+ 72 ° and an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 65 / 35 . the reaction solution darkens to some extent during this treatment . in this example a 0 . 1 m solution of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide in ethyl alcohol is made up in the manner described in example iii with the exception that the solution is 0 . 1 m with respect to sodium hydroxide and 0 . 1 m with respect to water . as in example iii the optical activity of the freshly prepared solution is 5 . 2 , corresponding to [ α ] d =+ 100 °, and to α -/ β - anomer ratio of 83 / 17 . the solution is maintained at 53 ° c .± 3 ° for 24 hours . the solution is then found to have θ = 4 . 1 , which corresponds to [ α ] d = 78 °, and the α -/ β - anomer ratio is 68 / 32 . as in example iii the reaction solution darkens , but to a lesser degree than in that example . five grams of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide having [ α ] d =+ 53 ° ( indicating an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 54 / 46 ) is dissolved in a mixture of 20 ml of isopropyl alcohol and 80 ml of ethyl acetate at its boiling point . the hot solution is filtered to remove insoluble material and the filtrate is cooled slowly to room temperature and then held at 0 °- 5 ° c . for 72 hours . the very fine white crystals that form are filtered out and , after air drying , amount to 2 . 4 g . these crystals have [ α ] d =+ 47 °, which corresponds to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 50 / 50 . two grams of these crystals are then dissolved in a mixture of 12 ml of isopropyl alcohol and 18 ml of ethyl acetate at the boiling point and the mixture filtered while hot . the filtrate is slowly cooled to 0 °- 5 ° c . ( during a period of 5 hours ) and held at that temperature for another 20 hours . the crystals obtained on this second recrystallization amount to 0 . 99 g and have [ α ] d =+ 25 °, which corresponds to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 38 / 62 . ten grams of ethyl n - acetylglucosaminide having an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 54 / 46 is dissolved in a mixture of 60 ml of 95 % ethyl alcohol and 140 ml of ethyl acetate at its boiling point . the hot solution is filtered , and the filtrate is cooled slowly in a water bath to 0 °- 5 ° c . the crystals that form are filtered out , washed with 75 ml of cold ethyl alcoholethyl acetate ( 70 - 30 ) solvent and air dried on filter paper for two days . these crystals amount to 2 . 3 g and have [ α ] d =+ 30 °, which corresponds to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 41 / 59 . the filtrate from this crystallization , 140 ml , is again heated and the solvent evaporated until the volume reaches 100 ml whereupon it is again cooled slowly to 0 °- 5 ° c . this crop of crystals after drying , amounts to 3 . 9 g with [ α ] d =+ 65 °, which corresponds to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 61 / 39 . twenty grams of ethyl n - acetyl glucosaminide , having an α / β ratio of 55 / 45 , is dissolved in a mixture of 105 ml isopropyl alcohol and 245 ml ethyl acetate at the boiling point of the mixture . the hot solution is filtered and allowed to cool in an insulated beaker to room temperature , the process taking about four hours . the crystals that form are filtered out , washed with 100 ml ethyl acetate and air - dried for 24 hours . these crystals weigh 10 . 9 grams , having [ α ] d =+ 45 ° and an α / β ratio of 50 / 50 . the filtrate from this crystallization is evaporated to dryness leaving a residue of 8 . 1 g with an [ α ] d =+ 66 °, corresponding to an α / β ratio of 61 / 39 . the initial fraction described above is again recrystallized by the same procedure , giving 5 . 4 g of crystals with [ α ] d =+ 31 ° and an α / β ratio of 42 / 58 . the twice recrystallized products from three trials carried out in identical manner are combined ( total weight of 23 . 5 g ) and are recrystallized from 105 ml isopropyl alcohol and 245 ml ethyl acetate , giving 17 . 2 g crystals with [ α ] d =+ 25 ° and an α / β ratio of 38 / 62 . repeated recrystallization of this material results in crystals with [ α ] d =+ 5 ° and an α / β ratio of 27 / 73 . the combined residues obtained from the filtrates of three crystallizations carried out as described in the first paragraph of this example amounting to 25 g and having an [ α ] d of + 66 ° are twice recrystallized in the same manner and yield crystals having an [ α ] d of + 58 ° and + 69 °, respectively . the residue from the second recrystallization has an [ α ] d of 88 °, which corresponds to an α -/ β - anomer ratio of 74 / 26 . a 2 . 49 g portion of this last residue is dissolved in absolute ethanol and placed in a 100 ml volumetric flask with 50 ml of 6 n nh 3 ( alcoholic ) and 3 ml h 2 o and the entire mixture diluted to 100 ml with ethanol . the resulting solution is 3 m with respect to nh 3 , 0 . 1 m with respect to the glycoside and contains 3 % h 2 o by volume . this solution is then placed in a constant temperature bath held at 50 ° c . for 48 hours . during this time , the [ α ] d falls to + 70 °, corresponding to an α / β ratio of 64 / 36 . the solution is evaporated under a stream of air to remove the nh 3 and the solvent . the resulting solid is washed with 25 ml methyl ethyl ketone to remove any yellowish discoloration . the resulting solid ( 2 . 0 g ) has an [ α ] d of + 80 °, corresponding to an α / β ratio of 69 / 31 . the alkyl glycosides of amino sugars obtained by the process of this invention are especially useful as growth promoters for l . bifidus , since it is known that the β - anomers of the alkyl glycosides of amino sugars are more active promoters than the α - anomers , and since this process produces higher proportions of the more desirable β - anomers . mixtures of different alkyl glycosides of amino sugars are also useful as growth promoters for l . bifidus . for example , addition of the α - anomer of methyl - d - glucosaminide to the β - anomer of methyl - d - glycosamide or to the β - anomer of higher alkyl - d - glucosaminides enhances the activity of these alkyl glycosides for this purpose . in addition to their usefulness as growth promoters for l . bifidus , the alkyl glycosides of amino sugars are also useful in promoting the healing of wounds . for example , they can be used in treatment of burns , skin inflammation , and psoriasis . they also can be used as promoters of l . bifidus growth for use in the treatment of liver disorder . another use for the alkyl glycosides of amino sugars is for application to hair to control its growth . it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects . the aim of the appended claims , therefore , is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 2 |
referring to fig1 , a flow chart illustrating a process of manufacturing powdered coffee carbons from spent coffee grounds of the invention comprises the following steps in order as discussed in detail below . in step 11 , a pre - carbonization step is involved . in detail , spent coffee grounds after brewing are washed with fresh water . next , it is dehydrated . next , it is conveyed to a pre - carbonation oven for drying and pre - carbonization . the pre - carbonization oven is cylindrical and formed of steel . temperature of the pre - carbonization oven for drying is kept in the range of 170 to 185 ° c . for 85 to 120 minutes with a steam pressure of 3 to 6 kg / cm 2 . the above conditions are only experimental values and may be changed depending on the sources of spent coffee grounds . this pre - carbonization step is necessary since grease contained in the spent coffee grounds may form tar which may obtain low quality powdered coffee carbons if the pre - carbonization step is eliminated . in step 12 , a step of removing grease from the pre - carbonized spent coffee grounds is involved . in detail , remove the pre - carbonized spent coffee grounds from the pre - carbonization oven and soak same in a solution mixed with 0 . 5 g / l of sodium carbonate ( na 2 co 3 ) for about 120 minutes in order to remove grease from the spent coffee grounds . the grease - free spent coffee grounds are then washed with fresh water . as a result , the spent coffee grounds are substantially black and have a flavor of tar . the soak time can be reduced if the solution is heated to 60 to 70 ° c . in step 13 , a step of forming coarse coffee carbons is involved . in detail , the pre - carbonized spent coffee grounds are poured into a post - carbonization oven which is heated by a fir ( far infrared ) heater . the pre - carbonized spent coffee grounds are heated to a temperature in a range of 600 to 650 ° c . for drying . . . . after drying , the pre - carbonized spent coffee grounds are carbonized ( i . e ., pyrolysis ) due to high heat and lack of oxygen . as a result , the coffee carbons having a porous structure are obtained . the coffee carbons are not powdered and thus further processing is required . in step 14 , an activation step for the coffee carbons is involved . in detail , saturated steam having a temperature between 850 and 950 ° c . is supplied to the post - carbonization oven to activate the coffee carbons . as a result , activated coffee carbons having fine granules are obtained . the activated coffee carbons have improved dirt removal performance . in step 15 , a grinding step of the activated coffee carbons is involved . as shown in fig3 , it is a microscopic photograph of the powdered coffee carbons . both powdered coffee carbons and activated carbons have excellent adhesion and thus can be employed as filters , micro - organisms killing materials , etc . note that the powdered coffee carbons may have the fine structure similar to that of nanoscale components . the grinding of the activated coffee carbons is done by means of a wet global grinder and involves the following three stages : stage i is for grinding the activated coffee carbons to have structure of the size of several micrometers . in detail , the activated coffee carbons are poured into a grinder having coarse grinding balls having a diameter between 1 . 75 and 2 . 5 mm . next , pure water or solvent ( e . g ., isopropyl alcohol ) is employed to mix with the activated coffee carbons until the activated coffee carbons have a viscosity of about 100 , 000 centipoises ( cps ) and a solid percentage of 80 to 85 wt %. the grinder operates for a predetermined period of time . next , a drying process is employed . as a result , powdered coffee carbons having structure of the size of about 20 μm are obtained . the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons can be employed for the manufacturing of filters , and masks for medical purposes , etc . stage ii is for further grinding the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons to have structure of the size of about two micrometers . in detail , the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons are poured into another grinder having fine grinding balls with a diameter between 0 . 7 and 0 . 9 mm . next , pure water or solvent ( e . g ., isopropyl alcohol ) is employed to mix with the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons until the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons have a viscosity of less than 2 , 000 cps and a solid percentage of 70 to 75 wt %. the grinder operates for a predetermined period of time . next , a drying process is employed . as a result , powdered coffee carbons having structure of the size of about 2 μm are obtained . the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons can be employed for the manufacturing of yarns , etc . stage iii is for still further grinding the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons obtained from stage ii to have structure of the size of about 0 . 1 micrometers ( i . e ., similar to nanoscale components ). in detail , the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons are poured into still another grinder having fine grinding balls with a diameter between 0 . 4 and 0 . 6 mm . next , pure water or solvent ( e . g ., isopropyl alcohol ) is employed to mix with the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons until the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons have a viscosity of less than 100 cps and a solid percentage of 30 to 35 wt %. the grinder operates for a predetermined period of time . next , a drying process is employed . as a result , powdered coffee carbons having structure of the size of about 0 . 1 μm are obtained . the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons ( i . e ., similar to nanoscale components ) can be employed for the manufacturing of yarns , coating materials , etc . the powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components are added to polymer and a threading making process is performed . referring to fig4 , it shows a microscopic photograph of powdered coffee carbons adhered onto yarns . the yarns are thus produced into a fibrous textile material ( i . e ., polyester fibrous textile ). the test organisms and test conditions regarding the above addition and thread making process are tabulated in fig5 a . moreover , as tabulated with respect to test organisms in fig5 b , the powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components added to polymer with a threading making process being performed can manufacture a fibrous textile material capable of reducing the number of viable pathogenic micro - organisms . further , one piece of sample said to be 94 % nylon and 6 % spandex woven fabric is dyed with powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components . the test organisms and test conditions regarding the above woven fabric dyed with powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components are tabulated in fig5 c . furthermore , as tabulated with respect to test organisms in fig5 d , the woven fabric dyed with powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components is tested . it is shown that the fabric has excellent capability of reducing the number of viable pathogenic micro - organisms . the powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components can be used as adhesion and add to pu films in a manufacturing process . the sample and other conditions regarding the deodorization test of the pu films containing powdered coffee carbons are tabulated in fig5 e . further , a gas bag formed of pu film containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention and a gas bag formed of pu film without the powdered coffee carbons are subjected to the deodorization test and test results are tabulated in fig5 f . it is shown that the invention has improved deodorization performance . furthermore , powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components can be used as adhesion and be applied onto fabric with micro - porous coating to form fabric containing powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components which is in turn subjected to the deodorization test . the sample and other conditions regarding the deodorization test are shown in fig5 g . a gas bag formed of fabric containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention and a gas bag formed of fabric without the powdered coffee carbons are subjected to the deodorization test and the test results are tabulated in fig5 h . it is shown that the invention has improved deodorization performance . referring to fig2 , a pu film containing powdered coffee carbons is illuminated by a halogen lamp of 500 w for about 60 minutes . it is found that the pu film containing powdered coffee carbons has a temperature of about 48 ° c . as a comparison , the typical pu film without the addition of powdered coffee carbons only has a temperature of about 36 ° c . when subjected to the same illumination conditions . in brief , the pu film containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention has improved temperature keeping performance . powdered coffee carbons of the invention have a wide range of applications . for example , it can be employed as filters as a replacement of typical activated carbons filters . further , the powdered coffee carbons do not contain any toxic materials such as fertilizer , toxic chemicals , etc . the powdered coffee carbons can be employed as material in manufacturing masks for medical purposes . further , the powdered coffee carbons can be used in textile industry . for example , a predetermined amount of powdered coffee carbons can be added to polymer for thread making . the manufactured yarns have the features of micro - organisms inhabitation , deodorization , temperature keeping , uv ( ultraviolet ) protection , sweat absorption , etc . most importantly , the manufacturing processes of the invention involve no chemical reactions . this is a green technology . while the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments , numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims . | 2 |
the process of the present invention comprises oxidizing an acidic solution , typically sulphuric acid copper electrolyte solution , in an autoclave under oxygen overpressure at a temperature varying from 130 ° to 205 ° c ., to induce the precipitation of antimony and bismuth . the minimum oxygen partial pressure has been found to be 1 . 2 bar . for practical and obvious economic purposes , the oxygen partial pressure needs not to exceed 6 bars . as an alternative to oxygen , air may also be injected . antimony and bismuth are subsequently removed by simple filtration , and the oxidized electrolyte is then reduced to bring the fe 3 + to fe 2 + oxidation state , and returned to the commercial electrorefining cells without the previously mentioned detrimental effects of reduced current efficiency and corrosion of the copper cathode . the reduction is preferably done by passing the solution through a bed of copper particles , but any other conventional means of reduction can be applied , for example , treatment in an electrorefining cell . the process of the present invention has therefore many advantages over those currently known , in particular : a ) the purification is selective to antimony and bismuth and no other element needs to be prereduced or is precipitated concurrently , which greatly reduces the weight of solids to be collected and / or treated ; b ) an adsorption agent such as a resin , is not required , and neither is an organic solvent nor an inorganic compound ; c ) there are no solution to strip and no liquid effluent to treat , thereby minimizing the manipulations of the electrolyte solution ; d ) tbe operating temperatures of the autoclave are low enough so that plant steam can be used for heating the electrolyte ; e ) the electrolyte is returned to the cell at the same oxidation state , thus preventing reduced current efficiency and copper cathode corrosion caused by fe 3 + ions ; and f ) the process can be run continuously , thus helping automation and minimizing equipment size . the present invention will now be illustrated by examples which are provided for illustrating preferred embodiment of the invention , and should not be construed as limited its scope . a commercial copper electrolyte is treated in an autoclave at various temperatures and oxygen pressures to determine the antimony and bismuth precipitation kinetics under different conditions . the composition of the electrolyte is as follows : 45 g / l copper ; 165 g / l free sulphuric acid ; 18 g / l nickel ; 0 . 40 g / l iron ; 3 . 5 g / l arsenic ; 0 . 15 - 0 . 18 g / l bismuth and 0 . 42 - 0 . 50 g / l antimony . comparative tests have been performed on synthetic copper electrolyte wherein the only impurities present are antimony and / or bismuth . the results of the tests are provided hereinbelow . table 1 shows that the rise in the antimony and bismuth precipitation rates with the temperature for the commercial copper electrolyte solution . table 1______________________________________precipitation rate of sb and bi in function of the temperature ( oxygen pressure between 1 - 6 bars ) sb precipitation bi precipitation rate at 1 hr rate at 1 hrt (° c .) ( mg / l / hr ) ( mg / l / hr ) ______________________________________104 18 7132 80 22160 170 98204 330 144______________________________________ assuming that the concentration of antimony and bismuth in the solution is respectively 0 . 47 and 0 . 17 g / l , about 70 % of the antimony and 85 % of the bismuth is precipitated in one hour at a temperature of 204 ° c . a minimum oxygen overpressure of around 1 . 2 bars is sufficient to carry out the process of the present invention , as illustrated by table 2 below . little increase is noticed at higher oxygen pressure . table 2______________________________________precipitation rate of antimony and bismuth in functionof the pressure of oxygen ( temperature = 132 ° c .) sb precipitation bi precipitation rate at 3 hr rate at 3 hrso . sub . 2 pressure ( bars ) ( mg / l / hr ) ( mg / l / hr ) ______________________________________0 . 4 22 101 . 2 58 245 . 4 50 3015 . 5 59 29______________________________________ it should be pointed out that in addition to oxygen , good results have been obtained with air . however , oxygen is most preferred because of the major presence of nitrogen in air , an increased total operating pressure is necessary (≧ than 4 . 8 bars ). a test is performed with no bleed to determine whether oxygen sparging is necessary . comparing the test with the results of test 2 , which had a bleed , it is found that there is very little improvement with oxygen sparging . the results are shown in table 3 . table 3______________________________________precipitation rate of antimony and bismuth infunction of oxygen sparging ( temperature = 132 ° c . ; oxygen pressure = 1 . 2 bar ) sb precipitation bi precipitation rate at 3 hr rate at 1 hro . sub . 2 bleed ( mg / l / hr ) ( mg / l / hr ) ______________________________________no 43 18yes 58 24______________________________________ a mild agitation of 0 . 5 hp / 1000 usg has proven to give optimal results . it should be noted that acceptable precipitation rates of antimony and bismuth are also obtained with no agitation , as illustrated in table 4 . table 4______________________________________precipitation rate of antimony and bismuth infunction of the agitation ( temperature = 132 ° c . ; oxygen pressure = 1 . 2 bar ) sb precipitation bi precipitation rate at 3 hr rate at 1 hrbp / 1000 usg ( mg / l / hr ) ( mg / l / hr ) ______________________________________0 36 190 . 5 58 2415 51 25______________________________________ the final parameter investigated is the composition of the electrolyte . it can be assumed that the process has two components , namely the actual oxidation of the antimony and bismuth and their precipitation due to the lower solubility of the higher oxidation states . this solubility can be effected by variations in the composition of the electrolyte . two series of three tests ( i . e ., at two different temperatures ) are done where the only impurities present are antimony and / or bismuth ( synthetic electrolytes ). the results are provided in tables 5 and 6 . table 5______________________________________precipitation of antimony and bismuth in synthetic solutionstemperature = 132 ° c . ; oxygen pressure = 1 . 2 bar ; no bleed sb precipitation bi precipitation rate at 3 hr rate at 3 hrelectrolyte composition ( mg / l / hr ) ( mg / l / hr ) ______________________________________45 g / l cu ; 165 g / l h . sub . 2 so . sub . 4 ; -- 70 . 18 g / l bi45 g / l cu ; 165 g / l h . sub . 2 so . sub . 4 ; 29 -- 0 . 40 g / l sb45 g / l cu ; 165 g / l h . sub . 2 so . sub . 4 ; 37 160 . 18 g / l bi ; 0 . 43 g / l sb______________________________________ table 6______________________________________precipitation of antimony and bismuth in synthetic solutionstemperature = 160 ° c . ; oxygen pressure = 1 . 4 bar sb precipitation bi precipitation rate at 4 hr rate at 4 hrelectrolyte composition ( mg / l / hr ) ( mg / l / hr ) ______________________________________45 g / l cu ; 165 g / l h . sub . 2 so . sub . 4 ; -- 10 . 20 g / l bi45 g / l cu ; 165 g / l h . sub . 2 so . sub . 4 ; 46 -- 0 . 46 g / l sb45 g / l cu ; 165 g / l h . sub . 2 so . sub . 4 ; 73 350 . 19 g / l bi ; 0 . 44 g / l sb______________________________________ it was found that the precipitation rates were lower for synthetic solutions when antimony or bismuth are present separately . when both elements are present , the rates increase to values comparable to those with the commercial copper electrolyte . therefore , it is advantageous to have both antimony and bismuth in the solution to obtain more effective precipitation . while the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof , it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications and this application is intended to cover any variations , uses or adaptations of the invention following , in general , the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains , and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth , and as follows in the scope of the appended claims . | 8 |
the present invention is directed to a method to improve mu - mimo system performance with an sinr offset and user pooling techniques for both the feedback mode selection and user pairing in the scheduler that enables dynamic switching between su and mu mimo transmissions . referring now to fig1 , there is shown a diagram of the sinr offset for mu - mimo transmission when only su csi reports are available , in accordance with the invention . it is assumed that the user pairing is done . but note that the above processes within fig1 can also be implemented when the scheduler performs the user pairing / selection for mu - mimo . initially su csi reports including preferred matrix index ( pmi ) for precoding , channel quality index ( cqi ) and rank index ( ri ) are obtained at a base station from the user terminals through the feedback channel 101 . the sinr scaling / approximation to compute the sinr when the exact precoders for co - scheduled streams are decided or evaluated during the scheduling including mu - mimo user pairing and resource allocation 102 . if the columns of the overall precoding matrix are not orthogonal , the zero - forcing beamforming is applied 103 . rate matching and mcs assignment occur at 104 . an sinr offset ζ δ is applied to the su sinr ( cqi ) either before or after the sinr scaling approximation , or both before or after the sinr scaling possibly with different offset values 105 . a controller controls / adjusts the sinr offset 106 . it can be the unit of the scheduler or combined with another control unit , e . g ., the controller for the outer loop link adaption ( olla ). referring now to fig2 , there is shown a diagram of the sinr offset for su - mimo transmission when only mu csi reports are available , in accordance with the invention . initially , the mu csi reports including preferred matrix index ( pmi ) for precoding , channel quality index ( cqi ) and rank index ( ri ) are obtained at base station from the user terminals through the feedback channel 201 . if mu - mimo is scheduled , the rate matching is based on the mu reports directly 202 . the zf beamforming and sinr scaling in fig1 can also be implemented here before rate matching 202 . if su - mimo is scheduled , an sinr offset ζ δ is applied to the mu sinr ( cqi ) before the rate matching 203 . a controller controls / adjusts the value of the sinr offset 204 . it can be the unit of the scheduler or combined with another control unit , e . g ., the controller for the outer loop link adaption ( olla ). referring to fig3 , there is shown a diagram for sinr approximation , in accordance with the invention . for channel approximation 301 , based on the quantized channel feedback , we introduce some of the uncertainty . at the base station , the channel seen by user - j can be approximated as h j † =( ĝ j + q j r j ) d j 1 / 2 where h j is the downlink channel matrix seen by user - j , where † denotes matrix hermitian , q j is an m ×( m −{ circumflex over ( r )} j ) semi - unitary matrix whose columns are a basis for the orthogonal complement to the range of ĝ j ( the reported precoder from user j ) where m is the number of transmit antennas at the base station and { circumflex over ( r )} j is the feedback rank ( ri ) from user j , r j is an m −{ circumflex over ( r )} j ×{ circumflex over ( r )} j matrix which satisfies the frobenius - norm constraint ∥ r j ∥ f 2 ≦ ε 2 where ε can be determined based on the size of the quantization codebook and the channel statistics , { circumflex over ( d )} j = ξ j diag { γ 1 , j , . . . , γ { circumflex over ( r )} j , j } and γ i , j are the sinr feedback for the ith stream of user j . here for mu reports , respectively , where ρ is the total average power of all co - scheduled streams assumed by the user j in its sinr computations and s is the total number of co - scheduled streams or total rank then the signal received model is built with an approximated channel 302 in one of two ways : a ) the same signal model expression as the original mu - mimo with channel matrix replaced by the approximation channel or b ) a simplified model in which the introduced channel uncertainty affects only the interfering streams . for example , the channel output seen by the user - 1 can be modeled as y 1 ={ circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 ĝ 1 † u 1 s 1 +{ circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 ( ĝ 1 † + r 1 † q 1 † ) u 2 s 2 + η 1 , where u j , j = 1 , 2 , is the transmit precoding vector for user j and s j , j = 1 , 2 , is the modulated data symbol vector for user j . η j is the noise vector seen at user j . based on the signal model , we compute the sinr for a certain receiver , e . g ., mmse receiver or maximum ratio combining ( mrc ) receiver 303 . then for the sinr approximation 304 : given a constraint on the uncertainty in the channel model ∥ r j ∥ f 2 ≦ ε 2 we find the conservative sinr approximation and use it as the estimated sinr for rate matching and mcs assignment . we assume 2 - user pairing and one stream per user . a ) for original mimo signal model with approximated channel , the worst sinr for the mmse receiver can be found from the following optimization : b ) for the simplified model , the worst sinr for the mmse receiver can be found from the following optimization : c ) for the simplified model , the worst sinr for the mrc receiver can be found by for this case , we can extend it to the general case with more than 2 users and multiple streams per user . assume that the precoding matrix u k is employed for user k , k = 1 , . . . q , where q is the total number of co - scheduled users . denoting u i , k as the ith column of the precoding matrix u k and ū i , k as the matrix obtained from u k with the removal of the ith column , the minimized sinr is then given by where λ max ( q 1 † { hacek over ( u )} 1 ) denotes the maximal eigen value of { hacek over ( u )} 1 † q 1 q 1 † { hacek over ( u )} 1 and { hacek over ( u )} 1 [ u 2 , . . . , u q ], i . e ., the composite mu precoding for all the co - scheduled users except user - 1 a simpler version of sinr approximation : sinr scaling ; in this case , we only model the channel covariance s j = h j † h j by s j ≈ j ĝ j { circumflex over ( d )} j ĝ j † based on precoder and sinr feedbacks . so the approximated sinr is then the error bound ε can be adjusted based on the channel statistics to obtain better performance . the above approximate sinr of the ith layer of the jth user , can be viewed as a scaled version of sinr of the ith layer of the jth user , contained in the user j &# 39 ; s su csi report . the scaling factor is a function of the csi report from user j , as well as those from the other co - scheduled users . reference is now made to fig4 which illustrates the process of user pooling for selecting / grouping users for different channel feedback . based on some feedback channel knowledge 401 , e . g ., the long term average snr , the base station pools user into two or more groups 402 , one group of users to send back the quantized instant channel information assuming the su - mimo will be scheduled and some other users who should send back the quantized instant channel information assuming the mu - mimo will be scheduled . then the base station signals to all the active users based on the pooling results 403 and the users follow the base station instructions and send back the reports that base station intends to see . this process can be done in a semi - static manner . turning now to fig5 and its diagram of user pairing and scheduling , in accordance with the invention , the user pooling can be implemented in the scheduler at the base station . based on various channel feedbacks ( either long - term or short term , or both , su , mu reports , or both ) 501 , and based on the certain metrics , the user pooling 502 is performed to select user for mu - mimo pairing . then from the pooling results , some users are considered for user pairing for mu - mimo transmission and others are only considered for su - mimo 503 . please note that user pooling can be dynamically changed for different subbands . various pooling metrics are defined in the provisional application . from the foregoing it can be appreciated that the inventive sinr offset , sinr scaling approximation , and user pooling method is efficient and improves the throughput of the mimo systems in which the dynamic switching between mu - mimo and su - mimo transmissions is supported . the inventive sinr offset can be employed in conjunction with the outer loop link adaptation . we consider a narrowband mu - mimo signal model at a user terminal of interest in the aftermath of scheduling . assume that the base station has m transmit antennas and each serviced user is equipped with n receive antennas . the received discrete signal vector at the jth user is given by where h j εc n × m is the channel matrix for the jth user and η j ˜ cn ( 0 , i ) is the additive noise . the signal vector x transmitted by the base station can be expanded as where u is the set of co - scheduled users , v k is the m × r k precoding matrix with unit - norm columns and rank r k , and s k is the r k × 1 symbol vector corresponding to user kεu . further , let s = σ kεu r k be the total number of co - scheduled streams or total rank . the total power for all streams is η . if we assume equal power allocation , the power per stream is then given by in lte - a , the dynamic switching between su - mimo and mu - mimo transmission modes is supported . for su - mimo transmissions , only the data symbols to one user are transmitted through one of orthogonal resources in either time and / or frequency domain . thus the transmitted signal vector x is simply the precoded qam symbol vector to one user , i . e ., x = v j s j . the received signal at the jth user terminal is then given by we first consider the channel report which assumes the su - mimo transmission to be scheduled , i . e ., su csi report . from the signal model in ( 3 ), given a precoding matrix g , the expected rate that can be achieved with the optimal maximum likelihood ( ml ) decoder is given by where |•| denotes the matrix determinant and † denotes the matrix hermitian . here we drop the user index j for notation simplicity . consequently , the precoder and rank are selected by maximizing the above expected rate , given by where c r denotes the set of precoding matrices of rank r and r max is the maximum rank . usually r max = min ( n , m ) unless the rank restriction is applied in the system . denote g =[ g 1 , . . . , g r ]. when the user terminal employs a linear mmse receiver , the precoder and the rank are then chosen by then the csi reports including rank index ( ri ) { circumflex over ( r )}, the pmi of the precoder ĝ { circumflex over ( r )} , and the quantized { sinrsu i , { circumflex over ( r )} su - mmse ( ĝ { circumflex over ( r )} )} = 1 { circumflex over ( r )} as cqis for { circumflex over ( r )} layers are sent back to the base station through the feedback channel . as will be shown below , the sinr computed by ( 7 ) assuming the su - mimo transmission has a large discrepancy with the actual sinr that the user experiences after mu - mimo transmission is scheduled . the sinr mismatch affects the performance of rate matching such that the assigned modulation and coding scheme ( mcs ) will be either higher or lower than what the channel can support . although a small sinr mismatch always exists in the cellular system due to quantized report or outdated feedback , a severe mismatch will causes a large throughput degradation . to overcome this , a new approach for pmi selection and sinr computation at the user terminal is developed which assumes the mu - mimo transmission to be scheduled when selecting pmi and computing sinrs . when a user determines its feedback , the user has access only to an estimate of ph . the observations in ( 1 ) that include the precoding matrices for other users can be received only after the scheduling ( for the current frame ) has been done by the base station . the scheduling in turn is based on the feedback reports that are received from all active users . thus , this is a chicken - and - egg problem which results in a sinr mismatch . to alleviate this problem , we assume that an estimate of s is conveyed by the base station to each active user . in practice , the base station can convey an estimate of s to a user in a semi - static manner and such an estimate can be either user - specific or a fixed value for all users . the user then selects pmis and compute sinrs based on its estimates of ηh and s using the rules described as follows . we assume that the user reports one pmi along with one or more cqis per sub - band ( i . e ., a contiguous time - frequency resource ). the pmi identifies a precoder of rank r , where the cqis are quantized estimates of sinrs . here we also assume that only slow rank adaptation is allowed in mu - mimo , i . e ., the user selects precoding matrices of a common rank for several consecutive frames and the base station can possibly inform the user about a suitable rank r in a semi - static manner . next , in order to determine a suitable semi - unitary matrix ĝ from a set or codebook of rank - r semi - unitary matrices , c r , along with r sinrs , the user of interest can use the rules which will be described next . the key idea of these rules for mu - mimo based csi report is to use an expected covariance matrix of all interfering signals which is computed by assuming that the co - scheduled interfering streams will be transmitted along vectors isotropically distributed in the orthogonal complement of the precoding vector or matrix being examined . without loss of generality , we assume that the user of interest is the first user , i . e ., k = 1 . suppose that the user considers reporting any precoder gεc m × r to the base station , i . e ., upon doing so , the transmit precoder employed by the base station to serve it will be v 1 = g . the user assumes that the transmit precoders employed at the base station for the co - scheduled users will lie in the null - space of v 1 † , i . e ., v 1 † v k = 0 , ∀ k ≠ 1 . since the estimate of total number of streams s will be delivered to the user , the user then assumes that there will be s − r such co - scheduled streams for other users in total . denote σ as the covariance of the noise plus the interference from co - scheduled streams , i . e ., when the user employs a linear mmse receiver , a pmi is selected after determining r sinrs for each matrix in c r . we now turn to lower bound approximation , where we assume { tilde over ( η )} h ( i − gg † ) h † being the expected covariance matrix of the interfering streams from other co - scheduled users , where is the power per layer of the interfering streams . the pmi selection rule which maximizes a lower bound on the expected rate obtained using the linear mmse receiver is given by in above rules for pmi selection and sinr computation , we assume equal power allocation , i . e ., the total power is equally split on equal data stream in mu - mimo transmissions . the power per stream is then one alternate way is to consider the nonuniform power allocation . when computing its sinr and selecting the pmi for mu - mimo type of csi report , the user assumes that a faction α of the total power η will be equally allocated for its desired r streams by the base station and the remaining portion will be equally shared among the co - scheduled streams for other users . with nonuniform power allocation , the expressions in ( 9 )-( 10 ) remain unchanged for pmi selection and sinr computations . the only changes are made on the power per layer . thus , for the nonuniform power allocation , the power per layer η ′ for desired date streams of the user who computes feedback is given the power per layer of the interfering streams from co - scheduled users is then based on the feedback from all active users , the base station allocates a user or a set of users to transmit in a certain resource block . thus the scheduler at the base station needs to determine the user set u for mu - mimo transmissions . although the system throughput can be maximized by always serving the user with the best expected rate or a group of users with the best sum - rate , the weighted rate or sum - rate is usually considered in the practical system to ensure a certain fairness among all users in the serving cell . one popular approach is pf scheduling . denote r k ( t ) and t k ( t ) as the instantaneous data rate and the average throughput of the kth user at the tth time slot , respectively . the pf scheduler selects users which maximizes the sum of the logarithms of the average throughputs , i . e ., max σ k log t k ( t + 1 ) for the transmission in the next time slot . for the su transmission case , only one user will be scheduled for transmission in one orthogonal resource block , i . e ., u ={ k *}. following the pf scheduling rule , the user k * is selected by here we can see that the weight is the inverse of the user &# 39 ; s average throughput . then the average throughput is updated by where t c is the window size for calculating average throughput . for mu transmissions , under proportional fairness , i . e ., maximizing the sum of the log - arithms of the average throughputs , the set of co - scheduled users is determined by [ 16 ] where r k | u denotes the rate of user kεu and u is the candidate of the scheduled user set . if a user has a transmission rank r & gt ; 1 , the rate of this user r k ( t ) is the sum rate of all r data streams . if the rate of user k does not depend on the rate of other user jεu , j ≠ k , on the co - scheduled streams , the set of users that maximizes σ k log t k ( t + 1 ) among all possible choices of user selections can be simplified as the average throughput of user k for mu transmissions is then updated by in this paper , we use the rule in ( 16 ) as the pf scheduling criterion for sake of the simplicity . for su or mu mimo transmissions , the instantaneous rate r k ( t ) can be obtained by where sinr i , k ( t ) can be obtained directly from the sinr feedback which is obtained from ( 7 ) in su csi report or from ( 10 ) in mu csi report . however , using the sinr feedback to obtain the instantaneous rate for rate matching in mu - mimo is not accurate because when computing sinrs , the user does not know in advance the exact precoders for the co - scheduled users . the user either neglects the interference from the co - scheduled streams by sending the sinr value based on su - mimo transmissions as in su report or computes and reports sinrs based on an estimate of covariance from the interfering streams as in mu report . however , when scheduling the users , the base station knows the exact precoding matrices that will be used for all co - scheduled users . the base station is then able to recalculate the sinrs for co - scheduled streams based on the choice of user set and associated transmit precoders . unfortunately , the base station does not have full knowledge of the channel state information from all users . we provide some methods for computing the estimate of sinrs with the exact precoders . we first introduce a simple sinr approximation , i . e ., sinr scaling , using the approximate channel covariance based on csi report . then we provide the sinr approximations using the approximate mimo channel for different receivers . suppose the base station considers co - scheduling q users in one resource block , i . e ., | u |= q . denote ĝ j as the reported precoder from user j with the rank { circumflex over ( r )} j , j = 1 , . . . , q . denote h j as the channel seen by user j . let v j be the transmit precoder that the base station intends to employ for the user j , where v j =[ v 1 , j , . . . , v r j , 3 ] with unit norm for each column , i . e ., ∥ v i , j ∥ 2 = 1 . define a 29 { square root over ({ circumflex over ( η )}[ v 1 , . . . , v q ] as the overall precoding matrix for mu - mimo transmissions , where { circumflex over ( η )} is the power per layer , i . e ., { circumflex over ( η )}= η / ŝ with ŝ = σ j = 1 q r j being the number of columns in a , i . e ., the total number of streams that base station intends to co - schedule . if the channel information { h j } j = 1 q is perfectly known at the base station , assuming linear mmse receiver , the exact sinr for the ith stream of the jth user can be computed by with matrix inverse lemma , we can rewrite α i , j as α i , j =[( i + a † s j a ) − 1 a † s j a ] σ m = 1 j - 1 r m + i , σ m = 1 j - 1 r m + i , i = 1 , . . . , r j , ( 21 ) where s j = h j † h j and [•] m , n denotes the entry of a matrix at the mth row and the nth column . since the perfect channel information h j is not available at the base station , to compute the true sinr in ( 19 ) based on the csi feedback , we apply the following approximation where { circumflex over ( d )} j = ξ j diag { γ 1 , j , . . . , γ { circumflex over ( r )} j , j } and γ i , j are the sinr feedback for the ith stream of user j . here in this section we provide a method for computing an estimate of the sinr ( per - rb ) for each co - scheduled stream in each choice of user set with the channel approximation based on quantized csi report available at the base station . while the method can be readily extended to allow for co - scheduling of an arbitrary number of streams using arbitrary transmit precoders , here we restrict our attention to all possible su - mimo configurations along with the practically possible mu - mimo configuration , which is co - scheduling a user - pair with one stream per - user . note that the base - station has access to { ĝ j , { circumflex over ( d )} j } but does not know the actual channel seen by user - j . due to the finite resolution of the quantization codebook , the component of the user - channel matrix that lies in the orthogonal complement of the range of the reported precoder matrix ĝ j is unknown to the base - station . further , the user - reported quantized sinrs are computed under the assumption that the base - station will employ the precoder matrix ĝ j and together they encode the effective channel gains that will be seen by the user if { circumflex over ( r )} j streams are transmitted along the columns of ĝ j . with these observations in mind , we propose to approximate the channel seen by user - j as h j † =( ĝ j + q j r j ) { circumflex over ( d )} j 1 / 2 ( 23 ) where q j is an m × m −{ circumflex over ( r )} j semi - unitary matrix whose columns are a basis for the orthogonal complement to the range of ĝ j . r j is an m −{ circumflex over ( r )} j ×{ circumflex over ( r )} j matrix which satisfies the frobenius - norm constraint ∥ r j ∥ f 2 ≦ ε 2 , where ε can be determined based on the size of the quantization codebook and the channel statistics . now , in case of su - mimo scheduling ( when q = 1 ) v j is a submatrix of ĝ j formed by a particular subset of its columns . this column subset is uniquely determined given ĝ j and the transmitted rank r j . we first offer the following result lemma 1 under su - mimo scheduling , the true sinr seen by user - j for its i th stream , sinr i , j , can be lower bounded by sinr i , j ≧( { circumflex over ( r )} j / r j ) γ i , j , 1 ≦ i ≦ r j . ( 24 ) next , in case of mu - mimo scheduling let v 1 , j 1 ≦ j ≦ 2 denote the two normalized transmit precoding vectors , respectively , with a =[ u 1 , u 2 ]=√{ square root over ( ρ / 2 )}[ v 1 , 1 , v 1 , 2 ] denoting the intended transmit precoder . we impose no restriction on how these transmit vectors are derived from the user reported precoders and quantized sinrs . some typical methods are zero - forcing beamforming and maximum signal to leakage noise ratio ( i . e ., max slnr ) based beamforming [ 17 , 18 ]. we offer the following result , where without loss of generality we consider user - 1 . lemma 2 under mu - mimo user pairing , the worst - case true sinr seen by user - 1 for its stream , sinr 1 wc is given by then , defining c ( f )= a t q 1 ( f { circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 ), r = vec ( r 1 † ), d ( f )=[ f { circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 ĝ 1 † u 1 − 1 , f { circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 ĝ 1 † u 2 ] t , the worst - case true sinr can be lower bounded as another simplified model is also possible . here we assume that the channel output seen by user - 1 can be modeled as follows . y 1 ={ circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 ĝ 1 † u 1 s 1 +{ circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 ( ĝ 1 † + r 1 † q 1 † ) u 2 s 2 + η 1 , ( 29 ) where η 1 ˜ cn ( 0 , i ). note that in ( 29 ) we essentially assume that the uncertainty in the channel affects only the interfering stream . for this model , let us first determine the true worst - case sinr seen by user - 1 assuming that it employs the mmse receiver . the worst - case sinr can now be written as lemma 3 under mu - mimo user pairing and the model in ( 29 ), the worst - case true sinr seen by user - 1 for its stream can be lower - bounded as follows . defining c ( f )= u 2 t q 1 ({ circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 ), r = vec ( r 1 † ), d ( f )= f { circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 ĝ 1 † u 2 , the worst - case true sinr is lower bounded by { circumflex over ( b )} 2 , where { circumflex over ( b )} is the solution of the following optimization problem . ( 31 ) can be solved using a bisection search on τ wherein an sdp in the remaining variables is solved for each fixed choice of τ . let us now consider the mrc receiver ( i . e ., user - 1 uses the linear combiner u 1 † ĝ 1 { circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 ) and the model in ( 29 ). now the worst - case sinr can be expressed as : for the mrc receiver , we can extend the above sinr approximation to a general case of q users ( q ≧ 2 ) with the precoding matrix u k employed for the kth user . the signal model received at user - 1 in ( 34 ) can be rewritten as user - 1 then applies the linear combiner for the ith stream u i , 1 † ĝ 1 { circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 , where u i , k denotes the ith column of the precoding matrix u k . the worst - case sinr can be expressed as : where ū i , k denotes the matrix obtained from u k with the removal of the ith column . by separating each layer from interfering users and applying ( 33 ), we can obtain the lower bound of ( 35 ), given by where λ max ( q 1 † u k ) denotes the maximal eigen value of u k † q 1 q 1 † u k . the proof of ( 37 ) is given as follows . proof : denote ψ k =∥ u i , 1 † ĝ 1 { circumflex over ( d )} 1 1 / 2 h 1 u 5 ∥ 2 . from ( 23 ), we have ψ k =∥ u i , 1 † ĝ 1 { circumflex over ( d )} 1 ( ĝ 1 † + r 1 † q 1 † ) u k ∥ 2 =∥ u i , 1 † ĝ 1 { circumflex over ( d )} 1 r 1 † q 1 † u k ∥ 2 , ( 38 ) where the second equality follows from ĝ 1 † u k = 0 for k ≠ 1 due to zf precoding . we drop the subscripts and let ψ k =∥ b † r † z ∥ 2 , where we let b † ={ tilde over ( b )} † ũ and obtain the svd decomposition of z , given by where ũ , { tilde over ( w )}, and { tilde over ( v )}, are unitary matrices , and λ is the matrix in which the diagonal elements are the ordered singular values of z and all other entries are zeros . we then have we assume σ 1 2 ≧ σ 2 2 ≧ . . . . since ∥ r 1 ∥ 2 ≦∥ r ∥ f 2 ≦ ε 2 , we have to set ε 2 with a reasonable value , we can first the statistics of ∥ r ∥ f 2 based on a certain channel model , which is explained in appendix a in detail . we can also set ε 2 according to its statistics obtained directly from the simulations . as aforementioned , there is a mismatch between the channel sinr feedback and the actual sinr that the user sees after being scheduled . the sinr feedback in the su csi report assuming su - mimo transmission results in a large sinr mismatch if the mu - mimo trans - mission is scheduled . the mu report is presented in section 3 . 2 to mitigate such sinr mismatch . we now evaluate the sinr mismatch performance for the sinr feedback in both su and mu feedback reports . for each type of channel report , we consider the following three cases , namely , the su - mimo transmission , mu - mimo transmission , and the mu - mimo transmission with sinr scaling and zf beamforming . the cumulative distribution function ( cdf ) curves of the sinr mismatch for these cases are illustrated in fig6 . we know that the perfect sinr feedback will result in a zero value of sinr mismatch . consequently , the cdf curve of the sinr mismatch for the perfect channel feedback is a unit step function . therefore , the sinr mismatch cdf curves for better sinr feedback at the user end or sinr approximation at the base station should be closer to the unit step function . the positive value of the sinr mismatch means that the sinr reported by the user is larger than the actual receive sinr when the corresponding stream is transmitted . using such overestimated sinr feedback for rate matching or mcs assignment will cause the decoding error at the receiver and incur a retransmission . the negative value of sinr mismatch indicates that the sinr feedback underestimates the actual sinr . although the transmitted data stream with the rate matching based on the underestimated sinr can be decoded at receiver , the assigned data rate is lower than what the channel can actually support , which causes performance degradation . based on above discussions , we can see from fig6 that the sinr feedback in su reports provides the best estimate for the actual sinr . however , the su report results in a extremely large sinr mismatch when mu - mimo transmission is scheduled . the most portion of the sinr mismatch for such case is in the positive region , meaning that neglecting the interference from co - scheduled users is too optimistic on the sinr feedback . with sinr scaling , the sinr mismatch is slightly improved . on the contrary , we can see that with the mu report , the sinr mismatch is significantly improved over the su report . although the performance of mu report for mu - mimo is not as good as the su report for su - mimo transmissions , its sinr mismatch cdf curve is very close to that of su - mimo with su report , indicating that the mu feedback provides a good estimate of sinr for the mu - mimo transmission even the user does not have the knowledge of precoding matrix for the co - scheduled streams in advance . with sinr scaling , the sinr computation for mu - mimo transmission is further improved . the sinr mismatch cdf curve is almost overlapped with that of su report for su - mimo . however , a large mismatch observed for the su - mimo transmission with only the mu csi report . we can see that the sinr feedback in the mu report is mostly smaller than the actual sinr value that user sees after being scheduled , which will incur performance degradations due to the channel underestimation . with signal - to - interference - plus - noise - ratio sinr mismatch results for different scenarios , we can come up with a simple remedy for the sinr mismatch by applying offset value ζ δ to the sinr feedback ( in db ). the sinr offset can be user - specific or uniform among all users . for the sinr feedback in the su report , when mu - mimo transmission is scheduled , before the rate matching , we apply a negative offset on the sinr feedback on the sinr feedback directly or on the sinr computed after sinr approximation described in section 4 . if the sinr offset is applied before the sinr approximation , { circumflex over ( d )} j in ( 22 ) becomes { circumflex over ( d )} j = ζ δξ j diag { γ 1 , j , . . . , γ { circumflex over ( r )} j , j }. on the other hand , when su - mimo transmission is scheduled based on the sinr feedback in the mu report , we simply apply a positive offset on the sinr feedback . note that the sinr offset is applied only when the type of sinr feedback is different from the mimo transmission mode eventually being scheduled by the base station . as discussed above , the sinr feedback from su report provides a good match for su - mimo transmissions , so does the sinr feedback from mu report for mu - mimo transmissions . we then do not need to apply any sinr offset for these two cases . the cdf curves of the sinr mismatch after applying a sinr offset are illustrated in fig7 . for mu - mimo with su reports , a uniform ζ δ =− 4 db sinr offset is applied to the sinr values before or after the sinr scaling . for the su - mimo transmission with mu reports , a uniform ζ δ =+ 1 . 5 db is added to the feedback sinr . from this it can be seen that the simple uniform sinr offset can improve the sinr mismatch performance significantly . for mu - mimo with su reports , the sinr mismatch results for the offset applied before and after sinr scaling are a little bit different . the one applied before sinr scaling is slightly better as it is closer to the unit step function . however , compared with the performance of the mu report , the sinr mismatch cdf curve after applying a sinr offset for the su report in mu - mimo transmission is still quite off the step function with larger tails in both the positive and negative regions . if we compare the effects between the sinr overestimation ( sinr mismatch in the positive region ) and underestimation ( sinr mismatch in the negative region ), we find that the performance loss caused by sinr overestimation is more than that caused by the sinr underestimation . the rationale behind this is that the current commonly used scheduling algorithm is inefficient on the resource allocations for retransmissions as the sinr overestimation will mostly result in a retransmission which doubles the usage of channel resources for the same data sequence while the sinr underestimation only incurs a small factional rate loss . although it is more reasonable to apply the sinr offset before the sinr scaling , i . e ., directly on the sinr feedback , it is more flexible and less complex for the base station to apply the sinr offset after sinr approximation ( before the rate matching or mcs assignment ) so that base station can easily adjust the offset value and combine it with outer loop link adaptation ( olla ). for the sinr offset after zf beamforming , we can numerically find a good value from the sinr mismatch evaluations . we have collect n s samples of su reports with sinr scaling and zf beamforming and the corresponding actual sinr that user experiences sinr n , in mu - mimo transmissions . assuming that chase combining hybrid automatic repeat request ( arq ) is employed , given a sinr offset ζ δ , the average spectral efficiency in a cell can be approximated by the average rate of n s samples , given by where 1 (•) is the indicator function , l n ( cc ) =┌ ζ δ / sinr n ┐ is the number of retransmissions required for successfully decoding at the receiver , and l m denotes the maximum number of retransmissions allowed in the system . we evaluate the average rate from the samples for difference values of ζ δ and find the one with the best output . if hybrid arq with incremental redundancy ( ir ) is employed , the average rate can be written as where l n ( ir ) =┌ log 2 ( 1 + ζ δ / log 2 ( 1 + sinr n )┐. in lte - a systems , dynamic switching between su - mimo and mu - mimo transmissions is supported . as shown in section 5 . 1 , when feedback is computed assuming a different transmission mode , a severe sinr mismatch occurs , particularly for the case of mu - mimo scheduling based on su csi reports . although a simple uniform sinr offset can alleviate such mismatch , the large tails on both side of the cdf curves will still cause a certain performance loss . since the mu reports provide better estimate of the sinr for mu - mimo transmissions , the better solution would be that both types of csi reports are available at the base station . however , the feedback channel resource is expensive and limited . to overcome this problem , we can perform a user pooling for feedback mode selection as follows . as we know , the performance gain of mu - mimo is mostly achieved in the high snr region . therefore , we pool the users into two groups . for the low geometry users who are mostly away from the base station , we do not need to schedule them for mu - mimo transmissions so that only the su report is needed . for high geometry users who are close to the base station , we request them send the mu csi report or both su and mu reports . since the pathloss on the transmit power is inversely proportional to the square or cubic of the distance , the low geometry users usually have smaller values on the average snr than the high geometry users . hence , we impose a snr threshold , snr th on the long - term average snr which is available at the base station . for the users with the long - term average snr smaller than snr th , we request only the su report from them . for the users with the long - term average snr larger than snr th , we request the mu report or both su and mu reports from this group of users . note that if we only request the mu report for high geometry users , the amount of feedback resource will be the same as that for the su - mimo systems . the only signal overhead would be the signaling for the feedback mode selection which can be sent in a semi - static manner . similarly for selection of the feedback reports , we can also apply the user pooling at the base station when the pairs users for mu - mimo in the scheduler . again , we pool the active users into two groups . for one group of users , we only schedule them with su - mimo transmissions . for the other group of users , we schedule them with dynamic switching between su - mimo and mu - mimo transmissions . we consider the following three metrics for user pooling . if only one type of channel report at the base station , similarly as user pooling for feedback mode selection , we group users by imposing a threshold snr th on the long - term average snr . we put a user with long - term average snr below the threshold snr th into the pool of which the users will be scheduled only for su - mimo transmissions . only for the user has a long - term average snr above the threshold snr th , we put it into the pool of users enabled for mu pairing . long - term average snr only indicates the average channel quality of the user . with the small - scale fading , the channel quality varies in a short time scale . therefore , instead of long - term average snr , the instantaneous sinr can also be the metric for user pooling . the instantaneous sinr can be obtained by the channel feedback from either su report or mu report . since feedback ri { circumflex over ( r )} k can be greater than one , we then consider the following rule to obtain the instantaneous sinr . we first obtain the sum rate r k from the csi feedback for all { circumflex over ( r )} k streams for the user . we then obtain the mapped sinr for user pooling from the sum - rate r k or rate per layer r k /{ circumflex over ( r )} k , respectively given by sinr ′ k = 2 r k − 1 or sinr ′ k = 2 r k /{ circumflex over ( r )} k 1 . ( 44 ) we then compare the sinr ′ k with the threshold snr th for user pooling . since a weighted rate , i . e ., the normalized instantaneous rate r k / t k , is used as the pf scheduling metric , it is then natural to consider it as the user pooling metric . similarly as before , we can first map the value r k / t k to a sinr value by sinr ′ k = 2 r k / t k − 1 then compare it with the threshold for user pooling . please note that even with two types of feedback reports from a group of users or all active users , we can still employ such user pooling for the scheduling to improve the system throughput performance . the performance gain may be much smaller , though . we now evaluate the mu - mimo performance with the different types of channel reports and the enhancement methods described in section 4 and section 5 via system level simulations of a mimo - ofdm system . the simulation parameters are summarized in table 1 , fig1 . we first consider the mu - mimo with only the su csi report . the cell average spectral efficiencies and the 5 % cell edge spectral efficiencies of mu - mimo performance for various settings have been determined . the su - mimo performance is also included for comparisons . the sinr scaling and zf beamforming described in section 4 are employed for all settings . for some cases , the sinr offset and user pooling are applied to improve the system throughput . since there is only one type of csi report available at the base station , the user pooling is only applied in the scheduler . we set snr th = 7 db as the pooling threshold . it can be seen that without any processing on the su report , the average cell spectral efficiency performance of mu - mimo is much worse than that of su - mimo . with a simple − 4 db sinr offset , the spectral efficiency performance is improved significantly but still below the su - mimo mark . we can see that with user pooling based on the long - term average snr and instant sinr , the performance of mu - mimo is further improved and the gain of mu - mimo over the su - mimo transmission is then realized . we then set a rank restriction , i . e ., r max = 1 , in the simulation so that users only report the pmi of the best rank - 1 precoding vector and the associated sinr . as can be seen from table 2 , fig1 , the performance of the user pooling based on instant sinr and long - term average snr improves . the best spectral efficiency performance with rank - 1 restriction is from the user pooling based on long - term average snr , which is about 11 . 5 % improvement over that of su - mimo . we now evaluate the performance spectral efficiency as a function of the sinr offset ζ δ . we consider the case of user pooling with long - term average snr and rank - 1 restriction . the normalized rate or spectral efficiency over the maximum value is shown in fig8 . the estimate average rates with chase combining and ir based hybrid arq are obtained using ( 42 ) and ( 43 ), respectively , from the simulations for the sinr mismatch evaluation . the system level simulation results with chase combining are also plotted . we can see that the normalized spectral efficiency matches quite well with the estimated rate . the optimal operation point is at about ζ δ = 3 . 25 db with the corresponding spectral efficiency being 2 . 4227 . similarly , we can also find the better threshold for user pooling . however , we do not have a simple scheme except completely relying on simulations . we consider the same case as above , i . e ., su report employing user pooling based on long - term average snr and rank - 1 precoding restriction . we find that we can further improve the performance of mu - mimo with average cell spectral efficiency being 2 . 4488 by using 12 db as the pooling threshold . we now present the performance of sinr approximation using channel model given in ( 23 ). due to high complexity of sdp optimization , we consider the signal model in ( 29 ) and sinr approximation for mrc receiver given in ( 33 ). the key issue of mrc sinr approximation for better rate matching is to find a good setting on ε . to achieve this , we obtain sample values of ε 2 from the simulator by matching the approximate mrc sinr with the actual sinr from the mmse receiver . the cdf curve of ε 2 is illustrated in fig9 . with r max = 1 . due to the channel uncertainty and outdate , it is possible that we obtain some negative values for ε 2 . with this cdf curve , we can set the ε 2 or ε value corresponding to different cdf percentages . in fig1 we illustrate the sinr mismatch cdf curves for mrc sinr approximations with different ε settings . for each cdf curve , a unique sinr offset is applied so that the 60 % cdf point is moved to the zero point of the sinr mismatch . the case of ε = 0 is also included in the figure , which corresponds to previous case of the simple sinr scaling and the mmse receiver . we can see that ε corresponding to the 70 % cdf value provides the best performance in the positive region of sinr mismatch ( sinr overestimate ) which is closer to the step function than other settings . however , the simple sinr scaling , i . e ., ε = 0 , shows better performance in the negative region of sinr mismatch ( sinr underestimate ). therefore , a tradeoff is necessary in both regions to have better performance . from fig1 we can see that ε corresponding to the 50 % cdf value could be a better choice . the results of cell average spectral efficiency for different ε values are shown in fig1 without user pooling . the value of ε = 0 . 1654 corresponds to the 50 % cdf value of ε . the spectral efficiency for mrc sinr approximation with ε = 0 . 1654 is 2 . 4954 , which is close to the optimum . we include this result in table 2 , fig1 . also seen from table 2 instant sinr feedback based user pooling , we can further improve the performance of mrc sinr approximation . the resulting spectral efficiency is 2 . 5141 , a 17 % gain over su - mimo . we now evaluate the statistics of ε 2 for r max = 2 . the resulting cdf curves are shown in fig1 . since we consider up - to two - user pairing , we have total four scenarios , i . e ., ( r 1 , r 2 )=( 1 , 1 ), ( 1 , 2 ), ( 2 , 1 ), and ( 2 , 2 ). we present the cdf curves for each scenario separately . moreover , for the scheduled users with two layers , we illustrate the cdf curves separately for ε 2 obtained from sinr matching for two layers . from fig1 . a diverse ε 2 is observed for the second layers for both ( r 1 = 2 , r 2 = 1 ) and ( r 1 = 2 , r 2 = 2 ) cases , indicating a huge sinr mismatch for the data stream transmitted in the second layer . this is due to the co - polarized antenna setting with small antenna spacing , which is usually rank deficient . the receive sinr of the second stream is much smaller and suffering more by the interfering streams from co - scheduled users . therefore , for the co - polarized antennas , it is better to pair the user with rank - 1 transmissions . we now consider mu csi report with the assumption of uniform power allocation . with both types of csi reports can be obtained at user terminals , we can apply user pooling technique to configure the report mode of user terminal . we can let high geometry ( hg ) user terminals , i . e ., the users with larger long - term average snr , send back either mu csi report only ( without additional feedback channel resource ) or both su and mu csi reports ( with additional feedback channel resources ) to the base station . then at base station , we can also employ user pooling technique to schedule either su or mu - mimo transmissions based on the instantaneous channel feedback . fig1 illustrates the performance of the average cell spectral efficiency for mu - mimo with various report configurations , namely , mu report by all users , mu report by hg users without user pooling in the scheduler ( denoted as case 1 ), mu report by hg users with user pooling and sinr offset for su transmissions ( denoted as case 2 ), both mu and su report by hg users , the mu report and su cqi report by hg users , and finally the su report plus mu cqi report by hg users . we impose rank - 1 restrictions on the csi feedback . we can see from fig1 that with mu csi reports from all active users and without any additional processing , the average cell spectral efficiency is 2 . 3321 which is about 8 . 5 % gain over the su - mimo . if high geometry users send back mu csi reports and others send su reports , the performance is improved with the average cell spectral efficiency being 2 . 5572 now , about 19 % higher than that of su - mimo , and also about 2 . 5 % higher than the mu - mimo performance ( without pooling ) with only the su reports from all users . if we apply the user pooling when performing user pairing for mu - mimo based on the instantaneous feedback and also employ the sinr offset of ζ δ =+ 1 . 5 db on the mu sinr report when su - mimo is scheduled , the average cell spectral efficiency is then 2 . 6517 , a 23 . 4 % gain over the su - mimo and a 6 . 3 % gain over the mu - mimo with su csi reports . when both mu and su complete csi reports from hg users are available at the base station , the spectral efficiency becomes 2 . 694 with the cost of additional feedback channel resources . however , if we request only the cqi feedback for one type of report instead of full csi reports to reduce the feedback overhead , the performance degradation is negligible . for example , with mu csi and su cqi reports from hg users , the spectral efficiency is 2 . 693 , or with the su csi and mu cqi from hg users , the spectral efficiency is 2 . 6814 . for both cases , the performance degradation is less than 0 . 5 %. the detailed values including 5 % cell edge spectral efficiency are provided in table 3 , fig1 . we can see that the cell edge performance is also improved with user pooling , sinr offset , and additional channel report . now we consider the mu report based on nonuniform power allocation . here , the 4 - bit cqi feedback is applied . the performance of mu - mimo for both uniform and nonuniform power allocations with various settings on the channel feedback is listed in table 4 , fig1 . the percentage in the parentheses is the gain over the mu - mimo with the su report given in the second row . for the nonuniform power allocation , we set the power allocation factor α = 0 . 5 . again we impose rank - 1 restrictions on all channel feedbacks . it is observed from table 4 that for all settings , the channel feedback based on the nonuniform power allocation provides better spectral efficiency performance than the corresponding uniform power allocation with about 1 - 3 % improvement . compared with the performance of su report , the performance gains are about 5 - 6 . 5 %, which is impressive from the system level point of view . in this paper , we have considered the performance improvement for practical dl mu - mimo transmission with linear procoding and quantized channel feedback . two types of channel reports from user terminals are treated , namely , the su report assuming su - mimo transmissions and the mu reports assuming mu - mimo transmissions . we have introduced several techniques to improve the mu - mimo performance including sinr approximation , sinr offset , user pooling , and non - uniform power allocations in conjunction with various settings of csi reports . the performance of proposed techniques has been evaluated by the system level simulations and the numerical results have demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed techniques for the performance enhancement on mu - mimo . for a channel matrix h we obtain its svd decomposition as h = uλv † . if the user preferred precoder has a rank r ≦ min { n , m }, we then assume that the user chooses to receive only along the span of its first r ( r dominant ) receive ( left ) singular vectors so that the model post - projection at the user is given by where { tilde over ( h )} is an r × m complex - valued matrix with svd { tilde over ( h )}= ũ { tilde over ( λ )}{ tilde over ( v )} † , where { tilde over ( v )}{ tilde over ( )} is an m × r matrix containing the r dominant right singular vectors of h . the precoder selection based on the chordal distance is then given by where tr denotes the trace of a matrix . we then decompose { tilde over ( v )} as the summation of its components in the subspace of the reported semi - unitary precoder ĝ and in the orthogonal subspace ĝ ⊥ , given by where x is a unitary matrix with x † x = i r and qq † = i − ĝĝ † . so { tilde over ( v )} † = a † x † ĝ † + b † q † . since tr ({ tilde over ( v )}{ tilde over ( v )} † )= tr ({ tilde over ( v )} † { tilde over ( v )})= r , we then have d 2 ( { tilde over ( v )}, g )= r − tr [( { tilde over ( v )} † ĝ )( ĝ † { tilde over ( v )} )]= r − tr ( a † a )= tr ( b † b ). ( a . 5 ) to normalize the projection to the subspace of ĝ , we then have hence , given a channel matrix h , we first find { tilde over ( v )} and the preferred precoder ĝ , then obtain ∥ r ∥ f 2 by ( a . 8 ). by generating the channel based on a certain channel statistics , we can obtain the statistics of ∥ r ∥ f 2 and set a reasonable upper bound ε for the sinr approximation described in section 4 . 2 . since i − ĝĝ † = qq † , we can obtain q by qr decomposition of i − ĝĝ † . having described preferred embodiments of a system and method ( 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 . | 7 |
an improved handheld electronic device 4 in accordance with the invention is shown in fig1 . the handheld electronic device 4 includes an improved keyboard 8 in accordance with the invention that is depicted , in whole or in part , in fig2 - 11 . more particularly , the handheld electronic device 4 includes the keyboard 8 , a housing 12 , a display 16 , and a suitable processor 18 ( e . g ., without limitation , a microprocessor ) having software 20 that resides in the handheld electronic device 4 and that provides functionality to inputs received from the keyboard 8 and provides outputs to the display 16 . the keyboard 8 and the display 16 are disposed on the housing 12 , and the operability of the software 20 is enabled by the processor 18 . examples of handheld electronic devices are included in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 452 , 588 and 6 , 489 , 950 , which are incorporated by reference herein . as can be seen in fig2 , the exemplary keyboard 8 includes a plurality of keys 60 , each of which includes a number of characters 24 . as used herein , the expression “ a number of ” and variations thereof shall refer broadly to any non - zero positive quantity , including a quantity of one . the exemplary keys 60 depicted and described herein each include a first character 28 that is generally centrally disposed on the key 60 , a second character 32 that is generally disposed at a left end ( from the perspective of fig2 ) of the key 60 , and a third character 36 that is generally disposed at a right end ( from the perspective of fig2 ) of the key 60 , with the first , second , and third characters 28 , 32 , and 36 being referable collectively , in whole or in part , by the aforementioned numeral 24 . as can further be seen in fig2 , many of the exemplary first characters 28 are digits , and many of the second and third characters 32 and 36 , respectively , are letters . also , many of the second and third characters 32 and 36 , respectively , together are of a qwerty configuration to provide a qwerty key configuration for the handheld electronic device 4 of fig1 . it is understood , however , that the arrangement of the characters 24 can be different than the exemplary arrangement depicted in fig2 . for instance , the first , second , and third characters 28 , 32 , and 36 , respectively , can together form a qwerty arrangement . alternately , the characters 24 could be numerical or mathematical symbols , could be characters of different languages , or could be of virtually any other character and / or keyboard configuration . as can be best understood from fig3 , the keyboard 8 includes a keypad 40 , a primary conductor portion 44 , a secondary conductor portion 48 having a spacer 52 , and a printed circuit board 56 . the aforementioned components of the keyboard 8 can be adhered together or otherwise attached to one another , while in other embodiments the components need not be adhered to one another in any fashion . the keypad 40 includes the aforementioned keys 60 and a key panel 64 . the keys 60 are movably disposed on the key panel 64 and are permitted to pivot slightly with respect thereto . the primary conductor portion 44 includes a plurality of conductive domes 68 disposed on a dome panel 72 . the dome panel 72 includes a plurality of primary holes 74 ( fig8 ) formed therein and a plurality of flexible adhesive members 70 ( fig8 ) disposed on one surface of the dome panel 72 and positioned adjacent the primary holes 74 . the domes 68 extend through the primary holes 74 , and the apex of each dome 68 , i . e ., the proud portion thereof , is adhered to one of the adhesive members 70 . the circular edge of each dome 68 opposite the apex thereof protrudes outwardly from and beyond the associated primary hole 74 . while in the depicted exemplary embodiment the domes 68 are adhered to the dome panel 72 with the adhesive members 70 , it is understood that in other embodiments the domes 68 and the dome panel 72 may be connected together in other fashions , or might not be connected together at all , without departing from the concept of the invention . the domes 68 are elastically deflectable between a relaxed position , i . e ., fig8 , and a deflected position , i . e ., fig9 - 11 . the movement of the domes 68 between the relaxed and deflected positions occurs via elastic deformation of the domes 68 and causes the domes to “ snap ” between the relaxed and deflected conditions to provide a desirable tactile feedback . the secondary conductor portion 48 includes a plurality of elongated conductive carbon strips 76 disposed on a flexible support sheet 80 . the support sheet 80 includes a plurality of primary holes 84 formed therein between pairs of adjacent carbon strips 76 . the primary holes 84 in the support sheet 80 are arranged to correspond with and be similar to the arrangement of the primary holes 74 in the dome panel 72 . it is understood that in other embodiments the secondary conductor portion 48 could have elongated strips of a different conductive material , such as a metal or other material , without departing from the concept of the invention . the support sheet 80 may be a thin plastic sheet , although other configurations are possible . it is understood that the primary conductor portion 44 and the secondary conductor portion 48 can be said to provide switches for the keys 60 . such switches of the primary conductor portion 44 provide a tactile feedback , and such switches of the secondary conductor portion 48 generally do not provide tactile feedback , but such switches could be of other configurations . the spacer 52 is a sheet of material that can be generally said to space the carbon strips 76 away from the printed circuit board 56 . the spacer 52 includes a plurality of circular primary holes 88 arranged in rows similar to the arrangement of the primary holes 84 in the support sheet 80 and the primary holes 74 in the dome panel 72 . the spacer 52 additionally includes a plurality of elongated secondary holes 92 that correspond generally with the arrangement of the carbon strips 76 on the support sheet 80 . in the exemplary embodiment , the spacer 52 is a thin sheet of an insulative material , such as plastic , although configurations are possible . it is also understood that the keyboard 8 potentially could be configured in other fashions that would eliminate the need for the spacer 52 but would still be considered to be within the scope of the invention . as is best shown in fig7 , the printed circuit board 56 includes a plurality of primary contacts 96 and a plurality of secondary contacts 100 . the primary and secondary contacts 96 and 100 , respectively , are electrically conductive electrical contacts which , when connected with one another , such as with a conductor extending therebetween , completes a circuit or completes an open portion of a circuit . the primary contacts 96 are , in the depicted exemplary embodiment , arranged in pairs and specifically include a ball contact 98 and a ring contact 102 , with the ring contact 102 extending concentrically about the ball contact 98 . the domes 68 ( fig8 ) each also extend through an aligned pair of the primary holes 84 and 88 formed in the support sheet 80 and the spacer 52 , respectively . the circular ends of the domes 68 rest on the ring contacts 102 of the primary contacts 96 . the secondary contacts 100 are arranged in pairs and are generally of an “ intermeshed comb ” arrangement . in the exemplary embodiment of the printed circuit board 56 depicted in fig7 and described herein , certain of the primary contacts 96 are electrically connected with leads to certain of the secondary contacts 100 , and numerous other contact configurations are possible without departing from the concept of the invention . as can be understood from fig8 - 11 , each key 60 includes a finger plate 104 , a first protrusion 108 in the exemplary form of a hollow cylinder , a second protrusion 112 , and a third protrusion 116 . the finger plate 104 is engageable by a user &# 39 ; s finger and includes the characters 24 ( fig2 ) disposed thereon . the first , second , and third protrusions 108 , 112 , and 116 , respectively , extend outwardly away from the finger plate 104 in a common direction which , in the exemplary embodiment , is opposite the characters 24 . in the exemplary key 60 of fig8 - 11 , the free ends of the first , second , and third protrusions 108 , 112 , and 116 , respectively , do not lie within a plane and may be of configurations other than that depicted herein depending upon the configuration of the other components of the keyboard 8 . as can further be understood from fig8 , each key 60 is associated with one of the domes 68 and with a pair of the carbon strips 76 ( fig3 ). in fig8 , the key 60 is in an initial position which corresponds with the relaxed position of the associated dome 68 and the relaxed positions of the associated carbon strips 76 . when the key 60 is depressed straight toward the printed circuit board 56 , such as is depicted generally in fig9 , and which would correspond with a user pressing the key 60 at the first character 28 ( fig2 ), the first protrusion 108 of the key 60 engages the dome 68 that is associated with the key 60 and elastically collapses the dome 68 to the deflected position , while the carbon strips 76 associated the dome 68 remain in their relaxed positions . the key 60 in fig9 is in the first terminal position , and thus it can be seen that the key 60 is movable between the initial position and the first terminal position . when the dome 68 is in the deflected position , it contacts the ball contact 98 of the associated pair of primary contacts 96 . the domes 68 are primary conductors which , when engaged with a corresponding set of primary contacts 96 , electrically connect together the pair of primary contacts 96 in order to complete a circuit or to complete an open portion of a circuit , which provides a first function associated with the first terminal position of the key 60 . the dome 68 is configured to “ snap ” when moving between the relaxed position ( fig8 ) and the deflected position ( fig9 ), and such a “ snap ” provides a desirable tactile feedback to the user . as can be understood from fig1 and 11 , the key 60 is also movable between the initial position and the second terminal position , i . e ., fig1 , that would correspond with a user pressing the second character 32 ( fig2 ), which provides the key 60 with a second function associated with the second terminal position of the key 60 . the key 60 is also movable between the initial position and the third terminal position , i . e ., fig1 , which would correspond with a user pressing the third character 36 ( fig2 ) of the key 60 to provide the key with a third function associated with the third terminal position of the key 60 . when the key 60 is in the second terminal position , i . e ., fig1 , the associated dome 68 is in its deflected position , and one of the carbon strips 76 associated with the key 60 is also in its deflected condition . when the key 60 is in the third terminal position , i . e ., fig1 , the associated dome 68 is in its deflected position , and the other of the carbon strips 76 associated with the key 60 is also in its deflected condition . each carbon strip 76 serves as a secondary conductor that is engageable with a pair of the secondary contacts 100 for the purpose of electrically connecting together the pair of secondary contacts 100 to complete a circuit or to complete an open portion of a circuit . the carbon strips 76 are mounted on the support sheet 80 ( fig5 ), which is flexible , and which permits elastic deflection of the carbon strips 76 between a relaxed position ( fig8 ) and the aforementioned deflected position ( fig1 and 11 ). the carbon strips 76 in the deflected position extend through the associated secondary holes 92 in the spacer 52 ( fig6 ). in the exemplary embodiment depicted herein the carbon strips 76 do not “ snap ” or otherwise proved a discrete tactile feedback to the user . some feedback to the user is acceptable , however , such as the slight additional finger force required to elastically deflect the carbon strips 76 between the relaxed and deflected positions . in other embodiments , the carbon strips 76 can be configured to provide specific tactile feedback to the user in moving between the relaxed and deflected positions without departing from the concept of the invention . the key 60 in the second terminal position is pivoted slightly in a direction away from the first terminal position . in the exemplary embodiment depicted herein , the second terminal position , i . e ., fig1 , is pivoted in a counter - clockwise direction from the first terminal position , i . e ., fig9 , from the perspective of fig9 and 11 . when the key 60 is in the third terminal position , as is depicted in fig1 , the associated dome 68 is in the deflected condition , and the other associated carbon strip 76 is deflected from its relaxed position to its deflected position . the key 60 in the third terminal position is pivoted in a different direction away from the first terminal position , which direction in the depicted embodiment is a clockwise direction from the first terminal position , i . e ., fig9 , from the perspective of fig9 and 11 . when the carbon strips 76 are moved to their deflected positions , which alternately occur at the second and third terminal positions of the key 60 , the deflected carbon strip 76 engages an associated pair of the secondary contacts 100 and , being a conductor , electrically connects together the pair of secondary contacts 100 . in the embodiment depicted herein , a given pair of the secondary contacts 100 extends along the printed circuit board 56 adjacent a plurality of the pairs of primary contacts 96 and , in the depicted embodiment , the primary contacts 96 of some of the pairs of the primary contacts 96 lie on opposite sides of the given set of secondary contacts 100 . since , in the depicted exemplary embodiment , a single pair of the secondary contacts 100 extends past a plurality of pairs of the primary contacts 96 , the single set of secondary contacts 100 serves as the associated secondary contacts 100 for all of the keys 60 with which the adjacent pairs of primary contacts 96 are associated . it thus can be seen that each key 60 is movable between the initial position and a plurality of terminal positions , i . e ., the first , second , and third terminal positions , depicted in fig9 - 11 , respectively . the three terminal positions are associated with the three characters 24 ( fig2 ) on the keys 60 , and the various engagements of the domes 68 and the carbon strips 76 provide various inputs to the handheld electronic device 4 and to which the processor 18 and the software 20 provide functionality . an keying chart is provided in table 1 . the vertical column key out refers to five outputs from the processor 18 to the keyboard 8 which are normally set to high . key in refers to eight inputs to the processor 18 from the keyboard 8 which are normally set to low . the numerals c1 , c2 , c3 , c4 , c5 , and c6 ( fig5 ) refer to the exemplary six carbon strips 76 identified from left to right from the perspective of fig5 . the processor 18 scans the key out outputs and scans the key in inputs to detect changes of state . for instance , if the qw key is pressed to the third terminal position , the dome that corresponds with the qw key would electrically connect the corresponding primary contacts 96 , and the c2 carbon strip ( fig5 ) would electrically connect the corresponding secondary contacts 100 . from the collapsing of the qw dome , the processor 18 would detect that the voltage of key out 0 had dropped and that the voltage of key in 0 had risen . this would provide an input ( 0 , 0 ) to the processor 18 . from the deflection of the c2 carbon strip the processor 18 would detect that the voltage of key out 1 had dropped and that the voltage of key in 4 had risen . this would provide an input ( 1 , 4 ) to the processor 18 . an key combination chart is provided in table 2 . from the example given above , the combination of inputs qw , i . e ., ( 0 , 0 ) and c2 , i . e ., ( 1 , 4 ) results in the character w . the processor 18 sends an appropriate signal to the display 16 to depict the character w . in the exemplary embodiment , the second and third characters 32 and 36 , respectively , i . e ., the various letters of the keyboard 8 , are generated from inputs of combinations of keys 60 and carbon strips 76 , although this need not be the case . the first characters 28 , i . e ., the digits and symbols of the keyboard 8 , are generated from inputs of combinations of the key 60 on which the digit or symbol appears and the alt key 62 , although this need not be the case . various configurations of key in and key out , as well as the key combination , can be employed without departing from the concept of the invention . another example , for which sample keying and key combination charts have not been provided , would include a situation in which the actuation of a single key 60 to the first terminal position would result in an input to the processor 18 which the processor 18 would recognize as the first character 28 disposed at the center of the key 60 . when one of the keys 60 is pressed to the first terminal position , the processor 18 would recognize the action as the input of the first character 28 without the need to press additional keys , such as the alt key 62 . furthermore , such a key 60 could additionally include a fourth character 24 disposed at the center of the key 60 which , when combined with the alt key 62 , could be recognized by the processor 18 as a different fourth input . the improved keyboard 8 can be employed in numerous different advantageous fashions with the handheld electronic device 4 . for instance , and as depicted herein , the second and third characters 32 and 36 , respectively , ( fig2 ) can be letters that together form a qwerty keyboard , and the first characters 28 can be digits and the other symbols found on a typical keyboard . the software 20 potentially could provide a predictive text function which reviews a user &# 39 ; s inputs from the keyboard 8 and corrects errors ( e . g ., without limitation , spelling and / or grammar errors ), such as if the first character 28 is pressed instead of the second character 32 , then the software 20 concludes that the second character 32 was desired to have been input . while specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the 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 claims appended and any and all equivalents thereof . | 7 |
the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description , which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings , wherein the same references relate to the same elements . in the following , a first embodiment is set forth to explain how a test - used printed circuit board ( pcb ) having an in - series circuit involved with a join test action group ( jtag ) signal according to the present invention is operated , with fig1 referred to simultaneously , wherein fig1 depicts a schematic diagram of the pcb having the in - series circuit involved with the jtag signal according to the first embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the test - used pcb having the in - series circuit involved with the jtag signal according to the present invention comprises the test - used pcb 10 . the test - used pcb 10 further comprises a first jtag connective interface 11 , a second jtag connective interface 12 , and a jtag control chip 13 . a first embodied aspect is only having a single jtag control chip 13 . the first jtag connective interface 11 further comprises a first test clock ( tck ) pin tck 1 , a first interface test mode select ( tms ) pin tms 1 , a first interface test data in ( tdi ) pin tdi 1 , and a first interface test data out ( tdo ) pin tdo 1 . the second jtag connective interface 12 further comprises a second tck pin tck 2 , a first interface tms pin tms 1 , a first interface tdi pin tdi 1 , and a first interface tdo pin tdo 2 . the jtag control chip 13 further comprises a chip test clock pin tck 3 , a chip test mode select pin tms 3 , a chip test data pin tdi 3 , and a chip test data out pin tdo 3 . the first interface tck pin tck 1 , the second interface clock pin tck 2 and the chip test clock pin tck 3 are electrically connected through a buffer chip 14 and a match resistor 15 , to promote a signal in quality . the first and second interface tms pins tms 1 , tms 2 are electrically connected through the buffer chip 14 and the match resistor 15 , to promote the signal in quality . the first interface tdi pin tdi 1 and the chip tdi pin tdi 3 of the jtag control chip 13 are electrically connected through pull - up resistor 16 . the chip tdo pin tdo 3 and the second interface tdi pin tdi 2 are electrically connected through the math resistor 15 , to promote the signal in quality . the first interface tdo pin tdo 1 and the second interface tdo pin tdo 2 are electrically connected . it is to be noted that a sequence of the first interface tck pin tck 1 , the first interface tms pin tms 1 , the first interface tdi pin tdi 1 and the first interface tdo pin tdo 1 of the first jtag connective interface 11 and a sequence of the second interface tck pin tck 2 , the second interface tms pin tms 2 , the second interface tdi pin tdi 2 and the second interface tdo pin tdo 2 of the second jtag connective interface 12 are the same . in this manner , two test - used pcbs 10 are connected in series through the first jtag connective interface 11 and second jtag connective interface 12 , so that a plurality of test - used pcbs 10 may be connected in series to a jatg port of a test access port ( tap ) controller , to reduce a requirement of the tap controller and the jtag port . in the following , a second embodiment is set forth to explain how the test - used pcb having the in - series circuit involved with the jtag signal according to the present invention is operated , with fig2 referred to simultaneously , wherein fig2 depicts a schematic diagram of the pcb having the in - series circuit involved with the jtag signal according to the second embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the pcb having the in - series circuit involved with the jtag signal according to the present invention comprises the test - used pcb 10 . the test - used pcb 10 further comprises a first jtag connective interface 11 , a second jtag connective interface 12 , and a first jtag control chip 131 and a second jtag control chip 132 . the second embodied aspect is set forth by having only two jtag control chips . further , over two jtag control chips may be deduced based on this embodied aspect , which is omitted herein for clarity . the first jtag connective interface 11 further comprises a first test clock ( tck ) pin tck 1 , a first interface test mode select ( tms ) pin tms 1 , a first interface test data in ( tdi ) pin tdi 1 , and a first interface test data out ( tdo ) pin tdo 1 . the second jtag connective interface 12 further comprises a second tck pin tck 2 , a first interface tms pin tms 2 , a first interface tdi pin tdi 2 , and a first interface tdo pin tdo 2 . the first jtag control chip 131 further comprises a chip test clock pin tck 3 , a chip test mode select pin tms 3 , a chip test data pin tdi 3 , and a chip test data out pin tdo 3 . the second jtag control chip 132 further comprises a chip test clock pin tck 4 , a chip test mode select pin tms 4 , a chip test data pin tdi 4 , and a chip test data out pin tdo 4 . the first interface tms pin tms 1 , the second interface tms tms 2 are electrically connected through a buffer chip 14 and a match resistor 15 , to promote a signal in quality . the first and second interface tms pins tms 1 , tms 2 are electrically connected through the match resistor 15 , to promote the signal in quality . the chip tms pin tms 3 and the chip tms pin tms 4 are directly electrically connected . the first interface tdi pin tdi 1 and the chip tdi pin tdi 3 of the jtag control chip 131 are electrically connected through the pull - up resistor 16 . the chip tdo pin tdo 3 and the chip tdi pin tdi 4 of the second jtag control chip 132 are directly electrically connected . the chip tdo pin tdo 4 of the second jtag control chip 132 are electrically connected to through the match resistor 15 , to promote the signal in quality . the first interface tdo pin tdo 1 and the second interface tdo pin tdo 2 are directly electrically connected . it is to be noted that a sequence of the first interface tck pin tck 1 , the first interface tms pin tms 1 , the first interface tdi pin tdi 1 and the first interface tdo pin tdo 1 of the first jtag connective interface 11 and a sequence of the second interface tck pin tck 2 , the second interface tms pin tms 2 , the second interface tdi pin tdi 2 and the second interface tdo pin tdo 2 of the second jtag connective interface 12 are the same . in this manner , two test - used pcbs 10 are connected in series through the first jtag connective interface 11 and second jtag connective interface 12 , so that a plurality of test - used pcbs 10 may be connected in series to a jatg port of a tap controller , to reduce a requirement of the tap controller and the jtag port . in addition , with reference to fig3 a and fig3 b , wherein fig3 a and fig3 b depict a schematic diagram of a pin arrangement of the first and second jtag connective interfaces of the test - used pcb having the in - series circuit involved with the jtag signal according to the present invention , respectively . the schematic diagram of the first jtag connective interface 11 and the schematic diagram of the second jtag connective interface 12 can be used to the first embodiment and the second embodiment . the first jtag connective interface 11 further comprises ground pins gnd corresponded and staggered with the first interface tck pin tck 1 , the first interface tms pin tms 1 , the first interface tdi pin tdi 1 and the first interface tdo pin tdo 1 . the ground pin gnd is used to promote an emi capability of the first interface tck pin tck 1 , the first interface tms pin tms 1 , the first interface tdi pin tdi 1 and the first interface tdo pin tdo 1 . the second jtag connective interface 12 further comprises ground pins gnd corresponded and staggered with the second interface tck pin tck 2 , the second interface tms pin tms 2 , the second interface tdi pin tdi 2 and the second interface tdo pin tdo 2 . the ground pin gnd is used to promote an emi capability of the second interface tck pin tck 2 , the second interface tms pin tms 2 , the second interface tdi pin tdi 2 and the second interface tdo pin tdo 2 . in addition , a sequence of the first interface tck pin tck 1 , the first interface tms pin tms 1 , the first interface tdi pin tdi 1 and the first interface tdo pin tdo 1 and the ground pins gnd and a sequence of the second interface tck pin tck 2 , the second interface tms pin tms 2 , the second interface tdi pin tdi 2 and the second interface tdo pin tdo 2 and ground pins gnd are the same . in this manner , two test - used pcbs 10 are connected in series through the first jtag connective interface 11 and second jtag connective interface 12 , so that a plurality of test - used pcbs 10 may be connected in series to a jatg port of a tap controller , to reduce a requirement of the tap controller and the jtag port . in summary , the present invention has the technical difference as compared to the prior art that the test - used pcb has the first and second jtag connective interfaces , through which over one test - used pcb may be connected in series , whereby a plurality of test - used pcbs may be connected in - series onto a jtag port of a tap controller , to reduce the requirement of the tap controller and the jtag port . by using the technical means , the issues encountered in the prior art that the complexity and inconvenience issues on the test - used pcb to be tested may be solved , to further achieve in the technical efficacy where the requirement of the tap controllers and the jtag ports may be reduced . although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments , this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense . various modifications of the disclosed embodiments , as well as alternative embodiments , will be apparent to persons skilled in the art . it is , therefore , contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the invention . | 6 |
this invention is described in preferred embodiments in the following description with reference to the figures , in which like numbers represent the same or similar elements . reference throughout this specification to “ one embodiment ,” “ an embodiment ,” or similar language means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention . thus , appearances of the phrases “ in one embodiment ,” “ in an embodiment ,” and similar language throughout this specification may , but do not necessarily , all refer to the same embodiment . the described features , structures , or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments . in the following description , numerous specific details are recited to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention . one skilled in the relevant art will recognize , however , that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details , or with other methods , components , materials , and so forth . in other instances , well - known structures , materials , or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention . high - power , pulsed fiber lasers are of great interest in applications such as laser micromachining , material processing , nonlinear optics , and laser sensing . high power fiber lasers are commonly achieved via the means of making a fiber - based master - oscillator - power - amplifier ( mopa ). fig1 illustrates the schematic of mopa configuration . the seed laser is amplified by a fiber amplifier . typically the seed laser is amplified by a rare - earth doped gain fiber , which is energized by pump laser . fig2 shows the cross section view of a rare - earth doped fiber . the pump laser is combined together with seed laser via the so - called signal and pump combiner . the amplified seed laser can be amplified again in order to achieve higher pulse energy and higher peak power . when more than one amplifier is used , the fiber amplifiers are called multi - stage amplifiers . in order to achieve high power , double - cladding rare - earth doped gain fiber is typically used . fig3 illustrate the typically cross section view of double cladding gain fiber . the core is used to guide the signal . here it is called seed laser . the inner cladding is used to confine the pump lasers . the core is typically rare - earth doped glass . the rare - earth ion produces gain . for example , ytterbium ion ( yb 3 + ) and neodymium ( nd 3 + ) offer gain near 1 micron wavelength , erbium ion ( er 3 + ) produces gain near 1 . 55 micron , thulium ion ( tm 3 + ) and holmium ion ( ho 3 + ) can produce gain near 2 micron wavelength . the inner cladding is typically undoped glass material with a lower refractive index in order to form waveguide in the core . the external cladding layer can be glass material or polymer material , which has a lower refractive index to confine the pump laser in the inner cladding . in order to generate polarization maintaining ( pm ) output , pm gain fiber is needed . fig4 illustrates the cross section view of typical pm fiber . high pulse energy and high peak power is needed for many applications . due to the strong transverse confinement and long interaction length , power scaling of fiber amplifier is limited by the onset of nonlinear effects . for single - frequency / narrow - band amplifiers , stimulated brillouin scattering ( sbs ) has the lowest threshold and possibly causes much of the signal light to be reflected back . for broader signal bandwidth , stimulated raman scattering ( srs ) can happen at higher power levels and transfer a lot of signal power into unwanted new wavelength components . the sbs threshold power for narrow band signal is determined by the following equation 1 : where b is a number between 1 and 2 which depends on polarization state . a e is the effective area . gb is the sbs gain coefficient . le is the effective transmission length of the fiber . the threshold power for srs can be described as the following equation ( 2 ) therefore , the threshold of optical nonlinearity in fiber increases with the effective area and decreases with the effective transmission length of the fiber . the effective area increase with the core diameter of the fiber and the mode filed diameter of the fiber . for single mode core , the mode field diameter is typically proportional to the physical core diameter of the fiber . in order to increase the pulse energy and peak power of the fiber laser one need to increase the threshold of the optical nonlinearity of gain fiber . in order to increase the threshold of the optical nonlinearity of gain fiber , the length of the gain fiber should be short and the core diameter of the gain fiber should be large . the length of the gain fiber is limited by pump absorption . cladding pumped fiber amplifiers often have a length of many meters for efficiently absorbing of pump light . a high doping concentration can improve the absorption and then shorten the length of the gain fiber . however , the doping concentration of typical silica fiber is limited . so typically a few meter long gain fiber is used . the core diameter is limited in order to ensure the fiber is single mode fiber . the beam quality will degrade and is no longer single mode when the v number of the fiber is more than 2 . 405 , where λ is the vacuum wavelength , a is the radius of the fiber core , and na is the numerical aperture . as can be seen in the equation ( 3 ), a lower na value can compensate the increased core size and keep the v number as low as possible . however , there is also a limit to reduce the na for conventional step index fiber . u . s . pat . no . 8 , 774 , 590 disclosed a refractive index difference between the core the clad of 0 . 05 to 0 . 30 % of silica fiber . this patent teaches that a light storing effect of the optical fibers cannot be sufficiently obtained when the relative refractive index difference between the core and clad is lower than 0 . 05 %. the refractive index of silica glass is approximately 1 . 45 . the refractive index of the core glass is 1 . 4507 . so the na of the fiber should be near 0 . 04 by using the following equation 4 : na = n core 2 - n clad 2 , ( 4 ) n clad = 1 . 45 n core = 1 . 45 *( 1 + 0 . 0005 )= 1 . 4507 when the na is 0 . 046 , the single mode core diameters are 16 . 65 micron for 1 micron wavelength laser , 25 . 8 micron for 1 . 55 micron wavelength laser , and 33 . 3 micron for 2 micron wavelength laser in according to equation ( 3 ). although u . s . pat . no . 8 , 774 , 590 claims a core diameter of 20 to 30 micron for ytterbium doped fiber laser ( ytterbium doped fiber laser wavelength is 1 micron ), the v number is already larger than 2 . 405 , which means it is not truly single mode fiber anymore . fiber bending is needed in order to filter out the higher order mode . so the true single mode core diameter near 1 micron is approximately 16 . 65 micron . further , silica fibers for u . s . pat . no . 8 , 774 , 590 are formed using mcvd ( modified chemical vapor deposition ) or vad ( vapor axial deposition ) method to deposit the core material . a problem , however , arises with these conventional optical fibers in that current optical fiber manufacturing methods are restricted in their ability to precisely control the indices of refraction of the core material ( n core ) and the cladding material ( n clad ). because of this restricted ability , in commercially practical fiber , the difference between n core and n clad is usually limited by design to no less than 0 . 1 %. this , in turn , restricts the designed size of the core diameter for a given wavelength , and / or restricts the wavelengths of single - mode operation of a fiber for a given core diameter . for example , one common optical fiber manufacturing method referred to as flame hydrolysis uses a burner to fire a combination of metal halide particles and sio 2 ( called a “ soot ”) onto a rotating graphite or ceramic mandrel to make the optical fiber perform . see keiser , optical fiber communications , 2nd ed ., mcgraw - hill ( 1991 ), which is incorporated by reference herein , at pp . 63 - 68 . the index of refraction is controlled by controlling the constituents of the metal halide vapor stream during the deposition process . the process is “ open loop ” without a feedback mechanism to precisely control the ultimate index of refraction of the optical material . moreover , the metal halide vapor stream is limited in its controllability and in its ability to control the ultimate index of refraction of the optical material . during the process a good portion of the material will be vaporized , therefore , it is extremely difficult to control the difference of the refractive index difference to close to 0 . 05 % ( equals to na of 0 . 046 ). so most gain fibers have na of 0 . 08 or larger . another approach is to use the so - called photonic crystal fiber ( pcf ) design to achieve a large core diameter . a photonic crystal fiber ( also called holey fiber , hole - assisted fiber , microstructure fiber , or microstructured fiber ) is an optical fiber which obtains its waveguide properties not from a spatially varying glass composition but from an arrangement of very tiny and closely spaced air holes which go through the whole length of fiber . such air holes can be obtained by using a preform with holes , made e . g . by stacking capillary and / or solid tubes and inserting them into a larger tube . these fibers are not step index fibers and their guiding mechanism is different from step index fibers . laser - active pcfs for fiber lasers and amplifiers can be fabricated , e . g ., by using a rare - earth - doped rod as the central element of the preform assembly . rare earth dopants ( e . g . ytterbium or erbium ) tend to increase the refractive index , the guiding properties are determined by the photonic microstructure only and not by a conventional - type refractive index difference . for high - power fiber lasers and amplifiers , double - clad pcfs can be used , where the pump cladding is surrounded by an air cladding region ( air - clad fiber ). due to the very large contrast of refractive index , the pump cladding can have a very high numerical aperture ( na ), which significantly lowers the requirements on the pump source with respect to beam quality and brightness . such pcf designs can also have very large mode areas of the fiber core while guiding only a single mode for diffraction - limited output , and are thus suitable for very high output powers with excellent beam quality . but pcf ( microstructured fiber ) has many disadvantages including difficulty for fabrication , difficulty for fusion splicing , poor thermal conductivity of the air - gap , and relatively low doping in the core of the fiber . therefore , it is strongly desired to have a step index fiber with a large core diameter , which is truly single mode fiber . we disclose a type of gain fiber , which has a numerical aperture of between 0 . 01 and 0 . 04 , resulting an extremely large single mode core diameter . here the host of the rare - earth ions , the gain elements , is the multicomponent glasses , which is different from the most commonly used silica glass . it is well known that silica fibers are made with vapor deposition method , which contains almost no alkali metal ions nor alkaline earth metal ions because these ions are not compatible with vapor deposition process . the total content should be less than 0 . 1 weight percent . multicomponent glasses always contain alkali metal ions or alkaline earth metal ions , which is at least more than 1 weight percent . the alkali metals include lithium ( li ), sodium ( na ), potassium ( k ), and the alkaline earth metals are beryllium ( be ), magnesium ( mg ), calcium ( ca ), strontium ( sr ), and barium ( ba ). these alkali metal ions or alkaline earth metal ions are called glass network modifier in multicomponent glasses . other metal ions such as zn and pb can act as glass network modifiers , which again is not compatible with vapor deposit process . multicomponent glasses include phosphate glasses , silicate glasses , tellurite glasses , germanate glasses , et al . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 816 , 514 , in the name of jiang disclose rare - earth doped phosphate - glass fiber for fiber laser application . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 859 , 606 in the name of jiang , disclose erbium doped boro - tellurite glasses for 1 . 5 micron fiber amplification . u . s . pat . no . 7 , 298 , 768 in the name of jiang , disclose germanate glasses for fiber lasers . u . s . pat . no . 8 , 121 , 154 to jiang disclosed silicate glasses for fiber laser applications . multicomponent glass fibers are used for fiber laser application because of theirs capability of high doping concentrations . these patents limit their advantages of using a relatively shorter piece of gain fiber compared to silica glass fiber . but for high pulse energy fiber lasers , a large core diameter is critical . applicants have discovered that a large core diameter can be obtained from multicomponent glass gain fibers . the numerical aperture can be from 0 . 01 to 0 . 04 . therefore , the core diameter can be from 25 micron to 60 micron for 1 micron wavelength , 35 micron to 90 micron for 1 . 55 micron wavelength , and 45 micron to 120 micron for 2 micron wavelength . in a related embodiment , the core diameter can be from 60 microns to 150 microns . applicants dope high rare - earth ions into the fiber , so the total length of the gain fiber is not longer than 60 cm . therefore the gain fiber can be packaged straight . no bending is necessary . because of the extremely large core diameter and relatively short length of gain fiber , a peak power of greater than 50 kw can be achieved without optical nonlinearity . applicants have developed a new cladding pumped polarization maintaining yb doped fiber based on silicate materials . with large mode size , high yb doping level and low na , the fiber amplifier has achieved record high threshold for nonlinear effects while keep excellent diffraction limited beam quality . table 1 compares the parameters of applicants &# 39 ; yb - doped fiber with most popular commercial cladding pumped yb fibers . as shown in table 1 , applicants &# 39 ; fiber yb # 35 has an estimated nonlinear threshold power ˜ 640 times higher than that of the commercial fiber . while the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in detail , it should be apparent that modifications and adaptations to those embodiments may occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention . | 6 |
