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embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 a and fig1 b show the structure of a nand - type flash memory formed by gate pre - forming ( or gate oxide pre - forming ) process according to a first embodiment of the present invention . fig1 a is a plan view showing principal parts of the nand - type flash memory , and fig1 b is an enlarged view showing the sectional structure substantially corresponding to line ib — ib of fig1 a . in the nand - type flash memory , a cell array 21 is formed in an array region on a si substrate 11 . a high - voltage row decoder circuit ( high - voltage transistor ) 31 is formed in a peripheral region adjacent to the cell array 21 . a guard ring 41 functioning as a peripheral circuit is formed between the cell array 21 and the row decoder circuit 31 . the peripheral region is formed with a dummy aa pattern ( peripheral circuit ) near the row decoder circuit 31 . in the cell array 21 , an n - well region ( cell n - well ) 21 a is formed on the surface of the si substrate 11 . in the n - well region 21 a , a p - well region ( cell p - well ) 21 b is formed . a plurality of memory cells ( not shown ) are formed on the surface of the p - well region 21 b . each memory cell has a structure in which a poly gate electrode ( first gate electrode film ) 21 b and a sin film ( first mask insulator ) 21 c are stacked on a vcc gate oxide film ( vcc oxide film ) 21 a . the poly gate electrode includes such as poly silicon , polycide and the like . the gate oxide film 21 a is a first gate insulator having a first thickness . the sin film 12 c functions as the stopper in cmp . conversely , the row decoder circuit 31 , guard ring 41 and dummy aa pattern 51 are formed using high breakdown voltage ( vpp ) gate oxide films ( vpp oxide film ) 31 a , 41 a and 51 a , respectively . each of the gate oxide films 31 a , 41 a and 51 a is a second gate insulator having a second thickness greater than the first thickness of the gate oxide film 21 a . in other words , the row decoder circuit 31 includes a high - voltage transistor ( not shown ) formed on the surface of the si substrate 11 . the high - voltage transistor has a structure in which a poly gate electrode ( second gate electrode film ) 31 b and a sin film ( second mask insulator ) 31 c are stacked on the vpp gate oxide film 31 a . the sin film 31 c functions as the stopper in cmp . the guard ring 41 is formed on each surface of well regions 21 a , 21 b and n - well ( nw ) 41 a . each guard ring 41 has a structure in which a poly gate electrode ( second gate electrode film ) 41 b and a sin film ( second mask insulator ) 41 c are stacked on the vpp gate oxide film 41 a . the sin film 41 c functions as the stopper in cmp . the dummy aa pattern 51 is formed on the surface of the si substrate 11 adjacent to the row decoder circuit 31 . the dummy aa pattern 51 has a structure in which a poly gate electrode ( second gate electrode film ) 51 b and a sin film ( second mask insulator film ) 51 c are stacked on the vpp gate oxide film 51 a . the sin film 51 c functions as the stopper in cmp . an sti isolation region 12 burying insulator is formed between regions ( 21 and 41 , 41 and 31 , 31 and 51 ). conventionally , the guard ring and dummy pattern in the periphery of the row decoder circuit have been formed using a vcc oxide film . the guard ring and dummy pattern are formed in a high - breakdown - voltage oxide film region . namely , the guard ring 41 and the dummy aa pattern 51 are formed using vpp oxide films 41 a and 51 a , respectively . in this way , it is possible to offset the step ( global step shown by “ a ” in fig5 a ) on the upper surface of the stopper sin film 31 c around the high - voltage transistor of the row decoder circuit 31 . as a result , the sin film 31 is prevented from being excessively reduced in thickness , so that a sufficient height ( h ) to the vpp oxide film 31 a can be secured . the structure described above is employed , and thereby , the following effect is obtained . it is possible to prevent only residual film thickness of the sin film 31 c from being greatly reduced between the guard ring 41 and the row decoder circuit 31 and between the row decoder circuit 31 and the dummy aa pattern 51 . therefore , it is possible to solve the conventional problem of reducing a margin for cmp when gate pre - forming process is employed because the nand - type flash memory has the high - voltage transistor in the row decoder section . as a result , the vpp oxide film 31 a of the row decoder circuit 31 is prevented from being easily damaged , and failure such as gate leakage is prevented . fig2 a to fig2 d show a method of manufacturing a nand - type flash memory formed by gate pre - forming process according to a second embodiment of the present invention . here , the cell section formed with the cell array has a different structure with the vcc section formed with a guard ring and a dummy aa pattern . as shown in fig2 a , the following films are formed in the array region ( cell section ) on the si substrate 11 . the films are vcc oxide film ( first gate insulator 21 a having the first thickness , poly gate electrode ( first gate electrode film ) 21 b and stopper sin film ( first mask insulator ) 21 c . in this case , various materials are deposited on the si substrate 11 , and thereafter , patterning is carried out . the vcc oxide film 21 a , poly gate electrode 21 b and stopper sin film 21 c formed in peripheral regions ( vpp section / vcc section ) other than the array region are removed . in this way , the si substrate 11 of the peripheral region is exposed . as illustrated in fig2 b , one region ( vpp section ) of the peripheral regions on the si substrate is formed with the vpp oxide film ( second gate insulator ) 31 a having a second thickness greater than the first thickness of the vcc oxide film 21 a . the other region ( vcc section ) of the peripheral regions is formed with vcc oxide films ( third gate insulator ) 41 a ′ and 51 a ′ having a thickness the same as the first thickness of the vcc oxide film 21 a . thereafter , a poly gate electrode material 61 b and stopper sin film material 61 c are successively deposited on the stopper sin film 21 c , vpp oxide film 31 a and vcc oxide films 41 a ′ and 51 a ′. in this case , the thickness of the stopper sin film material 61 c is made greater than that of the stopper sin film 21 c . as depicted in fig2 c , the poly gate electrode material 61 b and stopper sin film material 61 c formed on the cell section is removed . in this way , the poly gate electrode ( second gate electrode film ) 31 b and the stopper sin film ( second mask insulator ) 31 c are stacked on the vpp oxide film 31 a of the vpp section . the poly gate electrodes ( second gate electrode film ) 41 b , 51 b and the stopper sin film ( second mask insulator ) 41 c , 51 c are stacked on the vcc oxide film 41 a ′ and 51 a ′ of the vcc section , respectively . as seen from fig2 d , an isolation trench 71 is correspondingly formed on the surface of the si substrate 11 between the cell section and peripheral regions , that is , vpp section / vcc section ( sti formation ). a buried insulator 72 is deposited , and thereafter , planarizing by cmp is carried out , and thus , a sti - structure isolation 12 is formed . thereafter , memory cell , row decoder circuit ( high - voltage transistor ), and guard ring and dummy aa pattern are formed with respect to cell section , vpp section , and vcc section , respectively ( although these formations are not shown ). in this manner , a nand - type flash memory is realized . in the embodiment , the sin film material 61 c ( 31 c , 41 c , 51 c ) of the peripheral regions ( i . e ., vcc and vpp sections ) is formed to be thicker than the sin film material 21 c of the cell section . in this way , it is possible to prevent the thickness of the sin film 31 c from being reduced by cmp . in addition , it is possible to make large enough the height h 1 to the vpp oxide film 31 a and the height h 2 to vcc oxide film 41 a ′, 51 a ′. therefore , this serves to prevent gate oxide film ( vpp oxide film 31 a ) from being damaged in the process after cmp ; as a result , a sufficient margin for cmp can be achieved . as described above , the sin film used as the stopper in cmp for sti formation is formed separately in its thickness in the cell section and the peripheral regions . more specifically , the sin film of the vpp section is formed to be thicker than that of the cell section . in this way , it is possible to increase the residual film thickness of the sin film of the high - voltage transistor in process . as a result , a sufficient margin for cmp can be achieved . in addition , the second embodiment