substituents designated parenthetically herein indicate that the substituent is optionally present , e . g ., a 4 -( substituted ) amino compound contains either an unsubstituted 4 - amino group or a substituted 4 - amino group . reaction scheme i illustrates processes of the invention and the preparation of compounds of the invention . the unsubstituted compound of formula i is a known compound and other compounds of formula i can be prepared by methods known to those skilled in the art and disclosed , e . g ., in chemistry of heterocyclic compounds ( english edition ), 1981 , 16 , ( 12 ), 1286 - 1288 ( zyryanov ). ## str1 ## in step ( 1 ) of reaction scheme i a 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol of formula ii is provided by nitrating a tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol of formula i . conventional conditions for such reactions are well known . preferred conditions in the instance where r is hydrogen involve heating in acetic acid in the presence of nitric acid . preferred conditions in other instances will depend upon the particular tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol used , and those skilled in the art will be able to select suitable conditions . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 2 ) of reaction scheme i a 4 - nitrotetraozolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - sulfonate of formula iii is provided by reacting a 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol of formula ii with a sulfonyl halide or preferably a sulfonic anhydride . suitable sulfonyl halides include alkylsulfonyl halides such as methanesulfonyl chloride and trifluoromethanesulfonyl chloride , and arylsulfonyl halides such as benzenesulfonyl chloride , p - bromobenzenesulfonyl chloride and p - toluenesulfonyl chloride . suitable sulfonic anhydrides include those corresponding to the above - mentioned sulfonyl halides . sulfonic anhydrides are preferred in view of the fact that the sulfonate anion generated as a by - product of the reaction is a relatively poor nucleophile and as such does not give rise to undesired side products such as those in which the nitro group is displaced . a particularly preferred sulfonic anhydride is trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride . the reaction is preferably carried out by combining a compound of formula ii with a base , preferably an excess of a tertiary amine base ( e . g ., a trialkylamine base such as triethyl amine ) in a suitable solvent such as dichloromethane and then adding the sulfonyl halide or sulfonic anhydride . the addition is preferably carried out in a controlled fashion ( e . g ., dropwise ) and at a reduced temperature ( e . g ., about 0 ° c .). the product can be isolated by conventional methods or it can be carried on without isolation as described below in connection with step ( 3 ). in step ( 3 ) of reaction scheme i a ( 5 - substituted ) 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine of formula iv is provided by reacting a 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - sulfonate of formula iii with an amine , preferably in the presence of an excess of an amine base in a solvent such as dichloromethane . suitable amines include ammonia and preferably primary amines . primary amines provide 5 - substituted amino compounds of formula iv wherein the amino substituent is represented by r 1 . particularly preferred amines include isobutylamine and 2 - aminomethyl - 2 - propanol . the reaction can be carried out by adding an excess of amine to the reaction mixture resulting from step ( 2 ). the reaction can also be carried out by adding an excess of amine to a solution of the compound of formula iii in a solvent such as dichloromethane . as the sulfonate is a relatively facile leaving group the reaction can be run at ambient temperature . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 4 ) of reaction scheme i a ( 5 - substituted ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 4 , 5 - diamine of formula v is provided by reducing a ( 5 - substituted ) 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine of formula iv . methods for such reduction are well know to those skilled in the art . preferably the reduction is carried out using a conventional heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst such as platinum on carbon or palladium on carbon . the reduction can be conveniently carried out on a paar apparatus in a solvent such as ethanol . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 5 ) of reaction scheme i a ( 5 - substituted ) ( 6 - substituted ) 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline of formula vi is provided by reacting a ( 5 - substituted ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 4 , 5 - diamine of formula v with a carboxylic acid or an equivalent thereof . suitable equivalents to carboxylic acid include acid halides , orthoesters , and 1 , 1 - dialkoxyalkyl alkanoates . the carboxylic acid or equivalent is selected such that it will give rise to the desired 6 - substituent in the compound of formula vi wherein the 6 - substituent is designated r 2 ( e . g ., acetyl chloride will give rise to a compound where r 2 is methyl ). the reaction can be run in the absence of solvent or preferably in an inert solvent in the presence of a carboxylic acid or equivalent thereof with sufficient heating to drive off any alcohol or water formed as a side product of the reaction . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 6 ) of reaction scheme i a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) n - triphenylphosphinyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline - 4 - amine of formula vii is provided by reacting a ( 5 - substituted ) ( 6 - substituted ) 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 -] quinoline of formula vi with triphenylphosphine . the reaction can be carried out by combining a compound of formula vi with triphenylphosphine in a suitable solvent such as 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene and heating . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 7 ) of reaction scheme i a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) 1h imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline - 4 - amine of formula viii is provided by hydrolysis of a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) n - triphenylphosphinyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine of formula vii . such a reaction can be carried out by general methods well known to those skilled in the art ( e . g ., by heating in a lower alkanol in the presence of an acid ). the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture by conventional means . in reaction scheme i , r &# 39 ; can be any group that can be incorporated into a sulfonyl halide or a sulfonic anhydride . alkyl ( e . g ., methyl ), haloalkyl including perfluoroalkyl ( e . g ., trifluoromethyl ) and aryl ( e . g ., phenyl , halophenyl and tolyl ) are all suitable . reaction scheme ii illustrates processes of the invention and the preparation of compounds of the invention . compounds of formula ix and methods for their preparation are known and disclosed , e . g . in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 988 , 815 ( andre ), and 5 , 268 , 376 ( gerster ), both patents being incorporated herein by reference . ## str2 ## in step ( 1 ) of reaction scheme ii a ( 5 - substituted ) 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine of formula iv is provided by reacting a ( 4 - substituted ) amino - 2 - chloro - 3 - nitroquinoline of formula ix with sodium azide . the reaction can be carried out by combining the compound of formula ix with sodium azide in a suitable solvent such as n , n - dimethylformamide and heating ( about 50 ° c .). the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . steps ( 2 ), ( 3 ), ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) of reaction scheme ii can be carried out in the same manner as steps ( 4 ), ( 5 ), ( 6 ) and ( 7 ) of reaction scheme i respectively . reaction scheme iii illustrates processes of the invention and the preparation of compounds of the invention . compounds of formula x and methods for their preparation are known and disclosed , e . g ., in european patent application 90 . 301776 . 3 , u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 689 , 338 ( gerster ), 4 , 698 , 348 ( gerster ), 4 , 929 , 625 ( gerster ), 4 , 988 , 815 ( andre ), 5 , 268 , 376 ( gerster ), and 5 , 389 , 640 ( gerster ) all six patents being incorporated herein by reference . ## str3 ## in step ( 1 ) of reaction scheme iii a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) 4 - hydrazino - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline of formula xi is provided by reacting a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) 4 - chloro - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline of formula x with hydrazine . the reaction can be carried out by combining a compound of formula x with an excess of hydrazine and heating if necessary . the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . in step ( 2 ) of reaction scheme iii a ( 5 - substituted ) ( 6 - substituted ) 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline of formula vi is provided by reacting a ( 1 - substituted ) ( 2 - substituted ) 4 - hydrazino - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline of formula xi with sodium nitrite . the reaction can be carried out by combining the compound of formula xi with sodium nitrite in a suitable solvent ( e . g ., water ) in the presence of an acid ( e . g ., acetic acid ). the product can be isolated from the reaction mixture using conventional methods . steps ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) of reaction scheme iii can be carried out in the same manner as steps ( 6 ) and ( 7 ) of reaction scheme i respectively . the compounds of formula viii can be used in the form of acid addition salts such as hydrochlorides , dihydrogen sulfates , trihydrogen phosphates , hydrogen nitrates , methane sulfonates and salts of other pharmaceutically acceptable acids . pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts of formula viii are generally prepared by reaction of the respective compound with an equimolar amount of a strong acid , preferably an inorganic acid such as hydrochloric , sulfuric or phosphoric acid or an organic acid such as methanesulfonic acid in a polar solvent . isolation of the salt is facilitated by the addition of a solvent in which the salt is insoluble ( e . g ., diethyl ether ). processes of the invention provide as a final product a 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine , preferred embodiments of which can be represented by formula viii . preferably the 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine is a compound defined by one of formulas xxi - xxv below : ## str4 ## wherein r 11 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl , hydroxyalkyl , acyloxyalkyl , benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl and phenyl , said benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl or phenyl substituent being optionally substituted on the benzene ring by one or two moieties independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms and halogen , with the proviso that if said benzene ring is substituted by two of said moieties , then said moieties together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; acylaminoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; disubstituted aminoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; morpholinoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; r 21 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , alkyl of one to about eight carbon atoms , benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl and phenyl , the benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl or phenyl substituent being optionally substituted on the benzene ring by one or two moieties independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms and halogen , with the proviso that when the benzene ring is substituted by two of said moieties , then the moieties together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; and each r a is independently selected from the group consisting of alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , halogen and alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , and n is an integer from 0 to 2 , with the proviso that if n is 2 , then said r a groups together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; ## str5 ## wherein r 12 is selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkenyl containing 2 to about 10 carbon atoms and substituted straight chain or branched chain alkenyl containing 2 to about 10 carbon atoms , wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing 1 to about 4 carbon atoms and cycloalkyl containing 3 to about 6 carbon atoms ; and cycloalkyl containing 3 to about 6 carbon atoms substituted by straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing 1 to about 4 carbon atoms ; and r 22 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about eight carbon atoms , benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl and phenyl , the benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl or phenyl substituent being optionally substituted on the benzene ring by one or two moieties independently selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms , straight chain or branched chain alkoxy containing one to about four carbon atoms , and halogen , with the proviso that when the benzene ring is substituted by two such moieties , then the moieties together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; and each r b is independently selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkoxy containing one to about four carbon atoms , halogen , and straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms , and n is an integer from zero to 2 , with the proviso that if n is 2 , then said r b groups together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; ## str6 ## wherein r 23 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , straight chain or branched chain alkyl of one to about eight carbon atoms , benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl and phenyl , the benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl or phenyl substituent being optionally substituted on the benzene ring by one or two moieties independently selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , straight chain or branched chain alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , and halogen , with the proviso that when the benzene ring is substituted by two such moieties , then the moieties together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; and each r c is independently selected from the group consisting of straight chain or branched chain alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , halogen , and straight chain or branched chain alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , and n is an integer from zero to 2 , with the proviso that if n is 2 , then said r c groups together contain no more than 6 carbon atoms ; ## str7 ## wherein r 14 is -- chr x r y wherein r y is hydrogen or a carbon - carbon bond , with the proviso that when r y is hydrogen r x is alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , hydroxyalkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , 1 - alkynyl of two to about ten carbon atoms , tetrahydropyranyl , alkoxyalkyl wherein the alkoxy moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms and the alkyl moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms , 2 -, 3 -, or 4 - pyridyl , and with the further proviso that when r y is a carbon - carbon bond r y and r x together form a tetrahydrofuranyl group optionally substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of hydroxy and hydroxyalkyl of one to about four carbon atoms ; r 24 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , phenyl , and substituted phenyl wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , and halogen ; and r d is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , straight chain or branched chain alkoxy containing one to about four carbon atoms , halogen , and straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms ; ## str8 ## wherein r 15 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen ; straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about ten carbon atoms and substituted straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about ten carbon atoms , wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of cycloalkyl containing three to about six carbon atoms and cycloalkyl containing three to about six carbon atoms substituted by straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms ; straight chain or branched chain alkenyl containing two to about ten carbon atoms and substituted straight chain or branched chain alkenyl containing two to about ten carbon atoms , wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of cycloalkyl containing three to about six carbon atoms and cycloalkyl containing three to about six carbon atoms substituted by straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms ; hydroxyalkyl of one to about six carbon atoms ; alkoxyalkyl wherein the alkoxy moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms and the alkyl moiety contains one to about six carbon atoms ; acyloxyalkyl wherein the acyloxy moiety is alkanoyloxy of two to about four carbon atoms or benzoyloxy , and the alkyl moiety contains one to about six carbon atoms ; benzyl ; ( phenyl ) ethyl ; and phenyl ; said benzyl , ( phenyl ) ethyl or phenyl substituent being optionally substituted on the benzene ring by one or two moieties independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , and halogen , with the proviso that when said benzene ring is substituted by two of said moieties , then the moieties together contain no more than six carbon atoms ; acylaminoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; disubstituted aminoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; morpholinoalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains two to four carbon atoms ; r 25 is ## str9 ## wherein r s and r t are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , phenyl , and substituted phenyl wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxy of one to about four carbon atoms , and halogen ; x is selected from the group consisting of alkoxy containing one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxyalkyl wherein the alkoxy moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms and the alkyl moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms , haloalkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkylamido wherein the alkyl group contains one to about four carbon atoms , amino , substituted amino wherein the substituent is alkyl or hydroxyalkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , azido , alkylthio of one to about four carbon atoms ; and r e is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , straight chain or branched chain alkoxy containing one to about four carbon atoms , halogen , and straight chain or branched chain alkyl containing one to about four carbon atoms ; the compounds recited above are disclosed and claimed in the several patents noted above in the summary of the invention and discussed below . in instances where n can be zero , one , or two , n is preferably zero or one . the substituents r a - r e above are species embraced by r . the preferred r substituent is hydrogen . the substituents r 11 - r 15 above are species embraced by r 1 . the preferred r 1 substituents are alkyl of one to about six carbon atoms , hydroxy alkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains one to about 6 carbon atoms , and arylalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains one to about three carbon atoms . most preferably the r 1 substituent is 2 - methylpropyl , 2 - hydroxy - 2 - methylpropyl , benzyl or phenylethyl . the substituents r 21 - r 25 above are species embraced by r 2 the preferred r 2 substituents are hydrogen , alkyl of one to about four carbon atoms , alkoxyalkyl wherein the alkoxy moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms and the alkyl moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms , hydroxyl alkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms , haloalkyl wherein the alkyl moiety contains one to about four carbon atoms , and aryloxymethyl . most preferably the r 2 substituent is hydrogen , methyl , ethoxymethyl , or benzyl . certain r substituents , r 1 substituents , and r 2 substituents will be incompatible with the particular reaction conditions described above in connection with the reaction schemes . those skilled in the art , however , will be able to select alternative conditions under which the several steps can be carried out and / or methods of functional group protection and manipulation that will allow the use of the processes of the invention in the preparation of 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amines of diverse structures . certain 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amines have been disclosed as antiviral agents ( see , e . g ., european patent application 90 . 301776 . 3 ( gerster ), u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 689 , 338 ( gerster ), 4 , 929 , 624 ( gerster ), 5 , 266 , 575 ( gerster ), 5 , 268 , 376 ( gerster ), and 5 , 389 , 640 ( gerster ) all five patents incorporated herein by reference ). certain of these compounds are also known to induce biosynthesis of cytokines such as interferons , interleukins , and tumor necrosis factor in humans and in mice . the examples below are intended to illustrate the invention . all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated . anthranilic acid ( 274 . 3 g ) and acetic anhydride ( 1 . 1 l ) were combined then heated at reflux for 3 . 5 hours . the reaction mixture was concentrated under vacuum . the residue was combined with methanol ( 550 ml ) then concentrated under vacuum to provide 2 - methyl - 4 - oxo - 3 , 1 - benzoxazine as a brown oil . the crude 2 - methyl - 4 - oxo - 3 , 1 - benzoxazine was dissolved in acetic acid ( 1 . 9 l ). sodium azide ( 130 . 0 g ) was added to the solution in portions with stirring . the reaction mixture was cooled in an ice bath to maintain the reaction temperature at 25 to 30 ° c . during the addition . the reaction mixture was allowed to stir at ambient temperature over the weekend . the acetic acid was removed under vacuum to provide a white solid . the solid was combined with 10 % sodium hydroxide ( 1 . 4 l ) then heated on a steam bath for 1 hour . additional sodium hydroxide ( 120 g of 50 % sodium hydroxide ) was added . the mixture was heated on a steam bath for an additional hour then allowed to cool to ambient temperature overnight . additional sodium hydroxide ( 120 g of 50 % sodium hydroxide ) was added . the mixture was heated on a steam bath for 2 hours then allowed to cool . the reaction mixture was poured with rapid stirring into a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid ( 1 . 0 l ) and ice ( 3 l ). the resulting mixture was stirred at ambient temperature overnight . a precipitate was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then slurried with water ( 4 l ). the solid was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then oven dried at 50 ° c . to provide 278 . 0 g of crude 2 -( 5 - methyl - 1h - tetrazol - 1 - yl ) benzoic acid as a tan solid , m . p . 157 - 160 ° c . the crude material was dissolved in 10 % sodium hydroxide ( 2 . 5 l ). the resulting solution was heated ( 95 - 99 ° c .) for 2 . 5 hours , cooled , then poured with vigorous stirring into a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid ( 500 ml ) and ice ( 5 l ). the resulting mixture was allowed to stir for 2 hours . the precipitate was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water , then slurried with water ( 3 l ). the solid was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then dried overnight at ambient temperature to provide 228 g of 2 -( 5 - methyl - 1h - tetrazol - 1 - yl ) benzoic acid , m . p . 164 - 166 ° c . acetone ( 3 . 2 l ) and 2 -( 5 - methyl - 1 - tetrazol - 1 - yl ) benzoic acid ( 228 g ) were combined then stirred at ambient temperature for 15 minutes . potassium carbonate ( 228 g ) was added to the reaction mixture in a single portion . iodoethane ( 366 . 8 g ) was added dropwise to the reaction mixture producing a slight exotherm . the reaction mixture was heated at reflux for about 4 hours then stirred overnight while cooling to ambient temperature . the precipitated salts were removed by filtration then rinsed with acetone . the combined filtrates were evaporated under vacuum . the residue was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 1 . 5 l ). the dichloromethane solution was washed with water ( 1 . 5 l ), dried over magnesium sulfate then concentrated under vacuum to provide 227 g of ethyl - 2 -( 5 - methyl - 1h - tetrazol - 1 - yl ) benzoate as a white solid m . p . 98 - 100 ° c . potassium ethoxide ( 173 . 5 g ) was added in portions with stirring to a mixture of ethyl - 2 -( 5 - methyl - 1 - tetrazol - 1 - yl ) benzoate ( 227 g ) and n , n - dimethylformamide ( 1 . 6 l ). the reaction mixture was cooled with an ice bath to control the resulting exotherm . the reaction mixture was stirred overnight at ambient temperature then quenched with water ( 17 l ). the ph was adjusted to ph 5 with acetic acid ( 170 ml ). the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then reslurried with water ( 2 . 5 l ). the solid was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then oven dried ( 55 to 60 ° c .) for 16 hours to provide 169 . 0 g of a white solid . a 3 . 0 g sample was recrystallized from ethanol / dichloromethane to provide tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol as a white solid , m . p . 248 ° c . ( dec .). analysis : calculated for c 9 h 6 n 4 o : % c , 58 . 06 ; % h , 3 . 25 ; % n , 30 . 09 ; found : % c , 58 . 02 ; % h , 3 . 29 ; % n , 30 . 20 . tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol ( 10 g , 54 mmole , example 1 ) was suspended in acetic acid ( 200 ml ) then warmed to 40 ° c . nitric acid ( 4 ml of 16m , 59 mmole ) was added to the reaction mixture . the reaction mixture was heated at 80 ° c . for 30 minutes then allowed to cool to ambient temperature . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , rinsed with water then recrystallized from isopropanol / water to provide 8 . 1 g of 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol hydrate as light yellow plates , m . p . 186 . 5 - 187 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 9 h 5 n 5 o 3 . h 2 o : % c , 43 . 38 ; % h , 2 . 83 ; % n , 28 . 10 ; found : % c , 43 . 27 ; % h , 2 . 84 ; % n , 28 . 25 . sodium azide ( 19 . 5 g , 0 . 3 moles ), 2 - methyl -[( 2 - chloro - 3 - nitroquinolin - 4 - yl ) amino ]- 2 - propanol ( 29 . 6 g , 0 . 10 mole , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 988 , 815 example 12 ) and n , n - dimethylformamide ( 100 ml ) were added to a jacketed 1 liter round bottom flask with the outside portion containing acetone . the reaction mixture was stirred with a stirring bar and the acetone refluxed to provide a constant internal reaction temperature of 53 ° c . after 18 hours the reaction mixture was diluted with water ( 100 ml ). the resulting yellow precipitate was isolated by filtration then washed with 50 % n , n - dimethylformamide / water until the washes became light colored . the yellow / green solid was then washed with water , pressed dry and washed with ether . the solid was air dried to provide 27 . 2 g of crude product as a yellow / light green solid . this material was recrystallized from ethanol / dichloromethane to provide 2 - methyl -[( 4 - nitro - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - propanol as a yellow crystalline solid , m . p . 204 ° c . ( dec .). analysis : calculated for : c 13 h 14 n 6 o 3 : % c , 51 . 65 ; % h , 4 . 67 ; % n , 27 . 8 ; found : % c , 51 . 30 ; % h , 4 . 69 ; % n , 27 . 43 . 2 - methyl -[( 4 - nitro - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - propanol ( 30 . 2 g , 0 . 10 mole , example 3 ), ethanol ( 300 ml ) and 5 % pd / c ( 1 . 0 g of 50 % water wet ) were placed in a paar apparatus . the mixture was hydrogenated . the mixture was diluted with dichloromethane then filtered to remove the catalyst . the filtrate was concentrated under vacuum . the crude product was recrystallized from ethanol to provide 20 . 5 g of [( 4 - amino - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - methyl - 2 - propanol as a yellow / green crystalline solid , m . p . 164 - 167 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 13 h 16 n 6 o : % c , 57 . 33 ; % h , 5 . 92 ; % n , 30 . 88 ; found : % c , 56 . 94 ; % h , 5 . 88 ; % n , 30 . 80 . [( 4 - amino - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - methyl - 2 - propanol ( 5 g , 0 . 18 mole , example 4 ) was dissolved in triethyl orthoformate ( 17 g ). the solution was heated at 120 ° c . for 20 hours . the reaction mixture was allowed to cool to ambient temperature then it was diluted with 1 n hydrochloric acid . formic acid ( 20 ml ) was added to the mixture which was then heated at reflux for an hour . the reaction mixture was concentrated under vacuum then neutralized with sodium hydroxide . the crude product was recrystallized from ethanol / ethyl acetate to provide α , α - dimethyl - 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 6 - ethanol as a solid , m . p . 245 - 248 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 14 n 6 o : % c , 59 . 55 ; % h , 4 . 99 ; % n , 29 . 77 ; found : % c , 59 . 44 ; % h , 4 . 93 ; % n , 29 . 65 . acetyl chloride ( 16 g , 0 . 020 mole ) was added dropwise to a solution of [( 4 - amino - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - methyl - 2 - propanol ( 5 g , 0 . 18 mole , example 4 ) in acetonitrile . the reaction mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 4 hours . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration then dissolved in acetic acid ( about 50 ml ). this solution was refluxed for 2 hours then neutralized with carbonate . the crude product was isolated by filtration then recrystallized initially from hexane / ethyl acetate then from ethanol / ethyl acetate to provide α , α , 5 - trimethyl - 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 6 - ethanol as a solid , m . p . 202 - 205 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 15 h 16 n 6 o : % c , 60 . 8 ; % h , 5 . 44 ; % n , 28 . 36 ; found : % c , 60 . 68 ; % h , 5 . 48 ; % n , 28 . 28 . 4 - chloro - 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline ( 10 . 0 g , 0 . 0385 moles , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 689 , 338 example 77 ) was added to hydrazine ( 30 ml ). the mixture heated rapidly to reflux . the solid dissolved with a vigorous heat of reaction then a precipitate formed as the reaction mixture refluxed . the reaction mixture was diluted with water . the precipitate was isolated by filtration then suspended in water ( 100 ml ). the solid was brought into solution by the addition of acetic acid . the solution was filtered to remove traces of undissolved solid . the filtrate was made basic by the addition of ammonium hydroxide . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , washed with water then dried to provide 8 . 0 g of crude product as a white solid . a sample of this material was recrystallized from methanol to provide 4 - hydrazino - 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline , m . p . 202 - 205 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 17 n 5 : % c , 65 . 86 ; % h , 6 . 71 ; % n , 27 . 43 ; found : % c , 65 . 20 ; % h , 6 . 6 ; % n , 27 . 5 . a solution of sodium nitrite ( 2 . 0 g , 3 mmole ) in water ( 5 ml ) was added to a solution of 4 - hydrazino - 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline ( 4 . 0 g , 15 . 7 mmole , example 7 ) in a mixture of acetic acid ( 5 ml ) and water ( 50 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 15 minutes . a precipitate was isolated by filtration , washed with water then air dried to provide 4 . 1 g of crude product . this material was recrystallized from dichloromethane / ethanol to provide 3 . 0 g of 6 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline as a cream colored crystalline solid , m . p . 208 - 212 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 14 n 6 : % c , 63 . 14 ; % h , 5 . 30 ; % n , 31 . 56 ; found : % c , 62 . 60 ; % h , 5 . 2 ; % n , 31 . 5 . a suspension of 4 - chloro - α , α - dimethyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline - 1 - ethanol ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 6 mmole , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 689 , 338 example 189 part d ) in hydrazine ( 3 ml , 6 . 9 mmole ) was heated on a steam bath for 1 hour then diluted with water . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration . the solid was dissolved in a mixture of acetic acid ( 2 ml ) and water ( 15 ml ) then combined with a solution of sodium nitrite ( 0 . 5 g ) in water . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , washed with water and dried to provide 0 . 71 g of α , α - dimethyl - 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 6 - ethanol as a white solid , m . p . 246 - 247 ° c . ( shrunk at 230 ° c .). analysis : calculated for c 14 h 14 n 6 o : % c , 59 . 56 ; % h , 5 . 00 ; % n , 29 . 77 ; found : % c , 59 . 45 ; % h , 5 . 06 ; % n , 29 . 51 . 6 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline ( 0 . 2 g , 0 . 75 mmole , example 8 ), triphenylphosphine ( 0 . 4 g , 1 . 5 mmole ) and 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene ( 5 ml ) were combined and heated at reflux overnight . the reaction mixture was concentrated under vacuum then diluted with cyclohexane ( 25 ml ). the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , washed with cyclohexane then dried to provide 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- n - triphenylphosphinyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine as a solid , m . p . 209 - 210 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 32 h 29 n 4 p : % c , 76 . 78 ; % h , 5 . 84 ; % n , 11 . 19 ; found : % c , 76 . 03 ; % h , 5 . 87 ; % n , 11 . 09 . triphenylphosphine ( 4 . 5 g , 17 . 0 mmole ) was added to a mixture of α , α - dimethyl - 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 6 - ethanol ( 2 . 4 g , 8 . 5 mmole , example 9 ) and 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene . the reaction mixture was heated at reflux for 3 hrs then concentrated under vacuum . the residue was combined with methanol ( 400 ml ) and hydrochloric acid ( 50 ml of 0 . 5n ) then heated on a steam bath for 2 hours . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration then washed with ether . the solid was dissolved in water and the solution was made basic with 10 % sodium hydroxide . after stirring for 30 minutes , the reaction mixture was filtered . the collected solid was rinsed with water and ether then recrystallized from n , n - dimethylformamide / ethanol to provide about 1 g of 4 - amino - α , αdimethyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinoline - 1 - ethanol as a solid , m . p . 271 - 273 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 16 n 4 o : % c , 65 . 6 ; % h , 6 . 29 ; % n , 21 . 86 ; found : % c , 65 . 37 ; % h , 6 . 26 ; % n , 21 . 61 . 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- n - triphenylphosphinyl - 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine ( 100 mg , example 10 ) was suspended in a mixture of methanol ( 3 ml ) and hydrochloric acid ( 10 ml of 0 . 5n ). the mixture was heated on a steam bath for 2 hours then allowed to stand at ambient temperature overnight . the reaction mixture was filtered . the filtrate was made basic with 10 % sodium hydroxide . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration then dried to provide 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 1h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] quinolin - 4 - amine . the spectral properties of this material matched those of an authentic sample . aqueous sodium hydroxide ( 30 g of 50 %) was added to a suspension of 2 - methyl -[( 4 - nitro - 5 - tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolinyl ) amino ]- 2 - propanol ( 34 . 0 g , 0 . 1125 mole , example 3 ) in water ( 500 ml ). the mixture was heated on a steam bath and the solid dissolved rapidly . the solution was heated for about 30 minutes and then upon stirring a solid began to precipitate . the mixture was made acidic with 6n hydrochloric acid . the resulting solid was isolated by filtration ; washed in succession with water , ethanol and ether ; then dried under vacuum at 100 ° c . to provide 23 . 2 g of crude product as a pale yellow / green solid . a sample ( 3 . 2 g ) was recrystallized initially from methanol / dichloromethane and then from toluene to provide 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol . analysis : calculated for c 9 h 5 n 5 o 3 : % c , 46 . 76 ; % h , 2 . 18 ; % n , 30 . 29 ; found : % c , 46 . 85 ; % h , 2 . 23 ; % n , 29 . 91 . triethylamine ( 0 . 6 ml , 4 . 32 mmole ) was added to a suspension of 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol ( 1 . 0 g , 4 . 32 mmoles , example 2 ) in dichloromethane ( 20 ml ). the reaction mixture was cooled to 0 ° c . triflic anhydride ( 0 . 73 ml , 4 . 32 mmole ) was added . the reaction mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 0 ° c . the reaction mixture was diluted with dichloromethane ( 50 ml ), washed with 0 . 5 n hydrochloric acid , dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated under vacuum . the residue was combined with hexanes ( 100 ml ), refluxed for 15 minutes and filtered . a solid precipitated from the filtrate on cooling . the solid was isolated by filtration and dried to provide 0 . 2 g of 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - yl ] trifluoromethanesulfonate as a white solid , m . p . 132 - 134 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 10 h 14 f 3 n 5 o 5 s : % c , 33 . 07 ; % h , 1 . 11 ; % n , 19 . 28 ; found : % c , 33 . 19 ; % h , 1 . 28 ; % n , 19 . 61 . isobutylamine ( 1 ml ) was added to a solution of 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - yl ] trifluoromethanesulfonate ( 0 . 5 g , 1 . 37 mmole , example 14 ) in dichloromethane ( 50 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 4 hours , diluted with dichloromethane ( 50 ml ), washed with water ( 2 × 50 ml ), dried over magnesium sulfate then concentrated under vacuum . the residue was purified by filtering through a layer of silica gel eluting with 2 % methanol in dichloromethane . the resulting yellow solid was recrystallized from ethyl acetate to provide 0 . 31 g of n -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine , m . p . 152 - 154 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 13 h 14 n 6 o 2 : % c , 54 . 54 ; % h , 4 . 93 ; % n , 29 . 35 ; found : % c , 54 . 45 ; % h , 4 . 73 ; % n , 29 . 47 . n -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 5 mmole , example 15 ), ethanol ( 100 ml ) and pt / c were placed in a paar apparatus . the mixture was hydrogenated at 50 psi ( 3 . 44 × 10 5 pa ). the reaction mixture was filtered to remove the catalyst then concentrated under vacuum . the residue was recrystallized from ethyl acetate to provide 0 . 35 g of n 5 -( 2 - methylpropyl ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 4 , 5 - diamine as off white needles , m . p . 148 - 150 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 13 h 16 n 6 : % c , 60 . 92 ; % h , 6 . 29 ; % n , 32 . 79 ; found : % c , 60 . 94 ; % h , 6 . 25 ; % n , 32 . 93 . n 5 -( 2 - methylpropyl ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 4 , 5 - diamine ( 0 . 2 g , 0 . 78 mmole , example 16 ) was combined with diethoxymethyl acetate ( 2 ml ) and heated on a steam bath for 3 hours . water ( 10 ml ) and 10 % sodium hydroxide ( 2 ml ) were added and the reaction mixture was heated on a steam bath for 1 hour . a solid was isolated by filtration then recrystallized from methanol / ethyl acetate to provide 0 . 16 g of 6 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline as a white crystalline solid , m . p . 210 - 212 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 14 n 6 : % c , 63 . 14 ; % h , 5 . 30 ; % n , 31 . 56 ; found : % c , 63 . 12 ; % h , 5 . 32 ; % n , 31 . 61 . triethylamine ( 6 ml ), 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - ol ( 8 . 7 g , 37 . 6 mmole , example 13 ) and dichloromethane ( 100 ml ) were combined and stirred at ambient temperature until a solution was obtained . the solution was cooled to - 15 ° c . triflic anhydride ( 6 . 5 ml ) was added in portions to the cooled solution . the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to ambient temperature then filtered through a layer of silica gel . the filtrate was washed with cold dilute hydrochloric acid then dried over magnesium sulfate . triethylamine ( 5 . 25 ml ) was added to the dichloromethane solution and the resulting mixture was stirred for about 10 minutes . tert - butylamine ( 4 . 2 ml ) was added dropwise to the reaction mixture . the reaction mixture was heated on a steam bath for about 15 minutes . the resulting solid was isolated by filtration then purified by silica gel chromatography to provide the crude product as a yellow solid . this material was recrystallized from ethanol / water to provide 5 g of n -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl )- 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine . the structure was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy . n -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl )- 4 - nitrotetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinolin - 5 - amine ( 4 . 2 g , example 18 ), ethanol ( 100 ml ) and pt / c ( 0 . 5 g ) were placed in a paar apparatus . the mixture was hydrogenated . the reaction mixture was filtered to remove catalyst then concentrated to dryness under vacuum . the residue was recrystallized from ethyl acetate / dichloromethane to provide n 5 -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 4 , 5 - diamine as a pale blue crystalline solid . diethoxymethyl acetate ( 1 . 9 ml ) was added dropwise to a solution of n 5 -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl ) tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline - 4 , 5 - diamine ( 1 . 5 g , 5 . 9 mmole , example 19 ) in acetic acid ( 15 ml ). the reaction mixture was heated on a steam bath for 1 hour then made basic with sodium hydroxide . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration then recrystallized from ethanol to provide 6 -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl )- 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline , m . p . 224 - 226 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 14 h 14 n 6 : % c , 63 . 13 ; % h , 5 . 29 ; % n , 31 . 56 ; found : % c , 62 . 90 ; % h , 5 . 44 ; % n , 31 . 52 . 6 -( 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl )- 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline ( 1 g , 3 . 8 mmole , example 20 ) was added to hydrochloric acid ( 5 ml of 6n ); water ( 20 ml ) was added and the mixture was heated on a steam bath for 1 hour . the reaction mixture was allowed to cool to ambient temperature then made basic ( ph 11 ) by the addition of sodium hydroxide solution . the resulting precipitate was isolated by filtration , dried then recrystallized from n , n - dimethylformamide to provide 0 . 65 g of the desired product as a solid . a sample of this material was refluxed in a large amount of dichloromethane / methanol , isolated by filtration , then dried to provide 6h - imidazo [ 4 , 5 - c ] tetrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] quinoline as a solid , m . p . & gt ; 300 ° c . analysis : calculated for c 10 h 6 n 6 : % c , 57 . 14 ; % h , 2 . 88 ; % n , 39 . 98 ; found : % c , 56 . 89 ; % h , 3 . 10 ; % n 39 . 34 . the structure was confirmed by both mass spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy . | 2 |
the device shown in the drawing and globally denoted 1 chiefly comprises a bottle 2 open at its two ends , a stopper 3 placed at one end of the bottle 2 , and a cap 4 mounted on the other end of this bottle 2 . the bottle 2 has a central body 5 , preferably made in a transparent material . at one end , the bottle 2 has a first circular opening 6 . this end can be provided with a thread 7 ( if the stopper 3 is a screw - on stopper ). at its other end , also open , the bottle 2 can be provided with an outer thread 8 ( if the cap is a screw - on cap ). with more particular reference to fig2 and 3 , the stopper 3 has an outer skirt 9 provided with an inner thread cooperating with the outer thread 7 of the bottle 2 . the stopper 3 also has a central part 10 in the form of a jar which is engaged in the circular opening 6 of the bottle and which delimits a cavity 11 . a part 12 of general cylindrical appearance caps the stopper 3 and also engages , via its projecting central part 13 , into the cavity 11 delimited by the central part 10 of said stopper 3 . a ring - shaped seal 14 is inserted between the top of the stopper 3 and the central part 13 of part 12 . a tamperproof tab 15 is provided at the base of part 12 , around the lower region of the outer skirt 9 of the stopper 3 . the initial presence of the tamperproof tab 15 holds the central part 13 of part 12 distant from the bottom 16 of the cavity 11 . this cavity 11 is provided to receive one of the two products ( liquid or solid ) to be mixed , whilst the central body 5 of the bottle 2 is provided to receive the other product ( liquid or solid ). as will be understood , the two products remain well separated from one another for as long as the bottom 16 of the cavity 11 remains in place . at its other end , in the illustrated example , the bottle 2 receives a section reducer 17 , added and welded , that delimits a central orifice 18 of circular shape . the diameter of the central orifice 18 corresponds to the diameter of a dosing syringe 19 , known per se . the cap 4 initially caps the reducer 17 on which it is mounted ( thread 8 ). at the time of use , the tamperproof tab 15 is torn off ( fig4 ) and part 12 which is released axially over a certain distance is pressed down ( fig5 ) so as to open the bottom 16 of the cavity 11 . the product initially contained in this cavity 11 then falls into the central body 5 of the bottle 2 where it mixes with the product already contained in said central body 5 . the mixture of the two products is made homogeneous by shaking the device . the device is then upturned and the cap 4 is removed , as shown fig6 . the dosing syringe 19 is next inserted in the orifice 18 and used to withdraw a determined quantity of the formed extemporaneous preparation ( fig7 ). after dosing , the syringe 19 is withdrawn ( fig8 ) and used to administer the medicinal product . finally , the cap 4 is put back in place , at least if the device is not empty . the device described above is particularly well suited for extemporaneous preparations of liquid medicinal products made from two liquid products or from a solid and a liquid , the term & lt ;& lt ; liquid & gt ;& gt ; designating aqueous products as well as oil products or gels . these may be preparations for oral or intravenous use . this device can also be used to prepare food supplements , or for any other similar preparations which require the separate storage of two products of which at least one is liquid , followed by the mixing of these products and dispensing of the formed mixture with or without precise dosing . therefore the use comprising a dosing syringe and a section reducer adapted for said syringe is in no way compulsory , and it can just as well be envisaged that the second end of the bottle does not contain a section reducer and receives a teat or is directly brought to the mouth for drinking or swallowing the content , any form of withdrawal of this content possibly being envisaged . the invention , as follows from the foregoing , is evidently not limited to the sole embodiment of this device for packaging two products to be mixed and for dispensing the mixture of these products , as described above by way of example ; on the contrary it encompasses all variants of embodiment and application which follow the same principle . therefore , it would notably lie within the scope of the invention if modifications were made to details of shapes and to the assemblies of the components of the device , for example by modifying the volume of the bottle , by replacing the screw - on cap by a press - fit cap or by arrangements such as adding or eliminating seals between these components or through the use of accessories or additional accessories intended to facilitate the use of the device ; it can therefore be envisaged for example to adapt onto the stopper or the bottle itself an & lt ;& lt ; intelligent label & gt ;& gt ; which forms a type of visual alarm allowing measurement of the time elapsed since the contacting of the two liquids or of the liquid with the solid . | 0 |
the composition of the adhesive : 30 - 50 m / m % of an unsaturated polyester resin and / or vinyl - ester resin ; 1 - 10 m / m % of a ( meth ) acryl - acid - ester monomer ; 1 - 5 m / m % of a thixatropic additive ; 30 - 50 m / m % of aluminum - hydroxide and / or a caco 3 powder and / or talcum or any kind of mixture of these elements ; 1 - 5 m / m % of diacil - peroxide , keton - peroxide , kumol - hydro - peroxide or any kind of mixture of these elements ; 0 . 1 - 1 m / m % of n , n - di - methyl - aniline and / or 0 . 1 - 1 m / m % of n , n - diethyl - aniline ; 1 - 5 m / m % of a 1 % solution of cobalt - naftenate ; 1 - 5 m / m % of a solution of 1 - 5 m / m % vanadium - naphthenate ; 0 . 5 - 1 m / m % of acetyl - acetone . the matrix - material used to produce the prepreg includes : 25 - 40 m / m % of unsaturated orto - and / or isophthalic polyester resin in styrol ; 35 m / m % and / or novolac - epoxy vinyl - ester resin or any mixture of these materials ; 5 - 10 m / m % of mgo , and / or zno , and / or bao and / or cao ; 1 - 5 m / m % of a thermoplastic polymer ; cellulose - aceto - butyrate and / or cellulose - acetate ; 3 - 10 m / m % of poly - ε - caprolacton ; 30 - 50 m / m % of a filling material : any kind of mixture of aluminum - hydroxide , caco 3 powder , talcum , quartz powder ; 0 . 5 - 3 m / m % of an initiator : percarbonate , dibenzoil - peroxide , t - butyl - perbenzoate , acetyl - acetone - peroxide , diketal , organic hydroperoxide or any kind of mixture of these substances . the enlisted materials are mixed together and homogenized to gain the resin matrix - structure . one part of the gained substance is introduced on a polyethylene ( pet ) foil . the selected one way orientated enforcing material is placed in the foil as well , embedding it in the matrix - material on both sides . the embedded enforcing material is then once again placed in another foil . then , the material passes through a specially projected machine formed by rolls with a variable distance between them . the distance between the rolls is set previously according to the desired thickness . the prepreg material obtained in this way is packed in aluminum foil and kept at a constant 5 - 15 ° c . temperature till usage . bands of optional width and length can be attained using this procedure . the width of the bands is given by the geometry of the glass - fiber used as the strengthening material . the prepared prepreg strengthening material &# 39 ; s composure can be 50 - 60 m / m % of a glass - fiber based 0 . 2 - 1 . 3 m wide material . it looks like a textile , it is sold in rolls . parallel bands of glass - fiber wires run along its longitudinal axis ( 10 - 50 m ), which are loosely bonded together with a so called glass - duvet . when preparing the enforcing band , the pipe has to be perfectly clean to the metal , leaving no grease on it . then , the pre - made and already described adhesive substance is applied in a thin layer on the perfectly clean surface of the pipe covering the irregularities . the pre - made prepreg is carefully cleaned of the aluminum foils and placed leveling it evenly on the layer of adhesive . a roller is used with low pressure to secure the connection between the adhesive and the prepreg material . the upper layer of the prepreg is once again adhered and covered with another layer of prepreg . this procedure is repeated until there are as many layers as planned . the upper layer of the band is covered with a pet foil . the minimum number of layers used for optimal enforcement is 5 , but usually 8 layers are used . heat patrons ( resistance - heating or inductive - heating ) are used on the upper layer of the band to enhance the hardening process . these heat patrons are inductive or resistive . if these patrons are used , a 1 mm thick steel plate is placed circularly over the surface of the band . the heat patrons having a total of 5 kw of heat output are put on this steel plate to ensure even distribution of the heat . in case of external warming , the objects connected to the band ( heat patrons ) can &# 39 ; t reach a temperature higher then 130 ° c . a thermometer ( thermo pair ) is placed in the lowest layer and one in the top layer to control the inner heat - relations . a thermo battery is placed into the top and lowest layer as well . the prepreg material can be formed as the user wants it , it can repair and cover the irregularities as well . the prepreg material can be solidified even if connected to a low temperature object ( 0 ° c .). the invention is able to be used in case of large , open - air located objects . some examples will be explained to demonstrate the competency of the invention in use ( mostly in case of enhancement of pipe durability ). table no . 1 represents the results of a series of experiments : the changing of the solidifying circumstances of the prepreg based composite band . the columns of the table show the composure of the bands and the main parameters of the solidifying prepreg adhesive . the main parameters are : temperature of the pipe &# 39 ; s wall ( with the lowest temperature on which the band perfectly solidifies under the specified time ), and the comparative data refers to the temperature of the heat patron ( 130 ° c . in every experiment ). the composition of the 100 kg prepreg matrix material base mixture ( m ): 25 - 40 m / m % of an unsaturated polyester resin and / or novolac - epoxy based vinyl - ester resin ( der 8084 ) ( or any kind of mixture of these two substances ) solution ( 35 m / m % in styrol ) synthesized from o - phtale acid ethylene - glycol - propylene - glycol - mallein - acid - anhidrid or i - phtale acid neo - pentyle - glycol - propylene - glycot - mallein - acid - anhidrid 1 : 1 mixture ; 5 - 10 m / m % of mgo and / or zno and / or bao and / or cao ; 1 - 5 m / m % of a thermoplastic polymer : cellulose - aceto - butyrate and / or cellulose acetate ; 30 - 50 m / m % of a filling material : any mixture of aluminum - hydroxide , caco 3 powder , talcum and quartz powder . different types of polymer initiators and different quantities of poly - ε - caprolacton were added to this unsaturated polyester resin based matrix material ( base mixture of the matrix material : m ). the composition of the 100 kg adhesive base mixture ( r ): 30 - 50 m / m % of an unsaturated polyester resin and / or vinyl - ester resin ( der 8084 ); 1 - 5 m / m % of a thixatropic additive ( active silica based ex . aerosil r202 ); 30 - 50 m / m % of aluminum - hydroxide , caco 3 powder and / or talcum . depending on the composition of the initiator - activator systems used to start the networking , there will be added in different quantities active ( methacrylate ) monomers and acetyl - acetone to the adhesive base mixture ( r ). column 3 presents the circumstances in case of example 3 , showing the effects of the added substances ( mma monomer , poly - ε - caprolacton , respectively acetyl - acetone ) as the examples show . columns 4 to 5 present the diffusion efficiency of the cobalt activator substance and / or of an activator containing vanadium - naphtenate in the presence of mma monomer poly - ε - caprolacton . aluminum - hydroxide ( ath ), talcum , quartz powder , caco 3 powder and dolomite powder were evenly used during the assembling of the samples , in case of both the prepreg matrix material and the adhesive . the added materials &# 39 ; effect on the networking of the material system isn &# 39 ; t influenced by the choice of the unsaturated polyester resins , respectively vinyl - ester resin &# 39 ; s type ( o - phtal acid , i - phtal acid polyester resin , bis - phenol - a - or novolac - epoxy based vinyl - ester resin ). this issue is dealt with in example 4 . to create the adhesive are mixed together 100 kg of a very flexible vinyl - ester resin ( der 8084 ), 10 kg of a methyl - methacrylate ( mma ) monomer , 3 kg of a thixatropic substance ( active silica based , for ex . aerosil r202 ), 100 kg of aluminum - hydroxide ( ath ), 2 kg of diacyle - peroxide and 2 kg of an n , n - di - methyl - aniline activator ( 10 m / m % solution ). right before working with the band , 2 kg of a cobalt - naphtenate solution ( 1 m / m %) has to be added to the material of the adhesive , to ensure that the peroxide initiator added to the matrix - material will activate at low temperature as well . the adhesive mixed in this way will be viscously fluid for 30 minutes at normal temperature , and reaches the gelling point after a maximum of 60 minutes . this material is supposed to ensure the cohesion of the metal and the band in between the layer &# 39 ; s of the composite material , filling the irregularities of the surface . the substances needed to create the prepreg resin &# 39 ; s matrix - material are added one by one and homogenized as they are added . in this case the substances are : 100 kg of an unsaturated polyester resin solution ( 35 m / m % in styrol ) gained from synthesizing o - phtale acid ethylene - glycol - propylene - glycol - mallein - acid - anhydrid at a rate of 1 : 1 ; 3 kg of mgo ( magnesium - oxide ); 5 kg of a thermoplastic polymer ( aca — cellulose - acetate ); 5 kg of poly - ε - caprolacton , 100 kg of talcum ; 2 kg of an initiator ( 0 . 5 kg per - carbonate , 1 . 5 kg t - butyl - per - benzoate ). the enforcing material used in the prepreg is a textile - like material , sold in rolls , 0 . 2 - 1 . 3 m wide , having parallel bands of glass - fiber wires running along its longitudinal axis ( 10 - 50 m ), which are loosely bonded together with a so called glass - duvet . part of the ready resin - matrix material is placed on a pet foil . a corresponding sized part ( 0 . 3 × 4 m in this case ) of the unidirectional orientated , glass - fiber based enforcing material is then introduced in the foil and soaked well with the resin - matrix ( both sides of the material ). the soaked glass - fiber is then “ ironed ” between two vulcanite rolls . the distance between the two rolls is known and pre - set . the prepreg made this way can be stored without losing properties for 30 days in normal temperature , or 90 days if the temperature doesn &# 39 ; t reach 20 ° c . a day after its production , however , it is perfectly usable . the pet foil can be taken off its surface — which isn &# 39 ; t sticky after a day . any sized composite prepreg bands can be produced this way . the width of the prepreg is induced by the geometry of the glass - fiber . the product is stored in aluminum foil at 5 - 15 ° c . till usage . the pipe has to be perfectly clean , to the metal , leaving no grease on it . then , the pre - made and already described adhesive substance is applied in a thin layer on the perfectly clean surface of the pipe covering the irregularities . the pre - made prepreg is carefully cleaned of the aluminum foils and placed leveling it evenly on the layer of adhesive . a roller is used with low pressure to secure the connection between the adhesive and the prepreg material . the upper layer of the prepreg is once again adhered and covered with another layer of prepreg . this procedure is repeated until there are as many layers as planned . the upper layer of the band is covered with the already used pet foil . the minimum number of layers used for optimal enforcement is 5 , but usually 8 layers are used . in this example , a 4 m long prepreg is produced . the full weight of the band is 4 . 12 kg , the glass - fiber having 1 . 72 kg . the weight of the adhesive needed is 0 . 85 kg . the band was used to create an 8 - layer band on a 150 mm steel pipe &# 39 ; s surface . heat patrons are used on the upper layer of the band to enhance the hardening process . these heat patrons are inductive or resistive . if these patrons are used , a 1 mm thick steel plate is placed circularly on the surface of the band . the heat patrons having a total of 5 kw of heat output are put on this steel plate to ensure even distribution of the heat . a thermometer ( thermo par ) is placed in the layer closest to the pipe and one in the top layer to control the inner heat - relations . during the experiment , the pipe &# 39 ; s wall was at 0 ° c . the upper layer of the prepreg reached 130 ° c . in 20 minutes . during this the inner layer remained at 0 ° c . heating continued for 60 minutes more , controlling the upper layer &# 39 ; s by stabilization . during this time the entire band solidified . thus , having a cobalt activator in the composition of the adhesive has a benefic effect in the chemical reactions taking place in the prepreg , if it contains an mma monomer and / or poly - ε - caprolacton . these substances help the activator to get through by diffusion from the adhesive to the matrix - material of the prepreg , and start the discomposure of the initiator ( per - carbonate , per - benzoate add mixture ). in this way , the band and the adhesive reticulate simultaneously , the composite band solidifying completely ( table column 1 ). the production of the prepreg matrix - material is similar to the production in the first example : 100 kg of an unsaturated polyester resin solution ( 35 m / m % in sterol ) gained from synthesizing o - phtale acid ethylene - glycol - propylene - glycol - mallein - acid - anhydrid at a rate of 1 : 1 ; 3 kg of mgo ( magnesium - oxide ); 5 kg of a thermoplastic polymer ( aca — cellulose - acetate ); 10 kg of poly - ε - caprolacton , 100 kg of talcum ; 2 kg of an initiator ( 0 . 5 kg per - carbonate , 1 . 5 kg t - butyl - per - benzoate ). the substances needed to create the prepreg resin &# 39 ; s matrix - material are added one by one and homogenized as they are added . part of the ready resin - matrix material is placed on a pet foil . a corresponding sized part ( 0 . 3 × 4 m in this case ) of the unidirectional orientated , glass - fiber based enforcing material is then introduced in the foil and soaked with the resin - matrix ( both sides of the material ). the soaked glass - fiber is then “ ironed ” between two vulcanite rolls . the distance between the two rolls is known and pre - set . to create the adhesive , 100 kg of a very flexible vinyl - ester resin , 10 kg of a methyl - methacrylate ( mma ) monomer , 3 kg of a thixatropic substance ( active silica based , for ex . aerosil r202 ), 100 kg of aluminum - hydroxide ( ath ) and 2 kg of diacyle - peroxide , 2 kg of an alkyl - aroma - amine ( dma ) solution ( 10 m / m %) is also used as an activator . right before working with the band , 2 kg of a cobalt - naphtenate solution ( 1 m / m %) has to be added to the material of the adhesive , to ensure that the peroxide initiator added to the matrix - material will activate at low temperature as well . the adhesive mixed in this way will be viscously fluid for 30 minutes at normal temperature , and reaches the gelling point after a maximum of 60 minutes . in this example , a 4 m long prepreg is produced . the fall weight of the band is 4 . 12 kg , the glass - fiber having 1 . 72 kg . the weight of the adhesive needed is 0 . 85 kg . the band was used to create an 8 - layer band on a 150 mm steel pipe &# 39 ; s surface . water has been transported in the pipe ; the water &# 39 ; s temperature : 0 ° c . the pipe &# 39 ; s wall was also at 0 ° c . a thermometer ( thermo par ) is placed in the layer closest to the pipe and one in the top layer to follow the inner heat - relations . the upper layer of the prepreg reached 130 ° c . in 20 minutes . during this the inner layer remained at 0 ° c . heating continued for 90 minutes more , controlling the upper layer &# 39 ; s temperature by stabilization . during this time the entire band solidified . the experiments confirm that the cobalt activator has a pronounced effect on the chemical reactions in the prepreg . this surprising effect can only be explained with the transferring by diffusion of the cobalt mixture from the adhesive to the matrix - material . this transfer is aided by the poly - ε - caprolacton ( table column 2 ). the production of the prepreg matrix - material is similar to the production in the first example : 100 kg of an unsaturated polyester resin solution ( 35 m / m % in sterol ) gained from synthesizing o - phtale acid ethylene - glycol - propylene - glycol - mallein - acid - anhydrid at a rate of 1 : 1 ; 3 kg of mgo ( magnesium - oxide ); 5 kg of a thermoplastic polymer ( cab — cellulose - aceto - butyrate ); 100 kg of talcum ; 2 kg of an initiator ( 0 . 5 kg per - carbonate , 1 . 5 kg t - butyl - per - benzoate ). the substances needed to create the prepreg resin &# 39 ; s matrix - material are added one by one and homogenized as they are added . part of the ready resin - matrix material is placed on a pet foil . a corresponding sized part ( 0 . 3 × 4 m in this case ) of the unidirectional orientated , glass - fiber based enforcing material is then introduced in the foil and soaked well with the resin - matrix ( both sides of the material ). the soaked glass - fiber is then “ ironed ” between two vulcanite rolls . the distance between the two rolls is known and pre - set . 24 hours after the pre - preg &# 39 ; s production , it is usable and the prepreg can be stored for 30 days in normal temperature , or 90 days if the temperature doesn &# 39 ; t reach 20 ° c . to create the adhesive , 100 kg of a very flexible vinyl - ester resin , 5 kg of a methyl - methacrylate ( mma ) monomer , 3 kg of a thixatropic substance ( active silica based , for ex . aerosil r202 ), 100 kg of aluminum - hydroxide ( ath ) and 2 kg of diacyle - peroxide , 2 kg of an allyl - aroma - amine ( dma ) solution ( 10 m / m %) is also used as an activator . 2 kg of a cobalt - naphtenate solution ( 1 m / m %) and 0 . 5 kg of acetyl - acetone has to be added to the material of the adhesive , to ensure that the peroxide initiator added to the matrix - material will activate at low temperature as well . the adhesive mixed in tis way will be viscously fluid for 30 minutes at normal temperature , and reaches the gelling point after a maximum of 60 minutes . in this example , a 4 m long prepreg is produced . the full weight of the band is 4 . 08 kg , the glass - fiber having 1 . 70 kg . the weight of the adhesive needed is 0 . 80 kg . the band was used to create an 8 - layer band on a 150 mm steel pipe &# 39 ; s surface . water has been transported in the pipe ; the water &# 39 ; s temperature : 0 ° c . the pipe &# 39 ; s wall was also at 0 ° c . a thermometer ( thermo par ) is placed in the layer closest to the pipe and one in the top layer to follow the inner heat - relations . the upper layer of the prepreg reached 130 ° c . in 20 minutes . during this the inner layer remained at 0 ° c . heating continued for 60 minutes more , controlling the upper layer &# 39 ; s temperature by stabilization . during this time the entire band solidified . the experiments confirm that the cobalt activator has a pronounced effect on the chemical reactions in the prepreg . this surprising effect can only be explained with the transferring by diffusion of the cobalt mixture from the adhesive to the matrix - material . this transfer is aided by the acetyl - acetone ( table column 3 ). the substances needed to create the prepreg resin &# 39 ; s matrix - material are added one by one and homogenized as they are added . in this case , the substances are : 100 kg of an unsaturated polyester resin solution ( 35 m / m % in sterol ) gained from synthesizing o - phtale acid ethylene - glycol - propylene - glycol - mallein - acid - anhydrid at a rate of 1 : 1 ; 3 kg of mgo ( magnesium - oxide ); 5 kg of a thermoplastic polymer ( pvac — polyvinyl - acetate ); 3 kg of poly - ε - caprolacton , 100 kg of ath ; 2 kg of an initiator with high decomposition temperature per - benzoate ). part of the ready resin - matrix material is placed on a pet foil . a corresponding sized part ( 0 . 3 × 4 m in this case ) of the unidirectional orientated , glass - fiber based enforcing material is then introduced in the foil and soaked well with the resin - matrix ( both sides of the material ). the soaked glass - fiber is then “ ironed ” between two vulcanite rolls . the distance between the two rolls is known and pre - set . 24 hours after the prepreg &# 39 ; s production , it is usable and the prepreg can be stored without losing properties for 30 days in normal temperature , or 90 days if the temperature doesn &# 39 ; t reach 20 ° c . to create the adhesive , 100 kg of a bis - phenol vinyl - ester resin , 10 kg of a methyl - methacrylate ( mma ) monomer , 5 kg of a thixatropic substance ( active silica based , for ex . aerosil r202 ), 50 kg of aluminum - hydroxide ( ath ); 50 kg of talcum and 1 kg of cobalt - naphtenate ( 1 % of co ) is used as an activator . to ensure the solidifying of the adhesive , initiators are used : 2 kg of cumol - hydro - peroxide and 1 kg of kethone - peroxide . the adhesive mixed in this way will be viscously fluid for 30 minutes at normal temperature ( 23 ± 2 ° c . ), and reaches the gelling point after 60 minutes . in this example , a 4 m long prepreg is produced . the full weight of the band is 4 . 10 kg , the glass - fiber having 1 . 70 kg . the weight of the adhesive needed is 0 . 80 kg . the band was used to create an 8 - layer band on a 150 mm steel pipe &# 39 ; s surface . water has been transported in the pipe ; the water &# 39 ; s temperature : 0 ° c . the pipe &# 39 ; s wall was also at 0 ° c . a thermometer ( thermo par ) is placed in the layer closest to the pipe and one in the top layer to continuously follow the inner heat - relations . the upper layer of the prepreg reached 130 ° c . in 20 minutes . during this the inner layer remained at 0 ° c . heating continued for 60 minutes more , controlling the upper layer &# 39 ; s temperature by stabilization . during this time the entire band solidified . these experiments show that the cobalt activator has a pronounced effect on the chemical reactions in the prepreg having different composition compared to the prepreg in the first three experiments . this surprising effect can only be explained with the transferring by diffusion of the cobalt mixture from the adhesive to the matrix - material . this transfer is aided by the mma monomer mixed into the adhesive , although its aiding effect isn &# 39 ; t as powerful as in the cases previously described . the prepreg adhesive material system containing unsaturated polyester / vinyl - ester resin matrix - materials ( composite band ) can be fully solidified even if it connects to low temperature ( 0 ° c .) surfaces . this is done by adding peroxides to the prepreg &# 39 ; s material . the activators that decompose the peroxides are transferred by diffusion between the two different matrixes , and once inside the prepreg they initiate the networking of the polyester / vinyl - ester resin . the diffusion ( and the hardening of the prepreg ) is very much enhanced by several substances ( the poly - ε - caprolacton in the prepreg ; methacryl - acid - ester monomers and acetyl - acetone in the adhesive ). the choice of cobalt - naphtenate or vanadium - naphtenate doesn &# 39 ; t influence the process . matrix material based mixture ( m ) 100 kg unsaturated poliester resin obtained from o - phtalic acid and ethylene glycol - propylene glycol - mallein acid anhydride ( ratio : 1 : 1 ) in 35 weight % styrol , 3 kg mgo ( magnesia ), 5 kg thermoplastics polymer ( aca - acetylcellulose ), 100 kg filling material adhesive based mixture ( r ) 100 kg vinyl ester resin , 3 kg tixotropic thixatropic additive , 100 kg filling material | 2 |
although entirely independent of any particular mechanism , the present invention was conceived following the unexpected discovery by the present inventors that the native tace protein undergoes autoproteolysis at the high protein concentrations required for x - ray crystallographic analysis . the subsequent identification by the inventors of an autoproteolysis site between y 352 - v 353 of seq id no : 2 , raised the possibility that the replacement of either one or both of these amino acid residues might lead to a tace protein that was resistant to autoproteolysis . insertion ( s ) or deletion ( s ) of amino acid residues adjacent to the y 352 - v 353 cleavage site might also lead to a tace polypeptide that is resistant to autoproteolyisis . however , inserting or deleting amino acid residues adjacent to the y 352 - v 353 cleavage site could create conformational changes in the protein that significantly reduce its enzyme activity and / or stability . similarly , since tyr352 of seq id no : 2 is located within a hydrophobic pocket that is close to the active site of the tace protease , modification of this amino acid residue also might effect the enzymatic activity and / or protein stability . in direct contrast , val353 of seq id no : 2 is located on the enzyme surface with its side chain exposed to the solvent , and so modification of the valine side chain might be less traumatic to the enzyme structure . therefore , modification of val353 is preferred over either modifying tyr352 , or inserting or deleting amino acid residues adjacent to the y 352 - v 353 cleavage site . these latter two alternatives , however , remain part of the present invention . indeed , as disclosed herein , substitution of the hydrophobic valine side chain with either serine or glycine significantly reduces autoproteolysis , and dramatically improved the stability of the protein , without significantly altering the proteolytic activity of the tace enzyme . in a preferred embodiment , the modified tace catalytic domain contains an amino acid change at amino acid residue 353 of seq id no : 2 . in one such embodiment , val353 is replaced with a glycyl residue . in another embodiment , val353 is replaced with a seryl residue . substitutions of the nonpolar side chain of valine with alternative non - hydrophobic side chains can also prevent auto - proteolysis , and such substitutions are also part of the present invention . in addition , in order to remove n - glycosylation sites it is preferable as exemplified below , that ser266 be replaced e . g ., with an alanyl residue , and asp452 be replaced e . g ., with a glutaminyl residue . the present invention further provides crystals comprising a protein - ligand complex of a polypeptide that comprises a modified tace catalytic domain . the three - dimensional structure of a protein - ligand complex comprising a modified tace catalytic domain bound to n -{ 3 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl )- 1 - oxo -( 2r )- benzylpropyl }- ile - leu - oh is provided in the example below ( see table 3 which lists the atomic coordinates ). n -{ 3 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl )- 1 - oxo -( 2r )- benzylpropyl }- ile - leu - oh which is commercially available , e . g ., from chem - impex international , wood dale ii , ( product code 09538 ), has the following chemical structure : structure based rational drug design is the most efficient method of drug development . in one common paradigm , a three dimensional structure of a protein - ligand complex is determined , and potential antagonists ( e . g ., inhibitors ) of the protein ( e . g ., potential drugs ) are identified and / or designed with the aid of computer modeling [ bugg et al ., scientific american , dec . : 92 - 98 ( 1993 ); west et al ., tips , 16 : 67 - 74 ( 1995 ); dunbrack et al ., folding & amp ; design , 2 : 27 - 42 ( 1997 )]. the drug candidates are selected and assayed . the most promising drug candidates are identified , and then incubated in excess with crystals of a protein - ligand complex to replace the initial ligand . the three - dimensional structure of the new protein - ligand complex is then determined , and new potential antagonists . of the protein are identified and / or designed with the aid of computer modeling . this process can then be continued in successive iterations until a lead drug candidate is identified . heretofore , the ability to perform structure based rational drug design with tace was severely hampered because only two tace protein - ligands complexes were known to form an x - ray quality crystal , [ maskos et . al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 95 : 3408 - 3412 ( 1998 ); letavic et al ., biorgan . & amp ; medic . chem lett . 12 : 1387 - 1390 ( 2002 )], and these crystals were not reported to be capable of ligand exchange . as disclosed herein , the present invention overcomes this problem by providing crystals of the modified tace catalytic domain that are conducive to ligand exchange . as used herein the following terms shall have the definitions set out below : as used herein the term “ polypeptide ” is used interchangeably with the term “ protein ” and is further meant to encompass peptides . therefore , as used herein , a polypeptide is a polymer of two or more amino acids joined together by peptide linkages . preferably , a polypeptide is a polymer comprising twenty or more amino acid residues joined together by peptide linkages . as used herein a polypeptide “ consisting essentially of ” or that “ consists essentially of ” a specified amino acid sequence is a polypeptide that ( i ) retains the general characteristics of a polypeptide comprising that amino acid sequence , e . g ., the activity of the polypeptide , and ( ii ) further comprises the identical amino acid sequence , except it consists of plus or minus 10 % ( or a lower percentage ), preferably plus or minus 5 % ( or a lower percentage ), and more preferably plus or minus 2 . 5 % ( or a lower percentage ) of the amino acid residues . as used herein a “ modified tace catalytic domain ” is a tace catalytic domain that has been modified to resist and / or prevent autocatalysis . preferably , at least one of the two critical amino acid residues at the autoproteolytic site of tace , i . e ., tyr352 and val353 of seq id no : 2 , has been replaced . more preferably , a modified tace catalytic domain has the val353 residue replaced with a non - hydrophobic amino acid residue . as used herein a “ non - hydrophobic amino acid ” is an amino acid that is not hydrophobic . the genus of non - hydrophobic amino acids specifically does not include leucine , isoleucine , valine , methionine , tryptophan , and phenylalanine . as used herein a “ polypeptide comprising a modified tace catalytic domain ”, can be ( i ) the full length tace protein , ( ii ) a fragment of the tace protein that includes the modified tace catalytic domain e . g ., the pro and catalytic domain , ( iii ) the modified tace catalytic domain alone , or ( iv ) a chimeric protein which comprises any of the above . as used herein a “ proteolytic polypeptide ” of the present invention is a polypeptide that is capable of catalyzing the proteolytic cleavage of a substrate of the native tace protease . a proteolytic polypeptide of the present invention minimally comprises an active fragment of the tace catalytic domain that retains proteolytic activity . a proteolytic polypeptide of the present invention can be a chimeric protein . as used herein an “ active fragment ” of the catalytic domain of tace is a fragment of the catalytic domain of tace and / or modified tace catalytic domain that retains at least about 10 %, preferably at least about 20 %, and more preferably at least about 25 % of the proteolytic activity of the full - length tace protease . preferably , the active fragment retains at least about 25 %, more preferably at least about 50 %, and even more preferably at least about 75 % of the amino acid residues of the catalytic domain of tace having the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 6 . more preferably , the amino acid sequence of the active fragment of the tace catalytic domain has at least about 95 % identity to the corresponding amino acid residues of seq id no : 6 . as used herein the term “ chimeric ” protein is meant to include “ fusion proteins ”. “ chimeric ” proteins of the present invention comprise at least a portion of a non - tace protein joined via a peptide bond to at least a portion of a tace polypeptide . chimeric proteins can have additional structural , regulatory , or catalytic properties . in a particular embodiment the chimeric protein functions as a means of detecting and / or isolating the tace polypeptide or fragment thereof after the recombinant nucleic acid is expressed . non - tace amino acid sequences are preferably either amino - or carboxy - terminal to the tace sequence . as used herein one amino acid sequence is 100 % “ identical ” to a second amino acid sequence when the amino acid residues of both sequences are identical . accordingly , an amino acid sequence is 50 % “ identical ” to a second amino acid sequence when 50 % of the amino acid residues of the two amino acid sequences are identical . the sequence comparison is performed over a contiguous block of amino acid residues comprised by the tace polypeptide or the portion of the tace polypeptide being compared , e . g ., the modified catalytic domain ( seq id no : 8 ). in a preferred embodiment , selected deletions or insertions that could otherwise alter the correspondence between the two amino acid sequences are taken into account . as used herein , dna and protein sequence percent identity can be determined using c , macvector 6 . 0 . 1 , oxford molecular group plc ( 1996 ) and the clustal w algorithm with the alignment default parameters , and default parameters for identity . these commercially available programs can also be used to determine sequence similarity using the same or analogous default parameters . alternatively , an advanced blast search under the default filter conditions can be used , e . g ., using the gcg ( genetics computer group , program manual for the gcg package , version 7 , madison , wis .) pileup program using the default parameters . as used herein a “ nucleic acid ” refers to the phosphate ester polymeric form of ribonucleosides ( adenosine , guanosine , uridine or cytidine ; “ rna molecules ”) or deoxyribonucleosides ( deoxyadenosine , deoxyguanosine , deoxythymidine , or deoxycytidine ; “ dna molecules ”), or any phosphoester analogs thereof , such as phosphorothioates and thioesters , in either single stranded form , or a double - stranded helix . double stranded dna - dna , dna - rna and rna - rna helices are possible . when referring to a nucleic acid that is double stranded both the “ sense ” strand and the complementary “ antisense ” strand are intended to be included . thus a nucleic acid that is hybridizable to seq id no : 1 , for example , can be either hybridizable to the “ sense ” strand of seq id no : 1 , which is particularly listed in the sequence listing , or to the “ antisense ” strand which can be readily determined from that sequence listing . a dna “ coding sequence ” is a double - stranded dna sequence that is transcribed and translated into a polypeptide in a cell in vitro or in vivo when placed under the control of appropriate regulatory sequences . the boundaries of the coding sequence are determined by a start codon at the 5 ′ ( amino ) terminus and a translation stop codon at the 3 ′ ( carboxyl ) terminus . a coding sequence can include , but is not limited to , prokaryotic sequences , cdna from eukaryotic mrna , genomic dna sequences from eukaryotic ( e . g ., mammalian ) dna , and even synthetic dna sequences . if the coding sequence is intended for expression in a eukaryotic cell , a polyadenylation signal and transcription termination sequence will usually be located 3 ′ to the coding sequence . transcriptional and translational control sequences are dna regulatory sequences , such as promoters , enhancers , terminators , and the like , that provide for the expression of a coding sequence in a host cell . in eukaryotic cells , polyadenylation signals are control sequences . a “ promoter sequence ” is a dna regulatory region capable of binding rna polymerase in a cell and initiating transcription of a downstream ( 3 ′ direction ) coding sequence . for purposes of defining the present invention , the promoter sequence is bounded at its 3 ′ terminus by the transcription initiation site and extends upstream ( 5 ′ direction ) to include the minimum number of bases or elements necessary to initiate transcription at levels detectable above background . within the promoter sequence will be found a transcription initiation site ( conveniently defined for example , by mapping with nuclease s1 ), as well as protein binding domains ( consensus sequences ) responsible for the binding of rna polymerase . a coding sequence is “ under the control ” of transcriptional and translational control sequences in a cell when rna polymerase transcribes the coding sequence into mrna , which can then be trans - rna spliced and translated into the protein encoded by the coding sequence . a nucleic acid sequence is “ operatively linked ” to an expression control sequence when the expression control sequence controls or regulates the transcription and translation of that nucleic acid sequence . the term operatively linked includes having an appropriate start signal . a “ heterologous nucleotide sequence ” as used herein is a nucleotide sequence that is added to a nucleotide sequence of the present invention by recombinant methods to form a nucleic acid that is not naturally formed in nature . such nucleic acids can encode chimeric proteins . alternatively , a heterologous nucleotide sequence can contain a nucleic acid regulatory sequence . thus a heterologous nucleotide sequence can comprise non - coding sequences including restriction sites , regulatory sites , promoters and the like . in still another embodiment the heterologous nucleotide can function as a means of detecting a nucleotide sequence of the present invention . the present invention provides heterologous nucleotide sequences that when combined with nucleotide sequences encoding the tace proteins , and fragments thereof , are necessary and sufficient to encode all of the chimeric proteins of the present invention . as used herein the phrases “ structure based rational drug design ”, “ structure based drug design ”, “ structure assisted drug design ” and “ rational drug design ” are used interchangeably . these phrases are meant to convey a particular method of identifying and / or designing a ligand ( preferably an inhibitor ) for a specific target protein that includes the use of the three - dimensional structure of that protein and / or its corresponding protein - ligand complex . the phrase “ binding to ” in regard to a ligand binding to a polypeptide is used herein to include any or all such specific interactions that lead to a protein - ligand binding complex . this can include processes such as covalent , ionic , hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding , but does not include non - specific associations such solvent preferences . as used herein a “ ligand ” of a polypeptide is a compound that binds to the polypeptide in a protein - ligand binding complex . in a specific embodiment of the present invention the polypeptide has an enzymatic activity and the ligand inhibits that activity when bound to the polypeptide in a protein - ligand binding complex . such a ligand is also termed an “ inhibitor ”. as used herein the term “ initial ligand ” denotes a ligand in a protein - ligand complex that is , or can be displaced by a “ substitute ligand ”. as used herein , a “ protein - ligand binding complex ” is a specific association between a polypeptide and the compound that binds to it . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the ligand is an inhibitor of the polypeptide . in a particular embodiment of this type , the binding of the inhibitor to the polypeptide occurs at the active site of the polypeptide . as used herein “ incubating a ligand with a crystal ” is used interchangeably with “ soaking a crystal with a ligand ”. incubating a ligand with a crystal is the contacting of a ligand with a crystal of a polypeptide under the appropriate conditions and for a sufficient time period ( e . g ., hours to several days ) for the ligand to bind to the crystalline polypeptide and form a crystalline protein - ligand complex . such incubating can further and / or alternatively , include contacting an excess of a substitute ligand with a crystal of a protein - ligand complex under the appropriate conditions and for a sufficient time period ( e . g ., hours to several days ) for the substitute ligand to replace the initial ligand and form the new crystalline protein - ligand complex . as used herein the terms “ displacing ”, “ replacing ”, and “ exchanging ” are used interchangeably in regard to the substitution of one ligand in a protein - ligand complex for another . as used herein an “ excess of a substitute ligand ” is an amount of that ligand that is sufficient to replace 80 % or more , and preferably 90 % or more , of the initial ligand in a protein - ligand complex . in a particular embodiment of this type , the concentration of the substitute ligand is about ten - fold higher than the concentration of the protein - ligand complex . in a preferred embodiment , the concentration of the substitute ligand is about one hundred - fold higher than the concentration of the protein - ligand complex . as used herein the term “ x - ray diffractable crystal ” is a crystal of a compound that yields a discernable diffraction pattern when subjected to 0 . 5 to 2 . 5 å incident x - ray radiation . as used herein an “ x - ray quality crystal ” is an x - ray diffractable crystal that can yield meaningful structural data of its crystalline composition when subjected to x - ray crystallographic analysis . as used herein , and unless otherwise specified , the terms “ agent ”, “ potential drug ”, “ compound ”, or “ test compound ” are used interchangeably , and refer to chemicals that have or potentially have a use as an inhibitor of the proteolytic activity of tace . preferably such agents include drugs for the treatment or prevention of a disease and / or condition involving the proteolytic action of tace . therefore , such agents may be used , as described herein , in drug assays and drug screens and the like . as used herein a “ small organic molecule ” is an organic compound [ or organic compound complexed with an inorganic compound ( e . g ., metal )] that has a molecular weight of less than 3 kd . as used herein the terms “ approximately ” and “ about ” are used to signify that a value is within twenty percent of the indicated value i . e ., an amino acid sequence containing “ approximately ” 260 amino acid residues can contain between 208 and 312 amino acid residues . obtaining and / or constructing a cdna that encodes a polypeptide comprising a modified tace facilitates the production of the large quantities of protein required to perform x - ray crystallographic analysis . since the sequence of the native protein is known [ see u . s . pat . no . 6 , 013 , 466 , issued jan . 11 , 2000 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties ], a cdna encoding the modified protease can be readily obtained . to express a recombinant protein of the present invention in a host cell , an expression vector can be constructed comprising the corresponding cdna . the present invention therefore , provides expression vectors containing nucleic acids encoding polypeptides comprising the modified tace catalytic domains of the present invention . due to the degeneracy of nucleotide coding sequences , other dna sequences which encode substantially the same amino acid sequence as a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide comprising the modified tace catalytic domain of the present invention may be used in the practice of the present invention . these include , but are not limited to , allelic genes , homologous genes from other species , which are altered by the substitution of different codons that encode the same amino acid residue within the sequence , thus producing a silent change . host cells comprising the expression vectors of the present invention are also provided . cloning of cdnas and expression of their corresponding recombinant proteins have become a routine laboratory exercise [ see sambrook and russell , molecular cloning , a laboratory manual , 3 rd edition , cold spring harbor laboratory press , cold spring harbor l . i . ( 2000 ), the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties ]. the use of a baculovirus recombination system and sf9 host cells is exemplified below . purification of recombinant proteins has also become a routine laboratory exercise . in the present case , the modified tace protein was cloned and expressed as the pro - protein . the pre and pro domains were cleaved during protein expression and secretion by the cells . the catalytic domain was then purified ( see example below ). the nucleotide sequence for open reading frame of tace with a gs linker , a polyhis tag ( h6 ), and stop codon is shown below . the nucleic acid sequence encoding : ( i ) the pre domain is underlined , ( ii ) the pro domain is under - dashed , ( iii ) the catalytic domain is unmarked and ( iv ) the gs linker and the polyhis tag ( h6 ) are double underlined . the stop codon is underlined with a wavy line . ( seq id no : 9 ) atgaggcagtctctcctattcctgaccagcgtggttcctttcgtgctggc g c c g c g a c c t c c g g a t g a c c c g g g c t t c g g c c c c c a c c a g a g g c t c g a g a a g c t t g a t t c t t t g c t c t c a g a c t a c g a t a t t c t c t c t t t a t c t a a t a t c c a g c a g c a t t c g g t a a g a a a a a g a g a t c t a c a g a c t t c a a c a c a t g t a g a a a c a c t a c t a a c t t t t t c a g c t t t g a a a a g g c a t t t t a a a t t a t a c c t g a c a t c a a g t a c t g a a c g t t t t t c a c a a a a t t t c a a g g t c g t g g t g g t g g a t g g t a a a a a c g a a a g c g a g t a c a c t g t a a a a t g g c a g g a c t t c t t c a c t g g a c a c g t g g t t g g t g a g c c t g a c t c t a g g g t t c t a g c c c a c a t a a g a g a t g a t g a t g t t a t a a t c a g a a t c a a c a c a g a t g g g g c c g a a t a t a a c a t a g a g c c a c t t t g g a g a t t t g t t a a t g a t a c c a a a g a c a a a a g a a t g t t a g t t t a t a a a t c t g a a g a t a t c a a g a a t g t t t c a c g t t t g c a g t c t c c a a a a g t g t g t g g t t a t t t a a a a g t g g a t a a t g a a g a g t t g c t c c c a a a a g g g t t a g t a g a c a g a g a a c c a c c t g a a g a g c t t g t t c a t c g a g t g a a a a g a agagctga cccagatcccatgaagaacacgtgtaaattattggtggtagcagatcatc gcttctacagatacatgggcagaggggaagagagtacaactacaaattac ttaatagagctaattgacagagttgatgacatctatcggaacactgcatg ggataatgcaggttttaaaggctatggaatacagatagagcagattcgca ttctcaagtctccacaagaggtaaaacctggtgaaaagcactacaacatg gcaaaaagttacccaaatgaagaaaaggatgcttgggatgtgaagatgtt gctagagcaatttagctttgatatagctgaggaagcatctaaagtttgct tggcacaccttttcacataccaagattttgatatgggaactcttggatta gcttatgttggctctcccagagcaaacagccatggaggtgtttgtccaaa ggcttattatagcccagttgggaagaaaaatatctatttgaatagtggtt tgacgagcacaaagaattatggtaaaaccatccttacaaaggaagctgac ctggttacaactcatgaattgggacataattttggagcagaacatgatcc ggatcgtctagcagaatgtgccccgaatgaggaccagggagggaaatatg tcatgtatcccatagctgtgagtggcgatcacgagaacaataagatgttt tcacagtgcagtaaacaatcaatctataagaccattgaaagtaaggccca ggagtgttttcaagaacgcagcaataaagtt gggagccaccatcatcacc atcac { tilde under ( taa )} any technique for mutagenesis known in the art can be used to convert the native tace catalytic domain to a modified domain , including but not limited to , in vitro site - directed mutagenesis [ hutchinson et al ., j . biol . chem ., 253 : 6551 ( 1978 ); zoller and smith , dna , 3 : 479 - 488 ( 1984 ); oliphant et al ., gene , 44 : 177 ( 1986 ); hutchinson et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . u . s . a ., 83 : 710 ( 1986 )]. the use of tab @ linkers ( pharmacia ), etc . and pcr techniques also can be employed for site directed mutagenesis [ see higuchi , “ using pcr to engineer dna ”, in pcr technology : principles and applications for dna amplification , h . erlich , ed ., stockton press , chapter 6 , pp . 61 - 70 ( 1989 )]. preferably mutagenesis ( i . e ., modification ) of the tace catalytic domain is performed in a two step process [ wang , and malcolm , biotechniques 26 : 680 - 682 ( 1999 )]. in the example below , two extension reactions were performed in separate tubes in the first stage : ( i ) one containing the forward primer , and ( ii ) the other containing the reverse primer . after two cycles , the two reactions are mixed and the standard quickchange mutagenisis procedure is carried out for an additional 18 cycles . following amplification , the parental strand is digested with lunit of dpn1 for 1 hour and an aliquot is transformed into dh5 - alpha cells [ genewiz , new york , n . y .] the amino acid sequence for the tace polypeptide is shown below . ( i ) the pre domain is underlined , ( ii ) the pro domain is under - dashed , and ( iii ) the catalytic domain is unmarked . the gs - linker and polyhistidine tag ( h6 ) are not included . the valine residue that is replaced with a non - hydrophobic amino acid residue in the modified tace polypeptide is in bold . in addition , serine - 266 has been replaced by an alanine , and asparagine - 452 has been replaced by a glutamine in order to remove the n - linked glycosylation sites . ( seq id no : 2 ) mrqsllfltsvvpfvla p r p p d d p g f g p h q r l e k l d s l l s d y d i l s l s n t q q h s v r k r d l q t s t h v e t l l t f s a l k r h f k l y l t s s t e r f s q n f k v v v v d g k n e s e y t v k w q d f f t g r v v g e p d s r v l a h i r d d d v i i r i n t d g a e y n i e p l w r f v n d t k d k r m l v y k s e d i k n v s r l q s p k v c g y l k v d n e e l l p k g l v d r e p p e e l v h r v k r radpdpmkntckllvvadhrfyrymgrgeestttny lielidrvddiyrntawdnagfkgygiqieqirilkspqevkpgekhynm aksypneekdawdvkmlleqfsfdiaeeaskvclahlftyqdfdmgtlgl ay v gspranshggvcpkayyspvgkkniylnsgltstknygktiltkead lvtthelghnfgaehdpdglaecapnedqggkyvmypiavsgdhennkmf sqcskqsiyktteskaqecfqersnkv the amino acid sequence for the catalytic domain of the modified tace polypeptide is shown below . whereas , the native protein comprises val 353 ( val 139 of seq id no : 6 ), this amino acid residue is replaced by a non - hydrophobic amino acid residue in a modified tace catalytic domain . this amino acid position is denoted with an “ x ” in bold below . preferably the non - hydrophobic amino acid residue is a glycl , alanyl , or seryl amino acid residue . the gs - linker and polyhistidine tag ( h6 ) are not included . radpdpmkntckllvvadhrfyrymgrgeestttnylielidrvddiyrntawdnagfkg ygiqieqirilkspqevkpgekhynmaksypneekdawdvkmlleqfsfdiaeeaskvcl ahlftyqdfdmgtlglayxgspranshggvcpkayyspvgkkniylnsgltstknygkti ltkeadlvtthelghnfgaehdpdglaecapnedqggkyvmypiavsgdhennkmfsqcs kqsiyktieskaqecfqersnkv ( seq id no : 8 ), where x is a non - hydrophobic amino acid residue , and preferably either alanine , glycine or serine . in a particular embodiment of the present invention , a modified tace polypeptide or fragment thereof ( e . g ., the catalytic domain ) is at least about 75 % identical , more preferably at least about 90 % identical , and most preferably at least about 95 % identical to the tace polypeptide or fragment thereof . as indicated above , a modified tace or fragment thereof has a non - hydrophobic amino acid residue in place of the valine at position 353 ( as defined in seq id no : 2 ). polypeptides comprising the modified tace catalytic domains of the invention include those containing altered sequences in which functionally equivalent amino acid residues are substituted for residues within the sequence resulting in a conservative amino acid substitution . for example , one or more amino acid residues within the sequence can be substituted by another amino acid of a similar polarity , which acts as a functional equivalent , resulting in a silent alteration . substitutes for an amino acid within the sequence may be selected from other members of the class to which the amino acid belongs . for example , the nonpolar amino acids include alanine , leucine , isoleucine , valine , proline , phenylalanine , tryptophan , and methionine . amino acids containing aromatic ring structures are phenylalanine , tryptophan , and tyrosine . the polar neutral amino acids include glycine , serine , threonine , cysteine , tyrosine , asparagine , and glutamine . the positively charged ( basic ) amino acids include arginine and lysine . the negatively charged ( acidic ) amino acids include aspartic acid and glutamic acid . ( a ) lys for arg or vice versa such that a positive charge may be maintained ; ( b ) glu for asp or vice versa such that a negative charge may be maintained ; ( c ) ser for thr or vice versa such that a free — oh can be maintained ; ( d ) gln for asn or vice versa such that a free nh 2 can be maintained ; and ( e ) ile for leu or for val or vice versa as roughly equivalent hydrophobic amino acids . all of the modified tace catalytic domains of the present invention also can be part of a chimeric protein . in a specific embodiment , a chimeric tace protein is expressed in a eukaryotic cell . such a chimeric protein can be a fusion protein used to isolate a modified tace of the present invention , through the use of an affinity column that is specific for the protein fused to the tace protein . in one such embodiment , the chimeric tace is expressed in a eukaryotic cell . examples of such fusion proteins include : a glutathione - s - transferase ( gst ) fusion protein , a maltose - binding ( mbp ) protein fusion protein , a flag - tagged fusion protein , or as specifically exemplified below , a poly - histidine - tagged fusion protein . expression of a chimeric tace protein , or fragment thereof , as a fusion protein can facilitate stable expression , and / or allow for purification based on the properties of the fusion partner . thus the purification of the recombinant polypeptides of the present invention can be simplified through the use of fusion proteins having affinity tags . for example , gst binds glutathione conjugated to a solid support matrix , mbp binds to a maltose matrix , and poly - histidine chelates to a ni - chelation support matrix , as specifically exemplified below [ see hochuli et al ., biotechnolgy 6 : 1321 - 1325 ( 1998 )]. the fusion protein can be eluted from the specific matrix with appropriate buffers , or by treating with a protease that is specific for a cleavage site that has been genetically engineered in between the tace protein and its fusion partner . alternatively , a modified tace catalytic domain can be combined with a marker protein such as green fluorescent protein [ waldo et al ., nature biotech . 17 : 691 - 695 ( 1999 ); u . s . pat . no . 5 , 625 , 048 filed apr . 29 , 1997 and wo 97 / 26333 , published jul . 24 , 1997 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties ]. alternatively or in addition , other column chromatography steps ( e . g ., gel filtration , ion exchange , affinity chromatography etc .) can be used to purify the recombinant proteins of the present invention . in many cases , such column chromatography steps employ high performance liquid chromatography or analogous methods in place of the more classical gravity - based procedures . as exemplified below , a recombinant modified tace catalytic domain was purified with a ninta column following routine centrifugation and diafiltration steps . after the purified protein was collected from the ninta column , it was placed on a gel filtration column . the resulting eluate was then concentrated and desalted prior to being combined with an inhibitor to form a protein - ligand complex . alternatively , polypeptides comprising the modified tace catalytic domains of the present invention can be chemically synthesized [ see e . g ., synthetic peptides : a user &# 39 ; s guide , w . h . freeman & amp ; co ., new york , n . y ., pp . 382 , grant , ed . ( 1992 )]. the catalytic activity of the tace protease can be determined in an assay using the synthetic peptide ac - splaqa - vrsssr - nh 2 ( seq id no : 17 ) as the substrate . this amino acid sequence corresponds to the cleavage site of tace on protnf - alpha , with the sessile bond being between the alanine and the valine . the activity can be measured by incubating 100 nm tace with 100 micromolar substrate in 25 mm hepes ph 7 . 3 , 5 mm cacl 2 , for 1 hour at room temperature . product formation can be quantified at 214 nm by hplc using a reverse phase column to separate the substrate from the products . the ability of a given compound added to the reaction to act as an inhibitor of tace can then be determined . alternatively , tace activity can be determined in a fluorescence assay using the synthetic peptide substrate , k ( mca )- splaqa - vrsssrk ( dpn )- nh 2 ( seq id no : 18 ). k ( mca ) is a lysyl residue modified by comprising an epsilonn - methoxycoumarin , whereas k ( dpn )- nh 2 is a lysyl residue modified to comprise an epsilonn 2 , 4 , dinitrophenyl . 2 - 100 nanomolar tace protease ( or active fragment thereof ) is incubated with 25 micromolar peptide substrate in 25 mm hepes ph 7 . 3 , 5 mm cacl 2 for 1 hour at room temperature . product formation is detected by exciting at 340 nm and measuring the fluorescence emission at 380 nm every 30 seconds for about an hour . the initial velocity can be obtained by linear regression . the increase in fluorescence emission can be correlated with the quantity of cleaved product . the ability of a given compound added to the reaction to act as an inhibitor of tace can then be determined . crystals of the protein - ligand complex comprising a modified tace catalytic domain of the present invention can be grown by a number of techniques including batch crystallization , vapor diffusion ( e . g ., by sitting drop or hanging drop ) and by microdialysis . in the example below , the modified tace catalytic domain was complexed with n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide and crystallized by hanging drop vapor diffusion . seeding of the crystals in some instances is required to obtain x - ray quality crystals . standard micro and / or macro seeding of crystals may therefore be used . as exemplified below , the protein - ligand complex comprising the modified tace catalytic domain v353g ( vgtace ) was crystallized under similar conditions to those previously employed for the non - modified tace [ wo9940182 , published aug . 12 , 1999 , u . s . application ser . no . 09 / 117 , 476 , filed jan . 27 , 1999 , the contents of which are both hereby incorporated by reference in its entireties ]. a substitute ligand can replace the co - crystallized initial ligand by soaking a crystal of protein - initial ligand complex with the substitute ligand . thus , one or more crystals of protein - initial ligand complex can be placed in the reservoir solution containing about a 10 - fold or greater excess of substitute ligand . the crystal is kept under the appropriate conditions and for a sufficient time period for the substitute ligand to replace the initial ligand and form the new crystalline protein - substitute ligand complex . in the example below , a crystal was kept in the solution containing the substitute ligand for about 72 hours . after the incubation , the crystal of the protein - substitute ligand complex can be frozen in liquid propane , for example and then used for x - ray diffraction . crystals can be characterized using x - rays produced in a conventional source ( such as a sealed tube or a rotating anode ) or using a synchrotron source . methods of characterization include , but are not limited to , precision photography , oscillation photography and diffractometer data collection . as exemplified below , the crystals were flash frozen in liquid propane and x - ray diffraction was collected at 100 degrees kelvin using conventional or synchrotron sources . in the example below , the crystal structure of the modified tace catalytic domain v353g ( vgtace ) was solved by molecular replacement and then refined using standard crystallographic programs . the published tace structure was used as the starting model [ pdb code : 1bkc ; maskos et . al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 95 : 3408 - 3412 ( 1998 ); wo9940182 , published aug . 12 , 1999 , u . s . application ser . no . 09 / 117 , 476 , filed jan . 27 , 1999 , the contents of which are both hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety ]. replacement of the co - crystallized inhibitor was verified by difference electron density maps . the vgtace : inhibitor structures were refined using x - plor [ brunger et al ., acta crystallogr . a 46 : 585 - 593 ( 1990 ); brunger et al ., acta crystallogr . d biol . crystallogr ., 54 : 905 - 921 ( 1998 )]. refinement calculations also can be performed using cns [ adams et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa , 94 : 5018 - 5023 ( 1997 )]. map interpretation and model building also can be performed using o [ jones et al ., acta cryst , a 47 : 110 - 119 ( 1991 )]. other computer programs that can be used to solve crystal structures include : quanta , charmm ; insight ; sybyl ; macromode ; and icm . generally , structure based rational drug design is performed by analyzing the three - dimensional structures of successive protein - ligand complexes . this iterative process requires x - ray quality crystals of numerous protein - ligand complexes . these crystals can be obtained three ways . first , crystals of each protein - ligand complex can be grown de novo . this is the most time - consuming method , and in many instances requires determining a new set of crystallization conditions . the second method is to incubate ( e . g ., soak ) individual crystals of the uncomplexed protein with each different ligand . this method is much faster than growing new crystals , but still requires a relatively large stock of protein to generate all of the new crystals . the third and most expedient method is to incubate a previously formed protein - ligand crystal with a large excess of a substitute ligand , thereby replacing the initial ligand with the substitute ligand in the protein - ligand complex . heretofore , it was difficult to prepare alternative protein - ligand complexes of tace since the two available x - ray quality crystals of tace comprised the unstable , native tace . the present invention overcomes this problem by providing a modified tace catalytic domain that forms x - ray quality crystals that are amenable to ligand exchange . once three - dimensional structures of crystals comprising modified tace catalytic domains are determined , a potential inhibitor of tace can be examined through the use of computer modeling using a docking program such as gram , dock , or autodock [ dunbrack et al ., folding & amp ; design , 2 : 27 - 42 ( 1997 )]. this procedure can include computer fitting of potential inhibitors to the modified tace catalytic domain to ascertain how well the shape and the chemical structure of the potential modulator will interact with the tace protein [ bugg et al ., scientific american , dec . : 92 - 98 ( 1993 ); west et al ., tibs , 16 : 67 - 74 ( 1995 )]. computer programs can also be employed to estimate the attraction , repulsion , and steric hindrance of the modified tace catalytic domain with an inhibitor . generally the tighter the fit , the lower the steric hindrances , and the greater the attractive forces , the more potent the inhibitor , since these properties are consistent with a tighter binding constant . furthermore , the more specificity in the design of a potential drug the more likely that the drug will not interact as well with other proteins . this will minimize potential side - effects due to unwanted interactions with other proteins . initially compounds known to bind tace , for example n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide , or a compound that inhibits tace disclosed by letavic et al ., [ biorgan . & amp ; medic . chem lett . 12 : 1387 - 1390 ( 2002 ) the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties ], or alternatively , a compound that binds metalloproteases as disclosed as by zask et al . [ curr . pharm . des ., 2 : 624 - 661 ( 1996 ), the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties ], can be systematically modified by computer modeling programs until one or more promising potential analogs are identified . such analysis has been shown to be effective in the development of hiv protease inhibitors [ lam et al ., science 263 : 380 - 384 ( 1994 ); wlodawer et al ., ann . rev . biochem . 62 : 543 - 585 ( 1993 ); appelt , perspectives in drug discovery and design 1 : 23 - 48 ( 1993 ); erickson , perspectives in drug discovery and design 1 : 109 - 128 ( 1993 )]. alternatively , a potential inhibitor initially can be obtained by screening a random peptide library or a chemical library . in the former case , a random peptide library can be produced by recombinant bacteriophage , for example , [ scott and smith , science , 249 : 386 - 390 ( 1990 ); cwirla et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci ., 87 : 6378 - 6382 ( 1990 ); devlin et al ., science , 249 : 404 - 406 ( 1990 )]. a peptide selected in this manner would then be systematically modified by computer modeling programs , as described above . if a potential inhibitor is a small organic compound , it can be selected from a library of chemicals , including commercially available chemical libraries . alternatively , the small organic compound may be synthesized de novo . the de novo synthesis of one or even a relatively small group of specific compounds is reasonable in the art of drug design . once obtained , the potential inhibitor can be further tested in a standard binding and / or catalytic assay with tace , the tace catalytic domain , or an active fragment thereof . for example , a binding assay can be performed following the attachment of the tace catalytic domain to a solid support . methods for placing the tace catalytic domain on the solid support are well known in the art and include such things as linking biotin to the tace catalytic domain and linking avidin to the solid support . the solid support can be washed to remove unbound protein . a solution of a labeled potential inhibitor can be contacted with the solid support . the solid support is washed again to remove the potential inhibitor not bound to the support . the amount of labeled potential inhibitor remaining with the solid support , and thereby bound to the tace catalytic domain can be determined . alternatively , or in addition , the dissociation constant between the labeled potential inhibitor and the tace catalytic domain , for example , can be determined . suitable labels for either the tace catalytic domain or the potential inhibitor include , radioactive labels ( e . g ., 14 c , 1 h ,) and fluorescent labels such as fluorescein isothiocyanate ( fitc ). in another embodiment , a biacore machine can be used to determine the binding constant of the tace catalytic domain with a potential inhibitor [ o &# 39 ; shannessy et al . anal . biochem . 212 : 457 - 468 ( 1993 ); schuster et al ., nature 365 : 343 - 347 ( 1993 )]. in another aspect of the present invention a potential inhibitor is tested for its ability to inhibit the proteolytic activity of tace or an active fragment thereof . an inhibitor is then selected on the basis of its ability to inhibit the catalytic reaction of the tace protease . when a promising inhibitor is identified , a crystal comprising a protein - ligand complex of the inhibitor and the modified tace catalytic domain can be prepared by incubating an excess of the inhibitor ( substitute ligand ) with a crystal of a modified tace catalytic domain - ligand complex . the three - dimensional structure of the resulting crystalline protein - substitute ligand complex can then be determined by molecular replacement analysis , for example . molecular replacement involves using a known three - dimensional structure as a search model to determine the structure of a closely related molecule or protein - ligand complex in a different crystalline form . the measured x - ray diffraction properties of the new crystal are compared with the search model structure to compute the position and orientation of the protein in the new crystal . computer programs that can be used include : x - plor ( see above ), cns , ( crystallography and nmr system , a next level of xplor ), and amore [ navaza , acta crystallographics aso , 157 - 163 ( 1994 )]. once the position and orientation are known , an electron density map can be calculated using the search model to provide x - ray phases . thereafter , the electron density is inspected for structural differences and the search model is modified to conform to the new structure . using this approach , it is possible to solve the three - dimensional structures of crystals of any protein - ligand complex of the modified tace catalytic domain . for all of the drug screening assays described herein , further refinements to the structure of the drug will generally be necessary and can be made by the successive iterations of any and / or all of the steps provided by the particular drug screening assay and / or in combination with other such drug screening assays . a candidate drug selected by performing structure based rational drug design can then be assayed in situ and / or in vivo . a candidate drug can be identified as a drug , for example , if it ameliorates a symptom caused by an overabundance of the soluble form of tnf - alpha in an animal model . indeed , methods of testing such potential candidate drugs in animal models are well known in the art . the potential drugs can be administered by a variety of ways including topically , orally , subcutaneously , or intraperitoneally depending on the proposed use . generally , at least two groups of animals are used in the assay , with at least one group being a control group that is administered the administration vehicle without the potential drug . the present invention provides the three - dimensional depiction of the tace catalytic domain in a complex with an inhibitor on an electronic and / or magnetic medium . more specifically , the present invention provides the data comprised in table 3 on an electronic and / or magnetic medium . in addition , the present invention provides a computer that comprises a representation of the tace catalytic domain - inhibitor complex in computer memory that can be used to screen for compounds that will inhibit the proteolytic activity of tace . the computer may comprise portions of , or all of the information contained in table 3 . in a particular embodiment , the computer comprises : ( i ) a machine - readable data storage material encoded with machine - readable data , ( ii ) a working memory for storing instructions for processing the machine readable data , ( iii ) a central processing unit coupled to the working memory and the machine - readable data storage material for processing the machine readable data into a three - dimensional representation , and ( iv ) a display coupled to the central processing unit for displaying the three - dimensional representation . thus the machine - readable data storage medium comprises a data storage material encoded with machine readable data which can comprise portions of , or all of the structural information contained in table 3 . one embodiment for manipulating and displaying the structural data provided by the present invention is schematically depicted in fig1 . as depicted the system 1 , includes a computer 2 comprising a central processing unit (“ cpu ”) 3 , a working memory 4 which may be random - access memory or “ core ” memory , mass storage memory 5 ( e . g ., one or more disk or cd - rom drives ), a display terminal 6 ( e . g ., a cathoderay tube ), one or more keyboards 7 , one or more input lines 10 , and one or more output lines 20 , all of which are interconnected by a conventional bidirectional system bus 30 . input hardware 12 , coupled to the computer 2 by input lines 10 , may be implemented in a variety of ways . machine - readable data may be inputted via the use of one or more modems 14 connected by a telephone line or dedicated data line 16 . alternatively or additionally , the input hardware may comprise cd - rom or disk drives 5 . in conjunction with the display terminal 6 , the keyboard 7 may also be used as an input device . output hardware 22 , coupled to computer 2 by output lines 20 , may similarly be implemented by conventional devices . output hardware 22 may include a display terminal 6 for displaying the three dimensional data . output hardware might also include a printer 24 , so that a hard copy output may be produced , or a disk drive or cdrom 5 , to store system output for later use , [ see also u . s . pat . no . 5 , 978 , 740 , issued nov . 2 , 1999 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties ]. in operation , the cpu 3 ( i ) coordinates the use of the various input and output devices 12 and 22 ; ( ii ) coordinates data accesses from mass storage 5 and accesses to and from working memory 4 ; and ( iii ) determines the sequence of data processing steps . any of a number of programs may be used to process the machine - readable data of this invention . the present invention may be better understood by reference to the following non - limiting example , which is provided as exemplary of the invention . the following example is presented in order to more fully illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention . it should in no way be construed , however , as limiting the broad scope of the invention . the tace protein was cloned and expressed as the pro - protein . the pre and pro domains are cleaved during protein expression and secretion by the cells . only the catalytic domain was purified . two pcr primers were used to amplify the pre - pro - cat domains of tace having bamh1 and gs -( his ) 6 - kpn1 sites at the 5 ′ and 3 ′ ends respectively : seq id no : 10 bamh1f : 5 ′ cgcggatccatgaggcagtctctcctattcctg 3 ′ seq id no : 11 kpn1r : 5 ′ ccggcctaccttagtgatggtgatgatggtgggatc 3 ′ the purified pcr fragment was digested with bamh1 and kpn1 and subcoloned into the pfastbac1 vector provided in the bac - to - bac baculovirus expression system ( invitrogen , carlsbad , calif .). the tace mutants ( v353g , v353s ) were generated using the quickchange kit ( stratagene , la jolla , calif ., usa ) using the native tace pfastbac1 vector as a template and the following complementary mutagenic primers : v353gf : 5 ′ gga act ctt gga tta gct tat gga ggc seq id no : 12 tct ccc aga gca aac 3 ′ v353gr : 5 ′ gtt tgc tct ggg aga gcc tcc ata agc seq id no : 13 taa tcc aag agt tcc 3 ′ v353sf : 5 ′ gga act ctt gga tta gct tat agc ggc seq id no : 14 tct ccc aga gca aac3 ′ v353sr : 5 ′ gtt tgc tct ggg aga gcc gct ata agc seq id no : 15 taa tcc aag agt tcc3 ′ the mutagenesis was performed in two steps as previously described [ wang , and malcolm , biotechniques 26 : 680 - 682 ( 1999 ) the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties ]. in the first stage , two extension reactions were performed in separate tubes ; one containing the forward primer and the other containing the reverse primer . after two cycles , the two reactions were mixed and the standard quickchange mutagenisis procedure was carried out for an additional 18 cycles . following amplification , the parental strand was digested with 1unit of dpn1 for 1 hour and an aliquot was transformed into dh5 - alpha cells . the sequences of all of the vectors were confirmed . ( genewiz , new york , n . y .) production of recombinant baculovirus : recombinant baculovirus was produced using the bac - to - bac expression system ( invitrogen , carlsbad , calif .) following known protocols for the transposition , isolation and transfection of recombinant bacmid dna into sf9 cells for production of viral particles . the virus was amplified to the p2 generation and was titered using the bacpac baculovirus rapid titer kit ( clonetech , palo alto , calif .). expression and purification of tace and tace mutants : logarithmically growing trichoplusia ni cells ( high - 5 tm cells , 2 × 10 6 cells / ml ) were infected with amplified baculovirus at a moi = 1 . 0 ( 2 . 5 × 10 8 pfu / ml ) and grown at 27 degrees celsius for 48 - 60 hours . secreted tace was isolated from the cell culture media after clarification by centrifugation . the pooled supernatants were concentrated 10 fold and the buffer exchanged into 25 mm hepes , 0 . 15m nacl , ph 7 . 5 by diafiltration . to the desalted supernatant , 4 - aminophenyl - mercuric acetate ( apma ) was added to 20 μm , lauryl maltoside to 0 . 05 %, and imidazole to 25 mm . the supernatant was then applied to a ninta column ( qiagen hilden , germany ). the ninta column was washed with 25 mm imidazole in buffer a ( 50 mm hepes , 10 % glycerol , 0 . 3m nacl , 0 . 1 % m - octyl - beta - d - glucopyranoside , ph 7 . 5 ) until a stable baseline was achieved . the protein was then eluted with 250 mm imidazole in buffer a . the eluted protein was diluted to 0 . 1 mg / ml and dialyzed overnight against 25 mm tris ph 7 . 5 , with 20 μm apma to digest excess pro - domain . the protein was collected and adjusted to 0 . 15m nacl , concentrated , and applied to a superdex - 75 gel filtration column ( pharmacia ) equilibrated with 25 mm tris - hcl , 0 . 2m nacl ph 7 . 5 at 4 degrees celsius . fractions corresponding to the monomer of tace were pooled , and stored at 4 degrees celsius . the pooled tace enzyme was concentrated to 15 mg / ml , desalted into 25 mm tris - hcl ph 7 . 5 using bio - spin 6 columns ( bio - rad , hercules , calif .) and immediately complexed with n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide at a 1 : 1 . 5 molar ratio . using this protocol , total expression levels of 5 - 10 mg / l were obtained with a final recovery of 0 . 5 - 5 mg / l . crystallization : crystals were obtained by the hanging drop vapor diffusion method [ ducruix and giege . crystallization of nucleic acids and proteins . a practical approach . oxford university press , ( 1992 )]. a small volume ( 1 to 15 microliters ) containing the n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide [ commercially available from e . g ., calbiochem , san diego calif ., catalogue no . 579052 , ( tapi - 2 )] solution was equilibrated with a larger volume ( 1 ml ) of a reservoir solution . the reservoir solution contains the precipitant that facilitates the crystallization . during equilibration the water content in the hanging drop is reduced and the protein - ligand complex , [ i . e ., the complex between vgtace and n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide ] forms crystals . to crystallize the protein - ligand complex , one microliter of the protein - ligand complex solution was mixed with one microliter of the reservoir solution , which contains 15 % polyethylenglycol 4000 , 10 % 2 - propanol , and 100 mm citrate - buffer ph 5 . 6 . crystals were observed after one week . the crystals obtained were washed with the reservoir solution . in the next step , a single protein - ligand complex crystal was put into the reservoir solution , which contained in addition , a 10 mm tace inhibitor to replace the co - crystallized n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide . the crystal is usually kept for 72 hours in the solution containing the inhibitor to allow the ligand replacement . after incubation , the crystal was frozen in liquid propane and used for x - ray diffraction . two distinct structures of tace : inhibitor complexes have been previously disclosed [ maskos et . al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 95 : 3408 - 3412 ( 1998 ); letavic et al . biorgan . & amp ; medic . chem lett . 12 : 1387 - 1390 ( 2002 )]. however , neither crystal appears to be amenable to crystal soaking . as disclosed herein , it has been unexpectedly discovered that the uncomplexed tace protein ( apo - protein ) is unstable at the high concentrations required to grow and use crystals for x - ray crystallographic studies . consistently , the crystal of maskos et . al . has been found to be resistant to standard inhibitor soaking experiments , severely limiting its value in structure based rational drug design . stability of tace : the stability of tace was examined under several buffer conditions at ph 7 . 5 . twenty microliter aliquots of tace at 15 mg / ml were desalted over p - 6 spin columns ( biorad , hercules , calif .) that had been equilibrated in : ( a ) 25 mm tris , 0 . 15m nacl ; ( b ) 25 mm tris ; or ( c ) 25 mm tris plus n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide . the stability of the tace protein was evaluated after storage at 4 degrees celsius for seven days . after incubating the tace polypeptide under the three conditions listed above , sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis ( sds - page ) was performed . the results show that only a single band having a molecular weight of 30 kd was observed when either high salt ( 0 . 15 sodium chloride ) or an inhibitor [ n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide , at a 1 : 1 . 5 molar ratio enzyme : inhibitor ] was included in the incubation . in direct contrast , two additional fainter bands that ran well ahead of the more significant tace band were observed in the sample lacking either high salt or the inhibitor . the molecular weights of these two additional fainter bands were 14 kd and 16 kd , respectively , which add up to the 30 kd molecular weight of the tace polypeptide . n - terminal sequencing of the peptides corresponding to the two additional bands indicated that they were indeed , proteolytic products of the tace protein . moreover , the sequencing data indicated the presence of a single cleavage site at 352y - v353 of seq id no : 2 . substrate specificity of tace : in an effort to understand the role of the different amino - acid residues of tace regarding substrate specificity , a substitution study was performed at the p ′ 1 position . the catalytic activity of tace was determined in an assay using the synthetic peptide ac - splaqa - vrsssr - nh2 ( seq id no : 17 ) as the substrate . the sequence corresponds to the cleavage site of tace on protnf - alpha , with the sessile bond being between the alanine and the valine . activity was measured by incubating 100 nm tace with 100 micromolar substrate in 25 mm hepes ph 7 . 3 , 5 mm cacl 2 , for 1 hour at room temperature . product formation was quantified at 214 nm after hplc separation using a poros - r1 reverse phase column . substitution of the p ′ 1 valine ( in bold above ) with either alanine , glycine or serine decreased activity of tace to non - detectable levels . based on this data it was decided to substitute the p ′ 1 position of the internal cleave site [ . . . lglay - vgspr . . . ( seq id no : 16 )] with one of these amino acids e . g ., either glycine or serine , in an attempt to eliminate the auto - proteolysis of tace seen in the absence of nacl . stability of tace and tace mutants : to test for stability under different storage conditions , 20 ul of tace protein , at 15 mg / ml , was desalted over bio - rad p - 6 columns equilibrated at ph 7 . 5 in : ( a ) 25 mm tris , 0 . 15m nacl ; ( b ) 25 mm tris + 1 mm n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide ; or ( c ) 25 mm tris . one microliter aliquots were analyzed by sds - page after storing them for 3 hours , or 17 days at 4 degrees celsius . in the absence of salt , the native protein exhibits a pattern consistent with substantial proteolysis occurring after only 3 hours , with the protein being completely proteolyzed after 17 days . in direct contrast , all constructs were stable in either 0 . 15m nacl , or 1 mm n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide . the 2 loop mutants v353g and v353s showed improved stability , with the v353g ( vgtace ) mutant being highly resistant to auto - proteolysis , even after 17 days . crystallization : the tace mutant v353g ( vgtace ) could be crystallized under similar conditions as the native tace [ wo9940182 , published aug . 12 , 1999 , u . s . application no . 09 / 117 , 476 , filed jan . 27 , 1999 , the contents of which are both hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety ]. vgtace was concentrated to 15 mg / ml in 150 mm nacl , 25 mm tris - hcl ph 8 . after desalting the vgtace with bio - rad p - 6 columns , n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide was added to a molecular ratio of 1 : 2 ( enzyme : inhibitor ). the complex was crystallized using the hanging drop vapor diffusion technique . equal amounts of vgtace - inhibitor solution were mixed with the reservoir solution , containing 15 % polyethylenglycol 4000 , 10 % 2 - propanol , 100 mm sodium citrate ph 4 . 6 , and equilibrated at 295 degrees kelvin . crystals were observed after 7 days . crystallographic analysis : vgtace crystals were washed using the reservoir solution . glycerol was then added to the reservoir solution to a final concentration of 15 %, and the crystals were flash frozen in liquid propane . x - ray diffraction data were collected at 100 degrees kelvin , using a rotating anode generator ( rigaku / msc ) or synchrotron sources . diffraction was observed up to 1 . 7 a . the vgtace crystals belong to space group p2 1 2 1 2 1 , ( a = 73 , b = 75 , c = 103 å ). there are two molecules located within the asymmetric unit . soaking with the compounds of table 2 was performed by incubation of the crystals in the reservoir solution in the presence of up to 70 mm of the respective inhibitor . in the v353g mutant crystals , the co - crystallized inhibitor n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide could be replaced during soaking . model building and refinement : the crystal structure of v353g mutant was solved by molecular replacement and refined using standard crystallographic programs . the published tace structure was used as the starting model [ pdb code : 1bkc ; maskos et . al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 95 : 3408 - 3412 ( 1998 )]. replacement of the co - crystallized inhibitor was verified by difference electron density maps . the vgtace : inhibitor structures were refined using x - plor ( cns ). a list of vgtace : inhibitor structures that have been solved is shown in table 2 below . table 3 below , comprises the coordinate set from the crystal structure of tace complexed with n -{ 3 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl )- 1 - oxo -( 2r )- benzylpropyl }- ile - leu - oh . to obtain these coordinates a single co - crystal of tace in complex with n -{ d , l - 2 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl ) methyl - 4 - methylpentanoyl }- l - 3 - amino - 2 - dimethylbutanoyl - l - alanine , 2 -( amino ) ethyl amide was soaked in 10 % polyethylenglycol 8000 , 50 mm sodium citrate , 10 mm [ n -{ 3 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl )- 1 - oxo -( 2r )- benzylpropyl }- ile - leu - oh ] and 10 % dimethylsulphoxide ( dmso ) for three days . the crystal was transferred into a solution with additional 10 % glycerol and flash - frozen in liquid nitrogen . x - ray diffraction data were collected as described above . these data were processed and the structure was refined as described above . the tace monomer includes amino acid residues 6 - 259 of the catalytic domain ( see seq id no : 20 ) and is bound to the inhibitor , n -{ 3 -( hydroxyaminocarbonyl )- 1 - oxo -( 2r )- benzylpropyl }- ile - leu - oh which has the number 260 in table 3 . the catalytic zinc ion has the number 261 . amino acid residues arg 28 , lys 72 , glu 81 , lys 88 , glu 93 , glu 94 , lys 95 , and arg 143 were modeled as ala residues since their side chains were disordered . the tace protein used had the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 20 , i . e ., gly 139 is the single point mutation site replacing val 139 of the tace wild - type amino acid sequence . in the data set below , one line contains information per one atom . the seven columns of table 3 represent respectively : 1 ) residue number , 2 ) one - letter amino acid code , 3 ) atom name , 4 ) x - coordinate , 5 ) y - coordinate , 6 ) z - coordinate , and the present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein . indeed , various modifications of the invention in addition to those described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description . such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims . it is further to be understood that all base sizes or amino acid sizes , and all molecular weight or molecular mass values , given for nucleic acids or polypeptides are approximate , and are provided for description . various publications are cited herein , the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties . | 2 |
a vertical cleaning apparatus according to the present invention potentially reduces clean room costs by achieving a reduced footprint as compared to a horizontal cleaning apparatus . the vertical cleaning apparatus also allows for multiple workpiece cleaning , due to its modular design , and therefore can be configured to clean any number of workpieces . in addition , a vertical apparatus according to the present invention potentially reduces the risk of contamination by reducing the contact area between the workpiece and its cleaning solution , and the clean room environment . the present invention in one embodiment uses a velocity differential between brushes and workpieces to achieve cleaning , while the workpieces are in a vertical position . further , a vertical cleaning apparatus according to the present invention permits a megasonic cleaning process of both sides of a workpiece concurrently with cleaning using brushes and having one or more transducers , thereby eliminating the need for a separate subsequent megasonic cleaning step . an embodiment of a vertical cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is described herebelow , with reference to attached figures . [ 0022 ] fig1 illustrates a dual wafer vertical cleaning apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the invention . this embodiment includes a first cleaning module 12 and a second cleaning module 14 with the potential for additional modules to be added as necessary . the modules function independently of each other , providing the advantage that one may continue to operate if the other were to experience a disabling failure . additionally , due to the functional independence in certain embodiments , each module can operate using a different cleaning protocol as needed . [ 0023 ] fig2 is a schematic cross sectional front view of a dual wafer vertical cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention . the dual wafer cleaner may be divided into two sections by a vertical plane c - c , as shown in the illustration . relative to this plane , we define an “ inner ” component to mean one closer to plane c - c , and “ outer ” to be one further from the plane . thus , the inner brushes are 21 a and 22 a . referring to fig2 and 3 , each module 12 and 14 contains a spaced - apart brush assembly 21 and 22 respectively . workpieces 25 are loaded between brushes 21 a , 21 b , 22 a , 22 b of spaced apart brush assemblies 21 and 22 . first brush assembly 21 has an inner brush 21 a and an outer brush 21 b relative to line c - c , and second brush assembly 22 has an inner brush 22 a and an outer brush 22 b relative to line c - c . the workpieces 25 rest on the rotatable supports 27 . the rotatable supports 27 are each located between and below the irrespective brush assemblies . in this embodiment , the rotatable supports 27 include a set of four rollers ( see fig2 ) but in other embodiments more or less rollers could be used , so long as the workpieces 25 are adequately supported throughout the cleaning process in a vertical orientation . during operation , each brush within its assembly rotates independently of the other . the downforce assembly 23 ( detailed in fig4 ) applies force to the outer brush 21 b and 22 b of each brush assembly . the pressure applied , in combination with the rotation of the brushes of the brush assemblies , imparts a rotational motion onto the workpieces 25 . the workpieces 25 may rotate at a slower rate than the brushes of each brush assembly thereby creating a velocity differential between the workpieces 25 and the brush assemblies which in turn allows the brushes to slide across the workpiece surfaces creating tangential forces that sweep and dislodge debris from the surface of the workpieces 25 . the individual brushes of each set may rotate at the same angular velocity or , alternatively , the brush velocities may differ to obtain a different cleaning format with the velocity of rotation of the brushes independently set in this or other embodiments of the dual wafer vertical cleaning apparatus 10 . further , brushes with different characteristics ( e . g . stiffeners , materials , etc .) may be used with differing angular velocities . in a further refinement , the relative velocity can be changed as desired during the cleaning operation . for example , the relative velocity can be changed during the cleaning operation by causing the brush that was initially rotating faster than the slower brush to reduce its angular velocity and become the brush that is rotating slower . any number of these directional reversal cycles can be used to obtain the desired cleaning profile . in this embodiment ( referring to fig2 and 3 ), workpieces 25 are disposed between the spaced - apart brush assemblies 21 and 22 so that a portion of the each workpiece 25 extends beyond an edge of brushes . preferably , the contact area between the workpieces and the brushes , combined with rotation of the workpieces , are designed so that the entire surface of each workpiece 25 will come into contact with brushes with a workpiece rotating at a velocity relative to the brushes . in other embodiments the brushes may completely cover the workpieces ( e . g ., the spaced - apart brushes may have a greater diameter than the workpiece , for example twice the diameter of the workpiece ). in such an embodiment , the first and second brush assemblies can be rotated with the centers of rotation of the brushes being offset with respect to the center of rotation of the workpieces . as shown in fig2 and 3 , dual wafer vertical cleaning apparatus 10 may include a tank 28 , for each spaced - apart brush assembly 21 and 22 , each tank containing cleaning solution 26 . support members 27 are located in the tanks 28 so that as the brush assemblies 21 , 22 are rotated , a portion of each of the workpieces 25 rotates through the cleaning solution 26 in the respective tank 28 , and then continues on to rotate into contact with the respective brushes . cleaning solution 26 adhering to the surface of the workpieces 25 assists the brushes in cleaning the workpiece surfaces . this embodiment additionally has a drain hole 24 located along the base of each tank 28 to facilitate removal of the cleaning solution 26 . in other embodiments , the spaced - apart brush assemblies may be located or sized so that the brushes are not submerged in the cleaning solution 26 , which may help lengthen the useful life of the brushes . in still a further refinement , dual wafer vertical cleaning apparatus 10 may include a megasonic transducer 29 disposed within each tank 28 . each megasonic transducer 29 is submerged in the cleaning solution 26 contained in each tank 28 . support members 27 are positioned in the each tank 28 so that at least part of each workpiece 25 is submerged in the cleaning solution 26 , as shown in fig2 . activation of megasonic transducers 29 results in the generation of sonic pulses in the cleaning fluid 26 to further clean workpieces 25 . this embodiment allows megasonic cleaning in conjunction with brush cleaning and allows for the placement of the megasonic transducers 29 anywhere in the tank 28 below the fluid surface to facilitate the cleaning process . thus , the addition of megasonic transducers 29 into this dual wafer vertical cleaning apparatus 10 can eliminate a step in a cleaning process ( i . e ., a prior or subsequent separate megasonic step ), and allows for a reduction in footprint of the overall cleaning process ( i . e ., the footprint of a separate megasonic cleaning station ). [ 0030 ] fig4 is an exploded view of a single wafer vertical cleaner module of dual wafer vertical cleaning apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment wafer 25 is loaded between the spaced - apart inner brush 21 a and spaced - apart outer brush 21 b . spaced - apart brushes 21 a and 21 b each have a platen 103 with an attached brush pad 102 . in this embodiment , brush pads 102 are respectively attached to platens 103 such as , for instance , by a mechanical attachment . for example , the brushes may be fitted with an elastic band , which may be stretched to fit over the platen . brush pad 102 may also be affixed to the platen by other mechanical means , fittings , or by chemical adhesives , preferably so that the brush pad 102 may be removed and replaced when worn out . brush pads 102 and 103 are configured in a pancake style configuration with the workpiece supported or sandwiched between the two pads . the pad is not necessarily equipped with bristles , but with a surface adapted for cleaning the workpiece surface . thus , any type of pad suited to the cleaning operation can be implemented and is herein known as a “ brush ,” or “ brush pad ” so long as it meets the requirements of the application . in light of the disclosure , brushes can be implemented by those skilled in the art of cmp tools without undue experimentation , an example of which is produced by syntak division , san jose , calif . as shown in fig4 one or more support rollers 27 are located between and below the spaced - apart brushes 21 a and 21 b to provide support for workpiece 25 during the cleaning process . these supports are preferably rotatable , and are located within the tank 28 so that as the spaced - apart brushes 21 a and 21 b are rotated , a portion of the supported workpiece 25 rotates through a cleaning solution in tank 28 . in this embodiment , as shown in fig4 tank 28 includes a first tank half 28 a , a second tank half 28 b , and a tank cover 28 c . megasonic transducer 29 is disposed within tank 28 . the megasonic transducer 29 provides sonic emissions that are transmitted via the cleaning fluid to the workpiece to provide additional cleaning of the workpiece 25 in concert with brush cleaning provided by the brushes 21 a and 21 b . in one embodiment the transducer &# 39 ; s length is approximately equivalent to the distance between the furthest edges of spaced - apart brushes 21 a and 21 b . alternatively , megasonic transducer 29 can be of a different size , so long as it can be contained inside and below the cleaning solution level in tank 28 . the fluid 26 ( as depicted in fig3 ) in tank 28 enters the tank 28 through fill hole 112 and can be of any suitable cleaning fluid such as , for example , an ammonium hydroxide solution . the embodiment of fig2 and 4 also provides drive mechanisms for each brush of brush assemblies 21 and 22 . the drive mechanisms comprises a motor coupled to a gear box as illustrated by gear / motor assembly 113 and located below each tank 28 . each motor provides drive to the brushes 21 a and 21 b respectively via a shaft , belt and pulley system . this shaft and pulley system includes a motor shaft pulley 110 in communication with the motor and the platen shaft pulley 108 by way of a drive belt 109 . the platen shaft pulley 108 imparts a drive motion onto platen shaft 107 , which in turn drives either the inner spaced - apart brush 21 a or the outer spaced - apart brush 21 b . platen shaft 107 rotates with the platen shaft clamp 120 which applies downforce to the platen shaft 107 , and thus to a workpiece 25 via thrust bearing 124 . thrust bearing 124 is contained in thrust bearing housing 123 . force is supplied by a downforce air cylinder 122 , which is contained in a downforce bracket 121 . in this embodiment cleaning brushes 102 contact the workpiece 25 with a pressure of about 0 . 5 to about 1 . 2 psi , although the pressure can range from about 0 psi to about 6 psi , depending on the cleaning application . in one embodiment , thrust bearing housing 123 is configured to move brush 102 of spaced - apart brush 21 a toward the opposing brush 102 with a downforce of about 1 psi . in a further embodiment of the invention , the pressure can be varied during a workpiece cleaning operation . for example , the pressure can be reduced in conjunction with a reversal of the relative differential rotational direction . in this embodiment , the workpiece is subjected to the cleaning process for about 30 seconds . the duration of the cleaning process may vary from about 20 to about 120 seconds , and in other embodiments it may vary , typically depending on the type of brushes being used , the cleaning fluid , the rotational velocity of the brush assemblies , the workpiece , etc . still further , the rotational velocity and pressure can be optimized for particular brush pads and cleaning applications . for example , these parameters can be controlled and adjusted one or more times during a single cleaning operation , for an optimal cleaning operation . [ 0034 ] fig5 is another embodiment that includes a first cleaning module 12 and a second cleaning module 14 . the cleaning modules are placed in echelon , having the same orientation as compared to previous embodiments , which were in opposition . in a further embodiment detailed in fig6 a controller 61 is used to communicate with the brush assemblies 21 and 22 . the controller 61 would cause the required motors to drive spaced - apart brushes 21 a , 21 b , 22 a , and 22 b of the assemblies to rotate and to contact the workpieces with a desired pressure , thereby causing the workpieces to rotate . the controller 61 could be configured to independently control the speed of each spaced - apart brush within brush assembly 21 or 22 . for example , the controller could cause each individual brush of a brush assembly to rotate in the same or opposite direction and with the same or different angular speed . the controller may also respond to input from sensors placed in the system to monitor ph , pressure , chemical concentration , speed , reflectivity , conductivity , motor current or other inputs as part of a closed loop control system . the controller 61 can be of any suitable type ranging from a manual controller to a controller using a microprocessor . other embodiments may use other types of controllers ( e . g ., sequential state machines or other combinatorial logic circuits ). [ 0036 ] fig7 is a schematic cross sectional side view of a dual wafer vertical cleaning apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment , support rollers 27 support the workpieces 25 with at least one roller from each set of support rollers 27 in mechanical communication with a drive motor . the driven rollers cause the workpieces 25 to rotate through cleaning solution 26 contained within tanks 28 . in conjunction with the cleaning fluid 26 are megasonic transducers 29 located below the fluid level in each tank 28 and applying sonic pulses to assist in the cleaning . the result of this embodiment is brushless cleaning of the workpieces 25 . [ 0037 ] fig7 a illustrates an embodiment of mechanical communication between drive motor 113 and support roller 27 via drive shaft 71 . any number of support rollers can be mechanically driven by this method depending on the requirements of the application . other methods , which would produce acceptable cleaning results , can be used to provide drive to the support roller 27 so long as an acceptable cleaning results can be maintained . although the description above refers to cleaning wafers , other embodiments of the present invention can be adapted for cleaning other types of workpieces . for example , a workpiece may be semiconductor wafer , a bare silicon or other substrate with or without active apparatus or circuitry , a partially processed wafer , a silicon or insulator structure , a hybrid assembly , a flat panel display , a micro electromechanical structure ( mems ), a disk for a hard drive memory , or any other material that would benefit from cleaning or planarization such as mirrors , lenses or dishes . the above specification , examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention . since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended . | 1 |
in accordance with the methods of the invention , the administration of emollients is reduced by at least about 50 %, more preferably at least about 80 %, still more preferably at least about 90 %, even more preferably at least about 95 %, relative to the amount of application of emollients prior to treatment . in a particularly preferred embodiment , the administration of emollients is ceased altogether . as used herein , the term “ emollients ” includes lotions ; creams ; moisturizers ; oils ; ointments ; cocoa butter ; greases ; skin softeners ; soaps , shampoos , sunblocks , cosmetics and other products containing lotions , moisturizers or the like ; products containing “ slip ” ( a binder that allows pigment to slide across the skin ); and any other product that softens the skin or soothes irritation in the skin . the period of time over which the administration of emollients is reduced or ceased is preferably at least about 1 month , more preferably at least about 2 months , still more preferably at least about 3 months , even more preferably at least about 6 months , yet more preferably at least about 1 year . the reduction or cessation of the administration of emollients is preferably continued for as long as possible to minimize the possible recurrence of the atopic disorder . suitable antifungals for use in connection with the invention include griseofulvin ( such as fulvicin , commercially available from schering corporation , kenilworth , n . j . ); ketoconazole ( such as nizoral tables , commercially available from janssen pharmaceutica inc ., titusville , n . j . ); itraconazole ( such as sporanox , commercially available from janssen pharmaceutica inc . ); and fluconazole ( such as diflucan , commercially available from pfizer inc ., new york , n . y .). particularly preferred anti - fungals are fungicidals , such as terbinafine ( sold underthe name lamisil by novartis pharmaceuticals corporation , east hanover , n . j . ), naftifine , butemaifine , and amorolifine . the antifungal is preferably administered over a period of time of at least about 1 month , more preferably at least about2 months , still more preferably at least about3 months . preferablythe antifungal is administered to the patient in a dose ranging from about 10 mg to about 2000 mg per day , more preferably from about 250 mg to about 1000 mg per day . culture and sensitivity of the underlying lesion should determine the antibiotic . suitable antibiotics for use in connection with the present invention include ciprofloxacin ( such as cipro , commercially available from bayer corporation , west haven , conn . ); trovafloxacin mesylate ( such as trovan , commercially available from pfizer inc . ); clavulanate potassium , amoxicillin and combinations thereof ( such as augmentin , commercially available from smithkline beechm pharmaceuticals , philadelphia , pa . ); levofloxacin ( such as levaquin , commercially available from ortho - mcneil pharmaceuticals , raritan , n . j . ); cefuroxime ( such as cefin , commercially available from glaxo wellcome , research triangle park , n . c . ); clarithromycin ( such as biaxin , commercially available from abbott laboratories , north chicago , ill . ); tobramycin ( such as nebcin , commercially available from eli lilly , indianapolis , ind . ); azithromycin ( such as zithromax , commercially available from pfizer , new york , n . y . ); cephalexin ; cefixime ; cefpodoxime proxetil ; flurconazole ; trimethoprim ; and sulfamethaxazole . the antibiotic is preferably administered over a period of time of at least about i month , more preferably at least about 2 months , still more preferably at least about 3 months . if both an antifungal and an antibiotic are administered , the antibiotic is preferably administered over a period of time concurrent , at least in part , with the period of time over which the antifungal is administered . preferably the antibiotic is administered to the patient in a dose ranging from about 10 mg to about 2000 mg per day , more preferably from about 250 mg to about 1000 mg per day . the following examples describe case studies showing the effect of application of an emollient and the reduction thereof on atopic disorders . a male , 33 year old patient recalled his mother putting lotion on his skin every day until the age of ten , at which time he had terrible asthma . his parents separated and he went to live with his father . his father put no lotion on him and over a period of time his asthma disappeared . now in his 30 &# 39 ; s , the patient lives with his girlfriend who insists on putting lotion on his skin at every given opportunity . he now shows mildew on his elbows and knees and states that his sinuses are really “ playing - up .” he is starting to have asthma attacks once again . a male , 30 year old patient related that his mother put lotion on him everyday as a child , and he was continually being taken to the emergency room . at the age of seven or eight , his mother stopped putting lotions on him and at the age of approximately 14 , his asthma had gone away . when he started dating girls at 17 or 18 years of age , he started putting lotion on his skin again , and has had asthma ever since . a female , 38 year old patient indicated that her mother and her aunts all used lotion everyday and all had asthma . she could never remember a time in her life when her mother did not put lotion on her skin , a habit which she took over as she got older . she has four children , three of which she “ lotioned - up ” daily with great vigor . these three children developed asthma . the only time she had a remission at all from her illness was when she was a young teenager and during her third pregnancy , for reasons she did not understand . at the time of first consultation , she required four breathing treatments daily , with one occurring during the night . her peak flows were in the range of 80 . she was never without inhalers . she was attracted by the idea of giving up lotion altogether to save money and see what would happen . this patient did not take any antibiotics or antifungal medication . within weeks , her “ ash ” was falling off her skin and after six weeks , she went into her first remission in 14 years . peak flows went from 80 to 350 . she needed no more breathing treatments and rarely used an inhaler . a male , 30 year old patient had been free of asthma and rhinitis all of his life , when he started putting lotions on his face on a daily basis for months . he developed asthma about one year later . he stopped putting lotion on his face , and his asthma nearly went away . however , he still had his sinusitis . at rest his peak flow was 435 , but after albuterol and beclomethasone inhalers , it was a normal 570 . a female , 26 year old patient told of suffering from severe sinusitis and then asthma for months , yet physical examination showed no signs of tinea corporis . she stated she never put any lotions , etc . anywhere on her skin . when asked why her hair was so closely cropped , she related that she developed terrible psoriasis on her scalp when she switched her hair shampoo 2 years previously . examination showed she really suffered from tinea capitis . eight patients that skin fungal conditions were treated by administration of griseovulvin ( 500 mg , twice a day ) and an appropriate antibiotic chosen by the culture and sensitivity . most patients received an antihistamine for the first ten days to control itch . the patients ceased the use of lotions and other emollients , as well as the use of local and systemic corticosteroids . the results were impressive , as described below . patient a — as shown in fig1 a , patient a had “ dry skin ” syndrome fostered by years of skin care products . fig1 b , shows patient a after 35 days of treatment . although some white fungus can still be observed , the appearance of “ dry skin ” cleared up considerably . patient b — as shown in fig2 a , patient b was covered in fungus , and patient b had a bacterial infection . fig2 b shows patient b one week later , with the fungus having improved dramatically . patient c — patient c had spent almost 24 years visiting dermatologists in an attempt to clear his skin condition , as shown in fig3 a . upon culturing the fungus , we discovered it to be proteus . fig3 b shows patient c after treatment , with the fungus significantly improved . patient d — fig4 a shows the fungus on the back of patient d &# 39 ; s neck . this is believed to be a result of the use of shampoo and other hair products containing moisturizer . the products ran off the back of the patient &# 39 ; s hair and stayed on his neck , creating a fungus growth followed by a bacterial infection . fig4 b shows patient d after seven weeks , with the fungus growth significantly diminished . patient e — prior to treatment , patient e , an african american , was while over almost all of his body . fig5 a shows only patient e &# 39 ; s knee area , although his arms , hands , back , abdomen and neck were also all while . he also had a very severe case of itching , and he was put on 100 mg of diphenhydramine four times a day to help control his itch . fig5 b shows patient e in the sub - patella area after eleven weeks of treatment . the white skin shown in this photograph is actually scar tissue from years of scratching . patient f — patient f had a severe fungal conduction , as shown in fig6 a , and had been treated with lidex for twenty - eight years . after seven weeks of treatment , the fungas was improving and peeling off , as shown in fig6 b . patient g — patient g , shown in fig7 a , had the fungal infection tinea barbae , but had previously only been treated for acne . fig7 b shows patient g after seven weeks , with the fungal infection significantly cleared , although scars still remain . patient h — patient h , shown in fig8 a , had hair follicles that became infected by fungus . after nine weeks of treatment , his skin was dramatically improved , as shown in fig8 b . thirty - two randomly - selected successive asthma patients were treated by administration of griseovulvin ( 500 mg , twice a day ) and ciprofloxacin ( cipro , one double - strength tablet twice a day ). all of the patients ceased use of all lotions and other emollients during treatment . for each patient , peak flow measurements were taken using a peak flow meter , where a higher peak value typically indicates improved breathing . counts were taken of eosinophils , which secrete chemical mediators that can cause bronchoconstriction in asthma . counts were also taken of ige antibodies . the use of an inhaler by each patient was also monitored . patient 1 ( age 44 ) had been on prednisone until 6 weeks before treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 240 270 260 1 14 360 1 19 620 0 peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 450 2 14 600 0 19 620 0 patient 3 ( age 54 ) had been on prednisone for many years prior to treatment and undergone multiple hospitalizations for her asthma . during treatment , her dosage ednisone was slowly decreased . daily dose of prednisone peak ige inhaler use day ( mg ) flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 40 370 6 - 8 13 5 240 5 20 7 . 5 400 3 26 3 . 3 380 2 32 2 . 5 450 1 peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 550 322 214 1 8 630 0 15 650 0 peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 160 3 4 320 2 patient 6 ( age 63 ) had been on prednisone for most of the fifteen years preceding treatment , had previously been in the intensive care unit , and had been hospitalized over sixty times for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 230 912 530 6 21 450 561 764 4 25 530 179 3 32 750 176 3 43 710 2 patient 7 ( age 50 ) had been in the intensive care unit four times for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 340 256 2 7 440 1 14 500 1 peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 455 3 8 540 0 patient 9 ( age 50 ) had been in the intensive care unit four times for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 340 256 65 2 7 440 1 14 500 85 1 peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 349 352 3 8 550 1 patient 11 ( age 42 ) had been in the emergency room three times and the hospital twice for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 480 70 140 3 16 430 0 patient 12 ( age 39 ) had been in the intensive care unit and hospital prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 180 322 169 2 14 460 0 patient 13 ( age 30 ) had been in the emergency room five times for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 250 246 285 2 21 480 0 peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 485 8 30 540 50 580 90 570 110 620 130 635 0 140 620 150 640 170 620 330 650 370 640 0 patient 15 ( age 27 ) had polydermaphytis and nasal and perioral rash with green sputum . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 360 432 31 0 9 480 0 patient 16 ( age 67 ) had forty emergency room visits and ten hospitalizations for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 250 767 750 12 6 370 1 9 320 845 611 1 12 400 1 patient 17 ( age 23 ) has multiple emergency room visits prior to treatment . on day 30 of treatment , patient 11 walked in and announced , “ i am cured .” patient 11 &# 39 ; s age and size matched a mean peak flow of 590 . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 280 477 161 4 30 770 301 98 0 44 750 0 patient 18 ( age 45 ) has been in the intensive care unit three times for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 370 141 3 7 420 1 patient 19 ( age 24 ) had made nearly two hundred emergency room visits for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 280 447 5 8 460 4 patient 20 ( age 25 ) had been in the emergency room twice and the intensive care unit once for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 310 128 108 3 14 500 2 peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 440 341 115 2 7 530 1 14 540 0 patient 22 ( age 38 ) had five emergency room visits for asthma priorto treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 250 246 285 2 27 480 1 patient 23 ( age 23 ) had been in the emergency room twice and the intensive care unit once for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 380 3350 5 3 470 3 6 530 1 patient 24 ( age 36 ) had been hospitalized twice and in the intensive care unit once for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 280 186 501 2 7 500 1 14 620 405 555 0 patient 25 ( age 18 ) had made an emergency room visit for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 450 2 8 660 1 patient 26 ( age 27 ) had made three emergency room visits for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 270 192 220 4 7 430 2 peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 550 4 7 590 282 230 2 14 780 565 202 0 25 760 0 patient 28 ( age 48 ) had made five emergency room visits and been in the intensive care unit three times for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 230 154 1 8 290 0 patient 29 ( age 28 ) had multiple hospitalizations for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 460 2 7 500 1 peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 420 114 18 4 7 550 3 14 550 3 21 560 13 2 patient 31 ( age 21 ) had been in the emergency room nearly fifty times and hospitalized nearly eighty times for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 350 352 104 4 16 610 200 2 patient 32 ( age 21 ) had been in the emergency room five times and hospitalized ten times for asthma prior to treatment . peak ige inhaler use day flow eosinophils antibodies per day 1 380 202 39 4 14 540 0 | 8 |
turning attention now to the drawings , and referring first of all to fig1 and 2 , illustrated generally at 10 in fig1 is pair of foot barrier sheets 10 a , 10 b which , as illustrated in fig1 , have perimetral outlines that possess essentially left - foot and right - foot outlines , respectively . the “ toe ends ” of these sheets are shown pointing upwardly in fig1 . barrier sheet 10 b , which is to be applied to the underside ( sole ) of the right foot of a user , is shown in cross section in fig2 on a scale which is significantly larger than that employed in fig1 . fig2 specifically illustrates that each of these barrier sheets is formed with an underlayer , preferably , of a gossamer - thin , flexible and drapey sheet material , such as the commercially available material sold under the trademark tyvek ® 10 c , the upper surface , or face , 10 c 1 of which , i . e ., the intended foot - attaching adhesion surface , or face , being suitably coated with what is known as a low - tack , repositionable adhesive film 10 d . the adhesive making up film 10 d is preferably very much like the low tack , repositionable adhesive employed on the well - known product made by 3m sold under the trademark post it ®. a preference for gossamer thinness in the basic material of the foot barrier sheet of this invention is important for several reasons . first of all , substantial thinness minimizes the amount of material which is employed in the structure of such a sheet , and thus minimizes manufacturing cost and acceptable sale price . such gossamer thinness also cooperates with the use of the mentioned low - tack , repositionable adhesive , whereby , when a sheet has been applied to the underside of a foot , and then stood upon , the sheet tends to deform quite easily to increase the foot - sole bonding - surface area by deforming readily on the underside of a foot , thereby bringing a larger surface area of the coating adhesive into contact with either the bare bottom of the foot , or a stocking or a sock . another important consideration , of course , is that the specific material chosen for use is one which truly will act as a barrier to pathogenic contamination regarding anything stood upon during use of the sheet . a further important consideration is that , despite its thinness , the basic barrier sheet material must have enough structural strength so as not to come apart , to shred , or to tear during short periods of use . this consideration is probably best met by a material which includes internal reinforcing fibers . the mentioned tyvek ® commercially available product is quite suitable in all of these regards . it is also available in relatively quite thin expanses having a thickness which may preferably lie in the range of about 3 - mils to about 6 - mils . the adhesive coating , such as coating , or film , 10 d , which is applied to the intended upper surface ( adhesion face 10 c 1 ) of a barrier sheet made in accordance with the present invention may be applied in any suitable manner , such as by spraying , by roll - coating , etc . and , as was mentioned earlier herein , this adhesive also preferably lies in the category of adhesives known as re - positionable , low - tack adhesives , such as that which is employed in the earlier - mentioned post it ® product made by 3m . where barrier sheets are made specifically shaped for left - foot and right - foot use , it is , of course , important that the distributed adhesive lie on the appropriate side for left - foot , and right - foot applications . when barrier sheets , like those shown in fig1 and 2 , are ready for use , they are quickly applied , as is generally indicated by arrows 12 in fig3 , to the underside ( the sole ) of a shoe - free foot , by quickly and gently “ slapping ” the sheets into place . initial contact with the foot sole is likely to create only a limited amount of adhesion area contact , and this condition is illustrated quite clearly in fig3 at a and b . when , as illustrated by arrows 17 in fig4 , a user steps down onto a floor surface , such as the airport security - screening floor surface shown at 14 a for floor 14 in fig4 , a surface which , in this figure , is covered with a carpet , such as that shown at 16 , the region of compression between the floor carpet and the underside of a foot causes a natural deformation to occur in the applied barrier sheet , whereby the area of adhesion contact with the foot increases substantially . this condition is shown very clearly in fig4 in the drawings , and is of course promoted by the quality of gossamer thinness preferably present in the foot - applied barrier sheets of the invention . a similar situation of increased adhesion - contact area between an attached barrier sheet and the sole of a foot occurs when what is stepped down upon by a foot is an uncarpeted surface structure . this is true because of compression flattening of the foot sole which takes place under such a circumstance to enlarge the sole / barrier - sheet contact interface . with the barrier sheets of this invention thus adhesion - applied as just discussed , the wearer walks through the security screening area with that wearer &# 39 ; s feet essentially completely protected against pathogen through - contamination from the floor . when the wearer regains possession of removed shoes , the barrier sheets are quickly , easily and carefully ( in order to avoid contact with any contaminant ) peeled away in favor of putting one &# 39 ; s shoes back on , and the used barrier sheets are then preferably thrown away . whether not a user elects to keep these sheets for possible future use is purely a matter of user choice , though it should be understood that they are intended to be treated as single - use , discardable products , inasmuch as , once used , they may well have picked up an unwanted contaminant . in fig5 and 6 , two modified forms of barrier sheets are shown generally at 18 , 20 , respectively . the two sheets shown at 18 in fig5 have an elongate , ovate shape , whereas the different sheets shown at 20 in fig6 have an elongate , rectangular shape . what will be noticed immediately about the invention modifications shown in fig5 and 6 is that the sheets shown here do not possess a left - foot / right - foot characteristic , and this means that only a single sheet shape is required . additionally , the rectangular sheets shown at 20 in fig6 , because of their rectangularity , probably make the most economic use of the basic bulk sheet material from which these sheets are preferably made . in other words , if a foot barrier sheet is to be cut from a starting sheet of bulk material , the sheet illustrated in fig6 can be produced leaving little or no waste material . there are many ways in which foot barrier sheets made in accordance with this invention may be sold or vended to a user , and fig7 ( below discussed ) illustrates , very simply and schematically , one of such ways . these sheets may preferably be made purchasable directly within airports , and even at locations therein which are immediately adjacent where passenger security screening takes place . in fig7 , a coin - operated , or credit - card - operated , vending machine is shown generally at 22 , with this machine being provided with a suitable and conventional payment - input structure pictured generally at 22 a . in the dispensing approach illustrated in this figure , individual , or side - by - side pairs of , foot barrier sheets are dispensed through a machine opening 22 b from a vending coil 24 which is elongate , and which includes a large plurality of vendible sheets . thus , the present invention provides a very simple , unique , and elegant anti - contamination , anti - pathogen , foot barrier sheet , ( a ) suitable for convenient and very effective throw - away use , ( b ) structured of a material which can quickly and easily be adhered ( for later simple removal ) to the underside of a foot , and ( c ) capable of providing positive anti - contamination barriering as described earlier herein . these sheets may be made of relatively inexpensive material which is lightweight enough to have the quality of gossamer thinness for the reasons stated above . the specific sheet material employed preferably not only will function well as a anti - contamination barrier for the underside of a foot , but it will also be sufficiently strong , as by possessing internal reinforcing fibers , so that is will “ hang together ” during the expected very brief periods of underfoot wearing use . accordingly , while a preferred embodiment , and certain of modifications , of the present invention have been described herein , it is appreciated that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . | 0 |
a gas bag 10 is part of a restraint system and is accommodated in the steering wheel , or in the instrument panel and dashboard 12 , respectively . the steering wheel is shown schematically and designated by “ l ” in fig1 . a small or large vehicle occupant 14 and 14 ′, respectively , sits on a vehicle seat 16 and in the case of restraint is in contact with the unfolded gas bag 10 which is embodied here as a front gas bag . inside this gas bag 10 , limiting straps 18 are provided , which are fastened at one end of a bowden cable 20 , the other end of which is coupled with the vehicle seat 16 . the limiting straps 18 are fastened in particular to the section of the gas bag inner wall 22 with which the occupant 14 , 14 ′ comes into contact . advantageously the bowden cable runs from the seat towards the instrument panel or dashboard 12 and behind the latter upwards to the gas bag arrangement accommodated in the instrument panel 12 or in the steering wheel . in the case of restraint , through the unfolding of the gas bag 10 an opening is created in the instrument panel 12 or in the steering wheel , so that a direct linear connection exists between the bowden cable 20 and the limiting straps 18 . the limiting straps 18 together with the bowden cable 20 form a gas bag delimiting device which variably delimits the maximum unfolding distance of the gas bag towards the occupant as a function of the seat position , or , as is subsequently further explained , in addition as a function of the position of the upper body of the occupant . the maximum unfolding distance of the gas bag is designated by s max in fig1 . a vehicle occupant 14 with small body size normally sets the distance of the vehicle seat 16 to the steering wheel 12 ( pos . 1 ) smaller than a large vehicle occupant 14 ′ ( pos . 2 ). the difference in the distance of the seat position is designated by d . as a function of how far the seat 16 is pushed forward or backward , the limiting straps 18 are also pushed by the bowden cable 20 , coupled with the seat 16 , to a greater or lesser extent into the steering wheel or the instrument panel 12 . as the limiting straps 18 delimit the maximum unfolding distance of the gas bag towards the occupant , via the bowden cable the length of the section of the limiting straps 18 situated in the gas bag 10 is altered and coordinated with the seat position . in the case of a small vehicle occupant 14 , who pushes his seat 16 further forward , the length of the limiting strap section inside the gas bag is very short . the unfolding distance of the gas bag and the gas bag depth thereby also become less , and - the gas bag can not strike onto the occupant at high speed . the gas bag also has a slightly smaller volume than in the case of the large occupant 14 ′. with the small occupant 14 , the gas bag is illustrated by continuous lines in fig1 . if a large vehicle occupant 14 ′ pushes the seat 16 into the rear position 2 , through the bowden cable the limiting strap section is automatically extended inside the gas bag 10 , so that the gas bag 10 can unfold to a different geometry ( shown in dotted lines ) with a different gas bag depth than with a small vehicle occupant 14 . the gas bag thus also guarantees to the large occupant an optimum restraining effect . an electronic coupling is also conceivable between the position of the vehicle seat 16 and the limiting strap position , the seat position being detected by a sensor 22 and a mechanism 24 for example in the form of a step motor drive 24 arranged for example behind the instrument panel and controlling the position or the length of the limiting straps 18 by winding up or unwinding the limiting straps . the sensor 22 and the drive 24 are electrically coupled via wires 26 and a control unit 28 . it is likewise conceivable to detect the position of the vehicle occupant 14 , 14 ′ directly , independently of the position of the vehicle seat 16 , by means of sensors ( not . illustrated ) arranged inside the vehicle , and to adapt the position or the length of the limiting strap 18 , for example with each alteration , electronically to the respective distance of the vehicle occupant 14 , 14 ′ from the gas bag arrangement . this is advantageous for example in order to avoid injuries by the gas bag , when a vehicle occupant 14 , 14 ′ bends forward , in order for example to reach the radio or the glove compartment and in this situation an accident triggers the unfolding of the gas bag 10 . the seat adjustment in this case determines the coarse adjustment and the occupant position determines the fine adjustment of the belt delimiting device . | 1 |
an apparatus 100 comprising a first embodiment of the invention is shown in fig1 . the apparatus 100 is a universal adaptor for electric wall sockets . the apparatus 100 includes a case 102 . the case 102 has a detent button 104 along one side . the front of the case 102 defines a generally circular shaped socket 106 . the edge of the socket 106 has a first and a second notch , 110 and 112 respectively . the first notch 110 is shaped as a half circle . the second notch 112 is shaped as a rectangle . the inner portion of the side of the socket 106 has a first and second groove , 114 and 116 respectively . only the second groove 116 is visible in fig1 . the first groove 114 extends along the side of the socket 106 from the first notch 110 . the second groove 116 extends along the side of the socket 106 from the second notch 112 . a latch 118 is located in the second groove 116 . a circular array of three electrical contacts 120 is arranged in the socket 106 . the contacts 120 are equidistant from the inside edge of the socket 106 and extend out from the bottom 122 of the socket 106 . [ 0025 ] fig2 is a front view of an adaptor plug 130 . the adaptor plug 130 has an adaptor body 132 configured to mate with the socket 106 . the adaptor body 132 has a first and a second protrusion , 134 and 136 respectively . the first protrusion 134 is has the shape of a flat half circle and is configured to engage with the first notch 110 . the second protrusion 136 has the shape of a flat rectangle and is configured to engage the second notch 112 . both the first and second protrusions , 134 and 136 , are configured to slidably engage the first and the second groove , 114 and 116 , respectively . further , the first and second protrusions , 134 and 136 , are configured so that they cannot engage the first and second notches , 110 and 112 , in any reverse order . for example , the first protrusion 134 cannot fit into the second notch 112 . alternate embodiments include multiple notches that respectively mate with multiple protrusions . the adaptor plug 130 includes three wall socket prongs 138 . the three plugs 138 extend out from the front the adaptor body 132 . [ 0026 ] fig3 is a rear view of the adaptor plug 130 shown in fig2 . the adaptor plug 130 has three receiving slots 139 in the rear of the adaptor body 132 . the receiving slots 139 are each configured to slidably receive a corresponding one of the three electrical contacts 120 . [ 0027 ] fig4 through 6 show perspective views of exemplary adaptor plugs that are interchangeable and can be engaged with the socket 106 . specifically , fig4 shows a perspective view of the adaptor plug 130 shown in fig2 and 3 . the adaptor plug 130 has three wall socket prongs 138 for use in united kingdom style wall sockets found in the united kingdom and the like . it is also for use with wall sockets configured to receive type d plugs . [ 0028 ] fig5 shows an adaptor plug 150 . the adaptor plug 150 has prongs 152 for use in north american style wall sockets found in north america and the like . it is also for use with wall sockets configured to receive type n plugs . the adaptor plug 150 also has a grounding post 154 . fig6 shows an adaptor plug 160 . the adaptor plug 160 has prongs 162 for use in european style wall sockets found in europe and the like . it is also for use with wall sockets configured to receive type b plugs . adaptor plugs of fig5 and 6 have many parts that are substantially the same as corresponding parts of the adaptor plug 130 shown in fig2 through 3 . however , the adaptor plugs of fig5 and 6 differ from the adaptor plug 130 in that they are configured to mate with wall sockets having different configurations than the united kingdom style wall sockets found in the united kingdom and the like . [ 0029 ] fig7 shows a side view of the adaptor plug 130 shown in fig2 . fig8 shows a view of the adaptor plug 130 shown in fig7 along the line a - a . the receiving slots 139 are visible in the cutaway view shown in fig8 . a corresponding electrical contact 180 is disposed over each end of one of the receiving slots 139 . each of the three electrical contacts 180 are configured to make an electrical connection with a corresponding one of the three electrical contacts 120 when the adaptor plug 130 is fully engaged in the socket 106 . each electrical contact 120 is in electrical communication with a corresponding one of the three wall socket prongs 138 . [ 0030 ] fig9 shows the apparatus 100 assembled with the adaptor plug 130 . the adaptor plug 130 engages the apparatus 100 as shown . a side view of the apparatus 100 assembled with the adaptor plug 130 engaged in the socket 106 is shown in fig1 . fig1 shows a cutaway view of the apparatus 100 of fig1 along the line b - b . the detent button 104 is on the side of the case 102 and couples with the lever 182 . the lever 182 is configured to pivot around a pivot structure 184 . the lever 182 has a catch 186 that is configured to engage the adaptor body 132 . a linear spring 188 biases the lever 182 against the detent button 104 . fig1 also shows the fasteners 190 that are configured to attach the front and back portions of the case 102 together . an electrical outlet 192 is located at the bottom of the case 102 . during use , one of the adaptor plugs of the present invention , for example the adaptor plug 130 , is oriented with the socket 106 . the first protrusion 134 , which has the shape of a flat half circle , is oriented with the first notch 110 . the second protrusion 136 , which has the shape of a flat rectangle , is oriented with the second notch 112 . the adaptor plug 130 is then inserted into the socket 106 until it is seated at the bottom 122 of the socket 106 . the electrical contacts 120 , which extend out from the bottom 122 of the socket 106 , protrude through the receiving slots 139 . the adaptor plug 130 is then turned approximately one quarter of its circumference . the turning slides the first and the second protrusions , 134 and 136 , along the first and the second grooves , 114 and 116 , respectively . the lever 182 engages the adaptor body 132 when the first and the second protrusions , 134 and 136 , are moved to the end of the first and the second grooves , 114 and 116 , thereby releasably locking the adaptor plug 130 into place in the socket 106 . [ 0033 ] fig1 shows an electrical block diagram 300 of the apparatus 100 . a fuse 302 is situated between , and is in electrical communication with , an input voltage source 304 and an electrical filter 306 . a rectifier 310 couples the electrical filter 306 to a direct current ( dc ) transformer 312 . the dc transformer 312 couples a top switch feedback - loop 316 and an output - rectified filter 318 . the output - rectified filter 318 couples to a dc - dc converter 320 which , in turn , couples to an output filter 322 . the outlet filter 322 couples with an output 324 . a voltage and current feedback controller 326 couples to the dc - dc converter 320 . during operation , an alternating electrical current ( ac ) is supplied to the apparatus 100 from the input source 304 . generally , this is achieved by plugging the assembled apparatus 100 into a wall socket . the fuse 302 protects the apparatus 100 from electrical surges from the input source 304 . the filter 306 cleans the input electrical signal . the rectifier 310 converts the ac current signal to a substantially dc current signal having a low current dc signal to a low voltage and capable of delivering a high current dc signal . the top switch feedback - loop 316 maintains the dc voltage output from the transformer 312 within a constant range of voltage . the output - rectified filter 318 separates any noise from the low voltage , high current dc signal that may have been generated by the dc transformer 312 . the dc - dc converter 320 converts the low voltage , high current dc signal to a lower voltage signal . this lower voltage signal is passed through the output filter 322 . the output filter 322 filters noise from the lower voltage signal and passes the lower voltage signal to the output 324 . the voltage and current feedback controller 326 maintains a constant current and regulates the output voltage . the electrical output from the apparatus 100 is used to recharge batteries or provide power in real time to an electronic device . examples of such electronic devices include cellular phones , digital wireless phones , 1 - way pagers , 1½ - way pagers , 2 - way pagers , electronic mail appliances , internet appliances , personal digital assistants ( pda ), laptop computers , and portable digital audio players . an apparatus 500 comprising a second embodiment of the invention is shown in fig1 . the apparatus 500 has many parts that are substantially the same as corresponding parts of the apparatus 100 described above . this is indicated by the use of the same reference numbers for such corresponding parts in fig1 and fig1 . however , the apparatus 500 has a detent button 502 , similar to the detent button 104 , but located on the front face of the case 102 . the location of the detent button 502 on the front face of the case 102 result in the detent button 502 not being accessible while the apparatus 500 is electrically connected with a wall socket , ( i . e ., plugged into the wall socket ). [ 0037 ] fig1 is a cutaway view of the apparatus 500 of fig1 along the line c - c . an electrical plug outlet 510 is located at the bottom of the case 102 . the outlet 502 is configured to communicate with a cable , not shown . in turn , the cable allows the apparatus 500 to communicate with a handheld device , thus providing the device with a supply of power . as will be appreciated , the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several embodiments are capable of modifications in various respects , all without departing from the invention . accordingly , the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , for simplifying the task of laying out a number of complex business applications into coherent focus areas , a context - based application design concept is enabled by offering pre - defined contextual floor plans for most common types of work context . a contextual floor plan 1 includes of a left hand contextual panel 2 that provides consistent navigation and access to contextual actions and views , and a right hand container or content area 3 for launching such views and actions in - place . the floor plan 1 provides a consistent interaction paradigm for many fundamental context types that are typically found in a business application . in particular , the right hand container 3 is arranged to provide a user interface ( ui ) to a number of context archetypes that reflect the most common work contexts . some of them are activity oriented and others are work instance oriented . in particular , these archetypes can be categorized as follows : activity - centric contexts . this context is driven by a role , topic , task , or event that triggered this activity . depending on the specific type , certain actions and resources are meaningful to this context and can be pre - configured as a context template . activity - centric contexts usually have typical views like work lists , work status dashboards , resources , participants , and so forth . object - centric contexts . this context is determined by an object instance and includes related object operations as well as views on all facets on the object . different job roles may be interested in different facets of the same object type . process - centric contexts . this context is a workflow instance . most actions are executed as predefined process steps . because of the nature of workflow , selected steps may be owned by different users . in work instance oriented contexts , a number of views or perspectives is presented , showing various aspects of a particular business situation , in particular , a particular object instance related to the situation or a particular process instance related to the situation . views are not transactional . they do not need any “ close ”, “ cancel ”, or “ done ” buttons . however , they may include functions within their ui that launch transactional actions . views always stay within the same context . the user experience is not navigation , but rather , changing the perspective . within a single context , a user can switch to different views for different purposes of assessing the context as is fully described below . in contrast , in activity - oriented work contexts , a user role is central of a specific user who has to perform certain activities in a certain work context . in addition , certain activities , while not directly related to a specific role in the organization , can be centralized around a specific business situation that arises , such as exception handling or other incidental tasks that may have to be performed in a business . rather than being assigned to certain job roles of users in a business and the bundle of tasks related to the job roles , these contexts can model an ad - hoc activity space that is focused on a specific business problem or a specific task . in browsing such a context , the context panel 2 lists actions that are relevant for the current work context . in contrast to views , actions are transactional and may even point to another related work context . whenever possible , actions should be launched “ in - place ” in the right hand container as described below . for example , a product manager may work in the context of one particular product or one particular product concept . inspecting one particular product can be considered as an object - centric work focus . however , the development of a new product concept is driven by a well defined process that models best practices and has stages and gates . the dominant focus in this case is on the process . in addition , the product manager is responsible for monitoring sales performance and is therefore from time to time doing market analysis . this is a work context that is driven by a role responsibility and is not focusing on a particular object or process instance . it is , therefore , a general activity centric context . in fig2 an object instance view 4 is shown that provides a view on one specific object instance . in this view , different facets of the business object are presented . in addition , possible actions that are listed are actions related to this object . the object instance view 4 , as a contextual view , can be activated from either an overview screen ( not shown ) presenting various selectable context views or through an object lookup action wherein certain object characteristics are input for looking up the object . in an object instance view , the focus lies on a concrete instance , the user operates on one particular instance of a business object . in the object - centered mode — the object instance view , the user may choose between different views ( perspectives ) on a concrete instance of a business object including a “ fact sheet ”- like overview 5 and detailed views of different facets of the object . all functionality to manipulate and act on the object is provided . according to the contextual views user interface layout , the object action pattern &# 39 ; s layout features a contextual panel 2 ( cp ) with an area for the instance identifier 6 , global instance - related and action - related contextual ( secondary ) actions 7 , as well as a content area 3 , which displays the object &# 39 ; s facets , or actions as chosen from the contextual panel or from within a preceding action screen . in particular , in fig2 a fact sheet view of an object action pattern is shown . in the object instance view , different perspectives on the object can be presented : a class name view displays the master data of this object type . if required those data may be grouped into several tabs . a summary view displays a snapshot of this object with the most essential data . this is analogous to a fact sheet or the overview page . it should inform the user about the basic facts and state of the object . a status view provides status indicators as well analytics about this object . a facet view provides specific perspectives on the object that represent a type of sub - activity . when users switch to a facet they also focus on managing a specific sub - aspect of the object . which of these views are appropriate to include into the object instance view depends on the characteristics of the particular object type . in addition to the fact sheet view , a main data view provides access to the main data of an object . if the amount of data does not fit on one screen , those data can be grouped by topic or any other intuitive category and displayed on tabs . while the fact sheet is for quick inspection and not for editing , this view is a read and write view to maintain the main data of the object instance — typically the master data . object - specific perspective views can be presented as “ facet views ”. for complex objects , such additional views may be implemented , each representing a facet of the object . for example , foreign key relationships to other objects are candidates to let users manage such related data within a separate view . for example , all orders related to a supplier , or all attachments related to a product concept would be candidates for facets . such additional views are justified if the views represent a primary facet of the object with related actions . in other words , the facet becomes a sub - activity area for one particular aspect of the object . a facet of an object - centric view could be other documents related to the primary object . these other documents are shown in the content area , when clicking on the corresponding view . in addition , occasional tasks should be implemented as “ you can ” actions . referring to fig3 , a process instance view 8 enables an overview on the process in form of phases and steps , and several status views on the process instance . in this view a series of predetermined process steps ( also referred to as guided procedures ) are used for managing collaborative procedures that are defined in form of workflow model and context information . in particular , in this view , the contextual panel 2 contains an instance identifier 6 , a views area 9 , and a guided procedure step tree 10 . the content area 3 features top to bottom the following elements : the phase indicator 11 and the status bar 12 as well as the area 13 containing the action , which takes up most of the screen real estate . in this guided procedures view different perspectives are presented on the process or its objects : the “ phases and steps ” process view 14 shows each step for the current phase ; when selected , the corresponding action is shown in the content area . this view supports the user in working through the steps of the process . the overview 15 shows all phases with all their steps , the current status , and the owner of the step on one page . the overview gives at - a - glance information about the status of the procedure and its objects . the contributors 16 view shows all contributors involved in the procedure , which parts of the process they are involved in , and what their contributions are . collaboration features in this view allow users to get in touch quickly with other contributors , push information to them , or replace them with someone else if need be . the deliverables 17 view lists all output of each step that has been completed so far . this view is particularly beneficial for processes that orient themselves around deliverables tracking rather than a timeline or sequence of steps to complete . additionally , a timeline view ( not shown ) may show the procedure along a timeline , making due dates and time frames more prominent . this view is particularly beneficial when milestones and deadlines are the focus . besides the standard overview of “ phase and steps ” 14 that is guiding the user though the process , additional standard views can be provided for tracking the progress , for collaborating among all contributors , and for managing the proves by deliverables . for example , the deliverables view 17 provides functions to track and manage deliverables that are associated with a process instance . the view lists the status , and the responsible user . the view also supports related tasks like task assignment and document check in and versioning control . in addition , the contributors view 16 opens a list of all the people participating in a given process instance . it offers related ad - hoc collaboration tools to coordinate and communicate with all participants . a process owner can assign tasks to selected users as well as add and remove contributors and assess a single person &# 39 ; s contribution to the overall process . fig4 illustrates an example of a contextual view with an activity centric context , wherein the screen is illustrated as a template having generic controls . when instantiated , these controls are “ filled ” with relevant data from an activity context . these views are referenced as work centers since these are activity - centric places that provide all services necessary to accomplish a set of coherent actions belonging to one of the user &# 39 ; s roles . like switching rooms in a house , each work center 18 serves a different role by providing all relevant views for tracking , analyzing , and monitoring work . the left - hand pane of the work center 18 is as each contextual view provided by a contextual panel 2 and contains standard tools and functions for controlling the interface and accessing work objects . in addition , the right pane 3 provides a place to do the action selected on the left . like work centers , ad - hoc activity centers are activity - centric places that bundle functions required to accomplish a business goal . but in contrast to work centers , it does not reflect a bundle of tasks related to job roles , but rather models an ad - hoc activity space that is focused on a specific business problem or a specific task . activity centers are instances of complex tasks that require a persistent activity space to accomplish the task . examples of ad - hoc activity centers are problem resolutions spaces that require some long running processes for diagnostic purposes and that resolution strategies that are not just a one click actions but a process in its own . for example , let &# 39 ; s assume that a person is monitoring invalid invoices and receives an exception notification in his or her inbox . when opening the notification message , an ad - hoc activity center is launched that offers within its contextual panel 2 various options to inspect and resolve the problem . from the interaction design point of view , work centers and activity centers are almost identical except that activity centers include options and actions that may close the entire activity center or change the status of it . depending on the complexity of a task , exception , or work item , it may or may not be appropriate to model the resolution as an activity center . it may also be adequate to design a quick action that just lets the user choose between a limited set of option or asks the user to enter new data in order to solve a problem . for example , a simple approval request only requires a simple one - screen interactive message and not a complex activity center . in the context of activities whether ad - hoc or relating to a work center , most views are providing work support like work trigger management : parsing business related work items , exceptions , requests , tasks and react to them in an appropriate way status tracking : monitoring important business activities , pending ad - hoc processes , tasks in work by means of textual or graphical status displays . time management : getting a consolidated overview about any time - related business event in order to schedule and plan activities . activity management : accessing and overseeing standard work contexts ( work centers deployed as work sets ) and personal work contexts ( ad - hoc activity centers instantiated by users ) service gallery : accessing self - services , procedures , or reports from a single place . as described above , single actions are launched in - place wherever possible . the idea is that once users launched a new work context , they continue to work within this context without leaving this context . this user experience is achieved by keeping the contextual panel 2 constant and launching the activities in - place in the right hand service container . within the contextual navigation concept , such actions should run in - place next to the contextual panel 2 as long as they are not sovereign applications that need full screen real - estate . the idea is that actions can be re - used as task building blocks in any context . the action framework handles the actual interaction with a single service or software application . its design depends very much on the specific content of the application , but the action framework standardizes the basic appearance and details of actions . a simple action . this is a one - screen service that is focused on one work intent . it features standard title elements that describes this action &# 39 ; s intent in form of a verb - noun phrase . the action &# 39 ; s intent should be explained in a one sentence phrase below the title . a guided action . the “ guided action ” action floor plan is a framework for navigating through a sequence of screens . guided actions either sequentialize user interface interaction into smaller chunks , or concatenate several stand - alone actions into a composite action . referring to fig5 , a number of appearances are illustrated for the contextual panel . these panels have a consistent structure , with defined elements that repeat across the different context types . but depending on the context archetype , the information architecture of the contextual panel 2 is slightly different . in particular , ( a ) shows a contextual panel for an activity center , ( b ) shows a contextual panel for an object instance view and ( c ) shows a contextual panel for a process instance view . in all cases , the contextual panel provides view switches to select different facets of the current work context . they are a toolset to divide complex function into several intuitive chunks . the switches navigate between different views of the same context . each view , when activated , may replace subordinate content in the context panel , the related actions for example . although the same generic control and layout is used , the exact semantics vary depending on the type of work context . as described with reference to fig4 in conjunction with ( a ) in fig5 , the activity - centric views represent generic perspectives on work and are focused on one particular work role of a user using the user interface . they also may represent secondary activity centers that require their own set of actions . as described with reference to fig2 in conjunction with ( b ) in fig5 , object - centric views provide different views on a given object . they entirely depend on the type of object and reflect natural perspectives on that object . each perspective may come with its own set of actions and by that represents a little activity center with focus on one concrete object instance . as described with reference to fig3 in conjunction with ( c ) in fig5 , process instance views provide are generic process tracking and execution views provided by the guided procedure framework . those views can be extended by tailored views depending on the semantics of the procedure . embodiments of the invention can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry , or in computer hardware , firmware , software , or in combinations of them . embodiments of the invention can be implemented as a computer program product , i . e ., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier , e . g ., in a machine readable storage device or in a propagated signal , for execution by , or to control the operation of , data processing apparatus , e . g ., a programmable processor , a computer , or multiple computers . a computer program can be written in any form of programming language , including compiled or interpreted languages , and it can be deployed in any form , including as a stand alone program or as a module , component , subroutine , or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment . a computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network . method steps of embodiments of the invention can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program to perform functions of the invention by operating on input data and generating output . method steps can also be performed by , and apparatus of the invention can be implemented as , special purpose logic circuitry , e . g ., an fpga ( field programmable gate array ) or an asic ( application specific integrated circuit ). processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include , by way of example , both general and special purpose microprocessors , and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer . generally , a processor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory or a random access memory or both . the essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data . generally , a computer will also include , or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to , or both , one or more mass storage devices for storing data , e . g ., magnetic , magneto optical disks , or optical disks . information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non volatile memory , including by way of example semiconductor memory devices , e . g ., eprom , eeprom , and flash memory devices ; magnetic disks , e . g ., internal hard disks or removable disks ; magneto optical disks ; and cd rom and dvd - rom disks . the processor and the memory can be supplemented by , or incorporated in special purpose logic circuitry . it is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention , which is defined by the scope of the appended claims . other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . | 6 |
a “ single - element ” light bulb , for the purposes of this document , refers to one which is capable of a single level of illumination when energized . any type of medium - base light bulb could be used . however , a need exists to utilize compact fluorescent lamps ( cfls ) and led bulbs . a three - way lamp holder / switch is often found in many table and floor lamps . when combined with what is typically an incandescent three - way light bulb , three levels of illumination are produced by the lamp . the standard three - way lamp holder has four switch positions : off , low , medium , and high . by utilizing the outside of the light bulb &# 39 ; s screw - in base as a common electrical ground , with two concentric electrical contacts ( called , respectively , tip and ring ) on the bulb &# 39 ; s male base , the three - way lamp holder enables independent or simultaneous activation of the two separate filaments within the incandescent bulb . a commonly used three - way incandescent bulb is rated at 50 - 100 - 150 watts of electrical consumption and proportional illumination . with the increasing costs of excessive electrical power consumption , more attention is being paid to the benefits of replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy - efficient ones . the major advantage of the compact fluorescent bulb over its incandescent equivalent is that it typically uses approximately 25 % of the electricity consumed by the incandescent bulb for the same amount of light output . it is possible , if not always easy , to find three - way compact fluorescent light bulbs . anecdotal evidence suggests that there may be technical issues with the current generation of these bulbs , which would account for the difficulty sometimes encountered with finding them . the high cost of these bulbs may also tend to depress demand , and their subsequent availability . when a “ single - element ” compact fluorescent or incandescent type of light bulb is used in a three - way lamp holder / switch , the sequence of illumination when rotating the switch &# 39 ; s activating knob is “ off - off - on - on ,” which can be annoying to a consumer . this invention modifies that sequence to the more conventional “ off - on - off - on ”. referring to fig1 , the underside of an adapter 45 according to the principles of the present invention is shown ; having a tip 20 connector made of a non - conductive material , a conductive a ring connector 40 , and the common connector 50 . in one embodiment , and referring to fig2 , the adapter 45 is shown in side view , comprising a lower end with a modified three - way bulb base 42 having a tip 20 , ring 40 and common 50 connection , and a one - way bulb socket 65 having an interior 60 into which a one - way bulb ( not shown ) may be inserted . referring to fig3 , a top - down view of the adapter 45 is shown , revealing the interior 60 showing a single tip 70 connection and a common connection 52 . the ring connection is absent . as may be seen in fig4 , a single - element one - way bulb 80 may be inserted into the adapter 45 . fig5 reveals how the adaptation is accomplished . fig5 shows an electrical schematic diagram of how the internal connections of the adapter are made . of first note is that there is no electrical connection made to the tip 20 . the ring 40 on the bulb base 42 is connected electrically to the tip connection 70 of the bulb socket 65 . the common connection 50 of the base 42 is electrically connected to the common connection 53 of the socket 65 . thus , the tip of a bulb 80 inserted into the socket 65 will be powered whenever the ring 40 of the base 42 is powered . since there is no connection between the bulb 80 whatever to the tip 20 , power applied to the tip 20 will have no effect on bulb illumination . the ring 40 of the base 42 is powered on low and high positions of the lamp switch ( not shown ) thus powering the tip 185 of a bulb 80 giving the desired off - on - off - on illumination sequence . in a simpler embodiment , referring to fig6 , a side view of a button adapter 150 is shown . the adapter 150 is of a circumference designed to fit snugly into a standard three - way lamp socket . it has a body 190 made of a non - conductive stiff insulating material , such as high - temperature plastic or cardboard . as shown in fig7 , the adapter 150 has an index slot 165 to hold it in position over the ring connector 160 of a bulb base as shown in fig7 a . referring to fig6 a , an adapter connector means 180 part of the button adapter is shown disassembled from the button adapter . the adapter connector means 180 is made from a strip of conductive material bent into a roughly “ j ” shape , having a tip contact portion 181 , a ring contact portion 182 and a neck portion 183 . as shown in cutaway fig6 b , when assembled the neck portion 183 is sandwiched between the bottom 190 a and top 190 b of the body 190 . the body may be made of two pieces as shown , or it may simply be of a material such as cardboard which is split so as to receive the neck portion 183 of the adapter connector means 180 . thus , as shown in fig7 , on the top of the button adapter 150 the adapter connector means 180 is an electrically conductive contact designed to mate at the ring contact portion 181 with a ring connection 160 of a three - way lamp base 187 shown in top view in fig7 a ( prior art ) and with the tip contact 185 of a bulb 180 ( prior art ). thus , as shown in fig8 a , when the button adapter 150 is inserted into a three - way lamp base 187 the adapter connector means 180 electrically connects through the ring contact portion 182 a ring contact 160 of a three - way lamp base 187 , then through the tip contact portion 181 to a tip contact 185 of a one - way light bulb 80 . the tip contact of the lamp base 188 is electrically isolated . as shown in fig7 and 8 , the tip contact portion 181 of the adapter connector means 180 is in position so as to connect to a bulb tip contact 185 on a bulb 80 . fig8 a shows a top view of a lamp base 187 showing the adapter 150 in place . as may be seen , the index notch 165 seats over the lamp base ring connector 160 electrically contacting the adapter ring contact portion 182 to the lamp base ring connector 160 . in yet another embodiment , shown in fig9 ( side view ), 10 ( top view ) and 11 ( bottom view ), an adapter 200 is shown having a rigid non - conductive frame 225 , a non - conductive tip connector 210 on the bottom where it would non - electrically connect with the tip connector when installed in a lamp base ( not shown ). a conductive portion having a bottom 215 and top 220 is situated so as to engage on the bottom 215 , when the adapter is inserted into a three - way lamp socket ( not shown ), with the lamp socket ring connection ( not shown ) and the top portion 220 would connect with the tip of a bulb 80 in fig1 when inserted into a lamp base with the adapter 200 fitted therein . typically , a three - way lamp socket ring connector is fabricated from a metallic spring strip designed to connect with the ring connection of a bulb base and to be compressed when the bulb is screwed into the lamp base . the non - conductive tip 210 of the adapter 200 is to be thin enough to allow the spring strip to make connection when a bulb 80 is screwed in a three - way base ( not shown .) in use , the button adapter 200 is intended to be attached to the tip of a bulb 80 , using a nonconductive adhesive so as to keep a consumer &# 39 ; s fingers from being in the lamp socket during installation . | 7 |
the present invention utilizes propionic acid and / or salts thereof in compositions and methods of fungal inhibition and eradication . in certain embodiments of the present invention , the compositions and methods disclosed herein are directed toward imparting fungal resistance to construction materials . in certain such embodiments , a concentration of greater than 0 . 0 % and less than 5 . 0 % of calcium propionate ( or the equivalent value of propionic acid ) is in the compositions of the present invention . in still other embodiments of the compositions of the present invention , the concentration of propionic acid ( or equivalent chemical value thereof ) can range from 0 . 5 % to 3 . 0 %, or from 1 . 0 % to 2 . 5 %. the propionate compound concentrations described above are capable of providing a benign but effective fungicide as described herein . in certain embodiments , the compositions of the present invention further include a dual cationic component . the dual cationic component of the present invention includes : wherein said quaternary ammonium compound (“ quat ”) is selected from the group consisting of n - alkyldimethyl benzyl ammonium saccharinate ; 1 , 3 5 5 - triazine - 1 , 3 , 5 ( 2h , 4h , 6h )- triethanol ; 1 - decanaminium , n - decyl - n , n - dimethyl -, chloride ( or ) didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; 2 -( 2 -( p -( diisobutyl ) cresosxy ) ethoxy ) ethyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ; 2 -( 2 -( p -( diisobutyl ) phenoxy ) ethoxy ) ethyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ; alkyl 1 or 3 benzyl - 1 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 2 - imidazolinium chloride ; alkyl bis ( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) benzyl ammonium chloride ; alkyl demethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ; alkyl dimethyl 3 , 4 - dichlorobenzyl ammonium chloride ( 100 % c12 ); alkyl dimethyl 3 , 4 - dichlorobenzyl ammonium chloride ( 50 % c14 , 40 % c12 , 10 % c16 ); alkyl dimethyl 3 , 4 - dichlorobenzyl ammonium chloride ( 55 % c14 , 23 % c12 , 20 % c16 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ; alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 100 % c14 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 100 % c16 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 41 % c14 , 28 % c12 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 47 % c12 , 18 % c14 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 55 % c16 , 20 % c14 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 58 % c14 , 28 % c16 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 60 % c14 , 25 % c12 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 61 % c11 , 23 % c14 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 61 % c12 , 23 % c14 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 65 % c12 , 25 % c14 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 67 % c12 , 24 % c14 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 67 % c12 , 25 % c14 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 90 % c14 , 5 % c12 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 93 % c14 , 4 % c 12 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( 95 % c16 , 5 % c18 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( and ) didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( as in fatty acids ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( c12 - c16 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ( c12 - c18 ); alkyl dimethyl benzyl and dialkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; alkyl dimethyl dimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride ; alkyl dimethyl ethyl ammonium bromide ( 90 % c14 , 5 % c16 , 5 % c12 ); alkyl dimemyl ethyl ammonium bromide ( mixed alkyl and alkenyl groups as in the fatty acids of soybean oil ); alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride ; alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride ( 60 % c14 ); alkyl dimethyl isopropylbenzyl ammonium chloride ( 50 % c12 , 30 % c14 , 17 % c16 , 3 % c18 ); alkyl trimethyl ammonium chloride ( 58 % c18 , 40 % c16 , 1 % c14 , 1 % c12 ); alkyl trimethyl ammonium chloride ( 90 % c18 , 10 % c16 ); alkyldunethyl ( ethylbenzyl ) ammonium chloride ( c12 - 18 ); di -( c8 - 10 )- alkyl dimethyl ammonium chlorides ; dialkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; dialkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; dialkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; dialkyl methyl benzyl ammonium chloride ; didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; diisodecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; dioctyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; dodecyl bis ( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) ocryl hydrogen ammonium chloride ; dodecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium , chloride ; dodecylcarbamoyl methyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ; heptadecyl hydroxyethylimidazolinium chloride ; hexahydro - 1 , 3 , 5 - thris ( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- s - triazine ; myristalkonium chloride ( and ) quat rnium 14 ; n , n - dimethyl - 2 - hydroxypropylammonium chloride polymer ; n - alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ; n - alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride ; n - tetradecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride monohydrate ; octyl decyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; octyl dodecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ; octylphenoxyethoxyethyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride ; oxydiethylenebis ( alkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride ); quaternary ammonium compounds , dicoco alkyldimethyl , chloride ; trimethoxysilyl propyl dimethyl octadecyl ammonium chloride ; trimethoxysilyl quats , and trimethyl dodecylbenzyl ammonium chloride . in some of these embodiments , the dual cationic component is maquat ™ 2525 m 50 % ( mason chemical company hereinafter “ maquat ”) at a concentration ranging from greater than 0 . 0 % to 5 % weight per weight . maquat is comprised of two quaternary ammonium compounds in equal weight to total composition of matter . the two cationic surfactants in maquat are alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and alkyl dimethyl ethyl benzyl ammonium chloride . both of these cationic surfactants are known to possess limited antimicrobial effects and are classified as disinfectants . certain of these cationic components will readily mix with propionate compounds in solution . for example , 0 . 5 % maquat can be mixed with calcium propionate ( at the concentrations listed above ) to readily admix and provide a stable , clear solution . certain embodiments of the compositions of the present invention are made by adding maquat to water at a concentration of 0 . 5 % total weight . after thorough mixing , calcium propionate is introduced to the solution in the concentration of 2 . 5 % by weight to the original water weight and thoroughly solubilized . the resultant composition is then ready for use as a surface disinfectant with relatively long residual effectiveness as a fungicide , bactericide , and viricide . dual quat blends , such as maquat are known to be a highly effective disinfectant with numerous species of bacteria including enterococcus faecium , escherichia coli , escherichia coli 0157 : h7 , pseudomonas aeruginosa , salmonella cholerasuis , salmonella typhi , listeria monocytogenes , staphylococcus aureus , mycobacterium tuberculosis , methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus , vancomycin intermediate resistant staphylococcus aureus , and vancomycin resistant enterococcus faecalis . the virucidal effectiveness of the quaternary compounds contained maquat includes hepatitis a , b , and c , hiv - 1 , poliovirus type 1 , canine parvovirus , norwalk virus , human coronavirus , and rabies virus . as a fungicide , an example is trichophyton mentagrophytes ( athlete &# 39 ; s foot fungus ) ( 3m tb quat disinfectant cleaner rtu technical data brochure , september 2005 ). to retard leaching and / or dilution of the solution upon application , a cellulose ether can be added to certain embodiments of the compositions of the present invention to aid in film - forming of the solution on a treated surface . those of skill in the art will recognize that other film - forming agents can be utilized in the present invention , including , but not limited to , guar . in some embodiments , the cellulose ether can be sodium carboxymethylcellulose . the sodium carboxymethylcellulose concentrations in certain such embodiments can range from 0 . 05 % to 0 . 5 % weight per weight . the compositions of the present invention can be applied by immersion of the material to be treated , by surface wiping , by brush , roller , pump spray applicator or pressure sprayer . the material can then be allowed to air dry the treated surfaces . suitable materials for treatment with the compositions and methods of the present invention include , but are not limited to , inanimate surfaces such as walls , floors , ceilings , countertops , and any exposed surface where fungal growth is present , as well as textiles , leather , paper , coatings , paints , caulks , adhesives , sealants and surface contact cleaners . furthermore , certain compounds of the present invention , such as those containing solubilized propionic acid or its solid salts with a dual cationic surfactant mixture , can be incorporated within paints and coatings to provide fungal resistance where said paints or coatings are applied ; or , as an additive to impart fungal resistant properties in said paints or coatings by the consumer at times of application . paper and textiles can furthermore be treated in pulp process and fiber process waters with the compounds of the present invention . in certain such embodiments , propionic acid or its solid salts can be solubilized at a concentration of greater than 0 . 0 % and less than 5 . 0 % in combination with a dual cationic component . propionic acid and its salts are inhibitors of some fungi with effectiveness for a period of approximately six days . in laboratory testing with a variety of methods and standards , each of the components when tested individually did not demonstrate resistance to various fungal species . however , as a combination in the concentrations described , immediate and sustained resistance to all fungi tested was demonstrated beyond the times as stipulated by the protocols of industry standards . a disk diffusion method of determining susceptibility of fungi to maquat 2525m 50 % was developed from the kirby - bauer bactericidal disk diffusion method . the diffusion method assumes the migration of active compounds into a surrounding agar medium ( potato dextrose agar ) to intercept and retard the growth of test inoculum seeded to the agar surface . this method was utilized as a screening method to achieve a rapid means of fungal inhibition after 5 days of incubation . the inoculum was composed of a suspension of fungal spores harvested from one week cultures of atcc # 6205 - chaetomium globosum ; atcc # 6275 - aspergillus niger ; and , atcc # 10690 - aspergillus terreus . once the plates were seeded with inoculum , difco concentration disks ( ¼ ″) were impregnated with a 0 . 5 % solution of maquat 2525m 50 %, allowed to air dry in sterile petri dishes and placed at equidistant locations on each plate . at the end of the five day incubation at 30 ° c ., 5 plates containing four disks each were examined visually and microscopically . no zones of inhibition manifested and on six of the twenty disks viable spores were observed . the specimens were graded as moderately resistant . grading is based on the following scale : ( 1 ) not resistant — confluent growth and surface growth on disks ; ( 2 ) moderately resistant — confluent growth without surface growth on disks ; and ( 3 ) resistant — exhibits a zone of inhibition ( no growth ) surrounding disks with no surface growth or sporulation on disks . concurrent with the maquat disk diffusion testing , exact methods were replicated for testing of calcium propionate . a 2 . 5 % solution of calcium propionate was prepared and the difco disks were impregnated with the solution , allowed to air dry and placed on the plates . at the end of the incubation period , the plates were examined visually and microscopically . all of the disks were occluded with profuse growth and were designated as no resistance . concurrent with the above described testing , a solution of 0 . 5 % maquat and 2 . 5 % calcium propionate was prepared and difco disks were impregnated , allowed to air dry , and placed on the plates . after the incubation period , zones of inhibition were observed around all the disks measuring 12 mm . no growth was detected under microscopic examination . the plates demonstrated the exact effects for a period exceeding six weeks . the specimens were graded fully resistant . concurrent with the above described tests , 0 . 5 % of sodium carboxymethylcellulose was added to impart a solution with film forming properties and to determine if a cross linking agent would have any effects on the present invention . examination of the incubated specimens was conducted and zones of inhibition of 10 mm manifested . no growth was present on any disks and an extended period of incubation exceeding six weeks presented no change in resistance or diminution of the zones of inhibition . the specimens were graded fully resistant . another cationic surfactant was selected to determine if calcium propionate exhibited the same synergistic , enhancing effects of resistance with fungi . a solution was created using 0 . 125 % of cetylpyridinium chloride , equivalent to the concentrations of each of the components in maquat 2525m 50 %. exact protocol was followed and examination of the specimen plates revealed no zone of inhibition surrounding the disks . the specimens were graded moderately resistant . long term protection provided by a preservative mechanism to inhibit fungal growth is best demonstrated by the industry recognized tappi test method t 487 . this method is used to determine the resistance of paper and paperboard to fungal growth in ideally suited controlled conditions of light , temperature , moisture , and food supply . treated 50 mm test coupons of paper are placed on a surface of test agar , flooded with a test inoculum of fungal spores , and incubated to determine fungal resistance . the rating that is provided follows an established protocol to determine the degree of mold growth on a rating scale reported as 1 ) not fungal resistant ; 2 ) moderately fungal resistant ; and 3 ) resistant . challenges of treated porous surfaces , represented by selected samples of untreated paper product specified as whatman filter paper # 4 and paper product specified as whatman filter paper # 4 treated with a solution of fungicides , are exposed to designated fungal suspensions known to cause failure under certain use conditions . the test samples are prepared according to t 487 pm - 99 by aseptically removing pre - sterilized 50 mm paper coupons , previously equilibrated to room temperature , and then placed in a controlled chamber at 28 +/− 1 ° c . ( 82 . 40 f ) and 95 %- 98 % rh . the chamber is fitted with a tray filled with a salt solution to maintain humidity control . the test ensues continuously for 21 days and samples are observed weekly . the panels are rated each week according to the appearance of fungal growth . this series of tests according to the tappi t 487 pm - 99 protocol were conducted with multiple specimens of treated and untreated ( control ) paper substrates with the specified fungal species of aspergillus niger ( atcc # 6275 ), chaetomium globosum ( atcc # 6205 ), and aspergillus terreus ( atcc # 10690 ) suspensions . the suspensions of inoculum were harvested from 14 day potato dextrose agar cultures into sterile water , combining the culture suspensions from each fungal genus and adjusting to concentrations of 10 6 / ml . triplicate substrate samples were then prepared from sheets of cellulose fiber papers ( whatman ) cut into 50 mm squares and steam sterilized . the sterilized paper coupons were immersed in a solution of each challenge solution , allowed to soak for ten minutes , removed and placed into aluminum drying trays in a drying oven for 24 hours at 67 ° c . the test papers were placed onto the surface of prepared agar plates containing mineral - salt agar as outlined in t 487 pm - 99 . two plies of paper were treated as a single test specimen and were directly pipetted with 1 ml of fungal suspension on the surface of each test coupon . the plates were then inverted and placed into humid incubation chambers and incubated at 28 ° c .+/− 1 c for 21 days . observations for growth were conducted on successive weekly schedules as well as verification of test inocula to distinguish contaminants or naturally occurring molds from actual challenge organisms . growth was defined as sporulating , hyphael appearances directly from the paper substrate . the following comparative table depicts the various solutions and resistance results : | 0 |
embodiments of the invention provide new aluminum nitride ( aln ) based thin film alloys incorporating the selected heavy rare earth elements ( shrees ), namely ytterbium gadolinium , dysprosium , holmium , thulium , terbium , and lutetium , that have higher piezoelectric do coefficients than pure aluminum nitride . this improvement can be enhanced by applying a tensile stress of preferably at least 200 mpa and more preferably in the order of 1 . 0 gpa on the thin film . the results of dft simulations show that these alloys present piezoelectric d 33 coefficients of up to 18 pm / v more than three times the piezoelectric coefficient of aluminum nitride with no tensile stress applied . in addition , dft simulations show that the addition of tensile stress on the thin film can potentially increase by 70 % the piezoelectric coefficients of the alloys . the dft simulation is started by finding a proper special quasi random structure to represent an alloy and generating 4f electron in core pseudopotentials for the lanthanides with commonly available software . this structure is then stretched and relaxed with dft simulation software for +− 0 , 1 % of the c - axis lattice parameter for the fully relaxed system . the electric polarization and stress inside the structure is then calculated with berry phase calculation for these relaxed structures and the d 33 coefficient is calculated from the equation : this is a good approximation for high values of d 33 . see tasnadi , f et al . supra , the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference . as a verification of the model , the results for aln and al 0 . 5 sc 0 . 5 n have been reproduced . the following table shows the results of dft simulations for selected alloys . the bandgaps obtained in the dft calculations are known to be underestimated . in practice , they are expected to be in the vicinity of 4 ev . see dixit h . et al . electronic structure of transparent oxides with the tran - blaha modified becke - johnson potential . j . phys . : condens . matter . 24 ( 2012 ) 205503 ( 9 pp ), the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference . the bandgap is significantly above zero , which is a necessary condition for high resistivity of the alloys . the output structure of the simulation has been examined to confirm a wurtzite structure . for example , fig3 shows a relaxed 3 × 3 × 3 supercell , and the positioning of the corresponding atoms in the special quasi random structure . in fig3 , the larger gray spheres represent the shree atoms , the darker medium - sized spheres represent al atoms , and the smaller gray spheres represent nitrogen atoms , as indicated in the figure . fig1 shows the effect of applying tensile stress to pure aln . there is a gradual improvement in the d 33 coefficient as apparent from the following table . the effect of tensile stress is significantly greater than for pure aln , but as previously noted scandium is an expensive material to work with . nevertheless , these results show that existing scandium - based alloys can be improved by providing an intrinsic stress . the effect occurs almost immediately with increasing stress , but a practical lower limit is 200 mpa . the applicants have demonstrated that certain elements in the lanthanide series exhibit a similar phenomenon . the following table shows the results for al 0 . 5 yb 0 . 5 n . the following table shows the simulation results for lanthanum ( la ), which is a not member of the selected shree elements and lutetium ( lu ). they were obtained for a smaller 2 × 2 × 2 supercell simulation domain , which tends to overestimate results by 28 %. lu has a full 4f shell electronic configuration that is much easier to handle in simulations . simulations using 4f electrons in core pseudopotentials and the usual 4f electrons as valence pseudopotentials give piezoelectric coefficients of 23 . 2 pm / v and 22 . 8 pm / v respectively for a given 2 × 2 × 2 supercell simulation domain . the similarity of the results support the validity of our simulation method . the validity of the results is further supported by the strong correlation between the calculated shree - nitride lattice parameters and the experimental values . the simulations for la show that not all lanthanides can be alloyed heavily and give significant increase in d 33 . the results for lanthanum are only marginally better than for pure aln , and the configuration would not be stable if the alloy were fabricated . it would probably separate in cubic non - piezoelectric material phases . a comparison of the results for al 0 . 5 la 0 . 5 n and al 0 . 5 lu 0 . 5 n show the effect of change in structure . al 0 . 5 lu 0 . 5 n remains almost wurtzite like ( same structure as base aln ), whereas al 0 . 5 la 0 . 5 n does not . the alloys in accordance with embodiments of the invention are manufactured generally in accordance with the techniques disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 758 , 979 , the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference . however , the shree - based alloys should be less expensive to manufacture than scandium - based materials . scandium is extremely scarce and hard to refine . piezoelectric materials with larger d 33 piezoelectric coefficients are essential for advanced piezoelectric mems devices , such as sensors , resonators , piezoelectric accelerometers , and gyroscopes . the piezoelectric device 1 shown in fig4 comprises a thin film 2 of al ( 1 - y ) x y n , where x is selected from the group consisting of : yb , ho , dy , lu , tm , tb , and gd ; and y is the atomic fraction of xn deposited on a substrate 2 . the material of the substrate 2 could , for example , be single - crystal silicon or the like , but other suitable materials may be employed such as sapphire , molybdenum or platinum . buffer layers ( not shown ) could also be incorporated between the substrate 3 and the film 2 , to better control the properties of the film 2 . in order to manufacture the device in accordance with the invention , as shown in fig5 , the temperature controlled substrate holder and substrate 3 is placed in a sputtering chamber 6 with two targets 7 , 8 , an inlet port 9 for the sputtering gas , and an outlet port 10 . in this example , the sputtering gas is a mixture of nitrogen , which is the reactive gas , and argon , which helps the sputtering , although it will be appreciated that other mixtures could be employed . the first target 7 is aluminum , and the second target 8 is the shree element x , for example , ytterbium . the al atoms from the target 7 and the x atoms from the target 8 are deposited on the silicon substrate and react with the reactive gas , in this case nitrogen , to form the al ( 1 - y ) x y n film 2 on the substrate 1 . the tensile stress can be controlled by changing the deposition parameters during sputtering . for example , lower adatom mobility ( lower substrate temperature ) to control crystallite island growth can lead to induce tensile stress in polycrystalline films . stress can also be generated by using a templating substrate with a higher lattice parameter instead of a bulk substrate , for example , a silicon bulk substrate with an epitaxially grown buffer layer . the piezoelectric alloys according to embodiments of the invention show an increase of up to 300 % of the piezoelectric coefficient d 33 of the aluminum nitride following incorporation shree elements , such as ytterbium or gadolinium . this improvement can reach up to about 500 % upon the application of a tensile stress of 1 gpa on the thin layer in the planar direction . the alloys can also be made at reduced cost of manufacture compared to scandium - based alloys , which is a consequence of the lower price of the shree ( except for lu ) targets when compared to a scandium target . for example , in the case of 4 ″ diameter sputtering targets , the price of ytterbium and gadolinium targets is only of the order $ 1000 compared to $ 14 , 000 for a scandium target . the current results are based on simulations . although the methodology allows accuracy within a few % of the experimental values , the microstructure can be optimized during the deposition steps . by way of example , a mems device in the form of an inertial sensor ( accelerometer ) is shown in fig6 . this comprises three stacked silicon wafers , namely mems substrate wafer 21 , membrane wafer 22 , and tsv ( though silicon via ) wafer 23 . cavities 26 to contain inertial masses 27 are etched in the si substrate wafer 21 . the second si wafer 22 is bonded to the first wafer 21 , then ground and polished to form a thin silicon layer . the piezoelectric film 28 in accordance with embodiments of the invention and top electrode 29 are deposited and patterned , followed by anisotropic etching of vias 30 and silicon springs ( not shown ) to form the inertial mass 27 . cavities 31 to contain the inertial masses 27 are prepared on the third si wafer 23 , which is bonded to the membrane wafer 22 . the wafer 23 is ground and polished then alcu contacts 32 are deposited on the third wafer 23 . in the presence of an acceleration the mechanical deformation of the piezoelectric film 28 produces a electrical signal . it will be appreciated that the actual layout ( as seen from the top ) of the device varies according to the intended application . | 7 |
referring firstly to fig1 shown therein is a component unit of a roller conveyor track as is described in greater detail in the above - mentioned german patent application no . p 37 24 125 . 7 . the roller conveyor track illustrated comprises a panel member 1 which is produced for example from a composite fiber material , having a substantially flat top surface as indicated at 6 . the panel member 1 forms a central bed portion of the unit , a plurality of such units being fitted together to provide the roller conveyor track . the panel member 1 has a longitudinal depression which extends in the direction of conveying movement on the conveyor track , substantially centrally of the panel member 1 , and accommodating a plurality of support rollers 2 which are disposed at spacings from each other in the direction of conveying movement . the rollers 2 are rotatably mounted in the depression in the panel member 1 by means of snap - fitted holders 3 . the individual rollers 2 may be in the form of drive rollers in accordance with german patent application no . p 37 24 126 . 5 ( u . s . ser . no . 160 , 427 filed feb . 25 , 1988 ) or free - running support rollers as disclosed in german patent application no . p 37 24 114 . 1 ( u . s . ser . no . 160 , 239 ). in addition , the panel member 1 has a plurality of fixing elements as indicated at 60 in fig1 which are disposed at respective sides of the central row of rollers 2 for fixing the roller conveyor track to the floor of the freight compartment of an aircraft . arranged at each of the side edges of the panel member 1 , extending in the direction of conveying movement of the conveyor track , are respective guide devices which each comprise a guide bar portion 10 which is formed integrally with the panel member 1 , and a plurality of guide rollers 30 which are mounted freely rotatably adjacent to the respective guide bar portion 10 in suitable openings indicated at 20 in fig2 in the panel member 1 . it will be readily seen from both fig1 and 2 , each guide bar portion 10 extends upwardly above the top surface 6 of the panel member 1 and is of a cross - section corresponding to an inverted generally l - shaped configuration , defined by a substantially vertically upwardly extending support portion ( not referenced ) and a generally horizontally extending transverse web portion 13 which is disposed at a vertical spacing from the top surface 6 of the panel member 1 . that cross - sectional configuration of the respective guide bar portion 10 is such that it engages over and at a spacing from a lateral guide web or limb portion indicated at 99 in fig2 at the adjacent lower longitudinally extending side edge of an article shown as a freight container 100 on the conveyor track . the side edge portions 99 of a respective freight container 100 are thus freely movable in juxtaposed relationship with the guide bar portion 10 , by virtue of the spacing therebetween , as can be clearly seen from fig2 . as can also be best seen from fig2 each guide roller 30 comprises a substantially hollow - cylindrical body which preferably consists of a composite fiber material and which , at the axial end which is towards the adjacent guide bar portion 10 , carries a guide shoulder as indicated at 33 , which is of larger diameter than the remainder of the cylindrical body of the guide roller 30 . arranged at the two axial ends of the guide roller 30 and disposed in the interior of the body thereof are respective rolling bearing assemblies 31 and 32 respectively . the outer bearing race of each of the two rolling bearing assemblies 31 and 32 is non - rotatably connected to the body of the respective guide roller 30 . the guide roller 30 is thus rotatably mounted on a shaft or spindle 21 in the corresponding opening 20 in the panel member 1 by means of the two rolling bearing assemblies 31 and 32 in such a way that the circumferential surface 35 of the guide roller 30 projects slightly above the top surface 6 of the panel member 1 and is thus proud thereof , so that the bottom of a freight container 100 is thus movably supported on the guide rollers 30 . that situation is clearly visible in fig2 from which the spacing between the top surface 6 of the panel member 1 and the underneath surface of the freight container 100 is clearly visible . the lateral edge of the guide portion 99 at the longitudinally extending edge of a respective freight container 100 bears against the radially inwardly facing surfaces of the guide shoulders 33 on the respective guide rollers 30 , as is also clearly visible in fig2 and is thereby held at a spacing from the vertical side surface 11 of each of the openings 20 in the panel member 1 and also at a spacing from the adjacent side surface of the guide bar portion 10 , as is clearly shown in fig2 . at its left - hand end , the shaft or spindle 21 of each guide roller 30 has a male screwthread 23 thereon , with which it is screwed into a female screwthread in a screwthreaded bush or sleeve 22 which is fixedly anchored in the material of the panel member 1 . the end of the shaft or spindle 21 which is at the right in fig2 is mounted with a sliding fit in a mounting bush or sleeve 25 which is also fixedly embedded in the material of the panel member 1 . both the screwthreaded bush or sleeve 22 and also the mounting bush or sleeve 25 comprise metal . for the purposes of screwing the shaft or spindle 21 into the screwthreaded bush or sleeve 22 , the end portion of the shaft or spindle 21 which is at the right in fig2 is provided with a hexagonal recess 24 which is accessible by way of a suitably disposed opening in the right - hand outside edge of the panel member 1 , for receiving a suitable tool . each guide roller 30 is mounted axially slidably on the associated shaft or spindle 21 by way of the two inner bearing races of the two rolling bearing assemblies 31 and 32 so that the guide roller 30 can shift axially on the shaft or spindle 21 . as can be seen from fig2 for that purpose the length of the guide roller 30 as measured in its axial direction is less than the corresponding dimension or width of the opening 20 in the panel member 1 . disposed between the end face of the guide roller 30 which is towards the right in fig2 and the adjacent vertical side surface 11 of the opening 20 , on the shaft or spindle 21 , is a spring arrangement in the form of a pack of plate springs 34 which is supported at one end against the mounting bush or sleeve 25 and at the other end against the inner bearing race of the rolling bearing assembly 32 . the spring arrangement 34 biases the guide roller 30 in a rest condition towards a position of bearing against the screwthreaded bush or sleeve 22 , so that the right - hand end face of the roller 30 is held at a spacing from the vertical side surface 11 of the opening 20 . that ensures that the guide portion 99 on the freight container 100 is held at a spacing from the guide bar portion 10 during the conveying movement of the freight conveyor , by virtue of the guide shoulder 33 bearing against the guide portion 99 on the freight container 100 , thereby preventing frictional engagement between the guide bar portion 10 and a part of the freight container 100 . if however in operation and in particular while in flight , substantial forces are applied to the freight container 100 and are also transmitted to the respective guide rollers 30 , then each of the guide rollers 30 will be correspondingly displaced on its mounting shaft or spindle 21 against the force of the spring arrangement 34 so that the guide portion 99 on the freight container 100 comes into contact with the guide bar portion 10 . the guide bar portion 10 is thus effective to carry the forces applied to the container 100 so as to prevent the container 100 from being substantially shifted in a lateral direction . the portion 13 of each guide bar portion 10 also prevents the container 100 from being displaced in a vertical direction . it will be appreciated that the conveyor track and guide arrangement described above have been set forth solely by way of example and illustration of the principles of the present invention and that various modifications and alterations may be made therein without thereby departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 1 |