has the following advantage , unlike the first embodiment . namely , vcc oxide films 41 a ′ and 51 a ′ of the guard ring 41 and the dummy aa pattern 51 formed in the vcc section need not be formed to have the same thickness as the vpp oxide film 31 a . fig3 a to fig3 d show a method of manufacturing a nand - type flash memory formed by gate pre - forming process according to a third embodiment of the present invention . here , the cell section formed with the cell array and the vcc section formed with the guard ring and the dummy aa pattern have the same structure . as shown in fig3 a , the following films are formed in the array region ( cell section ) and vcc section ( first peripheral region ) on the si substrate 11 . the films are vcc oxide films ( first gate insulator ) 21 a , 41 a ′ and 51 a ′ having the first thickness , poly gate electrodes ( first gate electrode film ) 21 b , 41 b and 51 b and stopper sin films ( first mask insulator ) 21 c , 41 c and 51 c . in this case , various materials are deposited on the si substrate 11 , and thereafter , patterning is carried out . the vcc oxide films 21 a , 41 a ′ 51 a ′, poly gate electrodes 21 b , 41 b , 51 b and stopper sin films 21 c , 41 c , 51 c formed in a vpp section ( second peripheral region ) other than the array region and the vcc section are removed . in this way , the si substrate 11 of the vpp section is exposed . as illustrated in fig3 b , the vpp section on the si substrate is formed with the vpp oxide film ( second gate insulator ) 31 a having the second thickness thicker than the vcc oxide film 21 a . thereafter , a poly gate electrode material 61 b and stopper sin film material 61 c are successively deposited on the stopper sin films 21 c , 41 c , 51 c and the vpp oxide film 31 a . in this case , the thickness of the poly gate electrode material 61 b is made thinner than the poly gate electrodes 21 b , 41 b and 51 b . in addition , the stopper sin film material 61 c is deposited to be flush with the upper surface of the stopper sin films 21 c , 41 c and 51 c . as depicted in fig3 c , the poly gate electrode material 61 b and stopper sin film material 61 c formed on the cell and vcc sections are removed . in this way , the poly gate electrode ( second gate electrode film ) 31 b and the stopper sin film ( second mask insulator ) 31 c are stacked on the vpp oxide film 31 a of the vpp section . as seen from fig3 d , an isolation trench 71 is correspondingly formed on the surface of the si substrate 11 between the cell section and the vpp / vcc section ( sti formation ). a buried insulator 72 is deposited , and thereafter , planarizing by cmp is carried out , and thus , a sti isolation 12 is formed . thereafter , memory cell , row decoder circuit ( high - voltage transistor ) and guard ring and dummy aa pattern are formed with respect to cell section , vpp section and vcc section , respectively ( these formations are not shown ). in this way , a nand - type flash memory is realized . in the embodiment , stopper sin films 31 c and 21 c of the row decoder circuit and the cell section are readily formed in a state their upper surfaces are flush with each other . in this way , it is possible to prevent an extra reduction of the thickness of the sin film 31 c in cmp , and to sufficiently take the height to the vpp oxide film 31 a . therefore , this serves to prevent the gate oxide film ( vpp oxide film 31 a ) from being damaged in the process after cmp ; as a result , a sufficient margin for cmp can be achieved . as described above , the sin film used as the stopper in cmp for sti formation is formed separately in its thickness in the cell section and the vpp section . more specifically , stopper sin films of the vpp section and the cell section are readily formed in the state that their upper surfaces are flush with each other . in this way , it is possible to increase the residual film thickness of the sin film of the high - voltage transistor in process . as a result , a sufficient margin for cmp can be achieved . in addition , according to the third embodiment , only vpp oxide film 31 a can be formed to be thicker than vcc oxide films 41 a ′ and 51 a ′, like the second embodiment described before . fig4 a to fig4 c show a method of manufacturing a nand - type flash memory formed by gate pre - forming process according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . here , the cell section formed with the cell array and the vcc section formed with guard ring and dummy aa pattern have the same structure . as shown in fig4 a , the surface of the si substrate 11 is selectively etched using a photo engraving process ( pep ) and dry etching techniques . in this way , the vpp section ( first peripheral region ) is formed with a recess 81 , which has a height lower than the cell and vcc sections . in this case , the depth of the recess 81 is approximately the same as the thickness of the vpp oxide film ( first gate insulator ) formed therein . as illustrated in fig4 b , a vpp oxide film 31 a having a first thickness is formed in the recess 81 formed at the vpp section on the si substrate 11 . vcc oxide films ( second gate insulator ) 21 a , 41 a ′ and 51 a ′ having a second thickness less than that of the vpp oxide film 31 a are formed in the array region ( cell section ) and the vcc section ( second peripheral region ) on the si substrate 11 . thereafter , a poly gate electrode material 61 b and stopper sin film material 61 c are successively deposited on the vcc oxide films 21 a , 41 a , 51 a and the vpp oxide film 31 a . in this way , poly gate electrodes ( second gate electrode film ) 21 b , 41 b , 51 b and stopper sin films ( second mask insulator ) 21 c , 41 c , sic are stacked on the vcc oxide films 21 a , 41 a ′ and 51 a ′ of the cell and vcc sections . the poly gate electrode ( first gate electrode film ) 31 b and the stopper sin film ( first mask insulator ) 31 c are stacked on the vpp oxide film 31 a of the vpp section . in this case , the vpp oxide film 31 a is formed in the recess 81 , and thereby , the surface of the stopper sin film 31 c is approximately flush with that of the stopper sin films 21 c , 41 c and 51 c . as depicted in fig4 c , an isolation trench 71 is correspondingly formed on the surface of the si substrate 11 between the cell / vcc section and the vpp section , that is , vpp section / vcc section ( sti formation ). a buried insulator 72 is deposited , and thereafter , planarizing by cmp is carried out , and thus , a sti isolation 12 is formed . thereafter , a memory cell , row decoder circuit ( high - voltage circuit ) and guard ring and dummy aa pattern are formed with respect to the cell section , vpp section and vcc section , respectively ( these formations are not shown ). in this way , a nand - type flash memory is realized . in the embodiment , the silicon surface of the vpp section is positioned lower than the cell section by the film thickness of the vpp oxide film 31 a . thus , the upper surface of the sin film 31 c is readily flush with that of the sin film 21 c of the cell section . in this way , it is possible to prevent an excess reduction of thickness of the sin film 31 c by cmp , and to achieve a sufficient height to the vpp oxide film 31 a . therefore , this serves to prevent gate oxide film ( vpp oxide film 31 a ) from receiving damage in process after cmp ; as a result , a sufficient margin for cmp can be achieved . as described above , the sin film used as the stopper in cmp for sti formation is formed separately in its thickness in the cell section and peripheral regions . more specifically , the stopper sin film of the vpp section is formed to have the same thickness as that of the cell section . in this way , it is possible to increase the residual film thickness of the sin film of the high - voltage transistor in process . as a result , the margin for cmp can be sufficiently obtained . in addition , according to the fourth embodiment , only vpp oxide film 31 a can be formed to be thicker than vcc oxide films 41 a ′ and 51 a ′, like the second and third embodiment described before . additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art . therefore , the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein . accordingly , various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views , and more particularly to fig3 threof , the numeral 12 refers to a base plate made of insulating material , for example , glass or ceramic . on the upper surface of this base plate 12 , plural wiring films or leads 13 electrically connecting each common segment electrode are disposed having an insulating film 14 interposed therebetween . the segmented electrode 16 and a fluorescent material 17 form plural number indicating portions 15 and are formed by sequential depositions . connecting portion 13a , which isfor connection with a segment terminal lead - in wire to be connected outsidethe enclosure , is provided on wiring film 13 through a small hole provided in the insulating film 14 , and a connecting portion 13b with each segment electrode 16 is also provided through small hole on the said insulating film 14 . numeral 18 identifies a spacer frame formed as one body by means of punching or photo etching from a single metal plate . the frame 18 , shown more clearly in fig6 comprises a flat , rectangular shaped spacer holding frame 19 which is bigger than the base plate 12 . plural rectangular spacers 20 are disposed at regular intervals within the holding frame 19 , and are of a size corresponding to the pattern indicating portion 15 . plural grid terminal lead - in wires 21 , functioning also as parallel straight spacer holding pieces are provided , each with one end connected to the outer edge of the spacer 20 and the other end connected to the inner edges of holding frame 19 . plural segment terminal lead - in wires 22 similarly provided , the base portions of which are connected to the holding frame 19 between each grid terminal lead - in wires21 , and the unconnected ends of which extend parallel with grid terminal lead - in wires 21 and are positioned so that connections can be made with each of the wiring films 13 . a pair of left and right cathode terminal lead - in wires 23 are provided which are bridged in parallel with grid terminal lead - in wires 21 between the opposing inner edges of holding frame 19 at positions outside of the spacer 20 . the wires 23 include holding portions for cathodes in the middles thereof . in the spacer frame 18 , the materials of at least each grid terminal lead - in wire 21 , each segment terminal lead - in wire 22 and each cathode terminal lead - in wire 23 are formed of metal adapted for glass sealing composed of an alloy having almost the same thermal expansion coefficient as that of the base plate 12 and the upper surface window plate ( describedlater ), such as fe -- ni -- co , fe -- ni or fe -- ni -- cr . it is extremely effectivein shortening the manufacturing process to form the whole spacer frame 18 of a metal adapted for glass sealing , but depending upon materials available or convenience of operations , the spacer holding frame 19 and spacer 20 can , of course , be formed by other materials than a metal adapted for glass sealing , for example , fe , ni , fe -- ni alloy or stainless steel and may be joined with the portion constructed of metal adapted for glass sealing by welding or other methods . furthermore , in forming the spacer frame 18 , for example , even when formed only of a metal adapted forglass sealing , plural segment terminal lead - in wires 22 formed separately can , of course , be combined into one body , by welding or another method , with spacer frame 18 . the size of each spacer 20 is set so that each pattern indicating portion 15 and each grid are disposed in a predetermined relationship . the shape of spacer holding frame 19 shown in the drawing is rectangular , buy any desired shape can , of course , be used , for instance , u - shape , or other convenient shapes . the numeral 24 designates a grid frame formed as one body from a single metal plate , and plural grids 25 , each formed of mesh , are held in the central portion of a flat rectangular frame 26 oriented parallel to each other and with a predetermined spacing interval corresponding to the pattern indicating portions 15 . the grids 25 are held in place by holding pieces 27 projecting from opposing inner edge portions of the grid frame . the grid frame 24 is preferably formed by a photo etching method employinga thin metal plate composed of a material such as stainless steel , fe , ni or fe -- ni alloy . grid frame 24 is put over the spacer frame 18 , formed as mentioned above , and after placing each grid 25 upon each spacer 20 and securing them by welding or caulking , electrode frame body 28 is formed by removing unnecessary portions , namely , frame 26 and holding piece 27 combined to each grid 25 . in forming the aforementioned electrode frame body 28 , as described above , a spacer frame 18 composed of plural spacers 20 , plural grid terminal lead - in wires 21 , segment terminal lead - in wires 22 , cathode terminal lead - in wires 23 , and the grid frame body 24 composing plural grids 25 in one body are combined . however the described example is not limiting and the electrode frame body may be formed by forming in one body the plural grids and grid terminal lead - in wires from one sheet or metal plate , separately forming into one body plural spacers and combining the grids and spacers . in another technique , the grids and spacers are not formed separately , but the electrode frame body may be formed by forming into onebody spacers having a shape functioning as grids on the spacer frame body 18 , and similarly the electrode frame body can be formed in various combinations . then , the electrode frame body 28 is placed on the upper surface of base plate 12 on which the pattern indicating portions 15 are formed . the electrode assembly base plate 30 and the electrode frame body 28 are joined into one body on base plate 12 by aligning spacers 20 and grids 25 with each pattern indicating portion 15 , and electrically connecting and simultaneously adhering the edge portions of plural segment terminal lead - in wires 22 disposed on spacer frame body 18 to connecting portion 13a for each segmented electrode disposed on base plate 12 using the conductive adhesive agent 13c . to the cathode holding portion of cathode terminal lead - in wires 23 is secured a cathode 29 , such as a direct heating oxide coated cathode formed by coating alkaline earth metal oxide material having good electron emission characteristics to a heater core ofa material such as w wire . the upper surface window plate 31 , which is transparent at least in front of the pattern indicating portion 15 and made of glass for example , then mounted to the base plate 30 . an enclosure 34 is formed by employing a sealing material 32 , such as a low melting point glass frit , on the peripheral edges of the upper surface window plate and hermetically sealing the same by heating the sealing material . an exhaust tube 35 is then mounted to permit evacuation of the enclosure 34 . the exhaust tube 35 can be mounted and seated either before or after sealing of the enclosure 34 , but is desirable for simplification of the manufacturing process to seal it simultaneously with sealing of the enclosure . the attached position of the exhaust tube 35 is shown in the drawing as being positioned on one side of the apparatus between the base plate 12 and the upper surface window plate 31 , although it can be locatedelsewhere . however , when the exahust tube 35 is provided in the proper position on the side as shown , the indicating apparatus thus formed becomes extremely thin and therefore it is extremely suitable for use in small electronic calculators . through the sealed portion 33 formed by applying the sealing material 32 around the periphery of the enclosure 34 , are passed each grid terminal lead - in wire 21 , each segment terminal lead - in wire 22 and the cathode terminal lead - in wire 23 , all of which are provided in one body in the spacer frame body , and all are hermetically sealed . after this sealing operation , the spacer holding frame 19 and unused portions extending outside the attached portion 33 are suitably removed . as described above , in predetermined related positions inside enclosure 34 each segmented electrode group 16 composing plural number pattern indicating portions , each grid 25 and cathode 29 , are firmly disposed and secured . at the same time , electric conduction can be made from outside toeach internal electrode through each segment terminal lead - in wire 22 , eachgrid terminal lead - in wire 21 and the cathode terminal lead - in wire 23 . the upper surface window plate 31 covering enclosure 34 is of &# 34 ; boat shape &# 34 ; as shown in the figure , according to one embodiment of the present invention , but is not restricted to the aforementioned shape , since other shapes such as a flat plate shape or a circular boat shape can , of course , be employed . in the aforementioned embodiment , plural grids 25 are formed on one sheet of the grid frame body 24 and are all connected to the frame 24 . of course , separately formed grids , each secured by welding to spacers 20 of spacer frame body may also be used . guide pin holes 36 on spacer frame 18 and grid frame body 24 may be provided for alignment . in the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention , the terminal lead - in wires for each elctrode are disposed