referring now to fig1 and 2 of the drawings , an exemplary spare magazine carrier 10 is shown attached to an automatic rifle 12 . a spare magazine 14 is held in the carrier 10 , while a magazine 16 is held in the receiver 18 of the automatic rifle 12 , ready for use . the spare magazine carrier 10 includes a body 19 having a top 20 , a front side 22 , a rear side 24 , a right , or inner , side 26 , and a left , or laterally outer , side 28 , spaced outwardly apart from the left side of the receiver 18 by a width 30 . to use the spare magazine carrier 10 most advantageously , a shooter will grasp the spare magazine 14 in his left hand while moving the magazine - release push button on the right side of the receiver ( not shown ) leftward with his right hand . this allows the empty magazine 16 to fall from the receiver 18 and releases the spare magazine 14 into the shooter &# 39 ; s left hand , so that he may immediately insert the spare magazine 14 upwardly into position in the receiver 18 . a magazine retaining catch of the automatic rifle 12 engages and retains the spare magazine 14 as it is inserted into position in the receiver 18 . as a result of the readily available spare magazine 14 , the automatic rifle 12 may be reloaded extremely quickly once the magazine 16 has been emptied . another loaded magazine may thereafter be inserted into the spare magazine carrier 10 at the first convenient opportunity . certain rifles , for example the m - 16 military automatic rifle and a similar civilian semi - automatic rifle , the colt ® ar15 rifle , like the rifle 12 shown in fig1 and 2 , may include push - buttons or levers which act as functional control devices to initiate , prevent , or stop the action of mechanisms contained within the receiver of such rifles . some of such push - buttons or levers may be located on the left side of the receiver 18 where the body 19 of the spare magazine carrier 10 may make it awkward , or may require close attention , to operate such push - buttons or levers . in particular , in the rifle 12 there is a bolt catch operating lever 58 , also called a bolt hold - open lever , attached to the left side of the receiver 18 by , and arranged to pivot about , a pin 60 extending parallel with the length of the rifle 12 . the pin 60 extends through a hole 61 in the bolt hold - open lever 58 , defining its fulcrum , and through a pair of gudgeons 62 on the side of the receiver 18 . when the upper end 64 of the bolt hold - open lever 58 is moved away from the receiver 18 , with the bolt 66 manually held withdrawn rearwardly with respect to the receiver 18 , as shown schematically in broken line in fig1 the bolt catch in the hold - open mechanism engages the bolt 66 to hold it in its rearward position . when the upper end 64 of the bolt hold - open lever 58 is pressed to the right , or inward toward the receiver 18 , the catch is disengaged and releases the bolt 66 to be moved forward by a spring . when the last cartridge that was contained in a magazine such as the magazine 16 has been discharged , the bolt hold - open mechanism automatically engages the bolt 66 , holding it in its rearward position . the bolt 66 is thus held rearward while the empty magazine 16 is removed and replaced by the spare loaded magazine 14 . before the rifleman can again shoot the firearm , the bolt 66 must be released by moving the bolt hold - open lever 58 , so the bolt can carry a round from the loaded magazine into the chamber of the firearm . in order to make it unnecessary for the rifleman to look at the upper end 64 of the bolt hold - open lever , an extender 70 according to the present invention is attached to the upper end 64 of the bolt hold - open lever 58 , as shown in fig1 - 4 . the extender 70 includes an elongate body 72 whose inner end is attached to the upper end 64 of the bolt hold - open lever 58 by a clamp 74 . without the spare magazine carrier 10 attached to the rifle 12 , the lower end 68 of the bolt hold - open lever 58 is ordinarily available to be pushed inward toward the receiver 18 to cause the bolt hold - open lever 58 to pivot about the pin 60 to engage the catch of the bolt hold - open mechanism with the bolt 66 . the availability of the lower end 68 to be pushed is particularly useful when the user of the rifle is wearing gloves , since the upper end 64 is too small and too close to the receiver 18 to be grasped easily by a gloved hand to withdraw it away from the receiver 18 . when the spare magazine carrier 10 is present , however , the lower end 68 is not easily reached to be pushed . the bolt catch or hold - open mechanism can easily be engaged with the bolt 66 to hold the bolt open , by pushing downward on the extender 70 when a spare magazine carrier 10 is mounted on the rifle 12 . the elongate body 72 includes an extension arm 76 directed away from the receiver 18 . an enlarged head 78 forms the outer end of the extender 70 and has an engagement contact face 80 , spaced apart by a distance 82 from a reference face 81 engaged with the upper end 64 , and spaced apart from the left side of the receiver 18 by a predetermined distance 83 somewhat less than the width 30 of the spare magazine carrier 10 . the engagement contact face 80 is thus substantially aligned with the left or laterally outer side 85 of a nearby somewhat narrower portion of the spare magazine carrier 10 , and thus is located closer to the left side of the receiver 18 by a small distance 89 in the range of 0 . 2 - 0 . 6 cm ( 0 . 08 - 0 . 24 inch ) and preferably in the range of 0 . 38 - 0 . 51 cm ( 0 . 15 - 0 . 20 inch ) toward the receiver 18 from the outermost surface of the laterally outer , or left , side 28 of the spare magazine carrier 10 . the outer surface or engagement contact face 80 of the head 78 of the extender 70 is thus exposed conveniently in a location where it can be pressed inward toward the receiver 18 by the rifleman , using the heel of his hand , after he has pushed - the loaded spare magazine 14 into the receiver 18 of the rifle 12 . at the same time , the head 78 of the extender 70 is not so prominent as to be likely to be pushed inadvertently . in an extender 70 for an m - 16 rifle with a spare magazine carrier 10 , the distance 82 should thus be in the range of 1 . 90 - 2 . 54 cm ( 0 . 750 - 1 . 0 inch ) and is preferably 1 . 97 cm ( 0 . 775 inch ). pushing on the engagement contact face 80 of the extender 70 requires only a minimum amount of attention , since the engagement contact face 80 , which is larger than the ear 96 on the upper end 64 of the bolt hold - open lever 58 , is well exposed to be contacted and pushed by the rifleman , even if his left hand is gloved . since the engagement contact face 80 is exposed , the rifleman does not need to exercise any particular care or give any particular attention , but needs only to sweep the left hand upward and inward to easily touch the extender 70 and push it inward , thus disengaging the catch mechanism from the bolt 66 . since the extender 70 protrudes outward away from the receiver 18 , pushing upward on the bottom face 84 of the extender 70 will also cause the bolt hold - open lever 58 to rotate about the fulcrum defined by the pivot pin 60 , in the same direction that would result from inward pressure against the upper end 64 . thus , the rifleman need only continue upward movement of the left hand after inserting the loaded magazine into the receiver 18 , with very little attention required in order to engage and move the extender 70 and thus move the bolt hold - open lever 58 as required to chamber a cartridge from a just - inserted magazine 14 . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , as shown also in fig5 - 8 , the extender 70 includes two pieces held together by a bolt 86 and a locknut 87 . a main body piece 88 includes the head 78 and has a front face 90 in which a groove 92 extends most of the way toward the bottom face 84 of the body 72 . a retaining shelf or ledge 94 shown in fig7 and 8 at least partially closes at the bottom of the groove 92 and extends beneath a portion of the bottom of the ear portion 96 of the upper end 64 of the bolt hold - open lever 58 . the location of the ledge 94 in the main body 88 of the extender rather than in the clamping body 98 simplifies attachment of the extender 70 to the upper end 64 when a spare magazine carrier 10 is already in place on the rifle 12 . the clamping body 98 has a main or inner face 100 opposing the front face 90 of the first body 88 and defines a deep groove 102 in an inner end portion 104 . the lack of a ledge 94 in the groove 102 in the clamping body 98 allows the clamping body 98 to slide down around the ear 96 . the deep groove 102 is deep enough to receive the majority of the width of the ear 96 , but shallow enough so that a small gap 106 remains as shown in fig8 when the ear 96 is tightly held between the clamping body 98 and the main body part 88 of the extender 70 . the bolt 86 extends through aligned bores 110 and 112 defined through the main body 88 and the clamping body 98 , and the locknut 87 fits in a wide groove 116 defined on the front face of the clamping body 98 . the width of the wide groove 116 corresponds with the width across flats of the locknut 87 to prevent the locknut 87 from turning while the bolt 86 is screwed into the locknut 87 . the clamping body 98 has an outer end face 118 that abuts tightly against a flat clamp body locating face 119 on the inner side of the head 78 to maintain the alignment of the clamping body with the main body of the extender 70 . preferably , the rear end 120 and the edges 122 of the head 78 are rounded or chamfered to prevent the head 78 from causing discomfort when it is pressed or hit during use . a hole 123 may be provided in the head 78 to lighten the extender 70 . an inner rear or transition face 124 of the head 78 , between the engagement contact face 80 and the extension arm portion 76 , is oriented at an oblique angle 126 ( fig3 ), which may be in the range from 30 to 60 degrees and is preferably at least 40 degrees , and most preferably about 45 degrees to the engagement contact face . this helps prevent the extender 70 from being caught on the rifleman &# 39 ; s clothing or equipment . the thickness 132 of the portions 128 and 130 behind the ear 96 is limited by the available space behind the ear 96 in order to leave the bolt hold - open lever 58 free to move far enough to release the bolt 66 . the thickness 132 is preferably made nearly as great as possible , so that the portions 128 and 130 occupy the entire available space between the ear 96 and the adjacent portion of the receiver 98 when the bolt hold - open lever 58 is pushed far enough toward the receiver 18 to release the bolt 66 . the portions 128 and 130 of the extender 70 thus act as a positive stop to protect the bolt hold - open lever 58 from being damaged as a result of the forces that may result from pushing sharply up or inward on the extender 70 after inserting a loaded magazine 14 into the receiver 18 . the extender 70 is offset a slight distance rearwardly with respect to the bolt hold - open lever 58 , as seen best in fig3 in order to provide clearance between the rear of the spare magazine carrier 10 and the front of the extender 70 , as shown best in fig3 where a space 134 of at least 1 . 27 mm ( 0 . 050 inch ) is preferably available . it will be understood that other clamping mechanisms may be used instead of the particular one discussed herein above to attach an extension arm to the upper end of the bolt catch operating lever 58 . for example , a set screw could be used with a one - piece extender , two clamping elements could be arranged to grip the inner and outer faces of the ear 96 , or a wedging arrangement could be included . referring now also to fig9 and 10 , it will be seen that an extender arm can be incorporated in a replacement bolt hold - open catch mechanism 140 that can be installed in a firearm in place of the original equipment bolt hold - open catch mechanism including the bolt catch operating lever 58 when installing a spare magazine carrier 10 . the bolt hold - open catch 140 can be installed in place of the original bolt catch and operating lever 58 by simply drifting out the pin 60 from the gudgeons 62 , preferably before installing a spare magazine carrier 10 . in such a replacement part , the usual bolt - engaging catch body 142 and a hole 144 establishing a fulcrum are as in the original part , and an actuating lever arm 146 extends away from the catch body 142 for a short distance in the same direction as the upper portion 64 of the bolt hold - open lever 58 . an extension arm 148 is directed laterally , approximately perpendicular to the actuating lever arm 146 , so that it extends away from the receiver 18 when the part 140 is installed in place of the original part including the catch operating lever 58 . as in the previously described extender 70 , the extension arm 148 includes an enlarged head , which has an engagement contact face 150 located in a position corresponding with that of the engagement contact face 80 of an extender 70 installed on the bolt hold - open lever 58 . the engagement contact face 150 is thus spaced apart from a plane parallel to the left side of the receiver and including the fulcrum 144 by a distance 154 of about 1 . 0 - 3 . 5 cm ( 0 . 39 - 1 . 38 inch ) and preferably 2 . 2 - 3 . 0 cm ( 0 . 87 - 1 . 2 inch ), and most preferably about 2 . 35 cm ( 0 . 92 inch ), in particular for an m - 16 rifle equipped with a “ redi - mag ” spare magazine carrier of the type available from j . f . s ., inc . of salem , oreg . preferably , the actuating lever arm 146 includes a positive stop 152 at the inner end of the laterally projecting extension arm 148 . the terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation , and there is no intention , in the use of such terms and expressions , of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof , it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow . | 5 |
an hdss is composed of an optical system that directs and shapes coherent optical beams to intersect at a surface or volume where the interference pattern is recorded . the hologram constitutes the recorded pattern in the media . in hdss , an entire page of information is stored at once as an optical interference pattern within an optical storage material by intersecting two coherent laser beams within the optical storage material . the first beam is called the “ object beam ,” which contains the information to be stored . the second beam is called the “ reference beam .” the reference beam is often ( but not necessarily ) an unmodulated beam , preferably a spherical beam or a collimated beam with a planar wave front . in this invention , a reference beam is modulated by an apodizer . a reference beam before modulation by the apodizer is referred to as an “ incident reference beam ” and after modulation as a “ modulated reference beam .” in this invention , the term “ apodizer ” refers to any device capable of shaping an incident reference beam to produce a modulated reference beam . the incident reference beam undergoes apodizing or beam shaping . a common trait of all holographic systems is the overlapping of two coherent beams inside a photosensitive medium . the interference pattern generated by the two beams is recorded in the material in the form of a hologram . the ratio of the intensity of the reference beam and the object beam at any point of overlap in the media controls the localized recording rate of the hologram . if the reference beam intensity varies over the media volume , then the quality of the hologram is degraded as different positions in the media record at different rates . in this invention , the above mentioned problem is solved by the use of an apodizer , which allows a better match of the intensity profiles of the object and reference beams throughout the volume of interaction that contributes to the hologram . with holographic systems that record holograms near a fourier image plane , the object beam commonly contains wide spatial variations in intensity . fourier holograms suffer from a number of problems dependent on the fourier image of the object beam . for example , a binary amplitude slm ( 0 pixels are dark , 1 pixels are bright ) have a fourier image with a dc spot ( typically ˜ 5 microns in diameter ) in the center that contains 50 % of the power in the object beam . the power density of the dc spot is 1000 times stronger than the rest of the object &# 39 ; s fourier image . no type of apodization of the reference beam will fix this problem . in this case , one must either move the fourier plane out of the recording intersection of the two beams or introduce a phase mask on the slm to eliminate the dc spot . this is an example of apodizing the object beam instead of the reference beam . this invention , on the other hand , relates to apodizing a reference beam impinging on a region of a holographic medium in which the region is tilted with respect to the impinging reference beam . described are simple and accurate methods for apodizing or beam - shaping a reference beam in order to achieve a uniform intensity profile on a region of the holographic recording medium . in the preferred embodiments , the necessary adjustment to the reference beam can be determined by a variety of methods . the simplest approach is to use geometric optics to ray - trace the relation between the illuminating reference beam profile and the intensity profile on the media surface . the apodizer transmittance is then determined as the profile necessary to undo the effects of the geometric projection onto the media . for simple optical systems this can commonly be determined in closed mathematical form . when the results of ray - tracing are either inappropriate or do not provide enough accuracy , more complicated methods can be employed . physical optics modeling can be used to provide the relation between the intensity profile at the apodization surface and the media surface . physical optics numerically solves the wave propagation equation governing the propagation of the wave leaving the apodization surface and arriving at the holographic media surface . physical optics allows very high precision to be obtained while accurately taking into account the true vectorial polarization properties of the optical wave as well as the diffraction nature of coherent light . the computational burden of physical optics may restrict the practicality of the the approach . however , physical optics includes the effects of both polarization and diffraction , which are ignored by geometric optical methods . the apodizer of this invention can take into account any non - uniformity naturally present in the reference beam . an example of such non - uniformities is the gaussian beam profile common to nearly all forms of lasers . when the reference beam is not collimated , the natural divergence / convergence of the beam also introduces a non - uniformity that the apodizer can correct . regardless of the source of the non - uniform beam profile , the apodizer is such that the intensity profile within a given region on the holographic recording medium is substantially uniform . the term “ substantially uniform intensity ” refers to an intensity in which the maximum and minimum intensities of a beam , i max and i min , within a given region on a holographic recording medium have the following relationship : preferably , ( i max − i min )/ i max ≦ 0 . 05 ; more preferably , ( i max − i min )/ i max ≦ 0 . 02 ; most preferably , ( i max − i min )/ i max ≦ 0 . 01 , where i max and i min are defined over the total volume of the media that intersects with the object beam . beam apodization of this invention can be implemented in a number of ways but , for convenience , the preferred ways are the following . the first preferred method imposes an absorptive mask on the beam . the transmitted beam could have an intensity profile that is the multiplication of the absorptive mask and the input beam profile . the absorptive masks provide the simplest solution at the expense of the transmitted power efficiency . the absorptive mask apodizers eliminate all the power that is not part of the desired beam shape . as a result , absorptive apodizers typically only pass 20 %- 90 % of the input beam power . the second preferred apodization technique uses diffractive optics to redistribute the optical energy in the beam . diffractive optics provide beam shaping with zero or very low loss of transmitted power through the use of a sophisticated ( possibly multi - element ) optical system . in one aspect of the invention , the holographic recording medium is an optically flat recording medium . the term “ optically flat recording medium ” refers to the property that the effective medium thickness is controlled such that thickness deviations are less than a wavelength of light across the medium area addressed during recording . many kinds of materials could be used as holographic storage media . photopolymers are very promising because of their high sensitivity and dynamic range . phenanthrenequinone - doped polymethylmethacrylate ( pq / pmma ) has excellent optical quality and is based on a photoreaction between the dopant and polymer followed by diffusion of unreacted chromophore . in one aspect of the invention , the optical article , e . g ., holographic recording medium , of the invention is formed by steps including mixing a matrix precursor and a photoactive monomer , and curing the mixture to form the matrix in situ . the matrix precursor and photoactive monomer are selected such that ( a ) the reaction by which the matrix precursor is polymerized during the cure is independent from the reaction by which the photoactive monomer will be polymerized during writing of a pattern , e . g ., data , and ( b ) the matrix polymer and the polymer resulting from polymerization of the photoactive monomer ( the photopolymers ) are compatible with each other . the matrix is considered to be formed when the photorecording material , i . e ., the matrix material plus the photoactive monomer , photoinitiator , and / or other additives , exhibits an elastic modulus of at least about 10 5 pa , generally about 10 5 pa to about 10 9 pa , advantageously about 10 6 pa to about 10 8 pa . the compatibility of the matrix polymer and photopolymers tend to prevent large - scale (& gt ; 100 nm ) phase separation of the components , such large - scale phase separation typically leading to undesirable haziness or opacity . utilization of a photoactive monomer and a matrix precursor that polymerize by independent reactions provides a cured matrix substantially free of cross - reaction , i . e ., the photoactive monomer remains substantially inert during the matrix cure . in addition , due to the independent reactions , there is no inhibition of subsequent polymerization of the photoactive monomer . at least one photoactive monomer contains one or more moieties , excluding the monomer functional groups , that are substantially absent from the polymer matrix , i . e ., it is possible to find a moiety in the photoactive monomer such that no more than 20 % of all such moieties in the photorecording material are present , i . e ., covalently bonded , in the matrix . the resulting optical article is capable of exhibiting desirable refractive index contrast due to the independence of the matrix from the photoactive monomer . the formation of a hologram , waveguide , or other optical article relies on a refractive index contrast ( δn ) between exposed and unexposed regions of a medium , this contrast at least partly due to monomer diffusion to exposed regions . high index contrast is desired because it provides improved signal strength when reading a hologram , and provides efficient confinement of an optical wave in a waveguide . one way to provide high index contrast in the invention is to use a photoactive monomer having moieties ( referred to as index - contrasting moieties ) that are substantially absent from the matrix , and that exhibit a refractive index substantially different from the index exhibited by the bulk of the matrix . for example , high contrast would be obtained by using a matrix that contains primarily aliphatic or saturated alicyclic moieties with a low concentration of heavy atoms and conjugated double bonds ( providing low index ) and a photoactive monomer made up primarily of aromatic or similar high - index moieties . the matrix is a solid polymer formed in situ from a matrix precursor by a curing step ( curing indicating a step of inducing reaction of the precursor to form the polymeric matrix ). it is possible for the precursor to be one or more monomers , one or more oligomers , or a mixture of monomer and oligomer . in addition , it is possible that more than one type of precursor functional group can exist , either on a single precursor molecule or in a group of precursor molecules . ( precursor functional groups are the group or groups on a precursor molecule that are the reaction sites for polymerization during matrix cure .) to promote mixing with the photoactive monomer , the precursor is advantageously liquid at some temperature between about − 50 ° c . and about 80 ° c . advantageously , the matrix polymerization is capable of being performed at room temperature . also advantageously , the polymerization is capable of being performed in a time period less than 5 minutes . the glass transition temperature ( t g ) of the photorecording material is advantageously low enough to permit sufficient diffusion and chemical reaction of the photoactive monomer during a holographic recording process . generally , the t g is not more than 50 ° c . above the temperature at which holographic recording is performed , which , for typical holographic recording , means a t g between about 80 ° c . and about − 130 ° c . ( as measured by conventional methods ). examples of polymerization reactions contemplated for forming matrix polymers in the invention include cationic epoxy polymerization , cationic vinyl ether polymerization , cationic alkenyl ether polymerization , cationic allene ether polymerization , cationic ketene acetal polymerization , epoxy - amine step polymerization , epoxy - mercaptan step polymerization , unsaturated ester - amine step polymerization ( via michael addition ), unsaturated ester - mercaptan step polymerization ( via michael addition ), vinyl - silicon hydride step polymerization ( hydrosilylation ), isocyanate - hydroxyl step polymerization ( urethane formation ), and isocyanatae - amine step polymerization ( urea formation ). several such reactions are enabled or accelerated by suitable catalysts . for example , cationic epoxy polymerization takes place rapidly at room temperature by use of bf 3 - based catalysts , other cationic polymerization proceed in the presence of protons , epoxy - mercaptan reactions and michael additions are accelerated by bases such as amines , hydrosilylation proceeds rapidly in the presence of transition metal catalysts such as platinum , and urethane and urea formation proceed rapidly when tin catalysts are employed . it is also possible to use photogenerated catalysts for matrix formation , provided that steps are taken to prevent polymerization of the photoactive monomer during the photogeneration . the photoactive monomer is any monomer or monomers capable of undergoing photoinitiated polymerization , and which , in combination with a matrix material , meets the polymerization reaction and compatibility requirements of the invention . suitable photoactive monomers include those that polymerize by a free - radical reaction , e . g ., molecules containing ethylenic unsaturation such as acrylates , methacrylates , acrylamides , methacrylamides , styrene , substituted styrenes , vinyl naphthalene , substituted vinyl naphthalenes , and other vinyl derivatives . free - radical copolymerizable pair systems such as vinyl ether mixed with maleate and thiol mixed with olefin are also suitable . it is also possible to use cationically polymerizable systems such as vinyl ethers , alkenyl ethers , allene ethers , ketene acetals , and epoxies . it is also possible for a single photoactive monomer molecule to contain more than one monomer functional group . as mentioned previously , relatively high index contrast is desired in the article of the invention , whether for improved readout in a recording media or efficient light confinement in a waveguide . in addition , it is advantageous to induce this relatively large index change with a small number of monomer functional groups , because polymerization of the monomer generally induces shrinkage in a material . such shrinkage has a detrimental effect on the retrieval of data from stored holograms , and also degrades the performance of waveguide devices such as by increased transmission losses or other performance deviations . lowering the number of monomer functional groups that must be polymerized to attain the necessary index contrast is therefore desirable . this lowering is possible by increasing the ratio of the molecular volume of the monomers to the number of monomer functional groups on the monomers . this increase is attainable by incorporating into a monomer larger index - contrasting moieties and / or a larger number of index - contrasting moieties . for example , if the matrix is composed primarily of aliphatic or other low index moieties and the monomer is a higher index species where the higher index is imparted by a benzene ring , the molecular volume could be increased relative to the number of monomer functional groups by incorporating a naphthalene ring instead of a benzene ring ( the naphthalene having a larger volume ), or by incorporating one or more additional benzene rings , without increasing the number of monomer functional groups . in this manner , polymerization of a given volume fraction of the monomers with the larger molecular volume / monomer functional group ratio would require polymerization of less monomer functional groups , thereby inducing less shrinkage . but the requisite volume fraction of monomer would still diffuse from the unexposed region to the exposed region , providing the desired refractive index . the molecular volume of the monomer , however , should not be so large as to slow diffusion below an acceptable rate . diffusion rates are controlled by factors including size of diffusing species , viscosity of the medium , and intermolecular interactions . larger species tend to diffuse more slowly , but it would be possible in some situations to lower the viscosity or make adjustments to the other molecules present in order to raise diffusion to an acceptable level . also , in accord with the discussion herein , it is important to ensure that larger molecules maintain compatibility with the matrix . numerous architectures are possible for monomers containing multiple index - contrasting moieties . for example , it is possible for the moieties to be in the main chain of a linear oligomer , or to be substituents along an oligomer chain . alternatively , it is possible for the index - contrasting moieties to be the subunits of a branched or dendritic low molecular weight polymer . the preferred acrylate monomers are monofunctional . these include 2 , 4 , 6 - tribromophenylacrylate , pentabromoacrylate , isobornylacrylate , phenylthioethyl acrylate tetrahydrofurfurylacrylate , 1 - vinyl - 2 - pyrrolidinone , asymmetric bis thionapthyl acrylate , 2 - phenoxyethylacrylate , and the like . in addition to the photoactive monomer , the optical article typically contains a photoinitiator ( the photoinitiator and photoactive monomer being part of the overall photoimageable system ). the photoinitiator , upon exposure to relatively low levels of the recording light , chemically initiates the polymerization of the monomer , avoiding the need for direct light - induced polymerization of the monomer . the photoinitiator generally should offer a source of species that initiate polymerization of the particular photoactive monomer . typically , 0 . 1 to 20 - wt . % photoinitiator , based on the weight of the photoimageable system , provides desirable results . a variety of photoinitiators known to those skilled in the art and available commercially are suitable for use in the invention . it is advantageous to use a photoinitiator that is sensitive to light in the visible part of the spectrum , particularly at wavelengths available from conventional laser sources , e . g ., the blue and green lines of ar +( 458 , 488 , 514 nm ) and he - cd lasers ( 442 nm ), the green line of frequency doubled yag lasers ( 532 nm ), and the red lines of he - ne ( 633 nm ) and kr + lasers ( 647 and 676 nm ). one advantageous free radical photoinitiator is bis ( η - 5 - 2 , 4 - cyclopentadien - 1 - yl ) bis [ 2 , 6 - difluoro - 3 -( 1h - pyrrol - 1 - yl ) phenyl ] titanium , available commercially from ciba as cgi - 784 . another visible free - radical photoinitiator ( which requires a co - initiator ) is 5 , 7 , diiodo - 3 - butoxy - 6 - fluorone , commercially available from spectra group limited as h - nu 470 . free - radical photoinitiators of dye - hydrogen donor systems are also possible . examples of suitable dyes include eosin , rose bengal , erythrosine , and methylene blue , and suitable hydrogen donors include tertiary amines such as n - methyl diethanol amine . in the case of cationically polymerizable monomers , a cationic photoinitiator is used , such as a sulfonium salt or an iodonium salt . these cationic photoinitiator salts absorb predominantly in the uv portion of the spectrum , and are therefore typically sensitized with a dye to allow use of the visible portion of the spectrum . an example of an alternative visible cationic photoinitiator is ( η 5 - 2 , 4 - cyclopentadien - 1 - yl ) ( η 6 - isopropylbenzene )- iron ( ii ) hexafluorophosphate , available commercial from ciba as irgacure 261 . it is also conceivable to use other additives in the photoimageable system , e . g ., inert diffusing agents having relatively high or low refractive indices . preferably , the photoinitiators are selected according to their sensitivity to the light sources . for example , irgacure 369 , irgacure 819 , and irgacure 907 are suitable for commercial blue laser systems . cgi - 784 is suitable for green laser systems , and cb - 650 is suitable for red laser systems . irgacure and cgi are available from ciba , cb - 650 from spectra group . advantageously , for holographic recording , the matrix is a polymer formed by mercaptan - epoxy step polymerization , more advantageously a polymer formed by mercaptan - epoxy step polymerization having a polyether backbone . the polyether backbone offers desirable compatibility with several useful photoactive monomers , particularly vinyl aromatic compounds . specifically , photoactive monomers selected from styrene , bromostyrene , divinyl benzene , and 4 - methylthio - 1 - vinylnaphthalene ( mtvn ) have been found to be useful with matrix polymers formed by mercaptan - epoxy step polymerization and having a polyether backbone . a monomer that has more than one index - contrasting moiety and that is also useful with these polyether matrix polymers is 1 -( 3 -( naphth - 1 - ylthio ) propylthio )- 4 - vinylnaphthalene . to be independent , the polymerization reactions for the matrix precursor and the photoactive monomer are selected such that : ( a ) the reactions proceed by different types of reaction intermediates , ( b ) neither the intermediate nor the conditions by which the matrix is polymerized will induce substantial polymerization of the photoactive monomer functional groups , and ( c ) neither the intermediate nor the conditions by which the matrix is polymerized will induce a non - polymerization reaction of the monomer functional groups that causes cross - reaction ( between the monomer functional groups and the matrix polymer ) or inhibits later polymerization of the monomer functional groups . according to item ( a ), if a matrix were polymerized by use of an ionic intermediate , it would be suitable to polymerize the photoactive monomer by use of a free radical reaction . in accordance with item ( b ), however , the ionic intermediate should not induce substantial polymerization of the photoactive monomer functional groups . also in accordance with item ( b ), for example , one must be aware that a photoinitiated free radical matrix polymerization will typically induce a photoinitiated cationic polymerization of a photoactive monomer functional group . thus , two otherwise independent reactions are not independent for purposes of the invention if both are driven by a single reaction condition . in accordance with item ( c ), for example , base - catalyzed matrix polymerization should not be performed when the photoactive monomer functional group undergoes a non - polymerization reaction in response to the base , even if polymerization of the monomer functional group is performed by an independent reaction . a specific example is that a base - catalyzed epoxy - mercaptan polymerization should not be used with an acrylate monomer because , although the acrylate is polymerized by a free radical reaction , the acrylate will react with the mercaptans under base catalysis , resulting in a cross - reaction . table 1 below illustrates some examples of matrix / photoactive monomer combinations where the matrix polymerization reaction and photoactive monomer polymerization are capable of being independent , and examples where the polymerization interfere with each other . ( photoactive monomers are horizontal , and matrix polymers are vertical . “ x ” indicates cross - reaction or monomer polymerization during matrix polymerization . “ o ” indicates independent reactions . “ i ” indicates that the photoactive monomer polymerization is inhibited by the reagents or reaction that form the polymeric matrix , e . g ., the photoactive monomer functional group is converted to a non - polymerizing group , or chemical species are present after the matrix cure that substantially slow the rate or yield of polymerization of the monomer functional groups .) for purposes of the invention , polymers are considered to be compatible if a blend of the polymers is characterized , in 90 ° light scattering , by a rayleigh ratio ( r 90 ° ) less than 7 × 10 − 3 cm − 1 . the rayleigh ratio , r θ , is a conventionally known property , and is defined as the energy scattered by a unit volume in the direction θ , per steradian , when a medium is illuminated with a unit intensity of unpolarized light , as discussed in m . kerker , the scattering of light and other electromagnetic radiation , academic press , san diego , 1969 . the light source used for the measurement is generally a laser having a wavelength in the visible part of the spectrum . normally , the wavelength intended for use in writing holograms is used . the scattering measurements are made upon a photorecording material that has been flood exposed . the scattered light is collected at an angle of 90 ° from the incident light , typically by a photodetector . it is possible to place a narrow band filter , centered at the laser wavelength , in front of such a photodetector to block fluorescent light , although such a step is not required . the rayleigh ratio is typically obtained by comparison to the energy scatter of a reference material having a known rayleigh ratio . polymer blends that are considered to be miscible , e . g ., according to conventional tests such as exhibition of a single glass transition temperature , will typically be compatible as well , i . e ., miscibility is a subset of compatibility . standard miscibility guidelines and tables are there from useful in selecting a compatible blend . however , it is possible for polymer blends that are immiscible to be compatible according to the light scattering test above . a polymer blend is generally considered to be miscible if the blend exhibits a single glass transition temperature , t g , as measured by conventional methods . an immiscible blend will typically exhibit two glass transition temperatures corresponding to the t g values of the individual polymers . t g testing is most commonly performed by differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ), which shows the t g as a step change in the heat flow ( typically the ordinate ). the reported t g is typically the temperature at which the ordinate reaches the mid - point between extrapolated baselines before and after the transition . it is also possible to use dynamic mechanical analysis ( dma ) to measure t g . dma measures the storage modulus of a material , which drops several orders of magnitude in the glass transition region . it is possible in certain cases for the polymers of a blend to have individual t g values that are close to each other . in such cases , conventional methods for resolving such overlapping t g should be used , such as discussed in brinke et al ., “ the thermal characterization of multi - component systems by enthalpy relaxation ,” thermochimica acta ., 238 ( 1994 ), at 75 . matrix polymer and photopolymers that exhibit miscibility are capable of being selected in several ways . for example , several published compilations of miscible polymers are available , such as o . olabisi et al , polymer - polymer miscibility , academic press , new york , 1979 ; l . m . robeson , mmi , press symp . ser ., 2 , 177 , 1982 ; l . a . utracki , polymer alloys and blends : thernodynamics and rheology , hanser publishers , munich , 1989 ; and s . krause in polymer handbook , j . brandrup and e . h . immergut , eds ., 3rd ed ., wiley interscience , new york , 1989 , pp . vi 347 - 370 , the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference . even if a particular polymer of interest is not found in such references , the approach specified allows determination of a compatible photorecording material by employing a control sample . determination of miscible or compatible blends is further aided by intermolecular interaction considerations that typically drive miscibility . for example , it is well known that polystyrene and poly ( methylvinylether ) are miscible because of an attractive interaction between the methyl ether group and the phenyl ring . it is therefore possible to promote miscibility , or at least compatibility , of two polymers by using a methyl ether group in one polymer and a phenyl group in the other polymer . it has also been demonstrated that immiscible polymers are capable of being made miscible by the incorporation of appropriate functional groups that can provide ionic interactions . ( see z . l . zhou and a . eisenberg , j . polym . sci ., polym . phys . ed ., 21 ( 4 ), 595 , 1983 ; r . murali and a . eisenberg , j . polym . sci ., part b : polym . phys ., 26 ( 7 ), 1385 , 1988 ; and a natansohn et al ., makromol . chem ., macromol . symp ., 16 , 175 , 1988 ). for example polyisopreme and polystyrene are immiscible . however , when polyisoprene is partially sulfonated ( 5 %), and 4 - vinyl pyridine is copolymerized with the polystyrene , the blend of these two functionalized polymers is miscible . it is contemplated that the ionic interaction between the sulfonated groups and the pyridine group ( proton transfer ) is the driving force that makes this blend miscible . similarly , polystyrene and poly ( ethyl acrylate ), which are normally immiscible , have been made miscible by lightly sulfonating the polystyrene . ( see r . e . taylor - smith and r . a . register , macromolecules , 26 , 2802 , 1993 .) charge - transfer has also been used to make miscible polymers that are otherwise immiscible . for example it has been demonstrated that , although poly ( methyl acrylate ) and poly ( methyl methacrylate ) are immiscible , blends in which the former is copolymerized with ( n - ethylcarbazol - 3 - yl ) methyl acrylate ( electron donor ) and the latter is copolymerized with 2 -[( 3 , 5 - dinitrobenzoyl ) oxy ] ethyl methacrylate ( electron acceptor ) are miscible , provided the right amounts of donor and acceptor are used . ( see m . c . piton and a . natansohn , macromolecules , 28 , 15 , 1995 .) poly ( methyl methacrylate ) and polystyrene are also capable of being made miscible using the corresponding donor - acceptor co - monomers ( see m . c . piton and a . natansohn , macromolecules , 28 , 1605 , 1995 ). a variety of test methods exist for evaluating the miscibility or compatibility of polymers , as reflected in the recent overview published in a . hale and h . bair , ch . 4 -“ polymer blends and block copolymers ,” thermal characterization of polymeric materials , 2nd ed ., academic press , 1997 . for example , in the realm of optical methods , opacity typically indicates a two - phase material , whereas clarity generally indicates a compatible system . other methods for evaluating miscibility include neutron scattering , infrared spectroscopy ( ir ), nuclear magnetic resonance ( nmr ), x - ray scattering and diffraction , fluorescence , brillouin scattering , melt titration , calorimetry , and chemilluminescence . see , for example , l . robeson , supra ; s . krause , chemtracts — macromol . chem ., 2 , 367 , 1991a ; d . vessely in polymer blends and alloys , m . j . folkes and p . s . hope , eds ., blackie academic and professional , glasgow , pp . 103 - 125 ; m . m . coleman et al . specific interactions and the miscibility of polymer blends , technomic publishing , lancaster , pa ., 1991 ; a . garton , infrared spectroscopy of polymer blends , composites and surfaces , hanser , n . y ., 1992 ; l . w . kelts et al ., macromolecules , 26 , 2941 , 1993 ; and j . l . white and p . a . mirau , macromolecules , 26 , 3049 , 1993 ; j . l . white and p . a . mirau , macromolecules , 27 , 1648 , 1994 ; and c . a . cruz et al ., macromolecules , 12 , 726 , 1979 ; and c . j . landry et al ., macromolecules , 26 , 35 , 1993 . compatibility has also been promoted in otherwise incompatible polymers by incorporating reactive groups into the polymer matrix , where such groups are capable of reacting with the photoactive monomer during the holographic recording step . some of the photoactive monomer will thereby be grafted onto the matrix during recording . if there are enough of these grafts , it is possible to prevent or reduce phase separation during recording . however , if the refractive indexes of the grafted moiety and of the monomer are relatively similar , too many grafts , e . g ., more than 30 % of monomers grafted to the matrix , will tend to undesirably reduce refractive index contrast . a holographic recording medium of the invention is formed by adequately supporting the photorecording material , such that holographic writing and reading is possible . typically , fabrication of the medium involves depositing the matrix precursor / photoimageable system mixture between two plates using , for example , a gasket to contain the mixture . the plates are typically glass , but it is also possible to use other materials transparent to the radiation used to write data , e . g ., a plastic such as polycarbonate or poly ( methyl methacrylate ). it is possible to use spacers between the plates to maintain a desired thickness for the recording medium . during the matrix cure , it is possible for shrinkage in the material to create stress in the plates , such stress altering the parallelism and / or spacing of the plates and thereby detrimentally affecting the medium &# 39 ; s optical properties . to reduce such effects , it is useful to place the plates in an apparatus containing mounts , e . g ., vacuum chucks , capable of being adjusted in response to changes in parallelism and / or spacing . in such an apparatus , it is possible to monitor the parallelism in real - time by use of a conventional interferometric method , and make any necessary adjustments during the cure . such a method is discussed , for example , in u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 867 , 563 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference . the photorecording material of the invention is also capable of being supported in other ways . for instance , it is conceivable to dispose the matrix precursor / photoimageable system mixture into the pores of a substrate , e . g ., a nanoporous glass material such as vycor , prior to matrix cure . more conventional polymer processing is also envisioned , e . g ., closed mold formation or sheet extrusion . a stratified medium is also contemplated , i . e ., a medium containing multiple substrates , e . g ., glass , with layers of photorecording material disposed between the substrates . the medium of the invention is then capable of being used in a holographic system such as discussed previously . the amount of information capable of being stored in a holographic medium is proportional to the product of : the refractive index contrast , an , of the photorecording material , and the thickness , d , of the photorecording material . ( the refractive index contract , an , is conventionally known , and is defined as the amplitude of the sinusoidal variations in the refractive index of a material in which a plane - wave , volume hologram has been written . the refractive index varies as : n ( x )= n 0 + δn cos ( k x ), where n ( x ) is the spatially varying refractive index , x is the position vector , k is the grating wavevector , and no is the baseline refractive index of the medium . see , e . g ., p . hariharan , optical holography : principles , techniques , and applications , cambridge university press , cambridge , 1991 , at 44 .) the δn of a material typically calculated from the diffraction efficiency or efficiencies of a single volume hologram or a multiplexed set of volume holograms recorded in a medium . the an is associated with a medium before writing , but is observed by measurement performed after recording . advantageously , the photorecording material of the invention exhibits a δ of 3 × 10 − 3 or higher . examples of other optical articles include beam filters , beam steerers or deflectors , and optical couplers . ( see , e . g ., l . solymar and d . cooke , volume holography and volume gratings , academic press , 315 - 327 ( 1981 ), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference .) a beam filter separates part of an incident laser beam that is traveling along a particular angle from the rest of the beam . specifically , the bragg selectivity of a thick transmission hologram is able to selectively diffract light along a particular angle of incidence , while light along other angle travels undeflected through the hologram . ( see , e . g ., j . e . ludman et al ., “ very thick holographic nonspatial filtering of laser beams ,” optical engineering , vol . 36 , no . 6 , 1700 ( 1997 ), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference .) a beam steerer is a hologram that deflects light incident at the bragg angle . an optical coupler is typically a combination of beam deflectors that steer light from a source to a target . these articles , typically referred to as holographic optical elements , are fabricated by imaging a particular optical interference pattern within a recording medium , as discussed previously with respect to data storage . medium for these holographic optical elements are capable of being formed by the techniques discussed herein for recording media or waveguides . the material principles discussed herein are applicable not only to hologram formation , but also to formation of optical transmission devices such as a waveguide and beam apodizer . polymeric optical waveguides are discussed for example in b . l . booth , “ optical interconnection polymers ,” in polymers for lightwave and integrated optics , technology and applications , l . a . hornak , ed ., marcel dekker , inc . ( 1992 ); u . s . pat . no . 5 , 292 , 620 ; and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 219 , 710 , the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference . essentially , the recording material of the invention is irradiated in a desired waveguide pattern to provide refractive index contrast between the waveguide pattern and the surrounding ( cladding ) material . it is possible for exposure to be performed , for example , by a focused laser light or by use of a mask with a non - focused light source . generally , a single layer is exposed in this manner to provide the waveguide pattern , and additional layers are added to complete the cladding , thereby completing the waveguide . the process is discussed for example at pages 235 - 36 of booth , supra , and cols . 5 and 6 of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 292 , 620 . a benefit of the invention is that by using conventional molding techniques , it is possible to mold the matrix / photoimageable system mixture into a variety of shapes prior to matrix cure . for example , the matrix / photoimageable system mixture can be molded into ridge waveguides , wherein refractive index patterns are then written into the molded structures . it is thereby possible to easily form structures such as bragg gratings . this feature of the invention increases the breadth of applications in which such polymeric waveguides would be useful . in yet another aspect of the invention , the reference beam is a spherical beam . a “ spherical beam ” is a beam that results from light emitting from a point or small aperture . the propagating beam has a wavefront that consists of concentric spheres expanding outwards from the point of origin . preferably , a high numerical aperture ( na ) objective lens generates the incident reference beam . the resultant beam is a spherical wave emanating from the focus point of the lens . the na of the lens determines the angular spread of the propagating beam as shown in fig3 . the higher the na , the larger the angular spread of the beam . preferably , the angle of the incident reference beam at an off - axis from the normal of a region of the medium is from about 10 degrees to about 60 degrees . more preferably , the angle of the incident reference beam is from about 20 degrees to about 50 degrees . most preferably , the angle of the incident reference beam is from about 30 degrees to about 40 degrees . the present invention will be better understood with reference to the following examples . these examples are intended to illustrate specific embodiments within the overall scope of the invention as claimed . in one embodiment , an incident reference beam which is a spherical reference beam emanates from a point source 5 mm from the media and at an angle of θ 1 = 35 degrees from the planar media normal . fig4 illustrates the layout of this example system . the incident reference beam enters the optical system at entrance plane i 1 where an apodizer ( a 1 ) modifies this beam . the beam exiting the apodizer ( a 1 ) is the modulated reference beam that traverses plane i 2 . the resultant intensity distribution in plane i 2 enters the objective lens ( l 1 ) and is converted into a diverging spherical wave impinging on a region , here a planar region , of the media . the region could be on a surface of the media or within the media . the focus of the lens is the point p . the intensity distribution of the modulated reference beam on the planar region , which in fig4 is the front surface of the media , is given by i 3 . note that in fig4 a plane and intensity distribution on the plane are both designated by the same identifier . for example , i 3 refers to the intensity distribution on the plane i 3 shown in fig4 . if the illumination at plane i 1 would be perfectly uniform , then without an apodizer the intensity distribution i 3 would be strongly non - uniform . the portion of the media closer to the focal point p would see a larger intensity than points farther away from p . fig5 shows the intensity at plane i 3 without ( fig5 ( a )) and with ( fig5 ( b )) correction by apodization . in order to correct the intensity distribution 13 to a uniform value , the apodizer a 1 is constructed such that the modified intensity distribution i 2 will propagate to the media and arrive at plane i 3 uniformly . the necessary apodizer is shown in fig6 where the dark shades indicate areas of low light transmission through the apodizer . there are a number of ways to compute the necessary apodizer a 1 . for example , for each position in the plane i 2 , trace a number of rays onto the media plane i 3 . the ratio of the areas encompassed by the ray bundle in planes i 3 and i 2 is proportional to the change in the intensity . let ( x2 , y2 ) denote a position on the plane i 2 , associated by ray - tracing to the point ( x3 , y3 ) on plane i 3 . let the ratio of areas at positions ( x2 , y2 ) ( x3 , y3 ) be denoted by r ( x3 , y3 )= area3 ( x3 , y3 )/ area2 ( x2 , y2 ). since the desired goal is to uniformly illuminate the plane i 3 , set the apodization at the position ( x3 , y3 ) to be r ( x3 , y3 ). this method determines the desired apodizer transmittance . to implement the apodizer two approaches can be taken . the first approach is an apodization system with a transmissive mask . when implementation simplicity is desired over power efficiency a transmissive mask can be used to produce the desired apodization function . take the input intensity distribution at plane i 1 and divide it point - wise through the image by the desired plane intensity i 2 . this ratio determines the necessary transmittance mask . ( because transmittance can not exceed unity , the mask is a passive component and does not generate light ). then , scale the transmittance of the whole mask by the largest transmittance value of the mask . the resultant mask has a maximum transmittance of unity and a minimum transmittance of zero . this re - scaling is the cause for the inefficient use of the input beam power . to fabricate the transmittance mask , a number of convenient options are available . if the scale at which the transmittance function changes is on the order of hundreds of microns and the phase profile of the reference beam is not of interest , then a laser printer can be used to place the mask on a clear transparency . alternatively , fabricate binary and grayscale masks by photolithography . in this case , the apodizer can be optically flat ( no phase distortion ) and also anti - reflection coated . the photolithography process can produce transmittance features on the order of microns with good accuracy . in either of the mask fabrication methods , if a laserjet transparency or photolithography produces the apodizer , the resultant mask is used in the system merely by placing it between planes i 1 and i 2 . alignment of the mask to the input beam could be required and can be done by adjusting the position of the mask until the intensity in plane i 3 is measured to the desired uniformity specification . the second approach is a diffractive apodization system , in which diffraction is used to move the optical power from regions that should be dark into neighboring regions that should be bright . a multi - element telescope with optical elements , for example , as shown in fig2 could produce a highly efficient modulated reference beam with the capability of propagating for several meters with little distortion and diffraction - limited wavefront quality . the incident reference beam to modulated reference beam converter utilizes optical elements comprising lens , prisms , etc ., to introduce aberrations into the incident reference beam , redistribute the incident reference beam power from a particular profile to the desired modulated reference beam profile . in this diffraction apodization system , a aspheric optic would collimate the aberrated incident reference beam and restore wavefront quality as that of the desired modulated reference beam . fabrication of the elements for such a diffraction apodization system can be made using now available computer - controlled polishing technology and tested using computer - generated holograms . the above description is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention , and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements . various modifications to the preferred embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . thus , this invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown , but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein . this application discloses several numerical range limitations . persons skilled in the art would recognize that the numerical ranges disclosed inherently support any range within the disclosed numerical ranges even though a precise range limitation is not stated verbatim in the specification because this invention can be practiced throughout the disclosed numerical ranges . a holding to the contrary would “ let form triumph over substance ” and allow the written description requirement to eviscerate claims that might be narrowed during prosecution simply because the applicants broadly disclose in this application but then might narrow their claims during prosecution . finally , the entire invention of the patents and publications referred in this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference . | 6 |
in the preferred embodiment , a paddle is formed with a “ poker ” device attached in a central portion thereof such that , during movement of the paddle , the poker device pokes any unwanted foreign body or material which should congregate around the nozzle , out of the nozzle . the poker can be formed during fabrication of the ink ejection nozzle arrangement by means of a chemical mechanical planarization step with , preferably , the formation being a byproduct of the normal formation steps for forming the ink ejection nozzle on arrangement on a semi - conductor wafer utilizing standard mems processing techniques . additionally , in order to restrict the amount of wicking and the opportunities for wicking , an actuator slot guard is provided , formed on the bend actuator itself , closely adjacent to the actuator slot so as to restrict the opportunities for flow of fluid out of the nozzle chamber due to surface tension effects . turning now to fig1 to fig3 there will now be explained the operational principles of the preferred embodiment . in fig1 there is illustrated a nozzle arrangement 1 which is formed on the substrate 2 which can comprise a semi - conductor substrate or the like . the arrangement 1 includes a nozzle chamber 3 which is normally filled with ink so as to form a meniscus 4 which surrounds a nozzle rim 5 . a thermal bend actuator device 6 is attached to post 7 and includes a conductive heater portion 9 which is normally balanced with a corresponding layer 10 in thermal equilibrium . the actuator 6 passes through a slot in the wall 12 of the nozzle chamber and inside forms a nozzle ejection paddle 13 . on the paddle 13 is formed a “ poker ” 15 which is formed when forming the walls of the nozzle chamber 3 . also formed on the actuator 6 is a actuator slot protection barrier 16 . an ink supply channel 17 is also formed through the surface of the substrate 2 utilizing highly anisotropic etching of the substrate 2 . during operation , ink flows out of the nozzle chamber 3 so as to form a layer 19 between the slot in the wall 12 and the actuator slot protection barrier 16 . the protection barrier is profiled to substantially mate with the slot but to be slightly spaced apart therefrom so that any meniscus eg . 19 is of small dimensions . next , as illustrated in fig2 when it is desired to eject a drop from the nozzle chamber 3 , the bottom conductive thermal actuator 9 is heated electrically so as to undergo a rapid expansion which in turn results in the rapid upward movement of the paddle 13 . the rapid upward movement of the paddle 13 results in ink flow out of the nozzle so as to form bulging ink meniscus 4 . importantly , the movement of the actuator 6 results in the poker 15 moving up through the plane of the nozzle rim so as to assist in the ejection of any debris which may be in the vicinity of the nozzle rim 5 . further , the movement of the actuator 6 results in a slight movement of the actuator slot protection barrier 16 which maintains substantially the small dimensioned meniscus 19 thereby reducing the opportunity for ink wicking along surfaces . subsequently , the conductive heater 9 is turned off and the actuator 6 begins to rapidly return to its original position . the forward momentum of the ink around meniscus 4 in addition to the backflow due to return movement of the actuator 6 results in a general necking and breaking of the meniscus 4 so as to form a drop . the situation a short time later is as illustrated in fig3 where a drop 20 proceeds to the print media and the meniscus collapses around poker 15 so as to form menisci 22 , 23 . the formation of the menisci 22 , 23 result in a high surface tension pressure being exerted in the nozzle chamber 3 which results in ink being drawn into the nozzle chamber 3 via ink supply channel 17 so as to rapidly refill the nozzle chamber 3 . the utilization of the poker 15 increases the speed of refill in addition to ensuring that no air bubble forms within the nozzle chamber 3 by means of the meniscus attaching to the surface of the nozzle paddle 13 and remaining there . the poker 15 ensures that the meniscus eg . 22 , 23 will run along the poker 15 so as to refill in the nozzle chamber . additionally , the area around the actuator slot barrier 16 remains substantially stable minimizing the opportunities for wicking therefrom . turning now to fig4 there is illustrated a side perspective view of a single nozzle arrangement 1 shown in sections . fig5 illustrates a side perspective view of a single nozzle including a protective shroud 30 . the central poker 15 and aperture card 16 are as previously discussed . the construction of the arrangement of fig4 and 5 can be as a result of the simple modification of deep mask steps utilized in the construction of the nozzle arrangement in australian provisional patent application pp6534 ( the contents of which are specifically incorporated by cross - reference ) so as to include the poker 15 and guard 16 . the poker and guard are constructed primarily by means of a chemical mechanical planarization step which is illustrated schematically in fig6 to fig8 . the poker 15 and guard 16 are constructed by depositing a surface layer 32 on a sacrificial layer 31 which includes a series of etched vias eg . 33 . subsequently , as illustrated in fig7 the top layer is chemically and mechanically planarized off so as to leave the underlying structure 35 which is attached to lower structural layers 36 . subsequently , as illustrated in fig8 the sacrificial layer 31 is etched away leaving the resulting structure as required . it would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that numerous variations and / or modifications may be made to the present invention as shown in the specific embodiment without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described . the present embodiment is , therefore , to be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive . | 1 |
fig1 shows an installation 1 for the production of containers 2 such as bottles , starting from thermoplastic preforms . the installation 1 comprises a forming unit 3 to form the containers 2 , a filling unit 4 to fill the containers 2 , a conveyor 5 for conveying the formed containers 2 from the outlet 6 of the forming unit 3 toward the filling unit 4 , and a cooling unit 7 placed at the outlet 6 of the forming unit 3 along the path of the containers 2 formed by the conveyor 5 . the containers 2 are made for example of polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ), polyethylene naphthalate ( pen ), or any other suitable thermoplastic . once formed , each container 2 has a body 8 ( which may be cylindrical ), a neck 9 and , at the opposite end to the neck 9 , a base 10 . the installation 1 additionally comprises a supply unit 11 which delivers the preforms to the forming unit 3 . the supply unit 11 comprises , for example , a hopper 12 in which the preforms , prefabricated by injection molding , are loosely piled , this hopper 12 being connected to the inlet 13 of the forming unit 3 via a sorter 14 which isolates and positions the preforms ( which are cold , that is to say at ambient temperature ) on a slide 15 . the preforms are subsequently mounted on a transfer chain 16 and then heated as they file through a tunnel oven 17 before being introduced hot into a blow molding or stretch blow molding device of the carousel type 18 having multiple molds ( not shown ). the containers 2 are then transferred , by means of a transfer wheel 19 provided with indentations 20 ( visible in fig2 ), from the molds of the blow molding device toward the conveyor 5 at the outlet 6 of the forming unit 3 , where the containers 2 are cooled prior to being conveyed toward the filling unit 4 . the transfer wheel 19 is rotated by means of a transmission belt 21 connected to the carousel 18 in such a way as to synchronize the rotational speed of the wheel 19 with the tangential speed of the carousel 18 . in the filling unit 4 , the containers 2 are arranged on a filling device 22 of the rotary drum type , from which , once filled , they are withdrawn and presented to a capping device 23 . the containers 2 are then discharged toward a labeling unit ( not shown ) and then toward a packaging unit ( not shown ). as is represented in fig3 , the conveyor comprises two rails 24 facing one another , from which the containers 2 are suspended by their neck 9 and on which they slide while pushing one another under the driving force of the transfer wheel 19 . the rails 24 are supported by cylindrical legs 25 which are themselves carried by a frame 26 which forms the bearing structure of the conveyor 5 . to make it possible to convey containers having necks 9 of different diameters , the rails 24 are mounted so that they can slide transversely on their supports , their distance apart being adjustable by means of hand wheels 27 . as is visible in fig2 , the conveyor 5 comprises , at the outlet 6 of the forming unit 3 , a bottom plate 28 arranged below and facing the bottom 10 of the containers 2 . since the containers 2 are suspended from the rails 24 , they do not rest on the bottom plate 28 , the vertical positioning of which plate ( that is to say its distance from the rails 24 ) being adjustable , depending on the size of the containers 2 , so that the gap separating the bottom plate 28 from the base 10 of the containers 2 is as small as possible . we will see in the following how this adjustment is performed . the cooling unit 7 for its part comprises a pressurized - gas supply circuit 29 , the gas typically being air , and a pressurized - liquid supply circuit 30 , the liquid typically being water , both circuits being connected to a nozzle 31 arranged below the bottom plate 28 and at a certain distance therefrom , as is represented in fig3 and 4 . thus , when it is supplied with air and water , the nozzle 31 generates a jet 32 , composed of a mixture of air and of water in suspension , directed , outside the containers 2 , toward their base 10 , which here constitutes a target area which it is desired to cool from the outside , immediately after forming the containers 2 . the nozzle 31 has an orifice 33 directed toward an opening 34 made in the bottom plate 28 at the outlet 6 of the forming unit 3 , the bases 10 of the containers 2 filing past perpendicularly to this opening . to prevent sprays of liquid from reaching surrounding sensitive parts of the installation 1 , the nozzle 31 is placed in a casing 35 which confines the jet 32 and allows condensed water to be recovered . the casing 35 has a lateral wall 36 which is terminated by an upper end 37 by means of which the casing 35 is fastened to the bottom plate 28 , the wall 36 , of square cross section in the example shown , bordering the opening 34 . the casing 35 comprises , on the opposite side to its upper end 37 , a receptacle 38 for recovering the condensed water which flows along the lateral wall 36 . as is shown in fig4 , the receptacle 38 has an orifice 39 to which can be connected a pipe ( not shown ) for draining the water to outside the installation 1 . as is additionally visible in fig4 , the recovery receptacle 38 , which closes the casing 35 at the bottom , is detachable to allow access to the nozzle 31 . in practice , the receptacle 38 is mounted on the lateral wall 36 by means of wing nuts 40 which allow the receptacle 38 to be fitted and removed rapidly without the use of a tool . in view of the installation 1 being adapted to the production of containers 2 of various sizes , means 41 are provided for adjusting the distance separating the nozzle 31 from the bases 10 of the containers 2 , that is to say , in practice , for adjusting the distance separating the nozzle 31 from the bottom plate 28 . as illustrated in fig3 and 4 , these means 41 take the form of at least one attached spacer which is mounted on the upper end 37 of the casing 35 , being interposed between this casing and the bottom plate 28 , which is thereby raised , this spacer having a lateral wall 42 which thus extends the lateral wall 36 of the casing 35 . this results in joint modularity of the cooling unit 7 and of the conveyor 5 depending on the size of the containers 2 . as is illustrated in fig4 , the nozzle 31 is designed to generate a jet 32 of conical shape . in order to optimally locate the jet 32 on the base 10 of the containers 2 outside these containers and as far as possible prevent water spraying beyond the bottom plate 28 , the cooling unit 7 comprises a mask 43 which , mounted at the upper end 37 of the casing 35 across the opening 34 , delimits a window 44 of adjustable width . the mask 43 comprises two shutters 45 , 46 arranged in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the nozzle 31 ( that is to say to the general direction of the jet 32 ), these shutters having internal edges 47 , 48 jointly delimiting the window 44 . as is shown in fig5 , at least one of the shutters 45 , 46 is slideably mounted to allow adjustment of the size ( more precisely of the width ) of the window 44 and thus regulate the cross section of the jet 32 at the outlet of the casing 35 depending particularly on the diameter of the base 10 of the containers 2 . the nozzle 31 is an atomizing nozzle : it is designed to atomize the water into fine droplets , that is to say of a diameter of less than 200 μm , whereas the conventional nebulizing nozzles generate large water droplets , that is to say of a diameter of greater than 400 μm . the inventors have in fact observed that on contact with the hot plastic , that is to say at a temperature of greater than or equal to approximately 80 ° c ., the atomized particles pass virtually immediately to the gaseous state . the transfer of heat accompanying this change of state from liquid to gas is what causes the cooling of the exposed parts of the containers 2 ( in this instance the base 10 ). since the transfer of heat accompanying the change of state from liquid to gas is greater than that accompanying the simple heating of the water ( as is the case during cooling by means of nebulization ), cooling by means of spraying an atomized jet proves to be more efficient that nebulization . first , the water consumption is considerably reduced ( the volume of a droplet having a diameter of 200 μm in fact represents one eighth of the volume of a droplet having a diameter of 400 μm ). secondly , a significant reduction in soiling on the body 8 of the containers 2 is observed . specifically , whereas large droplets which are deposited on the bodies 8 run down and leave behind traces which must then be removed , fine droplets do not have the opportunity to become deposited on the bodies 8 , either because they have been vaporized on contact with the hot base 10 or because they have been stopped by the mask . the cleanliness of the containers is thus improved . thirdly , the vaporization of the fine droplets prevents contamination of the installation 1 , that is to say water being sprayed onto the surrounding parts of the installation 1 , which could in particular have harmful consequences in terms of electrical safety . encasing the nozzle 31 also contributes to reducing this contamination . a description will now be given of the arrangement and the equipment of the pressurized - air and pressurized - water supply circuits 29 , 30 with reference to fig3 and 6 . the air supply circuit 29 comprises an air feed line 49 connected to a general pressurized - air circuit ( not shown ; in industry , the relative air pressure in the general circuit is generally equal to 7 bar ). it should be noted that “ relative ” air pressure means the pressure difference between the measured air pressure and the atmospheric pressure . the air feed line 49 is connected to a first solenoid valve 50 operated by a controller ( not shown ), the circuit 29 being closed when the installation 1 is at a standstill and being opened when it is operating . along the air supply circuit 29 is then placed , between the solenoid valve 50 and the nozzle 31 , a pressure regulator 51 ( in this instance a relief valve ) designed so that the relative air pressure at its outlet is less than approximately 1 bar , preferably equal to approximately 0 . 7 bar . a manometer 52 ( needle - type or digital ) is attached to the regulator 51 . the water circuit 30 for its part comprises a water feed line 53 connected to the general water supply circuit ( not shown ), in this instance via a manually operated tap 54 . between the tap 54 and the nozzle 31 , the water encounters , along the circuit : a first scale - inhibiting filter 55 , of the electromagnetic type , intended to perform a first softening of the water by retaining the particles having a diameter of greater than 7 μm ; a second solenoid valve 56 operated by the afore - mentioned controller , the circuit 30 being closed when the installation 1 is at a standstill and being opened in contrast when this installation is operating ; a second scale - inhibiting filter 57 intended to perform a second softening of the water by retaining the particles having a diameter of greater than 5 μm ; a pressure regulator 58 to which a manometer 59 is attached , and a flow limiter 60 . the pressure regulator 58 and the flow limiter 59 are respectively regulated so that the relative water pressure is less than 1 bar ( preferably equal to approximately 0 . 7 bar ) and the water throughput is less than 3 l / h . in fact , the inventors have observed that , with these values , combined with a relative air pressure of less than 1 bar , the cooling unit has a maximum efficiency . in addition , in order to purge the nozzle 31 on the water infeed side so as to prevent it from scaling up , particularly if the installation 1 is at a standstill for a prolonged period , the air supply circuit 29 is connected to the water supply circuit 30 by means of a bypass circuit 61 connected , on the one hand , to the air supply circuit 29 upstream of the first solenoid valve 50 and , on the other hand , to the water supply circuit 30 between the flow limiter 60 and the nozzle 31 . the bypass circuit 61 comprises , in succession , a third solenoid valve 62 operated by the controller when purging is judged necessary , and a nonreturn valve 63 intended to prevent water from rising into the air supply circuit 29 . the preforms are first introduced into the forming unit 3 by the supply unit 11 . within the forming unit 3 , the containers 2 are formed from the preforms . the hot containers 2 are then transferred by the wheel 19 , at the outlet 6 of the forming unit 3 , toward the conveyor 5 . the containers 2 then pass across the opening 34 , their base 10 being impinged by the jet 32 coming from the nozzle 31 and consequently cooled by the heat transfer accompanying the changeover from the liquid state of the atomized water particles to the gaseous state . the invention cannot be limited to the foregoing description , with variants being conceivable . thus , although the nozzle 31 is supplied continuously , it is conceivable to program the controller in such a way as to generate the jet 32 intermittently as soon as a container 2 is presented across the window 44 , in order to save water and prevent liquid being sprayed through the gap separating two successive containers 2 . furthermore , although the cooling unit 7 is a fixed unit in the foregoing , it is conceivable to mount it on a sliding carriage accompanying the containers 2 over some of their journey along the conveyor 5 in order to cool the bases 10 further still . it is also conceivable to place the nozzle 31 in line with the transfer wheel 19 or , more precisely , in line with the path followed by the indentations 20 , in order for the containers 2 to be cooled while they are being transferred toward the conveyor 5 , even before they leave the forming unit 3 . such an arrangement does not call for any specific modification of the actual structure of the cooling unit 7 . moreover , although in the foregoing the area to be cooled (“ target area ”) comprises the base 10 of the containers 2 , it is conceivable to select another target area depending on the shape of the containers . for example , this may concern areas on the body 8 which are provided with stiffeners , where the profile and / or the thickness of the wall vary locally . in addition , it is of course possible to replace the air with any other inert gas ( for example nitrogen ), and the water with any other liquid , preferably a noncorrosive and nonpolluting liquid . as for the mask 43 , although embodied by means of sliding shutters 45 , 46 , it is conceivable to replace these shutters 45 , 46 with a contractile diaphragm . | 1 |
fig1 is an explanatory drawing of principal constituents illustrating an image formation means in one embodiment of the first invention . in fig1 an image formation unit 1 , accommodating constituent members described later , is provided as one - piece on a control unit 2 . an image - bearing drum 3 , shaped like a cylinder and having a photosensitive layer ( not shown ) comprising zinc oxide or organic semiconductor on the peripheral surface , is provided in such a manner as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow within the image formation unit 1 . a charger 4 , a developing and cleaning unit 5 formed as described later and a transfer unit 6 are individually provided near the periphery of the image - bearing drum 3 . a magnet roller 8 is rotatably provided on the developing and cleaning unit 5 and formed so as to face to the image - bearing drum 3 . next , a fixer 9 is provided downstream from a recording paper path 10 of the image formation unit 1 and comprises a pressure contacting and rotatable formation of a heating roller 19 and a pressure roller 20 . incidentally , the heating roller 19 and pressure roller 20 , each formed to be 20 mm in outer diameter , are constructed while kept in pressure contact with each other under a linear pressure of 0 . 5 kg / cm . the heating roller 19 comprises a heater , made of electricity resistant material , provided on the periphery of a core made of , say , aluminum alloy and a release layer , composed of , say , ptfe coated about 10 μm on the periphery thereof . further , a pressure roller 20 comprises an outside layer , composed of silicon rubber on the periphery of a core made of material similar to that of the heating roller 19 . according to the construction mentioned above , individual constituent members within the image formation unit 1 are put into driving or operating states via the control unit 2 and an electric signal corresponding to a piece of information or an image is input to a laser scanner 16 . then , the image - bearing drum 3 is uniformly charged using the charger 4 and a laser beam respondent to said electric signal is illuminated on this charged surface , thereby forming a static charge image . the static charge image is developed as a toner image by means of a magnetic developer to be attracted and conveyed by the magnet roller 8 in the developing and cleaning unit 5 and transferred with the transfer means 6 onto paper ( not shown ) moving along the paper feed path 10 . the magnetic toner remaining on the image - bearing drum 3 after transfer of an image is removed therefrom simultaneously with the development of an electrostatic latent image on said developing and cleaning unit 5 . thereafter , the paper bearing a toner image is fed to the fixer 9 , heat of the heating roller 19 is propagated to the toner image on paper , a binding resin constituting the magnetic toner is fused , and fixation is accomplished . fig2 is a principal enlarged transverse sectional view illustrating one example of the developing and cleaning unit 5 in fig1 . in fig2 a magnet roller 8 , comprising a permanent magnet 11 made in one - piece of sintered permanent magnet such as hard ferrite magnet and having a plurality of magnetic poles axially extending on the peripheral surface , is provided rotatably at the bottom of the developer container 12 . a dc power supply 13 and ac power supply 14 , each connected between the doctor blade 15 and the image - bearing drum 3 , are formed in such a manner that an alternate electric field with an ac bias superimposed on the dc bias can be applied between a magnetic developer 7 to be attracted and conveyed on the surface of the permanent magnet 11 and the image - bearing drum 3 . according to the constitution mentioned above , a magnetic developer 7 is attracted on the surface of the permanent magnet 11 constituting the magnet roller 8 and a magnetic brush ( not shown ) comprising a magnetic developer 7 rubs the surface of the image - bearing drum 3 in the region where the permanent magnet 11 opposite the image - bearing drum 3 . consequently , even after passing said transfer means 6 shown in fig1 the toner remaining on the image - bearing drum 3 is removed and collected using a magnetic brush . at the same time , an electrostatic latent image on the image - bearing drum 3 is also developed using a magnetic brush . the results of image formation by such means as mentioned above will be described . first , prepare a magnetic developer comprising magnetic toner and carriers . the magnetic toner used is produced using a grinding means , contains magnetic powder , is charged negatively , has a mean particle size of 8 μm and indicates a specific volume resistivity of 5 × 10 14 ω . cm and an amount of triboelectric charge of - 15 μc / g . it consists of 55 % styrene - n - butyl methacrylate copolymer ( mw = 21 × 10 4 , mn = 1 . 6 × 10 14 ), 40 % magnetic powder ( toda kogyo corp ., ept500 ), 3 % polypropylene ( sanyo chemical co ., ltd ., tp32 ) and 2 % charging control agent ( orient chemical industries , bontron s34 ) in weight . next , this toner is mixed with carriers comprising flat iron powder , average particle sige of 25 μm ( surface - coated with silicone resin , specific volume resistivity : 10 7 ω . cm ) for preparation of a magnetic developer and estimation of image quality is performed while varying the toner concentration . table 1 shows the obtained results . in this case , an image - bearing drum 3 shown in fig2 is formed by opc to set the surface potential at - 600 v and the peripheral speed at 25 mm / s . a permanent magnet 11 is formed using cylinder - shaped ferrite magnet with an outer diameter of 20 mm , magnetic poles of 16 , and a surface magnetic flux density of 400 g to set the number of rotation at 150 rpm , developing gap g at 0 . 5 mm , doctor gap t at 0 . 4 mm , dc bias voltage at - 550 v , ac bias voltage vp - p at 400 v and frequency at 500 hz . table 1______________________________________toner concentration cleaningno . ( weight %) image density fog density ability______________________________________1 10 1 . 30 0 . 07 ∘ 2 30 1 . 38 0 . 09 ∘ 3 50 1 . 40 0 . 10 ∘ 4 70 1 . 42 0 . 11 x______________________________________ table 1 reveals that the image density rises and the degree of cleaning improves with increasing toner concentration in a magnetic developer . in no . 4 , however , it is noticed that the fog density becomes higher and the cleaning ability is lowered . the results of similar image estimation made with a magnetic developer composed of non - magnetic toner and carriers will be described . the non - magnetic toner is negative charged , average particle size of 9 μm , produced using a grinding means like the above - mentioned magnetic toner , and has a specific volume resistivity of 6 × 10 14 ω . cm and amount of triboelectric charge of - 23 μc / g . it consists of 85 % styrene - n - butyl mathacrylate copolymer , 10 % carbon black ( mitsubishi chemical industries , ltd ., # 50 ), 3 % polypropylene ( sanyo chemical co ., ltd ., tp32 ), 2 % charging control agent ( orient chemical industries , bontron s34 ) in weight . in a magnetic developer prepared by mixing the non - magnetic toner mentioned above with cu -- zn ferrite carriers , average particle size of 30 μm , ( hitachi metals ltd ., kbn - 220 , no surface coating ), estimation of image quality was performed with varied toner concentration . table 2 shows the obtained results . in this case , a permanent magnet 11 shown in fig2 is formed using cylinder - shaped ferrite magnet with an outer diameter of 20 mm , 32 magnetic poles , and a surface magnetic flux density of 250 g to set the developing gap g at 0 . 4 mm , doctor gap t at 0 . 35 mm , and dc bias voltage at - 550 v . the other developing conditions are the same as with above - mentioned . table 2______________________________________toner concentration cleaningno . ( weight %) image density fog density ability______________________________________5 10 1 . 35 0 . 08 ∘ 6 30 1 . 37 0 . 10 ∘ 7 50 1 . 41 0 . 10 ∘ 8 70 1 . 43 0 . 13 x______________________________________ as with fig1 fig2 reveals that no . 8 indicates a high fog density and a lower cleaning ability whereas nos . 5 to 7 produce a distinct image and a good cleaning ability . the results of estimation made for a magnetic developer containing apherical color toner produced by polymerization process will be described . first , color toner was produced , for example , as follows : as raw material , 70 parts of styrene , 30 parts of n - butyl methacrylate , 0 . 5 part of divinyl benzene , 0 . 5 part of t - lauryl mercaptan , 2 parts of azo bisisobutylonitrile , 5 parts of magenta ( c . i . pigment r122 ), 1 . 0 part of polyesteric dispersant ( polyhexamethylene adipate ) and 2 parts of charging control agent ( orient chemical industries , ltd ., bontron e - 88 ) in weight were weighed , brought together , then mixed for 2 hours by means of a ball mill . next , put 1000 parts of ion exchange water and 15 parts of silica ( nippon aerogel co ., ltd ., aerogel # 130 ) in a receptacle and stir by means of a homogenizer ( nippon tokushu kika kogyo k . k ., homomixer ), further add 0 . 5 part of γ - anilinomethyl trimethoxy silane ( torre silicone co ., ltd ., sz6083 ), and stir the mixture . add the monomer - composed mixture into the dispersion medium , then disperse and granulate it for 10 minutes at 6000 rpm . after nitrogen substitution of the reaction receptacle , replace the homogenizer with a stirring apparatus having paddle stirring vanes , raise the temperature to 70 ° c . while continuing a stir at 120 rpm , and allow to react for 10 hours . put the obtained polymer in a cool water , dehydrate after filtration , alkali cleansing , and water cleansing , and drying under reduced pressure at 40 ° c . for 12 hours to obtain toner particles , average particle size of 6 μm . a specific volume resistivity and amount of triboelectric charge showed 9 × 10 10 ω . cm and - 29 . 5 μc / g , respectively . in a magnetic developer prepared by mixing the non - magnetic color toner with flat iron powder , average particle size of 25 μm , ( surface coated with silicone resin , a specific volume resistivity : 10 8 ω . cm ), estimation of image quality was performed with varied toner concentration . table 3 shows the obtained results . in this case , a permanent magnet 11 shown in fig2 is formed using a cylinder - shaped sr ferrite type rubber magnet with an outer diameter of 20 mm , magnetic poles of 24 , and a surface magnetic flux density of 200 g laid on the periphery of a steel - made shaft having an outer diameter of 6 mm to set developing gap g at 0 . 4 mm , doctor gap t at 0 . 3 mm , and dc bias voltage at - 550 v . the other development conditions are the same as with the above - mentioned . table 3 is accompanied by control examples of image formation made with a magnet roller , formed by coaxially and rotatably installing a sleeve made of sus304 around a permanent magnet 11 ( formed of ferrite sintered magnet ) with the main magnetic pole having a surface magnetic flux density of 650 g fixed opposite the image - bearing drum 3 shown in fig2 except for setting the number of rotations in a sleeve at 150 rpm , the other conditions are the same as with the sr ferrite rubber magnet mentioned above . table 3______________________________________ toner fog clean - concentration image den - ing scatter ofdivision no . ( weight %) density sity ability toner______________________________________embodi - 9 5 1 . 33 0 . 07 ∘ noment 10 10 1 . 37 0 . 08 ∘ no 11 20 1 . 41 0 . 08 ∘ no 12 30 1 . 41 0 . 09 x nocontrol 13 5 1 . 25 0 . 08 δ no 14 7 1 . 30 0 . 09 x yes 15 10 1 . 35 0 . 13 x yes______________________________________ table 3 reveals that no . 13 in the control shows not only a low image density but also rather less cleaning ability , and image density and fog density simultaneously rise , lowering the cleaning ability , scattering toner , and deteriorating the image quality noticeably , with increasing toner concentration . in contrast with this , a high - quality image was confirmed to be obtained for the embodiment . although only no . 12 shows low cleaning ability yet nos . 9 to 11 shows little fog and good cleaning ability . in the embodiment 1 , a dc power supply 13 and ac power supply 14 are connected to the doctor blade 15 , but may be connected to the surface of the magnet roller 8 on which a metal layer ( e . g ., sus304 foil , thickness of 10 μm ) is formed , giving a similar image . because of having the constitution and operation described above , the first invention can provide the following effects : ( 1 ) since the magnet roller comprises only a permanent magnet and a sleeve and a cleaning means can be omitted , the developing device and image forming device can be made smaller in size . ( 2 ) since a magnetic developer is so constructed as to be attracted directly and conveyed on the surface of a permanent magnet , the conveyability and stability in the shape of a magnetic brush improves and the developing and cleaning ability is good , thus producing a high - quality image . ( 3 ) even if toner in a magnetic developer is small - particle - sized and / or spherical , the residual toner in the developing and cleaning region can be completely removed and collected from the surface of the image - bearing body . ( 4 ) since the toner concentration in a magnetic developer can be set over a wide range , a toner concentration control means , for example , need not to be used , thus permitting the whole apparatus to be made compact . fig3 is a principal sectional view illustrating one example of a developer in the embodiment of the second invention and like constituent is denoted by the same reference symbol as with fig6 . the developing unit 102 in fig3 corresponds to the developing unit 102y , 102m , 102c , 102bk shown in fig6 and differs only in the color of accommodated toner but is identical in constitution . the developing roller 103 is formed like a cylinder using , say , an isotropic ferrite magnet with a plurality of magnetic poles axially extending being so arranged on the peripheral surface that n and s poles may appear alternatively , and rotatably provided on the left bottom end of the developer container 109 . reference symbol 110 , 111 , and 112 denote a developer reserver , toner reserver , and stirring vanes , respectively . a doctor blade 113 is provided via a doctor gap t spaced from the surface of the developing roller 103 at the lateral part of the developer container 109 for controlling the layer thickness of magnetic developer 114 to be attracted on the surface of the developing roller 103 . a dc power supply 115 and ac power supply 116 are connected between the image - bearing drum 101 and the doctor blade 113 and used for applying an alternate electric field with superimposition of a dc bias and ac bias to between the image - bearing drum 101 and the magnetic developer 114 . symbol g denotes a development gap . by disposing four developing unit 102 as constituted above close by the image - bearing drum 101 as shown in fig6 the image forming device is formed . that is , in fig3 a rotation of the developing roller 3 in the direction of the arrow causes magnetic developer 114 to be attracted and conveyed on the surface of the developing roller 103 . when the magnetic developer 114 reaches the developing region opposite the image - bearing drum 101 , toner in the magnetic developer 114 is put to an image formed on the surface of the image - bearing drum 101 under action of an alternate electric field with superimposition of an ac bias and dc bias , thereby permitting a development of the image . consequently , a color image comprising the image of each individual color superposed thereon can be formed . the results of image formation using the developing unit 102 shown in fig3 will be described . first , prepare a magnetic developer mainly comprising non - magnetic toner and magnetic carriers . the black toner used consists of 85 % styrene - acryl copolymer , 10 % coloring agent ( carbon black , mitsubishi chemical industries , ltd ., # 44 ), 3 % polypropylene ( sanyo chemical co ., ltd ., tp32 ) and 2 % charging control agent ( orient chemical industries , bontron s34 ) in weight . toner of a color other than black consists of 90 % polyester ( nippon carbide industries co ., ltd ., ncp11 ), 8 % coloring agent , 1 % polypropylene ( sanyo chemical co ., ltd ., tp32 ) and 1 % charging control agent ( orient chemical industries , bontron e88 ( white )) in weight , where cyan : c . i . pigment blue 15 - 3 , magenta : c . i . pigment red 122 and yellow : c . i . pigment yellow 12 are used as coloring agents . each individual toner mentioned above averages particle size of 7 μm . a magnetic developer is prepared by mixing said non - magnetic toner and flat iron powder , average particle size of 25 μm ( coated with silicone resin ) and estimation of image quality ( provided for monocolor images ) is performed with varied toner concentration . table 4 shows the obtained results . in this case , the image - bearing drum 101 shown in fig3 is formed by opc to set the surface potential at - 500 v and the peripheral speed at 25 mm / s . the developing roller 103 is formed using a cylinder - shaped ferrite magnet with an outer diameter of 20 mm , magnetic of 16 poles , and the surface magnetic flux density of 550 g to set the number of rotations at 150 rpm , developing gap g at 0 . 6 mm , doctor gap t at 0 . 3 mm , dc bias voltage at - 450 v , ac bias voltage vp - p at 800 v , and frequency at 200 hz . the image is fixed by use of heat roller on which silicone oil supplied by sponge roller . imagine densities in table 4 are measured using a filter expect for black . table 4______________________________________toner fog absence of fine lineconcentration kind of image den - spreadness uneven - no . ( weight %) color density sity of toner ness______________________________________1 5 cyan 1 . 28 0 . 07 ∘ ∘ 2 10 magenta 1 . 33 0 . 08 ∘ ∘ 3 30 yellow 1 . 40 0 . 08 ∘ ∘ 4 50 black 1 . 38 0 . 09 ∘ ∘ 5 60 cyan 1 . 39 0 . 10 ∘ ∘ 6 70 magenta 1 . 40 0 . 13 δ δ______________________________________ table 4 reveals that the image density generally increases with rising toner concentration , but in no . 6 the fog density also increases , dust and a fine - line unevenness occurs and the image quality deteriorates . in contrast with this , nos . 1 to 5 were confirmed to give a high - quality image without spread of toner or fine - line unevenness . in the embodiment 2 , jumping development with non - magnetic toner used also for a black image are described , but single - component magnetic toner may be used or a mixture of magnetic toner and carriers may be used for forming a black image . further , a contact type where a magnetic brush rubs the surface of an image - bearing drum may be also used as a developing process . though connected to the doctor blade 113 , an dc power supply 115 and ac power supply 116 may be connected to the surface of the magnet roller 103 on which a metal layer is formed as mentioned above , giving a similar image . because of having the constitution and operation described above , the second invention provides the following effects : ( 1 ) since the developing roller comprises only a permanent magnet and directly adsorbs and conveys magnetic developer on its outer surface , a stable magnetic brush is formed , thus permitting a high quality image without scattering of toner or contaminating of color to be formed . ( 2 ) since the permanent magnet serving as a support means for magnetic developer is a hard material , the surface hardly wears and is not liable to deteriorate with age , thereby permitting a promotion in durability . ( 3 ) even for a larger development gap , a stable high - quality image can be obtained . ( 4 ) since the toner concentration in a magnetic developer can be set over a wide range , a toner concentration control means , for example , need not to be used , thus permitting the whole apparatus to be made compact . ( 5 ) a permanent magnet constituting the developing roller needs no higher precision working than is required , thus permitting a reduction in production cost . fig4 is a principal transverse sectional view illustrating one example of a developing unit in the embodiment of the third invention and like components are denoted by the same reference symbol as with fig5 . the permanent magnet 204 in fig4 is formed of a semiconductive or insulating , say , isotropic ferrite magnet having a specific volume resistivity of more than 10 6 ω . cm , on whose peripheral surface a plurality of magnetic poles axially extending are provided in a cylindrical shape , and is rotatably provided on the bottom end of the developer container 201 . a dc power supply 210 is connected between the doctor blade 205 and the image - bearing drum 203 . a magnetic toner is prepared as negatively charged particles , average particle size of 7 μm and having a specific volume resistivity of 2 × 10 14 ω . cm and amount of triboelectric charge of - 21 . 5 μc / g . the ratio of each constituent is as follows : polyester resin ( nippon carbide industries co ., ltd ., ncp33b ) 70 ; magnetite ( toda kogyo corp ., ept500 ) 2 . 5 ; polypropylene ( sanyo chemical co ., ltd ., tp32 ) 4 ; and charging control agent ( orient chemical industries , bontron e81 ) 1 . to the particles formed of these constituents is added an external additive ( nippon aerogel co ., ltd ., r972 ) 0 . 5 . as magnetic carriers , ba -- ni -- zn ferrite ( hitachi metals ltd ., kbn - 100 ), distributing from 10 to 37 μm and averaging 18 . 5 μm in particle size , indicating a value shown in table 5 of magnetization σ 1000 in 1000 oe , and having a specific volume resistivity of 7 . 2 × 10 8 ω . cm . further , the image - bearing drum 203 is formed by opc to set the surface potential at - 700 v and the peripheral speed at 25 mm / s . the permanent magnet 204 is so formed as to have an outer diameter of 20 mm , magnetic poles of 16 , and a surface magnetic flux density of 500 g to set the developing gap g at 0 . 4 mm , doctor gap t at 0 . 3 mm , and dc bias voltage at - 550 v . table 5 shows the results of image estimation with varied toner concentration and σ 1000 . table 5______________________________________ initial toner concentration σ . sub . 1000 fogno . ( weight %) ( emu / g ) image density (%) ______________________________________1 3 48 1 . 15 0 . 122 5 1 . 33 0 . 073 30 1 . 35 0 . 154 50 1 . 37 0 . 185 80 1 . 37 0 . 276 85 1 . 37 0 . 767 50 10 1 . 36 0 . 228 20 1 . 36 0 . 259 35 1 . 35 0 . 15______________________________________ table 5 reveals that with a value of σ 1000 kept constant and varied toner concentration , no . 1 shows a low - value image density because of a low toner concentration , whereas no . 6 shows the occurrence of fog because of a high toner concentration . in contrast with these , nos . 2 to 5 show a high image density and no fog , thus providing a good image . in cases with the toner concentration kept constant and varied low values of σ 1000 , nos . 7 to 9 provide a good image without attach to the image - bearing member of carriers or occurrence of fog . ten thousand continuous printing tests under conditions of no . 4 in table 5 provided a good image in which the toner concentration varies within the range of 45 to 60 weight %, the image density is 1 . 35 or over , and the occurrence of fog is 0 . 5 % or less . however , the torque of the permanent magnet 204 ( cf . fig4 ) remains at a value of 0 . 7 kg cm . as the control , an image formation was performed by applying the aforesaid magnetic developer to an image forming means of a type allowing the sleeve alone to rotate with the sleeve disposed outside the aforesaid permanent magnet 204 . the obtained results show that the surface magnetic flux density of the permanent magnet 204 is 850 g ( 790 g on the sleeve ), the toner concentration without occurrence of fog ranges from 20 to 30 weight % but fog exceeds 0 . 5 % for a toner concentration of more than 30 weight %, and attach to the image - bearing member of carriers occurs for a toner concentration of less than 20 weight %. next , non - magnetic toner , average particle size of 8 . 5 μm , indicating a specific volume resistivity of 5 × 10 14 ω . cm and an amount of triboelectric charge of - 25 . 8 μc / g , is prepared . it consists of 87 % styrene - acryl resin , 8 % carbon black ( mitsubishi chemical industries ltd ., ma - 100 ), 1 % charging control agent ( orient chemical industries , bontron s - 34 ), and 4 % polypropylene ( sanyo chemical co ., ltd ., tp32 ) in weight . to the particles formed of these constituents is added 0 . 5 % external additive ( hextwacker co ., ltd ., h2000 ). as magnetic carriers , resin bonded carriers , average particle size of 10 μm , indicating a specific volume resistivity of 5 × 10 8 ω . cm and magnetization σ 1000 = 35 emu / g are used . it consists of 49 % stylen - acryl resin , 50 % magnetite ( kanto denka , k . k ., kbc - 100 ), and 1 % charging control agent ( orient chemical industries , oil black by ) in weight . onto the surface of particles formed of these constituents is deposited 0 . 5 weight % carbon black ( mitsubishi chemical industries ltd ., ma - 600 ). the triboelectric charge is + 5 . 1 μc / g . further , the image - bearing drum 203 shown in fig4 is formed in a manner similar to that of the first and second embodiments . the permanent magnet 204 is so formed as to have an outer diameter of 20 mm , magnetic poles of 32 , and a surface magnetic flux density of 400 g to set the developing gap g at 0 . 4 mm , doctor gap t at 0 . 25 mm , and dc bias voltage at - 600 v . table 6 shows the results of image estimation with varied toner concentration . table 6______________________________________ initial toner concentration σ . sub . 1000 fogno . ( weight %) ( emu / g ) image density (%) ______________________________________11 3 35 1 . 20 0 . 1012 5 1 . 31 0 . 1513 40 1 . 36 0 . 2214 70 1 . 37 0 . 3015 85 1 . 37 0 . 85______________________________________ table 6 reveals that no . 11 with a toner concentration of 3 % shows a low image density , whereas no . 15 with a toner concentration of 85 % shows occurrence of fog . in contrast with these , nos . 12 to 14 provide a good image without fog and with a high image density . ten thousand continuous printing tests under conditions of no . 13 in table 6 provided a good image in which the toner concentration varies within the range of 40 to 65 weight % without being equipped with a toner concentration sensor , the image density is 1 . 35 or over , and the occurrence of fog is 0 . 5 % or less . however , the torque of the permanent magnet 204 ( cf . fig4 ) remains at a value of 0 . 3 kg - cm . as control , image formation was performed by using a magnetic developer comprising the aforesaid one and spherical reduced iron powder carriers ( σ 1000 oe = 125 emu / g ), average particle size of 100 μm ( distributing from 74 to 149 μm ), under conditions ( initial toner concentration of 10 weight %) similar to the aforesaid . the obtained results show that the toner concentration varies from 10 to 20 weight %. occurrence of fog is observed for a toner concentration of not less than 15 weight % and the torque of the permanent magnet 204 needs 2 . 0 kg - cm . on the contrary , continuous printing tests at an initial toner concentration of 10 weight % while being equipped with a toner concentration sensor shows that fog exceeds 0 . 5 % for 5 , 000 or more print tests and exceeds 1 % for 10 , 000 print tests . in addition , spent phenomena are noticed on the surface of magnetic carriers . though connected to the doctor blade 205 in the embodiment 3 , an dc power supply 210 may be connected to the surface of the developing roller , on which a metal layer is formed as mentioned above , comprising a permanent magnet 204 , giving a similar image . because of having the constitution and operation described above , the third invention can provide the following effects : ( 1 ) since the developing roller comprises only a permanent magnet , the developing device can be made small in size , thus permitting the whole image forming device to be miniaturized . ( 2 ) since the permanent magnet serving as a support means for magnetic developer is a hard material , the surface hardly wears and is not liable to deteriorate with age , thereby permitting a promotion in durability . ( 3 ) use of small - grain - sized magnetic carriers permits a high - precision and high - quality image to be obtained . ( 4 ) since the toner concentration in a magnetic developer can be set over a wide range , a toner concentration control means , for example , need not to be used , thus permitting the whole apparatus to be made compact . ( 5 ) a permanent magnet constituting the developing roller needs no higher precision working than is required , thus permitting a reduction in production cost . in the embodiment of the fourth invention , emulsion ( solid components : 20 weight %) comprising stylene - acrylic copolymer particles , not greater than 1 μm in grain size , is obtained by allowing to polymerization react at 70 ° c . for 8 hours after stirring 91 parts of styrene , 8 . 7 parts of 2 - ethyl hexyl acrylate , and 0 . 3 part of divinyl benzene , in a water solution composed of 400 parts of ion exchange water , 1 part of hydroxypropylcellulose , and 5 parts of potassium persulfate in weight and dropping the mixed solution in an atmosphere of nitrogen . disperse 80 parts of magnetic powder ( toda corp ., mta - 305 ) previously surface processed with silane coupling agent ( toray silicone co ., ltd ., sz6083 ) and 1 part of charging control agent ( nippon chemical industrial co ., ltd ., kaya charge t - 2n ) in 500 parts of the emulsion and hold it while stirring at 70 ° c . for 3 hours . in this case , because of being processed above the glass transition temperature of resin components , particles including polymers aggregate and aggregations , average particle size of 7 μm , are formed . after cooling , add 0 . 5 part of silica ( wacker co ., ltd ., h - 2000 ) to aggregated particles obtained by filtration , water washing , and vacuum drying , thus producing a magnetic toner . this magnetic toner indicates a specific volume resistivity of 10 15 ω . cm and an amount of charge of - 26 μc / g . as the control , obtain magnetic toner ( spherical particles ) having a composition similar to the aforesaid by a publicly known polymerization process . this magnetic toner has an average particle size of 6 . 5 μm and indicates a specific volume resistivity of 10 15 ω . cm and an amount of triboelectric charge of - 18 μc / g . a magnetic developer is obtained by mixing the aforesaid magnetic toner with magnetic carriers indicating a specific volume resistivity of 10 11 ω . cm , prepared by surface coating hetero shaped iron powder , average particle size of 25 μm , with silicone resin , and developing is performed using a developer shown in fig5 . table 7 shows the results of image estimation in this development . in this case , the image - bearing drum 203 shown in fig5 is formed by opc to set the surface potential at - 600 v and the peripheral speed at 25 mm / s . the permanent magnet 204 is formed using cylinder - shaped ferrite magnet with an outer diameter of 20 mm , magnetic poles of 16 , and the surface magnetic flux density of 400 g to set the number of rotations at 150 rpm a developing gap g at 0 . 5 and a doctor gap t at 0 . 4 mm . an alternate electric field with an ac bias voltage vp - p = 400 v superimposed on the dc bias voltage of - 550v is applied through the doctor blade 205 at a frequency of 500 hz . table 7______________________________________ toner life of concen - back - clean - image - divi - tration image ground ing bearingsion no . ( weight %) density fog ability drum ( sheet ) ______________________________________em - 1 5 1 . 38 0 . 8 ∘ ≧ 100 , 000bodi - 2 10 1 . 39 0 . 9 ∘ ≧ 100 , 000ment 3 15 1 . 42 1 . 3 ∘ ≧ 100 , 000 4 40 1 . 41 1 . 4 ∘ ≧ 100 , 000 5 50 1 . 41 1 . 5 ∘ ≧ 100 , 000 6 60 1 . 46 2 . 3 ∘ ≧ 100 , 000 7 70 1 . 47 2 . 7 ∘ ≧ 100 , 000control 8 15 1 . 36 7 . 5 x 20 , 000______________________________________ note : background fog is determined by visual inspection . because the valu is smaller , the background less . ( practical range : 2 or less ) table 7 reveals that use of globular magnetic toner for control brings about a much background fog , poor cleaning ability , and a short life for the ion - bearing drum . in nos . 6 and 7 , background fog is somewhat large . on the contrary , nos . 1 to 5 bring about a high image density , slight background fog , and a good cleaning ability , and can improve the life of the image - bearing drum more than five times than that of the conventional . the toner concentration is found to be set preferably at 5 to 50 weight %. the embodiment 4 describes one example using a two - component magnetic developer comprising magnetic toner and magnetic carrier , but a two - component developer containing non - magnetic toner or a single - component developer comprising only magnetic toner can be expected to bring about similar effects . though applied to the doctor blade 205 in the embodiment 4 , voltage may be applied to the surface of the developing roller , on which a metal layer is formed as mentioned above , comprising a permanent magnet 204 , giving a similar image . because of having the constitution and operation described above , the fourth invention can provide the following effects : ( 1 ) since toner in a magnetic developer in non - spherical , the residual toner , even if small in particle size , can be easily and completely removed and collected from the surface of the image - bearing body . ( 2 ) since the residual toner can be removed from the surface of the image - bearing body , formation of toner film is prevented and the life of the image - bearing body can be prolonged . ( 3 ) since the developer comprising only a permanent magnet , the sleeve can be omitted , thus permitting the developing device and image forming device to be made small in size . ( 4 ) since a magnetic developer is so arranged as to be directly attracted and held on the surface of a permanent magnet , the conveyability and the stability in the shape of a magnetic brush improves and the developing ability is good , thus permitting a high - quality image to be obtained . ( 5 ) in the case of using a two - component magnetic developer , the toner concentration in a magnetic developer can be set over a wide range and a toner concentration control means can be omitted , thus permitting the whole apparatus to be made compact . | 6 |
fig1 . is a drawing depicting a device under test ( dut ) and test equipment configured for testing the dut in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . the test equipment includes an adapter board , such as adapter board 120 , and a tester , such as tester 110 . device 140 is a dut , such as an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ) semiconductor device , or any other suitable dut . device 140 includes connection terminals , such as connection terminals 261 through 268 and 271 through 278 . connection terminals of devices with pin grid array ( pga ) packages are pins , and connection terminals of devices with ball grid array ( bga ) packages are solder balls . as seen in fig2 , device 140 includes an internal power bus including a vdd component , such as vdd 241 , and a vss component , such as vss 242 . also , dut 140 includes internal circuitry , such as circuit 243 , which is the circuitry being subjected to testing , i . e ., the object of test . the internal power bus and internal circuitry connect to the device &# 39 ; s connection terminals , via internal circuit pathways , for receiving power and for sending and receiving test signals . two or more power connection terminals connect to each component of the internal power bus , positioned in any manner . here , device 140 has eight power connection terminals connected to the internal power bus , four power connection terminals ( e . g ., 261 , 263 , 265 , 267 ) connected to vdd 241 , and four power connection terminals ( e . g ., 262 , 264 , 266 , 268 ) connected to vss 242 , as seen in fig2 . also , any number of signal connection terminals connect to the internal circuitry , for receiving input signals and / or sending output signals , positioned in any manner . here , device 140 has eight signal connection terminals ( e . g ., 271 through 278 ) connected to circuit 243 . the test equipment can perform testing by supplying input signals to circuit 243 via input signal connection terminals , extracting output signals from circuit 243 via output signal connection terminals , and comparing the values of the output signals to values in a test specification . adapter board 120 is a printed circuit board ( pcb ), or any other suitable type of adapter board , and the like . adapter board 120 includes circuits for simulating a field environment for testing a dut . this circuitry includes integrated circuits , discrete components , and the like . for example , an adapter board for testing a network card microprocessor dut includes circuitry that simulates a network card deployed in the field under actual use . also , adapter board 120 includes circuits for creating the test environment , such as buffer 150 , and one or more power supply busses , such as adapter board vdd bus 191 and adapter board vss bus 192 . adapter board 120 includes leads , such as leads 161 through 168 , 171 through 178 , and 181 through 184 , and connectors , such as connectors 121 and 122 , for connecting to testers , such as tester 110 , input devices , output devices , power supplies , and the like . leads include solder traces , wires , cables , ribbon cable , jumpers , and the like . the connectors enable adapter board 120 to removably connect to testers , such as tester 110 , input devices , output devices , power supplies , and the like . connectors include sockets , plugs , bus connectors , and the like . bus connectors are , for example , usb , pci , pxi , lan , gpib , and vxi bus connectors , and the like . adapter board 120 includes socket 130 . socket 130 is a removably attachable socket having pogo pins , or any other suitable socket , and the like . socket 130 has two sides , one side attaching to adapter board 120 , and another side holding device 140 . the side of socket 130 holding device 140 has one or more contact points ( e . g ., 61 through 68 and 71 through 78 ) for connecting to each of device 140 &# 39 ; s connection terminals . contact points of sockets for holding devices with pga packages are holes , and contact points of sockets for holding devices with bga packages are pogo pins . socket 130 &# 39 ; s contact points form removably attachable connections with device 140 &# 39 ; s connection terminals , allowing device 140 to be removed from the socket after testing . here , socket 130 has sixteen contact points , eight contact points ( e . g ., 61 through 68 ) for forming connections with device 140 &# 39 ; s eight power connection terminals ( e . g ., 261 through 268 ), and eight contact points ( e . g ., 71 through 78 ) for forming connections with device 140 &# 39 ; s eight signal connection terminals ( e . g ., 271 through 278 ), respectively . the side of socket 130 attaching to adapter board 120 includes one or more connection terminals ( not shown ) connected through the socket to each of the socket &# 39 ; s contact points . socket 130 &# 39 ; s connection terminals are pins , solder balls , or the like . here , socket 130 &# 39 ; s connection terminals attach to adapter board 120 via leads 161 through 168 and 171 through 178 . tester 110 is a tester capable of sending and receiving test signals to a dut and supplying power to a dut . the tester includes a user interface , an operating system , and a power supply 215 ( fig2 ), connected to one or more test components 214 ( fig2 ) via a bus . the user interface is , for example , a software user interface running on a computer . the operating system is , for example , microsoft windows , a proprietary operating system , or the like . the bus is usb , pci , pxi , lan , gpib , vxi , or the like . the tester uses the power supply to supply power to a dut , and uses one or more test components to send and receive signals to a dut . compensation unit 211 and comparator unit 212 can be implemented as a combination of hardware and / or software modules . in the present embodiment , connectors 121 and 122 connect tester 110 to adapter board 120 , and socket 130 holds device 140 . buffer 150 is a low pass filter circuit , such as an integrated circuit , a discrete circuit , or the like . device 140 &# 39 ; s eight power connection terminals 261 through 268 are connected to leads 161 through 168 via socket 130 , respectively . also , device 140 &# 39 ; s eight signal connection terminals 271 through 278 are connected to leads 171 through 178 via socket 130 , respectively . the test equipment is configured to supply power to a first power connection terminal based on a voltage level monitored at a second power connection terminal . here , the test equipment is configured to supply power to power connection terminals 263 through 268 based on a voltage level monitored at power connection terminals 261 and 262 . leads 163 , 165 , and 167 connect power connection terminals 263 , 265 , and 267 to adapter board vdd bus 191 , and leads 164 , 166 , and 168 connect power connection terminals 264 , 266 , and 268 to adapter board vss bus 192 , through socket 130 . tester 110 supplies power to adapter board vdd bus 191 and adapter board vss bus 192 via leads 183 and 184 . leads 161 and 162 connect power connection terminals 261 and 262 to inputs of buffer 150 , through socket 130 . leads 181 and 182 connect outputs of buffer 150 to tester 110 . tester 110 monitors the voltages at power connection terminals 261 and 262 through leads 181 and 182 , buffer 150 , leads 161 and 162 , and then socket 130 . leads 171 through 178 connect signal connection terminals 271 through 278 to tester 110 , through socket 130 . fig2 . is a schematic diagram depicting test equipment configured for testing a device in accordance with the fig1 embodiment of the invention . as seen in fig2 , device 140 is the same as described in the detailed description of fig1 . device 140 includes an internal power bus including a vdd component , such as vdd 241 , and a vss component , such as vss 242 . also , device 140 includes internal circuitry , such as circuit 243 . the internal power bus and internal circuitry are interconnected via internal circuit pathways , such as , for example , etchings in the silicon of the device . also , the internal power bus and internal circuitry are connected to device 140 &# 39 ; s connection terminals , such as connection terminals 261 through 268 and 271 through 278 , via internal circuit pathways , for receiving power and for sending and receiving signals . in operation , during a pre - test mode , power supply 215 of tester 110 supplies power to vdd 241 and vss 242 through adapter board 120 . tester 110 then monitors the voltage of vdd 241 and vss 242 through buffer 150 , which reduces voltage noise . comparator unit 212 of tester 110 then compares the monitored voltage of vdd 241 and the monitored voltage of vss 242 with vdd - vss target 213 . if the monitored voltage of vdd 241 and the monitored voltage of vss 242 are equal to vdd - vss target 213 , compensation unit 211 fixes the voltage of power supply 215 , and tester 110 enters a test mode where it performs testing by causing test component 214 to send and receive signals to circuit 243 . if the monitored voltage of vdd 241 and the monitored voltage of vss 242 are not equal to vdd - vss target 213 , compensation unit 211 increases the power supplied by power supply 215 . tester 110 continues monitoring the voltage of vdd 241 and vss 242 and increasing the power supplied by power supply 215 until the monitored voltage of vdd 241 and the monitored voltage of vss 242 are equal to vdd - vss target 213 , after which the voltages are fixed and tester 110 enters the test mode . during test mode , test component 214 supplies input signals to circuit 243 via input signal connection terminals ( e . g ., 271 through 278 ), extracts output signals via output signal connection terminals ( e . g ., 271 through 278 ), and compares the values of the output signals to values in a test specification . fig3 . is a flowchart depicting the process steps described above for testing a device under test . in step s 300 , test equipment is configured to supply power to a first power connection terminal of a dut that has two or more power connection terminals , and monitor power at a second power connection terminal . once the test equipment is configured , the test equipment supplies power to the dut , and processing proceeds to step s 301 . in step 301 , the test equipment monitors a voltage level at the second power connection terminal . after the test equipment acquires the value of the voltage level at the second power connection terminal , processing proceeds to step s 302 where the test equipment compares the voltage value acquired in step s 301 to a target voltage value . if the voltage value acquired in step s 301 does not equal the target voltage value , processing proceeds to step s 303 where the test equipment adjusts the voltage at the second power connection terminal by increasing the power supplied to the dut . after the test equipment modifies the power supplied to the dut , processing proceeds to step s 301 where the test equipment monitors the voltage at the second power connection terminal again . this process continues until the voltage value acquired in step s 301 is within a range of acceptable voltage values in relation the target voltage value . if the voltage value acquired in step s 301 equals the target voltage value , processing proceeds to step s 304 where the test equipment performs testing by sending and receiving signals to the dut , and by comparing the values of received signals to values in a test specification . once the test equipment has performed testing , processing proceeds to step s 305 which outputs diagnostic results of the test and then ends . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . | 6 |
fig2 is a schematic illustration of a system 5 according to the present invention as utilized to perform a dynamic stress relieving procedure or an accelerated fatigue testing procedure on a workpiece 10 held in a support structure 12 . first and second transducers 15 and 17 are coupled to workpiece 10 , and the operation of system 5 is that resonant vibrations are detected by the first transducer ( designated the detector ) and fed back to the second transducer ( designated the driver ) to maintain oscillation of the workpiece . more specifically , detector 15 communicates an electrical signal representative of the vibrations to a high pass filter 18 , the output of which is amplified by an amplification system including an amplifier 20 , and the amplified output is communicated to driver 17 which is coupled to workpiece 10 . amplifier 20 may have associated input and output level monitors 22 and 23 and a gain control 25 . a spectrum analyzer 27 may be coupled to the amplifier output to provide information as to which modes are being preferentially excited . the operation of the system is basically as follows . resonant vibrations at a large number of the harmonics are excited in workpiece 10 by any convenient means such as applying a small impulse , for example , with a hammer . of the resonant vibrations sensed by detector 15 , at least some of the higher resonant frequencies are amplified by amplifier 20 , the output of which is applied to driver 17 to excite workpiece 10 . thus , for some of the frequencies , the feedback is positive so that system 5 functions as an oscillator so that the vibrations of workpiece are self sustaining . it will , however , be appreciated that for any given relative positioning of detector 15 and driver 17 , the positive feedback necessary for oscillation will be present for some of the higher modes but not others . nevertheless , so long as neither detector 15 nor driver 17 is mounted at a location that is a node for all the frequencies of interest , at least some of the higher vibrational modes will be sustained within workpiece 10 . at frequencies on the order of 30 khz , the vibration waves are generally confined to the surface and propagate relatively freely over the entire surface of the workpiece . typical wavelengths within this frequency range are on the order of less than a few millimeters , so that substantially the entire surface of the workpiece is subjected to vibrations at at least some of the higher resonant modes , and the points of maximum moment are generally uniformly distributed over the surface . as discussed above , an important feature of the higher modes is that relatively low amplitude vibrations are characterized by a maximum moment that is comparable to the moment produced with a much larger amplitude vibration at the fundamental frequency . indeed , for the special case of a simply supported beam struck at its center , the maximum moments for all the resonant modes are the same . the above - described operation of the present invention may be achieved with any convenient sensors or detectors . for example , a sensor whose output signal is proportional to velocity may be used , since , as described above in connection with equation 9 , the maximum particle velocities for all the modes are equal . a suitable sensor that responds to velocity is described in my copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 963 , 476 , filed nov . 24 , 1978 , and entitled &# 34 ; structural vibration sensor ,&# 34 ; now u . s . pat . no . 4 , 314 , 201 issued feb . 2 , 1982 the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference . such a sensor utilizes a pickoff coil , so that the product of angular frequency and inductance defines an impedance which tends to determine the upper frequency at which such a sensor provides usable signal . a typical impedance at frequencies in the neighborhood of 30 khz is about 1000 ohms . in the event that it is desired to operate at higher frequencies , a sensor that is responsive to the acceleration of the particles in the workpiece becomes more effective . for example , a piezoelectric device is suitable . driver 17 typically utilizes the ame geometry as detector 15 , but preferably incorporates low impedance coils ( for example 8 ohms ) so that it may be driven with conventional audio power equipment . suitable power amplifiers are manufactured by kepco , inc . of flushing , n . y ., with typical rms power output of up to several hundred watts . in view of the above description , a dynamic stress relieving procedure may now be described . workpiece 10 is first excited with an impulse in order to initiate resonant vibration of workpiece 10 . such initial excitation may actually be unnecessary since the positive feedback in the system may induce spontaneous vibrations . the placement of sensor 15 and driver 17 , and the setting on gain control 25 may be varied to achieve a desired level of vibrations within the workpiece . the total amount of vibration is reflected by input and output monitors 22 and 23 , while spectrum analyzer 27 provides an indication of which frequencies are being reinforced . it is noted that the type of detector described in the referenced application provides a signal that is proportional to the stress in the workpiece . when the oscillations within workpiece 10 are at a sufficiently high level that the local stress maxima are at least as great as the stresses to be relieved , the level is decreased by suitable adjustment to gain control 25 in order to lower the magnitude of the reversing stresses . in view of the high frequencies involved , a proper relaxation cycle may be effected quickly . an accelerated fatigue testing procedure will now be described . broadly , the fatigue testing procedure comprises the steps of inducing resonant oscillations withing workpiece 10 to subject the workpiece to high frequency stress excitations over substantially its entire surface , as described above , and then measuring the length of time until failure occurs . it may be desirable in this application to have the primary excitation at frequencies within a relatively narrow range to facilitate correlations between the time to failure and number of stress cycles . fig3 is a schematic illustration of the present invention as utilized in a nondestructive testing procedure . like reference numerals will be used to denote elements corresponding to those in fig2 . a structural element 30 to be tested is fitted with a detector 15 and a driver 17 in the same closed loop configuration including high pass filter 18 and amplifier 20 . for clarity , monitors 22 and 23 , gain control 25 , and spectrum analyzer 27 are not shown , it being understood that the system will typically incorporate these elements as above . broadly , the nondestructive testing procedure utilizes the high frequency vibrational modes of structural element 30 in order to subject the entire surface of the structural element to stresses . these stresses cause high frequency acoustic emissions which are detected by an appropriate detector 35 , the output signal of which is passed through a filter 37 , designated an ultrahigh pass filter , having a lower cutoff much in excess of the maximum frequency passed by amplifier 20 and filter 18 . the signal passing through filter 37 is amplified by an appropriate amplifier 40 and fed to a monitor 42 which may provide an audible , visual , or other indication of the level of very high frequency emissions detected by detector 35 . for example , the combined effects of the upper frequency cutoff of detector 15 and amplifier 20 , and the lower frequency cutoff of high pass filter 18 might result in an excitation of structural element 30 at frequencies in the range of 10 - 30 khz while ultrahigh pass filter 37 would have a lower frequency cutoff close to 1 mhz . typically , detector 35 would be moved to various places on the surface to detect the acoustic emissions that signify surface microfractures that arise in critical areas of stress concentration and could eventually grow into cracks . in summary , it can be seen that the present invention provides a surprisingly efficient system for controlling the stresses in solid material to allow a number of procedures to be carried out far more easily , quickly , and cheaply than before possible . while the above provides a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of this invention , various modifications , alternate constructions and equivalents may be employed without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention . for example , the use of a separate high pass filter might be obviated if the bandpass characteristics of amplifier 20 are chosen to provide the desired low frequency cutoff . similarly , different frequency components of vibration may be separated in a network and provided with different phase delays in order to enhance the number of resonant components at which the system provides positive feedback for sustained oscillation . indeed , standard signal processing techniques may be employed to achieve this result and further adjust the relative amplitudes of the components if required . therefore , the above description and illustration should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings in detailn fig1 shows an engine having a cylinder 2 in which a piston 4 can be moved upwardly and downwardly ; the piston is connected by means of a connecting rod 6 to a non - illustrated crankshaft . above the bottom dead center position of the piston 4 , the cylinder is provided with an inlet port 8 and an outlet port 10 , which are respectively opened and closed off directly by the movement of the piston 4 . the design and construction of the aforementioned components can be substantially similar to a conventional two - stroke engine . however , in contrast to conventional engines , that end face of the cylinder 2 that is remote ( or opposite ) from the piston 4 is closed off by means of a disk or plate 12 that is substantially transparent or transmissive for solar radiation as far as possible over the entire spectrum thereof , allows for little reflection of solar radiation at its surface , is resistant to high temperatures , and withstands high pressures . further requirements of the disk 12 will be described subsequently . the disk 12 is advantageously made of quartz glass . disposed on the inner side of the disk 12 , within the working chamber 14 that is formed between the disk 12 and the piston 4 , is a radiation absorber and heat exchanger 16 , which will hereinafter be referred to as a converter ; the construction of the converter will be described in greater detail subsequently in connection with fig5 . the purpose of the converter 16 is to convert the energy that is contained in the radiation that enters through the disk 12 into heat , and to transfer this heat to the working medium that in the top dead center position of the piston 4 is disposed substantially entirely in the converter 16 . disposed above the disk 12 is a radiation focusing device 18 that focuses the solar radiation onto the disk 12 so that the solar radiation passes into the converter 16 . since such radiation focusing devices are known per se , they will not be discussed in detail in this application . it is to be understood that the cylinder 2 could also be arranged in such a way that the radiation that is focused in reflectors passes through the disk 12 from below . it is also to be understood that an engine having several cylinders 2 can be provided , with the pistons thereof operating on a common crankshaft . those regions of such an engine disposed between the disks 12 are then advantageously cooled ( for example watercooled ), if it is not possible for the radiation to be cleanly focused onto the disks 12 , so that the portion of the radiation that strikes this part of the engine can be utilized as thermal energy . it is furthermore to be understood that a radiation focusing device for focusing solar radiation does not necessarily have to be provided outside the disk 12 . for example , a burner or radiation device , the radiation energy of which acts upon the disk 12 , can be provided outside the disk 12 . the radiation transmissivity of the disk 12 is advantageously matched to the respective application . when utilizing solar radiation , for example , as indicated , it is advantageous for the disk to be as transmissive as possible for the wave lengths of solar radiation so that the solar radiation heats up the converter 16 with maximum efficiency , whereas for the radiation emitted by the hot converter the disk 12 should have a maximum reflectivity so that the thermal energy remains in the working chamber 14 . this is achieved by appropriate selection of the material and also possibly by coating the disk 12 . the cylinder 2 illustrated in fig2 is distinguished from that of fig1 essentially in that the disk 12 and the converter 16 are combined to form a component 20 . the embodiment of fig3 differs from that of fig1 essentially in that the converter 16 is fixed directly to the piston 4 . fig4 illustrates an embodiment of a cylinder with its associated crank drive . the mechanism of this construction corresponds to a conventional two - stroke engine that has crankcase scavenging . for this purpose , an inlet conduit 22 opens into the crankcase . a flow transfer conduit 24 extends from the crankcase into the cylinder 2 and opens out approximately opposite the port of an outlet conduit 26 . the ports of the conduits 22 , 24 and 26 are disposed in such a way that toward the end of the compression stroke of the piston 4 , fresh air is drawn into the crankcase , is compressed during the downward movement of the piston , and toward the end of the downward movement passes through the flow transfer conduit 24 into the working chamber , from which the expanded working medium flows out through the outlet conduit 26 . it is to be understood that the flow of the working medium could also be controlled in some other fashion , for example by means of valves , sliders , etc . fig5 shows exemplary embodiments of the converter 16 and the component 20 . the converter 16 is intended to form a &# 34 ; black body &# 34 ; for the incident radiation . in other words , the converter is to absorb the instant radiation to the maximum extent and is to thereby heat up . on the other hand , toward the end of the compression stroke of the piston 4 , the converter 16 is to the maximum extent possible supposed to deliver the energy stored therein to the working medium , especially air , that toward the end of the compression stroke is to the maximum extent disposed in the converter 16 for an effective heat exchange . for this purpose , the converter 16 is advantageously embodied in such a way that it has a high heat conductivity or a capacity to conduct high levels of heat flow , a large surface area on the one hand for receiving the radiation and on the other hand for delivering the stored energy , as well as a defined volume . the advantageous embodiments are , for example , a converter 16 in the form of a spirally wound metal sheet where the axis of the spiral is parallel to the axis of the cylinder ( fig5 a ), in the form of a spirally wound metal sheet having a corrugated sheet disposed between the spiral sheet ( fig5 b ), in the form of a body comprised of web plates disposed within one another ( fig5 c ), in the form of a body having , for example , steel wool disposed between two cover layers that can be embodied as perforated plates or wire meshes ( fig5 d ), or also in the form of wire mesh ( fig5 e ). it will be appreciated that numerous other embodiments for the converter would also be conceivable as long as they fulfill the described basic requirements . the converter 16 can be spaced slightly from the disk 12 and the overall arrangement , including the piston 4 , can be asymmetrical such that during the compression stroke of the piston 4 , the working medium flows through the converter 16 , for example in the form of a turbulent or eddy flow , thereby ensuring that the air that is compressed in the part of the converter 16 that is the hottest part because it is the uppermost part in fig1 does not remain there . disposing the converter 16 directly on the piston , as shown in fig3 has the advantage that the part of the converter that is uppermost and at the same time is the hottest is in the most effective heat exchange with the air that is urged into the converter 16 during the compression stroke , which has an advantageous influence upon the level of efficiency of the apparatus . a drawback of this arrangement is that the radiation must be focused extremely well , in other words must be directed in a parallel manner , so that it impinges entirely upon the converter 16 and does not heat up the cylinder wall . it will be appreciated that in this embodiment of the converter 16 , the ports 8 and 10 are advantageously not disposed in the manner illustrated in fig1 but rather open out into the upper region of the working chamber 14 and are controlled by means of valves . fig5 a to 5k illustrate various specific embodiments of the converter 16 , with the embodiments of fig5 a to 5i being used together with a disk 12 while the embodiments 5j and 5k require no disk . pursuant to fig5 a , the converter is formed by a spiral sheet metal strip 30 so that intermediate spaces 31 are formed between the individual turns and are parallel to the axis of the cylinder and are open at both sides . with the embodiment of fig5 b , a corrugated metal sheet 32 is inserted between the turns of the sheet metal strip to increase the surface area of the converter 16 . in the embodiment of fig5 c , the converter 16 is formed by metal sheets or plates 33 that are disposed at right angles to one another in the form of web sheets and which between them define channels 34 that are parallel to the axis of the cylinder and are open on both sides . in order to increase the level of efficiency , the sheets of the embodiment of fig5 d are advantageously tapered to a point toward the radiation side . in the embodiment of fig5 e , the converter is formed by an apertured or perforated plate 35 or metal sheet from which bars 36 project toward the radiation side ; the bars have different cross - sectional areas and are advantageously tapered to a point toward the radiation side . in the embodiment of fig5 f , the converter 16 is formed by a tube bundle 37 , the tubes of which are open at both ends and abut one another on their outer surfaces , thereby possibly forming further through passages . in the embodiment of fig5 g , the converter 16 is formed by a wire mesh 38 . in the embodiment of fig5 h , perforated plates or metal sheets 39 are stacked upon one another , with the holes thereof being axially aligned relative to one another but advantageously having different diameters . in the embodiment shown in fig5 i , a wire mesh 40 is accommodated between two perforated plates 39 . fig5 j and 5k show embodiments of converters 42 that operate without a disk 12 . the converter 42 of fig5 j is formed by a plate or sheet metal that is inherently stable and is folded in an accordion - like configuration to form bag - like bulges 43 that are closed on one side and are disposed in such a way that they start alternatingly from the radiation side and from the piston side . the embodiment of fig5 k provides recesses or blind passages 44 that are alternatingly open toward the radiation side and the toward the piston side , and which form an extremely large heat exchanger surface area . it will be appreciated that the crosssectional area of the blind passages 45 is advantageously less than that of the blind passages 44 , with the latter having to temporarily accommodate the working medium . it is also to be understood that the cross - sectional area of those passages that are open toward the radiation side can increase toward the radiation , and that the illustrated meander - like cross - sectional configuration can be pointed toward the radiation side . fig6 shows an overall arrangement of one exemplary embodiment of the inventive apparatus . in this embodiment , the piston 4 has a piston rod 32 that leads via a crosshead guide 64 to the connecting rod 65 , that is connected by means of a crankshaft to a generator 66 for generating electricity . the outlet conduit 26 is connected via a line 68 with a heat exchanger 70 , which in turn is connected via a further line 72 to the inlet conduit 22 . disposed in the line 68 is a throttle 74 , a scavenging blower 76 , and a connection to an intake / venting valve 78 . in the heat exchanger 70 , the exchanged thermal energy can be discharged to a consumer 80 . to control or regulate the previously described apparatus , a control means 82 is connected to the following sensors : a radiation sensor 84 for receiving incident radiation , a pressure sensor 86 for ascertaining the prevailing system pressure , a power sensor 88 for ascertaining the instantaneous generator power , and a rotational speed sensor 90 for ascertaining the generator speed . as actuators , the following elements are controlled by the control means 82 , which is controlled by a microprocessor : a power - setting means 92 of the generator 66 , the throttle 74 , the scavenging blower 76 , and the intake / venting valve 78 . as soon as the radiation sensor 84 detects a level of radiation intensity that is sufficient for generating energy , the engine is placed into operation by a non - illustrated starter . at the same time , the scavenging blower 76 starts , so that air flow through the engine is provided . by means of preliminary control values for the throttle 74 and the scavenging blower 76 , the operation of the engine is adjusted such that the engine accelerates to a reference speed of rotation of the generator 66 , which initially runs in a load - free condition . as soon as this reference speed of rotation , which is sensed by the rotational speed sensor 90 , is achieved , the load is increased and is sensed by the power sensor 88 . by adjusting the scavenging blower 76 , the throttle 74 that sets the system pressure , and the intake / venting valve 78 by means of which air is additionally supplied to , or excess air is released from , the closed system accompanied by the interposition of an air filter , the operation is now controlled in such a way that a maximum power is generated by the generator 66 , whereby at the same time predetermined limiting values with regard to final compression temperature , which could be sensed by a further temperature sensor , are maintained in the cylinder 4 . it is to be understood that in the event of an excessive through - put of air through the cylinder , the converter is cooled off too rapidly , as a consequence of which the level of efficiency drops , and that with an air through - put that is too low the converter is heated up to an unacceptably high temperature , as a consequence of which the level of efficiency is also diminished since the converter radiates off radiation to the outside . therefore , with the system pressure and the air through - put two parameters are available that enable operation at a constant speed of rotation , which is required in particular for feeding a main supply system , and the greatest possible level of efficiency . depending upon the respective requirements , the system pressure can be set to values above or below atmospheric pressure . designing the crank drive with the cross head member has the advantage that no lubrication is required within the piston 4 , so that the arrangement in the working chamber operates in a wearfree manner over long periods of time . from a thermodynamic standpoint , the described apparatus corresponds substantially to the operation of a two - stroke engine , in which respect heating of the fresh charge is effected not by combustion but rather by the increase in temperature in the converter and as a result takes somewhat longer . it is to be understood that other operating methods could also be adopted . the described arrangement can be modified in a number of ways . for example , the engine can directly drive a pump or some other mechanical device . for those times where no radiation is available , electrical energy can be stored in a battery or energy can be mechanically stored . in one practical specific embodiment of the present invention with a single cylinder having a stroke volume of about 350 cc , a converter of about 80 mm diameter and a geometrical compression of the working chamber of about 7 : 1 , wherein the converter substantially completely filled the working chamber at the upper dead center position of the piston , it was already possible to generate electrical energy at a radiation concentration by a factor of about 150 . the inventive method and apparatus are particularly suitable for decentral , possibly power - heat coupled energy supply units that , as measured against photovoltaic installations or installations operating with stirling engines , involve substantially lower capital investment cost in relation to the useful energy that is produced . the present invention is , of course , in no way restricted to the specific disclosure of the specification and drawings , but also encompasses any modifications within the scope of the appended claims . | 8 |
the term “ water insoluble biocide active ” includes , but is not limited to , the following compounds : iodopropynylbutylcarbamate ( ipbc ), benzisothiazolone ( bit ), propiconazole , n ( trichloromethylthio ) phthalimide , methyl benzimidazol - 2yl carbamate , tetrachloroisophthalonitrile , 2n - octyl - 3 - isothiazolone ( oit ), dibromonitriloproprianamide ( dbnpa ), 2 -( thiocyanomethylthio ) benzothiazole ( tcmtb ), tebuconazole , tributyl tinbenzoate , parabens , 2 , 5 - dimethyl - n - cyclohexy - n - methoxy - 3 - furan carboxamide , 5 - ethoxy - 3 trichloromethyl - 1 , 2 , 4 thiadiazole , 3 -( 2 - methylpiperidino ) propyl 3 , 4 - dichlorobenzoate , n , n ′-( 1 , 4 - piperazinediyl ) bis ( 2 , 2 , 2 - trichloro ) ethylidene ) bisformamide , tetramethylthiuram disulfide , 0 - ethyl - s , s , diphenyl - dithiophosphate , 5 - 10 - dihydro - 5 , 10 - dioxonaphtha ( 2 , 3 , 9 )- p - dithiin - 2 , 3 - dicarbonitrile , a - 2 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) 1 , 1 - dimethylurea , n - tridecyl - 2 , 6 - dimethylmorpholine , 4 - dodecyl - 2 ,- 6 - dimethylmorpholine , diethefencarb , diuron , zinc pyrithione , carbendazim , chlorothalonil , zineb , ziram , dimethomorph , thiabendazole , difenoconazole , and thiram . the terms “ anionic polymeric dispersant ” refers to polymers comprising at least one group derived from carboxylic acid , sulphonic acid or phosphoric acid and such as those having a weight - average molecular weight ranging approximately from 500 to 5 , 000 , 000 , determined , for example , by gel permeation chromatography . accordingly , “ anionic polymeric dispersant ” includes , but are not limited to the following compositions : the sodium salt of methyl vinyl ether / maleic acid half - ester copolymer , optionally with polyvinylpyrrolidone , ( e . g ., easy - sperse ), a lignosulfonate or metal salt thereof , ( e . g ., polyfon , ufoxane or marsperse ); a sulfonated naphthalene / formaldehyde condensate ( e . g ., morwet ®); a high molecular weight block copolymer with pigment affinic group ( e . g ., disperbyck 190 ); polyacrylates ; ammonium polycarboxylates ; sodium salt of polycarboxic acid ; 1 , 4 bis ( 2 - ethylhexyl ) sodiumsulfosuccinate ( e . g ., triton gr pg 70 ); polyether - polycarbonate sodium salt ( e . g ., ethacryl p ); maleic acid - olefin co - polymer ( e . g ., vultamol nn 4501 ); ammonium polyacrylate ( e . g ., dispex ga 40 ); c6 - c15 secondary alcohol and alkyl aryl sulfonate ( e . g ., zetasperse 2300 ) and alkyl naphthalene sulfonate ( e . g ., agnique ). the term nonionic polymeric dispersants ” include , but are not limited to , high molecular weight non - ionic eo / po block copolymers , eo / po block copolymers known as pluronics ® from basf , polymers of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid , c11 - c15 secondary ethoxylated alcohols and diols , peg - plga - peg copolymers , and polyether polyols . the term “ uv blocker ” includes , but is not limited to , the following compounds : titanium dioxide , zinc oxide , iron oxide , and polymeric particles such as polyethylene and polyamides . the term “ uv absorber ” includes , but is not limited to , avobenzone , paba , para - aminobenzoic acid , cinnoxate , dioxybenzone , homosalate , menthyl anthranilate , octocrylene , octylmethoxycinnamate , octyl salicylate , oxybenzone , padimate o , phenylbenzimidazole , sulfonic acid , sulisobenzone , and trolamine salicylate . the term “ optional co - dispersant ” includes , but is not limited to a vinyl lactam which is suitably the homopolymer of vinyl pyrrolidone or vinyl caprolactam either optionally substituted on the ring or in the vinyl group with lower alkyl ( c1 to c4 alkyl ), or a mixture of these homopolymers , e . g ., easysperse p20 ( isp ). alternatively , the co - dispersant can be a copolymer of vinyl pyrrolidone and / or vinyl caprolactam , e . g ., vinyl pyrrolidone / vinyl caprolactam copolymer , vinyl pyrrolidone / vinyl acetate , vinyl pyrrolidone / acrylic acid , vinyl pyrrolidone / acrylate , vinyl pyrrolidone and butane , or a vinyl pyrrolidone and a c14 - c24 alpha - olefin and glyceryl polyacrylate . the term “ hegman ”, as used herein , relates to astm method d1210 , also known as the standard method for fineness . this method measures the dispersion of a pigment - vehicle system using the hegman - type gage . specifically , the method covers measurements of the degree of dispersion ( commonly referred to as “ fineness of grind ”) of the pigment in a pigment - vehicle system such as a liquid coating and their intermediates . it may also be used to assess the inclusion of particulates by a cleanliness rating . this method is important in making pigmented products because any pigment agglomerates must be sufficiently broken up so as to interfere with the smoothness of the finished coating film . this test method describes a way of making this judgment . typically , a hegman reading of 6 or higher corresponds to a cleanliness rating a , and a particle size of less than 25 microns . the present invention is prepared by methods known to those skilled in the formulation arts . what is described herein is a process of preparing low viscosity substantially neutral ph , high load , water - insoluble biocidal dispersions containing biocide particles in the size range of about 100 - 500 mm . in this process , approximately 70 wt . % water is mixed with a milking or grinding aid and half the required weight of thickener to provide a composition of suitable viscosity comprising the biocide particles . to this solution is added a dispersant , a co - dispersant , additional milling aid , uv blocker , biocide carrier and biocide . the mixture is milled using a selected weight of a suitable grinding media , preferably zirconium beads ( 0 . 85 - 1 . 02 mm ) in a ball mill . when the hegman value exceeds 6 , the rest of the water and thickening agent is added and the dispersion is further milled for 30 min . the resultant particle size of the biocide particles ranges from 100 - 500 nm as determined by light scattering measurements . the dispersion was pumpable and easy to incorporate into end use products without settling . 1 . the milling technique and selected dispersant reduced the dispersion viscosity and particle size of the biocide even at a high load thereof . 2 . the viscosity obtained ranged from 100 - 4000 cp based upon the amount of thickening agent added . 3 . pluronics added as a primary dispersant and easysperse p20 as a co - dispersant and anchor for the biocide . synergistic dispersions are obtained with a mixture of the two . easysperse p20 in the partically neutralized butyl half - ester of a copolymer of poly ( methylvinylether / maleic acid ) and poly vinylpyrrolidone . 4 . the resultant product was conveniently incorporated into paints and building materials with substantially zero voc . the invention will now be described with reference to the following examples . the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof , but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention . | 1 |
the inventor provides a system for channeling air using vortex generators and techniques , and also directing the channeled air in a way to eliminate bug collision with a windshield of a bluff - body vehicle . [ 0029 ] fig3 is a front elevation view of an array of vortex generators 100 of fig1 and a bug foil apparatus mounted to a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention . a tractor of a semi tractor - trailer style truck is illustrated in this example as a bluff - bodied vehicle that would benefit from the system of the present invention . an array of vortex generators 100 is mounted to the leading - edge surface of truck 300 , along the front of the hood . a particular arrangement of the generators is provided such that the generators direct the air flow to fan out to the breadth of the windshield of truck 300 . this is accomplished by angling generators 100 in the array applied to the truck hood . in addition the laminar flow layer created is directed to enter a forward scoop provided on a bug foil apparatus 301 . the actual angle of mounting for generators 100 in the illustrated array may vary according to the application . the angle is exaggerated in this example for illustrative purpose only . a 30 to 35 degree offset from a 90 - degree axis is about right for most truck applications . as can be seen in this view , there are fourteen generators total in the array . one or more vertically aligned generators ( not shown ) can be inserted into the array at center without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without reducing efficiency of the array in reducing drag . bug foil apparatus 301 is aerodynamically designed to receive the mostly laminar air flow layer created by the generators and to redirect the air flow in a direction substantially parallel to the windshield to cause , in effect , a fast moving and uniform layer of air functioning as a shield against bug collision . bug foil apparatus 301 in one embodiment is formed of one contiguous piece of durable polymer such as would be the case for injection molding . in another embodiment , foil 301 is molded in two or more pieces , particularly an upper foil and a lower foil that may be assembled together . bug foil apparatus 301 may be side mounted to truck 300 using conventional mounting hardware ( not shown ). in another embodiment foil 301 may be secured to the vehicle surface immediately adjacent to the rearward boundary of the hood element so as not to interfere with normal raising and lowering of the vehicles hood apparatus . in a preferred embodiment foil 301 has 2 foils spaced apart and joined together in a substantially parallel configuration ( one atop the other ) by a plurality of support fins ( not visible in this example ). the space created between the two foils acts to redirect the fast moving , mostly laminar air layer from the vehicle hood in a direction upwards and parallel with the windshield approximately in the direction of the arrows illustrated . the benefit of cooperation between generators 100 and foil 301 is that the re - directed air flow is substantially flat , laminar , and fast moving against the windshield providing an effective barrier against bugs presented in the line of the windshield while truck 300 is moving at freeway speeds . bug foil 301 stands off of the windshield of truck 300 in such a way as to clear the windshield wiper apparatus and allow it to operate unimpeded , and to avoid turbulence that would otherwise be created . a second array of vortex generators 100 is strategically located immediately above the windshield of truck 300 in substantially the same angle of placement as the first - mentioned array . this particular array is not operative in the system of foil 301 , but is provided simply for further vortex generation and drag reduction at the position at the top of the cab of the truck 300 . [ 0034 ] fig4 is a front elevation view of bug foil 301 according to an embodiment of the present invention . foil 301 comprises 2 main foils . a foil 303 is provided as a base foil and a foil 302 is provided as an upper foil in the assembly . base foil 301 is formed with an elongated lip spanning the width of foil 301 and curved generally to adapt to the curve of a windshield where the windshield abuts the vehicle dash frame . the exact amount of elongation and curve depends on the curvature of the windshield and angle of protrusion of the windshield above the vehicle as generally viewed from the side of the vehicle . base foil 303 rests directly on the vehicle surface behind the hinge location of the vehicle hood so that no air enters beneath base foil 303 in operation . the elongated portion of base foil 303 acts primarily as a scoop for capturing the fast moving air layer created by vortex generators ( 100 ) described above with reference to fig3 . foil 302 is held in an elevated and substantially parallel position from base foil 303 by a plurality of standoff fins 304 distributed strategically along the width of foil 301 . fins 304 help to channel the air much in the same way as the vortex generators . fins 304 are disposed at slight angles in between base foil 303 and upper foil 302 to help direct the airflow in a strategic fashion as to spread the flow evenly over the windshield . as seen in this view , the fins disposed left of center are angled slightly to the left and the fins disposed to the right of center are angled slightly to the right . 30 to 35 degrees divergence of 90 degrees is sufficient for the purpose . foil 301 has at least 5 windshield support feet 306 formed thereon at strategic locations on the underside of base foil 303 . support feet 306 are formed - generally in the same shape as standoff fins 304 . foil 301 is held in an elevated position above standard windshield wiper apparatus by support feet 306 . feet 306 are positioned just out of operating reach of the windshield wiper assembly in operation . in this example there are five feet 306 , two on either side of foil 301 and one situated at center , but in many embodiments there are two supports at each of the outboard ends , as many wiper patterns overlap , and a center support still can be used . in this way foil 301 is held above the wiper assembly and is held rigid so that it does not flex considerably under wind pressure . moreover , wind pressure against base foil 303 acts to urge the foil to its mating surface preventing any air from entering underneath . this configuration also acts to prevent typical airflow turbulence and significant drag from occurring against the wiper assembly on a normal vehicle in motion and protects the wiper assembly from bugs and other debris . [ 0037 ] fig5 is a section view illustrating an elevation profile of bug foil 301 of fig4 . bug foil 301 is curved for airflow redirection according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . base foil 303 is flush against the vehicle hood at its forward position redirects air into the foil channels formed of the space between foil 303 and foil 302 set apart by support fins 304 . in one embodiment of the present invention , an adjustment mechanism ( not shown ) may be provided to properly adjust the side profile of foil 301 to the angle of protrusion of the windshield above the hood of the vehicle . such a mechanism could be incorporated in an embodiment where foils 302 and 303 are disposed on an axle that is rotatable and directly controlled by such as a turn knob disposed at either or both ends of the foil . in this case , windshield feet 306 would also be adjustable and a separable part of the assembly . in this example , bug foil 301 is rigid and is manufactured with the appropriate curve . in still another embodiment , shims may be used under feet 306 to adjust the elevation angle of foil 301 . there are many possibilities that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention . as can be seen in this example , the tail ends at some length of both foils 303 and 302 lie in a substantially parallel plane with the angle of windshield 306 , but in a state of elevation above the windshield . [ 0039 ] fig6 is a use diagram illustrating airflow through a leading array of vortex generators of fig3 into the bug foil of fig4 producing bug - shielding effects . in this view , airflow against the body line at the start of the hood is channeled by an array of vortex generators 100 analogous to the array 100 described with reference to the example of fig3 above . in this and other applications the undersurface of the vortex generators may be curved to facilitate mounting on the vehicle body . the air becomes streamlined and turbulence is prevented along the hood line . the laminar flow has a much lower drag coefficient than turbulent flow , and creates less drag on the vehicle , therefore decreasing overall drag and improving fuel efficiency . at the back of the hood the laminar air flow is directed into the scoop formed by the base and upper foil of bug foil 301 . at this point the air flow is re - directed into the direction parallel to the surface of the windshield . in some cases the spacing is adjusted to accelerate the air flow as well . at normal freeway driving speeds the density and velocity of the laminar flow parallel to the windshield is sufficient to prevent any bugs or other lightweight debris from coming into contact with the windshield . debris and bugs are captured in the air flow and diverted upward parallel to the windshield , and do not come into contact with the windshield . in tests with no bug foil windshields are shown to be covered with smashed bugs . with the bug foil in an embodiment of the invention , at moderate highway speed , a lower portion of the windshield is bug - free up to a distinct line , and bugs decorate the windshield above that line . as speed is increased , the line is elevated until , at some speed , no bugs impinge on the windshield . adjustment of length and spacing of the foils effects the speed at which the windshield becomes bug - free . one with skill in the art of aerodynamics will recognize the significance of the uniform airflow traveling at high velocity parallel to the windshield as an effective bug deflecting mechanism . in view of the many embodiments presented herein and those possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention but not specifically described , the present invention should be afforded the broadest possible scope under examination . only the claim language that follows should limit the spirit and scope of the invention . | 1 |
this invention is a kink - resistant catheter section or a catheter . if a catheter , it is a composite device having at least one section including at least one helically wound ribbon stiffener coaxial to and adhesively attached to at least one polymeric outer section . the ribbon forms the inner lumen of the catheter section . the catheter is configured so that at least the distal portion of the catheter has a critical bend diameter of no more than 3 . 5 mm , preferably no more than 2 . 5 mm , more preferably no more than 1 . 5 mm , and most preferably no more than 1 . 0 mm . i have additionally found that the radial compression strength of the section is quite high as compared to distal sections found on comparable catheters . a typical multi - section catheter ( 100 ) which may incorporate the concepts of this invention is shown in fig1 . such a catheter is described in more detail in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 739 , 768 , to engelson , ( the entirety of which is incorporated by reference ) and is particularly suitable for neurological and peripheral vascular applications . clearly , then , it is also suitable for less demanding service such as might be encountered in access and treatment of the heart . one difficulty which has arisen as higher demands for length have been placed on these catheters is that the diameter of the distal section necessarily becomes smaller and smaller . this is so since the longer catheters must reach ever more smaller vascular areas . this smaller diameter requires a concomitant thinning of the wall section . the thinner section walls may kink or ripple when actively pushed along the guidewire or when vasoocclusive devices are pushed through the catheter &# 39 ; s lumen . the typical configuration shown in fig1 has a distal section ( 102 ) having significant flexibility , an intermediate section ( 104 ) which is typically less flexible , and a long proximal section ( 106 ) which in turn is least flexible . the distal section ( 102 ) is flexible and soft to allow deep penetration of the extraordinary convolutions of the neurological vasculature without trauma . various known and often necessary accessories to the catheter assembly , e . g ., one or more radiopaque bands ( 108 ) at the distal region to allow viewing of the position of the distal region under fluoroscopy and a luer assembly ( 110 ) for guidewire ( 112 ) and fluids access , are also shown in fig1 . the typical dimensions of this catheter are : obviously , these dimensions are not particularly critical to this invention and are selected as a function of the malady treated and its site within the body . however , as will be discussed below , use of the spiral wound ribbon permits the walls of the catheter to be somewhat thinner with no diminution of performance , e . g ., crush strength or flexibility , and , indeed , usually provides an improvement in performance . fig2 shows a magnified cross - section of a catheter body or section ( 200 ) showing the most basic aspects of one variation of the invention . as shown there , the catheter body or section has a helically wound ribbon ( 202 ) and an adhesive ( 204 ) on at least an outer portion of the ribbon ( 202 ). typically , the outer tubing member ( 206 ) is polymeric . preferably , the outer tubing member ( 206 ) is , produced of a polymer which is heat shrinkable onto the adhesive ( 204 ). such polymers include known materials such as polyethylene , polyvinylchloride ( pvc ), ethylvinylacetate ( eva ), polyethylene terephalate ( pet ), and their mixtures and copolymers . one very useful class of polymers are the thermoplastic elastomers , particularly polyesters . typical of this class is hytrel . similarly , the adhesive ( 204 ) is desirably a thermoplastic which may be coated onto the inner lumen of the outer tubing member ( 206 ), the outer surface of the coil ( as wound ), the ribbon itself , or may be formed in situ by the use of a mixture of polymers such as polyethylene and eva , which when heated to a proper temperature exude the eva onto the ribbon . a very highly desirable combination -- from an assembly point of view -- is the use of an thermoplastic adhesive ( 204 ) having a softening temperature between the temperature for heat shrinking the outer tubing ( 206 ) onto the adhesive ( 204 ) and the melting temperature of that outer tubing ( 206 ). i have found that an outer covering of eva having a suitable softening / heat shrinking temperature is an excellent choice for securing a strong bond to the ribbon particularly with an adhesive such as polyester or polyimide . the eva ( obviously , with or without other mixed polymers and fillers ) is typically extruded into a taking of an appropriate size and thickness and cross - linked to raise the melt temperature of the resultant tubing . the tubing is then inflated and , perhaps , stretched to give the included polymer molecular orientation . the tubing may then be heat - shrunk onto the catheter . a suitable eva would have significant adhesive properties at about 300 ° f . this is not to exclude the use of other polymers , depending on the section of the catheter in which the section is used . for instance , the tubing may be of any of a variety of polymers , variously stiff or flexible . for instance , if the section ( 200 ) is used as a proximal section , the outer tubing member ( 206 ) may be a polyimide , polyamides such as the nylons , high density polyethylene ( hdpe ), polypropylene , polyvinylchloride , various fluoropolymers ( for instance : ptfe , fep , vinylidene fluoride , mixtures , alloys , copolymers , block copolymers , etc . ), polysulfones or the like . blends , alloys , mixtures , copolymers , block copolymers , of these materials are also suitable , if desired . if a more flexible section is required , the outer tubing member ( 206 ) may be a polyurethane , low density polyethylene ( ldpe ), polyvinylchloride , thy , etc . and other polymers of suitable softness or modulus of elasticity . although it is quite difficult to accomplish , the inventive catheter design allows the use in the distal portion of the catheter , thin - walled tubing of inherently more slippery polymers , such as ptfe and fep and their mixtures , which have the benefit of being lubricious but otherwise would have been used in a somewhat greater thickness . production of a good adhesive joint between the helically wound ribbon ( 202 ) and the adhesive ( 204 ) is not an easy task . clearly , greater thickness tubing of these polymers results in the resulting catheter section being somewhat stiffer . the wall thickness of the outer tubing member ( 206 ) may be as thin as 0 . 5 mil and as thick as 10 mil , depending upon catheter usage , portion of the catheter chosen , polymer choice , and the style of catheter . typically , the wall thickness of the tubing member will be between 0 . 5 and 3 . 0 mils . this dimension is obviously only a range and each catheter variation must be carefully designed for the specific purpose to which it is placed . preferred combinations of polymers for catheter configurations will also be discussed below . it should also be noted at this point that each of the polymers discussed herein may be used in conjunction with radiopaque material such as barium sulfate , bismuth trioxide , bismuth carbonate , powdered tungsten , powdered tantalum , or the like so that the location of the various pieces of tubing may be radiographically visualized within the vessel . the spiral wound ribbon ( 202 ) shown in fig2 may also be of a variety of different materials . although metallic ribbons are preferred because of their strength - to - weight ratios , fibrous materials ( both synthetic and natural ) may also be used . preferred , because of cost , strength , and ready availability are stainless steels ( ss308 , ss304 , ss318 , etc .) and tungsten alloys . in certain applications , particularly smaller diameter catheter sections , more malleable metals and alloys , e . g ., gold , platinum , palladium , rhodium , etc . may be used . a platinum alloy with a few percent of tungsten is preferred partially because of its radiopacity . the class of alloys known as super - elastic alloys is also a desirable selection . preferred super - elastic alloys include the class of titanium / nickel materials known as nitinol -- alloys discovered by the u . s . navy ordnance laboratory . these materials are discussed at length in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 174 , 851 to buehler et al ., u . s . pat . no . 3 , 351 , 463 to rozner et al ., and u . s . pat . no . 3 , 753 , 700 to harrison et al . these alloys are not readily commercially available in the small ribbons required by the invention described here , but for very high performance catheters are excellent choices . when using a superelastic alloy , an additional step is usually necessary to preserve the helical shape of the stiffening member . i have purchased nitinol wire and rolled it into a 1 × 4 mil ribbon . the ribbon is then helically wound onto a mandrel , usually metallic , of an appropriate size . the winding is then heated to a temperature of 650 °- 750 ° f . for a few minutes , presumably annealing the ribbon . the helical coil then retains its shape . metallic ribbons ( 202 ) that are suitable for use in this invention are desirably between 0 . 5 mil and 1 . 5 mil in thickness and 2 . 5 mil and 8 . 0 mil in width . by the term &# 34 ; ribbon &# 34 ;, i intend to include elongated shapes , the cross - section of which are not square or round and may typically be rectangular , oval or semi - oval . they should have an aspect ratio of at least 0 . 5 ( thickness / width ). in any event , for superelastic alloys , particularly nitinol , the thickness and width may be somewhat finer , e . g ., down to 0 . 30 mil and 1 . 0 mil , respectively . currently available stainless steel ribbons include sizes of 1 mil × 3 mil , 2 mil × 6 mil , and 2 mil × 8 mil . suitable non - metallic ribbons include high performance materials such as those made of polyaramids ( e . g ., kevlar ) and carbon fibers . it should be observed that the preferred manner of using non - metallic ribbons in this invention is typically in combination with metallic ribbons to allow &# 34 ; tuning &# 34 ; of the stiffness of the resulting composite . finally , in fig2 may be seen an outer layer ( 208 ) of a lubricious material such as a silicone or other , perhaps hydrophilic , material such as a polyvinylpyrrolidone composition . these compositions are well known and do not form a critical portion of the invention . typical of the catheter made using this invention are those in the 3 french to 5 french range . the inner diameter of such catheters is then 20 mils to 42 mils . however , i have made micro - catheters ( discussed in more detail below ) having outside diameters of 18 mils to 34 mils . the inner diameter of those catheters was 11 mils to 20 mils . the invention is not limited to such sizes , however . fig3 shows a variation of the inventive catheter ( 210 ) in which the cross - sections of the ribbons ( 212 & amp ; 214 ) are generally oval rather than rectangular than as shown in fig2 . either cross - section is acceptable but the oval section has less of a tendency to bind with guidewires passing through the lumen . additionally , the fig3 variation shows the use of two ribbons ( 212 & amp ; 214 ) wound side - by - side so to form a single layer of ribbon inside the outer tubing cover ( 206 ). the dual ribbons may be of the same composition or of differing compositions . they may be of the same size or of differing sizes . the number of ribbons may be of any convenient configuration so long as the specific stiffness and kink - resisting criteria are met . fig4 shows another variation in which catheter sections made according to this invention are used in axial conjunction . section ( 220 ) is generally as described in fig3 and 4 above , but section ( 222 ) is more proximal and enjoys two outer covering layers ( 224 ) and ( 226 ). covering ( 224 ) is simply a proximal extension of the polymeric covering in section ( 220 ); polymeric covering ( 226 ) is placed directly on the outer surface of the helically - wound coil ( 228 ). as has been noted elsewhere , coil ( 228 ) may be the same as or different than the coil found in the more distal section ( 220 ). other methods for changing the stiffness of various sections of a catheter made using sections of the inventive catheter section are shown in fig5 , and 7 . for instance , fig5 shows a distal section ( 230 ) having a helically - wound ribbon ( 232 ), an outer polymeric covering ( 234 ), and a radiopaque band ( 236 ). in this variation , the ribbon ( 232 ) is wound in such a fashion that adjacent turns are not contiguous . this allows the distal catheter section ( 230 ) to be quite flexible and kink - resistant . the intermediate section ( 238 ) retains the same outer covering ( 234 ), but the pitch of the coil has been narrowed so that the flexibility of the midsection ( 238 ) is not as high as was the distal section ( 230 ). the most proximal section ( 240 ) has no helically - wound ribbon at all , but instead uses a variety of polymeric or other tubing materials to form the stiffest portion of the catheter assembly . in this instance , the outer layer remains as found in the most distal section ( 230 ) and the midsection ( 238 ). the inner layer in this instance is a stiffer material , such as polyimide , polypropylene , or a stainless steel tube , known as a &# 34 ; hypotube &# 34 ;. fig6 shows still another variation of forming the distal section of a catheter assembly which is flexible and yet provides a greater stiffness for other sections of the catheter assembly . for instance , in fig6 the intermediate section ( 242 ) utilizes double layers of polymeric material , e . g ., the outer tubing ( 234 ) ( discussed above ) on the outer surface and an inner tubing of similar or stiffer material ( 244 ) in contiguous relationship along the length of the section ( 242 ). the most proximal section ( 246 ) shows only a short overlap between stiff distal tube ( 248 ) ( perhaps made of the polyimide , polypropylene , nylon , or hypotube materials discussed above ) and the outer layer ( 234 ). this is a simple arrangement and may be used , for instance , where cost is at a premium . fig7 shows still a further variation in which the most distal section is a composite of polymeric layers ( 252 ) and a braid ( 254 ). the composition of the mid and proximal sections are not critical to the invention . they may be of one type or the other depending upon the requirements of the particular application . the most significant of benefits is accrued when , however , the distal section is of the type specified herein . nevertheless , a variation shown in fig8 depicts an instance in which the non - kinking criteria of this invention is applied in a mid - section . catheter ( 256 ) uses a distal section having only tubing ( 260 ) extending distally of the mid - section ( 262 ). mid - section ( 262 ) comprises both outer tubing ( 260 ) and helically - wound ribbon ( 264 ) easily held in place according to this invention . proximal section ( 266 ) is made stiffer by incorporating multiple layers of tubing , as discussed above . although the exemplified catheter assemblies in fig1 , 6 , 7 , and 8 each utilize three sections , it should be understood that this invention is not so limited . the number of sections is selected by the designer when conceptualizing a specific use for a chosen device . often , the optimum number of sections ends up being three simply because of the physiology of the human body , however , three or more may be involved in this invention . the sections additionally need not be of constant stiffness . they may also vary in stiffness -- typically as the distal end of a section is approached , the section becomes more flexible . as was noted above , i have found that use of this method of construction allows use of significantly smaller diameter catheters which still remain kink - free and yet are quite useable . for instance , fig9 shows a short cross - section of a distal end of a vascular catheter ( 270 ) in which the outer section comprises an outer cover ( 206 ) and a helically - wound ribbon ( 204 ) generally as shown in fig2 . within the lumen defined by a helically - wound coil ( 204 ) may be found yet a smaller catheter device covering ( 272 ) and a helically - wound coil ( 274 ). again , it is desireable that helically - wound coil ( 274 ) and covering ( 272 ) be adhesively attached to each other to lessen the chance of any kinking taking place . within the lumen of the inner catheter is a guidewire ( 276 ) which , just as an inner catheter ( 275 ), is slidable within outer catheter ( 270 ), is slidable within the inner catheter ( 275 ). for instance , a guidewire ( 276 ) may have an outside diameter of 5 to 7 mils in this distal region and the outer diameter of inner catheter ( 275 ) may have an outer diameter of 121 / 2 to 14 mils . as was noted above , the most distal portion of the distal section of this catheter ( and preferably other sections as well ) have a critical bend diameter of no more than 3 . 5 mm , preferably no more than 2 . 5 mm , more preferably no more than 1 . 5 mm , and most preferably no more than 1 . 0 mm . to some extent , the critical band diameter is also dependent upon the diameter of the catheter section and its components . for instance , i have made 3 french catheter section of the type shown in fig2 ( of stainless steel ribbon ) with critical bond diameters less than 2 . 5 mm . similarly , i have made catheter sections such as the inner catheter ( 275 ) shown in fig9 with an outer diameter of 0 . 018 &# 34 ; ( of platinum - tungsten alloy ribbon ) with band diameters less than 1 . 0 mm . the test we utilize for critical bend diameter determination uses a test shown schematically in fig1 a and 10b . in general , as shown in fig1 a , a catheter section ( 300 ) is placed between two plates ( desirably of plastic or glass or the like for visibility ) and often with an optional peg ( 302 ) to hold the catheter section ( 300 ) loop in place . the ends of the catheter are then pulled until a kink appears in the body of the catheter . alternatively , the ratio of the outer diameters ( major diameter : minor diameter ) as measured at apex ( 304 ) reaches a value of 1 . 5 . fig1 b shows the cross section of the catheter sector at ( 304 ) and further shows the manner in which the major diameter and the minor diameter are measured . these two methods provide comparable results although the latter method is more repeatable . many times herein , we refer to the &# 34 ; region &# 34 ; section of the catheter . where the context permits , by &# 34 ; region &# 34 ; we mean within 15 % of the point specified . for instance , &# 34 ; the distal region of the distal section &# 34 ; would refer to the most distal 15 % in length of the distal section . this invention has been described and specific examples of the invention have portrayed . the use of those specifics is not intended to limit the invention in any way . additionally , to the extent that there are variations of the invention which are within the spirit of the disclosure and yet are equivalent to the inventions found in the claims , it is our intent that this patent cover those variations as well . | 0 |
sterilized ( double - distilled ) water in sterilized translucent ( 50 % transparent ) plastic ( a copolymer of 98 % polypropylene and 2 % polyethylene ) bottles was obtained from baxter ( deerfield , ill .). the labels were removed from the bottles . the bottles were then wrapped in cellophane corresponding to the visible monochromatic spectral colors ( violet , indigo , blue , green , yellow , orange , and red ). controls included one unwrapped bottle of sterilized water . the sterilized water in plastic bottles was incubated during the months of october and november in jackson , miss . the bottles ( minimum of two bottles for each coloration were exposed to all daily hours of sunlight for 40 day and were then wrapped in aluminum foil without removing the cellophane and placed in the dark to avoid unwanted light exposure . urine was collected from patients who visited the urology clinic between the hours of 8 . 00 a . m . and 12 . 00 p . m . the first voided urine was collected and dip - test analysis of the urine was performed . lack of infection was established . none of the subjects tested were under medication . the urine sample was stored at 4 ° c . until it could be processed . the ph of the urine samples was measured again before testing . the ph of the reagent water was 7 . 0 . we tested urine samples of ph 6 . 0 to 6 . 8 to be within one ph unit difference . urine samples ( 100 μl ) taken in triplicates were mixed with 100 μl of different irradiated water samples and incubated at room temperature for seven days in a 96 - well , flat bottomed tissue culture plate with a low evaporation lid . the first three wells were incubated with the control ( polychromatic ) irradiated water , followed by three wells of violet , three of indigo , and three of blue in the 1st row of the plate . the second row was incubated with four wells each of green , yellow , orange , and red irradiated waters . thus , two rows of a 96 - well plate were used for each patient &# 39 ; s urine . to further characterize the specificity of the reaction , 2 ml of urine was mixed with an equal volume of irradiated water and incubated in a test - tube for seven days at room temperature . the contents were then transferred to cuvettes to determine the absorbency profile at different wavelengths . healthy male ( n = 10 ; median age 33 years ) and female volunteers ( n = 10 ; median age 36 years ) were chosen from laboratory and hospital personnel to act as the control group . normal reactions did not undergo serum psa evaluation . the urine test using yellow irradiated water observed no detectable color reaction for both the male and female volunteers , except for one male . this individual , who had no disease symptoms , was followed up with a serum psa test , which was determined as 3 . 3 ng / ml . this individual was excluded . serum psa was measured with the hybritech tandem - r monoclonal radioimmunoassay . this assay was done by an independent urology lab . the results of the urine test were compared with the psa test . the psa distribution was arranged in the following categories : & lt ; 0 . 1 , 0 . 1 - 0 . 2 , 0 . 214 . 0 , 4 . 1 - 10 . 0 , & gt ; 10 . 0 ( table 1 ). the average ph of the urine collected and tested was 6 . 0 - 6 . 8 . the exposed water had an average ph of 7 . 0 . we wanted to stay within 1 ph unit for the urine test so as to collect data that is not attributed to ph fluctuations . there were two males with psa 0 . 21 - 4 ng / ml whose ph value did not lie between 6 . 0 and 6 . 8 that were excluded . in fig1 there is a clear - cut difference between the control ( polychromatic irradiated ) water and the yellow - filtered irradiated water . two rows with a positive test marked subject 1 corresponding to a darkening of the pigmentation of the urine with yellow - irradiated water are shown . a negative test of the urine is shown in the lower portion of fig1 . there is some staining that occurs in other than yellow irradiated water as shown in the two plates , but the difference in staining between this and the yellow irradiated water is distinctly different . this test represents only a macroscopic test result as seen by the naked eye . the observations made in the presence of the control - irradiated water were compared with water exposed to sunlight through different colored cellophane papers ; i . e ., the polychromatically irradiated water was used as a blank for the spectrophotometer reading . fig2 is a representative distribution profile of a reaction between urine and different irradiated waters . there are two peaks and one valley in the absorbency profile . the peaks occur at 397 nm and 454 nm . the valley occurs at 418 nm . peak at 454 nm corresponds to a reaction specifically between yellow - filtered irradiated water and urine . the positive patient urine tests were then compared with their psa readings . the results of the psa readings were arbitrarily divided into five categories as follows : & lt ; 0 . 1 ; 0 . 1 - 0 . 20 ; 0 . 21 - 4 . 0 ; 4 . 0 - 10 . 0 ; and & gt ; 10 . 1 ng / ml . a positive urine test was observed in forty - five patients . the majority of positive patients ( 25 of 45 ) had a psa level of 0 . 21 - 4 . 0 ng / ml . twelve out of 45 had a psa value & lt ; 0 . 21 , and six of 45 were above the 4 . 0 - ng / ml level . there were 2 ( out of 45 ) false - positive tests indicated by a negative psa reading . in the same range of 0 . 21 - 4 . 0 ng / ml psa , there were 27 out of 52 false - negative tests . there was no reaction in urine of normal women ( n = 10 ; median age 36 yrs ), nor in urine of normal males ( n = 9 ; median age 33 yrs ) using the yellow - filtered irradiated water . the serological determination of psa is widely accepted to be the best method for screening , diagnosis , and follow - up in prostate cancer . psa is not only present in the serum but also in other body fluids such as urine and semen specimens [ 16 , 17 ]. the results reported in this investigation used irradiated water as an alternative testing system . the first step in developing a urinary testing kit for the detection of prostate abnormality in our investigation was to determine if there was any unique reaction between the urine and the irradiated waters . a unique color reaction was observed when the urine reacted with yellow - filtered irradiated water . the fluid in the wells became dramatically deeper in yellow pigmentation . it is noteworthy that the irradiated water was not colored yellow , but was irradiated by sunlight through yellow colored cellophane for 40 days . thus , the chemical change that took place is due solely to a reaction between the urine and the water irradiated at 565 - 575 nm . this change in coloration was considered to be a positive urine test . there is an inherent control in the design of this test , because all three wells gave a similar reaction . this reaction was further tested in the presence of urine from healthy females and healthy males whose results were negative . a positive urine test was observed in 45 patients ; of that , 25 patients had a total psa of 0 . 21 - 4 . 0 ng / ml . in our lab studies , we have previously observed evidence of alterations in chemical and physical properties of water and biological functions by using colored cellophane during sun exposure ( unpublished observations ). water exposed ( e ) to visible spectral emissions of sunlight was found to have an altered elemental composition , electrical conductance , osmolarity and salt - solubility . a difference in bio - modulatory effects was also observed . a gradual increase in leaching of boron from e - violet to e - red was observed . the maximal increase in electrical conductance and maximal salt solubility of sodium bicarbonate was found with e - indigo . e - blue inhibited phyto - hemagglutinin - induced immune cell proliferation and inhibited mosquito larvae hatching , while e - orange stimulated root elongation in seed germination . a point to note is that solarization has been used to decontaminate drinking water which is based on the exposure of living organisms ( bacteria and viruses ) to uv - light and possible thermal inactivation . sterile water has been exposed to sunlight irradiation for a long period of time ( 40 days ), a procedure that clearly has a different mode of action compared to disinfection . we have clearly shown that there is a chemical change in the presence of yellow - filtered irradiated water manifested by a change in the coloration of the urine with an absorbance peak at 454 nm . ( note : in the 96 - well plate is that the absorbance peak was at 454 nm , while the color was macroscopically observed , i . e ., the yellow pigmentation corresponds to the emission spectra in the yellow color range [ 565 - 575 nm ]). a visual change in the indicator system was considered optimum . the specifics of the changes in the calorimetric reaction were determined by evaluating the optical density in a spectrophotometer . it is clear that urine is carrying the causative agent for the color reaction while the irradiated water carries the antidote for this agent . a color reaction takes place because of the attraction or interaction of a component or components in the urine with the irradiated water . the mechanism of action between the yellow - filtered monochromatic irradiated water and the urine , however , is not completely understood . some trace amounts of proteins , hormones and other substances normally found in urine may potentially interact with solarized water . it is not clear whether the color reaction observed was a simple reaction between the dye constituting the pigment in the urine or some combination of secreted protein and dye . it is possible that the sex hormones , like testosterone , may interact with the pyrrolic ring structure present in the pigment . this test predominantly detects a subset of patients whose psa is in the range of 0 . 21 - 4 . 0 ng / ml . another important point to consider is the relationship of psa in urine and serum . high levels of psa in serum are suggestive of metastasis while psa in the urine may indicate either the presence or absence of disease . through this study a new innovative test that has been created is easy to use , involves different biochemical assays than antibody mediated psa tests , and uses urine instead of serum . urine is more easily obtained and disposed of and less risky to handle than blood products . for the patient , the use of urine instead of blood eliminates the necessity of an invasive procedure and its possible complications . the ingredients of the kit , i . e ., urine , yellow - solar - irradiated water , and a 96 - well plate are environmentally friendly . the innovative technology is the transfer of solar energy into the bottled water . this technology is natural , simple , and has never been employed for in vitro diagnostic testing . i present evidence here that a new urine test has been developed that is negative in women and healthy males but is positive in a subset of patients , especially in those patients with serum psa 0 . 21 - 4 . 0 ng / ml . | 6 |
in the following paragraphs , some preferred embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example and not limitation . it should be understood based on this disclosure that various other modifications can be made by those in the art based on these illustrated embodiments . fig1 is a conceptual diagram showing an image forming system in which an image forming apparatus that is a job execution apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention is used . as shown in fig1 , this image forming system comprises an mfp 1 as a job execution apparatus , and a user terminal 2 and another user terminal 2 each comprising a personal computer , etc ., and the mfp 1 and the user terminals 2 are connected via a network 3 such as a lan , etc . fig2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the mfp 1 . the mfp 1 is a digital complex machine having various functions such as copying , printing , facsimile , scanning , e - mail transmission and etc ., and it comprises a cpu 11 , a rom 12 , a ram 13 , an operation panel 14 , a scanner unit 15 , a recording unit 16 , a printer unit 17 , a network interface ( i / f ) unit 18 , a card reader unit 19 , an authentication unit 10 , etc ., as shown in fig2 . the cpu 11 controls overall operations of the mfp 1 according to an operation program stored on the rom 12 . the rom 12 is a memory to store the operation program for the cpu 11 and other data , while the ram 13 is a memory to provide a working area for the cpu 11 to execute the operation program . the operation panel 14 has a key unit ( not shown in figure ) for various input manipulations and a display unit 14 a . the scanner unit 15 serves to read document image and convert it into image data . the recording unit 16 serves to record various data and applications , and comprises a hard disk , etc . the recording unit 16 has box area where a plurality of jobs are accumulated with originator and destination information of the respective jobs . the printer unit 17 functions as a job execution means , and prints image data of the document read by the scanner unit 15 and image data transmitted from the user terminal 2 , etc . the network i / f unit 18 functions as a communication unit to exchange data with the user terminals 2 on the network . the card reader unit 19 contactly or contactlessly reads out authentication information such as identification information and a password that are written in an id card ( not shown in figure ) owned by a user , when the user intends to log in the mfp 1 . the authentication unit 10 serves to match authentication information read out from the card by the card reader unit 19 against authentication information recorded in advance in the recording unit 16 , etc ., and determine whether or not to permit the user to execute jobs . although the authentication method using a card is adopted in this embodiment as described above , a biometric authentication method such as a method using a fingerprint , or a method using a user id and a password entered from the operation panel 14 , also can be adopted . the authentication unit 10 performs not only a personal authentication to permit a specified user to use the mfp 1 , but also an access authentication to permit a user to access box area recorded in the recording unit 10 by checking a password , etc . that is set for the box area . although the authentication unit 10 is incorporated in the mfp 1 in this embodiment , an external authentication unit such as an authentication server , also can be used for the authentication . meanwhile , the mfp 1 has “ automatic job execution mode ” that automatically starts executing a job transmitted to the user and recorded , if the authentication by the authentication unit 19 succeeds . in this embodiment , the cpu 11 serves to determine depending on an attribute of the job , whether or not to execute the job by “ automatic job execution mode ”, and control the printer unit 17 depending on the determination result . hereinafter , job attributes , that are criteria to determine whether or not to execute a job by “ automatic job execution mode ”, will be explained . usually , a print job transmitted by a user is written by a printer driver , in a printer language . thus , it can be configured that only a print job written in a printer language is printed while other jobs such as confidential , fax , and tiff - format , are not printed . in addition , it also can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied or not applied only to a job with a specified extension such as “ pdf ”, “ doc ” or “ xls ” in addition , it also can be configured by job types . for instance , it can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied or not applied to a job depending on a type of the job , such as a print job , a copy job , or a fax job . in addition , it also can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied or not applied to all the jobs . otherwise , if there is a job that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to , a screen to confirm whether or not to execute the job is displayed on the display unit 14 a for the user , and then the job is executed by user operation to select job execution . it can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied or not applied to a job depending on an originator ( sender ) of the job . usually , it is configured that the mode is applied only to a job transmitted by the user himself / herself . however , it also can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to a job transmitted from another originator only if he / she is a trustworthy person , a group member , etc . in addition , it also can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied or not applied to all the jobs without depending on the job originators . otherwise , if there is a job that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to , it also can be configured that a screen to confirm whether or not to execute the job is displayed on the display unit 14 a for the user , and then the job is executed by user operation to select job execution . it can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied or not applied to a job depending on time of receiving the job . a user goes and picks up his / her outputs soon after transmitting a print job as usual , or the user also can specify valid duration of “ automatic job execution mode ”. for instance , it can be configured “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to a job just for a predetermined period of time ( such as 3 , 5 , 10 or 30 minute ) after receiving the job , while it is not applied to any job that is received after expiration . in addition , it also can be configured “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to a job at a predetermined time . it can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to a job recorded in a specific box or directory of the recording unit 16 . usually , a job transmitted by a user is recorded in a box owned by the user himself / herself , and it is configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied only to a job recorded in a box owned by the user himself / herself . in addition , it also can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied only to a job recorded in a box that is created or specified by the user . for instance , it can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied only to a job to be executed by monochrome mode . this configuration is advantageous specifically for a department where color printing is properly managed . if there is a job to be executed by full - color mode , it can be configured that the user is required to confirm how the job preferably to be executed , at a timing of authentication or others . for instance , even though the user intended to transmit a job including a monochrome document only , if it is determined by an acs , etc . that the job includes a full - color document , the user is required to confirm at a timing of authentication , how the job including a full - color document to be executed , that is , to be printed as is in full colors , converted and printed in monochrome , or deleted . it can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to a job only if the number of printed sheets of paper does not exceed a predetermined upper limit . if the job is not printed due to the upper limit , a screen for confirmation is displayed in the display unit 14 a of the operation panel 14 . it can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to a job depending on number of pages included in the job , that is , only if the job includes less pages than a predetermined number . if there is a job including more pages than the predetermined number , a screen for confirmation is displayed in the display unit 14 a of the operation panel 14 . if there is a job including more than one page , the job can be printed in double sides or in multiple pages per sheet . it can be configured that “ automatic job execution unit ” is applied to a job only if the job includes only one page , while an indication is displayed in the display unit 14 a of the operation panel 14 for the user to confirm how the job preferably to be printed , in double sides or multiple pages per sheet , if the job includes more than one page . the job attributes described above are taken just for examples , and it is not necessary to set a condition to apply “ automatic job execution mode ” about each of the job attribute , and only necessary to set a condition at least about one of the job attributes . in addition , it also can be configured that a conditions to apply “ automatic job execution mode ” is set about each of a plurality of job attributes , and “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied only to a job that fulfills the conditions set about each of them . in addition , it also can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to a job depending on a combination of job attributes . for instance , it is configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is basically applied to a job originated by the user himself / herself , while “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to a job even though the job is originated by the user himself / herself if a condition to apply “ automatic job execution mode ” is not set about the other job attribute . if there is a job that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to , a screen to confirm whether or not to execute the job can be displayed in the display unit 14 a of the operation panel 14 . the screen for confirmation can display a list of jobs that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to , for the user not only to select a job to be executed from the list but also to specify how the job to be executed , before or during job execution by “ automatic job execution mode ”. in addition , if there is a job that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to , it can be configured that “ automatic job execution mode ” is disabled and a warning of it is displayed . hereinafter , processes executed by the cpu 1 when “ automatic job execution mode ” is set on the mfp 1 , will be explained with reference to the flowchart in fig3 . if a print job is received , it is recorded in a specified box in the recording unit 16 , in step s 1 shown in fig3 . then , user authentication using an id card for instance is performed in step s 2 , and it is determined in step s 3 whether or not the authentication succeeded . if the authentication does not succeed ( no in step s 3 ), an authentication failure message is displayed in the display unit 14 a of the operation panel 14 , in step s 12 . then , the user is automatically logged out and the routine terminates . if the authentication succeeds ( yes in step s 3 ), it is checked in step s 4 whether or not there are print jobs , and it is determined in step s 5 whether or not there is any print job transmitted to the user among those . if there is a print job transmitted to the user ( yes in step s 5 ), then in step s 6 , a condition to apply “ automatic job execution mode ”, is confirmed by checking an attribute , for example job originator ( sender ), of the print job . then , the job is printed out in step s 7 , if it can be printed without confirmation , in other words , it is the job that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to , and then the routine proceeds to step s 8 . if there is no print job transmitted to the user ( no in step s 5 ), a no print job message is displayed in the display unit 14 a in step s 11 . then the user is automatically logged out and the routine terminates . in step s 8 , it is determined whether or not there is a job to be confirmed whether or not to be printed , in other words , there is a job that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to ( for example a job transmitted from an other user ). if there is no job to be confirmed whether or not to be printed ( no in step s 8 ), the user is automatically logged out and the routine directly terminates . if there is a job to be confirmed whether or not to be printed ( yes in step s 8 ), then a screen to confirm whether or not to print the job is displayed in the display unit 14 a and the routine waits for user input operation , in step s 9 . subsequently , an instruction to print the job is given by user input operation in step s 10 , and the job is printed out . then , the user is logged out and the routine terminates . fig4 is a flowchart showing a subroutine to check conditions to apply “ automatic job execution mode ” in step s 6 shown in fig3 . in this example , “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to a job only if each of the job attributes described above fulfills the condition to apply “ automatic job execution mode ”. in step s 61 of fig4 , it is determined whether or not an attribute ( 1 ) of the print job meets the condition to apply “ automatic job execution mode ”. if it meets ( yes in step s 61 ), the routine proceeds to step s 63 , and if does not meet ( no in step s 61 ), a flag is set to the job in step s 62 , and the routine proceeds to step s 63 . in step s 63 , it is determined whether or not an attribute ( 2 ) of the print job meets the condition to apply “ automatic job execution mode ”. if it meets ( yes in step s 63 ), the routine goes to check a next attribute , and if does not meet ( no in step s 63 ), a flag is set to the job in step s 64 , then the routine goes to check a next attribute . after completion of checking whether or not each of the attributes of the existing print jobs meet the set condition , the routine proceeds to step s 65 , and it is determined that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to print jobs without flag . subsequently , it is determined in step s 66 whether or not there is any job with flag . if there is no job with flag ( no in step s 66 ), the routine directly returns . if there is any job with flag ( yes in step s 66 ), it is determined in step s 67 that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to the job , and then the routine directly returns . in sum , a control is performed on a print job transmitted to a user who is permitted by the authorization unit 10 to execute jobs , to determine whether or not to print the print job automatically after the authorization depending on attributes of the print job . therefore , “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to a job that the user prefers to execute automatically , and the user can enjoy the benefit of using “ automatic job execution mode ”, which is simplified manipulation . meanwhile , the user can limit a job that he / she does not prefer to execute automatically . thus , this satisfies the user &# 39 ; s need and contributes to user friendliness . in the following , how to set a condition to apply “ automatic job execution mode ” via the display unit 14 a of the operation panel 14 , will be explained . a user is selected in a screen d 1 for setting , shown in fig5 . a list of the users who are candidates to be permitted to execute jobs by “ automatic job execution mode ” is displayed , and a target user is selected from those , in the screen d 1 . then , the screen is switched to a screen d 2 shown in fig6 . it is noted that the number of job attributes with set conditions , and the configuration report , is also displayed in the screen d 1 . subsequently , not only keys corresponding to the respective job attributes ( file attribute , originator , time , location , full - color / monochrome , upper limit , volume , and double - side / multi pages per sheet ), but also current conditions set for the respective keys , are displayed in the screen d 2 shown in fig6 . for instance , a setting about “ file attribute ” is that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied to a job having any file attribute , and a setting about “ originator ” is that “ automatic job execution mode ” is applied only to a job transmitted by the user himself / herself . to add / delete a condition , the screen is switched to a screen for condition setting by pressing a corresponding key . fig7 illustrates a screen d 3 for condition setting that is displayed when the “ originator ” key is pressed in the screen d 2 shown in fig6 . in the screen d 3 , there are the items , “ only himself / herself ”, “ job registered by himself / herself + group member ”, “ himself / herself + office member ” and “ all ” as job originator ( s ) that is a condition to apply “ automatic job execution mode ”. by selecting an item from those and pressing an “ ok ” button , the condition is determined . fig8 illustrates a screen d 4 for operation setting . if there is a job not satisfying the conditions set in fig5 to fig7 ( a job that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to ), operations to be performed on the job can be specified in the screen d 4 . in the screen d 4 , an item can be selected from “ display screen for confirmation ”, “ print + display screen for confirmation ” and “ display warning message and disable ‘ automatic job execution mode ’”, and the selection is determined by pressing an “ end ” button . the “ display screen for confirmation ” means to display a screen to specify an operation to be performed on a job that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied , before job execution by “ automatic job execution mode ”. the “ print + display screen for confirmation ” means to execute a job by “ automatic job execution mode ” and display a screen for confirmation at the same time . the “ display warning message and disable ‘ automatic job execution mode ’” means to disable “ automatic job execution mode ” and display a warming of it at the same time . fig9 illustrates one example of a screen to confirm an operation to be performed on a job that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to . in a screen d 5 for confirmation , there displayed jobs that “ automatic job execution mode ” is not applied to , with a message for the user to encourage selecting a job and giving an instruction to print it , file names of the jobs , job attributes that do not satisfy the conditions to apply “ automatic job execution unit ”. by selecting a file that is a job and pressing a “ print ” button , the selected file is started to be printed . while the present invention may be embodied in many different forms , a number of illustrative embodiments are described herein with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as providing examples of the principles of the invention and such examples are not intended to limit the invention to preferred embodiments described herein and / or illustrated herein . while illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described herein , the present invention is not limited to the various preferred embodiments described herein , but includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements , modifications , omissions , combinations ( e . g . of aspects across various embodiments ), adaptations and / or alterations as would be appreciated by those in the art based on the present disclosure . the limitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application , which examples are to be construed as non - exclusive . for example , in the present disclosure , the term “ preferably ” is non - exclusive and means “ preferably , but not limited to ”. in this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application , means - plus - function or step - plus - function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation : a ) “ means for ” or “ step for ” is expressly recited ; b ) a corresponding function is expressly recited ; and c ) structure , material or acts that support that structure are not recited . in this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application , the terminology “ present invention ” or “ invention ” may be used as a reference to one or more aspect within the present disclosure . the language present invention or invention should not be improperly interpreted as an identification of criticality , should not be improperly interpreted as applying across all aspects or embodiments ( i . e ., it should be understood that the present invention has a number of aspects and embodiments ), and should not be improperly interpreted as limiting the scope of the application or claims . in this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application , the terminology “ embodiment ” can be used to describe any aspect , feature , process or step , any combination thereof , and / or any portion thereof , etc . in some examples , various embodiments may include overlapping features . in this disclosure and during the prosecution of this case , the following abbreviated terminology may be employed : “ e . g .” which means “ for example ”, and “ nb ” which means “ note well ”. | 6 |
image capture operation of video image capture devices of the embodiments of the present invention will be now explained below , with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the video image capture device of a first embodiment of the invention . in fig1 , an optical system 1 has distortion such that the center portion is enlarged and the peripheral portion is reduced . the subject image light condensed by the optical system 1 is focused at the light - receiving face of an image sensor 2 . the image sensor 2 receives the optical image and converts this into electrical signals . as the image sensor 2 , a ccd ( charge coupled device ) image sensor or a cmos ( complementary mos ) image sensor is used . an rgb filter is affixed in a bayer arrangement to the light - receiving face of the image sensor 2 . the output signals from the image sensor 2 are converted into digital signals by an a / d conversion circuit 3 and sent to a preprocessing circuit 4 . the preprocessing circuit 4 performs correction of pixel defects in the captured image signals input from the a / d conversion circuit 3 , as well as ob subtraction processing and other adjustments . the captured image signals , with corrections and adjustments performed , are sent to a memory 5 via a data bus 14 . the memory 5 temporarily stores image data and similar . the memory 5 used is sdram ( synchronous dynamic random access memory ) or similar . the data bus 14 connects the preprocessing circuit 4 , the memory 5 , an image processing circuit 6 , a distortion correction circuit 7 , a compression / expansion circuit 8 , an external recording device 9 , a display circuit 10 , and a cpu ( central processing unit ) 13 . the image processing circuit 6 takes as input from the memory 5 the captured image signals , and performs processing to generate luminance signals y and chrominance signals cb , cr from the captured image signals , eliminate noise in the image data , and similar . the distortion correction circuit 7 performs correction of distortion of the image data input from the image processing circuit 6 . the compression / expansion circuit 8 performs processing to compress image data using the jpeg ( joint photographic experts group ), mpeg ( moving picture coding experts group ), and other compression methods , and to expand image data which has been compressed using the jpeg , mpeg , and other compression methods . the external recording device 9 is configured from semiconductor memory , magnetic memory or similar , and records compressed video image data compressed by the compression / expansion circuit 8 , and reads previously recorded compressed video image data . the display circuit 10 generates synchronization signals to output image data to the monitor 11 , and sizes image data to the display size of the lcd ( liquid crystal display ) or other monitor 11 . the output signals from the display circuit 10 are sent to the monitor 11 and displayed on the monitor 11 . the instruction portion 12 is provided with operation buttons for use by the user ; the instruction portion 12 is used to issue instructions to change the angle of view of image data , change the method of display of image data , and similar . instruction signals from the instruction portion 12 are sent to the cpu 13 . the cpu 13 controls operation of the entire device . in the first embodiment of the invention , the optical system 1 having distortion is used , as explained above . fig2 a through fig2 c show the characteristics of such an optical system having distortion . when the image shown in fig2 a is captured by an optical system having distortion , optical images such as those shown in fig2 b or fig2 c result . fig2 b shows an example of an optical image captured by an optical system in which distortion is caused such that the closer to the periphery , the more compression occurs , independently in the vertical and horizontal directions . fig2 c shows an example of an optical image captured by an optical system in which barrel distortion is caused to occur such that the greater the distance from the concentric - circular center of the coaxial optical system , the greater is the compression . in this way , an optical system of this invention having large distortion is configured such that the center portion is enlarged and the peripheral portions are reduced ; optical distortion which combines these can also be realized . below , the example of the distortion of fig2 b is used in explanations . from fig3 a to fig3 d show image data in which a portion of the image data obtained by the image sensor 2 is extracted , and electronic zooming is performed . fig3 a shows image data captured by an optical system 1 having large distortion ; fig3 c shows an example of electronic zoom image data obtained from the image data of fig3 a . fig3 b shows image data captured by a normal optical system with small distortion . fig3 d shows an example of electronic zoom image data obtained from the image data of fig3 b . in this way , when obtaining electronic zoom image data with the same angle of vie , the area of the captured image data is larger when using an optical system having larger distortion . next , image capture operation for the video image capture device of the first embodiment of the invention is explained , referring to the flowchart of fig4 . the optical image obtained via the optical system 1 with large distortion in fig1 is received by the image sensor 2 and converted into electrical signals . signals output from the image sensor 2 are maximum - angle captured image signals , which are signals for the largest optical image that can be captured by the image sensor 2 , uncorrected for distortion . in fig4 , the maximum - angle captured image signals from the image sensor 2 , uncorrected for distortion , and converted into digital signals by the a / d conversion circuit 3 , and after performing pixel defect correction , ob subtraction processing and other adjustments by the preprocessing circuit 4 , the results are output to the memory 5 . in this way , maximum - angle captured image signals uncorrected for distortion are stored in the memory 5 ( step s 1 ). these maximum - angle captured image signals uncorrected for distortion are output from the memory 5 to the image processing circuit 6 , and in the image processing circuit 6 are converted into luminance signals y and chrominance signals cb , cr , and gamma correction and other image processing is performed ( step s 2 ). the maximum - angle image data , uncorrected for distortion but with image processing performed by the image processing circuit 6 , is then input to the distortion correction circuit 7 , and in the distortion correction circuit 7 , distortion in the maximum - angle image data is corrected ( step s 3 ). maximum - angle image data with distortion corrected by the distortion correction circuit 7 is then output to and stored in the memory 5 ( step s 4 ). when performing a zoom operation , the user presses an operation button on the instruction portion 12 ( step s 5 ). when the operation button on the instruction portion 12 is operated , an arbitrary angle of view set by the user using the operation button of the instruction portion 12 is sent to the cpu 13 , and an image read command is sent from the cpu 13 to memory 5 . by this means , a portion of the maximum - angle captured image signals , uncorrected for distortion and stored in the memory 5 , is extracted according to the angle of view thus set ( step s 6 ). the extracted partial captured image signals are hereafter called “ telescopic captured image signals ”. telescopic captured image signals not corrected for distortion are output from the memory 5 to the image processing circuit 6 , and in the image processing circuit 6 , image processing is performed for noise elimination , conversion into luminance signals y and chrominance signals cb , cr , gamma correction , and similar ( step s 7 ). telescopic image data subjected to image processing by the image processing circuit 6 but not corrected for distortion is then input to the distortion correction circuit 7 , and in the distortion correction circuit 7 , the distortion in the telescopic image data is corrected ( step s 8 ). correspondence information , indicating the maximum - angle image data with distortion correction with which the data is paired , is appended to the telescopic image data with distortion corrected by the distortion correction circuit 7 , and the data is output to and stored in the memory 5 ( step s 9 ). when the user performs a zoom operation ( step s 5 ), maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion , and telescopic image data corrected for distortion , are stored in the memory 5 ( see step s 4 and step s 9 ). next , the maximum - angle image data with distortion corrected , stored in the memory 5 , is output to the compression / expansion circuit 8 , and in the compression / expansion circuit 8 , the maximum - angle image data with distortion corrected is compressed to the jpeg format ( step s 10 ). the compressed maximum - angle image data with distortion corrected is output to and stored in the memory 5 ( step s 11 ). when in step s 5 no zoom operation is performed ( step s 12 ), the compressed maximum - angle image data with distortion corrected stored in the memory 5 is output to and stored in the external recording device 9 ( step s 13 ), and processing proceeds to step s 17 . on the other hand , when the user performs a zoom operation ( step s 12 ), telescopic image data with distortion corrected which is stored in the memory 5 is output to the compression / expansion circuit 8 , and in the compression / expansion circuit 8 the telescopic image data with distortion corrected is compressed to jpeg format ( step s 14 ). the compressed telescopic image data with distortion corrected is output to and stored in the memory 5 ( step s 15 ). compressed maximum - angle image data with distortion corrected and compressed telescopic image data with distortion corrected , stored in the memory 5 , are output to and stored in the external recording device 9 ( step s 16 ). in this way , when the user performs a zoom operation , the external recording device 9 records , as a pair , the compressed maximum - angle image data with distortion corrected and compressed telescopic image data with distortion corrected ( step s 16 ). the above processing from s 1 to s 16 is performed in single frame units , and by performing this processing continuously for a plurality of frames , a video captured image operation results . when processing of one frame ends , processing proceeds to the next frame ( step s 17 ), returning to step s 1 to perform processing of the next frame . next , a method of display of image data and the time of image capture by the video image capture device of the first embodiment of the invention will be explained . in the first embodiment of the invention , the user can use an operation button of the instruction portion 12 to set the device to wide - angle display , telescopic display , and two - screen display . fig5 is a flowchart showing display processing in the first embodiment of the invention . in fig5 , a judgment is made as to whether the setting is wide - angle display , telescopic display , or two - screen display ( step s 21 ). if in step s 21 wide - angle display is selected , the maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion stored in the memory 5 is output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 22 ). the display circuit 10 sizes the maximum - angle image data according to the angle of view of the monitor 11 while outputting the data , one frame at a time , to the monitor 11 . by this means , the maximum - angle - of - view images 21 are displayed on the monitor 11 , as shown in fig7 a ( step s 23 ). when in step s 21 the telescopic display is selected , the telescopic image data corrected for distortion stored in the memory 5 is output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 24 ). the display circuit 10 sizes the image data according to the angle of view of the monitor 11 while outputting the data to the monitor 11 one frame at a time . by this means , telescopic images 22 are displayed on the monitor 11 , as shown in fig7 b ( step s 25 ). when in step s 21 two - screen display is selected , the maximum - angle - of - view image data corrected for distortion and the telescopic image data corrected for distortion , stored in the memory 5 , are output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 26 ). by this means , the maximum - angle - of - view image 21 and telescopic image 22 are displayed in juxtaposition , as shown in fig7 c ( step s 27 ). here , a judgment is made as to whether the display settings have been changed ( step s 28 ). if the display settings have been changed , processing returns to step s 21 . in step s 21 , a judgment is then made as to whether the setting has been switched to wide - angle display , to telescopic display , or to two - screen display . in the case of switching to wide - angle display , the processing of steps s 22 and s 23 is performed , and the maximum - angle - of - view image is displayed . in the case of switching to telescopic display , the processing of steps s 24 and s 25 is performed , and the telescopic image is displayed . in the case of switching to two - screen display , the processing of steps s 26 and s 27 are performed , and the maximum - angle - of - view image and telescopic image are displayed in juxtaposition . a judgment is made as to whether one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended ( step s 29 ), and if one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended , processing of the next frame is begun ( step s 30 ), processing returns to step s 21 , and processing of the next frame is performed . in the first embodiment of the invention , during wide - angle display , a zoom frame may also be displayed . fig6 is a flowchart showing processing when a zoom frame is displayed . in fig6 , a judgment is made as to whether wide - angle display is being performed ( step s 31 ), and if the display is currently wide - angle display , a judgment is made as to whether the user has selected frame display using an operation button of the instruction portion 12 ( step s 32 ). if zoom frame display is selected , then a zoom frame display signal is formed according to the screen extracted from memory 5 ( step s 33 ). maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion and stored in memory 5 , and frame display signals corresponding to the angle of view which has been set , are sent to the display circuit 10 ( step s 34 ). by this means , the maximum - angle - of - view image 21 is displayed on the monitor 11 , and a zoom frame 23 showing the telescopic angle of view is displayed , as shown in fig7 d ( step s 35 ). a judgment is made as to whether one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended ( step s 36 ), and if one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended , processing proceeds to the next frame ( step s 37 ), returning to step s 31 , and processing of the next frame is performed . next , processing to reproduce compressed video image data in the video image capture device of the first embodiment of the invention will be explained . fig8 is a flowchart showing reproduction processing . as explained above , when the user performs a zoom operation ( step s 5 ), compressed maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion and compressed telescopic image data corrected for distortion are recorded , as a pair , at the time of recording in the external recording device 9 ( see step s 16 ). in fig8 , at the time of reproduction , the compressed maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion and the compressed telescopic image data corrected for distortion are read from the external recording device 9 and stored in the memory 5 ( step s 41 ). the compressed maximum - angle image data stored in the memory 5 is output to the compression / expansion circuit 8 , and in the compression / expansion circuit 8 is expanded using the jpeg format . the expanded maximum - angle image data is stored in the memory 5 ( step s 42 ). on the other hand , compressed telescopic image data stored in the memory 5 is output to the compression / expansion circuit 8 , and in the compression / expansion circuit 8 is expanded using the jpet format . the expanded telescopic image data is output to and stored in the memory 5 ( step s 43 ). in the first embodiment of the invention , wide - angle display , telescopic display , or two - screen display can be selected at the time of reproduction . the user performs display selection using an operation button of the instruction portion 12 . a judgment is made as to whether the display at the time of reproduction is a wide - angle display , a telescopic display , or a two - screen display ( step s 44 ). in step s 44 , if the wide - angle display is selected , then maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion which has been stored in the memory 5 is output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 45 ). the display circuit 10 resizes the maximum - angle image data according to the angle of view of the monitor 11 while outputting the data to the monitor 11 one frame at a time . by this means , the maximum - angle - of - view image 21 is displayed on the monitor 11 , as shown in fig7 a ( step s 46 ). when in step s 44 the telescopic display has been selected , the telescopic image data corrected for distortion which is stored in the memory 5 is output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 47 ). the display circuit 10 resizes the image data according to the angle of view of the monitor 11 while outputting the data to the monitor 11 one frame at a time . by this means , the telescopic image 22 is displayed on the monitor 11 as shown in fig7 b ( step s 48 ). when in step s 44 two - screen display is selected , the maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion and the telescopic image data corrected for distortion which are stored in the memory 5 are output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 49 ). by this means , the maximum - angle - of - view image 21 and telescopic image 22 are displayed in juxtaposition , as shown in fig7 c ( step s 50 ). here , a judgment is made as to whether the display settings have been switched ( step s 51 ). if the display settings have been switched , processing returns to step s 44 , and a judgment is made as to whether settings have been switched to wide - angle display , to telescopic display , or to two - screen display . if switching is to wide - angle display , the processing of steps s 45 and s 46 is performed , and the maximum - angle - of - view image is displayed . if switching is to telescopic display , the processing of steps s 47 and s 48 is performed , and the telescopic image is displayed . if switching is to two - screen display , then the processing of steps s 49 and s 50 is performed , and the maximum - angle - of - view image and telescopic image are displayed in juxtaposition . video reproduction operation entails processing of a plurality of frames continuously . a judgment is made as to whether one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended ( step s 52 ), and if one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended , processing proceeds to the next frame ( step s 53 ), returning to step s 41 to process the next frame . thus by means of the first embodiment of the invention , maximum - angle - of - view image data and telescopic image data for a single subject can be acquired simultaneously . hence when selecting the display method at the time of image capture , or when recording maximum - angle - of - view image data and telescopic image data in an external recording device and then reproducing recorded image data , it is possible to switch between displays of maximum - angle - of - view image data and telescopic image data for an arbitrary frame . a second embodiment of the invention will be explained , referring to the drawings . the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment with respect to the maximum - angle image data recorded to the external recording device 9 . that is , in the first embodiment , compressed maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion and compressed telescopic image data corrected for distortion were recorded to the external recording device 9 at the time of recording . in contrast , in this second embodiment , compressed maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion and compressed telescopic image data corrected for distortion are recorded to the external recording device 9 . the configuration of the video image capture device in the second embodiment of the invention is similar to that of the first embodiment , and an explanation is omitted . fig9 is a flowchart showing recording processing in the second embodiment of the invention . in fig9 , an optical image obtained via the optical system i having substantial distortion is received by the image sensor 2 and converted into electrical signals . the output signals from this image sensor 2 are maximum - angle captured image signals not corrected for distortion , which represent the maximum optical image which can be received by the image sensor 2 . maximum - angle captured image signals not corrected for distortion which are output from the image sensor 2 are converted to digital signals by the a / d conversion circuit 3 . next , these digital signals are subjected to pixel defect correction , ob subtraction processing and other adjustment by the preprocessing circuit 4 , and are then output to memory 5 . in this way , maximum - angle captured image signals not corrected for distortion are stored in the memory 5 ( step s 61 ). the maximum - angle captured image signals not corrected for distortion are output from the memory 5 to the image processing circuit 6 , and noise elimination , conversion into luminance signals y and chrominance signals cb , cr , gamma correction , and other image processing is performed ( step s 62 ). maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion but subjected to image processing by the image processing circuit 6 is output to and stored in the memory 5 ( step s 63 ). maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion but subjected to image processing by the image processing circuit 6 is input to the distortion correction circuit 7 , and the distortion in the maximum - angle image data is corrected ( step s 64 ). this maximum - angle image data corrected by the distortion correction circuit 7 is stored in the memory 5 for display ( step s 65 ). when performing a zoom operation , the user operates an operation button of the instruction portion 12 ( step s 66 ). when the operation button of the instruction portion 12 is operated , the cpu 13 is notified of an arbitrary angle of view set by the user using the operation button of the instruction portion 12 , and an image read command is sent from the cpu 13 to memory 5 . by this means , a portion of the maximum - angle captured image signals not corrected for distortion , stored in memory 5 , is extracted according to the angle of view thus set ( step s 67 ). this extracted portion of the captured image signals is called the telescopic captured image signals . these telescopic captured image signals not corrected for distortion are output from the memory 5 to the image processing circuit 6 , and noise elimination , conversion into luminance signals y and chrominance signals cb , cr , gamma correction , and other image processing is performed ( step s 68 ). the telescopic image data not corrected for distortion but with image processing performed by the image processing circuit 6 is input to the distortion correction circuit 7 , and the distortion in the telescopic image data is corrected ( step s 69 ). to the telescopic image data corrected by the distortion correction circuit 7 is appended correspondence information indicating the maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion with which the data is paired , and the data is output to and stored in the memory 5 ( step s 70 ). next , maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion and saved in the memory 5 is output to the compression / expansion circuit 8 , and the maximum - angle image data is compressed using the jpeg format ( step s 71 ). the compressed maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion is output to and stored in the memory 5 ( step s 72 ). when a zoom operation is not performed in step s 66 ( step s 73 ), the compressed maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion stored in the memory 5 is output to the external recording device 9 and recorded ( step s 74 ), and processing proceeds to step s 78 . if on the other hand there is a zoom operation in step s 66 ( step s 73 ), the telescopic image data corrected for distortion and stored in the memory 5 is output to the compression / expansion circuit 8 and is compressed using the jpeg format ( step s 75 ). the compressed telescopic image data corrected for distortion is output to and stored in the memory 5 ( step s 76 ). the compressed maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion and compressed telescopic image data corrected for distortion , stored in the memory 5 , are output to and recorded in the external recording device 9 ( step s 77 ). in this way , when the user has performed a zoom operation , compressed maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion and compressed telescopic image data corrected for distortion are stored , as a pair , in the external storage device 9 ( step s 77 ). the above processing from s 61 to s 77 is performed in single frame units , and by performing this processing continuously for a plurality of frames , video captured image operation results . when one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing ends , processing proceeds to the next frame ( step s 78 ), returning to step s 61 to perform processing of the next frame . next , display processing in the second embodiment of the invention is explained . in the second embodiment of the invention , the user can use an operation button of the instruction portion 12 to set wide - angle display , telescopic display , or two - screen display . fig1 is a flowchart showing display processing in the second embodiment of the invention . in fig1 , a judgment is made as to whether the setting is for wide - angle display , telescopic display , or two - screen display ( step s 81 ). if in step s 81 wide - angle display is selected , the maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion stored in the memory 5 is output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 82 ). the display circuit 10 resizes the maximum - angle image data according to the angle of view of the monitor 11 while outputting the data to the monitor 11 , one frame at a time . by this means , maximum - angle - of - view images 21 are displayed on the monitor 11 , as shown in fig7 a ( step s 83 ). when in step s 81 the telescopic display is selected , the telescopic image data corrected for distortion stored in the memory 5 is output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 84 ). the display circuit 10 resizes the image data according to the angle of view of the monitor 11 while outputting the data to the monitor 11 one frame at a time . by this means , telescopic images 22 are displayed on the monitor 11 , as shown in fig7 b ( step s 85 ). when in step s 81 the two - screen display is selected , the maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion and telescopic image data corrected for distortion , stored in the memory 5 , are output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 86 ). by this means , the maximum - angle - of - view image 21 and telescopic image 22 are displayed in juxtaposition , as shown in fig7 c ( step s 87 ). here , a judgment is made as to whether there has been switching of the display settings ( step s 88 ). if the display settings have been switched , processing returns to step s 81 . in step s 81 , a judgment is made as to whether switching has been to the wide - angle display , telescopic display , or two - screen display . in the case of switching to wide - angle display , the processing indicated in steps s 82 and s 83 is performed , and the maximum - angle - of - view image is displayed . in the case of switching to telescopic display , the processing indicated in steps s 84 and s 85 is performed , and the telescopic image is displayed . in the case of switching to two - screen display , the processing indicated in steps s 86 and s 87 is performed , and the maximum - angle - of - view image and telescopic image are displayed in juxtaposition . a judgment is made as to whether one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended ( step s 89 ), and if one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended , processing proceeds to the next frame ( step s 90 ), returning to step s 81 , and processing of the next frame is performed . in the second embodiment of the invention , during wide - angle display , a zoom frame may also be displayed . fig1 is a flowchart showing processing when the zoom frame is displayed . in fig1 , a judgment is made as to whether the display is the wide - angle display ( step s 91 ), and if the wide - angle display is set , a judgment is made as to whether the user has selected frame display using an operation button of the instruction portion 12 ( step s 92 ). if zoom frame display has been selected , zoom frame display signals are formed according to a screen extracted from memory ( step s 93 ). maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion and stored in the memory 5 , and frame display signals corresponding to the preset angle of view , are sent to the display circuit 10 ( step s 94 ). by this means , the maximum - angle - of - view image 21 is displayed on the monitor 11 as shown in fig7 d , and the zoom frame 23 for the telescopic angle of view is displayed ( step s 95 ). a judgment is made as to whether one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended ( step s 96 ), and if one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended , processing proceeds to the next frame ( step s 97 ), returning to step s 91 , and the next frame is processed . next , processing to reproduce compressed video image data in the video image capture device of the second embodiment of the invention is explained . fig1 shows reproduction processing in the second embodiment of the invention . as explained above , when the user performs a zoom operation ( step s 66 ), compressed maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion and compressed telescopic image data corrected for distortion are recorded in the external recording device 9 at the time of recording ( see step s 77 ). in fig1 , at the time of reproduction , the compressed maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion and compressed telescopic data corrected for distortion are read from the external recording device 9 based on correspondence information , and are stored in the memory 5 ( step s 101 ). compressed maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion and stored in the memory 5 is output to the compression / expansion circuit 8 , and is expanded using the jpeg format . the expanded maximum - angle image data is stored in the memory 5 ( step s 102 ). this expanded maximum - angle image data is output from the memory 5 to the distortion correction circuit 7 , and processing to correct distortion is performed ( step s 103 ). the maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion is then stored in the memory 5 ( step s 104 ). on the other hand , the compressed telescopic image data stored in the memory 5 is output to the compression / expansion circuit 8 , and is expanded using the jpeg format . the expanded telescopic image data is stored in the memory 5 ( step s 105 ). in the second embodiment of the invention , wide - angle display , telescopic display , and two - screen display can be selected at the time of reproduction . the user performs display selection using an operation button of the instruction portion 12 . a judgment is made at the time of reproduction as to whether the display is wide - angle display , telescopic display , or two - screen display ( step s 106 ). if in step s 106 wide - angle display is selected , the maximum - angle image display corrected for distortion and stored in the memory 5 is output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 107 ). the display circuit 10 resizes the maximum - angle image data according to the angle of view of the monitor 11 while outputting the data to the monitor 11 one frame at a time . by this means , a maximum - angle - of - view image 21 is displayed on the monitor 11 , as shown in fig7 a ( step s 108 ). if in step s 106 , the telescopic display is selected , the telescopic image data corrected for distortion and stored in the memory 5 is output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 109 ). the display circuit 10 resizes the image data according to the angle of view of the monitor 11 while outputting the data to the monitor 11 one frame at a time . by this means , a telescopic image 22 is displayed on the monitor 11 , as shown in fig7 b ( step s 110 ). if in step s 106 , the two - screen display is selected , the maximum - angle image data corrected for distortion and the telescopic image data corrected for distortion , stored in the memory 5 , are output to the display circuit 10 ( step s 111 ). by this means , a maximum - angle - of - view image 21 and telescopic image 22 are displayed in juxtaposition , as shown in fig7 c ( step s 112 ). here , a judgment is made as to whether the display settings have been switched ( step s 113 ). if the display settings have been switched , processing returns to step s 106 . in step s 106 , a judgment is made as to whether settings have been switched to wide - angle display , to telescopic display , or to two - screen display . if the settings have been switched to wide - angle display , the processing indicated in steps s 107 and s 108 is performed , and the maximum - angle - of - view image is displayed . if the switching is to telescopic display , the processing indicated in steps s 109 and s 10 is performed , and the telescopic image is displayed . if the switching is to two - screen display , the processing indicated in steps s 111 and s 112 is performed , and the maximum - angle - of - view image and telescopic image are displayed in juxtaposition . next , a judgment is made as to whether one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended ( step s 114 ), and if one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended , processing proceeds to the next frame ( step s 115 ), returning to step s 101 to process the next frame . the above processing from s 101 to s 114 is performed in single frame units , and this processing is performed continuously for a plurality of frames . in the second embodiment of the invention , it is possible to modify the zoom position during wide - angle display at the time of reproduction . fig1 shows processing when modifying the zoom position . fig1 is a flowchart showing processing when modifying the zoom position . in fig1 , a judgment is made as to whether the current display is wide - angle display ( step s 121 ), and if the current display is wide - angle display , a judgment is made as to whether the user has modified the zoom position using an operation button of the instruction portion 12 ( step s 122 ). if the zoom position has been modified , a screen is extracted from the maximum - angle - of - view data not corrected for distortion , stored in the memory 5 , based on the angle of view of the modified zoom position ( step s 123 ). the extracted image is sent to the distortion correction circuit 7 , distortion is corrected , and the image is stored in the memory 5 ( step s 124 ). this telescopic image data corrected for distortion , extracted from the maximum - angle - of - view data , is sent to the display circuit 10 ( step s 125 ). by this means , an image 25 with the zoom position modified is displayed on the monitor 11 , as shown in fig1 ( step s 126 ). a judgment is made as to whether one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended ( step s 127 ), and if one frame &# 39 ; s worth of processing has ended , processing proceeds to the next frame ( step s 128 ), returning to step s 121 to process the next frame . by means of the above second embodiment of the invention , advantageous results equivalent to those of the first embodiment can be obtained . further , maximum - angle image data not corrected for distortion is recorded , so that electronic zoom image data with minimal image quality degradation can be reproduced and displayed . as explained above , by means of a video image capture device of this invention , image data with a first angle of view , that is , wide - angle image data , and image data with a second angle of view , that is , telescopic image data , are recorded in succession as pairs , so that wide - angle and telescopic video image reproduction can be performed rapidly and selectively . further , by means of a video image capture device of an embodiment of this invention , image data with a first angle of view after distortion correction , that is , wide - angle image data , and image data with a second angle of view , that is , telescopic image data , are recorded in succession as pairs , so that wide - angle and telescopic video image reproduction can be performed rapidly and selectively using a general - purpose device . further , by means of a video image capture device of an embodiment of this invention , at the time of image capture , second corrected image data , that is , telescopic image data , can be displayed on an lcd or other monitor , and image capture can be performed while confirming the angle of view of telescopic image data set by the user . further , by means of a video image capture device of an embodiment of this invention , at the time of image capture , first corrected image data , that is , wide - angle image data , can be displayed on an lcd or other monitor , and image capture can be performed while confirming on the monitor the wide - angle image data . further , by means of a video image capture device of an embodiment of this invention , by displaying the frame of the second angle of view above the first corrected image data , image capture is possible while simultaneously confirming on the monitor the second angle of view and the peripheral portions thereof . further , by means of a video image capture device of an embodiment of this invention , at the time of image capture , image capture of the second corrected image data , that is , telescopic image data , can be performed while confirming on the monitor the first corrected image data , that is , the wide - angle image data . further , by means of a video image capture device of an embodiment of this invention , at the time of reproduction , second corrected image data read in succession , that is , telescopic image data is displayed on the monitor , and by switching at an arbitrary time to first corrected image data , that is to wide - angle image data , wide - angle and telescopic video image data can easily be selectively confirmed . further , by means of a video image capture device of an embodiment of this invention , at the time of reproduction , first corrected image data read in succession , that is , wide - angle image data is displayed on the monitor , and by switching at an arbitrary time to second corrected image data , that is to telescopic image data , wide - angle and telescopic video image data can easily be selectively confirmed . further , by means of a video image capture device of an embodiment of this invention , at the time of reproduction , first corrected image data , that is , wide - angle image data , and second corrected image data , that is , telescopic image data , read in succession from a recording device , are reproduced in juxtaposition on a monitor , so that comparisons can easily be made . further , by means of a video image capture device of an embodiment of this invention , by recording as pairs original image data with a first angle of view and second corrected image data , the original image data can be used to correct distortion using another video reproduction device capable of distortion correction , and the angle of view of images can be modified ; in addition , in an existing video reproduction device , reproduction of the second corrected image data , that is , of corrected telescopic video image data , is possible . further , by means of a video image capture device of an embodiment of this invention , a third angle of view is set for original image data read from a recording device , and distortion in the original image data corresponding to this third angle of view is corrected and the data output and displayed on a monitor , so that image data corrected for distortion can easily be confirmed for an arbitrary angle of view . this invention is not limited to the above - described embodiments , and various appropriate modifications can be made without deviating from the scope of the invention . this invention is suitable for use in displaying telescopic images in a digital camera employing an optical system having distortion . | 7 |