on upper and lower portions of the base plate perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the indicating apparatus . however , they can be disposed all in one direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the indicating apparatus , or can be partially disposed in the longitudinal direction of the indicating apparatus , as desired . in the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention , connecting portion 13a connecting plural wiring films 13 provided on the upper surface of base plate 12 and segment terminal lead - in wires 22 are disposed inside the enclosure 34 comprising base plate 12 and upper surface window plate 31 . in another embodiment shown in fig9 each connecting portion 13d of plural wiring films 13 on base plate 12 is extended up to an edging portion 37 of base plate 12 forming an external printed terminal , and the connecting portion 13d may be disposed outside the enclosure 34 . in this case , segment terminal lead - in wires passing through the sealing portion 33 attaching base plate 12 and upper surface window plate 31 are not necessiated , and each connecting portion 13d disposed on terminal 37 of base plate 12 is used as an external terminal for each segment electrode . in connecting the connecting portions 13d to an external circuit , each segment terminal wire ( not shown in the figure ) is simply connected to the external circuit directly by soldering for example . in the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention , equipping the getter inside the indicating apparatus was not shown in detail , but it goes without saying that the getter can be disposed in any desired position inside the enclosure . furthermore , in order to easily secure the getter in the indicating apparatus of this invention , a getter holding piece is provided in a sealing portion of the base plate and upper surfacewindow plate and the getter can be secured to the getter holding piece . if such a getter holding piece is formed in advance in one body with the spacer frame body 18 , mounting a getter can be carried out more easily . in the aforementioned embodiment of this invention , the cathode 29 is disposed in the longitudinal direction of the indicating apparatus , but itcan also be oriented in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction . furthermore , cathode terminal lead - in wires 23 may be extended in printed form . the indicating apparatus and manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention possesses the following various advantageous features because of the aforementioned construction and manufacturing process . in the indicating apparatus according to the present invention , the base plate pattern forming portions function also as an enclosure , and terminallead - in wires formed integrally with spacers and grids are used for most orall external terminals of each electrode instead of using printed wiring onthe base plate . therefore , there is an advantage in that the external size of the indicating apparatus , especially of the enclosure , can be minimized . furthermore , in the indicating apparatus in which an exhaust tube is disposed on the side as shown in the figures , the indicating apparatus can be made extremely thin providing an advantage in that a compact indicating apparatus is easily and suitably used especially in samll portable calculators . in the indicating apparatus according to the present invention , thanks to the enclosure constructed as previously described , the base plate and upper surface window plate providing most of the weight of the apparatus can be minimized in their weight , and thus multidigit indicating apparatuses having many indicating portions can be formed having extremelylight weight . the capability of minimizing the demensions and weight of the indicating apparatus is extremely advantageous in incorporating it into electronic calculators , and at the same time brings about a prominent effect in mass productivity and economization since the manufacturing facilities and jigsrequired especially in sealing , exhaust aging , and handling are simplified . in production of the indicating apparatus according to the present invention , all spacers for grids for plural pattern indicating portions disposed in the indicating apparatus are formed in one sheet and are connected in predetermined positions by terminal lead - in wires . therefore , an advantage is provided in that the spacers can be secured to the base plate in one operation . therefore , complicated jigs and complicated operations necessiated in the production of conventional indicating apparatuses in which spacers and grids are secured to each pattern indicating portion provided on base plate together with aligning them can be simplified . therefore , assemblying accuracy is improved and uniform quality can be obtained . in the indicating apparatus according to the present invention , terminal lead - in wires formed in one body with spacers are used as external terminals and these terminal lad - in wires are hermetically sealed at the same time that the base plate and upper surface window plate are sealed byusing a sealing material such as low melting point glass frit . therefore , an advantage lies in that stems are not required and the number of internal connections can be minimized . in the indicating apparatus according to the present invention , a base plate of the printed type is used by installing and disposing plural pattern indicating portions comprising plural segmented electrodes of coated fluorescent material together with connecting wiring films , insulating films and fluorescent material on the base plate , and it functions as an enclosure . however , printed wires are not employed as external terminals but terminal lead - in wires are used . as a result , when connection is made to an external circuit , expensive connectors for printed base plates are not required . therefore , an advantage exists in that terminal lead - in wires for each electrode can be connected directly to the printed circuit board of an electronic calculator . therefore , required space in electronic calculators for example , is minimized and a high degree of compactness as well as lightness can be obtained along withmanufacturing economy . obviously , numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is to be understood therefore that within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . | 7 |
for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention , reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same . it will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended , such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated instrument , and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates . referring now to the drawings in detail , fig1 is a schematic top plan view of a string of river barges 11 connected together as in a tow . each of these has a double - walled hull with six void space compartments such as 12 , 13 , 14 , 16 , 17 and 18 on each side of the hull between the outer hull 19 and inner hull 21 . the inner hull has a plurality of cargo carrying tanks such as 22 therein . each of the six compartments at each side of the hull has a measuring tube according to a typical embodiment of the present invention . several of such tubes are designated by the reference numerals 23 , 24 and 26 , for example . also , at each end of the barge there is a master tube such as 27 at one end of the first barge in the string and 28 at the opposite end on the other side of the same barge . each of the compartments is separated from the next adjacent compartment by a wall such as 12 w between compartments 12 and 13 . compartment 12 has the master tube 27 therein and the measuring tube 23 . compartment 18 has master tube 28 therein like master tube 27 , and measuring tubes 29 and 30 like measuring tubes 23 , 24 and 26 and the others in the other void space compartments in this barge . where the compartments are approximately twelve feet deep in a barge , the measuring tube and master tube will be approximately twelve feet long to the top of the deck 31 . referring now to fig3 the bottom of the hull is shown at 32 and the master tube and measuring tubes 27 and 23 , respectively , are shown installed in compartment 12 . these tubes are welded to the deck 31 and are identical except that tube 27 has a plug 33 in the bottom of it , to keep liquid in the tank compartment 12 from entering it . each of these tubes has a quick - connect mounting flange such as 34 above the deck and near the top 36 of the tube . there is also a bar - code display plate 37 welded to the tube immediately below the flange 34 . although the mounting flange 34 and top and other features of the tubes are identical , the bar code plate 38 on tube 23 is different only in the respect that the bar code 39 on it is different from the bar code 41 on plate 37 . the reason for this is the fact that the bar codes must identify not only the barge on which the tubes are mounted , but also the particular compartment on which each measuring tube such as 23 is mounted . the code must also distinguish the master tube from the measuring tubes . the bar code can be embossed , molded , or engraved on the plate itself . or it can be on stickers , decals or some other medium permanently mounted to the plate with protective coating or covering for endurance . an access hatch 42 is provided on deck 31 for access to compartment 12 . liquid is shown in the compartment as indicated by the liquid surface indicator line 43 . of course , it is desirable that there be no liquid in these compartments , from either the waterway in which the vessel is floating , or from any of the cargo tanks inside the vessel . referring now to fig4 the measuring instrument 46 is shown mounted to the flange 34 of a measuring tube 23 . this is accomplished by a coupling 47 which , in this instance , is affixed to the bottom of the electronic box of the measuring instrument and is mounted in a quick - connect fashion on the quick - connect flange 34 . it is important that this mounting be such that , when the instrument is mounted on the tube , it be oriented correctly so that the bar code reader 48 be correctly oriented with respect to the bar code mount plate 38 to illuminate and read the code thereon . a half - turn from mounting to lock of the instrument on flange 34 , is an example . the instrument 46 has a transducer therein which , when activated by pushing one of the buttons , such as 49 for a master tube reading , or 51 for a measuring tube reading , will transmit pulses of ultrasonic frequency at an established pulse rate down the tube 23 in the direction of arrow 52 for reflection back to the transducer from either the bottom 32 of the compartment or from the surface of liquid in the tube or , in the case of the master , from the plug 33 at the bottom of the master tube . the transducer will respond to reflected energy , and appropriate calculations are made . in the case of the master tube , for which button 49 is pushed , the distance from the transducer in the instrument 46 to the top of the plug 33 when the instrument is secured to flange 34 , is already known , 132 inches , for example . therefore , the computer in the instrument 46 can respond to the elapsed time from the transmission of a pulse - by the transducer to the reception of the echo by the transducer , to compute the ue factor corresponding to the temperature of the air in the master tube in compartment 12 . this factor will be used for the depth calculations for the measurements on the measuring tube 23 in this compartment and for the measuring tubes in the rest of the compartments of this barge . this can be done because , for purposes of this invention , in a given barge , all compartments can be assumed to be at about the same temperature , and the depth of all compartments is essentially the same , and all tubes are the same . therefore , once the master tube information is known , and the ue factor is calculated and stored in the computer , it will be applied uniformly to all of the information obtained from all of the measuring tubes for that barge . with the transducer to echo reflector distance calculated from the temperature - adjusted elapsed time information , and with the barge identification information stored in the computer , the computer can calculate the depth from the vessel bottom to the surface from which the echo is reflected . the computer can be pre - programmed for each barge , with an acceptable depth limit for the particular barge stored in the measuring instrument computer along with the bar code identification for that barge . the person who specifies an acceptable depth , considers the fact that there may always be a certain amount of water in the void space compartments due to condensation , for example . during check of a compartment , the computer announces the measured depth by a digital display in the window 53 . it is further programmed to announce an alarm condition by lamp 68 and buzzer 69 if the measured depth exceeds the acceptable limit stored in the computer . it will be evident from the foregoing and following description of the invention , that the measuring instrument is intended to be hand - held , and include a variety of electronics including , but not limited to , a computer , a controller including control components and circuitry , data storage , a display and , possibly , depending on space and weight considerations , a printer . the computer to accomplish the functions , need not be a general purpose computer . it can be a special purpose computer of a rudimentary nature , considering today &# 39 ; state of the art , and can be readily housed in the hand - held instrument 46 . similarly , the power supplies , transducer , above - mentioned and other components in the instrument , can be conventional and are well within the skill of the art and need not be described in any detail herein . following the measurement at either the master tube or any of the measuring tubes , the instrument is removed by , for example , a half turn on the mounting flange 34 , and the protective cover and seal cap 56 is replaced on the flange 34 . in the fig5 embodiment , the arrangement is slightly different in that , although the instrument 46 still has its own transducer , a transducer assembly 57 is permanently mounting on the quick - connect flange 34 of each tube on a barge . it can be removed , if desired . it includes the diaphragm 58 and associated energizing wires 59 and 61 with associated pin sockets in recess 62 covered by the seal cap 63 . in this embodiment , when a measurement is to be made , the measuring instrument need not be mounted to the transducer . instead , the cap 63 may be snapped off the top of the transducer , and a plug 65 connected by a cable 65 c to the measuring instrument 46 , is installed in socket 62 to activate the transducer diaphragm 58 when button 51 is pushed . after a predetermined time delay , the transducer responds to the echo intercepted by the transducer diaphragm . in this case , the cable can be one connected permanently to the instrument 46 to provide this option , when desired , or it can have a plug at the end opposite plug 65 and which is removably connected to the socket 66 on the instrument , as shown , so the cable can be stored elsewhere when not needed . in the use of the system of fig5 it is still necessary that the code reader function be performed , so the instrument must be held where the code can be read or , the code reader 48 can be unclipped from the clip 48 a on the side of the instrument 46 and , being coupled to the instrument by the cable 48 b , the reader can be used as a wand to read the code . another terminal socket 64 on the instrument is provided for downloading data stored in the instrument to a separate computer if , and when , desired . in the embodiment depicted in fig6 - 9 , variations on the tube installation and coupling device configuration are illustrated for a measuring tube . instead of being directly welded to the deck , tube 23 is supported by an assembly 60 which is easily installed and adjusted , allowing the tube to be replaced if necessary . in this arrangement , collar 71 , screwed onto sleeve 73 , causes wedge ring 72 to engage the chamfered surface 74 of sleeve 73 and clamp the collar and sleeve to the tube . sleeve 73 is threadedly attached to housing 80 . once assembled , the tube and housing assembly can be brought to the installation site which is prepared by providing hole 101 in the deck 31 and welding the support flange 70 around hole 101 . tube 23 is then inserted into hole 101 , and housing 80 is secured in place by fasteners , one of which is shown at bolt 84 and nut 85 . the tube cover and coupling device are also varied in this embodiment as bolt 84 also secures the base 81 of lid mounting bracket 82 to the top of housing 80 . a pair of horizontally spaced rails 82 r , upstanding from base 81 , receives hinge pin 83 which passes through the horizontally - spaced , downwardly extending side guards 125 of lid 91 and connects lid 91 to housing 80 . lid 91 includes stopper 92 and side guards 125 to prevent external liquid from entering tube 23 . lid 91 further includes bar code plate 38 to provide information about the tube 23 as described previously . thus to measure fluid depth , lid 91 is lifted using handle 90 as depicted in fig7 . lifting lid 91 simultaneously removes stopper 92 from the socket 110 of sleeve 73 and exposes bar