the spark plug 10 is , at the outside , of any suitable and standard construction , and has a tubular metal housing 11 which has an outer thread 12 . the metal housing is extended upwardly -- with respect to fig1 -- and forms a hexagonal surface for attachment to a spark plug socket wrench . the metal housing 11 is extended at the ignition or combustion chamber end to a bent - over portion 13 which forms a ground or chassis electrode . the end 13 is bent over towards the center line or longitudinal axis of the spark plug . the metal housing 11 is formed with a tubular opening 14 which has an internal shoulder 15 . an insulator 18 , of rotation - symmetrical form , is seated on the shoulder 15 , with interposition of a sealing ring 16 , which engages an enlarged portion 17 of the insulator body 18 . the ground or chassis electrode 13 may be formed in accordance with any suitable and standard construction , and more than one center electrode or a ring of electrodes 13 may be provided . the insulator 18 is fitted in the opening 14 in accordance with any suitable and well known construction , for example by rolling - over a portion of the metal housing 11 at the connection of terminal end ( not shown ), by shrink - fitting , or the like . the insulator may be fitted into the metal housing also by a cement , or otherwise . the combustion chamber end of the insulator body extends towards the chassis electrode 13 ; the cross - sectional area of the insulator decreases , that is , the insulator tapers downwardly towards the chassis electrode 13 . the head of the insulator 18 at the terminal end portion -- not shown in fig1 -- extends from the metal housing 11 and surrounds a connection bolt or post 21 , which is formed with an ignition cable terminal . the insulator 18 has a longitudinal opening or bore 19 , extending axially , which has an enlarged portion 19 / 1 extending towards the terminal end of the spark plug . the enlarged portion 19 / 1 tapers in a tapering central portion 19 / 2 to a narrower or thinner end portion 19 / 3 adjacent the combustion chamber end of the spark plug . the insulator 18 has a cup - shaped or dome - shaped bottom 20 , integral therewith . the thickness of the bottom dome 20 is only about 0 . 4 mm . the portion of the insulator 18 adjacent the dome - shaped bottom also is only about 0 . 4 mm thick - measured in cross section , for an axial length of about 6 mm . the dimensions are not critical and , depending on application , the end portion of the insulator 18 in the region of the bottom 20 and extending upwardly therefrom , may have a thickness of between , for example , about 0 . 2 mm to 0 . 9 mm , preferably in the range of from 0 . 3 mm to 0 . 6 mm . the axial extent of the region of this thickness of the insulator 18 , depending on application , may be between about 2 . 5 mm to 12 mm , preferably , however , between 5 mm to 9 mm . the transition from this thin - walled region of the insulator 18 towards the enlarged portion 17 should be matched to the length and the wall thickness , and increase gradually -- as well known in connection with spark plug construction . the insulator 18 preferably essentially is made of aluminum oxide . the aluminum oxide of the insulator body has , preferably , but not necessarily , a higher percentage of flux added thereto than used with customary and standard spark plugs . a suitable addition is about 10 %-- by weight -- of flux , the flux being , for example , magnesium silicate or calcium silicate . the relatively high proportion of flux -- with respect to customary insulating bodies , which contain only about 5 %, by weight , of flux -- has the effect that the heat conductivity of the insulator 18 at temperatures below 600 ° c . is less than in known insulators ; the heat conductivity of the insulator 18 , at temperatures above about from 600 ° c . to 700 ° c . is , essentially , comparable to that of customary material of lesser flux content . the lower softening point of the insulator , due to the higher content of flux , does not interfere with the operation of the spark plug 10 , since the operating temperatures of the spark plug 10 are far below the softening temperature of such ceramics . the proportion of flux in the insulator 18 may vary between about 3 % to 20 % by weight ; the insulator for use in the spark plug of the present invention , preferably , has a flux content of between 8 % and 15 %, by weight . a metallic connecting bolt 21 extends through the insulator 18 in the longitudinal opening 19 thereof , up to and including the connecting region 19 / 1 of the central opening . the connecting bolt 21 , at the terminal end of the spark plug ( not shown ) is formed in accordance with standard construction , for example by having a thread or a connecting tip formed thereon . at the combustion chamber end , it is preferably formed with attachment deformations 22 , for example , a thread , grooves , and ridges , a stippled or knurled surface , or the like . these attachment arrangements 22 insure that the connecting bolt 21 is reliably and tightly secured in the spark plug . an electrically conductive sealing mass 23 embeds the connecting terminal 21 , together with the attachment arrangement 22 . the sealing mass 23 is fitted in the region 19 / 1 and 19 / 2 of the opening 19 in the insulator 18 of the spark plug . sealing masses of this type are well known and , preferably , include an electrically conductive glass melt ( see , for example , u . s . pat . no . 3 , 909 , 459 ). the sealing mass 23 is in electrically conductive connection and position with respect to a metal core 24 which is located in the combustion chamber end portion 19 / 3 of the central opening of the insulator 18 . it may extend , at least in part , into the central portion 19 / 2 of the longitudinal opening in the insulator . in accordance with the present invention , the core 24 , when the spark plug is cold , or below normal operating temperature , is fitted into the insulator 18 but , at least in the combustion end portion 19 / 3 , and , possibly , at least within a portion 19 / 2 of the opening 19 of the insulator , the core 24 and the insulator are spaced by a narrow gap 25 . this narrow gap is present only when the temperature of the end portion of the insulator 18 which extends into the combustion chamber is below the free - burning or self - ignition temperature of about 450 ° c . of deposits which might precipitate on the insulator . after the temperature of the spark plug , at the combustion chamber end , reaches about 450 ° c . to 500 ° c ., the gap will close -- see fig2 . the characteristics of the metal core to close the gap are due to expansion thereof upon rise in temperature . the coefficient of expansion of the metal core 24 is greater than that of the ceramic material of the insulator 18 . in accordance with a feature of the invention , the metal core 24 is preferably made of aluminum bronze , including about 8 % aluminum . other materials with similar coefficients of expansion , and good heat conductivity , may be used . suitable materials for a metal core 24 , besides aluminum alloys , are copper alloys , silver , or metal alloys which contain at least a substantial proportion of one of the materials : copper , silver or aluminum -- for example brass or tin bronze . suitable metals or metal alloys which are used for the core 24 should have a heat conductivity of more than 90 w / mk . these metal alloys , at melt - in temperatures , are either liquid , or plastically deformable , so that , upon introduction of the metal core 24 and sealing mass 23 within the insulator 18 , they fill the region 19 / 3 and , possibly , an adjacent region 19 / 2 of the opening 19 within the insulator without a gap . the core 24 , preferably , is conically expanded at the upper end by fitting within the conical portion 19 / 2 of the opening to insure a reliable seat within the insulator 18 , and prevent any possible longitudinal movement therein . manufacture and assembly of the spark plug : in a preferred form , the metal core 24 is made of aluminum bronze . the insulator 18 , connecting bolt 21 , sealing mass 23 and metal core 24 are assembled in this manner : an aluminum bronze rod of predetermined volume is fitted within the longitudinal bore 19 of the insulator 18 , locating it within the combustion chamber region 19 / 3 of the insulator opening , to completely fill the end portion of the opening 19 . a previously measured quantity of granulated sealing mass 23 -- which may be introduced also in form of a tablet , rather than as separate granules -- is introduced above the aluminum bronze rod within the opening 19 . in a subsequent assembly operation , the connecting bolt or post 21 , with the anchoring arrangement 22 , is fitted within the insulator bore 19 . the subassembly , which is longitudinally positioned , is then heated to the melt - in temperature of the sealing mass 23 . a suitable temperature is , for example about 900 ° c . pressure is applied to the connecting post 21 in downward direction -- see fig1 as schematically indicated by arrow p ( fig2 )-- of such magnitude that the heat - deformable aluminum bronze rod will deform or slightly flow so that it will fit with its entire surface within the corresponding region of the longitudinal opening 19 in the insulator -- see fig2 . the assembly is then cooled , while retaining pressure on the connecting bolt 21 , until shortly before the transformation point of the sealing mass 23 is reached , for example at about 500 ° c . upon subsequent cooling of the assembly , the metal core 24 will separate from the insulator 18 to form the gap 25 -- see fig1 . to control the desired heat transmission from the combustion side end portion of the insulator 18 towards the connecting portion of the spark plug 10 , the volume of the metal core 24 may be suitably controlled and selected . the metal core can reach more or less into the region of the sealing ring 16 ; it may be formed with stepped or different diameters . rather than using the sealing mass 23 which employs a conductive glass flux , other sealing masses can be used which , for example , additionally can include resistance elements , so that the sealing mass 23 may , at the same time , form a radio noise suppression resistor . the dome 20 is spaced from the ground or chassis electrode 13 by a gap 26 . such a gap , for example , is about 0 . 8 mm . in the preferred embodiment of the invention -- as shown in fig1 and 2 -- the metal core 24 simultaneously forms the center electrode 27 of the spark plug , and sparking occurs between the center electrode 27 and the ground electrode 13 over a path 28 formed as a narrow opening within the dome - shaped body 20 of the insulator , and the air gap 26 between the insulator 20 and the ground or chassis electrode 13 . the narrow opening or bore 28 , preferably , is centrally located and may have a diameter of between about 0 . 05 mm to 0 . 3 mm . to predetermine this opening 28 , the insulator dome or body 20 may be formed with a small depression 29 at the predetermined location . such a depression 29 may be formed at the outside of the insulator body 20 and / or at the inside of the dome - shaped bottom 20 thereof . rather than using a single bore 28 , a plurality of such openings 28 may be located in the bottom 20 . the manufacture of such openings or bores can be easily carried out by a laser beam , or by subjecting the center electrode and the ground electrode to a suitable voltage , causing arc - over through the insulator 18 to provide the opening therefor for subsequent sparking when installed in an automotive engine . preferably , the voltage used will be higher than that of the expected ignition voltage in operation . the opening can also be formed mechanically , for example by introducing a suitably formed needle ( not shown ) and pressing it into the insulator 18 to break any remaining ceramic material in the region of the opening . operation : let it be assumed that the spark plug of fig1 is installed in an automotive - type internal combustion ( ic ) engine . upon first starting the engine , the temperature of the spark plug will be at ambient temperature region . upon initial operation , the combustion end of the insulator 18 will rapidly heat , since the insulator 18 is made of a material which is poorly heat conductive at ambient temperatures . due to the gap 25 between the metal core 24 and insulator 18 , heat is hardly transmitted by the insulator 18 away from the region where the heat is generated , and the combustion side end portion of the insulator 18 will rapidly reach the inherent combustion temperature of deposits which may form on the insulator , that is , a temperature which is between about 400 ° c . to 450 ° c . at this temperature , electrically conductive deposits will burn off inherently , or freely , from the insulator 18 , thus avoiding electrical shunts or creep paths or deposits on the insulator 18 , which might cause ignition failures . when the temperature begins to exceed the range of about 450 ° c . to 500 ° c ., the metal core will expand and , including its front end portion forming the center electrode 27 , will so expand due to its temperature expansion characteristics that a substantial portion of the surface of the metal core 24 will engage the inner surface of the longitudinal bore 19 of the insulator , and especially within the range of the insulator bore portion 19 / 3 -- see fig2 . the metal core 24 will then rapidly conduct heat towards the terminal end portion of the spark plug . the dimensions and the material of the insulator body 18 are so selected that the heat transmission to the connecting or terminal portion of the spark plug 10 is controlled , so that the metal core 24 will remain solid and not melt . due to the solid phase of the insulator 18 is avoided , and short circuit between the center electrode 27 and the ground or chassis electrode 13 will be prevented . example : the metal core 24 is made of aluminum bronze . the outer diameter of the combustion side end portion of the insulator 18 is 3 . 8 mm , and extends over an axial length of 6 mm . the diameter of the combustion side portion 19 / 3 of bore 19 is 3 mm , and extends over a length of 15 mm . the diameter of the extended portion 17 of the insulator 18 increases to 9 mm , and the increase begins at about 13 mm starting from the bottom 20 of the insulator 18 . the core 24 , of aluminum bronze , has a length of 15 mm , and thus extends about up to the central region of the portion 19 / 2 of the opening 19 in the insulator . most of the spark plugs 10 of this type will have diameters of the portion 19 / 3 of the opening 19 of the insulator between 1 mm to 3 mm . aluminum bronze is a particularly desirable and suitable material for the center core 24 , which is readily plastically deformable upon assembly of the spark plug , that is , upon assembly of the insulator 18 , connecting bolt 21 , sealing mass 23 , and the core 24 , and subsequent application of pressure . other materials may be used for the core 24 which may liquefy at the melt - in temperature of the sealing mass 23 , but which remain solid at the operating temperature of the spark plug , and have the requisite expansion characteristics upon heating , and the requisite heat conductivity . aluminum is one of such metals . embodiment of fig3 : the electrical ignition path 28 &# 39 ; between the center electrode 13 ( not show ) in the region of the insulator body 20 &# 39 ; is formed by a center metallic pin 27 &# 39 ;. the metal pin 27 &# 39 ; is made of a material which is resistant to corrosion and burning , preferably a noble metal , for example a platinum metal or platinum . the metal pin 27 &# 39 ; is located within an axial opening or bore 30 &# 39 ; in the insulator body 20 &# 39 ;. a diameter of 0 . 5 mm is suitable . the tip 28 &# 39 ; has an internal head 27 &# 39 ; a , which faces the metal core 24 &# 39 ;. depending on application , the metal pin 27 &# 39 ; may have a thickness of between 0 . 2 mm to 1 mm , preferably , however , the diameter is between 0 . 3 mm and 0 . 6 mm . the head 27 &# 39 ; a may be formed at the outside of the insulator 18 &# 39 ;, or the pin may extend outside of the insulator , as shown , or two heads , similar to the head 27 &# 39 ; a , may be provided . the metal pin 27 &# 39 ; can be formed as desired ; it can be flush with the outer surface of the dome or bottom portion 20 &# 39 ; of the insulator 18 &# 39 ;, but may extend , as shown in fig3 by some distance , for example about 1 mm , from the dome 20 &# 39 ;. fig3 illustrates the operating condition at the combustion side end portion of the insulator 18 &# 39 ; and metal core 24 &# 39 ; in which the spark plug is at the operating temperature , that is , the core 24 &# 39 ; is in engagement with the combustion chamber end portion of the opening 19 &# 39 ;/ 3 of the longitudinal opening 19 &# 39 ; of the insulator . the temperature of operation of the spark plug , as shown in fig3 is above 450 ° c . if that spark plug would be cold , that is , would have a temperature of less than about 400 ° c . to 450 ° c ., a gap would occur between the insulator bore 19 &# 39 ; and the metal core 24 &# 39 ;, which mway lead to an interruption of the electrical connection between the metal core 24 &# 39 ; and the tip or pin 27 &# 39 ;. this gap , however , and as described , is very narrow . a small arc path will then result between the core 24 &# 39 ; and the ignition tip 27 &# 39 ;. this has some advantages for operation of the spark plug , as well known . rather than using a separate metal pin 27 &# 39 ;, which is fitted in the insulator bottom 20 &# 39 ; and sintered therein , a suitable metallic suspension can be introduced at the end portion , and sintered together with the insulator 18 &# 39 ;. a platinum suspension , for example as described in german patent disclosrure document de - os no . 31 32 903 , is suitable . embodiment of fig4 : the insulator 18 &# 34 ; has a metal core 24 &# 34 ; within its central opening 19 &# 34 ;. the insulator 18 &# 34 ; is formed , at its dome - shaped end , with a central opening 30 &# 34 ; to form an electrical connecting path 28 &# 34 ; which includes an electrically conductive ceramic , thereby forming the center electrode 27 &# 34 ; of the spark plug . a suitable electrically conductive ceramic 27 &# 34 ; is a porous ceramic in which metals are located within the pores thereof . such a ceramic composition may be made of aluminum oxide , without flux , and the metal within the pores may be aluminum . the aluminum within the pores of the porous ceramic portion 27 &# 39 ;&# 34 ; can be introduced and melted therein at the same time as the metal core ≧&# 39 ;&# 34 ; is fitted within the longitudinal opening 19 &# 34 ; of the insulator 18 &# 34 ;. rather than using a material which is the same , or the same as a major portion of the core 24 &# 34 ; other metals may be used , for example silver , aluminum bronze , tin bronze ; when using other materials , however , it is frequently necessary to utilize a separate operating step for introduction of the material within the ceramic . in accordance with a feature of the invention , the electrically conductive path 28 &# 34 ;, sintered within the insulator 18 &# 34 ; within the bottom region 20 &# 34 ; thereof , can be secured by means of cement or by a glaze , and contain other metals -- see , for example , german patent disclosure document de - os no . 28 54 071 . the electrically conductive path 28 &# 34 ; may also include semiconductor material -- see german patent disclosure document de - os no . 27 29 099 , or doped perowskite ceramic -- see german patent disclosure document de - os no . 28 24 408 . the semiconductor material , or the perowskite ceramic , may have other metal powders added thereto , for example platinum , nickel , chromium , cobalt ; other materials may be used which have been employed for electrical heating rods -- see swiss patent no . 105 , 078 . when the spark plug is cool , the center core metal body 24 &# 34 ; will form a small gap with the tip 27 &# 34 ;, 28 &# 34 ;. again , a small spark gap will result which , as well known , has some advantages in the operation of the plug . embodiment of fig5 : the insulator 18 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; has a central opening 30 within which a center electrode 27 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; is sintered , forming the electrical connecting path 28 &# 34 ;&# 39 ;. the center electrode tip 27 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; is made of an electrically insulating ceramic carrier 31 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; which has a surface coating of an electrically conductive layer 32 &# 34 ;&# 39 ;. a suitable conductive layer is platinum . such a center electrode 27 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; may be formed with a head 27 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; a , or without a head . the head can be located interiorly , within the longitudinal bore 19 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; or externally ( not shown ) ( see german patent disclosure document de - os no . 30 38 720 ). a short arc path will result if the spark plug is cold , that is , when the core 24 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; is spaced from the insulator 18 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; by a small gap , as in the embodiments of fig3 and 4 . preferably , the center electrodes 27 &# 34 ;, 27 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; are flush with the outer surface of the dome - shaped bottom 20 &# 34 ;, 20 &# 34 ;&# 39 ;, respectively , as shown in fig4 and 5 ; if the center electrodes project in form of a tip -- fig3 -- then the projection is , preferably , by about 1 mm . various changes and modifications may be made , and features described in connection with any one of the embodiments may be used with any of the others , within the scope of the inventive concept . | 7 |
with reference to fig1 and 2 , a prior art single stage disk shaped inflator 100 having a single centrally located initiator housing assembly 140 is illustrated . the inflator 100 as shown has a housing 101 having a top half portion 104 and a bottom half portion 102 welded or otherwise joined together . encircling the two portions 102 , 104 is a mounting flange 106 having a plurality of mounting holes 107 for attaching the inflator 100 . as shown , these disk shaped inflators 100 are commonly attached to an airbag module ( not illustrated ) for location in the driver side steering wheel . on the top portion 104 of the housing 101 is shown a plurality of gas vent holes 108 covered or sealed by a foil type burst tape . a cylindrically shaped annular filter 110 of wire mesh or similar material is shown extending from the top portion 104 to the bottom portion 102 . the filter 110 blocks burning particles from passing through the vent opening 108 when the inflator gas generant is ignited . a seal 124 is positioned internal to the annular filter 110 upon which gas generant pellets 120 are located along with auto ignition pellet 122 . in a central location of the bottom half portion 102 is an initiator housing assembly 140 . the initiator housing assembly 140 has a single initiating squib 142 with projecting electrical connectors 143 , 144 adapted to connect to a wiring connector ( not illustrated ). the initiating squib 142 has an explosive charge encapsulated in one end surrounded by an enhancer charge 150 comprising small pellets 152 . when activated the initiating squib 142 ignites causing the enhancer charge 150 to ignite which in turn causes a pressure rise internal to the initiator housing 141 forcing hot particles and expanding gases through small openings 164 thereby igniting the generant pellets 120 and auto ignition pellet 122 . this creates a further rise in pressure causing the foil 109 to burst and gases to fill the airbag ( not shown ) upon deployment . the initiator housing 141 has an opening 162 sealed by an end plate 160 . although the auto ignition pellet is not needed for a normal deployment , it is consumed during deployment . in the event that the inflator is heated by an outside source , the auto ignition pellet will begin to burn at a predetermined level , causing the inflator to deploy without structural failure . with reference to fig3 and 4 , a prior art single stage disk shaped inflator 10 according to the present invention having a single offset located initiator is illustrated . the inflator 10 as shown has a housing 11 having a top half portion 14 and a bottom half portion 12 welded or otherwise joined together . encircling the two portions 12 , 14 is a mounting flange 16 having a plurality of mounting holes 17 for attaching the inflator 10 . as shown , this disk shaped inflator 10 is also preferably attached to an airbag module ( not illustrated ) for location in the driver side steering wheel . on the top portion 14 of the housing 11 is shown a plurality of gas vent holes 18 covered or sealed by a foil type burst tape 19 . a cylindrically shaped annular filter 21 of wire mesh or similar material is shown extending from the top portion 14 to the bottom portion 12 . the filter 21 blocks burning particles from passing through the vent opening 18 when the inflator gas generant is ignited . a seal 24 is positioned internal to the annular filter 21 upon which gas generant pellets 20 are located along with auto ignition pellet 22 . in an offset location of the bottom half portion 12 is an initiator housing assembly 40 . the initiator housing assembly 40 has an initiator housing 41 with a single initiator squib 42 with projecting electrical connectors 43 , 44 adapted to connect to a wiring connector ( not illustrated ). the initiator squib 42 has an explosive charge encapsulated in one end surrounded by an enhancer charge 50 comprising small pellets . when activated the initiator squib 42 ignites causing the enhancer charge 50 inside the initiator housing 41 to ignite which in turn causes a pressure rise internal to the initiator housing 41 forcing hot particles and expanding gases through the small openings 64 in the initiator housing 41 thereby igniting the generant pellets 20 and auto ignition pellet 22 . this creates a further rise in pressure causing the foil 19 to burst and gases to fill the airbag ( not shown ) upon deployment in a single stage fashion . the housing 41 has an end opening 62 sealed by an end plate 60 . although the auto ignition pellet is not needed for a normal deployment , it is consumed during deployment . in the event that the inflator is heated by an outside source , the auto ignition pellet will begin to burn at a predetermined level , causing the inflator to deploy without structural failure . referring to fig3 , an inflator 10 was constructed of steel . the generant pellets 20 are preferably made of a non - azide gas generant . representative gas generant compositions useful in the inventive inflator housing include fuels such as aminotetrazoles , tetrazoles , bitetrazoles , triazoles , the metal salts thereof , guanidine nitrate , nitroguanidine , aminoguanidine nitrate and mixtures thereof ; in combination with an oxidizer such as the alkali and alkaline earth or transition metal nitrates , chlorates , perchlorates , ammonium nitrate and mixtures thereof . a preferred gas generant comprises a mixture of nitroguanidine with strontium and potassium nitrates . typically , the gas generant or gas producing material can comprise about 15 to about 70 weight % fuel , about 2 to about 80 weight % oxidizer and about 1 to about 30 weight % other materials , such as coolants , catalysts , binding agents and processing aids . the gas generant can be formed into various shapes using various techniques known to those skilled in the art . it is desirable to pelletize the gas generant composition . to do so , up to about 5 . 0 weight %, typically 0 . 2 - 5 weight % of a pressing aid or binder may be employed . these may be selected from materials known to be useful for this purpose and include molybdenum disulfide , graphite , elastomers , polyesters , boron nitride , silicon dioxide , talc , calcium stearate and clays . the gas generant composition may optionally contain a catalyst at up to about 3 weight %, typically between about 1 and about 2 weight %. cupric oxide is a representative combustion catalyst . the initiator housing 41 has the plurality of vent holes or openings 64 oriented to direct exhaust into the gas generant pellets 20 with a strong but directional thrust . the openings 64 are located less than 270 degrees , preferably less than 180 degrees around the periphery of the initiator housing 41 in the direction of the gas generant pellets 20 as shown . to compensate for this strong directional thrust effect , the holes 18 on the inflator housing top portion 14 are radially oriented about 360 ° in a spaced pattern and as these gases move radially outwardly the overall thrust becomes almost thrust neutral with an almost immeasurable thrust bias opposite the initiator housing 41 . with reference to fig3 , the offset single stage disk shaped inflator 10 is shown having the initiator housing assembly 40 spaced a distance ( d ) from a center location ( c ) of the inflator . the offset displacement is quite unique in that it shifts the initiating squib 42 from a central firing position to one very close to the annular filter 21 . accordingly the openings 64 are also offset meaning the hot particles and gases spraying through the inflator 10 are directionally oriented . the openings 64 preferably are directed on the portions of the initiator housing 41 exposed to the gas generant pellets 20 and the auto ignition pellet 22 . in this way the openings 64 of the initiator housing 41 orient the hot particles and gases to facilitate burning of the gas generant pellets 20 . in testing of the inventive inflator 10 , it was determined that the enhancer charge should be increased to about 2 . 0 grams , and the initiating squib charge to be in the range of 180 to 260 mg of zirconium potassium perchlorate ( zpp ) for proper performance in terms of airbag deployment . initiator booster charges in excess of 260 mg were not necessary and in fact could potentially damage the initiator housing by exceeding rated burst pressures of the crimp . lower amounts of charge , below 180 mg , could cause a delay in the gas generant burning and lead to unsatisfactory airbag deployment pressure or fill rates . empirical studies show that the size of the pellets of the enhancer could be beneficially altered to increase or improve surface area for rapid burn rates , accordingly , a pellet having a 4 mm diameter and a 1 . 2 mm length was found to be ideal from a pressure versus time analysis . in fig5 a chart is illustrated showing an inflator 10 having a 260 mg initiator booster charge 52 , 1 . 80 g of enhancer pellets 50 , 33 . 5 g of gas generant pellets 20 of a size 8 . 0 mm diameter by 1 . 7 mm length . each line represents a separate test of an inflator 10 . in fig6 a chart is illustrated showing the same proportions by weight , but wherein the 33 . 5 g of gas generant pellets 20 are of a size 8 . 0 mm diameter by 2 . 0 mm length . as a result of these empirical charts it was projected that a more preferred gas generant pellet 20 size for the offset inflator 10 was a size of 8 . 0 mm diameter by 2 . 0 mm length . for comparison purposes , the dual stage inflator with two initiators uses 180 mg of initiator booster charge and the enhancer charge is 1 . 1 grams in the primary initiator housing and 1 . 3 grams in the secondary initiator housing . the present invention uses 180 to 260 mg of initiator booster charge and 2 . 0 grams of enhancer . this represents a 0 . 4 gram reduction in the enhancer . the enhancer pellets 50 are more expensive and burn with more toxicity than the generant pellets 20 , accordingly , the reduction in enhancer load is believed to be a valuable improvement . another benefit of the single stage offset design is it has 20 % more free volume than the dual stage inflator . this means the height of the inflator housing could be reduced by at least 10 % if further miniaturization is desirable . the current invention uses an internal spacer of aluminum to occupy the free volume space and thus the housing upper and lower portions are almost identical to the dual stage housing permitting either style to be used on the same production line . variations in the present invention are possible in light of the description of it provided herein . while certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the subject invention , it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the subject invention . it is , therefore , to be understood that changes can be made in the particular embodiments described which would be within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims . | 1 |
in accordance with this invention , a side multi - lamp type on - line inside - quality inspecting device is arranged as follows : in the device , light - projecting means and light receiving means are arranged across a transport path of a transport conveyer which conveys inspecting objects one by one . the light - projecting means includes a plurality of light - projecting lamps which are arranged on one side of the transport path to concentratedly project beams of light onto the object at different angles and from different positions located in a range spreading from an obliquely front part to an obliquely rear part with respect to the surface of the object on this side . the light receiving means is arranged on the other side of the transport path and includes a shutter . the shutter is disposed between a light receiving window of a condenser lens which converges light transmitted through the inspecting object and a light inputting face of an optical fiber which leads the convergent transmitted light to a spectroscope . the shutter is thus arranged to open and close a passage of light leading to the spectroscope . the light receiving window is open toward the inspecting object when the object is in a position to be inspected . when the center of the inspecting object where the object is to be inspected comes to an inspecting position , the shutter opens to allow light transmitted through the center to come to the spectroscope through the optical fiber . in other words , the center part of the object is an inspecting part of the inspecting object and does not have to be a dimensional center of the object . the shutter is closed to shut off the passage of the transmitted light to allow no transmitted light from the condenser lens to come into the spectroscope through the optical fiber when there is no inspecting object or when the fore end part or the rear end part of the object is at the inspecting position . in other words , unnecessary rays of light are not allowed to come into the spectroscope to effectively prevent environmental changes from having adverse effects such as a rise of temperature inside of the spectroscope . the condenser lens is preferably arranged to have its objective - side focal point at a peripheral surface area of the object on the side of the lens . the condenser lens is provided with a lens hood which is arranged in front of the objective side of the lens to have a visual field toward the center of the object and with a dust - proof light receiving window which has a transparent glass on its front side . with the condenser lens arranged in this manner , the light can be effectively converged by preventing the adverse effect of disturbance light . inspecting objects on the transport conveyer are aligned by a process performed before the inspecting position to have the peripheral side surface of each of them at a fixed distance from the lens side of the light receiving means , irrespective of difference in size of them . with the inspecting objects on the move aligned on one side in this manner , the transmitted light converging condition becomes unvarying to enhance the reliability of the spectral analysis by minimizing errors . further , there is arranged means for moving a white level calibrating plate , with a mounting arm , forward and backward in such a way as to close and open the visual field in front of the light receiving window of the lens hood . the mounting arm is preferably provided with a tubular protruding part which extends from a white - level - calibrating - plate mount part toward the front of the lens hood in such a way as to encircle and shield the visual field from its surroundings . with the tubular protruding part formed in this manner , a calibrating action can be adequately carried out without being affected by any disturbance light . the white level calibrating plate is arranged to be at the objective - side focal point near to the peripheral side face of the inspecting object on the lens side . variations in temperature of the environment necessitates calibration , for example , at a start or after a pause of operation of the inside - quality inspecting device . in such a case , the white - level - calibrating - plate moving means is operated to calibrate the device by moving the white balance level calibrating plate to the front of the lens - hood light receiving window either when no inspecting object is being conveyed or by suspending the transport operation of the conveyer . the calibration enables the inspecting device to be stably used over a long period of time . in inspecting the inside - quality of each inspecting object by converging light transmitted through the object while the object is on the move , the white level calibrating plate is retracted to a stand - by position away from a transport passage to prevent it from hindering the transport . an optimum direction in which the white level calibrating plate is to be retracted to the stand - by position is determined in relation to the arrangement of the transport conveyer . the white level calibrating plate is , however , arranged to be retracted to a position which is located either outside of the transport passage in the forward traveling direction of the transport passage or upper outside of it . an orifice plate is arranged inside of the lens hood to restrict the area of passage of the transmitted light . the provision of the orifice plate effectively prevents the flare of any scattered light coming from the light receiving window or any harmful reflection light obtained within the lens hood . an air nozzle is provided for cooling with air the lens hood and the white level calibrating plate when it is in the stand - by position outside of the visual field . a cooling air blower is arranged to blow cooling air at the lens hood and the white level calibrating plate through the air nozzle . this arrangement effectively dissipates heat due to rays of light to minimize fluctuations of optical characteristics for a stable operation . each of a plurality of light - projecting lamps is provided with paraboloidal reflecting mirror to form such a beam angle that gives focal point at the center of the inspecting object . the light - projecting lamps are sealed lamps having sealed fronts and arranged to project beams of light concentratedly on the inspecting object . the arrangement permits use of small lamps as the beams of light can be efficiently projected . the sealed fronts of these lamps enables the reflecting mirrors to maintain a sufficient reflecting power by preventing them from having dust thereon and from becoming frosty . further , the light - projecting lamps are arranged to have their light - projecting optical axes deviate from each other at such angles and positions that their beams of light do not rectilinearly come into the optical axis of the condenser lens of the light receiving means . by virtue of this arrangement , the light which is diffused and transmitted through the inside of the inspecting object can be obtained in such a state that effectively gives a large amount of internal quality information . the light - projecting lamps are preferably provided with a lamp box having lamp mount parts arranged therein in such a way as to enable the light - projecting lamps to project equal quantities of light from equal distances within a range from an obliquely front part to an obliquely rear part on one side of the inspecting object when the object is in the inspecting position . the light - projecting lamps are provided further with air blowing nozzles which are arranged to blow cooling air from an air blower to the sealed parts of the lamps to dissipate heat generated by the lamp bodies , so that the service lives of the lamps can be lengthened . a control circuit is arranged to cause the plurality of light - projecting lamps to light up , for example , to a full degree , to a four quarter degree , to a three quarter degree or to some other suitable degree . with the device provided with such a control circuit , the lighting degree can be selected according to the size , item and kind of the inspecting object . the lighting degree is decreased in cases where the light transmitted through the object is too intensive and decreased where the transmitted light is too weak by easily changing the lighting degree from one degree over to another . the plurality of light - projecting lamps are arranged to be vertically movable together with the lamp box upward or downward by a remote control operation according to the position of the center of the inspecting object , that is , when the inspecting object is switched from one object over to another object having a different size . that arrangement permits switch - over of the inspecting objects to be promptly carried out . the inside - quality inspecting device may be provided with a light - reducing - filter selectively inserting mechanism as another light reducing means . the inserting mechanism is arranged to reduce the quantity of a transmitted light input to the spectroscope by selectively inserting light reducing filters of different light reducing rates into the received transmitted light passage of the light receiving means . the light - reducing - filter selectively inserting mechanism may be arranged to be operated by remote control . such arrangement further shortens the length of time required in switching the inspecting object from one kind ( or item ) over to another . the above - stated shutter is disposed within a dark box which is sealed including therein the surroundings of an optical path arranged to lead the light transmitted through the object from the condenser lens to the spectroscope . the shutter is thus arranged to normally close to prevent disturbance light and to open to lead the transmitted light to the spectroscope only when the center part of the object comes to the front of the condenser lens every time one inspecting object passes the inspecting device . the shutter is thus arranged to allow only the light transmitted with the inspecting object in the inspecting position to come into the spectroscope and to allow no other rays of light to enter the spectroscope in such a way as to allow a light receiving element disposed inside of the spectroscope to build up always from a zero level . further , in cases where the device is required to have such a high speed performance that is hardly attainable by mechanical means , the shutter which is disposed within the sealed dark box including the surroundings of the optical path from the condenser lens to the spectroscope is arranged to be driven by driving means to be normally open and to close only in detecting a dark level for calibration before or after the operation of the white level calibrating plate ; and the control circuit of a detection light receiving element disposed in the rear of the spectroscope is arranged to have an electronic shutter circuit . in this case , each of the inspecting objects is inspected by detecting the transmitted light under the time control of electrical means . in other words , in cases where a high speed performance is required for time control for each object , an electronic shutter which is arranged to electrically perform the time control is used in combination with the mechanical shutter which does not have to be frequently operated and is arranged to mechanically shut off the light passage only in detecting the dark level . a mounting arm is arranged to protrude and retract , in place of the white level calibrating plate , a reference material ( substance ) to and from the front , of the light receiving window of the condenser lens which is provided with the dust - proof lens hood . the reference material to be mounted on the mounting arm is selected from among materials which are similar or equivalent to the inspecting object in respect of transmitted light component . for mounting it , each reference material is arranged to have a holder , if it is a solid , or to be placed inside of a vessel if it is a liquid of sugar or acid . with the reference material thus mounted , any change due to the aging of a calibration curve is corrected in such a manner that the result of analysis made by a spectral analyzer on light transmitted through the reference material and led to the spectroscope is always the same as the result of analysis obtained when calibration is made the last time . in the case where a plurality of vessels containing sugar or acid reference materials are arranged , the aging change of the calibration line is corrected by inching the reference - material - containing vessels one by one and by leading the transmitted light obtained through each of them to the spectroscope . then , any aging change of the calibration curve is corrected in such a way as to make the result of analysis made by the spectral analyzer always unvarying with respect to one and the same reference material . the condenser lens of the light receiving means and the mechanisms for protruding and retracting the white level calibrating plate and for protruding and retracting the reference material in relation to the condenser lens are arranged on one and the same mount base ( frame ). the mount base is provided with a mechanism which is arranged to be caused by remote control to vertically move the mount base upward and downward . the height of a light receiving optical axis is thus arranged to be adjustable by moving the mount base upward or downward according to the size of the inspecting object which varies depending on the item and kind of the inspecting object . the lamp box of the light - projecting means and the light receiving means on the other side are preferably made of some vibration - proof rubber material . the use of such rubber material prevents the device from being affected by the vibrations of the transport conveyer to further lessen the errors of the spectral analysis . an inside - quality inspecting device which is arranged according to this invention as a first embodiment thereof is described with reference to fig1 to 8 as follows : fig1 and 2 show in outline the essential parts of the on - line inside - quality inspecting device adapted for inspection of agricultural products . referring to fig1 and 2 , the illustrations include a transport conveyer 1 which is arranged to transport an inspecting object f . light - projecting means 2 is arranged to project beams of light on the object f from on one side thereof . light receiving means 3 is arranged to receive transmitted light obtained through the inside of the object f as a result of the light projection by the light - projecting means 2 . the transport conveyer 1 is arranged to convey a row of inspecting objects f for inspecting inside - quality one by one . the transport conveyer 1 may be any of conveyers conventionally used for measuring the size or the appearance of agricultural products , such as a belt conveyer , a chain conveyer or a chain conveyer with receiving trays , so long as they are arranged to convey the inspecting objects f in a row in the traveling direction of them . in actually inspecting the inside - quality of each of the objects f , the grades of size and shape are also measured along with the inside - quality inspection in many cases . these measuring processes are arranged to be performed before or after the inside - quality inspection on the same transport conveyer . as shown in fig1 and 2 , each inspecting object f conveyed by the transport conveyer 1 is in a state of having no obstacles on its two sides when it passes between the mount parts of the light - projecting means 2 and the light receiving means 3 . the light - projecting means 2 includes a plurality of light - projecting lamps 21 . these lamps 21 are arranged and mounted on a lamp box 22 in such a way as to project beams of light on one side of the object ( agricultural product ) f to cover its range of surface area from an obliquely front area to an obliquely rear area when the object f is in an inspecting position . each of the light - projecting lamps is relatively small in size and is provided with a paraboloidal reflecting mirror 212 which is arranged to form a beam angle 211 to give a focal point at the inspecting position 11 . each of these lamps is preferably a sealed halogen lamp and has its front sealed with a heat resistive sealing glass 213 . since the small lamps can be lighted up at a low voltage , the size of their filament can be reduced to enhance their light converging efficiency . in addition to that , use of a nichrome wire having a relatively large diameter effectively makes the service lives of the lamps longer . the light - projecting lamps 21 are arranged , as shown in fig1 and 2 , in a configuration arcuately or radially spreading from an obliquely front point to an obliquely rear point on one side of the inspecting position 11 . it is preferable that the lamps are equally spaced and arranged in a plurality of steps also in the vertical direction of the radial configuration . the light - projecting lamps 21 are mounted at such angles and positions that the beams of light passing through the focal point on the optical axis do not rectilinearly come into the light receiving optical axis 301 of a condenser lens 31 of the light receiving means 3 . a cooling air blowing duct 23 for dissipating heat on the lamp side is arranged along the sealed parts 214 and the sockets of the light - projecting lamps 21 . heat generated from the sealed parts 214 , the sockets 215 and the bodies of the lamps 21 is thus dissipated by blowing air from an air blower to prevent overheat . the air is blown from the air blower which is not shown by connecting suitable air blowing means to a connection port 232 . the light - projecting lamps are provided in a large number necessary for projecting light in a sufficiently large quantity to obtain a sufficiently large quantity of transmitted light from such an inspecting object that does not readily allow light to be transmitted therethrough . however , the electric circuit of the inspecting device includes means for increasing or decreasing the number of lamps to be lighted up according to the object . the number of lamps , therefore , can be reduced in inspecting an object through which light is readily transmitted , such as tomatoes or the like . the light receiving means 3 includes , as main parts , a condenser lens 31 ; an optical fiber 32 which is arranged to lead convergent transmitted light to a spectroscope which is not shown ( in the drawings ); a shutter 33 which is arranged to shut up the light inputting face of the optical fiber 32 ; a light - reducing - filter mounting plate 34 ; a white level calibrator 35 ; and a quality - reference - material inserting ( check ) unit 36 . these main parts of the light receiving means 3 are mounted , in combination , on a mount base 30 . in the case of this embodiment , these main parts are mounted on 1 the upper side of the mount base 30 . however , they may be arranged on the lower side of the mount base 30 . the condenser lens 31 is arranged to have an objective - side focal point 311 on a peripheral surface of the object f when the object is in a center inspecting position on the transport conveyer 1 . the condenser lens 31 is provided with a lens hood 312 which extends near to the object f ; and a light receiving window 313 which has a transparent glass disposed in front of it . the lens hood 312 is arranged to ensure efficient input of such transmitted light that comes from the front part of a visual field which is defined by the light receiving window 313 , so that the adverse effects of any undesirable incoming light such as disturbance light existing around the condenser lens 31 can be effectively prevented . an orifice plate 314 is arranged to prevent a harmful flare of scattering light coming from the light receiving window disposed between the condenser lens 31 and the filter mounting plate 34 within the lens hood 312 or that of reflection light within the lens hood 312 . the optical fiber 32 is mounted with its light inputting face 321 adjusted to the image forming position of the condenser lens 31 . the transmitted light which comes into the condenser lens 31 through the light receiving window 313 is imaged on the light inputting face 321 of the optical fiber 32 to be led by the optical fiber 32 to the spectroscope for spectral analysis . the shutter 33 is arranged preferably near to the convergent transmitted light imaging position of the condenser lens 31 , i . e . the light inputting face 321 of the optical fiber 32 . the shutter 33 has a plurality of cutaway parts 331 formed and evenly spaced along the periphery of a disk , as shown in fig8 and is arranged to open or close a light receiving optical path in front of the light inputting face 321 of the optical fiber 32 . more specifically , the shutter 33 is caused to open every time the center part of each object f passes the inspecting position 11 by a stepping drive unit 332 which is arranged to drive the shutter 33 in an inching manner for the object f one by one . with the shutter 33 opened in this manner , the transmitted light from the object f is passed through the optical fiber 32 . the shutter 33 is caused to rotate to close in the inching manner by the stepping drive unit 332 when the inspecting part ( the center part , for example ) of the inspecting object f has passed away from the inspecting position 11 . in other words , the shutter 33 is arranged to open to pass the transmitted light to the spectroscope at such timing that is adjusted to arrival at the inspecting position of the inspecting part ( the center part ) of the object f being randomly conveyed by the transport conveyer irrespective as to whether a plurality of inspecting objects are conveyed at regular intervals or at irregular intervals . however , when the fore and rear ends of object f is passing and during an interval time between one object and another , the shutter remains closed . in the case of this embodiment , the shutter 33 is thus arranged to remain open for inspecting the center part of the object f for a fixed period of the traveling time of the transport conveyer 1 and to remain closed for other parts of the object f , irrespective of the size of the object f . a command to operate the shutter 33 is arranged to be given by known means such as a shift signal or the like sent in synchronism with the transport conveyer 1 by detection means of one of varied kinds such as a camera , which is arranged on the upstream side of the transport conveyer 1 to measure the outside diameter , the color and the shape of the inspecting object f . a light - reducing - filter mounting plate 34 has a plurality of filter mounting holes 341 . one of the holes 341 is left blank while light reducing filters 342 of different light reducing rates are respectively placed in other holes . the filter mounting plate 34 is mounted on a shaft 343 in a position adjusted to the center of a light passage through which the received light passes between the condenser lens 31 and the light inputting face of the optical fiber 32 . the holes 341 of the filter mounting plate 34 are selectively used by rotating the mounting shaft 343 through a miter gear 345 with a knob handle 344 which is disposed on the outside of the device . the light reducing filter selecting operation may be arranged to be performed by remote control , with a stepping motor or a like drive device provided , instead of using the knob handle 433 . the shutter 33 and the filter mounting plate 34 are arranged in a dark room which is encompassed with plates to prevent them from being affected by disturbance light . the white level calibrator 35 which has a white level calibrating plate 351 is shown in fig3 and 4 as in a calibrating action . the white level calibrator 35 is mounted on a mounting arm 353 with a retaining metal 352 . the mounting arm 353 is mounted on a rotation shaft 355 protruding upward from a stepping motor r 354 which is disposed below the mount base 30 . for a calibrating operation , the stepping motor r 354 is caused to make a normal rotation or a reverse rotation to bring the white level calibrating plate 351 forward in front of the light receiving window which is on the front side of the condenser lens 31 or to retract it from the transport path . the position of the peripheral face 3511 of the white level calibrating plate 351 which is in contact with the mounting arm 353 is adjusted to the objective side focal point 311 of the condenser lens . the mounting arm 353 is provided with a tubular projection 3531 which protrudes toward the lens hood 312 and serves to prevent any adverse effect of disturbance light that might come into the light receiving window 313 from between the white level calibrating plate 351 and the light receiving window 313 . a detection switch 356 is arranged to detect that the mounting arm 353 is in its stand - by position by means of a detection piece 357 . a detection switch 358 is arranged to detect that the mounting arm 353 is in a position in front of the light receiving window of the condenser lens 313 to permit a calibrating operation . the detection switch 358 is provided with a detection piece 359 which is disposed at the mounting arm 353 . a white level calibrating operation is performed with the white level calibrating plate 351 found by the detection switch 358 to be in a predetermined position in front of the condenser lens hood 312 . the on - line inspecting device is actuated after the mounting arm 353 is found by the detection switch 356 to have been retracted from the transport path . these operations are automatically carried out respectively through a control circuit in accordance with operation commands . fig5 and 6 show the quality reference material check unit 36 as in a state obtained in making a check with a quality reference material 361 . in the case of this embodiment , a plurality of quality reference materials 361 are prepared by placing solutions having a high degree of sugar , a low degree of sugar , a high degree of acidity and a low degree of acidity , respectively , in vessels 362 which are made of transparent quartz glass . with these solutions placed therein , the vessels 362 are plugged up with plugs 3621 . each of the quality reference material containing vessels 362 are loaded on a mounting arm 363 , which is arranged to be capable of bringing each of these vessels 362 to the position of the objective side focal point 311 of the condenser lens 31 . the mounting arm 363 consists of a sectoral light blocking wail part 3631 which arcuately spread to block light in front of the lens hood 312 ; a plurality of loading parts 3632 which are horizontally arranged side by side along the peripheral part of the light blocking wall part 3631 to receive the plurality of vessels 362 ; an upper retainer 3633 ; a peep hole 3634 which forms a passage for transmitted light between each of the loading parts 3632 and the lens hood 312 ; and an arm part which is arranged at a lower part of the mounting arm 363 to horizontally extend below the condenser lens 31 . the arm part is mounted on the output shaft 3641 of a stepping motor s 364 . each of the peep holes 3634 serves to prevent an adverse effect of disturbance light coming into the light receiving window when a weak transmitted light is led from the condenser lens to the optical fiber 32 . the quality reference material check unit 36 is used as necessary for correcting variations of a calibration curve of spectral analysis taking place after the white level calibration in cases where environment temperature or humidity have changed or where any changes happen to take place with the lapse of time . this check unit 36 is retracted away from the locus of transport ( transport path ) of the transport conveyer 1 while the object f is in process of on - line inspection as shown in fig1 . in making a check , the check unit 36 is operated as follows : the stepping motor s 364 is actuated to bring the loading part 3632 and the peep hole 3634 of each of the reference material containing vessels 362 to a position corresponding to the light receiving window 313 of the condenser lens 31 one after another . the light transmitted through each reference material and obtained from the peep hole 3634 is passed through the optical fiber 32 to be subjected to spectral analysis . then the calibration curve is corrected according to the result of spectral analysis . a position confirming sensor or the like of any of varied kinds is arranged around the stepping motor s 364 or its output shaft 3641 to find whether the mounting arm 363 is in the process of checking the quality reference material on the locus ( path ) of transport or is in its retracted position outside of the transport locus . the quality reference material 361 may be used in a liquid , gel or solid state . the light receiving means is provided with a cooling air blowing duct 37 . the duct 37 is provided with air blowing nozzles 371 which are arranged to blow cooling air of an air blower at the upper part of the lens hood 312 of the condenser lens 31 , the upper part of the white level calibrating plate 351 which is retracted on one side of the lens hood 312 and the upper parts of the quality reference materials 361 . heat generated by rays of light is thus arranged to be dissipated . the cooling air blowing duct 37 can be arranged in any suitable shape to blow air at various parts of the light receiving means 3 . fig9 and 10 show a second embodiment of the inside - quality inspecting device according to this invention . in the second embodiment , a white level calibrator 35 a of light receiving means 3 a differs from the white level calibrator 35 of the first embodiment . in the case of the second embodiment , a mounting arm 353 a is arranged to be operated in a different direction in moving a white level calibrating plate 351 a forward and backward to and from the front of a condenser lens 31 a . with the exception of the white level calibrator 35 a , the condenser lens 31 a , an optical fiber 32 a , a shutter 33 a , a light - reducing - filter mounting plate 34 a , etc . of the second embodiment are arranged in the same manner as in the first embodiment . light - projecting means 2 a of the second embodiment is also arranged in the same manner as that of the first embodiment . the details of these parts are , therefore , omitted from the description . in the case of the second embodiment , the white level calibrating plate 351 a is mounted on the mounting arm 353 a by means of a retaining metal 352 a . the mounting arm 353 a is mounted on the rotation shaft 355 a of a stepping motor t 354 a . the white level calibrating plate 351 a is arranged to be moved to a retracted position above the condenser lens 31 a as shown by two - dot chain lines in fig1 and to be moved forward to the front of the condenser lens 31 a for a calibrating action . in other words , the white level calibrating plate 351 a is moved to the front of the light receiving window 313 a of the condenser lens 31 a or to a retracted position which is located above the lens hood 312 a . a cylindrical projection 3 s 31 is formed to extend from the mounting arm 353 a toward the lens hood 312 to shield a part between the white level calibrating plate 351 a and the light receiving window 313 a of the lens hood 312 a from surroundings , so that no disturbance light is allowed to come into the light receiving window 313 a . the light receiving means 3 a includes a cooling air blowing duct 37 a . the cooling air blowing duct 37 a is provided with an air blowing nozzle 371 a and is arranged to have air from an air blower blown at the tubular projection 353 a of the white level calibrating plate 351 a . with the cooling air blowing duct 37 a arranged in this manner , heat generated by rays of light at the condenser lens 31 a and the white level calibrating plate 351 a can be effectively dissipated . a mount base 30 a supports the condenser lens 31 a by means of a lifting - and - lowering shaft 38 and a lifting - and - lowering guide 381 which are arranged to vertically adjust the height of the light receiving optical axis 301 a of the condenser lens 31 a . the lifting - and - lowering shaft 38 is arranged to be driven to vertically move the light receiving means 3 a by a motor - driven cylinder , a motor - driven slider or a known linear motion driving mechanism which is not shown but is arranged to use a rack - and - pinion arrangement . with the embodiment arranged in this manner , the light receiving optical axis is adjusted by moving the mount base 30 a to make it lower when the inspecting object is a small fruit item and higher when the inspecting object is a large fruit item . fig1 shows a third embodiment of the inside - quality inspecting device according to this invention . the third embodiment is adapted for a transport conveyer with receiving trays which are arranged to be used in processing inspecting objects in a large quantity . in fig1 , a reference numeral 4 denotes the transport conveyer with receiving trays . conveyer chains 43 are endlessly stretched on chain rails 42 arranged on the inner sides of a conveyer frame 41 . tray mounting members 44 are arranged in parallel between the conveyer chains 43 . two ends of each tray mounting member 44 are mounted on the conveyer chain 43 on the two inner sides of the conveyer frame 41 . a plurality of receiving trays 45 are mounted on each receiving tray mounting member 44 with some spacing intervals provided between them for setting light - projecting means 2 b and light receiving means 3 b . a plurality of transport paths are thus formed in a shape of spacing strips . at each strip of the transport paths , the mounting position of the light - projecting means 2 b and that of the light receiving means 3 b are arranged to deviate forward and rearward with respect to the traveling direction of the transport conveyer 4 . the intervals between the spacing strips are arranged to be not excessive . each of the light - projecting means 2 b and the light receiving means 3 b is provided with a mounting part on its upper side and is mounted on the lower side of an upper frame 5 . more specifically , the light - projecting means 2 b is mounted on the upper frame 5 by means of a lamp box mount metal 51 in such a way as to project beams of light concentratedly on an inspecting object which is on the receiving tray 45 . the light receiving means 3 b is mounted on the upper frame 5 through a mount base 52 by means of mounting metal 53 in an upside - down posture with respect to the light receiving means of the first embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 . the structural arrangement of the light - projecting means 2 b and the light receiving means 3 b of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first and second embodiments described . therefore , the details of them are omitted from the following description . the upper frame 5 has a lifting - and - lowering shaft 55 extending downward from a bracket 54 . a lower frame 56 has a bearing 57 arranged to have the shaft 55 to extend therethrough . a lifting - and - lowering unit which is not shown is arranged within the lower frame 56 to move the upper frame 5 upward or downward , through the shaft 55 , to adjust the position of the light - projecting means 2 b which concentratedly projects light and that of the light receiving means 3 b to the size of the object on the receiving tray 45 . the lifting - and - lowering unit which is not shown is arranged to move the light - projecting and - receiving means 2 b and 3 b upward or downward by a known linear motion driving mechanism such as a motor - driven cylinder , a motor - driven slider or a rack - and - pinion mechanism . according to the arrangement of the third embodiment described above , a large amount of inspecting objects can be processed to inspect the internal quality of them by using one transport conveyer which is arranged to convey them on receiving trays aligned in a plurality of strips . according to this invention , as described in the foregoing , beams of light are concentratedly projected on the inspecting objects obliquely from one side of them by a plurality of light - projecting lamps while they are conveyed on a conveyer in such a way as to cover a wide surface area of each of them ranging from an obliquely front area to an obliquely rear area . therefore , even in the event of inspecting an agricultural product having a thick skin , the projected light can penetrate through various inner parts of the inspecting object . even in cases where the inside - quality of the object on its sunny side differs from its shadow side in respect of a sugar forming degree , acidity or the like , information oil the inside - quality covering a wide range is obtained from transmitted light coming to the opposite side of the object , so that averaged inside - quality data can be obtained for each inspecting object . according to this invention , a plurality of light - projecting , lamps are arranged to project beams of light in a concentrating manner . since this arrangement permits use of small lamps individually having a relatively small output , they do not generate much heat , so that the service life of the lamps can be lengthened while the other parts around them can be saved from being affected by any excessive heat . further , according to this invention , the shutter is provided between the condenser lens and the light input face of the optical fiber which leads the condensed transmitted light to the spectroscope . the shutter enables the inspecting device to do spectral analysis by allowing the spectroscope to receive only the light transmitted through the center portion of the object while the object is traveling on the transport conveyer . in one aspect of the invention , the inspecting device provides that the condenser lens is encompassed with the dust - proof lens hood , which defines a visual field on the objective side of the lens . therefore , while the transmitted light coming from the front of the condenser lens is allowed to be incident on the optical fiber , all disturbance light that exists outside of the visual field is not allowed to be incident on the optical fiber . the lens hood thus enables the inspecting device to carry out spectral analysis without being affected by any disturbance light . the means for moving the white level calibrating plate is arranged to move the white level calibrating plate to and from the front of the condenser lens under the above - stated condition . by virtue of that arrangement , the white level calibration can be promptly made not only before a start of the inspecting device but also when changes take place in temperature or in environmental conditions and also when the inspecting operation is in pause . therefore , the spectral analysis can be always reliably carried out . according to the arrangement in another embodiment of this invention , the adverse effects of unnecessary scattering light coming into the lens hood and stray light such as flares taking place inside of the lens hood are eliminated to allow only the light transmitted through the inspecting object is led to the light inputting face of the optical fiber . therefore , the arrangement enhances the accuracy and reliability of the results of the spectral analysis . according to the arrangement in yet another embodiment , the cooling air is blown at the condenser lens and the white level calibrating plate which receives the light of the light - projecting means . therefore , the results of spectral analysis is effectively prevented from being affected by a gradual temperature increase of the light receiving means . according to the arrangement in a further embodiment , the reflecting power of the small sealed lamps having the focal point of their beams at the inspecting object never decreases . since the small lamps are thus arranged to be easily handled , the beams of light can be projected by using many of them from a wide range of different directions . the sealed lamps never overheat as the cooling air is blown at their sealed parts . these sealed lamps are thus arranged to have halogen gas circulate inside of them in a state of being not excessively heated nor excessively cooled , so that their service lives can be increased by the arrangement . further , since the arrangement according to this invention permits the operator of the inspecting device to vary the quantity of projecting light by increasing or decreasing the number of light - projecting lamps to be used for inspection , the inside - quality inspection can be made for inspecting objects of a wide range of different kinds including agricultural products having thick skins such as watermelons , melons and thick - skin tangerines and having thin skins such as apples , peaches , pears , etc . since the height of the light - projecting lamps is adjustable according to the size of the inspecting objects , such as melons , apples , tangerines , etc . by remote control , the arrangement to use the inspecting device for one kind of object can be promptly and easily switched over to the arrangement to use it for another kind of object . according to another aspect of the invention , the quantity of light incident on the spectroscope is adjustable by selectively inserting light reducing filters of varied kinds into the transmitted - light - receiving optical path of the light receiving means even when the quantity of transmitted light varies with the kind or item of the inspecting object . in cases where the amplifying degree of the operational amplifier of the spectral analyzer has been adjusted beforehand to an item having a small quantity of transmitted light , the spectral analysis can be stably carried out without overflowing by selecting and using one of the light reducing filters if the current inspecting object is of a kind giving a larger quantity of transmitted light . according to yet another aspect of this invention , no light is allowed to come through the optical fiber , so that the light receiving element of the spectroscope can be kept at its zero level , except when the transmitted light obtained from the central inspecting part of the object is to be examined . the output of the spectroscope , therefore , always builds up from zero to give a reliable result of analysis every time the inspection is made on one object . according to a further aspect of this invention , the electronic shutter which is included in the control circuit of the light receiving element disposed in rear of the spectroscope can be continuously operated at a high speed because the shutter includes no mechanical element . therefore , the processing capability per unit time of the inspecting device can be enhanced by increasing the speed of the transport conveyer . it has been a shortcoming of conventional spectral analyzers that their calibration curves come to deviate from a normal state and fluctuate with the changes of temperature and the lapse of operating time in cases where they are in operation for several hours every day . according to a still further aspect of this invention , on the other hand , the spectral analyzer always uses a calibration curve in an optimum state irrespective of changes in temperature and the length of operation time , because the embodiment of this invention is arranged to make calibration with a white level calibrating plate and also to correct deviations by making spectral analysis on light transmitted through the vessels containing therein reference materials such as sugar and acid materials . the inside - quality inspecting device arranged to have the above - stated advantages according to this invention is best suited for use in combination with a screening - and - sorting conveyer for sorting agricultural products and the like by quality . while the foregoing description and drawings represent the present invention , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention . | 8 |
a first embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to fig1 - 3 . referring to fig1 an ac power supply section 1 supplying a rated voltage such as a commercial ac voltage of 100 v is connected through a bus 2 to a dc power supply section 3 . the dc power supply section 3 comprises a rectifier circuit 3a converting the ac voltage of 100 v to a dc voltage and a well - known voltage stabilizer circuit 3b converting the dc voltage from the rectifier circuit 3a to a constant dc voltage v5 of 5 volts , at which value a control unit 4 including a microcomputer normally operates . voltage drop detecting means 5 is supplied with a primary dc voltage from the dc power supply section 3 or an input voltage v a of the voltage stabilizer circuit 3b . the voltage drop detecting means 5 detects the input voltage v a taking a predetermined value v9 of 9 volts or below . upon detection of the input voltage taking the value v9 of 9 volts or below , the voltage drop detecting means 5 delivers a voltage drop detection signal sa1 as a data write command signal to the control unit 4 . a control unit reset circuit 6 is also supplied with the primary dc voltage v a from the dc power supply section 3 . the control unit reset circuit 6 delivers a command signal sa2 as an initial reset signal to the control unit 4 for initiation of its operation when the input voltage v a is lower than the voltage v9 at which the voltage drop detection signal sa1 is delivered and has reached a voltage v7 of 7 volts sufficient for reaching the constant voltage v b of 5 volts suitable for the control unit 4 operating normally . a non - volatile memory 7 is connected to the control unit 4 . data of a cumulative operating time period internally stored in the control unit 4 , for example , is written into the non - volatile memory 7 and the written data is read out in case of need . the data stored in the non - volatile memory 7 is preserved even when the non - volatile memory 7 is disconnected from the power supply . an operation section 8 is provided for supplying to the control unit 4 commands of on - off control of a power supply switch , a controlled variable and the like . the operation section 8 is connected to the control unit 4 . display means 9 is also connected to the control unit 4 so that a user can visually determines as to whether the control unit 9 is operating or not . the operation of the microcomputer - based control device thus arranged will now be described . when the dc power supply section 3 is connected to the ac power supply section 1 supplying the ac voltage of 100 v , the following occurs between start and step s1 in fig2 . fig3 shows a voltage characteristic of the dc power supply section 3 . the axis of ordinates represents voltage and the axis of abscissas represents time in fig3 . as understood from fig3 the above - mentioned first output voltage or the primary dc voltage v a in the dc power supply section 3 is gradually raised . when the primary dc voltage v a exceeds the value of 7 volts , the constant dc voltage of 5 volts or the secondary dc voltage v b is supplied from the dc power supply section 3 to the control unit 4 and simultaneously , the control unit reset circuit 6 delivers the signal sa2 to the control unit 4 so that the operation of the control unit 4 is initiated . the primary dc voltage v a is further raised to exceed the voltage v9 of 9 volts at which value the voltage drop detecting means 5 determines the voltage drop . the primary dc voltage v a is then stabilized at 14 volts . in this while , the voltage drop detection signal sa1 is not generated by the voltage drop detecting circuit 5 . the reason for this is that the voltage drop detecting circuit 5 is arranged to deliver the voltage drop detection signal sa1 to the control unit 4 only when the primary dc voltage v a drops from the value of 9 volts or above to the value of 9 volts or below . the data of the cumulative operating time period of the control unit 4 , for example , is read out from the non - volatile memory 7 , at step s1 . however , since no data is stored in the non - volatile memory 7 when the control unit 4 is operated for the first time , the control device advances to step s2 with initial data . at step s2 , a system control program whose data is stored in a read - only - memory ( rom ) of the microcomputer incorporated in the control unit 4 is executed . when the power supply from the ac power supply section 1 to the dc power supply section 3 is interrupted by occurrence of service interruption or an inadvertent disconnection of the plug from the plug socket , such an interruption is indirectly detected in step s3 . the detection of the interruption is achieved by the voltage drop detecting means 5 monitoring the output of the primary dc voltage v a of the dc power supply section 3 . steps s2 and s3 are looped when no change occurs in the power supply or when the primary dc voltage v a is maintained at the reference value of 9 volts or above even after occurrence of a slight change in the power supply . when one of switches in the operation section 8 is turned on while the control unit 4 is in the loop of steps s2 and s3 , this &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; signal is supplied to the control unit 4 . in response to the signal , the control unit 4 continues to deliver to the display means 9 a signal indicating that the control unit 4 is normally operating . however , this signal delivered to the display means 9 need not be a particular signal indicating that the control unit 4 is normally operating . for example , the signal indicative of the capacity of a fan such as intense , medium or weak may be used to indicate that the control unit 4 is operating . when the primary dc voltage v a drops to the reference voltage value of 9 volts or below in some cause or other , this drop of the primary dc voltage v a is detected by the voltage drop detecting means 5 , which delivers the voltage drop detection signal sa1 to the control unit 4 . in step s4 , the control unit 4 receives the voltage drop detection signal sa1 . in response to the signal sa1 , the control unit 4 operates to write into the non - volatile memory 7 the data stored in ram of the control unit 4 and disappearing upon interruption of the power supply . it is determined in step s5 whether or not the primary dc voltage v a is continuously dropping . steps s5 and s6 are looped until the primary dc voltage v a drops to the value of 7 volts or below , which value is a minimum value supplying the constant voltage of 5 volts to the control unit 4 or while the control unit reset circuit 6 is delivering the signal sa2 . the control unit reset circuit 6 stops delivering the signal sa2 when the voltage v a has dropped to the value of 7 volts or below , whereby the microcomputer - based control device completely stops its operation . as described above , the voltage drop detecting means 5 is provided for detecting the voltage drop in the dc power supply section 3 . the data in the control unit 4 is written into the non - volatile memory 7 to be stored only when the control unit 4 receives the voltage drop detection signal sa1 from the voltage drop detecting means 5 . accordingly , the data can be prevented from disappearing in the occurrence of the service interruption and the frequency of write of the data into the non - volatile memory 7 can be reduced to a large extent . consequently , the service life of the non - volatile memory can be prevented from being uselessly shortened , which does not necessitate the use of an expensive non - volatile memory and prevents the rise of the production cost of the control device . the detection value on which the voltage drop is detected is set at the value v9 higher than the voltage v7 which is the minimum value necessary for supply of the constant voltage from the dc power supply section 3 to the control unit 4 . accordingly , the control unit 4 has enough time and is supplied with enough power to write the data into the non - volatile memory 7 even when the power supply is to be interrupted . consequently , the data can be reliably stored in the non - volatile memory 7 . furthermore , the display means provides an easy visual confirmation of the normal operation of the control unit 4 . although the voltage drop detecting means and the control unit reset circuit are connected between the dc power supply section and the control unit in the foregoing embodiment , they may be provided in the same circuit as of the dc power supply section . fig4 and 5 illustrate a second embodiment of the invention . the microcomputer - based control device is applied to an air conditioning equipment in the second embodiment . referring to fig5 an air conditioning control unit 12 is provided instead of the control unit 4 in the foregoing embodiment . an operation program for controlling the air conditioning operation is previously stored in the air conditioning control unit 12 . the non - volatile memory 7 is connected to the air conditioning control unit 12 . data of a cumulative operating time period internally stored in the unit 12 , for example , is written into the non - volatile memory 7 and the written data is read out in case of need . the data stored in the non - volatile memory 7 is preserved even when the non - volatile memory 7 is disconnected from the power supply . an operation section 16 is provided for supplying to the air conditioning control unit 12 commands of on - off control of a power supply switch , a controlled variable and the like . the operation section 16 is connected to the air conditioning control unit 12 . display means 13 also connected to the air conditioning control unit 12 is provided for displaying an operational mode of the air conditioning control unit 12 , for example , by activating a light - emitting - diode ( led ) or for displaying characters such as &# 34 ; check filter &# 34 ; when the time for replacement of replaceable air filter ( not shown ) has come , so that the user can visually determine the time for replacement of the air filter . a fan motor 14 is connected through a drive circuit 15 to the air conditioning control unit 12 . the fan motor 14 is driven in accordance with a control signal from the air conditioning control unit 12 to induce an air flow so that a filthy air is filtrated through an air filter . the operation of the microcomputer - based control device applied to the air conditioning equipment will be described . when supplied with the ac voltage of 100 volts from the ac power supply section 1 , the dc power supply section 3 converts the supplied ac voltage to the dc voltage to deliver it . then , the primary output voltage v a of the dc power supply section 3 is gradually raised . when the primary output voltage v a exceeds the voltage v7 of 7 volts , the secondary output voltage v b of 5 volts is supplied to the air conditioning control unit 12 and simultaneously , the control unit reset circuit 6 delivers the command signal sa2 to the air conditioning control unit 12 for initiation of its operation . the primary dc voltage v a is further raised to exceed the voltage v9 of 9 volts which value is determined to be a low voltage by the voltage drop detecting means 5 . the primary dc voltage v a is then stabilized at 14 volts . in this while , the voltage drop detection signal sa1 is not generated by the voltage drop detecting circuit 5 . when supplied with the electrical power as described above , the air conditioning control unit 12 executes the program as shown in fig4 . the air conditioning control unit 12 reads the data of the cumulative air conditioning operation time period stored in the non - volatile memory 7 at step p1 . the cumulative air conditioning operation time period refers to a cumulative time period of the air conditioning operation performed by the air conditioning control unit 12 . since no data is stored in the non - volatile memory 7 when the air conditioning control unit 12 is to be operated for the first time , the control device advances to step p2 with initial data . at step p2 , an air conditioning operation control program whose data is stored in rom of the microcomputer incorporated in the control unit 4 is executed . in the execution of the program , the fan motor 14 is driven through the drive circuit 15 in accordance with the control signal supplied thereto from the air conditioning control unit 12 , whereby the filthy air is sucked to be caused to pass through the air filter for the filtration and then exhausted . the air conditioning control unit 12 counts the period of time for which the air conditioning operation is performed , and stores the data of the cumulative air conditioning operation time period in the internal memory such as ram . the air conditioning control unit 12 delivers to the display means 13 a display signal indicative of the time for the replacement of the air filter when the value indicated by the data of the cumulative air conditioning operation time period reaches a predetermined value corresponding to the time for replacement of the air filter , for example , 1 , 500 hours . consequently , characters of check filter are displayed on the display 13 , for example . when the power supply from the ac power supply section 1 to the dc power supply section 3 is interrupted by occurrence of service interruption or an inadvertent disconnection of the plug from the plug socket , such an interruption is indirectly detected in step p3 . the detection of the interruption is achieved by the voltage drop detecting means 5 monitoring the output of the primary dc voltage v a of the dc power supply section 3 . steps p2 and p3 are looped when no change occurs in the power supply or when the primary dc voltage v a is maintained at the reference value of 9 volts or above even after occurrence of slight change in the power supply . when one of the switches in the operation section 16 is turned on while the control device is in the loop of steps p2 and p3 , this &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; signal is supplied to the air conditioning control unit 12 . in response to the signal , the air conditioning control unit 12 continues to deliver to the display means 13 a signal indicating that the control unit is normally operating . furthermore , the mode of the air conditioning operation is displayed on the display 13 in accordance with the display signal from the air conditioning control unit 12 or the signal indicative of the capacity of a fan such as intense , medium or weak . the air conditioning control unit 12 determines whether or not the voltage drop detection signal sa1 has been delivered by the voltage drop detecting means 5 , at step p3 . in this case , when the primary dc voltage v a drops to the reference voltage value of 9 volts or below in some cause or other , this drop of the primary dc voltage v a is detected by the voltage drop detecting means 5 , which delivers the voltage drop detection signal sa1 to the air conditioning control unit 12 . the determination of the air conditioning control unit 12 is based on the delivered voltage drop detection signal sa1 . when the voltage drop detection signal sa1 has been input , the air conditioning control unit 12 determines in the affirmative at step p3 and advances to step p4 where the data of the cumulative air conditioning operation time period stored in ram is written into the non - volatile memory 7 . then , the air conditioning control unit 12 advances to step p5 . on the other hand , when the voltage drop detection signal sa1 has not been input from the voltage drop detecting means 5 , the air conditioning control unit 12 determines in the negative at step p3 and then returns to step p2 . it is determined in step p5 whether or not the primary dc voltage v a is continuously dropping . steps p5 and p6 are looped until the primary dc voltage v a drops to the value of 7 volts or below , which value is a minimum value for supplying the constant voltage of 5 volts to the air conditioning control unit 12 or while the control unit reset circuit 6 is delivering the signal sa2 . the control unit reset circuit 6 stops delivering the signal sa2 when the voltage v a has dropped to the value of 7 volts or below , whereby the microcomputer - based control device completely stops its operation . in this state , the non - volatile memory 7 stores the data of the cumulative air conditioning operation time period previously stored in ram based on the counting operation of the air conditioning control unit 12 immediately before the interruption of the power supply . thereafter , when the power supply is put to work to restart the operation , the data stored in the non - volatile memory 7 is read into the air conditioning control unit 12 as described above at step p1 . consequently , the data of a correct cumulative air conditioning operation time period can be stored regardless of the occurrence of the interruption of the power supply . the foregoing disclosure and drawings are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention and are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense . the only limitation is to be determined from the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
next , embodiments of the present disclosure are further described in combination with the drawings . with reference to fig1 , a general structure of a specific embodiment of the present disclosure is shown . an integrated flying - spot x - ray apparatus according to the present disclosure comprises a ray generator 40 configured to generate an x - ray , a revolving collimator device 60 provided thereon with at least one aperture and arranged to be rotatable about the ray generator 40 , a frameless torque motor 80 configured to drive the revolving collimator device 60 to rotate about the ray generator 40 , and a cooling device 20 configured to cool the ray generator 40 . the ray generator 40 , the revolving collimator device 60 , the frameless torque motor 80 and the cooling device 20 are integrally mounted on frames 10 and 11 . the integrally mounted frames or integrated frames 10 , 11 comprise a supporting frame 10 configured to support the frameless torque motor 80 and the cooling device 20 , and a bracket 11 configured to be fixedly connected with the supporting frame 10 to fix the ray generator 40 . the supporting frame 10 is used for supporting the frameless torque motor 80 and the cooling device 20 , and the bracket 11 is used for supporting the ray generator 40 . with reference to fig2 , the ray generator 40 may comprise a cathode protecting end cap 41 , a plug 42 , such as an aviation plug , an outer sleeve 43 with a ray outlet , an inner protecting sleeve 44 with a ray outlet , calking windows 45 , an 0 - shaped sealing ring 46 , an anode end cap 47 , a high voltage generator 90 , a tube joint 49 , a second anode insulation protecting seat 50 , a positioning pin 51 , a first anode insulation protecting seat 52 , a bulb tube 53 , a labyrinth protecting ring 54 , and an expansion drum 55 . as shown in fig2 , the ray generator 40 comprises an x - ray tube 53 , a high voltage generator 90 configured to drive the x - ray tube 53 , an inner protecting sleeve 44 provided outside of the x - ray tube 53 and used for shielding and protecting ; and an outer sleeve 43 provided outside of the inner protecting sleeve 44 and used for protecting . the inner protecting sleeve 44 and the outer sleeve 43 each have a ray outlet . the ray outlets are aligned with each other and hence communicate with each other to direct the x - ray from the x - ray tube 53 out of the ray generator 40 . as shown in fig2 and 7 , the high voltage generator 90 loads a high voltage onto the two ends of the bulb tube 53 through the aviation plug 42 , so that the x - ray is generated . the ray exits from an opening 72 forming a sector - shaped conical beam . the opening 72 is provided on the outer sleeve 43 and is opened with a certain angle , e . g ., 110 degrees shown in fig6 , along the circumferential direction . as shown in fig2 , the positioning pin 51 is used for defining the beam outputting direction of the bulb tube 53 . specifically , the anode end cap 47 is provided at an anode target 56 side of the x - ray tube 53 . the first anode insulation protecting seat 52 and the second anode insulation protecting seat 50 are further provided between the anode end cap 47 and the anode target 56 , and they form a labyrinth channel . the cathode protecting end cap 41 is provided at a cathode side of the x - ray tube 53 . the labyrinth protecting ring 54 is further provided between the cathode protecting end cap 41 and the cathode of the x - ray tube 53 . as shown in fig8 , the first anode insulation protecting seat 52 and the second anode insulation protecting seat 50 are combined integrally to form a cavity 501 . a fluid guiding hole 502 on the first anode insulation protecting seat 52 and a liquid injecting hole 503 on the second anode insulation protecting seat 50 are misaligned with each other , so that a labyrinth structure is formed . as shown in fig2 , the labyrinth protecting ring 54 functions to form a labyrinth for a cathode lead outlet and high voltage insulation oil returning outlet so as to prevent leakage of the ray . as shown in fig2 , the respective ray outlets of the inner protecting sleeve 44 and the outer sleeve 43 are provided therein with a calking window 45 . the material for the calking window 45 is a material through which the x - ray can pass . after passing through the respective ray outlets of the inner protecting sleeve 44 and the outer sleeve 43 and the calking windows 45 , the ray exits along the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the radiation source generator 40 in a predetermined angle range , such as a 4 degree angle range shown in fig5 . as shown in fig2 , the cathode protecting end cap 41 , the inner protecting sleeve 44 , the second anode insulation protecting seat 50 , the first anode insulation protecting seat 52 and the labyrinth protecting ring 54 are made of a material that can shield the ray , and the second anode insulation protecting seat 50 and the first anode insulation protecting seat 52 have an insulation property . the cathode protecting end cap 41 is provided with a bending through hole 550 . when the cathode protecting end cap 41 and the expansion drum 55 are fitted together , a gas chamber 551 is formed . with reference to fig7 , the outer sleeve 43 is provided with the beam exiting opening 72 . the outer sleeve 43 is also formed on the outer side wall thereof with a boss 71 having a shaft shoulder . as shown in fig2 , 7 and 10 , the revolving collimator device 60 comprises at least one bearing 63 supported on the boss 71 having the shaft shoulder of the outer sleeve 43 , a flying - spot revolving protecting ring 64 supported by the at least on bearing 63 and configured to be revolvable about the outer sleeve 43 , side protecting plates 61 provided at two sides of the flying - spot revolving protecting ring 64 , respectively , and right and left end caps 62 and 65 . as shown in fig2 , 5 and 6 , the anode target 56 of the bulb tube 53 gives a great amount of heat out while generating the ray . in order to expedite heat dispersion , a number of fluid guiding holes 52 are distributed on the anode target 56 along the circumference thereof . when a cooling liquid passes through the fluid guiding holes 57 , the heat from the anode target 56 is brought away , so that the normal operation of the bulb tube 53 is ensured . furthermore , as shown fig2 , 8 and 9 , the cavity around the x - ray tube 53 is filled with the high voltage insulation oil , and the expansion drum 55 is further provided between the labyrinth protecting ring 54 and the cathode protecting end cap 41 . the cavity around the bulb tube 53 is filled with the high voltage insulation oil to bring the heat generated from the bulb tube away . since the insulation oil is heated , the volume of the insulation oil expands to press the expansion drum 55 . at the same time , the heated insulation oil is drawn out from the tube joint 49 of the anode end cap 47 by a magnetic pump 23 , and then is cooled by a heat exchanger 21 , and then passes through a tube joint 48 provided at an end close to the labyrinth protecting ring 54 , and then passes through the labyrinth channel formed by integrally combining the first anode insulation protecting seat 52 and the second anode insulation protecting seat 50 , and then returns back into the cavity around the bulb tube 53 through the fluid guiding hole 57 , so that the expansion amount of volume of the oil will be constant . as shown in fig1 - 4 , the cooling device 20 comprises the magnetic pump 23 configured to pump the heated high voltage insulation oil , the heat exchanger 21 configured to cool the pumped high voltage insulation oil , and an oil passage configured to convey the pumped high voltage insulation oil into the heat exchanger 21 for heat exchanging . then , the cooled high voltage insulation oil returns back into the cavity around the x - ray tube 53 . in a preferred embodiment , as shown in fig3 , the cooling device 20 further comprises a fan 22 for further enhancing the heat exchanging efficiency of the heat exchanger 21 . next , the operation of the integrated flying - spot x - ray apparatus according to the specific embodiments of the present disclosure is explained in combination with fig2 and 10 . as shown in fig2 and 10 , the revolving collimator device 60 with at least one aperture comprises the side protecting plates 61 , the left end cap 62 , the bearing 63 , the flying - spot revolving protecting ring 64 and the right end cap 65 . the bearing 63 is mounted on the boss 71 provided with the shaft shoulder and provided on the outer side wall of the outer sleeve 43 , and the flying - spot revolving protecting ring 62 is mounted on the bearing 63 to form a rotation body . the flying - spot revolving protecting ring 65 are provided with a small through hole 75 . the right end cap 65 is connected with a rotor 81 of the frameless torque motor 80 by screws , and a stator 82 is fixed on the supporting frame 10 by screws . the frameless torque motor 80 drives the revolving collimator device 60 with the through hole 75 to rotate . a dynamic spot - by - spot scanning operation can be achieved by revolving about the through hole 75 of the revolving collimator device 60 provided on the periphery of the ray generator 40 . as shown fig2 , the side protecting plates 61 provided at two sides and the flying - spot revolving protecting ring 64 are made of a material which can shield the ray , and hence form a shielding cavity to efficiently prevent leakage of the ray . although the flying - spot revolving protecting ring 64 is provided with a small through hole along the radial direction in the above embodiment , the present disclosure is not limited thereto . a plurality of through holes may be provided . while the present disclosure has been described in conjunction with the drawings , the embodiment shown in the drawings is only an example for explaining preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure . although some embodiments for the general concept of the present disclosure have been shown and explained , the skilled person in the art will appreciate that modifications to the above embodiments can be carried out without departing from the spirit and principle of the present general inventive concept . the scope of the present disclosure should be defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof . | 6 |
embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . as shown in fig1 , an imaging lens 2 is an optical lens including a combination of a resin component 4 and a resin component 6 . the resin component 4 has a convex lens portion 4 a . the convex lens portion 4 a is surrounded by a non - lens portion 4 b or flange . the resin component 6 also has a convex lens portion 6 a . the convex lens portion 6 a is surrounded by a non - lens portion 6 b or flange . the convex lens portion 4 a of the resin component 4 and the convex lens portion 6 a of the resin component 6 are aligned with each other . an optical axis runs through the centers of the convex lens portions 4 a and 6 a . a diaphragm 8 is provided between the non - lens portion 4 b of the resin component 4 and the non - lens portion 6 b of the resin component 6 in the interface of the resin components 4 and 6 . the resin component 4 is composed of a resin 4 a , and the resin component 6 is composed of a resin 6 a . the resin 4 a and 6 a are of photocurable or thermally curable types . the resin 4 a and 6 a are different materials with different optical dispersions ( abbe &# 39 ; s numbers ), and in particular a low dispersion material for the resin 4 a while a high dispersion material for the resin 6 a . the resin 4 a and 6 a may be of the same type . next , a method of manufacturing the imaging lens 2 will now be described . as shown in fig2 a , a lens array mold 10 is coated with a resin 4 a . the lens array mold 10 has an array of multiple recess portions 12 . the shape of each recess portion 12 corresponds to the shape of the convex lens portion 4 a of the imaging lens 2 . then , as shown in fig2 b , one of the lens array mold 10 and a plate member 20 is moved toward the other such that the space between the lens array mold 10 and the plate member 20 is filled with the resin 4 a , and the resin 4 a is cured by light or heat . then , as shown in fig2 c , the plate member 20 is removed . then , as shown in fig2 d , the diaphragm 8 is formed on the cured resin 4 a . the diaphragm 8 may be formed with a photoresist including black pigments through photolithography or with a metal film such as a chromium film through etching . an inkjet or screen printing process can also be applied to form the diaphragm 8 . alternatively , a dimensionally stable black diaphragm member with a similar shape to the lens array , having a light - transmission hole at a region corresponding to the convex lens portion 4 a , can be sandwiched between the resins 4 a and 6 a to form a diaphragm 8 . this prevents a change in distances between the convex lens portions 4 a and 6 a after demolding . then , as shown in fig2 e , a lens array mold 30 is coated with the resin 6 a . the lens array mold 30 has an array of multiple recess portions 32 . the shape of each recess portion 32 corresponds to the shape of the convex lens portion 6 a of the imaging lens 2 . then , as shown in fig2 f , while the cured resin 4 a and the diaphragm 8 are left on the lens array mold 10 , one of the lens array mold 30 and 10 is moved onto the other such that the space between the lens array molds 30 and 10 is filled with the resin 6 a , and then the resin 6 a is cured by light or heat . preferably , the lens array molds 10 and 30 are provided with alignment marks preliminarily formed , so that alignment between these lens array molds 10 and 30 can be achieved through matching of the alignment marks . alternatively , the lens array molds 10 and 30 are provided with alignment guides preliminarily formed , so that the alignment between the lens array molds 10 and 30 can be achieved by abutting the guides mutually . then , as shown in fig2 g , the lens array molds 10 and 30 are detached from the cured resins 4 a and 6 a to give a lens array 34 composed of the resins 4 a and 6 a . the lens array 34 including convex lens portions 4 a and 6 a is cut into multiple imaging lenses 2 . alternatively , the lens array 34 can also be delivered from the factory as it is . according to the above embodiment , from the curing step of the resin 4 a on the lens array mold 10 ( see fig2 b ) to the removal step of the lens array molds 10 and 30 ( see fig2 g ), the process is carried out with the cured resin 4 a remaining on the lens array mold 10 . this keeps the cured resin 4 a fixed to the recess portions 12 and thus can prevent a change in distance between convex lens portions 4 a caused by the resin 4 a at least during those steps . moreover , the resin components 4 and 6 are composed of the resins 4 a and 6 a , respectively , which are different resins . the combination of different resins can achieve higher optical performance and more flexible designing compared to a case of manufacturing an imaging lens with a single resin material . in addition , the curing of the resin 4 a with the plate member 20 enables the corresponding face of the cured resin 4 a to be planarized , thus facilitating the formation of the diaphragm 8 inside the imaging lens 2 . such a process does not require a diaphragm structure 36 such as a housing having an opening corresponding to the convex lens portion 4 a ( see fig1 ) over the exterior of an imaging lens 2 , and alignment between the imaging lens 2 and the diaphragm 36 or an aperture position . this can improve handling performance or versatility of the imaging lens 2 . here , the convex lens portion 4 a of the resin component 4 and the convex lens portion 6 a of the resin component 6 may have any profile and can be produced with appropriate lens array molds 10 and 30 having corresponding profiles . as shown in fig3 , a stacked imaging lens 40 is a combination lens including two lenses , namely a lens 42 and a lens 44 . the lens 42 has a convex lens portion 42 a and a concave lens portion 42 b . the convex lens portion 42 a and the concave lens portion 42 b are surrounded by a non - lens portion 42 c or flange . the lens 44 also has a convex lens portion 44 a and a concave lens portion 44 b . the convex lens portion 44 a and the concave lens portion 44 b are surrounded by a non - lens portion 44 c or flange . the convex lens portion 42 a and the concave lens portion 42 b of the lens 42 and the convex lens portion 44 a and the concave lens portion 44 b of the lens 44 are all arranged in corresponding positions . the concave lens portion 42 b of the lens 42 faces the concave lens portion 44 b of the lens 44 . the centers of the convex lens portion 42 a , the concave lens portion 42 b , the convex lens portion 44 a , and the concave lens portion 44 b are aligned to a common optical axis . a diaphragm 46 is provided between the non - lens portions 42 c and 44 b of the lens 42 and 44 , respectively . instead of such a configuration , the convex lens portion 42 a may be a concave lens portion , the concave lens portion 42 b may be a convex lens portion , the convex lens portion 44 a may be a concave lens portion , and / or the concave lens portion 44 b may be a convex lens portion . the lens 42 is composed of a resin 42 a , and the lens 44 is composed of a resin 44 a . the resin 42 a and 44 a are photocurable or thermally curable resins . the resin 42 a and 44 a are composed of different materials with different optical dispersions ( abbe &# 39 ; s numbers ), and in particular one of the resins 42 a and 44 a is composed of a low dispersion material and the other a high dispersion material . in the case of the stacked imaging lens 40 , which is a combination lens , and has an air layer between the lens 42 and 44 , the resin 42 a and 44 a may have the same refractive index . the resin 42 a and 46 a may be the same resin . next , a method of manufacturing the stacked imaging lens 40 will now be described . as shown in fig4 a , the lens array mold 50 is coated with the resin 42 a . the lens array mold 50 has an array of multiple recess portions 52 . the shape of each recess portion 52 corresponds to the shape of the convex lens portion 42 a of the lens 42 . then , as shown in fig4 b , one of the lens array molds 50 and 60 is moved onto the other such that the space between the lens array molds 50 and 60 is filled with the resin 42 a , and the resin is cured by light or heat . the lens array mold 60 has an array of multiple projection portions 62 . the shape of each projection portion 62 corresponds to the shape of a concave lens portion 42 b of the lens 42 . preferably , the lens array molds 50 and 60 are provided with alignment marks preliminarily formed , so that the lens array molds 50 and 60 are aligned with each other by matching the alignment marks . then , as shown in fig4 c , the lens array mold 60 is removed . a diaphragm 46 is then formed on the cured resin 42 a . the diaphragm 46 can be formed by the same process for the diaphragm 8 in the first embodiment . the diaphragm 46 may extend over a part of the concave lens portion 42 b . a surface covered by the diaphragm 46 is curved in this case , then the diaphragm 46 is preferably formed by an inkjet printing technique . in this case , at least an area of the lens array mold 60 corresponding to the area covered by the diaphragm 46 is preferably planar . this has an advantage in that the planar surface can allow for use of patterning techniques , such as photolithography and screen printing , which are rather inappropriate to delineate high precision patterns on a curved surface . as shown in fig4 d , a cured resin 44 a on a lens array mold 70 is formed aside from the cured resin 42 a by a similar process shown in fig4 a through 4c . then , as shown in fig4 e , while the cured resin 42 a and the diaphragm 46 remain on the lens array mold 50 and the cured resin 44 a remains on the lens array mold 70 , one of the lens array molds 50 and 70 is moved onto the other to bond the cured resin 42 a , the diaphragm 46 , and the cured resin 44 a . the lens array molds 50 and 70 are preferably provided with alignment marks preliminarily formed , then the lens array molds 50 and 70 are aligned with each other through matching the alignment marks , and are mutually bonded with an adhesive or any other means . then , as shown in fig4 f , the lens array molds 50 and 70 are detached from the cured resins 42 a and 44 a to give a stacked lens array 72 including the cured resins 42 a and 44 a . the stacked lens array 72 including the convex lens portions 42 a ( or the concave lens portion 42 b , or the convex lens portions 44 a , or the concave lens portion 44 b ) is cut into multiple stacked imaging lenses 40 . alternatively , the lens array 72 can also be delivered from the factory as it is . according to the above embodiment , from the step of curing the resin 42 a in the lens array mold 50 and curing the resin 44 a in the lens array mold 70 ( see fig . 4b and 4d ) through the step of removing the lens array molds 50 and 70 ( see fig4 f ), the process is carried out with the cured resins 42 a and 44 a remaining on the lens array molds 50 and 70 , respectively . accordingly , the cured resins 42 a and 44 a are maintained in the recess portions 52 and 72 , respectively , at least during those process steps . this enables variations in distances to be reduced between the convex lens portions 42 a and between the convex lens portions 44 a caused by the resins 42 a and 44 a . moreover , the lenses 42 and 44 are formed with different resins 42 a and 44 a . the combination of different resins can achieve higher optical performance and more flexible designing of the lens compared to a case of manufacturing a stacked imaging lens with a single resin material . in addition , the cured resin 42 a is bonded with the cured resin 44 a after the diaphragm 46 is formed on the cured resin 42 a . this indicates that the diaphragm 46 is formed inside the stacked imaging lens 40 . this does not require a diaphragm structure 74 such as a housing having an opening corresponding to the convex lens portion 42 a ( see fig3 ) over the exterior of a stacked imaging lens 40 , and alignment between the stacked imaging lens 40 and the diaphragm 74 or an aperture position . this can improve handling performance or versatility of the stacked imaging lens 40 . here , the convex lens portion 42 a and the concave lens portion 42 b of the lens 42 and the convex lens portion 44 a and the concave lens portion 44 b of the lens 44 may have any profile and can be produced with appropriate lens array molds 50 , 60 , and 70 having corresponding profiles . the present invention can be suitably applied to an imaging lens and an image capturing device including such an imaging lens . | 6 |