code plate 38 . the quick connect coupling in this embodiment comprises plug 115 on measuring instrument 120 which fits snugly inside socket 110 atop tube 23 as depicted in fig8 . the entire apparatus is arranged such that with lid 91 substantially vertical and measuring instrument 120 inserted into socket 110 , bar code reader 48 is substantially aligned with bar code 39 as illustrated by line 121 ( fig8 ). measuring is performed substantially the same as described in previous embodiments and , when complete , lid 91 is lowered covering socket 110 . some additional description of the procedure and sequence is appropriate here . in either of the embodiments depicted in fig4 to 9 and , after the measuring instrument is coupled mechanically or electrically to the tube , the appropriate button is pushed . it is preferable that the master tube at either end of the barge be addressed first , to set up the instrument for immediate annunciation of an alarm condition if excessive liquid depth is detected in any of the measuring tubes on the barge . the transducer pulse rate is established so that the echo can be received by the transducer from the reflecting plug 33 during the period between the times of transmission of pulses from the transducer . the computer relates the time between a transmitted pulse and the reflected echo pulse with the known distance between the transducer and the plug top , to establish the present actual velocity of sound in the air in the tube . the computer stores the corresponding ue value and , simultaneously , using this value , presents the master tube dimension , such as 132 inches , for example , on the display 53 . all of this occurs while the “ master ” button 49 is pressed . the same sort of function occurs when the instrument is coupled to a measuring tube and the “ read ” button 51 is pressed . but in this case , instead of displaying the distance from the transducer to the liquid surface , ( which could easily be done , if desired ) the computer uses the stored information regarding the barge compartment depth , to directly display the depth of liquid , if any , in the compartment . as examples , an ultrasonic pulse transmitter having a pulse frequency capability of 25 , 000 hz ( cycles per second ) to 100 , 000 hz may be used . a desirable frequency may be 50 , 000 hz . the pulse repetition rate can be in a range from 0 . 02 to 6 , 000 cycles per minute . a desirable rate may be 600 cycles per minute . if desired , the measuring instrument can be equipped with means to enable the user to adjust the pulse frequency and the pulse repetition rate . the sequence of events in the actual measurement process is summarized as follows : 3 . enable receiver and receive echo pulse at time t 2 . 4 . using the known transducer to plug distance , d 1 , calculate the multiplication ( ue ) factor to be multiplied to the elapsed time t 2 − t 1 to equal the known distance d 1 . 8 . convert the result of step 7 to depth of liquid below the echo reflecting surface . 9 . display the depth and , if alarm condition , activate warning light and sounder . it should be recognized that , by the use of the code system for identifying not only the compartments on a barge , but also the barges in a string , each compartment has a unique identification . therefore , a person checking compartments on a string of barges could walk from one barge to another , from one end of the string to the other end , along the port side , and then back down the starboard side to the starting point , visiting the master on each barge and all the measuring tubes on all the barges . at each tube , the depth information can be stored immediately in the computer . then all of the information can be downloaded into a separate computer at the dock or other location , and a printed record made , with bullets or other flags shown adjacent the record for any compartment that is in alarm condition . if for some reason , some measuring tubes on a barge would be addressed by the inspector before addressing the master tube on the barge , alarm conditions would not necessarily be accurately indicated until the master tube is addressed , to then correct the elapsed time ( t 2 − t 1 ) by the ue factor for each tube . after the master tube is used to calibrate the measuring instrument computer processing for a given barge , and the necessary multiplication factor is stored in the instrument computer for that particular barge , depth information can be calculated and stored and printed for all void space compartments on the barge , regardless of whether the master is addressed before , somewhere between , or after the measuring tubes for the various compartments are addressed . if the desired accuracy of depth determination is not so great that correction for temperature is necessary , it would not be necessary to check the master tube each time that barge compartments are checked . but , as indicated above , good consistent practice is to address the master tube before addressing the rest of the measuring tubes on a barge . if precision is desired , the computer can be further programmed to require that all measurements for a given barge be taken within a specific period of time . until now embodiments adapted to detect the presence of liquid in void space compartments of vessels have been particularly discussed . another embodiment of the invention relates to overfill protection for cargo compartments / tanks . in overfill protection applications , as shown in fig1 for a typical cargo tank 22 in the barge , both master tube 27 f and measuring tube 23 f are shorter to detect a critical liquid level that is near the top of the tank . in this case , plug 33 f sealed in the bottom of tube 27 f has its top surface at the level of the desired maximum or critical level 45 t for liquid 45 in the tank . this level can be as near the top of the tank as desired , and the master tube plugged accordingly . in the illustration , there is expansion space allowed over the top of the liquid . the measurement tube is open at the bottom as are the measurement tubes in the other embodiments . the measurement tube extends down to a level below the level of the top of the plug in the master tube . optimally it extends to a level enough below the plug level to be certain to provide overfill protection . actual use of the overfill protection aspect of the invention is similar to the usage in detecting the presence of unwanted liquid in void space compartments . additional features can be employed such as activating an alarm in either application of the invention , or automatically shutting off a fill pump in the overfill protection application once a critical liquid level is detected . by using the bar code identification for the material contained in the tank , and an appropriate data base in the computer with expansion coefficients in it for the contained material , and with the master tube plug 33 f at the optimum location to accommodate the variety of materials which may be contained in the cargo tank , activation of the alarm , or pump shutoff , may be adapted by the computer to the material contained , so that adequate expansion space will be assured . in some instances , due to environmental protection requirements , governmental regulations do not permit discharge to atmosphere of the air or vapors above the liquid surface in a tank . where the contents of the tank are of a nature such that discharge of vapor is prohibited , an open - bottom measuring tube may not be permitted . in those cases , a measuring tube with closed bottom , external float and internal float follower and signal reflector , may be used . such construction is disclosed in my co - pending application executed on jul . 23 , 1997 and filed jul . 24 , 1997 and entitled “ liquid level indicator for storage tank ( later issued may 26 , 1999 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 900 , 546 ). the disclosure of that application is hereby incorporated herein by reference . it will be recognized that the present invention in its various forms may be useful in void space compartments or cargo compartments in vessels for transportation on land or water . it may also be used for stationary vessels . three examples of identification ( id ) numbers (#) of a container , such as a barge , ship , railroad tank car or tank in a tank farm , are : while the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description , the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character , it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected . | 6 |