achieving reliable paint adhesion to plastic surfaces such as thermoplastic olefins ( tpos ), particularly those based on propylene polymers in general , polyvinyl halides , specifically pvc , polycarbonates and other polymers is a recurring need in the automotive and other industries . generally , when painting olefin based plastics , adhesion promoters containing volatile organic compounds ( vocs ) are used . the use of voc containing compounds presents both health and environmental concerns . an alternative to voc - containing adhesion promoters which is safe for both people and the environment is cold gas plasma , but obtaining improved adhesion levels and long term surface modification of pvc and propylene polymers materials are continuing objectives . these and other objectives are achieved by the present invention . plasma is often referred to as the fourth state of matter . when energy is applied to a solid , the solid can undergo a transition to the liquid state . if further energy is applied , the liquid becomes a gas . if additional energy of the proper kind is applied , the gas dissociates and becomes a plasma . plasmas exist in a variety of forms . most cosmic plasmas are of a very high energy and temperature ( in excess of several thousand degrees celsius ) and consequently unusable in industry and with plastics in particular . by applying the appropriate type of energy and selecting an appropriate gas environment , one can create a plasma particularly useful with plastics . for the treatment of plastics , the preferred plasma is a low pressure or vacuum process so the temperature is at or only slightly elevated above ambient , preventing thermal degradation of the plastic or thermal distortion of the molded article . inside the plasma chamber where the polymer to be treated is present , active species in the form of electrons , free - radicals , and ions collide with the polymer surface , breaking molecular bonds and creating new functional groups on the polymer surface . since the energy of the active species is not great enough to penetrate more than a few molecular layers of a polymer , only the surface is modified and the bulk properties of a material remain unchanged . without being limited by theory , it is believed that there are at least three competing molecular processes or reactions which are capable of altering the polymer simultaneously , leading to a complex result : 1 . ablation : the removal by evaporation of surface material and organic contaminants , also referred to as etching ; 2 . crosslinking : the chemical connection of two or more polymer chains ; and 3 . activation : the substitution of atoms in the polymer molecule with chemical groups from the plasma . these reactions are affected by , and potentially controlled through , the gas chemistry and the process variables associated with a particular plasma treatment system . it is also known that plasma contains a very high - energy vacuum ultraviolet ( uv ) radiation . uv creates free radicals on the surface of the polymer which are identical in nature to radicals created by electron bombardment , and thus react in a similar manner to chemically modify the surface . plasma treatment system configuration also plays an important role in processing large size parts , or large quantities of smaller parts . barrel type plasma systems generate a &# 34 ; secondary plasma &# 34 ; in that the actual glow discharge or &# 34 ; primary plasma &# 34 ; is generated between a cylindrical , mesh sleeve and the barrel wall . since the part to be surface treated is usually placed on a stage in the center of the barrel , diffusion of constantly depleting active species are transported to the part . a secondary plasma system is therefore inefficient due to line - of - site shadowing of various radiation , such as uv , lack of uniformity due to a radial radio frequency ( rf ) field effect , and differing specie densities . preferred plasma systems for use in the present invention are the more technologically advanced , primary plasma systems which incorporate a parallel plate electrode design where parts to be treated are exposed directly to the primary field of rf energy . the subsequent primary plasma is particularly more uniform and more efficient since the part is exposed in all three dimensions to the glow discharge . with higher pressure processes ( but still within the general definition of a cold gas plasma ), some form of gas delivery system , designed to create a uniform laminar flow of process gas throughout the entire chamber volume is beneficial . in multiple electrode / shelf designs , it is important that each of the electrodes receive equal amounts of rf energy . in this manner a uniform glow discharge is created in between each shelf or in each plasma zone . solid state components and microprocessor control of the systems parameters of process time , flow rate , power level , and working pressure , will also ensure process uniformity , efficiency , and repeatability . since plasmas are electrically conductive atmospheres , they carry a characteristic impedance to the output of the rf generator . therefore , the preferred plasma process utilizes a matching network to constantly tune the plasma impedance to the output impedance of the rf generator . advanced plasma systems suitable for use in the present invention are available from himont plasma science , foster city , california ( a business unit of himont u . s . a ., inc . ), and incorporate an automatic matching type of network and provisions for error checking during a process . the low temperature plasma is generated in a gaseous atmosphere at reduced pressure of from about 0 . 001 to about 10 torr , preferably from about 0 . 01 to about 5 torr , more preferably from about 0 . 05 to about 1 . 0 torr , most preferably from about 0 . 125 to about 0 . 400 torr . the electric power can be supplied to the equipment at a high frequency , from about 40 khz to 3 ghz , preferably from 13 to 27 mhz , and most conveniently at 13 . 56 mhz . to achieve the desired plasma condition in the gaseous atmosphere , the electric power delivered to the apparatus can vary over a range of from about 10 to 10 , 000 watts ; preferably from about 50 to about 5 , 000 watts , more preferably from about 75 to about 1 , 000 watts , most preferably from about 200 to about 500 watts . the power used is somewhat dependent on chamber working volume . the most preferred 200 to 500 watts is appropriate for himont plasma science ps0350 or ps0500 gas plasma apparatus with working volumes of 3 . 5 and 5 . 0 cubic feet , respectively . the plasma treatment time varies from a few seconds to several tens of minutes , preferably from about 20 seconds to about 30 minutes , most preferably from 20 seconds to about 7 minutes . it should be appreciated that treatment pressure , time and power are interrelated , rather than independent , variables . the effect of the level selected for each of these variables will determine the extent of polymer surface modification ; also related are the chamber volume and geometry as well as the sample size and surface geometry . the selection of the level for these variables is within the ordinary skill of practitioners in the art to which this invention pertains . this invention provides a particular and unique gas combination of n 2 o and co 2 which when used to treat polymer surfaces according to this invention provides not only a modified polymer surface but one that is time - enduring . the n 2 o / co 2 mixtures are effective from 80 to 40 mol % n 2 o with 20 to 60 mol % co 2 , preferably 70 to 45 mol % n 2 o / 30 to 55 mol % co 2 , most preferably from 60 to 45 mol % n 2 o / 40 to 55 mol % co 2 , where the amount of n 2 o and co 2 in the mixture equals 100 mol %. the plasma process is generally practiced as follows . the parts to be treated are placed into a vacuum chamber and the chamber pressure is reduced , typically to 0 . 05 torr . the process gas mixture employed is introduced to the chamber and the chamber pressure stabilized at a pressure of 0 . 5 - 1 . 0 torr . the interior dimensions of the work area is approximately 0 . 33 × 0 . 41 × 0 . 44 meters ( width × height × depth ) for a total working volume of 0 . 06 cubic meters . a suitable high frequency form of energy , typically 13 . 56 mhz radio frequency energy , is used to create the plasma ; in the system described this is achieved with a total power input capacity of 550 watts . the rf energy dissociates the gas , creating a plasma characterized by a distinctive glow . since the process is conducted at reduced pressures , the bulk temperature of the gas is near ambient temperature , thus the reference to a cold gas plasma , a glow discharge , or a cold gas glow discharge . the electrons or ions created in the plasma bombard the polymer &# 39 ; s surface , abstracting atoms or breaking bonds creating free radicals . these free radicals are unstable and seek to satisfy a more stable state by reacting with free radicals or groups within the plasma gas , also establishing new moieties on the surface of the polymer . in this manner the polymer surface can be molecularly re - engineered in a highly complex manner to provide a physical state and functional groups that enhance adhesion of the paint and other coating materials and provide reactive sites that can result in covalent chemical bonding of the paint to the polymer . the modified surface condition of the plastic and covalent bonds enhance the permanency and the adhesive tenacity of the paint or coating material to the polymer . as described above , treating a polymer with plasma can increase its surface energy by modifying the surface chemistry . greater surface energy offers the potential for greater chemical reactivity and compatibility to paints , inks and other coating materials . enhanced surface reactivity is characterized in the laboratory by water wettability . wettability describes the ability of a liquid to spread over and penetrate a surface , and can be measured by the contact angle between the liquid and the surface or by the use of reference liquids with known properties . the relationship between contact angle and surface energy is direct ; contact angle decreases with surface energy . contact angle measurements are sometimes also used as a general indication of the presence of contaminants . the cleaner the surface , the lower the contact angle a water drop will make with the surface . for example , a surface contaminated with mold release agent will make a contact angle of 80 ° to 90 ° , indicating poor wettability ; and silicones will form a contact angle greater than 90 degrees . many clean metal surfaces show a contact angle of 30 ° to 70 ° . on the other hand , plasma - treated surfaces yield a contact angle 20 ° or less , suggesting reduced contamination and / or greater surface energy . it is appreciated that bonding in manufacturing processes , including paint adhesion , is a complex and specialized field , and although cleanliness and wettability are necessary for good adhesion , such conditions do not guarantee it . plasma treatment is a complex chemical process and the results of the operation depend on the chemistry of the surface and the chemistry of the plasma . the resultant surface chemistry must be compatible with any bonding agents , including paints . plasma treatment of the polymers of the present invention using the gas composition taught herein provides unexpected advantages in surface condition and paint and coating adhesion . the polymers useful in the present invention are comprised of isotactic and sydiotactic propylene polymer materials , ethylene polymers , polyamides , polyesters , polystyrene , styrene copolymers containing 70 % polymerized styrene units , polycarbonate , polyphenylene ether ( ppe ), and polyvinyl halide polymers generally and pvc in particular . propylene polymer materials and ethylene polymers include homopolymers , copolymers and terpolymers with other alpha - olefin monomers and / or aliphatic diene monomers , and mixtures of such polymers . suitable propylene polymer materials include ( i ) homopolymers of propylene ; and ( ii ) random crystalline propylene copolymers , terpolymers or both , containing from about 80 to about 98 . 5 % of propylene ; preferably about 90 to about 95 %, more preferably about 92 to about 94 % of propylene ; and from about 1 . 5 to about 20 . 0 % of at least one comonomer selected from the group consisting of ethylene and c 4 - c 10 alpha - olefins . when a c 4 - c 10 alpha - olefin is not present , the copolymer preferably contains from about 2 to about 10 % ethylene , more preferably from about 7 to about 9 %. when a c 4 - c 10 alpha - olefin is present , the terpolymer preferably contains from about 0 . 5 to about 5 %, more preferably about 1 to about 3 % ethylene and from about 2 . 5 to about 10 . 0 %, preferably about 3 to about 7 %, more preferably about 4 . 0 to about 6 . 0 % of an olefin selected from the group consisting of c 4 - c 8 alpha - olefins . included also are mixtures of such copolymers and terpolymers , with or without polypropylene homopolymer . additionally useful propylene polymer materials are ( iii ) heterophasic or impact - modified polyolefin compositions obtained by sequential copolymerization or mechanical blending of ( i ) or ( ii ) with an elastomeric olefin copolymer or terpolymer fraction such as elastomeric ethylene - propylene , ethylene - butene - 1 , propylene - butene - 1 copolymers , and ethylene - propylene - diene monomer terpolymers . suitable heterophasic polyolefin compositions of this type include , for example , those described in european patent application ep a - 416 379 , and in european patent ep b - 77 532 . suitable heterophasic polyolefin compositions identified as ( iii ), above , can comprise ( by weight ): ( a ) 90 - 55 parts of polypropylene homopolymer having an isotactic index greater than 90 , and / or a crystalline copolymer of propylene with ethylene and / or with an α - olefin of formula ch2 ═ chr , where r is a c 2 - c 6 alkyl radical , containing less than 10 % of ethylene and / or α - olefin , preferably from 0 . 5 to 9 %, more preferably from 2 to 6 % by weight , and ( b ) 10 - 70 parts , preferably 20 - 40 , of an elastomeric copolymer of propylene with ethylene or with an α - olefin of formula ch2 ═ chr , where r is a c 2 - c 6 alkyl radical or mixtures thereof , wherein the total of ( a ) and ( b ) is 100 parts . the c 4 - c 10 alpha - olefin is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alpha - olefins such as , for example , 1 - butene , isobutylene , 1 - pentene , 1 - hexene , 1 - octene , 3 - methyl - 1 - butene , 4 - methyl - 1 - pentene , 3 , 4 - dimethyl - 1 - butene and ethyl - 1 - hexene . the propylene polymer materials described herein , including isotactic polypropylene , random copolymers and terpolymers of propylene and their mixtures , with or without polypropylene homopolymer and the heterophasic polymer compositions are available commercially from himont u . s . a ., inc . and himont italia s . r . l . polyvinyl halide polymers useful in the present invention are well known , particularly pvc . it is produced commercially primarily as a homopolymer although copolymers are also useful . in copolymers vinyl chloride constitutes 50 % by weight or more of the polymer , with one or more copolymerizable monomers selected from the group consisting of vinyl esters , such as vinyl acetate , vinyl ethers , acrylic acid and esters thereof , methacrylic acid and esters thereof , maleic acid and esters and anhydride thereof , fumaric acid and esters thereof , aromatic vinyl compounds , such as styrene , vinylidene halides , such as vinylidene chloride , acrylonitrile , methacrylonitrile and alpha - olefins , such as ethylene and propylene . commercial pvc typically is produced by an addition polymerization process using a free radical formed by the decomposition of an initiator . control of the polymerization temperature typically results in isothermal conditions which produces a polymer with a narrow molecular weight distribution . the polymer is partially crystalline ( syndiotactic ) with a significant amount of unsaturated chain ends , e . g ., about 60 % depending on the mode of termination . in addition , a small amount of chain branching ( about 4 %) can be present . pvc is susceptible to decomposition at temperatures as low as 100 ° c . and is sold commercially with thermal stabilizers . pvc polymer is usually mixed or compounded with other materials to make a usable product . the flexible pvc products contain varying amounts of plasticizers whereas rigid products contain little or no plasticizers . plasticizers vary in their compatibility with pvc and are used in various concentrations depending on that compatibility . plasticizers are susceptible to migration , e . g ., bleeding or blooming to the surface , and therefore can significantly affect the adhesion and paintability of the plasticized compound , thus making the advance of the present invention particularly valuable . typical plasticizers useful in pvc compositions include esters of phthalic acid , such as dioctyl phthalate , dibutyl phthalate and butyl benzyl phthalate , esters of aliphatic dibasic acids , such as dioctyl adipate and dibutyl sebacate , glycol esters , such as esters of pentaerythritol and diethylene glycol dibenzoate , esters of aliphatic monocarboxylic acid , such as methyl acetylricinoate , esters of phosphoric acid , such as tricresyl phosphate and triphenyl phosphate , epoxidized oils , such as epoxidized soybean and linseed oil , esters of citric acid , such as acetyltributyl citrate and acetyltrioctyl citrate , trialkyl trimellitates , tetran - octyl pyromellitate and polypropylene adipate as well as other kinds of plasticizers including polyester - based plasticizers . other classes of additives which may be used in pvc compositions include heat resistance improvers , lubricants , stabilizers , fillers , antioxidants , ultraviolet absorbers , antistatic agents , antifogging agents , pigments , dyes , crosslinking agents , fusion promoters and lubricants for rigid pvc . in order to improve mechanical properties , e . g ., impact strength , pvc polymers can be blended with other polymers , particularly elastomeric polymers , such as acrylonitrile - butadiene - styrene , urethane elastomers , ethylene - vinylacetate copolymers , acrylonitrile - butadiene copolymers , styrene - acrylonitrile copolymers , methyl methacrylate - butadiene copolymers , polyamide resins , polycaprolactams , epoxy modified polybutadiene resins and chlorinated polyethylene . when elastomeric polymers are used their concentration typically does not exceed about 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the vinyl chloride polymer . the polymer materials may be in the form of molded articles of simple or complex shapes , films , sheets , laminates , or woven or nonwoven textiles . complex shapes are those three - dimensional articles or structures wherein the dimension along the &# 34 ; z &# 34 ; axis is greater than or equal to 10 % of the dimension along either the &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; y &# 34 ; axis in the surface of the plane , such as , for example , motor vehicle bumpers and fenders . in one embodiment at least one of the polymer surfaces of the article treated according to this invention is coated with a paint composition . typical paint compositions include acrylic enamel compositions comprising an alkyl acrylate polymer and a pigment and polyester based paint compositions containing a pigment . such paint compositions are commercially available . the painted articles of this invention exhibit good adhesion and permanence of adhesion between the paint composition and the treated surface of the article . over extended periods of time of normal use , the painted surface retains its initial durability and is not degraded or modified by the plasma gas mixture treated polymer surface . examples of suitable paint compositions include industrial refinishing spray paint acrylic enamel &# 34 ; sprayon ,&# 34 ; 01510 osha blue , 01800 osha white and 01770 osha gloss black , all available from sprayon products industrial supply , division of sherwin - williams company . conventional additives may be blended with the polymers used to produce the articles which can be treated according to this invention . such additives include stabilizers , antioxidants , antislip agents , flame retardants , lubricants , fillers , coloring agents , antistatic agents and antisoiling agents . the following examples are illustrative of this invention and are not meant as a limitation of the invention disclosed and claimed herein . the mass flow controllers used in these examples were not calibrated specifically for either n 2 o or co 2 . flow rates were calculated based on the specific heats of the respective gases . the accuracy of the mass flow controllers in these cases is ± 5 %. flexible pvc continuous film samples 0 . 020 &# 34 ; thick and 36 &# 34 ; wide from davidson rubber were treated in a plasma science ps0500 gas plasma reactor using the gas matrices shown in table 1 : table 1______________________________________ flow rate power pressure timegas ( sccm *) ( watts ) ( torr ) ( minutes ) ______________________________________n . sub . 2 o 320 500 0 . 250 6argon ( step 1 ) 80 500 0 . 125 7n . sub . 2 o ( step 2 ) 320 500 0 . 250 6n . sub . 2 o / co . sub . 2 200 / 200 500 0 . 250 6co . sub . 2 320 500 0 . 250 6______________________________________ * sccm = standard cc . sup . 3 / min . table 1a______________________________________ surface energy ( dynes / cm ) time ar ( hours ) n . sub . 2 o n . sub . 2 o n . sub . 2 o / co . sub . 2 co . sub . 2______________________________________as treated 73 73 73 321 73 73 73 -- 2 70 70 733 70 70 734 70 70 735 70 70 736 66 66 737 66 66 738 66 62 -- 9 66 58 -- 23 42 38 -- 24 42 38 7325 42 38 -- 26 42 38 -- 27 38 38 -- 28 38 38 -- 29 38 38 -- 48 -- -- 73168 -- -- 73336 -- -- 73528 -- -- 73______________________________________ the above test results show that co 2 alone is totally ineffective in providing a high energy surface to the article and that n 2 o alone is unable to provide a long lasting benefit . electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis ( esca ) data was obtained on the untreated pvc samples and on the 50 / 50 ratio , n 2 o / co 2 gas mixture - plasma treated pvc samples . the results are set forth in table 1b below : table 1b______________________________________ p c1 c cd o ba zn n______________________________________untreated 0 . 4 11 . 0 79 . 0 0 . 8 9 . 2 0 . 2 0 . 2 -- pvcn . sub . 2 o / co . sub . 2 0 . 5 4 . 1 77 . 0 0 . 2 18 . 0 -- -- 0 . 8treated pvc______________________________________ these results indicate that plasma n 2 o / co 2 gas mixture treatment has modified the sample surface at least by removing chlorine from the surface and incorporating oxygen moieties into the surface . the same untreated pvc film as used in example 1 was cut into 1 × 2 inch strips by 36 &# 34 ; ( 0 . 020 &# 34 ; thick ) and plasma treated with a 50 / 50 molar ratio of n 2 o / co 2 . the amount of gas was varied to effect chamber pressure but ratio of the gas mixture was held constant at 50 / 50 molar in 5 different runs of 2 strips per run as set forth in table 2 : table 2______________________________________ power pressure timerun no . ( watts ) ( torr ) ( minutes ) ______________________________________1 100 0 . 250 3 . 52 500 0 . 250 6 . 03 500 0 . 250 1 . 04 300 0 . 400 6 . 05 300 0 . 100 6 . 0______________________________________ after the plasma treatment , the samples were separated into two sets . the first set of samples were bonded immediately using 3m &# 39 ; s 2216 epoxy adhesive and cure baked in accordance with the manufacturer &# 39 ; s recommendations . the second set was bonded 120 days after the plasma treatment . the results are shown in table 2a : table 2a______________________________________run no . same day aged 120 days______________________________________1 cohesive failure adhesive failure2 cohesive failure cohesive failure3 cohesive failure adhesive failure4 cohesive failure cohesive failure5 cohesive failure cohesive failure______________________________________ black , blow - molded bottles , produced from fina 7251 blow molding grade propylene - ethylene copolymer pigmented with 6 weight % black color concentrate , were treated in ps0500 gas plasma reactor using various gas plasma matices to investigate the enhancement of acrylic decorative ink adhesion as set forth in table 3 below : table 3______________________________________ power pressure timerun no . gas ( watts ) ( torr ) ( seconds ) ______________________________________1 n . sub . 2 o 200 400 602 o . sub . 2 200 400 303 o . sub . 2 / cf . sub . 4 200 400 304 air 200 400 305 argon 200 400 306 n . sub . 2 o / co . sub . 2 * 200 400 30______________________________________ * 50 / 50 mol ratio * 50 / 50 mol ratio the improvement in adhesion was determined according to the astm d 3359 - b tape pull test using 3m 810 , 616 , and 600 tapes on cross hatched specimens . the results are set forth in table 3a below : table 3a______________________________________ run no . results______________________________________ 1 20 % pass 2 70 % pass 3 50 % pass 4 0 % pass 5 10 % pass 6 100 % pass______________________________________ the above results show the unexpected and superior performance of the n 2 o / co 2 gas plasma . to determine the sensitivity of the n 2 o and co 2 alone and mixtures thereof at different concentrations , nonwoven fabric as described herein before was examined at 150 watts and 0 , 150 torr . the results are shown in fig1 . the expression &# 34 ; consisting essentially of &# 34 ; as used in this specification excludes unspecified ingredients which affect the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed invention . other features , advantages and embodiments of the invention disclosed herein will be readily apparent to those exercising ordinary skill after reading the foregoing disclosures . in this regard , while specific embodiments of the invention have been described in considerable detail , variations and modifications of these embodiments can be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described and claimed . | 8 |
fig1 shows a sectional view of a brake device 1 for reducing the speed of a brake body 2 , which in the present embodiment is formed by a rotating brake disk . mutually opposite brake elements 3 and 4 are pressed onto the brake disk , the right brake element 3 in the image plane being arranged in a stationary manner . the left brake element 4 in the image plane can be shifted in the axial direction of the brake device 1 . the brake elements 3 and 4 are altogether retained or mounted on a brake caliper 5 , overlapping the brake body 2 . the brake device 1 comprises a housing 6 , connected to the brake caliper 5 . in the housing 6 a conversion means 7 is provided on the one hand and a rotary impact mechanism 8 on the other hand . the rotary impact mechanism 8 is driven by a brake drive shaft 9 , which , in turns is driven by a motor 10 which is connected to the housing 6 . the rotational axis d of the brake drive shaft 9 forms the longitudinal axis of the brake device 1 . the brake drive shaft 9 is surrounded by a helical spring 11 , which , on the one hand , takes support on the end face of the motor 10 facing the housing 6 and , on the other hand , presses an impact armature 12 of the rotary impact mechanism 8 against a driving wheel 13 of the rotary impact mechanism 8 . the brake drive shaft 9 , the impact armature 12 and the driving wheel 13 are also shown in fig2 . it can be seen that the impact armature 12 comprises drivers 14 in the form of diametrically arranged cams , projecting in the axial direction , which engage with drivers 15 at the end face of the driving wheel 13 , if the impact armature 12 is forced against the driving wheel 13 by the helical spring 11 . a driving pin 16 constitutes a further important component , projecting radially inwardly from the impact armature 12 and , in the installed position , engaging with a helical control groove 17 . in fig1 the drivers 14 and 15 are in mutual engagement , the helical spring 11 forcing the impact armature 12 into the direction towards the driving wheel . due to the configuration of the control groove 17 , the impact armature 12 is in its extreme position , as it were , and has been shifted as far to the right as possible in the image plane of fig1 . if the motor 10 puts the brake drive shaft 9 into rotation , the impact armature 12 is initially moved synchronously with the driving wheel 13 until the latter comes to a rest when the brake element 4 abuts against the brake body 2 . at this moment the further rotation of the brake drive shaft 9 causes the drivers 14 of the impact armature to disengage in that the driving pin 16 in the control groove 17 is shifted to the back , i . e . to the left in the image plane , against the elastic force of the helical spring 11 . this causes the disengagement between the drivers 14 and 15 and the drivers 14 of the impact armature 12 to be transferred in order to be rotated further by 180 ° and simultaneously to be pressed once again into the direction towards the driving wheel 13 by the elastic force of the helical spring 11 . the drivers 14 of the impact armature impact abruptly on the corresponding drivers 15 of the driving wheel 13 , so that the latter is rotated a little further . this process is repeated several times until the driving wheel 13 comes to a standstill . the driving wheel 13 forms an integral part of a threaded spindle 18 , which in the present embodiment is configured as a hollow spindle . the threaded spindle 18 has an external thread and engages with a threaded cup 19 , surrounding the threaded spindle 18 . the threaded cup 19 is guided inside the housing 6 and is protected against axial twisting , so that the threaded cup 19 exclusively performs an axial movement induced by the rotation of the threaded spindle 18 . this axial movement is used to displace the brake element 4 from a free - wheeling position into the braking position shown in fig1 . a braking force is applied in this case which is absorbed by an axial bearing 20 provided between an abutment shoulder of the housing 6 and the driving wheel 13 . in the present embodiment , the axial bearing 20 is situated outside the inner region claimed by the driving pins 14 and 15 , surrounding the region of the driving pins 14 and 15 in an annular fashion , as it were . the driving pins 14 and 15 are configured in such a manner that the brake device 1 functions even if the rotational direction of the brake drive shaft 9 is reversed , so that the brake element 4 can be lifted off the brake body 2 after only a few rotations of the threaded spindle 18 . | 5 |
modern breathing problems include breathing while awake , snoring , and sinus problems . my nasal insert relates more to the first two . more specifically , my nasal insert supports the specific area of tissue or cartilage that closes the nose . the airways ( 11 and 12 in fig . 2b ) are visibly narrow . my nasal insert supports the nose open at its most narrow and most collapsible area : the nose &# 39 ; s limen nasi ridges ( 13 and 14 in fig2 b , and 13 in fig2 a ). the original function of the limen nasi ridges might well have been to seal the nose ( from dust storms or water when swimming ) by tensing one &# 39 ; s nasal muscles . modern humans rarely have a need for this function . nowadays weakened nasal cartilage , like from injury or cosmetic surgery , appears to allow these ridges to close the nasal airway during normal breathing . also , during sleep , relaxed nasal muscles and mucus - clogged vestibule hairs appear to allow these ridges to close the nasal airway . examine any anatomic illustration of the lateral nasal wall , behind the conchae •. one can see the limen nasi ridges are the only protrusions that obstruct nasal air flow . the least invasive way to improve nasal breathing , except some sinus problems , appears to be to support just the limen nasi ridges from narrowing the airway ; and / or virtually closing the nose . one embodiment of my nasal insert is shown in fig1 a . the insert has a top ( 1 a ) and a bottom ( 2 a ) bridge . each bridge has a pair of opposite side edges . a pair of top legs ( right : 3 a , and left : 4 a ) are fixedly and rearwardly attached to a corresponding opposite side edge of the top bridge . a pair of bottom legs ( right : 5 a , and left : 6 a ) are fixedly and rearwardly attached to a corresponding opposite side edge of the bottom bridge . the insert has catches ( 7 a and 8 a ) protruding centrally and positioned near mid - length of each bottom leg . the insert has a pair of ledges ( 9 a and 10 a ). each ledge is fixedly attached on the rearward end of a corresponding top and bottom leg ( attached downwardly from a top leg and upwardly from a bottom leg ). the ledges support the bridge / leg assemblies vertically apart . the frontward ledge edges protrude slightly peripherally . this embodiment can be a one - size - fits - all version . the catches in this embodiment appear as kinks in the wire - like legs . the bridge / leg connection is quite angular . the central surface of the catches and the peripheral surface of the ledges are smooth for comfort , when worn . in this embodiment the top of the bridge ( 1 a ) is narrower than the bottom bridge ( 2 a ). the embodiment of fig1 a is shown in a wearer in same perspective view in fig1 b , and in right - side / lateral view in fig4 . the bridges ( 1 a and 2 a ) externally transcend / position inferior to the wearer &# 39 ; s columella on a one - size version , the top and bottom bridges may extend at different lengths away from the columella , depending on the individual wearer . the height from the frontward ends of respective top and bottom legs is nearly as tall as the nare entrances . the bottom legs near the bottom bridge ( 2 a ) can rest on the lip portion of the external nares . it is most comfortable when the bridge does not touch the wearer &# 39 ; s columella . the embodiment of fig1 a is shown in a wearer , front / anterior view , in fig5 . the bottom bridge is notated ( 2 a ). the ledges ( 9 a and 10 a ) visibly narrow rearwardly ( rear faces up in this figure ) to tailor with the slope of a wearer &# 39 ; s lateral nasal walls . the embodiment of fig1 a is shown in detail in a wearer , inferior view , in fig6 . the bridges ( 1 a and 2 a ) cross between the nares , transcending the columella . the distance between the bridges ( and the distance between the frontward ends of respective top and bottom legs ) is substantially the anteroposterior ( top to bottom ) length of an external nare opening . the catches ( 7 a and 8 a ) catch behind ( the interior side of ) the feet of the columella . the ledges ( 9 a and 10 a ) catch behind / interior - to the limen nasi ridges . the rearward ( ledge ) end of the embodiment &# 39 ; s legs have been spread slightly peripherally for pictorial clarity in this fig6 . the effect of this spreading extra - enlarges the airway . spreading the legs may be preferred by sinus , allergy , cold sufferers and those with large nares . the ledges pressing against the angled lateral nasal walls prompts the insert outward , which keeps the catches against the interior side of the feet of the columella . the catches and ledges keep the insert in the nose . the space between respective top and bottom legs is substantially open to allow for breathing . the airway ( 11 and 12 ) is maximally between the top and bottom legs . both the ledges , and the rearward portion of the legs , touch and support , or lift , the ridges to keep the airway open . there is minimal nasal distortion , and the nasal insert is extra - secured in the nose , when the ledges catch behind / interior - to , as compared to on , the ridges . the ledges lift the ridges by way of lateral support of the leg / bridge assemblies . the separation ( heighth ) between the the frontward portions of respective top and bottom legs keeps the rearward portions of the legs inside the nose from shifting position and being inserted improperly . the embodiment can be wiggled into the nose and can be pulled straight out . this embodiment can , but is not limited to , be made with a single gold - plated 0 . 020 gauge . spring steel wire , with wire ends welded together , and silicone - covered ledges . if fabricated as such , my insert can weigh less than one gram . spring steel can allow the legs to be spread , if desired , by hand or pliers . another embodiment of my nasal insert is shown in fig3 . ledges ( 9 b and 10 b ) are peripherally bulbous , and can be positioned interior - to the limen nasi ridges , similar to the previous embodiment . bulbous catches ( 7 b and 8 b ) rest against the interior portion of the feet of the columella , like the previous embodiment . when worn , bulbous catches provide a more secure or varied hold , but they may also be harder to insert catches should not extend much below the bottom legs or they could inadvertently catch the sensitive floor of the sills . another embodiment of my nasal insert is shown in fig7 . the legs are bent peripherally behind the catches ( 7 c and 8 c ) and the ledges ( 9 c and 10 c ) are bent back medially . when worn , the ledges are flat so they can fit against the limen nasi ridges . this extensively lifts the ridges , providing for major airways , but also distorts the external shape of the nose , while worn . many prior art nasal inserts lift the ridges nonspecifically , but in a similar manner . in this embodiment , the bridge and legs round into each other ( not notated ). when worn , this provides for a rounder appearance than the angular bridge / leg connections shown in other figures . most figures have been drawn with angular bridge / leg connections for visual clarity . another embodiment of my nasal insert is shown in fig8 . the ledges ( 9 d and 10 d ) stand above the bottom legs ( 5 d and 6 d ). extra material extends between the bridges ( 1 d and 2 d ) and between the legs , in front of the catches ( 7 d and 8 d ), for a varied cosmetic appearance . the top legs ( 3 d and 4 d ) are phantom rearward of the catches . another embodiment of my nasal insert is shown in fig9 . the legs ( 3 e , 5 e , and 4 e , 6 e ) are rounded vertically ( up / down ) between the catches ( 7 e and 8 e ) and ledges ( 9 e and 10 e ). this rounding may provide for a larger airway between , and less so above and below , the legs . this edge roundness can only lift , not catch behind , the straight limen nasi ridges . the curvatures ( 17 e and 18 e ) are only cosmetic variations of my insert . another embodiment of my nasal insert is shown in fig1 . the legs terminate rearward at the catches ( 7 f and 8 f ). the peripheral sides of the legs support prior art adhesive ( 26 ). the adhesive is of a type to adhere to prior art tubing . prior art tubing ( 20 ) with sculpted rings ( 21 ) act as continued legs and ledges respectively . only right - hand - side tubing , ring and adhesive are notated . small diameter tubing may also allow room air in the nare airway external and medial to the tubing . other similar embodiments of my nasal insert ( not shown ) may be attached to prior art tubing in a variety of prior art ways . these ways include , but are not limited to , adhesive , knobs , wire kinks , or loops . another embodiment of my nasal insert is shown in fig1 . the ledges ( 9 g and 10 g ) support the insert in the nose without the catches . this embodiment is very easy to insert . however , this insert may not stay positioned in some wearers , like those with plentiful vestibule hair . another embodiment of my nasal insert is shown in fig1 . it does not have ledges or legs rearward of the catches . the bottom legs ( 5 h and 6 h ), frontward of the catches are notated . in this embodiment , the legs do not extend behind the catches . the catches ( 7 h and 8 h ) support the insert in the nares . the purpose of this embodiment may be cosmetic ( to appear as two nose rings ), or used in a yet unspecified manner . the embodiments shown in fig1 a , 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , and 12 are all drawn to the same scale and same side perspective view . fig1 a , and fig1 a shown in a wearer in fig4 and 5 , are all drawn in the same scale to each other , and to a human nose . all measures of the embodiment in fig1 a , 4 , and 5 may be calculated from drawing fig4 and 5 . in example , if the human nose in fig4 were to have a nosetip - to - ala measurement of 38 mm , then the bottom bridge width would be 17 mm , because { a measure =[( 38 mm tip to ala )÷( mm tip to ala in drawing )]×( mm of the measure in drawing )}. all measures , induding diameters , are proportional thereon . because fig3 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , and 12 are drawn to the same scale as fig1 a , they may be reconstructed into a workable device , by one skilled in the art , from the drawings and specification . embodiments of my nasal insert , like a wearer &# 39 ; s nose , are majorly symmetrical . that is : right - hand - side parts are majorly the same as left - hand - side parts , except opposite hand . rigid , thick , or heavy materials may be used , but to no advantage . resilient , thin , lightweight materials may ease insertion , provide comfort , and be barely visible . materials that may be used to form the bridge and legs include but are not limited to nylon , titanium , or spring steel with gold or silver plating . catches and ledges may be made of similar materials , or more flexible materials including , but not limited to , silicone or rubber . wearers may include any living creature with a pair of feet of the columella or a pair of limen nasi ridges . the interior side of the entire post of the columella may seem to be available to lock a catch , but catching the post has big disadvantages : for one , the post &# 39 ; s width is quite variant from person to person , so any catch behind or on the post may squeeze the septum , causing discomfort . also there is no anteroposterior ( lip - to nosetip ) restriction on the post that would keep an insert from shifting in the nose . both of these are disadvantages of the breathe relief nasal ring ( discussed at the end of background of the invention ). none of the embodiments of my inserts need to catch the post of the columella or touch or press against the septum . my nasal insert stays positioned in a wearer &# 39 ; s nose because the catches can rest behind the feet of the columella and / or the ledges can rest behind the limen nasi ridges . the catches are each of a size and shape to rest against the internal side of a corresponding foot of the feet of the columella . the top / bottom bridges are of a size and shape to transcend the columella / feet of the columella respectively . the height between the frontward portions of the legs is vertically tall for stability : to keep the catches and ledges in place . the frontward portion of the top / bottom legs rearwardly fixedly attach to the respective top / bottom bridge &# 39 ; s opposite side edges . the legs are elongated members of a size and shape to substantially insert their rearward ends into the wearer &# 39 ; s nares . the legs fixedly support the catches and ledges . the area between top and bottom legs , between the catches and the ledges , is open to allow for a large airway . the ledges are of a size and shape to receive internal side of the wearer &# 39 ; s limen nasi ridges . specific embodiments may have ledges , or catches , or both . some embodiments can use prior art nasal tubing and related apparatus to provide the bridge , the legs , the ledges , or combination thereof . the stabalizing height between the frontward portions of respective top and bottom legs is unique to my nasal insert : catches that only rest behind / internal - to the feet of the columella are unique to my nasal insert . the ledges that catch behind / internal - to the limen nasi ridges are also unique to my nasal insert . | 0 |
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 1 generally indicates a submersible lamp assembly embodying the present invention . as shown , the lamp assembly 1 includes a substantially rigid base member 3 , an elastomeric lens base 5 , and a lens body 7 . the lens body 7 , lens base 5 , and base member 3 are connected together by a retaining means in such a manner , described below , to provide a watertight seal between the lens base 5 and lens body 7 to prevent entrance of moisture within the enclosure or inner cavity 8 of the lamp assembly 1 . in the illustrated example , the lamp assembly 1 is affixed to a mounting bracket 11 which is connectible to a structure such as an associated vehicular structure 13 . as shown in fig1 the mounting bracket 11 may be adapted to retain a vehicular license plate 15 . although the lamp assembly 1 is shown mounted on an associated vehicular structure , the lamp assembly 1 could be used whenever a fluid - tight lamp assembly is desired . the base member 3 includes a plate member 4 , with a web portion 22 , and a peripheral flange 21 extending from an outer extremity 24 thereof terminating in a flange end shoulder 21 &# 39 ; providing an interior flange surface 24 &# 39 ;. the web 22 and flange 21 define an interior cavity 23 for receipt of the lens base 5 as described below . slots 27 extend through the web portion 22 , and have shoulders 29 extending therealong for receipt of fasteners , such as bolts 31 or the like , to secure the lamp assembly 1 to the mounting bracket 11 . the slots 27 permit universal mounting and allow the bolts 31 to be moved inwardly and outwardly relative to the base member center to connect to mounting brackets of various sizes and shapes . bores 32 , such as having threaded interior walls , extend through the base member 3 adjacent the outer extremity 24 for a purpose later described . preferably , the base member 3 is fabricated of a rigid or semi - rigid material such as fiber reinforced plastic for rigidity , durability and lightness in weight . the lens base 5 is generally planar and includes opposite first and second surfaces 35 and 37 connected by peripheral side walls 33 . the lens base 5 fits with the interior cavity 23 of the base member 3 with the first surface 35 engaging the web portion 22 of the base plate member 4 such that base member plate 4 substantially provides a rigid or semi - rigid backing for the lens base 5 . preferably , the lens base 5 is of such a size commensurate with the base member 3 to be received within base member interior cavity 23 with the lens base side walls 33 snugly contacting the inner surface 24 &# 39 ; of the flanges 21 . preferably , the lens base 5 is of a thickness greater than the height of the flange 21 above the web portion 22 so that , when the lens base 5 is received within the cavity 23 , the second surface 37 extends slightly outwardly of the flange end shoulder 21 &# 39 ;. a sealing means extends between the lens base 5 and the lens body 7 and , in the illustrated example , includes a continuous groove 43 extending through the second surface 37 and about a peripheral portion 44 . the groove 43 forms a boundary for an inner area 45 of the lens base 5 . the groove 43 includes inner and outer wall portions 25 and 26 and terminates intermediately of the lens base first surface 35 and second surface 37 to provide a bottom portion 46 . the groove wall portions 25 and 26 extend substantially normal to the lens base second surface 37 . outwardly of the lens base inner area 45 , apertures 47 extend through the lens base 5 and are positioned in alignment with the threaded bores 32 . the lens base 5 contains a means to suspend an illumination means such as incandescent light bulbs 55 and 57 thereon . the suspension means includes spaced , resilient nipples or protrusions 49 which extend outwardly from land portions 59 and 61 on the lens base inner area 45 . the protrusions 49 suspend a light bulb mounting member 51 therebetween and in spaced relation from lens base second surface 37 . in the illustrated example , sockets 53 receive the individual light bulb units 55 and 57 and are mounted upon the mounting member 51 . the protrusions 49 are substantially conical in shape and have basal annular shoulders 65 extending radially outwardly and providing an annular recess 66 between the shoulder 65 and the respective land portion 59 or 61 . in the illustrated example , the mounting member 51 includes a bar having an interior surface 60 , and spaced apertures , 67 and 69 , aligned to receive the nipples or protrusions 49 so that the inner surface 60 engages the land portions 59 and 61 . the mounting member 51 is urged toward the lens base 5 until the area surrounding the aperture 67 and 69 snaps past the shoulders 65 and into the respective recesses 66 whereby the shoulders 65 hold the mounting member 51 onto the lens base 5 . suitable electrical wiring 73 is provided for the bulb units 55 and 57 to complete a circuit with a power source such as a car battery ( not shown ). the wiring 73 is threaded through apertures 75 extended through the lens base 5 in the inner area 43 . to prevent entrance of moisture , the apertures 75 have an area or diameter which is smaller than the thickness or diameter of a wire 77 extending therethrough . the elastomeric material comprising the lens base expands to allow the wires 77 therethrough , but because of the resilient nature of the material , will snugly and interferingly engage the outer surface of the associated wires 77 . communication between the lens base 5 and the wiring 73 is sealed , thereby assuring that the lamp assembly 1 is weathertight and submersible . preferably , the elastomeric material of the lens base 5 is rubber - like to be soft yet sufficiently resilient to rebound and conform well to its original shape . for example , a material such as ethylylene propylene , or epdm , having a durometer reading of between 40 and 50 is suitable . with this material , it has been found that the seal between the wires 77 and the lens base material surrounding the apertures 75 is weathertight if the apertures 75 are approximately 1 / 16 inch in diameter and the wires 77 are approximately 0 . 093 inches in diameter . the lens body 7 has opposite side wall members 83 , opposite end wall members 84 , a face portion 85 and a surrounding skirt 87 which terminates in an end edge 88 . the skirt 87 extends outwardly from the lens wall members 83 and 84 adjacent a peripheral margin or base portion 89 thereof . the lens body 7 further includes an inner opening 97 which is defined by inner surfaces of wall members 83 and 84 and face 85 . the lens skirt 87 includes apertures 100 which are formed in recessed bosses 102 , positioned around the lens 7 , and are aligned with the apertures 47 in lens base 5 and the threaded bores 32 in the base plate 3 . the lens face 85 may be of any suitable design such that the lamp assembly could function as any desired lamp assembly . extending from the lens body base portion 89 is a sealing means such as continuous lip portion 91 , fig4 including a web portion 96 which is adapted to be received within the lens base groove 43 . the lip portion 91 has inner and outer wall surfaces 92 and 93 which snugly and sealably engage the respective groove wall portions 25 and 26 . in the illustrated example , the lip portion 91 forms an extension of the side and end wall members 83 and 84 ; however , the lip portion 91 may be formed at any suitable location in the base portion 89 provided that alignment with the groove 43 is maintained . the ridge 91 , fig4 includes a beveled end 95 at an end edge 94 whereby the end 95 engages groove bottom 46 . preferably , the beveled end 95 is narrower in width than the lens base groove 43 whereas the lip web portion 96 is preferably wider than the groove 43 . in assembling the vehicular lamp assembly 1 , the base plate 4 is secured to the associated mounting bracket 11 . the lens base 5 is inserted into the base member cavity 23 and the associated wires 77 threaded through the apertures 107 in the base member 3 . the lens body 7 is thereafter placed over the lens base 5 so that the lip portion 91 is received in the groove 43 . in doing so , the beveled end 95 is urged into the groove 43 . as the lens body 7 is further pushed towards the lens base 5 , the groove 43 expands to accept the lip portion 91 , thereby producing a tight seal therebetween . engagement means , such as bolts 109 or the like having a shank 111 and head 110 are operably positioned such that shanks 111 extend through the aligned apertures 100 in the lens body 7 and the apertures 47 in the lens base 5 , and into the threaded bores 32 in the base plate 3 . as the bolts 109 are rotated to progress the bolts into the bores 32 , the head portions thereof 110 engage the bosses 102 to pull the lens body 7 to the lens base 5 and snugly engage the lip portion 91 within the groove 43 . finally , the beveled end 95 engages groove bottom 46 to perfect the seal . to inhibit overtightening and possible damage to the seal , the lens base second surface 37 is engaged by the lens skirt 87 prior to the skirt end edge 88 contacting the base plate flange shoulder 21 &# 39 ;. because of the resilient material of the lens base 5 , the lens base 5 slightly compresses until the skirt end edge 88 contacts the base plate flange shoulder 21 &# 39 ;. further excessive deformation of the lens base , and possible seal damage , is arrested by the end edge 88 abutting the flange shoulder 21 &# 39 ;. when this occurs , the lip portion 91 has fully bottomed within the groove 43 with the beveled end 95 fully contacting the groove bottom 46 . since the groove 43 is narrower in width than lip portion 91 , the groove wall portions 25 and 26 sealingly grip the surfaces of the lip portion 91 to provide a seal for the inner cavity 8 of the lamp assembly 1 and protect the light bulbs 55 and 57 and the lens base inner area 45 from moisture . when desired to replace a bulb unit , it is only necessary to loosen the bolts 109 and remove the lens body 7 from the lens base 5 . thereafter , the bulb units can be replaced in the normal manner and the lens body 7 reinstalled onto the lens base 5 . it is noted that the lens base 5 is of such construction that the removal and reinstallation of the lens body 7 thereon in no way inhibits the sealable nature of the connection between the lip 91 and groove 43 . it is to be understood that while certain embodiments 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 . | 1 |
referring now to the drawings , fig1 illustrates an environment in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention operates . a computer platform 100 includes hardware units 102 , including one or more central processing units ( cpu ) 104 , a random access memory ( ram ) 106 , and an input / output ( i / o ) interface 108 . the computer platform 100 runs with an operating system 110 , and may include micro instruction code 112 . a data base management system 114 may be part of the micro instruction code 112 or an application program to be executed via the operating system . historical data may be stored in any kind of local or remote data storage 116 . remote data storage may be accessible through modems and communication lines ( not shown ). the data may be collected from various sources and media such as written information , experts &# 39 ; evaluations , or in - house historical data . various peripheral units 118 such as terminals , disks , or scanners may be connected to the computer platform 100 for inputting the data . the computer platform 100 may be a server terminal connected to multiple clients &# 39 ; cpus . a user or an actor wishing to process the method of the invention may access the system through the i / o interface 108 . the i / o interface circuit may be as well a remote terminal with an internet - like connection . output results may be available on peripheral units 118 or as one or more data files in the data storage 116 or on a printer device 120 . referring to fig2 , the overall process 200 of the invention is detailed for a preferred application . for a better understanding of the process , reference is also made to fig3 which is an illustration in the form of database tables of the preferred process . in a first step 202 of fig2 and associated table 302 of fig3 , the information relative to a stock option ( denoted ‘ a ’ in fig3 ) is collected at regular intervals ( column ‘ snapshot ’ in fig3 ). the interval in the present example is 5 minutes . for clarity of the description , the process is described for only one stock option but it will be obvious to those of skill in the art that it applies to a stock option portfolio comprising many stock options . preferably the information collected is the stock option price ( column ‘ current price ’ of fig3 ) at the current snapshot , although alternatively the data collected may be representative of the evolution of a stock option parameter other than the price of the stock option . the time period for data collection may be sufficiently long to reveal changes of trend in , for example , the price evolution , such as several weeks or months . the present application has been elaborated for a one - year data collection time period . in step 204 , the stock option price is aggregated by day into a standard description which reflects the price variation within the day . the description preferably comprises the values of the open price , the close price , the low price during the day and the high price during the day . it may also includes other values such as the mean price . table 304 illustrates the aggregation operation for stock ‘ a ’ over 3 days . on the first line containing data in table 304 , the four right columns contain the standard description values for stock ‘ a ’ ( day open price , day close price , day low price , day high price ) for a first day ( e . g ., 1st jan . 2000 ). similarly , on the second line , the standard description values of stock ‘ a ’ are stored on the last right columns for a second day ( e . g ., 2nd jan . 2000 ). step 206 is the operation which provides the by - day standard description of each stock by a candlestick pattern . as can be seen on table 306 , a code ‘ kl ’ ( denoted ‘ keyline ’ on the right column of table 306 ) is attributed to each standard description of stock option ‘ a ’. as it will be fully explained later with reference to fig4 , the code ‘ kl ’ is chosen from a predetermined candlestick typology including ‘ well - known ’ candlestick patterns and specific ones . the by - day standard description of stock option ‘ a ’ for , e . g ., jan . 1st , 2000 is associated with a ‘ kl1 ’ code which corresponds to the black candlestick pattern illustrated on left side under table 306 . the ‘ kl1 ’ code is a pattern for which the close price is lower than the open price and for which the close price corresponds to the low price and the open price corresponds to the high price . similarly , the by - day standard description of stock option ‘ a ’ in table 306 for jan . 2nd , 2000 is associated with a ‘ kl3 ’ code which corresponds to the second candlestick pattern illustrated on the left side under table 306 . the ‘ kl3 ’ code is a pattern for which the close price is lower than the open price , with the close price equal to the low price , while a high price is higher than the open price ( the shaven bottom in the common candlestick terminology ). finally , third day of stock option ‘ a ’ is exemplified with a ‘ kl8 ’ candlestick code ( the white candlestick in the common candlestick terminology ). step 208 is the operation which provides positioning of the current day standard description of each stock against the previous day standard description . as can be seen in table 308 , fig3 , a code ‘ kd ’ ( denoted ‘ keydelt ’ on the right column of table 308 ) is attributed to each standard description of stock option ‘ a ’. as it will be fully explained later with reference to fig5 , the code ‘ kd ’ is chosen from a typology grouping the different relative positions of a current day versus a previous day . the by - day standard description of stock option ‘ a ’ for the jan . 2nd , 2000 example is associated with a ‘ kd + 2 ’ code which reflects the fact that the average price is significantly higher than the average price of the previous day , jan . 1st 2000 . similarly , the by - day standard description of stock option ‘ a ’ for the jan . 3rd , 2000 example is associated with a ‘ kd + 1 ’ code which reflects the fact that the average price is a little bit higher than the average price of the previous day , jan . 2nd , 2000 . going to step 210 , each by - day standard description of stock ‘ a ’ is resumed by a unique value which may be for example computed as being the price average or the half price between open and close prices . the resumed value is useful as will be explained later with reference to fig6 to detect the type of trend of the price evolution for each day . the third column of table 310 , fig3 , illustrates the type of trend for stock option ‘ a ’ over three days . for example , on jan . 1st , 2000 the price evolution leads to a ‘ beg_up ’ mark which points to a beginning of a rising trend for the next days . on the second line , the price evolution of stock option ‘ a ’ during jan . 2nd , 2000 is marked as an ‘ up ’ type evolution . next , the indicators created in steps 206 , 208 and 210 are operated on in step 212 by a common exploratory data analysis method to obtain a set of characteristics of the different kinds of marks . the characteristics that issue from step 212 may be available to the user either on a display unit 118 or as a data file 116 or on any output device such as a printer 120 . a person who is skilled in the art will readily understand that according to the analysis method , the characteristics issuing from step 212 may be available from a curve clustering to show which type of curve precedes a ‘ beg_up ’ or a ‘ beg_down ’ marked day , or may be available from candlestick associations to determine what groups of candlesticks are present before a ‘ beg_up ’ or a ‘ beg_down ’ marked day , or also may be available from other well - known data analysis methods . referring now to fig4 , a detailed flowchart of the process of step 206 is explained . from blocks 402 to 404 , the parameters open , close , low and high of the by - day standard description are converted into commonly used elements to construct the candlestick patterns and are generally called ‘ upper_shadow , lower_shadow , body and type ’. the body represents the range between the open and close price . the upper_shadow / lower_shadow represent the high / low price extremes for the day . the type may be white or black . a white body means that the close price is higher than the open price , while a black body means that the close price is lower than the open price . thus the relationship between the day &# 39 ; s open , high , low , and close price determine the look of the daily candlestick pattern . the body can be long or short and white or black . shadows can be long or short as well . thus , the day &# 39 ; s price of a stock option may be represented by a specific candlestick pattern . the illustrations below show a white body pattern in left and a black body pattern in right . next at block 406 , the body , the upper_shadow and the lower_shadow parameters are discretized . for example , the upper_shadow can be discretized into five values such as a first value when the upper_shadow is in the range of 0 to 5 % of the total length of the candlestick ( high - low ). a second value may correspond to a range of 5 to 45 %, a third value for a range of 45 to 55 %, a fourth value for a range of 55 to 95 % and a fifth value for the range of 95 to 100 %. however , this is only an example and any other discretization may be used . the discretization operation allows reduction of the potentially infinite number of possible candlestick descriptions previously available at step 404 to a finite number . step 408 comprises mapping the finite number of candlestick descriptions to a predetermined candlestick typology 410 wherein each pattern is represented by a keyline code ‘ kl ’. referring to fig5 , starting from the standard description at block 502 , characteristic values of the current day &# 39 ; s price evolution are computed at step 504 in order to accomplish the positioning operation of step 508 . in a preferred embodiment , three values are used . the first is the minimum price ‘ min ’ of the open and close price values . the second is the maximum price ‘ max ’ of the open and close price values . and the third value is the centre price ‘ centre ’ which is halfway between the open and close price values . obviously , a different number of characteristic values may be used depending on the accuracy required for the positioning typology as illustrated in block 510 . similar characteristic values are computed for the previous day in step 506 . as explained earlier , step 508 compares the current and previous set of characteristic values and maps the comparison to a predetermined comparison typology having keydelt codes ‘ kd ’ representing the relative positioning . for example , the ‘ kd - 3 ’ keydelt code is assigned when the maximum of the current day is less than the minimum of the previous day as shown in the second column from the left in block 510 . fig6 illustrates one preferred method of marking the price evolution curve with up an down indicators . starting from the standard description in block 602 , one characteristic value of the day &# 39 ; s price is computed . this value may be the centre value ‘ centre ’ already selected for the process of blocks 504 / 506 , or an average value or a median value or any other value suitable to be representative of one day &# 39 ; s price . each computed value is smoothed in step 604 regarding the previous and the next day computed values . in step 606 , a difference between the current day &# 39 ; s value and the previous day &# 39 ; s value is computed which may be expressed as an absolute term or as a relative one . the differences are discretized in step 608 , resulting in a limited number of values called ‘ key slope ’ hereinafter representing these differences . in the preferred embodiment , five values are used : the ‘ high decreasing ’, the ‘ medium decreasing ’, the ‘ flat ’, the ‘ medium increasing ’ and the ‘ high increasing ’. in step 610 , for each day , the number of each different key slope appearing over a time window of the next days is counted . if a short term view is explored , the window size is preferably seven days , for example , and if a long term view is explored , the window is preferably thirty days . it is to be understood that other day counting may be adapted to count the key slopes such as a simultaneous counting over several time windows . in step 612 , the result of the preceding count is used to mark each day as an ‘ up ’ or a ‘ down ’ or ‘ flat ’ day based on heuristic marking rules . for example , a day is marked as ‘ up ’ if in the count of the seven next days there is no decreasing key slope ( zero ‘ high decreasing ’ and zero ‘ medium decreasing ’), and at least four increasing key slopes ( either ‘ high increasing ’ or ‘ medium increasing ’) including at least one ‘ high increasing ’ key slope . step 614 determines which days among the marked days are to be marked as being a beginning up ‘ beg_up ’ or beginning down ‘ beg_down ’ day by applying heuristic marking rules in the same way as in previous step 612 . for example , a day is marked ‘ beg_down ’ if it is the first day of a marked ‘ down ’ series but also if no marked ‘ down ’ day appears in the previous seven days . it will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art that the marking of step 614 may be realised using any other method , such as a regression method . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig1 - 3 , which show a multi - bladed rotary cleaner 100 applicable to both dry and liquid toner imaging systems . for a general understanding of a printing machine in which the invention may be incorporated , reference will be made to fig5 which depicts schematically various components of an exemplary liquid electrophotographic system . fig6 depicts schematically an exemplary dry electrophotographic system to which the invention can be incorporated . while the rotary cleaner is well suited to these types of systems , it should become equally evident that the invention is well suited to other cleaning applications beyond the exemplary embodiments shown , such as offset presses and other graphic arts printing systems in general , and to other general applications in which residual materials on a surface need to be removed . referring back to fig1 - 3 , a cross - section of a molded , compliant multi - bladed cleaner 100 is shown having a plurality of blades 110 radiating from a base 120 , which is preferably cylindrical . rotary cleaner 100 is used to clean residuals from a surface , such as image bearing surface 200 . rotary cleaner 100 is suitable for installation onto a mandrel or other cylindrical mount , such as the shaft - driven mandrel 300 shown in fig3 which is operatively driven by a drive source 400 , which can be any conventional or subsequently developed drive source such as a d . c . motor or servo motor , connected to a shaft 310 of the mandrel through a conventional ( unshown ) linkage . the driving is preferably continuous during use , but may be indexed . for example , the rotary cleaner may be incrementally indexed after a predetermined number of images have been cleaned . in this exemplary embodiment of fig1 - 3 , rotary cleaner 100 has a length l that is preferably at least as long as the transverse width of the surface being cleaned . rotary cleaner 100 also has a predefined roll diameter d 1 , a plurality of radially projecting blades 110 spaced around the periphery of the blade cleaner at a preferably constant pitch ( substantially uniform blade spacing ) s , a blade thickness t , and a blade extension length e , which results in a blade cleaner having a total diameter d 2 . these variables are selected based on several criteria . the number of blades , the spacing , and the circumference d 2 are selected for a particular application based on many criteria , which can vary greatly depending on the particular application . some of these variables are inter - related and thus not completely arbitrary . for example , the number of blades is dependent on the selected circumference and spacing . conversely , once a desired number of blades is determined , the necessary circumference can be mathematically determined given a specified spacing . one factor in selecting the desirable number of blades is based on the expected life expectancy of the unit ( i . e ., printing machine ) and a desirable service interval . by increasing the number of blades , the life expectancy can be increased ( assuming a given wear rate per blade ) as a larger number of blades will decrease the total time that each blade will be in contact with the surface given a constant rotation speed . furthermore , the number of blades may be selected based on a desirable rotation rate and a selection of an adequate time to clean the blade surfaces before they again contact the image bearing surface during a subsequent rotation cycle . also , the number of blades may be determined mathematically based on a maximum design s diameter of a cleaner that can fit in a given space and a predetermined minimum spacing between blades . these are just examples of various criteria that may go into the selection of an appropriate number of blades . each vane or paddle 110 preferably represents a full width compliant blade ( i . e ., a blade that extends the full length of a surface to be cleaned , such as a photoreceptor 200 ). preferably , blades 110 are oriented in a skewed fashion similar to the spiral or slightly helical pattern shown in fig2 ( similar to that of a gravure roll ) so that only a portion of each blade is used at any one time during cleaning . a better illustration of an exemplary embodiment of the rotary cleaner 100 is shown in fig3 . in use , it is preferable for at least two blades 110 to contact the image bearer 200 at one time . that is , the interference between the image bearing surface and the multiple blades are adjusted so that at least one and preferably two ( or more depending on application ) blades are in contact with multiple blade contact , the likelihood of a damaged blade causing a streak defect is minimized . an optimum number of blades to contact has been found to be two to assure good cleaning and minimize drag on the image bearing surface . spacing s is selected based on several criteria , including material selection , modulus of the selected material , and extension length e , which are primary factors that determine deflection of individual blades 110 . spacing should not be so close that adjacent blades 110 contact one another during use . moreover , the spacing should be enough to allow a sufficient flow channel for removal of the wiped material which will become entrapped between adjacent blades so as to prevent clogging or choking off of flow out of the channel . further , spacing should be selected so that only a desired number of blades contact the surface at one time at a given section of the cleaner . various lab experiments have been conducted to verify the capability of the multi - blade cleaner 100 with imaging materials . cleaning was accomplished using the rotary blade cleaner shown in fig3 . blade cleaner 100 was made using a soft urethane . for use in removing liquid imaging toner and similar residuals , a preferred material was found to be a 70 shore a durometer urethane rubber having a young &# 39 ; s modulus of about 1000 psi . however , the invention is not limited to this material and other known , conventional or subsequently developed blade surface materials may be used or selected depending on the particular residuals or surface being cleaned . this exemplary blade cleaner 100 had a length l of about 38 mm ( 1 . 5 ″) for testing purposes but can be any suitable length , preferably a length that is the same as or longer than the surface to be cleaned , a diameter d of about 66 mm ( 2 . 6 ″) ( as shown in fig1 ), a blade spacing s of about 6 . 5 mm , a blade thickness t of about 2 mm ( as shown in fig1 ), and a blade extension length e of about 7 mm . with this dimensioning , the resultant rotary cleaner 100 had 30 blades 110 . however , this example is illustrative and not meant to be limiting . similar results can be achieved with altered variables . the material being removed by rotary cleaner 100 during initial testing was a 24 % solids cep ink cake spread onto a glass surface . the rotary cleaning blade 100 was manually engaged and slowly rotated . cleaning was found to be perfect , and the vanes / blades 110 were easily washed using isopar ™ by simply directing the washing fluid along and between the vanes 110 . a quick and easy clean wash of the vanes is important to assure that the blades are clean before they rotate back into the cleaning nip . it is contemplated that such cleaning can be achieved by a routine , periodic manual flushing using a squirt bottle with a cleaning fluid such as isopar or could be achieved with a mechanical washing station provided within the machine adjacent to rotary cleaner 100 . a suitable washing station could include a mechanical sprayer positioned to move along the cleaner 100 and spray a fluid into the vanes and channels therebetween to wash the residuals to a waste tank or other removal facility ( unshown ). the washing station may also include a damp cloth or sponge that wicks or otherwise remove the residuals from the surface of cleaner 100 . in the case of dry residuals , such as dry toner particles , the washing station may consist of a rotary brush , a vacuum source or air assist that cleans the residuals from the cleaner 100 without contacting the image bearing surface 200 . it has been found to be preferable to rotate the blades 110 of rotary cleaner 100 at a slow rate of speed , so that the cleaner slowly advances new clean blades continuously into a cleaning nip and carry the wiped residuals ( such as ink ) between the vanes to a suitable washing station ( unshown ). a suitable cleaner roll rpm depends on several parameters , such as the process speed of the xerographic device , the input residual mass density , the amount of residual mass on the cleaner roll that has to be cleaned , and the diameter of the cleaner roll . the diameter of the roll determines the number of cleaning blades . the dimensions of the blade , such as extension and thickness determine the normal cleaning force applied to remove the toner or ink . thus , there are a number of parameters that affect cleaner roll rpm . the inventive rotary cleaner is particularly suited for use in cleaning residual printing materials , such as dry toner , diluted ink and high solids content ink , in a xerographic or other printing or copying device . such devices operate at one or more predefined process speeds . additional testing was conducted to determine necessary rotary cleaner speeds to obtain adequate cleaning of such devices that operate at a given process speed . the data in fig4 shows that the inventive rotary cleaner 100 can operate at a very low rpm compared to conventional brush cleaners , which typically operate at between 300 to 1000 rpm . this slower rotation allows ample time to clean the blades and eliminate toner or ink emissions from the cleaner . studies with both toner and ink systems show that for good , reliable cleaning , the minimum number of blades contacting the image should be two . the second blade serves as a backup blade in case the first blade fails . for example , if the first blade develops a nick that allows toner to leak under the blade , the second ( or subsequent ) blade will clean the toner passing under the nicked blade . another example would be if the input mass density is high and the first blade is unable to remove all the residual and allows some to leak under the first blade . the second blade &# 39 ; s function would be to remove the residual that leaked past the first blade . the two blades contacting the surface define a cleaning nip with a width nw , which is the circumference of the roll divided by the number of blades . the rpm for the cleaner roll is typically specified in terms of the process speed of the xerographic device . when the process speed increases , the rpm of the cleaner roll correspondingly increases . this holds true generally for all types of rotary cleaners . from the studies conducted , cleaner rpm was varied with process speed . in particular , process speed was set constant and cleaner rpm was adjusted until good cleaning was achieved . this represents the minimum roll speed required for cleaning . a simple empirical relationship that works well with both toner and diluted ink systems was found to follow the formula : where v pr is the process speed of the xerographic device and v b is the minimum rpm to achieve good cleaning . a simple empirical relationship that works with a pasty ink having a high solids content , for example a 24 % solids ink , was found to follow the formula : where v pr is the process speed of the xerographic device and v b is the minimum rpm to achieve good cleaning . cleaning blades used for xerographic or electrophotographic applications usually operate using one of a doctoring mode or a wiping mode motion . in the doctoring mode , a blade edge contacts a surface at a low angle and cleans using a chiseling or pushing motion . in the wiping mode , the blade edge is closer to perpendicular to the surface and cleans using a wiping motion . applicants have found that the wiping mode is preferable as it eliminates any stick - slip motion when the surface being cleaned has low lubrication . as such , the invention provides a rotary cleaner that provides a plurality of blades that operate in the wiping mode . in view of this testing , the exemplary rotary cleaner 100 has been found to be particularly applicable to single or multiple color liquid development electrophotographic imaging systems , such as the exemplary one shown in fig5 . the imaging system is formed by an electrophotographic or ionographic printer 500 , with the associated printer housing and framework being omitted for clarity . such electrophotographic printers are well known and as such , their operation will only be briefly mentioned to provide context for the type of residuals being cleaned by the inventive rotary cleaner 100 . printer 500 employs as an image retention member 514 an endless conductive belt having a dielectric layer ( serving as an image bearing surface ) on which multiple electrostatic images are created by an ion deposition process . belt 514 moves in the direction of arrow 515 to advance successive portions of its surface through various processing stations disposed about the path of movement at a process speed of about 10 inches / second . belt 514 is supported by rollers 558 , 560 and 552 . roller 558 is rotatably driven by a suitable motor ( unshown ) to move belt 514 . rolls 544 , 545 , 548 , 550 , 554 and 556 are idler rolls provided to keep the belt taut and on track . initially , a portion of belt 514 passes through a primary color charging station 521 where an image forming subsystem 521 a and imager 582 ( which could be a laser ) deposits charge of sufficient magnitude to form a latent image on the dielectric surface of belt 514 . then , belt 514 passes a first liquid development system 536 with the belt surface containing the latent image confronting but uniformly spaced from the system 536 to form a first development zone 511 . development system 536 passes a developing liquid comprising an insulating carrier and a predetermined concentration of toner particles into the development zone to develop the electrostatic image into a visible image as well known in the art . next , belt 514 is advanced to second primary charging station 523 where an electrostatic latent image corresponding to a second color is formed by imager 584 , which image is subsequently developed by second development system 537 at second development zone 512 . the belt 514 then advances past a third primary charging station 525 and third imager 586 , followed by belt 514 passing a third development system 540 , and third development zone 516 . then , belt 514 advances past a fourth and final black charging station 527 and fourth imager 588 , followed by black development at development station 541 and fourth developing zone 517 ″. the second , third and fourth stations and associated development systems are substantially the same as the first mentioned corresponding station so additional details are omitted for brevity . after full color development , belt 514 advances the developed full image contained in the surface thereof to a transfer station 563 where a sheet of copy paper 568 is advanced from a paper stack 569 along paper path 571 by a sheet feeder 566 . the copy paper advances in synchronism with movement of the belt 514 so that the developed image and the sheet arrive simultaneously at transfer station 563 for transfer . after transfer , the copy sheet with transferred image thereon is advanced to a fusing station 570 which has a series of fuser rolls 570 a that vaporize any remaining liquid carrier on the paper surface and permanently fuse the toner particles onto the copy sheet . upon completion , the copy sheet is advanced to an output catch tray ( unshown ). a rotary cleaner 100 is provided downstream from transfer station 563 to remove any residuals , such as adhering toner particles or carrier fluid from belt 514 prior to creation of a new image . rotary cleaner 100 may be opposed to an idler roller 556 . rotary cleaner 100 corresponds to the rotary cleaner disclosed in fig1 - 3 . while a full color system has been shown , it is obvious that the invention also applies to monochrome printing and copying systems . the liquid electrophotographic system of fig5 operates at a predetermined process speed . the rotary cleaner is rotated at a speed commensurate with the process speed and preferably is rotated at a minimum rotation speed as set forth in equation 1 when the liquid is diluted and rotated at a minimum speed as set forth in equation 2 when the ink has a high solids content . [ 0042 ] fig6 depicts schematically an exemplary dry xerographic system to which the invention may also be particularly suited . as xerographic systems are well known , the various processing stations thereof will only be briefly described . a reproduction machine 600 is shown having a photoreceptor belt 610 having a photoconductive surface that serves as an image bearing surface . while a belt architecture is shown , the invention is equally applicable to a drum photoreceptor architecture . photoreceptor belt 610 moves in the direction of arrow 612 to advance successive portions of belt 610 sequentially through the various processing stations disposed about the path of the belt . the belt 610 is entrained about a stripping roller 614 , a tension roller 616 , and a drive roller 620 . drive roller 620 is coupled to a suitable motor 621 by an appropriate linkage such as a belt drive ( unshown ). the belt 610 is maintained in tension by a pair of unshown springs that resiliently urge tension roller 616 against belt 610 with a desired force . both stripping roller 614 and tension roller 616 are idler rollers that are rotatably mounted for free movement . initially , a portion of belt 610 passes through a charging station a , where a corona device 622 charges a portion of belt 610 to a relatively high , substantially uniform potential ( which can be either positive or negative depending on application ). at exposure station b , an original document is positioned face down on a transparent platen 630 for illumination with flash lamps 632 . light rays reflected from the original document are reflected through a lens 633 and projected onto the charged portion 611 of the photoreceptor belt 610 to selectively dissipate the charge thereon . this records an electrostatic latent image on the belt that corresponds to the informational area contained within the original document . alternatively , a laser may be provided to imagewise discharge the photoreceptor belt 610 in accordance with stored electronic information . thereafter , belt 610 advances the electrostatic latent image to development station c , where at least one of two developer housings 634 and 636 is brought into contact with belt 610 for the purpose of developing the latent image . housings 634 and 636 may be moved into and out of developing position by corresponding cams 638 and 640 selectively driven by motor 621 . each developer housing 634 and 636 supports a developing system such as magnetic rolls 642 and 644 , which provides a rotating magnetic member to advance developer mix ( i . e ., carrier beads and toner ) into contact with the electrostatic latent image . the electrostatic latent image attracts toner particles from the carrier beads , thereby forming toner powder images on the photoreceptor belt 610 . if only a single color developing system is used , the second developer housing may be omitted . photoreceptor belt 610 then advances the developed latent image to transfer station d , where a sheet of support material such as paper copy sheets 649 is advanced into contact with the developed images on belt 610 . a corona generating device 646 charges the copy sheet to the proper potential so that it becomes tacked to the photoreceptor belt 610 and the toner powder image is attracted from photoreceptor belt 610 to sheet 649 . after transfer , corona generator 648 charges the copy sheet to an opposite polarity to detach the copy sheet from belt 610 , whereupon the copy sheet is stripped from belt 610 at stripping roller 614 . sheets of support material 649 are advanced to transfer station d from a supply tray 650 . sheets are fed from tray 650 with sheet feeder 652 and advanced to transfer station d along conveyor 656 . after transfer , the sheet continues from stripping roller 614 toward a fusing station e , which includes a fuser assembly 670 that permanently affixes the transferred toner powder images to the sheets . the fuser assembly may be a heated fuser roller 672 in pressure engagement with a backup roller 674 . from the fuser , sheet 649 passes gate 662 to an output tray 680 . residual particles remaining on the photoreceptor belt 610 after each copy is made are removed by cleaning station f , which includes the inventive rotary cleaner 100 . a roll 690 may oppose cleaner 100 . all of the various movements may be controlled by machine controller 696 . the dry xerographic system of fig6 operates at a predetermined process speed . the rotary cleaner is rotated at a speed commensurate with the process speed and preferably is rotated at a minimum rotation speed as set forth in equation 1 . while the systems of the invention have been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments outlined above , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , the exemplary embodiments are intended to be illustrative , not limiting . various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , the blades do not necessarily have to be continuous in their length and may be discontinuous . to prevent gaps in cleaning with such a configuration , discontinuous regions in adjacent blades should be offset so that the entire length of the surface is covered by at least one of the two or more blades that contact the surface at any one time . moreover , it is not necessary for the blade cleaner 100 to be fixedly mounted adjacent and in contact with surface 200 . rather , it is possible for rotary blade cleaner 100 to be pivotally or translatably movable toward and away from surface 200 . further , while the base 120 and blades 110 may be integrally formed from a suitable material , it is also possible for base 120 and blades 110 to be formed of differing materials , with the blades 110 being bonded , adhered or otherwise affixed to base 120 so as to be radially provided around the periphery of base 120 . additionally , while base 120 is preferably cylindrical , the invention is not limited to this and acceptable results may be achieved using a semispherical or other surface . however , in such a case , full rotation would not be achievable and an indexing mechanism would be required to index the cleaner back to a first blade when the cleaner has advanced to the last blade element . moreover , the inventive rotary cleaner is applicable as a cleaning tool for many general purposes , even those outside of the graphic arts or printing field , as the cleaner has been found to adequately clean residual materials of many types from a surface . | 6 |
although the disclosure hereof is detailed to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention , the embodiments published herein merely exemplify the present invention . fig1 and 2 depict a laid open view of the inside of the first side ( 30 ) and the inside of the second side ( 50 ) of the motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ). first side ( 30 ) of housing ( 24 ) of motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ) has first receptacle ( 32 ) and second receptacle ( 34 ) for receiving the fasteners ( shown in fig6 and 7 ) that hold first side ( 30 ) and second side ( 50 ) of motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ) together . those skilled in the art recognize that more than two fasteners can be used to hold first side ( 30 ) and second side ( 50 ) together . first side ( 30 ) includes opening ( 92 a ) and second side ( 50 ) includes opening ( 92 b ). when first side ( 30 ) and second side ( 50 ) are fastened together , among other things , aperture ( 92 ) of housing ( 24 ) is created . first stub axle ( 36 ) extends inward from inward side ( 38 ) of first side ( 30 ). drive ( 40 ) also extends inward from inward side ( 38 ). second side ( 50 ) is provided with first receptacle ( 52 ) and second receptacle ( 54 ) for receiving fasteners ( not shown ), such as screws , to hold first side ( 30 ) and second side ( 50 ) of motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ) together . second stub axle ( 56 ) extends inward from the inward side ( 58 ) of second side ( 50 ). when first side ( 30 ) and second side ( 50 ) of motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ) are joined together , spool ( 60 ) and its corresponding driven gear ( 62 ) are mounted on first stub axle ( 36 ) and second stub axle ( 56 ) via a spool hollow . wall ( 64 a ), inward side ( 38 ) of first side ( 30 ) and wall ( 64 b ), inward side ( 58 ) of second side ( 50 ) create spool chamber ( 66 ) and chalk reservoir ( 68 ). when first side ( 30 ) and second side ( 50 ) are joined together wall ( 64 a ) and wall ( 64 b ) create wall ( 64 ) of spool chamber of spool chamber ( 66 ). common opening ( 70 ) joins spool chamber ( 66 ) and chalk reservoir ( 68 ) which allows the chalk line ( 90 ) ( shown in phantom ) to unwind from spool ( 60 ). contact switch ( 100 ) and slide ( 98 ) communicate with housing ( 24 ), and slide ( 98 ) is fitted to expose or close first opening ( 96 ) through which chalk can be added to chalk reservoir ( 68 ). fig3 is a lateral view of first side ( 30 ) of motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ). as shown , motor ( 110 ) and battery ( 120 ) communicate with housing ( 24 ). although not shown in fig3 , contact switch ( 100 ), motor ( 110 ) and battery ( 120 ) are connected via the appropriate circuitry . shaft ( 114 ) extends from motor ( 110 ) through inward side ( 38 ) of first side ( 30 ) and carries drive ( 40 ). as shown , drive ( 40 ) is a gear , but those skilled in the art recognize that other types of drives can be utilized to practice the present invention . in this view , spool ( 60 ) is coupled to stub axle ( 36 ). in operation , spool ( 60 ) rotates about stub axles ( 36 and 56 ), when the chalk line is pulled away from the spool or when drive ( 40 ) rotates driven gear ( 62 ) to cause the spool ( 60 ) to reel in the chalk line . chalk line ( 90 ) is wound about spool ( 60 ) and has a section extending out of spool chamber ( 66 ) through common opening ( 70 ) of wall ( 64 ) into and through chalk reservoir ( 68 ) and out of aperture ( 92 ) of housing ( 24 ). as best shown in fig9 , chalk line ( 90 ) can be provided with stop ( 88 ) to prevent the tip of the chalk line from being wound about spool ( 60 ). in other embodiments , the chalk line can also include an anchor ( 102 ) which allows a single person to operate the present invention without the need of an assistant to hold the remote end of the chalk line . fig4 is a view of the outward side of first side ( 30 ) of motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ). housing ( 24 ) can be composed of plastic or other material capable of being constructed to accommodate motor ( 110 ) and battery ( 120 ). in select embodiments , the battery holder ( 122 ) and the motor chamber ( 112 ) can be joined to the outside surface ( 26 ) of housing ( 24 ) via any manner acceptable in the art while in other embodiments , housing ( 24 ) can be molded to internally include the motor chamber ( 112 ) and battery holder ( 122 ). as shown battery holder ( 122 ) of housing ( 24 ) does not include a cover for the battery ( 120 ), but in other embodiments , the battery holder can encase the battery . in this particular embodiment , motor chamber ( 112 ) of housing ( 24 ) is of a generally cylindrical - type design , but in accordance with the present invention , motor chambers be constructed in other ways . fig5 is a lateral view of first side ( 30 ) of motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ) from the opposite perspective than the view shown in fig3 . as portrayed in fig5 , the chalk line ( 90 ) has been removed from the spool ( 60 ). shaft ( 114 ) extends from motor ( 110 ) through inward side ( 38 ) of first side ( 30 ) and carries drive ( 40 ). spool ( 60 ) rotates about stub axle ( 36 ), and driven gear ( 62 ) engages drive ( 40 ). slide ( 98 ) is fitted to expose or close first opening ( 96 ). fig6 is a lateral view of second side ( 50 ) of motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ). spool ( 60 ) rotates about stub axle ( 56 ). driven gear ( 62 ) is positioned about edge ( 74 ) of spool ( 60 ). chalk line ( 90 ) is wound about spool ( 60 ) and a section of the chalk line is extended out of spool chamber ( 66 ) through common opening ( 70 ) of wall ( 64 ) into and through chalk reservoir ( 68 ) and out of aperture ( 92 ) of housing ( 24 ). fig7 is a view of the outward side ( 28 ) of second side ( 50 ) of motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ). first receptacle ( 52 ) receives fastener ( 80 ) and second receptacle ( 54 ) receives fastener ( 82 ). outward surface ( 28 ) is provided with contacts ( 84 and 86 ) for reciprocating with a junction of the recharging base unit ( not shown ). fig8 is a schematic of the circuitry of the current motorized chalk line apparatus . line ( 140 ) runs from contact ( 84 ) ( not shown ) to battery ( 120 ). line ( 142 ) travels from battery ( 120 ) to contact ( 86 ) ( not shown ). line ( 144 ) runs from line ( 140 ) to motor ( 110 ) while line ( 146 ) connects motor ( 110 ) to contact switch ( 100 ), and line ( 148 ) runs from contact switch ( 100 ) to line ( 142 ). it has been determined that a nine volt battery and its corresponding motor provide adequate power to rotate the spool to return the unwound chalk line . however , those skilled in the art recognize that other combinations of direct current devices for powering the spool are within the scope of the present invention . fig9 is a pictorial representation of the present invention . first side ( 30 ) and second side ( 50 ) are joined together to create housing ( 24 ) of motorized chalk line apparatus ( 20 ). battery holder ( 122 ) for battery ( 120 ) and motor chamber ( 112 ) extend outwardly from first side ( 30 ). contact switch ( 100 ) is exposed for ease of operation and a portion of chalk line ( 90 ) extends outwardly from aperture ( 92 ). in this specific embodiment , chalk line ( 90 ) includes stop ( 88 ) and anchor ( 102 ). fig1 is a combination drawing of fig5 and fig6 that shows the first side of the present invention connected with the second side of the present invention . as shown , hollow ( 42 ) extends the width of spool ( 60 ) from stub axle ( 36 ) to stub axle ( 56 ). in the practice of the present invention , drive ( 40 ) engages driven gear ( 62 ) to cause spool ( 60 ) to rotate about stub axles ( 36 and 56 ). steps associated with the practice of the methods of present invention utilizing select structural elements enabled above are set forth in fig1 – 12 . having disclosed the invention as required by title 35 of the united states code , applicant now prays respectfully that letters patent be granted for his invention in accordance with the scope of the claims appended hereto . | 1 |
a ketone is used as one of the main raw materials in the continuous ado production of the present invention . the ketone is an aliphatic or aromatic ketone represented by the following general formula ( i ) ( wherein r 1 and r 2 are each independently an alkyl group , an arylalkyl group , an aryl group or an alkylaryl group each having 1 to 12 carbon atoms ), or a cyclic ketone represented by the following general formula ( ii ) ( wherein r 3 is an alkylene group having 5 to 12 carbon atoms ). as specific examples of the ketone represented by the general formula ( i ), there can be mentioned acetone , methyl ethyl ketone , methyl isobutyl ketone , 2 - hexanone , 2 - octanone , acetophenone , ethyl phenyl ketone and ethyl tolyl ketone . as specific examples of the ketone represented by the general formula ( ii ), there can be mentioned cyclopentanone , cyclohexanone , methylcyclohexanone and cyclooctanone . as to the amount of the ketone used , there is no particular restriction . however , the amount is generally 2 to 50 % by weight , preferably 5 to 30 % by weight based on the reaction solvent ( described later ) used . in the present invention , the above ketone is reacted with acetylene in the presence of an alkali catalyst . the alkali catalyst usable herein can be selected from an alkali metal , an alkali metal hydroxide and an alkali metal alkoxide . of the above alkali catalysts , as the alkali metal , there can be mentioned , for example , metal sodium and metal potassium ; as the alkali metal hydroxide , there can be mentioned , for example , sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , lithium hydroxide , rubidium hydroxide and cesium hydroxide ; as the alkali metal alkoxide , there can be mentioned , for example , alkali metal aliphatic alkoxides such as potassium methoxide , potassium ethoxide , potassium isobutoxide , potassium tert - butoxide , sodium methoxide , sodium ethyoxide and the like . there can also be used alkali metal alicyclic alkoxides such as potassium cyclohexyloxide and the like . the alkali catalyst is used in an amount of 0 . 1 to 20 moles , preferably 0 . 5 to 10 moles per mole of the raw material ketone . when the amount of the alkali catalyst is less than 0 . 1 mole per mole of the ketone , the reaction rate is low and the conversion rate is low . when the amount of the alkali catalyst is more than 20 moles per mole of the ketone , the amount of the alkali catalyst is unnecessarily excessive . therefore , such amounts are uneconomical . as to the reaction solvent used in the present invention , there is no particular restriction . as the reaction solvent , there can be used a chain or cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbon , an aromatic hydrocarbon , an aliphatic ether , etc . as the chain aliphatic hydrocarbon , there can be mentioned , for example , saturated hydrocarbons such as hexane , heptane , octane , nonane , decane and the like ; and unsaturated hydrocarbons such as diisobutylene , triisobutylene , tetraisobutylene and the like . as the cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbon ( alicyclic hydrocarbon ), there can be mentioned , for example , cyclohexane , methylcyclohexane , decalin and the like . further , a mixture of chain aliphatic hydrocarbons , a mixture of cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbons , or a mixture of a chain aliphatic hydrocarbon and a cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbon ( a so - called naphthenic solvent ) can also be used as the reaction solvent of the present invention . as the aromatic hydrocarbon among the reaction solvent , there can be mentioned , for example , benzene , toluene , xylene , ethylbenzene , cumene , mesitylene , indene , fluorene and the like . as the aliphatic ether , there can be mentioned , for example , diethyl ether , methyl tert - butyl ether , ethyl tert - butyl ether , diisopropyl ether and the like . the continuous production of ado according to the present process is conducted using a two - stage reaction apparatus constituted mainly by two reactors . as the reactors , a tank type is used generally , but a tube type may also be used . in the flow of the production steps , first , a reaction solvent and an alkali catalyst are fed continuously into a first reactor ; then , acetylene and a ketone are continuously fed ; in this state , a reaction is allowed to proceed . part of the reaction mixture formed in the first reactor is continuously withdrawn into a second reactor with the liquid level of the first reactor being kept constant ; a fresh portion of the same ketone is continuously fed into the second reactor ; and a reaction is further allowed to proceed . part of the reaction mixture formed in the second reactor is continuously withdrawn at a given rate and treated in a separation and recovery step to recover an ado ( an intended product ). thus , all of the production steps are conducted continuously and thereby a high production efficiency is made possible . the reaction temperature in the first reactor or the second reactor is 0 to 100 ° c ., preferably 10 to 80 ° c ., and the reaction pressure is ordinarily 0 to 1 mpa ( gauge pressure ), preferably 0 to 0 . 2 mpa ( gauge pressure ) in terms of acetylene partial pressure . a high acetylene partial pressure gives a high reaction rate ; however , it is preferred to use a low acetylene partial pressure in order to prevent the decomposition and explosion of gaseous acetylene . incidentally , in order to prevent the decomposition and explosion , it is possible to dilute acetylene by introducing an inert gas such as nitrogen , argon , propane or the like . in the above production steps , the molar ratio of acetylene to ketone may be at least 0 . 6 mole of acetylene relative to mole of the ketone . generally , the reaction is allowed to proceed in a large excess of acetylene . the residence time in the reaction system varies depending upon the ratio of raw materials , the temperature of reaction system , the partial pressure of acetylene and other conditions , but is ordinarily 0 . 5 to 1 hour , preferably 1 to 6 hours . according to the process of the present invention , there are formed mainly an ado represented by the following general formula ( iii ) when a ketone of the general formula ( i ) is used : ( wherein r 1 and r 2 have the same definitions as given above ), and an ado represented by the following general formula ( iv ) when a ketone of the general formula ( ii ) is used : ( wherein r 3 has the same definition as given above ). the reaction mixture withdrawn from the second reactor is ordinarily subjected first to removal of the alkali catalyst contained therein . the removal of the alkali catalyst is generally conducted by addition of water to the reaction mixture and extraction of the alkali catalyst therewith . depending upon the case , it is possible to add an inorganic or organic acid to the organic phase to neutralize and remove a very small amount of the alkali catalyst remaining in the organic phase . the mixture obtained after the removal treatment of the alkali catalyst contains the reaction solvent , the unreacted ketone , ado , amo and a small amount of water used in the removal treatment of the alkali catalyst , is subjected to distillation to remove the unreacted ketone , amo and a small amount of water , whereby an intended ado can be obtained . the ado obtained by the present invention has a triple bond of high electron density and two hydroxyl groups adjacent thereto . since these hydroxyl groups synergistically act as highly polar groups , the ado or its derivative shows strong orientation to metals , antifoaming property , wettability , etc . and are utilized in nonionic surfactants , metal surface - treating agents , medicines , etc . the present invention is described in more detail below by way of example . however , the present invention is in no way restricted to the example . into a first reactor having an internal volume of 10 liters were continuously fed 95 g / hr of a potassium hydroxide powder ( purity : 95 %) and 800 g / hr of a naphthenic solvent ( boiling point range : 210 to 230 ° c ., sp . gr . : 0 . 79 ). acetylene was introduced up to a pressure of 0 . 02 mpa ( gauge pressure ). further , 100 g / hr of methyl isobutyl ketone ( a raw material ketone ) was introduced . the mixture was allowed to react at a temperature of 25 ° c . with stirring while the acetylene pressure was kept constant . then , continuous operation was conducted while part of the reaction mixture being withdrawn so that the residence time became 4 . 4 hr . the reaction mixture withdrawn from the first reactor was introduced into a second reactor . separately , 3 . 4 g / hr of methyl isobutyl ketone was continuously fed into the second reactor . in this stage , the mixture was further allowed to react . successively , the mixture in the second reactor was continuously withdrawn so that the residence time became 4 . 0 hr . the mixture withdrawn was washed with water and neutralized to remove the catalyst . the resulting material was analyzed by gas chromatography . as a result , the material contained 9 . 3 % by weight of an ado , i . e . 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 - tetramethyl - 5 - decyne - 4 , 7 - diol , 0 . 5 % by weight of an amo , i . e . 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 1 - hexyne - 3 - ol , and 3 . 6 % by weight of unreacted methyl isobutyl ketone . into a first reactor having an internal volume of 10 liters were continuously fed 95 g / hr of a potassium hydroxide powder ( purity : 95 %) and 800 g / hr of a naphthenic solvent ( boiling point range : 210 to 230 ° c ., sp . gr . : 0 . 79 ). acetylene was introduced up to a pressure of 0 . 02 mpa ( gauge pressure ). further , 100 g / hr of methyl isobutyl ketone ( a raw material ketone ) was introduced . the mixture was allowed to react at a temperature of 25 ° c . with stirring while the acetylene pressure was kept constant . then , continuous operation was conducted while part of the reaction mixture being withdrawn so that the residence time became 4 . 4 hr . the mixture withdrawn was washed with water and neutralized to remove the catalyst . the resulting material was analyzed by gas chromatography . as a result , the material contained 6 . 1 % by weight of an ado , i . e . 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 - tetramethyl - 5 - decyne - 4 , 7 - diol , 4 . 2 % by weight of an amo , i . e . 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 1 - hexyne - 3 - ol , and 2 . 1 % by weight of unreacted methyl isobutyl ketone . as seen above , the ado / amo ratio ( molar ratio ) in the continuous two - stage process of example 1 is 10 . 4 while the ado / amo ratio ( molar ratio ) in the one - stage process of comparative example 1 is 1 . 6 . thus , the ado / amo ratio is significantly improved in the process of the present invention . in the present process for continuous production of the acetylenediol , a continuous two - stage reaction and particular conditions are employed ; as a result , the formation of an acetylenemonool ( a by - product ) can be suppressed , and an acetylenediol can be produced continuously and efficiently with the acetylenediol / acetylenemonool ratio ( ado / amo ratio ) in the product being kept at a high level . | 2 |
fig1 is a block diagram of an example environment in which several aspects of the present invention can be implemented . the diagram is shown containing fully differential amplifier 100 , analog to digital converter ( adc ) 120 , and processing block 130 . fully differential amplifier 100 ( referred to simply as amplifier 100 below ) is shown containing operational amplifier ( opamp ) 110 , and gain - setting resistor pairs 109 a / 108 a and 109 b / 108 b . amplifier 100 receives input signals on inputs terminals 101 ( inp ) and 102 ( inm ) and provides a differential output across output terminals 103 ( outp ) and 104 ( outm ). input signals received on terminals 101 and 102 may represent single - ended inputs ( each input referenced to a ground or constant potential terminal , not shown ), or a single differential signal across terminals 101 and 102 . the inverting and non - inverting terminals of opamp 110 are respectively numbered 105 and 106 . gain - setting resistor pairs 109 a / 108 a and 109 b / 108 b have values designed to provide a desired gain to input 101 / 102 . capacitor 107 , placed across the differential outputs 103 / 104 supplies transient current to a load circuit ( adc 120 in the example ) connected to output terminals 103 / 104 , thereby operating to minimize voltage variations of output voltage 103 / 104 . in the example environment of fig1 , amplifier 100 provides a differential reference voltage vref across paths 103 and 104 . adc 120 receives ( gained ) differential output 103 / 104 ( vref ), and uses vref in generating digital representations of an analog signal received on path 121 in a known way . adc 120 forwards the generated digital representations ( digital codes ) on path 123 to processing block 130 . processing block 130 processes the digital codes received from adc 120 to provide desired operations . although , in the example above , amplifier 100 is described as operating as a reference buffer ( to provide a reference voltage vref to adc 120 ), in other environments amplifier 100 may be used as a general purpose amplifier to amplify signals . similarly , in such alternative environments any type of active or passive load ( s ) may be connected to the differential outputs 103 / 104 . it is generally desirable that the differential output signal 103 / 104 have a substantially constant common mode component for proper operation of adc 120 . various aspects of the present invention ensure such a constant common mode component . the aspects will be clearer in comparison with a prior approach not using at least some features of the present invention . accordingly the description is continued with respect to a prior implementation of amplifier 100 . fig2 is a circuit diagram illustrating the details of a prior implementation of a fully differential amplifier . fully differential amplifier 200 is shown containing input stage 210 , output stage 220 and common - mode feedback circuit 230 . power supply terminal 298 and ground terminal 299 are also shown . input stage 210 is shown implemented as a differential stage , and containing transistors 211 a , 211 b , current sources 212 a and 212 b , and constant current sink implemented by transistor 213 . input stage 210 receives input signals on input terminals 201 ( inp ) and 202 ( inm ) and provides differential outputs ( across terminals / nodes 215 and 216 ) to output stage 220 . the input ( gate terminal ) of transistor 213 is controlled by output 239 of error amplifier 235 of common - mode feedback circuit 230 ( described below ). nodes 291 and 292 represent the inverting and non - inverting inputs of input stage 210 . output stage 220 receives outputs 215 / 216 of input stage 210 , and provides a buffered ( with low output impedance ) differential output across terminals 203 ( outp ) and 204 ( outm ). output stage 220 is shown implemented as a pseudo - differential source follower , and containing transistors 221 , 222 , and current sources 225 and 226 . as is well known in the relevant arts , differential output 203 / 204 is characterized by differential signal (( outp minus outm ), representing the amplified difference of voltages at terminals inm and inp ), and a common - mode voltage ( outcm ) ( equal to the average of the voltage values at output terminals outp and outm ). resistors 250 a , 250 b , 260 a and 260 b determine the gain ( differential gain ) of amplifier 200 , as is well known in the relevant arts . capacitor 240 operates similar to capacitor 107 of fig1 , and supplies transient current to a load connected to outp and outm . in addition , since the output ( outp / outm ) of amplifier 200 is differential in nature , the provision of “ differential ” capacitor 240 across outp and outm renders the differential output ( outp / outm ) substantially immune to possible unequal ground bounce , had capacitor 240 instead been implemented as two separate “ single - ended ” capacitors connected respectively between outp , outm to ground . further , the use of capacitor 240 connected differentially is generally preferred over the use two single - ended capacitors ( as noted above ) to save significant area by reducing the total net capacitance required by a factor of four . common mode feedback circuit 230 is shown containing error amplifier 235 , and a resistive divider with resistors 231 and 232 . resistive divider formed by resistors 231 and 232 provides on path 236 , a voltage equal to the common mode voltage outcm at terminals outp and outm . as is well - known , the common mode components of outcm at respective terminals outp and outm are equal in phase and magnitude . error amplifier 235 receives as inputs the common mode voltage on path 236 , and a desired ( pre - determined ) common - mode voltage ( required to be maintained on terminals outp and outm ) on path 205 . error amplifier 235 compares the common mode voltage outcm provided on path 236 and the desired output common - mode voltage outcmd ( 205 ), and provides a control voltage on path 239 to the gate terminal of transistor 213 to cause outcm to ideally equal outcmd . error amplifier may provide a gain ( acm ) to the difference of voltages outcm and outcmd . thus , common mode feedback circuit 230 ideally operates to maintain the common mode voltage outcm at the desired value outcmd . fig3 is a diagram representing the common - mode loop of the circuit of fig2 . in fig3 , transistor 330 represents the combination of transistors 211 a and 211 b receiving a differential input ( denoted indiff , and representing the difference of the signals at nodes 291 and 292 ) at its gate terminal 301 , while transistor 340 represents the combination of transistors 221 and 222 . current source 310 represents the combination of current source 212 a and 212 b . current source 350 represents the combination of current sources 225 and 226 . error amplifier 235 is shown receiving outcmd ( 205 ) and common mode voltage outcm ( 236 ). continuing with reference to fig2 , capacitor 240 serves to provide frequency compensation by providing dominant pole compensation to the differential loop formed by the following paths : node 291 - path 216 - outm ( 204 )- resistor 260 b - node 291 and node 292 - path 215 - outp ( 203 )- resistor 260 a - node 292 . as noted above , the differential connection of capacitor 240 has no effect on the common mode loop , and thus may not provide adequate frequency compensation to the common mode loop . as a result , the common mode loop may become unstable . it is noted that the circuit of fig3 may have three independent poles at nodes 303 , 236 and 239 , none of the three being significantly dominant relative to the other two . in general , such common mode instability issues may exist in any differential amplifier that has a frequency compensating component / network that is “ seen ” ( effective in stabilizing ) only by the differential loop . as a result of the issues noted above , the common mode voltage at outp and outm may either oscillate or cause the voltages at outp and outm to rise towards the power rails ( 298 and 299 in fig2 ), which are not desirable . one prior solution to stabilize the common mode loop is to provide passive components ( e . g , capacitors ) in a single - ended manner , for example , between each of terminals outp and outm to ground . however , such an approach may affect the stability and speed of response of the differential loop , potentially necessitating the use of more complex frequency compensation circuitry / network for the differential loop . further , as noted above , the use of at least of single - ended capacitors may result in increased implementation area . several aspects of the present invention enable stabilization of a common mode loop in a fully differential amplifier without affecting a differential loop in the amplifier , as described next with respect to example embodiments . fig4 is a block diagram of a fully differential amplifier in an embodiment of the present invention . fully differential amplifier 400 is shown containing input stage 410 , common mode loop stabilization block 420 , output stage 430 and common mode feedback block 440 . input stage 410 receives input signals on terminals 401 ( inm ) and 402 ( inp ) and provides an intermediate differential output across terminals 413 a and 413 b ( also termed differential path 413 a / 413 b for convenience ). input stage ideally amplifies the difference of the voltages across 401 / 402 , while attenuating the common mode component of the input signal 401 / 402 , as is well known in the relevant arts . input signals received on terminals 401 and 402 may represent single - ended inputs ( each input referenced to a ground or constant potential terminal , not shown ), or a single differential signal across terminals 401 and 402 . input stage 410 may be implemented as a differential stage , and provides high input resistance and a large gain to input 401 / 402 . output stage 430 receives differential signal 413 a / 413 b , and provides a buffered ( low output impedance ) differential output across terminals 403 ( outp ) and 404 ( outm ). common mode feedback block 440 receives the common mode voltage on output terminals 403 and 404 ( shown in fig4 as being received via path 434 ) and the desired output common mode voltage outcmd 405 , and operates to provide a desired common mode voltage ( outcmd ) on terminals 403 and 404 . common mode loop stabilization block 420 measures the common mode voltage on differential path 413 a / 413 b ( the common mode voltage on 413 a / 413 b being representative to the common mode at output terminals 403 / 404 ), and injects a signal ( conveniently termed common mode stabilization signal ) proportionate to the common mode voltage on nodes 413 a / 413 b via paths 423 and 424 into each of paths 413 a and 413 b . in an embodiment described below , the provision of the common mode stabilization signal separately into each of paths 413 a and 413 b is designed to cause a dominant pole to be created at nodes 413 a and 413 b . as a result of the creation of the dominant pole , the common mode loop is stabilized . further , the correction signal is generated and provided in a manner such as not to affect ( the stability of ) the differential loop of amplifier 400 . the circuit details of amplifier 400 in such an embodiment are described next . fig5 is a circuit diagram illustrating the implementation details of a fully differential amplifier in an embodiment of the present invention . fully differential amplifier 500 ( conveniently referred to as amplifier 500 ) is shown containing input stage 510 , output stage 530 , common - mode feedback circuit 540 and common mode stabilization block 520 . terminals 517 and 518 correspond to power and ground respectively . power and ground connections of other circuit elements in fig5 ( although not numbered ) are connected appropriately as shown in the circuit diagram . the input signals to the fully differential amplifier are applied at terminals 501 and 502 , and the differential output is measured across terminals 503 and 504 . resistor pairs 550 a / 560 a , and 550 b / 560 b set the ( differential ) gain of amplifier 500 . input stage 510 operates similar to input stage 210 of fig2 , with current sources 514 a and 514 b , transistors 511 a and 511 b , and transistor 513 corresponding to current sources 212 a and 212 b , transistors 211 a and 211 b , and transistor 213 of fig2 , and therefore is not described here in the interest of conciseness . similarly , output stage 530 operates similar to output stage 220 of fig2 , with transistors 532 and transistor 534 corresponding to transistors 221 and 222 respectively , and current sources 536 and 538 corresponding to current sources 225 and 226 . common mode feedback circuit 540 also operates similar to common mode feedback circuit 230 of fig2 , with error amplifier 545 corresponding to error amplifier 235 , resistor divider network formed by resistors 541 and 542 corresponding to resistor divider network formed by resistors 231 and 232 . paths 549 , 546 and 505 correspond respectively to paths 239 , 236 and 205 respectively . although shown to be implemented outside of output stage 530 , capacitor 518 may also be implemented as part of the output stage . common mode stabilization block 520 is shown containing a resistor divider network containing resistors 523 a and 523 b , buffer 524 , capacitor 525 , and dependent current controlled current sources 526 and 527 . the common mode voltage on paths 515 and 516 is provided at junction 522 of resistors 523 a and 523 b . buffer 524 provides a buffered common mode voltage output on node 529 , thereby isolating the effect of capacitor 525 on nodes 515 and 516 . in particular , the presence of buffer 524 avoids affecting the differential loop noted below . the voltage on node 529 causes a current ( icap ) proportional to common mode voltage 522 ( vcm ) to flow through capacitor 525 , with icap as expressed by the following equation : a is the gain of buffer amplifier , vcm is the common mode voltage as seen at node 522 , sc is the laplacian transform of capacitance c ( capacitor 525 ) each of dependent current controlled current sources 526 and 527 scales the capacitive current icap , and adds a scaled current ( k * icap ) to respective nodes 515 and 516 . it is noted here that such scaling is done to reduce capacitor ( 525 in fig5 ) implementation area . the effective common mode capacitance is ( k times c ), wherein c is the required capacitance of capacitor 525 . thus , for example , by using a value of k equal to 10 , the capacitance ( and hence implementation area ) of capacitor 525 can be reduced by 1 / 10 . therefore , in an embodiment , the value of k equals 10 . the resultant capacitive load on nodes 515 and 516 nodes results in a dominant pole on these nodes for the common mode loop , thereby stabilizing the common mode loop . the ( stability of ) differential loop of amplifier 500 ( which may be viewed as being formed by the two loops node 591 - path 516 - outm ( 504 )- resistor 560 b - node 591 , and node 592 - path 515 - outp ( 503 )- resistor 560 a - node 592 ) is not affected by the added currents ( k * icap ), since these currents are equal and in phase with respect to each other . the differential loop , therefore , remains stable , due to the dominant pole at the output ( outp / outm ) created by differentially connected capacitor 518 ( similar to the effect of capacitor 240 noted above with respect to fig2 ). fig6 illustrates the equivalent common - mode loop of the circuit of fig5 . in fig6 , transistor 630 represents the combination of transistors 511 a and 511 b receiving a differential input ( denoted indiff , and representing the difference of the signals at nodes 591 and 592 ) at its gate terminal 601 , while transistor 660 represents the combination of transistors 532 and 534 . current source 610 represents the combination of current source 514 a and 514 b . current source 680 represents the combination of current sources 536 and 538 . the effect of the addition of currents by dependent current sources 526 and 527 ( fig5 ) is represented by “ virtual ” capacitive loading due to “ virtual ” capacitor 650 . thus , dominant pole compensation for the common mode loop is ensured by making this “ virtual ” capacitor “ appear ” at the node 635 . fig7 is a circuit diagram of an implementation of a common mode stabilization block in an embodiment of the present invention . common mode stabilization block 700 is shown containing resistor divider network formed by resistors 710 and 720 , transistors 730 and 740 , current source 750 , capacitor 760 and transistors 770 and 780 . the gate and drain terminals of transistor 730 are shorted , and hence transistor 730 operates as a diode . transistor 740 is configured to operate in a source follower configuration , and also serves to isolate node 722 ( and thus paths 515 and 516 ) from any loading effect of capacitor 760 . the gate terminals of transistors 770 and 780 are connected to the gate terminal ( node 778 ) of transistor 730 . therefore transistors 770 , 780 and 730 are connected in a current - mirror configuration . the common mode voltage on paths 515 and 516 provided at junction 722 of resistors 710 and 720 is buffered by source follower 730 . capacitor 760 presents a capacitive load to the buffered common mode voltage provided by source follower 730 . since current through current source 750 cannot change , any change in the common mode voltage on paths 515 and 516 causes a capacitive current proportional to the change in common mode voltage to flow through diode - connected transistor 730 , transistor 740 and capacitor 760 . the capacitive current is mirrored by transistors 770 and 780 ( due to the current - mirror configuration noted above ). as a result , currents equal to the capacitive current noted above are injected in to the paths 515 and 516 by the current source pair 770 and 780 . sufficient current ( hence bandwidth ) in the diode ( 730 ) arm and careful matching of transistor pairs 770 and 780 ensures that the capacitive currents injected into paths 515 and 516 are equal and in - phase , and also have the desired phase to get sufficient common - mode capacitive loading ( as will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts ). thus , according to several aspects of the present invention , a common mode loop in a fully differential amplifier is stabilized without affecting a differential loop in the amplifier . an amplifier ( e . g ., amplifier 500 ) as described above may be used in place of amplifier 100 of fig1 as well as in other environments ) to provide several features according to the present invention . transistors 511 a , 511 b , and 513 ( fig5 ), and transistor 740 ( fig7 ) may be implemented as n - type mos ( metal oxide semiconductor transistors ) while transistor 532 and 534 ( fig5 ), and transistors 730 , 770 , 780 may be implemented as p - type mos ( metal oxide semiconductor transistors ). it should be appreciated that the specific type of transistors ( nmos , pmos etc .) noted above are merely by way of illustration . however , alternative embodiments using different configurations and transistors will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts by reading the disclosure provided herein . for example , the nmos transistors may be replaced with pmos ( p - type mos ) transistors , while also interchanging the connections to power and ground terminals . accordingly , in the instant application , the power and ground terminals are referred to as reference potentials , the source and drain terminals of transistors ( though which a current path is provided when turned on and an open path is provided when turned off ) are termed as current terminals , and the gate terminal is termed as a control terminal . furthermore , though the terminals are shown with direct connections to various other terminals , it should be appreciated that additional components ( as suited for the specific environment ) may also be present in the path , and accordingly the connections may be viewed as being electrically coupled to the same connected terminals . in addition , the circuit topologies of fig5 and 7 are merely representative . various modifications , as suited for the specific environment , without departing from the scope and spirit of several aspects of the present invention , will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts by reading the disclosure provided herein . while various embodiments of the present invention have been described above , it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only , and not limitation . thus , the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above - described embodiments , but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents . | 7 |
referring to fig1 there is illustrated therein a schematic representation of a device for detection of chemical reactions and other molecular interactions , including changes in state of matter . as seen therein , the device includes a reaction vessel 10 , which may be equipped with a stirrer 12 . the reaction vessel 10 is equipped with a water jacket 14 to maintain a desired temperature . a magnetometer probe 16 is positioned in the reaction vessel . in a preferred embodiment of this invention , the magnetometer probe is a semiconductor hall - effect generator . the water jacket 14 provide temperature regulation of the magnetosensitive area of the magnetometer probe 16 . in the specific equipment used to generate the magnetometer charts of fig2 to 23 , the magnetometer probe 16 uses a semiconductor hall - effect generator with a circular magnetosensitive area of 16 sq . mm . the reaction tube 10 consists of a 20 mm length of borosilicate glass tubing of 4 mm i . d . and is fixed to the magnetosensitive area . the reaction vessel 10 may be dimensioned to accommodate any desired volume of liquid . in the specific device described above , solution volumes up to 1000 μl may be added to the reaction tube 10 and volumes as low as 1 . 0 μl can be analyzed when presented to the probe or a thin film sandwiched between two thin plastic discs of slightly less than 4 mm in diameter , or other dimension depending on the dimension of the magnetosensitive area of the magnetometer probe . the use of a thin - film reaction system as just described is highly convenient and yields magnetometer responses that are accurate and rapidly analyzed . samples and ongoing chemical reactions and interactions can be analyzed according to the invention also when placed in proximity to the magnetosensitive area of the magnetometer probe , even when the location of the sample is outside the water jacket 14 . the magnetometer probe 16 is connected to a magnetometer amplifier and control box 18 . for a hall - effect magnetometer probe , the control box 18 may house a standard hall - effect amplifier and control system . the control box 18 is connected to a chart recorder 20 or other convenient manner of recording the output from the magnetometer probe . in the specific experiments detailed herein , the standard hall - effect amplifier and control system was set to have a maximum working range of sensitivity of 200 microgauss full - scale for display on a laboratory chart recorder . the working output of the magnetometer system was read out on a graph of time vs . magnetic field strength in microgauss ( see fig2 to 23 ). since differing molecular interactions can be expected to produce characteristic time vs . field strength relationships , a fast fourier transform ( fft )- assisted spectral analysis of the unprocessed magnetometer output signal may provide information concerning the nature of the molecular interaction ( s ) proceeding in the reaction vessel , even long before the reaction kinetics have reached equilibrium . the spectral analysis provides a signature frequency spectrum to specific chemical interactions . the generation of specific frequency spectra in accordance with this aspect of the present invention , enables the identity of an unknown reaction to be determined rapidly and accurately . in table 1 below , there is listed specific various types of chemical reactions which are amenable to identification by such signature spectra , as well as specific applications of this aspect of the invention in studies on biological , biochemical and biomedical phenomena . the use of a superconducting quantum - interference detector ( squid ) probe can provide signal - to - noise ratios many orders of magnitude greater than the hall - effect magnetometer probe described here and may be employed in place thereof . each improvement in signal - to - noise permits the measurement of chemical interactions with progressively smaller reaction volumes . thus with the attachment of a squid magnetometer probe our invention would be able to analyze chemical reactions in microscopic volumes or at great distances from the reacting substances . the latter facility would permit the present invention to be used to detect , identify and non - invasively analyze , in real time , specific chemical reactions ongoing in the interior of the living body , e . g . in humans . increases in signal - to - noise ratios and smaller reaction volumes also decrease analysis times , since the fft virtual - filtering routines have less noise to remove . as a component of the present invention , therefore , a squid magnetometer probe provides a non - invasive , rapid , nonconfining method of diagnosing metabolic disease states from without the human body . use of a squid magnetometer probe in the present invention permits also the detection of electromagnetic fields generated in the microwave ranges during chemical reactions . this in turn permits the present invention to detect and analyze chemical events , taking place in reaction vessels or in the living body , whose activity and specific chemical nature is characterized by microwave radiation in specific regions of the microwave spectrum . the addition of a simple static or slowly - varying magnetic field generator to the device in conjunction with a squid magnetometer permits the present invention to function , under certain conditions , as an electron spin resonance ( esr ) spectrometer and thereby discern molecular structure without requiring the chemical sample to be submitted to microwave radiation . one condition where this would obtain is during a chemical reaction involving known or unknown molecular entities . this result is achieved because the waveform of microwave signals from a chemically - reacting molecule in a magnetic field changes with imposed magnetic field strength in unique fashion for individual molecules . such application of the invention can with convenience be further enhanced by attaching to the magnetometer probe a semiconductor peltier - effect thermoelectric cooler , with appropriate electronic control system . this facility permits the analysis of chemical structure at cryogenic temperatures , a circumstance which reduces the rotation of protons around single bonds in the molecule of interest , thereby permitting more accurate representation and resolution of molecular conformation . the extension of the invention to provide a nuclear magnetic resonance facility involves merely the addition of the necessary magnetic field coil ( s ) and control system to the magnetometer probe . the practical shortest analysis time for the generation of a specific frequency spectrum from a given procedure is approximately ten times the period of the lowest frequency present in the frequency bandwidth chosen for analysis . with the small volumes and reactant concentrations necessary for achieving results using the present invention , this lower limit may approach no more than about one to two minutes . spectral or other modes of analysis , for example , pattern recognition and waveform trend forecasting , can be accomplished with a user - programmable digital computer which stores the unprocessed signal , the analyzed result and experimental notations on magnetic media . outputs of all stored modes can be displayed , as chosen , on the computer screen . these outputs can then be compared by visual and statistical means with response patterns previously obtained from known reactions under controlled conditions or derived from theory . thus , general and specialized libraries of spectral and response pattern data can be built up as the invention is utilized in an individual laboratory or can be compiled from variegated laboratories in several different areas of investigation . an expert system would be available to assist the investigator with the interpretation of results . this patent application is concerned with all applications of the principles described herein , for the detection or analysis of chemical reactions , molecular interactions , radioactivity and changes in state of matter , including the formation of plasmas , polymers , spin glasses ( ref . vi77 ), liquid crystals and phase transitions in gases , liquids , solids ( ref . si82 ) and colloids constituted from all states of matter . the present invention , in addition to the specific uses described above , is useful for , the detection and measurement of : ( i ) free radicals , in solution or in gaseous , liquid , sol or gel colloid suspension , whether stationary or in motion relative to the magnetometer probe . ( ii ) all chemical entities with unpaired electrons or with asymmetric nuclear magnetic momentum , whether stationary or in motion relative to the magnetometer probe . ( iii ) chemical reactions , especially those in enzymatic pathways , within the living body , by means of a magnetometer probe attachment of suitable shape , size , and adequate sensitivity and signal - to - noise ratio , whether the reaction and molecular interactions under intended observation are the result of ongoing bodily activities in health or disease or are stimulated to crim magnetosynchrony by the administration of exogenous substances such as specific substrates for chosen enzyme systems or by the application of electromagnetic energy such as bioluminescence either coherent or noncoherent , coherent light , such as laser energy , electromagnetic fields at any frequency or by ultrasonic , thermal or mechanical energy . ( iv ) chemical reactions and molecular interactions observed in vitro in tissues excised ethically from plants , insects , animals , patients and their controls , in order to distinguish healthy from diseased tissue and under experimental conditions as described above . ( v ) industrial effluent gases , liquids , solids and suspensions , whether colloidal , quasi - colloidal or crudely macroscopic systems . ( vi ) magnetic field patterns to be used in seeking fossil fuels , whether gaseous , liquid or solid ; underground water and its variant solute - modified constitutions ; underground pollutants , especially those hazardous to underground workers , the hazards to include coal dust , explosive gases and toxic gases ; specific rock formations indicating species of ore , fault lines and tectonic formations and hazards , solid or liquid pollutant substances in soil , groundwater and aquifers . ( viii ) chemical reactions and molecular interactions in oceans , rivers , lakes and reservoirs where analysis or detection of the chemical reactions can yield information concerning ongoing or incipient environmental pollution hazards . ( ix ) chemical reactions and molecular interactions in soil , where analysis or detection of the chemical reactions can yield information concerning the ongoing biochemical activity of soil organisms and concerning ongoing or incipient environmental pollution hazards . ( x ) chemical reactions in industrial processes where on - line information in real time is desired concerning the kinetics and phases of continuous chemical reactions in the ongoing batch or bulk process with the object of automating and regulating the process for optimal productivity and quality . in reactions of all kinds , the ability of the invention to detect and identify intermediates in the total reaction process , in laboratory micro -, bench - top and industrial - scale batches . the present invention , being particularly useful for monitoring the reaction rates and kinetics of polymerization reactions since the formation of polymerizing bond structures generates molecular magnetic domains similar to those found in magnetized mineral and ferrite substances , may also be used for detection and monitoring of polymerization processes . ( xi ) incipient and ongoing ice formation in shipping ports , on rivers and in lakes , on highways , roads and rail lines , on surface vehicles , especially on windscreens and windows and on wings , ailerons , cowling , wheel fittings and other ice hazard - sensitive areas of aircraft and spacecraft . ( xii ) the electromagnetic pulse ( emp ) which accompanies the detonation of a nuclear device , either fission or fusion type and , by means of the fft spectral analysis facility of this invention , analysis of the isotopes involved in the fission and / or fusion events . ( xiii ) application of the present invention for measuring or monitoring any of the chemical reactions / interactions , electromagnetic energies , atomic or nuclear events mentioned in the foregoing that can be monitored from locations technically remote from the magnetosensitive region of the magnetometer probe . the device illustrated in fig1 has been employed in the generation of charts depicting the time course of various reactions carried out in the reaction vessel 10 and these charts are shown in fig2 to 23 . the specific reactions and conditions are outlined in the figures using certain abbreviations and are tabulated in table 3 below . examples of some biochemical pathways identified by the device of fig1 and shown in certain of the fig2 to 23 are detailed in table 2 below while specific identification of the experiments depicted by fig2 to 23 is shown in table 4 below . in summary of this disclosure , the present invention provides a novel method of detecting or analyzing an event , such as a chemical reaction , molecular interaction and / or change of state of matter by detecting a change in electromagnetic field strength . modifications are possible within the scope of this invention . ( ha49 ) harnwell , g . p . ( 1949 ). principles of electricity and electromagnetism . mcgraw - hill , new york . ( si82 ) sinai , ya g . ( 1982 ). theory of phase transitions : rigorous results , pergamon press , oxford . table 1______________________________________some applications of signaturespectra and pattern analysis______________________________________a . enzyme reactions 1 . sequential addition of substrates 2 . mixtures of substrates 3 . optimization of conditions : co - factors , ions , metals 4 . spectra from cells and tissuesb . molecular interactions 1 . ligand / receptor 2 . antigen / antibody 3 . substrate / enzymec . tissue / cell profiles 1 . basal conditions or in response to added ligand 2 . normal vs . disease 3 . specific frequency spectrum signature______________________________________ table 2______________________________________examples of some biochemical pathways thatthe inventors have identified by use ofthe device described in this document metabolizednon - nadph - by * pigdependent rat liver liversubstrate microsomes chromatin______________________________________histidine + ++ histidinol + + histamine + + adenosine + + ornithine ++ + nadph - dependentaminopyrine + - aniline + - putrescine + + testosterone - + estradiol - - progesterone + - cortisol + - amitryptyline + + fluoxetine + + ______________________________________ legend : &# 34 ;+&# 34 ; = pathway response readily apparent . &# 34 ;++&# 34 ; = strong pathway response . &# 34 ;-&# 34 ; = no response ; no evidence for pathway . * most of these observations and virtually all in the chromatin are original to our laboratories and can be done with our device , in its present state of development , in a total of no more than 10 experimenterhours . currently available stateof - the - art analytical systems would likely require a minimum of 2500 experimenterhours to accomplish th same results . table 3______________________________________abbreviations on figures ( numbers in parentheses indicate vol in μl concentrations ofstock solutions added ) ad = adenosine ( 0 . 2 mm ) an = aniline ( 0 . 2 mm ) ap = aminopyrine ( 0 . 2 mm ) b = 0 . 1 m tris - po . sub . 4 bufferchrom = chromatin from pig liver nuclei ( i mg protein / ml ) cort = cortisol ( i μm ) est = β - estradiol ( 1 μm ) gbt = glass bottom tubeha = histamine ( 0 . 2 mm ) hd = histidine ( 0 . 2 mm ) hol = histidinol ( 0 . 2 mm ) nadph = reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate ( 0 . 5 mm ) orn = ornithine ( 0 . 2 mm ) pbt = probe is bottom of tubepgt = flat - bottom glass tube on probepl = phospholipid substrateplase = bee venom phospholipasepln = pig liver nuclei ( 1 mg protein / ml ) prog = progesterone ( 1 μm ) pu = putrescine ( 0 . 2 mm ) regen = nadph regeneration system : glucose - 6 - phosphate , glucose - 6 - phosphate dehydrogenase , nadprlm = rat liver microsomes ( 1 mg protein / ml ) test = testosterone ( 1 μm ) ______________________________________ table 4______________________________________legends to figures______________________________________fig2 pbt ( 50 ) b , 10 chrom . response . to hdfig3 pgt 100 chrom ( 700 ) b . response to hdfig4 rlm . response to ap . no further change in slope with adfig5 chrom . response to test in presence of nadph . fig6 rlm . response to orn in presence of nadphfig7 rlm + n . two responses to hd , short latency in both . fig8 rlm . slight response to orn . enhanced slope with hd . pu ( 10 ) n ( 10 ) response seen at end of record . fig9 rlm + n . response to anfig1 rlm . no response to orn ( unusual ). no response to n . response to pu . fig1 chrom . response to ornfig1 phospholipid / buffer . addition of plase (&# 34 ; 50 enzyme &# 34 ;, on record ) generates responsefig1 chrom . response to regenfig1 pl / buffer . response to purified bee venom plasefig1 pln . response to hdfig1 chrom . no response to fluoxetine ( 0 . 2 mil ; &# 34 ; prozac &# 34 ;, on record ) until nadph addedfig1 rlm . response to hol (&# 34 ; h ` ol &# 34 ; on record ) fig1 rlm + n . response to ap . increased slope with putrfig1 pln . no response to putr until nadph addedfig2 non - active sample is 1500 μl orn buffer as thin film . e180k ( on . record ) is p450 isoenzyme , 10 . sup .- 16 m ( estimated as 0 . 1 % of total protein ), thin film . fig2 thin film suspension of rat liver whole cells . same 50 cells each trial . control responses are from culture mediumfig2 . sup . 125 i ( nai ), ca 10 . sup . 5 dpmfig2 tritium ( uniformly labelled 3h - histamine ), ca . 22 × 10 . sup . 3 dpm______________________________________ calibrations : unless otherwise stated , vertical deflection . of one major division ( accented lines parallel to long axis of record ) represents approximately 50 microgauss at the magnetosensitive region of the halleffect magnetometer probe in fig2 to 23 , all samples were remote from probereaction vessel assembly ; calibrations both represent 50 microgauss at magnetometer probe halleffect region . | 6 |
fig1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention . as stated previously , a glide height test and a read / write test are conducted prior to the magnetic transfer process . a single read / write tester 11 conducts these two tests . data concerning the number of defects in the glide height test and the positions thereof on each surface of the transfer disk , data concerning the number of defects and the positions thereof in the read / write test , and so forth , can be obtained from the read / write tester 11 . such test result data are read from the read - write tester 11 and stored on a transfer quality control personal computer 4 . a magnetic transfer device 2 then records a servo pattern . as described above , the adhesion of particles to a master disk causes problems . to avoid these problems , a test for particles is conducted prior to the magnetic transfer process , so as to determine whether particles are adhered to the transfer disk or not . the results of this test for particles , such as the number of particles present , are forwarded to the transfer quality control personal computer 4 . when particles are adhered to the surface of a disk , it is determined as being defective in the test for particles . most particles , however , can be easily removed . thus , the disks that are determined to be defective by the test for particles are stored for a while . if and when a certain number of such disks have accumulated , the disks go again through the entire process , beginning with a tape cleaning process , as in fig1 . this enables many disks to pass the test for particles , so that the magnetic transfer can be completed on these disks . after the magnetic transfer process , an optical testing device 3 carries out a visual test for all disks . in the visual test , it is determined whether there are any abnormalities on the surfaces of the disks , such as pits , scratches and bumps . the optical testing device 3 scans the entire surface of the disk , including the innermost peripheral part ( the part at the inner diameter ) and the outermost peripheral part ( the part at the outer diameter ) as well as a data zone . for example , an optical testing device 3 may irradiate a laser beam onto the surface of the disk and detect the variations in the quantity of reflected and scattered light , the presence of which indicates that there are abnormalities on the surface . if the particles are introduced into the space between the master disk and the transfer disk during the magnetic transfer , a pit is typically formed on the disk , and a bump is typically formed around the pit . the optical testing device 3 needs to detect these defects . when the optical testing device 3 detects a pit or a bump , it is impossible to determine whether they have been formed in the magnetic transfer process or not . however , even if particles are introduced between a certain transfer disk and the master disk , there is no big problem , since the transfer disk would only be identified as being defective if the particles fall and do not adhere to the master disk . the particles introduced during the magnetic transfer process only cause a big problem in the case where the particles continue to adhere to the master disk , thus forming pits or bumps around them in all subsequent transfer disks . to avoid this , the adhesion of particles to the master disk in the magnetic transfer process needs to be detected quickly , and a manufacturing line must be stopped temporarily to clean the master disk or to replace the master disk with another . in the easiest method for determining whether or not the particles are adhered to the master disk , the transfer quality control personal computer 4 gives an alarm when the optical testing device 3 determines a plurality of consecutive transfer disks as being defective ( refer to steps 1 - 4 ). in this method , it is impossible to determine whether a plurality of consecutive transfer disks has been made defective by a process other than the magnetic transfer process or during the magnetic transfer process itself . an operator who receives the alarm must make this determination . fig3 shows a determination algorithm for limiting the conditions . first , whether a plurality of consecutive transfer disks is defective or not is determined as described with reference to fig2 . if a plurality of consecutive transfer disks is defective , it is determined whether the type of the defect detected by the optical testing device is a pit or a bump ( refer to step 1 ). it is then determined whether the defects are located at the same position ( refer to 2 ). if both of these conditions are satisfied , it is determined whether the abnormal conditions such as the adhesion of particles occur in the master disk ( refer to steps 3 - 5 ). positional information about the defects can be obtained with respect to positions in both a radial direction and an angular direction of the disks . a reference position in the angular direction , however , cannot necessarily be maintained at the same position if the disk moves to another testing device . for this reason , whether the defects are located at the same position or not is determined according to whether the defects are located at the same position in the radius direction ( refer to 2 ). although there is a slight possibility that the pits or the bumps are formed on a plurality of consecutive disks due to some process other than the magnetic transfer process , such defects occur mainly in the magnetic transfer process . therefore , there is hardly any problem if it is determined that the magnetic transfer process causes the defects . if a plurality of consecutive transfer disks is determined as being defective due to the adhesion of particles to the master disk in the above - described determination method , the transfer quality control personal computer 4 gives an alarm to an operator in a manufacturing line . for example , an alarm sound is given . further , a message indicating that the adhesion of particles is causing a plurality of consecutive transfer disks to be defective may be displayed on a monitor screen of transfer quality control personal computer 4 , so as to alert the operator to clean the master disk or replace the master disk with another . the optical testing device 3 cannot find all defects of magnetic disks , and the read / write test cannot be conducted after the magnetic transfer . for this reason , according to the embodiment shown in fig1 the glide height test and the read / write test are conducted for several sampled disks after the magnetic transfer process , so as to confirm the quality of final products ( refer to the read / write tester 12 ). servo signals written by the magnetic transfer process are erased from the samples disks , but disks that are determined as being non - defective in the sampling read / write test can undergo the tests beginning from the magnetic transfer process . of course , the results of the sampling glide height test and read / write test can be handled in the same manner as the results of the visual test conducted by the optical testing device . in this case , if a plurality of consecutive disks has defects at the same position , it is determined that the disks are made defective due to the magnetic transfer process . in the case of the read / write test , however , it is impossible to clearly determine that magnetic transfer has caused the abnormalities , compared with the case where the results of the visual test are used , because even non - defective disks have some defects , and the type of defects cannot be determined clearly , as compared with a visual test . if the read / write test is conducted prior to the magnetic transfer as shown in fig1 media that are determined to be defective in the read / write test after the magnetic transfer are almost certainly made defective in the magnetic transfer process . it is , therefore , preferable to determine that the magnetic transfer process has caused disk abnormalities on the basis of the consecutive detection of defective disks in the sampling glide height test and the read / write test after magnetic transfer . if the magnetic transfer is performed , the optical testing device 3 must confirm the quality of final products after the magnetic transfer . it is therefore preferable to set the conditions of the optical testing device 3 to be as close as possible to those of a magnetic read / write test . therefore , according to the present invention , the results of the sampling glide height test and the read / write test after the magnetic transfer and the results of the visual test conducted by the optical testing device 3 are collected in the transfer quality control personal computer 4 and are automatically compared with each other . this provides information that is useful in setting the conditions of the optical testing device . in one method of providing the information , the ratios of the following defects to the total number of defects detected by the respective testing devices are calculated , and the results of the calculation are displayed on the monitor screen of the transfer quality control personal computer : 1 ) defects detected at the same position in the glide height test or the read / write test and the visual test ; if the ratios 2 ) and 3 ) are high , the conditions of the optical testing device are strictly set . if the ratio 4 ) is high , the conditions of the optical testing device are relaxed . the results of the test for particles prior to the magnetic transfer are also collected in the transfer quality control personal computer 4 in fig1 . the amount of particles adhered to each surface is collected as a result of the test for particles . although large particles can be detected as causing defective disks in the glide height test , some of small particles cannot be detected in the glide height test . even small particles , however , may contribute to the accumulation of particles . if the number of particles increases in the environment of the manufacturing line due to the deterioration of the environment , the offending particles may be omitted from the detection system with respect to both the glide height test and the test for particles . this increases the amount of particles coming into contact with the master disk . finding such a situation as quickly as possible is therefore important in assuring magnetic transfer quality . if the number of particles increases due to the deterioration of surrounding environment , as stated above , the number of particles that are detected by the test for particles and the number that cannot be detected by the test for particles both increase at the same time . thus , it is possible to detect an increase in the number of adhered particles by time - series , for example , by constructing a histogram representing the number of adhered particles as detected in the test for particles . in short , the ratio of non - defectives in the test for particles is monitored , and when the ratio of non - defectives becomes lower than a specified value , the transfer quality control personal computer 4 gives an alarm . according to the embodiment shown in fig1 the glide height test and the read / write test are conducted for all the media before the magnetic transfer process . if , however , the quality of media to be manufactured satisfies the required quality , it is possible to replace one or both of the glide height test and the read / write test with the visual test conducted by the optical testing means . this would achieve the effects except for the above - described effect relating to the glide height test or the read / write test conducted before magnetic transfer . it is also very important to optimize the conditions of the visual test by using the results of the glide height test and the read / write test after the magnetic transfer process . according to the present invention , it is possible to quickly detect abnormal conditions of consecutive transfer disks caused by the magnetic transfer in which particles become adhered to the master disk , and to detect the presence of damage on the transfer disks caused by the abnormal conditions . it is also possible to optimize the conditions of the optical testing device , which confirms quality after the magnetic transfer , and quickly detect a state in which a deterioration in the environment of the manufacturing line is increasing the number of particles adhering to the master disk . the present invention therefore provides an overall transfer quality control system that is capable of maintaining satisfactory quality in the magnetic transfer process . | 6 |
the invention relates to an electric motor , in particular a three - phase electric motor , having a housing composed of ferromagnetic material , in particular steel , and having a shaft , which can be driven in a rotating manner , in the housing , with the housing having at least one end frame with a bearing for supporting the shaft , and with the bearing having sensor means for detection of the rotation state of the shaft . the invention relates in particular to a brushless three - phase asynchronous electric motor of the type mentioned initially , which is installed in a drive shaft of a vehicle , in particular of an industrial truck , in order to drive drive wheels on the drive shaft . drive shafts of the type under consideration and with a built - in three - phase electric motor are known , for example , from de 198 40 006 a1 and from de 298 19 114 u1 . the shaft housing is at the same time in the form of a motor housing , with the stator of the motor being fixed in the shaft housing , and a hollow shaft passing axially through the rotor of the motor and being driven by the electric motor such that it rotates . the hollow shaft is the input shaft of a differential transmission which is accommodated in the shaft housing and whose output drive shafts drive the wheels which are associated with both ends of the drive shaft . in order to provide open - loop and closed - loop controls of the electric motor on the basis of the desired vehicle speed , vehicle acceleration , direction of travel etc ., the actual rotation state of a shaft in the drive run , in particular of the hollow shaft , is detected by means of a rotation angle sensor . it is being proposed that a sensor bearing be used for this purpose , in the form of a roller bearing with at least one integrated rotation angle incremental sensor . sensor bearings such as these are commercially available , and are described , for example , in ep 0838 683 , ep 0992 797 or ep 0875 683 . trials with a sensor bearing which is arranged directly in the bearing holding opening of the end frame of a housing of an electric motor and which provide a bearing for the motor shaft have shown that the output signals from the rotation angle sensors were frequently subject to severe interference , so that it was impossible to ensure reliable detection of the actual value of the rotation state of the motor shaft . particularly in the case of a drive motor which is integrated in a vehicle drive shaft , however , reliable detection of the rotation state of a drive shaft is important in order to make it possible to provide reliable drive control . the invention is thus based on the object of providing an electric motor of the type mentioned initially , and in particular a drive shaft which is equipped with such an electric motor , in which it is possible to detect the rotation state of the shaft reliably by means of a sensor bearing which is used in the end frame . in order to achieve this object , the invention proposes that the bearing is held in a shielding bush , which is arranged fixed in the bearing holding opening in the end frame and is composed of a nonferromagnetic material , and in that a covering bush is provided , which is connected to the end frame or is in the form of an integral part of the end frame , surrounds the shaft , is composed of ferromagnetic material and , inside the housing , surrounds the bearing and the shielding bush . the invention furthermore proposes in order to achieve the object that the electric motor is in the form of an integrated drive unit of a drive shaft for a vehicle , in particular of an industrial truck , and in that the housing forms at least a part of the shaft housing of the drive shaft . the invention is based on the idea that the signal interference mentioned above with a sensor bearing which is used directly in the steel end frame of the motor housing could be caused by the stray flux of the magnetic field produced by the electric motor , with the stray flux influencing the sensor electronics . in particular , angle sensors with hall sensors react in a sensitive manner to the magnetic stray flux of the motor passing via the housing walls and the end frame , in such a way that the measurement signal has such severe interference superimposed on it that it is impossible to evaluate this measurement signal for control purposes . in the electric motor according to the present invention , the shielding bush offers increased magnetic reluctance while , in contrast , the covering bush results in “ channelization ” of the magnetic flux which passes from the motor housing casing via the end frame of the shaft , and hence to the interior of the motor . the magnetic stray flux is thus essentially guided from the housing casing via the end frame and the covering bush to the shaft , such that it bypasses the sensor bearing and the electronic components which are provided on it . the nonferromagnetic shielding bush should be composed of a mechanically robust material , preferably a metal such as bronze or brass . a shielding bush composed of austenitic steel , aluminum or ceramic would also be feasible . in order to guide the magnetic flux efficiently while bypassing the sensor bearing , the shaft aperture opening in the covering bush through which the shaft passes should have a circumferential surface whose radial distance from the shaft is very small . the air gap , which corresponds to this radial distance , between the covering bush and the shaft should , as far as possible , not be significantly broader than 0 . 5 mm . as a further measure for efficient guidance of the magnetic stray flux while bypassing the sensor bearing , the invention provides that the covering bush has a collar which extends in the axial direction of the shaft and bounds an air gap which is as small as possible between it and the shaft . this collar offers a larger surface area for the magnetic flux to pass from the covering plate to the shaft . the measures which have been mentioned above mean that it is possible to use a commercially available sensor bearing as the bearing for the motor shaft and , furthermore , that it is possible to detect the rotation state of the motor shaft in the electric motor reliably and virtually without any interference . this is particularly important in the case of a drive shaft with an electric motor such as this as an integrated drive unit , in which the actual value of the drive state is detected reliably by detecting the rotation state of the shaft which is driven by the motor . the invention will be explained in more detail in the following text with reference to the figures , in which : [ 0014 ] fig1 shows a highly schematic plan view of a drive shaft unit , which is illustrated partially in the form of a section and partially cut away , with a sensor bearing without the measures proposed according to the invention . [ 0015 ] fig2 shows the region of the shaft housing / motor housing that is illustrated cut away in fig1 illustrated in an enlarged form , with fig2 showing a shielding bush and a covering bush in accordance with the measures proposed according to the invention . [ 0016 ] fig1 shows a drive shaft with a built - in brushless three - phase electric motor for providing the traction drive for a forklift truck . a drive shaft such as this is described in more detail , for example , in de 198 40 006 a1 , to which reference is made . [ 0017 ] fig1 shows a central section 3 of the shaft housing 5 partially cut away , so that it is possible to see the elements of the integrated electric motor 7 . the stator 9 , which is held fixed in the housing 5 , is connected to the outer circumferential wall ( the casing ) of the approximately cylindrical housing center part 3 . a hollow shaft 13 passes through the rotor 11 ( which is held in the stator 9 such that it can rotate ) of the three - phase electric motor , is driven by the electric motor 7 and acts as an input shaft for a differential transmission ( which is not shown in the figures ), whose output drive shafts drive the drive wheels ( 15 , 17 ) via a respective spur gear system transmission , as indicated in the form of a schematic sectional illustration in fig1 . the shaft which is shown in plan view form in fig1 has a so - called porch offset of the housing center part 3 with respect to the outer parts 19 , 21 . this results in better space conditions , in particular for accommodating the lifting column / lifting frame 23 of a forklift truck . the shaft housing 5 is the load - bearing component of the drive shaft and for this reason must be designed to be mechanically robust . in the case of the example , both the casing part 3 of the shaft housing 5 and the end frame 25 , which forms an intermediate wall of the shaft housing 5 running transversely with respect to the axis 27 of the motor shaft 13 and is connected directly to the housing center part 3 , are composed of steel . as shown in fig1 a roller bearing 31 , for example a ball bearing , is inserted in the bearing holding opening 29 in the end frame 25 and supports the motor hollow shaft 13 at its end remote from the differential transmission , such that it can rotate . the roller bearing 31 is a sensor bearing , which has angle sensors 33 , one of which can be seen . the rotation state of the motor hollow shaft 13 can thus be detected by means of the sensor bearing 31 , 33 . the sensor bearing 31 , 33 thus preferably has at least two hall sensors 33 , which are arranged at an angular interval from one another on the circumference of the bearing 31 , so that they can supply signals with a phase shift , as is important for identifying the rotation direction . the signals supplied from the sensors 33 are evaluated in the form of actual value signals by a control unit ( which is not shown ) for controlling the drive to the wheels 15 , 17 . the control unit can thus determine the rotation speed , the rotation acceleration , the change in the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the shaft . in the case of a drive shaft as shown in fig1 with a sensor bearing 31 , 33 which makes direct contact with the steel material of the end frame 25 , the signals supplied from the rotation angle sensors 33 were frequently subject to severe interference , so that it was not always possible to achieve reliable drive control . it has been found that the major reason for this interference is the magnetic flux which is produced by the electric motor , passed via the housing casing wall and via the end frame 25 and via the sensor bearing 31 , 33 inserted therein to the shaft 13 , and which influences the electronic components of the sensor bearing 31 , 33 . [ 0018 ] fig2 shows the internal area of the drive shaft , as can be seen by cutting away the central shaft housing part 3 in fig1 with the relevant motor components , illustrated enlarged , although fig2 has been modified from the illustration in fig1 in that measures according to the invention are shown for suppressing the abovementioned interference with the rotation angle sensor signal . these measures include accommodation of the roller bearing 31 in a shielding bush 35 composed of a nonferromagnetic material , such as brass or bronze . the shielding bush is held fixed in the bearing holding opening 29 in the end frame 25 , with the shielding bush 35 preferably extending over the entire axial length of the end frame 25 and of the bearing 31 , and possibly beyond them . in the case of the example , the end frame 25 has a collar 32 which contains the bearing holding opening 29 . a covering bush 37 , which is composed of ferromagnetic material , preferably steel , is placed radially externally on the collar 32 and is connected directly to the end frame 25 . inside the housing , that is to say on the side of the end frame 25 facing the rotor 11 , the covering bush 37 covers the sensor bearing 31 , 33 and the shielding bush 35 . the radially inner circumference 39 of the covering bush 37 bounds , together with the shaft 13 , a narrow air gap 41 , with a gap width of , for example , 0 . 5 mm . in order that the radially inner circumferential surface 39 is as large as possible , the covering bush 37 has a radially inner collar 43 , which extends in the axial direction towards the rotor 11 . the covering bush 37 is used to close a magnetic circuit which bypasses the sensor bearing 31 , 33 , with the magnetic stray flux being passed from the housing casing wall 4 via the end frame 25 and then via the covering bush 37 to the shaft 13 . the shielding bush 35 forms a high magnetic reluctance , and thus provides shielding for the sensor bearing 31 , 33 . it has been found that an arrangement as shown in fig2 achieves effective suppression of interference with the rotation angle sensors 33 . as can be seen in fig2 the covering bush 37 may have cable aperture openings 45 for sensor cables 47 which are connected to the motor control unit ( which is not shown ). it should be mentioned that the shielding bush 35 and / or the covering bush 37 may be elements composed of a number of parts . on the other hand , the covering bush 37 may also be formed cohesively and integrally with the end frame 25 , thus being an integral part of the end frame 25 . in addition to the bearing holding opening 29 , the end frame may have further openings , for example for cooling of the motor . | 5 |
for the preparation of the column packing material the redispersable , non - porous , monosized silicon dioxide microspheres must be first redispersed in a non - protic solvent , such as acetonitrile , propionitrile , under the action of ultrasound . after redispersion the silylating agent is added , the suspension heated to reflux . after isolation and drying at 120 ° c ./ 10 - 3 torr the powder is treated again with the same silylating agent in order to complete the surface layer . another possibility is to wet the slightly agglomerated , redispersable powder by a non - polar type solvent such as cyclohexane , toluene or xylene , add the silylating agent ane treat the stirred suspension by ultrasound where the product is partly silylated and forms a monosized suspension . after heating to reflux for 10 - 30 h the product is isolated in a centrifuge . elemental analysis shows that a nearly compact layer of alkyldimethylsiloxy layer is formed . the product may be treated a second time with the same silylating agent in order to complete silylation . using the derivatized final products short chromatographic columns ( 33 × 4 . 6 mm ) were packed . in the following the preparation of the adsorbents and their stability tests are described . furthermore , the separation of low molecular weight compounds as well as that of biomolecules are illustrated in a few typical examples . the time of re - equblibration of the column , ready to start a new analysis after gradient elution is typically 1 - 2 min i . e . is reduced by a factor 5 - 10 . eluents are environmental friendly i . e . they contain much less organic component . preparation of kovasil ms - dmb . the starting material was kovasil ms from chemie uetikon ( uetikon , switzerland ) composed of redispersable , non - porous , monosized silicon dioxide microspheres , rehydrated in water for 20 h . specifications : a quantity of 10 . 0 g of the product was redispersed in 200 ml acetonitrile applying ultrasonic irradiation during 15 min . ( 3 , 3 - dimethylbutyl ) dimethyl ( dimethylamino ) silane ( 67 . 5 mg ) was added to the suspension which was refluxed under an argon atmosphere during 12 h . the partly silylated product was isolated by centrifugation and washed with cyclohexane and finally dried . the dried product was transferred into a glass ampoule , the same silylating agent ( 60 mg ) was added then the ampoule was cooled , evacuated and sealed . the closed ampoule was kept at 150 ° c . during 50 h . after cooling the ampoule was opened and the white powder was washed with cyclohexane and dried . surface concentration of the ( 3 , 3 - dimethylbutyl ) dimethylsiloxy groups was γ sox = 4 . 0 μmol m - 2 . in the following this stationary phase will be designated as kovasil ms - dmb . ( the stationary phase silylated with the same method but with use of tetradecyl - dimethyl ( dimethyilamino ) silane as silylating agent will be designated as kovasil ms - c14 ). test of a column packed with kovasil ms - c14 . separation of a test mixture composed of toluene ( 1 ), butylbenzene ( 2 ) and pentylbenzene ( 3 ). experimental : column : 33 × 4 . 6 mm ; elution mode : isocratic ; mobile phase : acetonitrile / water ( an / w = 50 / 50 by volume ); flow rate : 0 . 9 ml min - 1 ; pressure : 20 mpa ; temperature : ambient ; detector : uv 254 nm ( see fig1 ). theoretical plate numbers , n x : n toluene : 4100 ; n butylbenzene : 6150 ; n pentylbenzene : 7980 . the increase of number of theoretical plates as a function of retention time was explained by extracolumn contributions of the chromatographic system to peak - broadening ( with longer retention this contribution has a smaller effect ). hydrolytic stability of the stationary phases , kovasil ms - c14 and kovasil ms - dmb . experimental : columns : 33 × 4 . 6 mm ; mobile phase is a mixture of acetonitrile / water ( an / w = 50 / 50 by volume ) containing 0 . 12 % trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa ); temperature : 80 ° c . ; flow rate : 1 . 5 ml min - 1 ; pressure : 16 mpa . the columns were connected periodically to the chromatographic system ( every 20 h ) and the mixture of example 2 was injected . relative retention as a function of time are shown in fig2 . during the whole test period ( 400 h ) the number of theoretical plates remained constant . separation of a protein mixture of analytical importance on kovasil ms - dmb components : 1 ribonuclease , 2 cytochrom c ( horse ), 3 cytochrom c ( bovin ), 4 lysozyme , 5 conalbumin , 6 myoglobin , 7 β - lactoglobulin b , 8 β - lactoglobuihn a , 9 chymotrypsinogene . experimental : column : 33 × 4 . 6 mm ; elution mode : multilinear gradient by mixing a and b where eluent a is a mixture of an / w = 20 / 80 and eluent b is an / w = 90 / 10 both containing 0 . 12 % trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa ); elution program : 0 → 0 . 5 min 3 . 6 → 27 % b , 0 . 5 → 1 min 27 → 29 % b , 1 → 1 . 2 min 29 → 37 % b , 1 . 2 → 2 min 37 → 39 % b , keep and return ; flow rate : 3 . 0 ml min - 1 ; pressure at start 35 . 1 mpa ; temperature : 80 ° c . ; detector : wv 215 nm ( see fig3 ). separation of β - lactoglobulins on kovasil ms - dmb . components : 1 β - lactoglobulin b , 2 β - lactoglobulin a . experimental : column : 33 × 4 . 6 mm ; elution mode : linear gradient by mixing a and b where eluent a is a mixture of an / w = 20 / 80 and eluent b is an / w = 90 / 10 both containing 0 . 12 % trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa ); elution program : 0 → 0 . 8 min 28 → 100 % b , keep and return ; flow rate : 3 . 6 ml min 1 ; pressure at start 35 mpa ; temperature : 90 ° c . ; detector : uv 215 nm ( see fig4 ). separation of octapeptides on kovasil ms - dmb . the seven octapeptides analysed have the following structure : tyr - ile - prox - ala - glu - lys - ile with x : 1 x = lys , 2 x = asn , 3 x = ala , 4 x = glu , 5 x = lie 6 x = phe 7 x = leu . experimental : column : 33 × 4 . 6 mm ; elution mode : multilinear gradient by mrixing a and b where eluent a is a mixture of an / w = 3 / 97 and eluent b is an / w = 90 / 10 both containing 0 . 05 % trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa ); elution program : 0 → 3 min 1 → 9 . 7 % b , 3 → 7 min 9 . 7 → 50 % b , keep and return ; flow rate : 1 . 5 ml min - 1 ; pressure at start : 22 mpa ; temperature : 40 ° c . ; detector : uv 215 nm ( see fig5 ). separation of frypsin digest of serum albumin on kovasil ms - dmb . experimental : column : 66 × 4 . 6 mm ; elution mode : multilinear gradient by mixing a and b where eluent a is a mixture of an / w = 2 / 98 and eluent b is an / w = 90 / 10 both containing 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa ); elution program : 0 → 1 . 8 min 5 → 12 % b , 1 . 8 → 3 . 8 min 12 → 32 % b , 3 . 8 → 6 min 32 → 50 % b , keep and return ; flow rate : 1 . 4 ml mim - 1 ; pressure at start : 37 mpa ; temperature : 37 ° c . ; detector : uv 215 nm ( see fig6 ). separation of proteins on kovasil ms - c14 . components : 1 insulin ( bovin ), 2 insulin ( porcine ), 3 cytochrom c ( horse ), 4 cytochrom c ( bovin ), 5 β - lactoglobulin b , 6 β - lactoglobulin a . experimental : column : 33 × 4 . 6 mm ; elution mode : linear gradient by mixing a and b where eluent a is a mixture of an / w = 5 / 95 and eluent b is an / w = 90 / 10 both containing 0 . 12 % trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa ); elution program : 0 → 3 . 5 min 7 → 45 % b , keep and return ; flow rate : 1 . 6 ml min - 1 ; pressure at start 33 mpa ; temperature : 37 ° c . ; detector : uv 215 nm ( see fig7 ). 1 . melander , w . r . and horvath , cs . ; in horvath , cs . ( ed . ), high performnnce liquid cihrontafography -- advances and perspectives , vol . 2 , academic press , new york 1980 2 . jelinek , l ., erbacher , c ., sz . kovats , e ., eilropean patent 0 574 642 a1 ( 1992 ) | 1 |
fig1 shows a generator 20 incorporating a main stator 22 adjacent to main windings 24 . a generator shaft 26 is driven to rotate by a source of rotation , which may be a gas turbine engine . an exciter rotor 28 is mounted on the shaft , and rotates adjacent to an exciter stator 29 . as known , the rotation of the exciter rotor 28 generates an ac current , which is delivered to the main winding 24 through dc connector pins 50 and 151 . connections are shown schematically from the pins 50 and 151 going to the main windings 24 . this portion of the invention is as known in the art . a wire 32 passes through slots 34 in the shaft 26 and is connected to electrical terminals 66 . the detail of the generator shaft 26 , and the slots 34 , are better disclosed in a co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 12 / 436 , 161 , filed on even date herewith and entitled “ generator rotor with improved hollow shaft .” a rectifier assembly 38 is shown within an inner bore in the generator shaft 26 . as shown in fig2 a , the rectifier assembly 38 incorporates an end housing 60 , an insulator 68 , a first electrical ring 70 , a second insulator 52 , a second electrical ring 56 , and another insulator 52 . as can be seen , the pins 50 and 151 extend beyond insulator 52 . this assembly is shown in fig2 a without the housing portion 62 . fig2 b shows the housing portion 62 assembled to the housing portion 60 . in addition , an oil supply tube 36 is shown in fig2 b extending outwardly of the assembly 38 . it should be understood that the oil supply tube 36 need not be part of the rectifier assembly 38 , and that further , if it is inserted into the assembly , it is inserted after the various screws are tightened , as will be discussed below . holes 64 and 65 extend through the first housing 62 to allow access to internal screws or bolts . fig3 is an exploded view of the assembly 38 , and shows the oil supply tube 36 . the housing 60 is shown adjacent to the terminals 66 . an insulator 68 includes slots 69 that extend for a generally great circumferential distance and each receive a terminal 66 , and smaller slots 71 which provide access to tighten a bolt that is to be received in the terminal 66 . the insulator 68 is preferably formed of a plastic . electrical ring 70 is formed of copper , and includes diodes 75 . spring strips 74 carry three bolts 72 , one to be associated with the terminal 66 , and the other two to be associated with nuts 54 formed in two spaced insulators 52 . ledges 79 on the springs 74 extend away from a face 81 of the springs that carries the bolts 72 . ledges 79 abut and hold diodes 75 against an inner wall of the electrical rings 70 and 56 . as shown , the insulators 52 include holes 53 to allow access to an opposed bolt and slots 73 to receive and hold nuts 54 . as shown in fig4 , the holes 64 are positioned to be opposite of bolts 72 in each of the insulators 52 . similarly , slots 65 at an axial end of the housing 62 allows access to the bolt 72 received in terminals 66 . as appreciated from this figure , the diodes 75 are biased by the ledges 79 against an inner surface of the electrical connection members 70 and 56 . when assembling the diode assembly 38 , one initially assembles the housing components onto the second housing 60 . the first housing 62 is then brought over the assembly . at that point , the bolts 72 are tightened by moving a tightening tool 600 through the holes 64 , 65 , 53 , and 71 . as can be seen , the holes are opposed to the location of the bolts . while the holes can be spaced 180 ° from the bolts , all that is intended by the term “ opposed ” is that the holes allow access to the bolts for tightening . after this assembly , the oil tube may then be moved into the housing . as shown on the right hand side , a tool 600 extends through the holes 64 and 53 and is tightening the bolts 72 . it should be understood there are three circumferentially spaced sets of the bolts 72 at each of the three axial locations . by utilizing the two housing portions , and by providing the bolt access holes , the present invention simplifies the assembly when compared to the prior art . fig5 shows the electrical components of the overall rectifier assembly 38 . as can be appreciated , the pins 50 and 151 each extend to a slot 201 in their respective electrical rings 70 and 56 . the pins provide a positive and negative connection . fig6 shows the electrical ring 70 , but the illustration would also apply to the ring 56 . as shown , flat surfaces 203 receive a diode , and curved portions 205 are formed circumferentially between the flats 203 . an ear 210 includes an opening 201 to receive a pin 50 , or 151 . fig7 a shows the first housing element 62 . as shown in this cross - sectional view , a slot 303 provides room for ear 210 . the sot 301 receives the connection pins 151 . it should be understood that spaced from this view would be a longer slot 301 to be associated with the longer connection pin 50 . grooves 111 extend circumferentially about the inner periphery to circulate oil . as shown in fig7 b , holes 115 on an outer periphery of the first housing member 62 communicate grooves 111 with outer peripheral tube slots 113 . fig8 a shows the second housing member 60 having openings 163 to receive the terminals 66 . as shown in fig8 b , holes 161 in this housing allow access to the screw threads for tightening . a central tri - lobular hole 200 receives a tri - lobular head of the oil supply tube , to properly position the oil supply tube . of course , other non - cylindrical shapes may be utilized to properly position the oil supply tube . a ledge 201 , as shown in fig8 b , provides a stop for the head on the oil supply tube . in this way , the oil supply tube is properly positioned relative to the remainder of the assembly such that oil holes 19 in the oil supply tube are aligned with the diodes 75 ( see fig4 ). although embodiments of this invention have been disclosed , a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention . for that reason , the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention . | 8 |
referring now to the drawings , the locking / unlocking device 1 shown in fig1 to 4 is adapted to mechanically lock a connector 2 on a tubular structure 3 of longitudinal axis x - x . by way of example , the structure 3 constitutes a part of the chassis of an assembly of baggage chests embarked on board an aircraft and the connector 2 is intended to be connected to the fuselage of the aircraft . in the following description , the term “ front ” will , for convenience , designate a direction directed towards the structure 3 , i . e . towards the left in fig1 to 4 , while the term “ rear ” will designate the opposite direction . the connector 2 comprises a front part 21 in the form of a solid cylindrical rod , whose longitudinal axis merges with axis x - x in the figures . the front part of this rod 21 is provided with an outer thread 22 . a rectilinear groove 23 is hollowed out over the whole length of the rod . at its rear end , the rod 21 is fast with a stirrup member 24 of which the arms extend substantially in directions parallel to axis x - x and are pierced right through with orifices 25 aligned in a direction substantially perpendicular to axis x - x . these orifices 25 are intended to receive a rod ( not shown ) for connection of the connector 2 with a structural component ( not shown ), for example part of the fuselage of the aircraft which , when it is used , is subjected to mechanical stresses and / or to vibrations inducing on the connector 2 a torque about axis x - x . with a view to linking the connector 2 to the tubular structure 3 , the latter is equipped with a substantially tubular rigid body 31 of axis x - x . this body is fixedly connected to the structure 3 , being for example force - fitted in the rear end of the structure . in a variant ( not shown ), the body 31 is directly integral with the structure . the body 31 is traversed right through along axis x - x by an inner bore 32 presenting a tapping complementary to the outer thread 22 of the rod 21 . in this way , the rod of the connector 2 is able to be screwed in the bore 32 so as to adjust the axial distance between the rigid body 31 and the stirrup member 24 , i . e . to adjust the structure and the connector “ in tension ”. to the rear of the bore 32 , the body 31 presents a tubular zone 33 whose internal diameter is greater than the diameter of the bore , thus forming an inner radial shoulder 34 . the rear end of this zone 33 is externally constituted by a flange 35 which projects radially from the rest of the outer surface of the body 31 , forming an outer radial shoulder 36 . the inner surface 37 of the flange 35 is of truncated shape , convergent in the direction of axis x - x towards the front . the device 1 also comprises a substantially tubular , rigid ring 4 , for example made of metal . this ring may be threaded around the rod 21 . at the level of the inner bore of the ring , there is provided a drive fluting 41 extending over the whole length of the ring and substantially complementary of the groove 23 hollowed out on the surface of the rod 21 . in this way , when the ring 4 is mounted on the rod 21 , it is linked in rotation with the rod , while remaining free in axial translation along this rod . as shown in greater detail in fig4 , the ring 4 is successively constituted : by a front part 42 , which is essentially cylindrical with circular base , whose external diameter is substantially equal to the internal diameter of the rear part 33 of the body 31 , the front end of this part 42 being shaped in truncated manner , convergent in the direction of axis x - x , towards the front , in order to facilitate the introduction of the ring 4 inside the zone 33 . by an intermediate part of truncated shape convergent in the direction of axis x - x , towards the front , the outer truncated surface of this intermediate part being referenced 43 ; and by a rear part 44 which is essentially cylindrical with circular base , provided at the front with an outer thread 44 of which the direction of threading is , for reasons ; explained hereinbelow , opposite the direction of the thread 22 of the rod 21 . in the rear part 44 of the ring 4 there is hollowed out a substantially cylindrical radial housing 46 inside which are disposed a stud 51 and a compression spring 52 radially interposed between the base of the stud and the bottom of the housing . the ring 4 is axially split over the whole of its length , as shown in fig3 which corresponds to the plane of section passing through the corresponding slot 47 . the device further comprises a substantially tubular , rigid bush 6 , for example made of metal , movably connected around the body 31 in substantially coaxial manner with respect to the bore 32 . in its running part , the bush 6 presents an internal diameter substantially equal to the external diameter of the end flange 35 and is internally provided with a tapping 61 substantially complementary of the thread 45 of the ring 4 . at the front of this tapping 61 , the bush 6 is provided with an end heel 62 extending radially towards the outside and whose internal diameter is substantially equal to the external diameter of the tubular body 31 . finally , the device 1 comprises two supple annular elements , or snap rings 71 and 72 respectively housed in a groove 38 hollowed out in the rear part 33 of the body 31 , from its inner face , and in a groove 63 hollowed out in the end heel 62 of the bush 6 , from its inner face . in a first step , the device 1 is in an unlocked configuration as shown in fig1 . in this configuration , the bush 6 is located at the front of the rear end flange 35 of the body 31 and the ring 4 is freely movable in axial translation between the rear end of the groove 23 and the body 31 , the rod 21 being engaged inside the bore 32 . in this unlocked configuration , the stud 51 partially projects , under the action of the spring 52 , from the outer surface of the rear part 44 of the ring 4 . means ( not shown ) are provided to avoid this stud 51 being totally disengaged from the housing 46 . the connector 2 is then freely screwed and / or unscrewed in the body 31 so as to adjust the axial distance between these elements . once this adjustment is effected , the user uses one hand in particular to slide the ring 4 axially towards the front until its truncated surface 43 comes substantially in contact with the truncated inner surface 37 of the rear end flange 35 of the body 31 . when these surfaces 37 and 43 are in contact , to within a functional clearance , the snap ring 71 clips inside an annular groove hollowed out on the outer surface of the front part 42 of the ring . the ring is then axially retained with respect to the body 31 , the user having to overcome the resistance of the snap ring 71 if he desires to disengage the ring towards the rear . in order to effect an efficient blocking , particularly in axial translation , of the ring 4 with respect to the tubular body 31 , the rigid bush 6 is used . more precisely , the bush passes from its position of fig1 to its position of fig2 to 4 , being slid axially towards the rear until its inner tapping 61 comes into axial abutment against the outer thread 45 of the ring . in order not to prevent the bush 6 from sliding freely towards the rear , the user pushes the stud 51 radially inside its housing 46 , compressing the spring 52 . in this configuration , the stud and the spring are represented in dotted lines in fig4 . the user then screws the bush 6 on the ring 4 , provoking tightening of the latter against the body 31 , the truncated surface 43 being pressed against the truncated surface 37 . when the screwing of the bush 6 around the ring 4 starts , the snap ring 71 retains the ring axially and avoids it being pushed towards the rear . insofar as the directions of the threads 22 of the connector 2 and 45 of the ring 4 are opposite , the screwing of the bush 6 does not bring about rotation of the connector 2 inside the bore 32 , which guarantees that the adjustment of the connector 2 / structure 3 assembly is not modified in length . during tightening of the ring , the edges of the slot 47 tend to close on one another so as to compensate the clearances of the device 1 . tightening of the ring 4 by the bush 6 against the body 31 continues until the heel 62 comes into axial abutment against the outer shoulder 36 of the body 31 , in that case provoking clipping of the snap ring 72 inside an annular groove hollowed out on the outer surface of the body 31 . the device 1 is then in its locked configuration of fig2 to 4 . the arrival of the bush 6 at the end of screwing on the ring 4 also provokes the radial alignment of the housing 46 with a radial orifice 64 traversing the bush 6 in its rear part . the cross section of this hole 64 being at least greater than the cross section of the stud 51 , the latter is then deployed radially towards the outside , under the effect of the spring 52 , its outer end projecting outwardly of the bush 6 . in its deployed state of fig2 to 4 , the stud 51 therefore indicates to the user that the bush 6 is suitably tightened on the ring 4 , i . e . that the tightening torque applied by this bush on the ring is sufficient to guarantee the expected locking of the device 1 . in this locked configuration , the ring 4 is immobilized by the bush 6 with respect to the tubular body 31 , with the result that , when the connector 2 is subsequently subjected to vibrations or external stresses , any movement of rotation of the connector about axis x - x is prevented . it will be understood that , for the blocking of the ring 4 by the tightening bush 6 to be as efficient as possible , the cooperation of the thread 45 and of the tapping 61 is essential . to that end , a plurality of independent and cumulative arrangements can be envisaged . firstly , the direction of the thread 45 may be provided to provoke an even greater tightening of the ring 4 by the bush 6 when the connector 2 is stressed by that of the two envisageable torques which is of greater intensity and / or frequency . consequently , when this considerable or repetitive torque is applied on the connector 2 , the device 1 provokes to some extent a more intense locking . however , the shoulder forms a stop surface corresponding to the maximum axial penetration admissible of the ring 4 in the body 31 in order to avoid damaging the device at the level of its truncated surfaces 37 and 43 . then , the extent of the surfaces of matter in mesh at the level of the thread 45 and of the tapping 61 may be dimensioned highly , by imposing a relatively small helix angle on this threading / tapping assembly , for example smaller than 30 °. consequently , when the threading 45 is completely in mesh with the tapping 61 , the ring 4 and the bush 6 are to some extent buttressed . similarly , the number of turns of the thread 45 and of the tapping 61 in mesh influences the resistance of the blocking of the ring 4 by the bush 6 . when the device 1 is in its locking configuration and the user wishes to unlock it , he pushes the stud 51 radially towards the inside , if necessary with the aid of an appropriate tool , this constituting an unlocking maneuver of which the user is necessarily conscious . he then partially unscrews the bush towards the front , having previously to overcome the resistance of the snap ring 72 . while the threading 45 is still partially in mesh with the tapping 61 , he pushes the bush 6 axially towards the rear , in that case driving the ring 4 axially . the adjustment of the connector 2 with respect to the structure 3 in length may then be modified or the bush 6 continues to be unscrewed until it is totally disengaged from the ring 4 . it will be understood that if , in cross section , the hole 64 is substantially complementary of the outer contour of the stud 51 , the cooperation of this stud and this hole , when the device 1 attains its locking configuration , renders the presence of the supple snap ring 72 unnecessary , the user having to overcome the resistance of the spring 62 in order to be able to begin unscrewing the bush 6 . various arrangements and variants to the locking / unlocking device 1 described hereinbove may , in addition , be envisaged : the snap rings 71 and 72 may be replaced by any supple annular safety element allowing the respective axial retainings of the ring 4 with respect to the body 31 and of the bush 6 with respect to this body , for example by circlips or elastomeric o - rings . the ring 4 may be equipped with a plurality of flutings similar to fluting 41 and cooperating with as many grooves hollowed out on the surface of the rod 21 . the drive fluting may have different profiles in cross section , for example rectangular , trapezoidal , flat , incurved , etc . . . the rear part of the connector 2 is not limited to the stirrup - like form as described hereinabove , but is generally adaptable to any mechanical linking member , for example a ball - and - socket joint ; and / or the geometry of the structure 3 on which the device 1 locks the connector 2 is not necessarily tubular . | 5 |
in the following , a particular embodiment of the invention will be described by way of example only . fig1 is a perspective view of a system unit 10 for use in a rack - mountable system . in a particular example described herein , the system unit is a computer system unit for forming a computer server for a telecommunications application , for example an internet server . as shown in fig1 the unit 10 has a front surface 12 formed by a front wall , a rear surface 14 formed by a rear wall , a left end surface 16 formed by a left side wall , a right end surface 18 formed by a right side wall , a lower surface 20 formed by a base wall and an upper surface 22 , in the present example formed by a cover 30 . as shown in fig1 the system unit 10 is provided with sacrificial transport flanges 24 , which extend above and below the system unit . this optional feature is removed before installation of the system unit 10 in a rack . the system unit 10 is constructed with an extremely robust chassis 11 , with the various walls 12 - 20 and the cover 30 forming the casing of the chassis 11 as well as internal walls ( not shown ) being formed of heavy gauge steel . the walls of the chassis can be made , for example , from electroless nickel - plated mild steel with a thickness of , for example , 1 . 5 to 2 . 0 - mm . the steel chassis 11 is pre - formed with mounting holes for the attachment of mounting flanges or a slide mechanism to enable the system unit 10 to be provided with a wide variety of mounting options and rack sizes . mounting flanges can be provided to suit standard 19 - inch , 23 - inch , 24 - inch or 600 - mm nominal frame widths . ( one inch = approximately 25 . 4 mm ). fig2 a is a plan view of the unit 10 showing the upper surface 22 / cover 30 and various options for flanges 26 with the displacements from the front surface indicated in mm . fig2 b is a front view of the unit 10 showing the front surface 12 and two different examples of mounting flanges 26 . the mounting flange shown to the left ( as seen in fig2 b ) is provided with a handle to facilitate insertion and removal of the unit 10 from the racking system , whereas the flange 26 to the right ( as viewed in fig2 b ) is not provided with a handle . in the present example , the mounting flanges can be attached using screws which pass through the mounting flange into threaded holes in the end walls 14 , 16 at either side of the chassis 11 of the unit 10 . fig2 c is a side view of the system unit 10 , showing the holes in the side of the system unit 10 for the mounting of flanges or a slide mechanism . vertical rows of holes are for the attachment of flanges to be attached to vertical rack components , and horizontal rows of holes provide for the attachment of a runners for permitting a slideable mounting of the system unit in a rack . fig3 is a perspective rear view of the unit 10 showing the cover 30 that forms the top surface 22 of the unit 10 as can be seen , the cover 30 is provided with front locating flanges 32 that , in use , engage a co - operating front flange 31 of the body of the chassis 11 . side flanges 33 engage either side of the end walls forming the left and right ends 16 and 18 of the chassis 11 . detents 34 on those end walls engage within l - shaped slots 35 in the side flanges 33 so that the cover may be lowered onto the top of the chassis 11 and then moved forwards so as to cause the detents 34 to latch within the slots 35 . at the rear of the cover 30 , a rear flange 36 with a lower lip 37 engages over an abutment 38 at the top of the rear end wall 14 of the casing 10 . the cover can be secured to the remainder of the chassis 11 by means of a screw 39 that passes through this rear flange into a threaded hole in the abutment 38 . fig4 is an exploded perspective view from the front of the system unit 10 . this shows a motherboard 40 that is mounted on a horizontal mounting plane 41 within the chassis 11 . mounted on the motherboard 40 are between one and four processor modules 42 . a riser card 44 can receive a plurality of dual in - line memory modules ( dimms ) 46 . further dimms 46 can be received directly in slots in the motherboard . a slideable carriage 48 is provided for receiving one or more media drives . as shown in fig4 the slideable carriage 48 can receive up to two media drives . in the present instance , two media drives including a digital audio tape ( dat ) drive 50 and a cd - rom drive 52 are provided . appropriately configured metal cover plates 54 and 56 are provided for the media drives 50 and 52 . a disc bay assembly 58 provides a small computer system interface ( scsi ) backplane and cables for receiving one or more scsi media drives , such as a scsi disc drive 60 . although , in the present instance , the drives are controlled via a scsi - type interface , it will be appreciated that another media drive interface ( e . g ., ide ) could be used . a scsi card ( not shown ) is located within the chassis to the front of the motherboard . a bezel ( decor panel ) 62 is provided for covering ventilation holes 63 in the front wall 12 of the chassis 11 . a bezel 64 is provided for covering the media drives 50 , 52 and 60 . a fan control module 66 controls the operation of processor fans 68 and system fans 70 . a power sub - assembly that includes a power sub - frame 72 with a power distribution board assembly , is provided for receiving three separate power supply units 74 . an alarms module in the form of an alarms card 78 enables the signalling of alarms to the outside world , and is also connected to an led card 2 for signalling alarms locally on the front of the unit 10 . a power switch 82 is also provided on the front surface of the unit 10 . fig4 also illustrates one pci card 84 to be received within a pci slot 85 on the motherboard 40 . fig5 is a front view of the unit 10 showing the bezels 62 and 64 , a power and alarm panel 90 which includes the power switch 82 and a number of status light emitting diodes ( leds ) 92 . fig5 also illustrates the slots 86 and 88 for the media drives such as media drives 50 and 52 shown in fig4 . fig6 is a rear view of the unit 10 in a configuration with three dc power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c . each of the power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c is the same , and provides redundant power for the unit 10 . however , as will be seen later , one or more of the dc power supply units could be replaced by ac ( mains ) power supply units . the power supplies are hot swappable ( i . e ., while the system is running ), as long as they are swapped one at a time . with regard to power supply unit 74 a , it can be seen that this is provided with a handle 94 that is used for inserting and removing the power supply unit 74 a . the handle 94 includes a flange portion that is able to receive a screw 95 for securing the power supply unit to the chassis 11 . first and second power cable sockets 96 and 98 are shown . also shown is a grounding plate 100 that is secured by knurled nuts 102 , 104 and 106 to grounding studs 103 , 105 and 107 . grounding stud 103 provides a connection directly to the chassis 11 of the unit 10 . grounding studs 105 and 107 , on the other hand are electrically isolated from the chassis by an insulating board and are instead connected to logic ground ( i . e . the ground of the electronic circuitry ). by means of the grounding plate 100 , logic ground can be connected directly to chassis ground . the provision of this grounding plate provides for optional tying of logic ground to chassis ground . it will be noted that each of the power supply units 74 is provided with a similar grounding plate 100 , for connection to corresponding grounding studs . if it is desired to isolate logic ground from chassis ground , it is necessary to remove the grounding plate 100 from each of the power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c . an isolated ground system is needed in some telco applications when operating in a regional bell operating company ( rboc ) mode . when operating in such a mode , the chassis and logic ground are connected at a remote location to provide , for example , lightning protection . in this case two - hole lugs 101 having a pair of holes 111 to fit over the pair of grounding studs 105 and 107 are provided for each of the power supply units 74 and are secured over the studs using nuts 104 and 106 . a similar two - hole lug 101 is secured to the grounding studs 108 and is secured with similar nuts . earthing wires 109 from each of the two - hole lugs 101 on the power units and the chassis then are taken to the remote , earthing location . the studs 103 105 , 107 and 108 are of a standard thread size ( m 5 ). the studs 105 / 107 and the studs 108 are at a standard separation ( 15 . 85 mm ). the studs 105 / 107 are selfretaining in the insulated board on the power supply units . the stud 103 is self - retaining in the casing of its power supply unit 74 . the suds 108 are also self - retaining in the system unit chassis . in a non - isolated ground situation , chassis ground can simply be tied to a desired ground potential ( for example , to the racking system ) by connecting a grounding cable to grounding studs 108 provided on the rear of the chassis . a further earth connection is provided via the power cables for the power supplies . fig6 also illustrates rear ventilation holes 110 through which air is vented from the system . fig6 also shows the alarms module 78 with a serial connector 112 enabling connection of the alarms module to a network for the communication of faults and / or for diagnostic operations on the unit 10 to be performed from a remote location . fig6 also shows a number of pci cards 84 received within respective pci slots 116 . a number of further external connections 114 are provided for connection of serial connections , parallel connections and scsi connections , and for the connection of a keyboard or a twisted - pair ethernet ( tpe ) connector . fig7 is a plan view of the motherboard 40 shown in fig4 . four cpu module slots 120 are provided . each of these slots is able to receive one processor module 42 , and any number between one and four slots may be occupied by a processor module 42 . a connector arrangement 122 is provided for receiving a riser card 44 as shown in fig4 . also , connectors 124 ( in four banks ) are provided for receiving dimms 46 as mentioned with reference to fig4 . edge connectors 126 are provided for connecting the motherboard to connectors mounted on the mounting plane 41 . also shown in fig7 is the slot 128 for the alarms module 78 and various ports 130 for the connectors 114 shown in fig6 . fig8 is a schematic overview of the computer architecture of the system 10 . as shown in fig8 various components within the system are implemented through application - specific integrated circuits ( asics ). the system is based round a ultrasparc port architecture ( upa ) bus system that uses a peripheral component interconnect ( pci ) protocol for an i / o expansion bus . the cpu modules 40 . 0 , 40 . 1 , 40 . 2 , 40 . 3 , and a upa - to - pci ( u 2 p ) asic 154 communicate with each other using the upa protocol . the cpu modules 40 and the u 2 p asic 154 are configured as upa master - slave devices . an address router ( ar ) asic 154 routes upa request packets through the upa address bus and controls the flow of data to and from memory 150 using a data router ( dr ) asic 144 and a switching network 148 . the ar asic 154 provides system control . it controls the upa interconnect between the major system components and main memory . the dr asic 144 is a buffered memory crossbar device that acts as a bridge between six system unit buses . the six system unit buses include two processor buses , a memory data bus and to i / o buses . the dr asic 144 provides crossbar functions , memory port decoupling , burst transfer and first - in - first - out ( fifo ) data read functions . clock control for the operation of the processor is provided by a reset , interrupt , scan and clock ( risc ) asic 152 . the pci bus is a high performance 32 - bit or 64 - bit bus with multiplexed address and data lines . the pci bus provides electrical interconnection between highly integrated peripheral controller components , peripheral add - on devices , and the processor - memory system . a one - slot pci bus 155 connects to a pci device 156 . 0 . a three - slot pci bus connects to three pci slots 156 . 1 , 156 . 2 and 156 . 3 . two controllers are also connected to the second pci bus 157 . these include a scsi controller 174 and a pci - t 0 - ebus / ethernet controller ( pcio ) 158 . the scsi controller 174 provides electrical connection between the motherboard and separate internal and external scsi buses . the controller also provides for scsi bus control . the pcio 158 connects the pci bus to the ebus . this enables communication between the pci bus and all miscellaneous i / o functions as well as the connection to slower , on board functions . thus , the pcio enables the connection to an ethernet connection via a transmit / receive ( tx / rx ) module 161 and a network device ( nd ) module 162 an ebus 2 159 provides a connection to various i / o devices and internal components . super i / o 164 is a commercial off - the - shelf component that contains two serial port controllers for keyboard and mouse , an ieee 1284 parallel port interface and an ide disk interface . the super i / o drives the various ports directly with some electromagnetic interference filtering on the keyboard and parallel port signals . the alarms module 78 interfaces with the motherboard and provides various alarm functions . the nvram / tod 168 provides non - volatile read only memory and the time of day function . serial port 170 provides a variety of functions . modem connection to the serial port 170 enables access to the internet . synchronous x . 25 modems can be used for telecommunications in europe . an ascii text window is accessible through the serial port on non - graphics systems . low speed printers , button boxes ( for computer aided design applications ) and devices that function like a mouse are also accessible through the serial port . the serial port includes a serial port controller , line drivers and line receivers . a one - mbyte flash programmable read only memory ( prom ) 172 provides read only memory for the system . fig9 is a perspective rear view of the system 10 showing the withdrawal and / or insertion of a power supply unit 74 in a non - isolated ground situation . in this example , ac power supply units 74 are shown . it can be seen that the power supply unit 74 is provided with the handle 94 . as shown in fig9 the handle 94 is provided with a grip 184 , a pivot 182 and a latch 180 . to insert the power supply unit 74 it is necessary to slide the power supply unit into the power sub - frame 72 with the grip 184 of the handle 94 slightly raised so that the detent 180 can be received under the top 184 of the power sub - frame 72 . as the power supply unit 74 reaches the end of its movement into the power sub - frame 72 , connectors ( not shown ) provided on the power supply unit 74 make connection with a corresponding connector on the power distribution board at the rear of the power sub - frame 72 . also , at this time , the handle can be pushed down into the position shown in fig9 . this causes the detent 180 to latch behind the upper portion 184 of the power sub - frame 72 . the handle 94 can then be secured in place by tightening the screw 95 . the ac power supply unit 74 shown in fig9 has a single power socket 97 , whereas the dc power supply units 74 shown in fig6 have two power sockets 96 and 98 . irrespective of whether the arrangement is as shown in fig6 with two dc power sockets 96 and 98 , or as shown in fig9 with one ac power socket 97 , the configuration of the power socket ( s ) and the lever 94 is such that the lever cannot be moved , and therefore the power supply unit cannot be released from the power sub - frame 72 and the chassis 11 with a plug 186 of a power cable 188 in place in one of the power sockets 96 / 97 / 98 . the removal operation is achieved by releasing the screw 95 , removing the power plug , and lifting and pulling on the handle 94 . in an isolated ground situation , in order to hot - swap a power supply unit 74 , it is merely necessary to remove the two - hole lug 101 with its connecting earth wire 109 from the studs 105 , 107 of the power supply unit to be removed , to remove the old power supply unit 74 , to replace a new power supply unit 74 and then to reconnect the two - hole lug 101 and connecting earth wire 109 to the studs 105 , 107 of the new power supply unit 74 . these operations can all be performed with the system under power from the other power supply units 74 and with the two - hole lugs 101 and earth wires 109 in place over the chassis studs 108 and the studs 105 , 107 of the other power supply units 74 . the isolated ground situation is not shown in fig6 and 9 . in the non - isolated ground situation shown in fig6 and 9 , hot - swapping of a power supply unit is even easier , as it is merely necessary to remove the selected power supply unit 74 and to replace it with the new power supply unit 74 . fig1 a , 10 b , 10 c and 10 d are rear , top , front and perspective views of a power sub - frame for receiving three power supply units : the power sub - frame 72 comprises a rectangular , box - shaped frame 191 , with four exterior walls on four sides ( the top , bottom and two lateral surfaces ), one open side 195 for receiving three power supply units and a power distribution circuit board 190 opposite to the open side . in the present instance , the walls are made of electroless nickel - plated mild steel . fig1 a shows the power distribution board at the “ rear ” of the power sub - frame ( i . e . opposite to the open side ). when inserted in the chassis of the system unit , this “ rear ” of the power sub - frame is actually the forward - most side of the power sub - frame when viewed with respect to the system unit . the power distribution board 190 is formed with ventilation holes 194 and carries circuit tracks and components ( not shown ). fig1 a also illustrates the flanges 198 with screw holes 199 for securing the power sub - frame to the rear chassis wall . fig1 b shows the top of power sub - frame . it will be noted that the power sub - frame body 196 is provided with apertures 197 for lightness and for ventilation purposes . fig1 c shows the open ( front ) side 195 ( see fig1 b ) of the power sub - frame . when inserted in the chassis of the system unit , this “ front ” of the power sub - frame is actually the rear - most side of the power sub - frame when viewed with respect to the system unit . within the power sub - frame 72 , connectors 192 a , 192 b and 192 c for the three power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c , respectively , can be seen . these connectors are mounted on the power distribution board 190 inside the power sub - frame 72 . fig1 c also shows the flanges 198 with screw holes 199 for securing the power sub - frame to the rear chassis wall . fig1 d is a perspective view of the power sub - frame 72 , which shows that this in fact forms part of a power sub - assembly 71 . internal walls 200 separate three compartments , each for a respective one of the three power supply units 74 . cables 202 connect standby power and signal lines from the power distribution board 190 to a connector 204 for connection to an alarms module . cables 206 connect main power and signal lines from the power distribution board 190 to various connectors 208 , 210 , 212 and 214 . fig1 e shows the various connector types 192 , 204 , 208 , 210 , 212 and 214 and the electrical signal connections thereto . fig1 is a schematic representation of some of the logic connections on the power distribution board . for ease of explanation , only those connections relevant for an understanding of the present invention are described . at the left of fig1 , the three connectors 192 a , 192 b and 192 c for the three power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c are shown . for reasons of clarity and convenience only those connections relevant for an understanding of the present invention as shown . for example , as illustrated with respect to fig1 e , the connectors 192 have many pins and pass many signals via respective lines . however , as not all of these lines are necessary for an understanding of the present invention , and as it would be confusing to illustrate all of the signal pathways on a diagram , only selected pathways are shown in fig1 . it is to be noted from fig1 e , that the power supply units output ground , + 3v 3 ,+ 5v , + 12v , − 12v and + 5v standby potentials as well as control signals such as psu ok , psu on , etc . the + 5v standby voltage is used for powering the alarm module 78 . the other voltages are for powering the motherboard and other main system components . the various lines could be configured using bus bars , wires , printed circuit or thick film conductors as appropriate . firstly , the two - of - three circuit 232 will be explained . this circuit is powered by the + 5v standby voltage 231 provided from each of the power supply units 74 . each of the power supply units outputs a psu ok signal via a pin on its respective connector to a corresponding psu ok line 230 a , 230 b and 230 c when the power supply unit is operating correctly . each of these psu ok lines 230 is connected to the two - of - three circuit 232 . this comprises three and gates 234 , 236 and 238 , each for comparing a respective pair of the psu ok signals . the outputs of the and gates are supplied to an or gate 240 . if the output of this or gate is true , then at least two of the power supply units 74 are operating correctly , and power can be supplied to the motherboard of the computer system . this can be achieved by closing the main power line 245 . an output signal 242 could be supplied to a gate 244 ( for example a power fet ) to enable current to pass to the motherboard and other system components . additionally , or alternatively , a power ok signal 246 for controlling some other form of switch mechanism ( not shown ). if alternatively the output of the or gate 242 is false , then this indicates less than two of the power supply units 74 are operative . in this case power is prevented from being passed to the motherboard 40 of the computer system . this can be achieved by interrupting the main power line 245 . an output signal 242 could be supplied to a gate 244 ( for example a power fet ) to prevent current being passed to the motherboard and other system components . additionally , or alternatively , a power fault signal 246 could be passed to the alarms module and / or for controlling some other form of switch mechanism ( not shown ). one - of - three power control is effectively provided by the alarms module 78 to be described later . however , with reference to fig1 , input a / b signals 268 and output sense signals 270 are passed to the alarms module for standby operation , and control signals 272 could be returned for turning off of a power supply unit , if required . fig1 further illustrates a protection circuit 256 that is able to detect an overcurrent representative of a current greater than 2 * imax , where imax is the maximum current that can be output by a power supply , 2 * imax being the maximum current which should be required by the system unit . if a current greater than 2 * imax is detected , this is representative of a fault in the system unit . in accordance with telco requirements , in such a situation the system should be powered down . by providing for overcurrent detection on the power distribution board , where the maximum drawable current should be 2 * imax , it is possible to test for a fault at a lower overall current than if this test were made within each power supply unit . if the test were made in each power supply unit , each power supply unit would need to be tested for an overcurrent in excess of imax , whereby one would be testing for a total current drain of 3 * imax . this could lead to faults not being detected or not detected early enough and the system could incorrectly be drawing up to 3 * imax , which could damage components and traces ( tracks ). thus , as shown in fig1 , each of the main power lines ( e . g ., + 12v ) 250 a , 250 b and 250 c from the power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c , respectively is connected to form a common power supply line 254 . an overcurrent detector 258 detects a current in excess of 2 * imax . if such a current is detected ( for example as a result of a fault represented by the box 266 ), then a signal 261 is provided to the connectors 192 , a , 192 b and 192 c for shutting down the power supplies 74 a , 74 b and 74 c , respectively . also , a signal 262 is passed to a switchable shunt 260 ( e . g ., a silicon controlled rectifier ( scr ), a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor ( mosfet ), an insulated gate bipolar transistor ( igbp ), etc ) to shunt the power supply line 254 to ground . this will cause any energy stored in the power supplies and also in the system ( for example as represented by the capacitor 264 ) to drain to ground , thus protecting the system . the use of the two - of - three circuit described above means that redundant power supply operation is provided in that the system can remain powered even if one of the three power supply units fails . as only two - of - three power supply units are needed to power the system the third power supply unit can be hot swapped while the other two power supply units power the system . fig1 illustrates the location of an alarms card forming the alarms module 78 in the rear of the system unit 10 . fig1 is a functional block diagram for illustrating the alarm sub - system on the alarms module 78 . the alarms sub - system provides lights out management or remote management of the system over a serial connection . the alarms module 78 interfaces with the motherboard through an ebus edge connector slot 298 ( connected to ebus2 as shown in fig8 ). a pci - style bracket is attached to one edge of the alarms module ( as seen in fig1 ) and provides the external interfaces at the rear of the chassis 11 . internal interfaces provide connections to the power supply assembly and to the led card 80 located at the front panel of the system unit 10 . the alarms module is powered by the standby , or reserve , power supply . the alarms module only requires power from a single power supply to remain operable . accordingly , the alarms module can remain operable even in a situation where the system has been powered down due to there being only one power supply unit operable . the alarms sub - system comprises a logic device 280 which receives inputs 298 from the ebus , inputs 286 from the fans , input 290 from general purpose events , input 270 from the power supply unit output rails and inputs 268 from the a and b power inlets . the logic circuit samples , or multiplexes , the inputs to the microcontroller 296 in response to multiplex signals from the microcontroller 296 . the microcontroller 296 processes the sampled ( multiplexed ) inputs . the microcontroller 296 provides power control signals 272 for controlling the power supply units , and alarm outputs for the output of alarm signals . the microcontroller 296 also outputs power supply unit status signals 304 and fault signals 306 . the micro controller 296 can further output a system reset signal 310 , when required . alarm signals to be passed to a remote location can pass via a remote serial connection 112 . diagnostic and remote control signals can be passed from the network via the serial connection 112 to the microcontroller 296 . control signals can thus be provided via the remote serial connection over the network for powering on and powering off the system . examples of other commands that can be sent to the microcontroller via the remote serial connection 112 are to turn alarms off , to reset the monitoring of all failures , to display the status of all fans , power supply units , alarms and fault light emitting diodes ( leds ), to display an event log , etc . the microcontroller is programmed to report any fan failures or changes in power supply units status by means of the leds 92 ( fig5 ) on the system front and optionally to report the faults via the remote serial connection 112 . the microcontroller 296 is programmed to maintain the event log that was referenced above . fig1 illustrates the configuration of the fan control module 66 shown in fig4 . the fan control module is subdivided into two halves 66 a and 66 b . one half 66 a handles one processor fan 68 a and one system fan 70 b and the other half 66 b handles the other processor fan 68 band the other system fan 70 b . the fans are connected to the fan control module 66 by respective power lines 320 so that the fans receive their power via the fan control module . the fan control module receives + 12v power via power lines 324 a / b from the power distribution board 190 and supplies voltages to the fans via the power lines 320 in a controlled manner . for convenience , tacho ( speed ) signals from the fans pass via the alarms control module 66 . the speed signals are not processed by the fan control module , but are instead forwarded via tacho sense 326 to the power distribution board 190 . the power distribution board then routes the tacho sense signals to the alarms module 78 to form the signals 286 shown in fig1 . this routing is convenient as it enables simpler wiring looms to be used . also , when replacing a fan unit , the maintenance engineer only needs to remove a single bundle of wires from the fan to the fan control module 66 , rather than having to locate a number of different connectors connected to the fan . the fan control module thus has four fan connectors , each for receiving a connector connected to a bundle of wiring from a respective fan , plus a further connector for receiving a connector with a bundle of wires from the power distribution board . as shown in fig1 , each half 66 a / 66 b of the fan control module receives respective power lines 324 a / b from the power distribution board . each half of the fan control module includes electrical noise isolation circuitry 340 a / b . this electrical noise isolation circuitry 325 a / b , which can be of conventional construction , prevents dirty power signals on the lines 320 a / b caused by electrical noise from the fans being passed back along the power lines 324 a / b and potentially contaminating the otherwise clean power supply to the electronics of the system unit ( e . g ., the components on the scsi bus . the provision of clean power supply signals in a telco application is important in order to ensure reliability of operation . although in the present example the noise isolation circuitry is located in the fan control module , it could be located elsewhere as long as it is effective to isolate the main power lines from fan - related electrical noise . as further shown in fig1 , each side 66 a / b of the fan control module comprises control logic 342 a / b which receives a temperature signal from a temperature sensor 344 and adjusts the speed of the fans by adjusting the voltage supplied thereto in accordance with pre - programmed parameters in order to provide a desired degree of cooling . the control logic 342 a / b can be implemented by an asic , a programmable logic array , or any other appropriate programmable logic . alternatively , it could be implemented by software running on a microcontroller or microprocessor module . it should be noted that the fan control module could be implemented in a unitary manner , rather than being divided into two halves . although in the present instance the fan control module is preferably configured on a single circuit board , this need not be the case . also , although the temperature sensor is also mounted on the same circuit board , it could be mounted elsewhere . moreover , although it is preferred that a single temperature sensor is used , with the advantage that the fan speeds of the respective fans can be ramped up in parallel in a controlled manner , more than one temperature sensor could be used . ideally , in this case they would be located close together and control of the individual fans could be dependent on individual signals but would more preferably be dependent on a function of some or all of the temperature signals . as a further feature , the control logic could be provided with different sets of programmed parameters depending on the number of processors present and could be responsive to the number of processors present . it will be appreciated that although particular embodiments of the invention have been described , many modifications / additions and / or substitutions may be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , the particular example described is intended to be illustrative only , and not limitative . | 6 |
in its basic variant , the arrangement according to the invention comprises a vacuum chamber 1 , a target generator 2 which generates a bundle of parallel target jets 3 by means of a nozzle 21 having a plurality of individual orifices 22 , and an excitation radiation source 4 which is focused orthogonally on the target jets 3 and forms a radiation spot 41 over all of the target jets 3 . the target jets 3 enter the vacuum chamber 1 through the individual orifices 22 of the nozzle 21 . in the vacuum chamber 1 , they are converted into plasma by bombardment with high - energy excitation radiation from the radiation source 1 which delivers an energy beam 42 ( laser beam , electron beam or ion beam ) and irradiates all of the target jets 3 simultaneously . the plasma emits light in the relevant spectral region , preferably in the extreme violet ( euv ) region . the target jets 3 are liquid when they enter the vacuum chamber 1 , but can be liquid , continuous bet ), discontinuous ( droplet flow ) or solid ( frozen ) in the area of interaction with the energy beam 42 . one possibility consists in using liquefied gases , preferably xenon for generating euv . other possible target materials are metallic salts in aqueous solution . solid target jets 3 are generated by suitably cooled target material in that the target jets are frozen when entering the vacuum chamber 1 and are brought in this state into the area of interaction with the energy beam . the amount of target material available for an individual pulse of the energy beam 42 and , therefore , the optimal individual pulse energy for the generation of euv radiation is higher by a factor corresponding to the quantity of individual orifices 22 of the nozzle 21 at the identical exit speed of the target material and identical diameter of the individual orifices 22 compared to a conventional single - channel nozzle . in this example , the orifices 22 are arranged in such a way that the transmission losses for the incident energy beam 42 are minimal , i . e ., the entire focused radiation spot 41 is completely covered by the target jets 3 arranged on gaps . this can be achieved , e . g ., in that the individual orifices are arranged so as to be spatially offset . in principle , a kind of “ watering can nozzle ” with orifices 22 arranged in a defined manner is used according to the invention . however , its peculiarity consists in that there are no nozzle orifices 22 which are arranged one behind the other or which substantially overlap in the direction of the energy beam 42 . due to the expansion of the diameters of the target jets 3 during conversion into plasma , even small gaps can remain between the target jets 3 in the projection of the radiation spot 41 of the energy beam 42 . fig2 shows four essential variants of the arrangement of orifices 22 of the nozzle 21 in partial views a to d . fig2 a is a top view showing a pattern of orifices 22 as an arrangement of two parallel rows 23 which are offset relative to one another by half of the spacing of the orifices 22 within each row 23 . with three parallel rows 23 , the offset would be decreased to a third of the spacing of the orifices 22 as will be described more fully in the following with reference to fig4 . in another variant according to fig2 b , two rows 23 are arranged at opposite angles to the incident direction 43 of the energy beam 42 . the two rows 23 share an orifice 22 of the nozzle 21 , and the intersection 24 of the two rows 23 is given by this orifice 22 at the same time . the angle relative to the incident direction 43 of the energy beam 42 is identical in terms of amount for both rows 23 and varies depending on the diameter of the orifices 22 and a ( possibly intentional ) gap formation or slight overlapping of the exiting target jets 3 in the projection of the radiation spot 41 ( as is shown in fig1 ). the pattern of orifices 22 corresponds to a v - shape which can be oriented with the intersection 24 of the rows 23 ( i . e ., with the tip of the v ) in the direction of the energy beam 42 as is shown in fig2 b or can be oriented opposite to the incident energy beam 42 . fig2 c shows a possibility in which the orifices 22 are arranged in only one row 23 . in order to avoid gaps between the target jets 3 , the row 23 is inclined by an angle relative to the incident direction 43 of the energy beam 42 according to the same criteria as in fig2 b . in case gaps between the target jets 3 are permissible or desirable ( see , e . g ., the statements referring to fig6 ), the angle can be very large or exactly 90 °. otherwise , the selected angle is preferably around 45 °. finally , without implying any lack of further possibilities , fig2 d shows a combination of the nozzle patterns from fig2 a and fig2 b . this arrangement can be described as parallel rows 23 arranged one behind the other with different distances between the orifices 22 or also as v - shapes which continue transverse to the energy beam 42 . in essence , however , the pattern is more accurately described as a zigzag pattern oriented transverse to the incident direction 43 of the energy beam 42 . here , two parallel families 25 and 26 of orifices 22 arranged in the direction opposite to the incident direction 43 of the energy beam 42 intersect , and the intersection points 24 are shared orifices 22 as was already described with respect to the v - shape . one possibility for coupling energy into the target consists in that the target jets 3 generated by the multiple - channel nozzle 21 are irradiated by a laser as energy beam 42 in such a way that the radiation spot 41 corresponding to the laser focus ( also often called the laser waist ) is at least as large as the width of the entire bundle of target jets 3 ( shown in fig3 ). in a case such as that described above , fig4 shows the top view of a nozzle 21 with three parallel rows 23 of orifices 22 arranged one behind the other and the impinging light cone 44 , shown schematically , of the laser waist as focused part of the energy beam 42 . as is clearly shown , the rows 23 are each displaced in a parallel manner by about one third of the ( uniform ) distance between the orifices 22 without overlapping of the target jets 3 exiting therefrom in the light cone 44 . however , due to the expansion of the diameters of the target jets 3 when converted into plasma , small gaps can also remain between the target jets 3 in the projection of the radiation spot 41 of the energy beam 42 . this ensures that all of the target jets 3 receive the same radiation output of the energy beam 42 and are accordingly optimally excited and can be converted into plasma . strictly speaking , the excitation of the target jets 3 is quasi - simultaneous because the target jets 3 from the rear rows 23 of nozzle orifices 22 are actually reached later by the pulse of the energy beam 42 in the propagation direction of the energy beam 42 . however , this may be ignored as it relates to plasma generation and will be described as simultaneous hereinafter . the plasmas ( not shown ) generated from the target jets 3 merge as a result of the simultaneous excitation of all target jets 3 into one extended plasma with multiplied radiation power ( corresponding to the quantity of target jets 3 ) in the desired wavelength region ( e . g ., euv radiation ) if other known factors of the energy input ( radiation power per target mass , optimized excitation through suitable temporal pulse shape , etc .) for the individual mass - limited target jets 3 are chosen . in fig5 , the radiation spot 41 for the plasma generation in the entire bundle of target jets 3 is generated by spatial multiplexing in which the excitation radiation comprises a plurality of individual beams 45 in a linear row arrangement 46 which are combined from a plurality of identical lasers or , through beam splitting , from one to a few lasers and bombard the target synchronously with respect to time . this has the advantage that the pulse energy of the individual laser does not need to be as high as in the case of a laser with a large diameter of the focused radiation spot 41 . as a result , the foci of the individual beams 45 are arranged one above the other spatially and form a type of line focus 47 . on the other hand , adjacent focusing of individual beams 45 of lasers is also worthy of consideration insofar as — corresponding to the view in fig6 — every target jet 3 is struck by exactly one individual beam 45 , so that the arrangement of target jets 3 without gaps is less critical in the design of the nozzle 21 and the orifices 22 can be arranged in only one row . this is important particularly for applications in which the character of a point light source should not be dispensed with for the resulting radiation . in this case , the desired radiation should be coupled out of the plasma orthogonal to the direction of the target jets 3 and to the incident direction 43 of the individual beams 45 . consequently , the transmission losses and accordingly also the in - coupling losses for an individual row 23 of orifices 22 in the nozzle 21 can be minimized in that the individual target jets 3 are irradiated synchronously by a respective individual beam 45 ( of a laser ). in addition , the coupling of energy into the target is improved in that a smaller pre - pulse is radiated into the target jets 3 prior in time to the main energy pulse , so that a so - called pre - plasma is “ smeared ” over the width of the target jets 3 which are arranged at a distance from one another . the energy of the main pulse can be coupled into this pre - plasma very effectively , so that the transmission losses of excitation radiation are minimized in spite of the use of individual target jets 3 and the generation of radiation from the plasma is extensively homogeneous . as can be seen from the view according to fig7 , it is likewise possible and useful to employ a true line focus 47 for the irradiation of the target jets 3 . the line focus 47 can be generated during laser excitation , e . g ., simply by means of cylindrical optics . a line focus 47 of this kind , particularly for large - area bundles of target jets 3 resulting in large - area plasma , can have considerable importance when the homogeneity of the plasma is important for generation of radiation , since a uniform energy input into each target jet 3 is carried out in this configuration . fig8 shows yet another variant of the arrangement of target jets 3 using a nozzle 21 , according to fig2 c , in which there are no transmission losses of excitation radiation in an individual energy beam 42 . although there is only a single row 23 of orifices 22 of the nozzle 21 and the row 23 between the orifices 22 must compulsorily have spaces , the absence of gaps in the bundle of target jets 3 is brought about in this case in that the row 23 of nozzle orifices 22 encloses an angle a with the normal plane 48 of the incident energy beam 42 , so that the spacing present per se between the orifices 22 of the nozzle 21 does not appear in the projection of the radiation spot 41 of the excitation radiation on the bundle of target jets 3 that is rotated in this manner . therefore , through selection of the angle α , the transmission losses can be minimized in a suitable manner or the area - dependent coupling in of energy can be adjusted to a maximum . further , as an added advantage , a larger area of the radiating plasma results also orthogonal to the directions of the target jets 3 and energy beam 42 . other design variants of the invention ( particularly with respect to the nozzle variations according to fig2 a to 2 d ) are readily possible without departing from the framework of this invention . the examples described above were based on parallel target jets 3 which are arranged without gaps and which enable relatively large target masses while retaining mass limitation . further , other possible configurations with intersecting or overlapping target jets or a plurality of bundles of target jets 3 from variously positioned nozzles are not outside the scope of the invention . in particular , nozzle shapes and target arrangements which are not shown or described explicitly in the drawings are also to be considered as clearly belonging to the teaching according to the invention provided that they rely on the principle of multiplication of the radiation yield through the use of a plurality of mass - limited targets and the synchronous excitation thereof without inventive activity . while the foregoing description and drawings represent the present invention , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention . | 7 |
the present invention will be illustrated in further detail hereinafter referring to examples . however , this invention will not be restricted to these examples . cases in which needle - shaped crystals of aluminum borate ( 9al 2 o 3 . 2b 2 o 3 ) is generated sintered alumina which has the 50 % average particle diameters , the ranges of the particle size and the shape factors of 105 , 130 and 165 as shown in table 1 was employed as aggregate particles . 12 parts by weight of binders composed of 50wt % of b 2 o 3 , 30wt % of al 2 o 3 , 15wt % of cao and 5wt % of mgo were added to 100 parts by weight of the aggregate particles ; and the resulting mixture was mixed with organic binders and water . next , the resultant mixture thus obtained was formed into cylindrical shaped bodies which had 100 mm φ of outer diameter , 60 mm φ of inner diameter and 900 mm of length , followed by drying at 105 ° c . and then heated to 1350 ° c . and kept at 1350 ° c . for 3 hours . subsequently , the shaped bodies were gradually cooled down until crystallization was completed ( specifically , with cooling speed of 50 ° c ./ hr to 800 ° c . ), whereby cylindrical filters media were obtained . if rapid cooling was employed after sintering , using binder of even the same composition as mentioned above , crystals would not be generated on the surface of the binder . average pore diameters of the filters obtained and the occupying rate of minute pores whose diameters were less than 50 % of the average pore diameters were examined . through these filters aluminum hot melt having predetermined debris diameters and quantites was passed , and then the debris were measured . thus debris catching ability of each sample was obtained . the cross sections of the aluminum were polished precisely and diameters and numbers of debris were measured with a scanning electron microscope ( sem ); average values from test pieces were determined from 10 cross section taken . the results are given in table 1 . nos . 5 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 12 , 14 , 15 are the cases being outside the scope of the present invention . table 1__________________________________________________________________________ no . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8__________________________________________________________________________ aggregate particles 50 % average particle 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 diam . ( μm ) particle size range ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % shape factor : 105 100 100 50 0 0 0 0 0 shape factor : 130 0 0 0 100 100 50 0 0 shape factor : 165 0 0 50 0 0 50 100 100 binder : form crystal glass crystal crystal glass crystal crystal glass result average pore diam . ( μm ) 198 200 200 203 205 199 195 198 minute pore amt . 0 0 2 0 0 5 20 22debriscatching abilitydebris originaldiam . ( μm ) amt100 & lt ; 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0100 ˜ 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 50 ˜ 10 32 1 5 4 5 5 6 10 20 10 ˜ 5 35 3 8 6 5 10 7 13 22 5 ˜ 1 18 3 7 7 10 10 8 10 17 1 & gt ; 8 2 3 2 3 5 3 5 8__________________________________________________________________________ no . 9 10 11 12 13 14 15__________________________________________________________________________ aggregate particles 50 % average particle 1000 1000 710 710 1400 1400 1000 diam . ( μm ) particle size range ± 30 % ± 70 % ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 70 % shape factor : 105 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 shape factor : 130 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 shape factor : 165 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 binder : form crystal glass crystal glass crystal glass crystal result average pore diam . ( μm ) 200 195 157 163 238 240 195 minute pore amt . 1 15 3 2 2 2 15debriscatching abilitydebris originaldiam . ( μm ) amt100 & lt ; 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0100 ˜ 50 25 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 50 ˜ 10 32 2 7 0 0 8 10 5 10 ˜ 5 35 4 15 1 2 15 15 8 5 ˜ 1 18 3 10 3 5 6 8 8 1 & gt ; 8 3 5 2 1 6 7 3__________________________________________________________________________ cases in which needle - shape crystals of mullite ( 3al 2 o 3 . 2sio 2 ) is generated sintered alumina which has the 50 % average particle diameters , and the ranges of the particle size as shown in table 2 was employed as aggregate particles . 10 parts by weight of binders composed of 72wt % of al 2 o 3 , 28wt % of sio 2 were added to 100 parts by weight of the aggregate particles ; the resulting mixture was then mixed with organic binders and water . next the resultant mixture thus obtained was formed into plates being 300 mm × 300 mm × 20 mm with an oil - hydraulic press , followed by drying , and then sintered at 1650 ° c . thus filters were obtained . average pore diameters of the filters obtained and the occupying rate of minute pores whose diameters were less than 50 % of the average pore diameters were examined . further , debris catching ability was measured in the same way as example 1 . the results were given in table 2 . table 2__________________________________________________________________________no . 1 2 3 4 5__________________________________________________________________________ aggregate particle 50 % average 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 particle diam . ( μm ) particle size range ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % ± 50 % shape factor : 105 100 50 0 0 0 shape factor : 130 0 0 0 100 50 shape factor : 165 0 50 100 0 50 binder : form crystal crystal crystal crystal crystal result average pore diam . ( μm ) 185 185 190 187 185 minute pore amt . 0 3 18 1 5debriscatching abilitydebris originaldiam . μm amt . 100 & lt ; 10 0 0 0 0 0100 ˜ 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 50 ˜ 10 32 2 5 8 7 8 10 ˜ 5 35 5 6 14 6 10 5 ˜ 1 18 4 5 7 7 8 1 & gt ; 8 3 3 6 3 4__________________________________________________________________________ some of the filters obtained in example 1 , namely , nos . 1 , 3 , 6 , 7 in table 1 were taken and each of them was attached to the equipment 11 shown in fig3 . the temperature of the interior of the equipment 11 was kept at 800 ° c . and aluminum hot melt ( jis5052 ) having the temperature of 750 ° c . was poured therein until predetermined height ( h ) of the hot melt was attained . the height of the hot melt dropping from the lower surface of the filter 10 within 30 minutes -- height of impregnation -- was measured in order to evaluate each wettability of the filters and the results were given in table 3 . table 3______________________________________no . 1 3 6 7______________________________________impregnation height 200 210 220 350 ( mm ) ______________________________________ as is clear from table 1 - 3 , by using specified aggregate particles and binding materials as in the present invention , it has been found that the ability of a filter to catch minute debris can be improved and the wettability with hot melt was also increased . | 1 |
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