since the 1950 &# 39 ; s , intensive research has yielded many fluorescent compounds , however , only a small number of these compounds have found practical uses . collectively , these compounds belong to the aromatic or heterocyclic series and may have condensed ring systems . an important feature of these compounds is the presence of an interrupted chain of conjugated double bonds , the number of which is dependent on substituents as well as the planarity of the fluorescent part of the molecule . almost all of these compounds are derivatives of stilbene or 4 , 4 ′- diamonstilbene , biphenyl , 5 - membered heterocycles as triazoles , oxazoles , imidazoles , etc ., or 6 - membered heterocycles ( coumarins , naphthylamines , s - triazine .) a feature of the present invention is the surprising discovery of a technique for attaching fluorescent compounds such as the foregoing to glass fibers and fabrics . the preferred process begins with providing a fiberglass fabric woven in what is known in the textile art as a scrim weave . previously applied agents or finishing materials need not be removed . the next step is providing a vinyl chloride co - polymer . vinyl chloride co - polymers are especially useful because of their resistance to deterioration from ultra - violet ( uv ) light . as used herein the following terms are understood to have meanings as set forth : “ polymer ” is understood to include homopolymers , co - polymers , terpolymers , block , graft , and addition polymers . “ fluorescence ” and “ fluorescent pigments ”, “ compounds ” or “ additives ” generally means any pigment or compound or agent that absorbs light at certain frequencies and re - emits it at lower frequencies so that an article containing the pigment or agent appears to glow when exposed to light of the lower frequencies . “ phosphorescent pigments ” or “ agents ” are those which generally absorb the energy of incident light and then slowly re - emit the energy as visible light at the color specific to the pigment or agent . “ fluorescent ” will be used more frequently herein but is understood to include “ phosphorescent ” agents as well . “ exciting wavelength ” is understood to be light that includes a wavelength or wavelengths that cause the fluorescent agent being irradiated to glow . “ vinyl chloride polymers ” may include polyvinyl chloride , or “ pvc ”, which includes co - polymers that contain at least 50 % vinyl chloride . the co - polymer also may be co - polymerized with vinyl acetate , be compounded with acrylic polymeric processing aids , or co - polymerized with any compatible polymers . but , the particular vinyl chloride co - polymers are those which readily coat onto and couple with and bond to glass fibers and which also can incorporate the above - mentioned fluorescing compounds . the preferred vinyl chloride co - polymer may be applied in any of a number of ways including dipping , rolling , spraying , or extrusion coating and may be applied to the yarn or fabric without the necessity of removing any processing agents previously applied , i . e ., the fabric may be used as it comes from the producer and the fabric may be either woven or non - woven . in certain applications for preparing glass fibers the use of an orco ® dispersant such as synthrowite emv - 132 with a silane coupling agent having a ph in the range of 3 - 5 can provide a distinct color under uv light . in one preferred embodiment , this invention is employed to identify glass fiber mesh that is used as reinforcement in structural and decorative concrete components . glass fiber mesh with polyvinyl chloride coating for concrete reinforcement is disclosed in patents such as u . s . pat . no . 4 , 298 , 413 granted nov . 3 , 1981 to john w . teare and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 230 , 465 granted may 15 , 2001 to harold g . messenger , et al ., the disclosures in which are incorporated herein by reference . a unique colored fluorescent pigment is incorporated in the pvc prior to its being coated onto the glass fiber mesh . after the mesh has been used to reinforce concrete a small strand of the mesh will allow the manufacturer of the mesh to be identified . the glass fiber reinforcing mesh also may be incorporated in either portland cement based concrete because of its alkali resistance or with polymeric concrete compositions . a fiber glass scrim woven mesh of 3 . 8 to 4 . 8 oz / sq . yd . was passed through a coating bath which included polyvinyl chloride where it picked up 9 to 19 oz / yd . of coating . the bath contained imidazoles from bayer so that 0 . 02 to 10 % by weight of the coating was the fluorescent constituent . the result was a coating that allows the source of the fabric to be identified by its fluorescent marker under ultraviolet light . after having read the above disclosure , many other uses of the invention may become apparent to those skilled in the ordinary art but the present invention is limited in scope only to the claims which follow : | 8 |
an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows , e . g ., laser printer 199 to which an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied . this laser printer is connected to a host system such as an external computer or word processor through a cable ( not shown ) and forms ( prints ) an image on a sheet of paper in a predetermined color in accordance with dot image data supplied from the host system . in fig1 reference numeral 200 denotes a drum - like photosensitive body as an image carrier which is rotated in an arrow direction by a drive source ( not shown ). charger 201 , developer 206 , pretransfer discharge lamp 207 , transfer charger 208 , separation charger 209 , cleaner 210 , and discharger 211 are disposed in the order named around a circumferential surface of photosensitive body 200 along a rotational direction thereof . paper feed unit 213 is provided at one side below photosensitive body 200 and supplies paper p to a position below photosensitive body 200 . unit 213 comprises : detachable upper and lower paper feed cassettes 214 and 215 which house a plurality of sheets of paper p ; paper feed rollers 216 and 217 for picking up a sheet of paper p one by one from cassettes 214 and 215 ; manual paper feed tray 219 attached to manual paper feed port 218 formed above upper paper feed cassette 214 ; a pair of paper feed rollers 220 for feeding paper p supplied from tray 219 ; and a pair of regist rollers 221 for aligning a leading edge of paper p fed by rollers 216 , 217 , and 220 and supplying it in synchronism with an image on photosensitive body 200 . paper p fed by regist rollers 221 is supplied to a section of transfer charger 208 and is brought into contact with the surface of photosensitive body 200 thereat . therefore , a toner image on photosensitive body 200 is transferred onto paper p by charger 208 . paper p on which the toner image is transferred is electrostatically separated from photosensitive body 200 by separation charger 209 and then conveyed by suction conveyor belt 222 to heat rollers 223 as a fixing unit . when paper p passes between rollers 223 , the transferred image on paper p is heated and fixed . after fixing , paper p is discharged to paper discharge tray 225 by a pair of paper discharge rollers 224 . in this case , residual toner particles on the surface of photosensitive body 200 after the toner image thereon is transferred are removed by cleaner 210 . then , photosensitive body 200 is discharged by discharger 211 and returns to an initial state . an optical system will be described in detail below . as shown in fig1 the optical system comprises : single base 318 ; rotary mirror scanning unit 212 ; reflecting mirrors 311 and 312 for guiding first and second laser beams 309 and 310 controlled by unit 212 to predetermined positions , respectively ; transparent glass 313 for preventing dust from entering into the optical system ; lens 317 for correcting beam deflection caused by surface deflection of a polygonal mirror ( rotary mirror ) to be described later ; and a beam detector to be described later . fig2 is a perspective view of the optical system of fig1 . in fig2 rotary mirror scanning unit 212 comprises : single semiconductor laser oscillator ( beam source ) 302 as a main element for emitting two laser beams ; collimating lens 304 for collimating the beams emitted from oscillator 302 into parallel beams ; polygonal mirror ( rotary mirror ) 300 having eight octagonally - arranged mirror surfaces for reflecting the two beams from lens 304 in units of scanning lines ; scan motor 303 for rotating mirror 300 ; and f · θlens 301 . as shown in fig3 oscillator 302 consists of two laser diodes 50 and 51 and two light - emitting points 50a and 51a respectively corresponding to diodes 50 and 51 . diodes 50 and 51 can be driven independently of each other as will be described later . diodes 50 and 51 are formed on a single semiconductor chip , and a pitch of diodes 50 and 51 in a y - axis direction in fig4 a and 4b is about 200 μm . diodes 50 and 51 are arranged as follows . first , as shown in fig4 a , oscillator 302 is inclined such that a pitch of diodes 50 and 51 in a z - axis direction becomes about 8 um . second , as shown in fig4 b , diodes 50 and 51 are arranged such that the light - emitting positions thereof are offset from each other . third , as shown in fig4 c , diodes 50 and 51 are formed on oscillator 302 such that a pitch of diodes 50 and 51 in the y - axis direction becomes 15 μm and oscillator 302 is arranged upright or inclined slightly . as a result , an interval between a scanning line of first laser beam 309 and that of second laser beam 310 on photosensitive body 200 becomes 80 μm , i . e ., corresponds to a printing pitch of 12 lines / mm of a dot printer . single photodiode 56 as a photodetector ( for monitoring a beam ) is provided to oscillator 302 and detects a light amount of the laser beams emitted from laser diodes 50 and 51 . the beam amounts of the laser beams emitted from diodes 50 and 51 are maintained constant in accordance with a detection result of photodiode 56 in a manner to be described later . since photodiode 56 is constituted by a single element , a current output proportional to each light amount of diodes 50 and 51 can be obtained therefrom . diodes 50 and 51 emit first and second laser beams 309 and 310 for recording / exposing data to the right in fig3 and third and fourth laser beams 55a and 55b for light amount monitoring to the left therein . two light - emitting points 50a and 51a shown in fig3 are radiated on photosensitive body 200 as two beam spots 57 and 58 located close to each other as shown in fig5 by the optical system shown in fig2 . the optical system is arranged such that a distance between the centers of beam spots 57 and 58 corresponds to distance d1 which is the same as a subscanning pitch . beam spots 57 and 58 simultaneously scan at a constant speed in a left - to - right direction in fig5 in correspondence to rotation of polygonal mirror 300 . therefore , beam spots 57 and 58 start scanning from points 59a and 59b located at the left end in fig5 and end scanning of two scanning lines at points 60a and 60b . at the same time , beam spots 57 and 58 are returned to the left end by the next mirror surface of mirror 300 and start scanning for the next scanning lines from points 59c and 59d to points 60c and 60d . in an actual recording operation , the beam intensity is optically modulated in accordance with image data so that oscillator 302 is turned on / off in synchronism with above two - beam scanning and in accordance with the recording density in a main scanning direction . thus , an electrostatic latent image can be formed on photosensitive body 200 at a predetermined recording density . such a two - beam scanning system is characterized in that since two beams scan at the same time , a scanning speed can be reduced to half that of a conventional system in which scanning is performed by a single beam under the conditions that the recording densities and the printing speeds are the same . therefore , a rotational speed of the scan motor for driving mirror 300 and a frequency of the video clock in the main scanning direction can be reduced to half . that is , the above system can be used as a very effective means for realizing a high - speed operation of the laser beam printer . a positional relationship of the respective points of beam spots 57 and 58 in the main scanning direction in fig5 will be described below with reference to fig6 . that is , reference numeral 61 denotes a beam - scanning start point at the left end ; 67 , a beam - scanning end point at the right end ; 62 , a position of beam detector 308 ; 63 , a left end face of photosensitive body 200 ; 66 , a right end face thereof ; 64 , a printing start point of a maximum printing width ; and 65 , a printing end point thereof . a mechanism around beam detector 308 for generating a horizontal sync signal which is essential in printing control of laser printer 199 will be described . in fig2 reflecting mirror 307 is provided at a predetermined position of a scanning range of first and second laser beams 309 and 310 emitted from rotary mirror scanning unit 212 , i . e ., provided outside an effective printing area . laser beams 309 and 310 are reflected ( deflected ) by mirror ( light - deflecting portion ) 307 and guided to detector 308 . as shown in fig7 a and 7b , detector 308 is constituted by , e . g ., pin photodiode element 68 and mask 69 having rectangular opening 69a for shaping a beam waveform at its central portion . therefore , output waveform distortion generated when the laser beam passes by an end face portion of element 68 can be prevented by mask 69 . that is , in fig7 a , an output can be obtained from element 68 only if laser beam 309 or 310 passes by opening 69a , i . e ., left and right end faces 73 and 74 of mask 69 when the beam passes on photodiode element 68 . fig8 shows a control section of laser printer 199 having the above arrangement . that is , reference numeral 501 denotes a cpu ( central processing unit ) as a main control section for controlling an overall system ; 502 , a rom ( read - only memory ) which stores a control program for operating laser printer 199 ; 503 , a rom which stores a data table ; 504 , a ram ( random access memory ) as a working memory ; 505 , a versatile timer for generating fundamental timing signals for control including a predetermined process required for image formation in paper conveyance and around photosensitive body 200 ; and 506 , an i / o port for outputting display data to operation display section 507 , receiving inputs from a variety of detectors ( e . g ., microswitches and sensors ), sending an output to driver 509 for driving drive system ( consisting of , e . g ., a motor , a clutch , and a solenoid ) 510 , sending an output to motor driver 511 for driving scanning motor 303 , and inputting / outputting with respect to process controller 522 which controls input / output with respect to section 523 including various sensors , a high - voltage power source , and the like . reference numeral 513 denotes a printing data write controller which drives laser modulator 514 for modulating laser diodes 50 and 51 of oscillator 302 for writing image data , thereby controlling an operation of optically writing printing data of a video image sent from the external host system at a predetermined position on photosensitive body 200 . at this time , detector 308 consisting of a pin diode of a high - speed response type detects only one of two laser beams 309 and 310 which perform scanning by control of scanning unit 212 . sync signal generator 517 digitizes an analog signal from detector 308 by a high - speed comparator to generate horizontal sync signal hsyn and supplies the signal to controller 513 . reference numeral 519 denotes an interface circuit for outputting status data to the external host system , receiving command data and printing data therefrom , and the like . as shown in fig9 generator 517 is constituted by bias resistors r1 , r2 , r3 , r4 , and r5 for supplying an input and a reference voltage , positive feedback resistor r6 , noise removing capacitor c1 , high - speed feedback capacitor c2 , and high - speed comparator 79 . that is , the output from detector 308 is compared with the reference voltage , and signal hsyn is output as a comparison result . in this case , only first laser beam 309 is radiated on detector 308 , and signal hsyn is output from generator 517 in accordance with a detection signal . controller 513 is constituted by laser scan timing controller 5l3a and video clock generator 5l3b to be described later . as shown in fig1 , controller 5l3a comprises : inverter 80 for inverting signal hsyn supplied from generator 517 ; two timers with a gating function ( constituted by , e . g ., intel 8253 ) in which a timer time supplied from cpu 501 through a cpu bus is set and which count output signals from inverter 80 as gate signals ( g ) and clock signals clk from cpu 501 as clock pulses ( cp ); d flip - flop circuit ( to be referred to as an ff circuit hereinafter ) 83 which is alternately set / reset and therefore outputs a selection signal from set output terminal q or a reset output terminal q each time the output signal is supplied as clock pulse cp from inverter 80 ; inverter 84 for inverting a time - out signal from an output terminal ( o ) of timer 82 ; and gate 85 which ands the time - out signal from timer 81 with the output signal from circuit 84 and outputs a video clock stop signal ; and gate 86 , a gate of which is opened by a set output from ff circuit 83 and outputs the output from and gate 85 as a sampling signal for monitoring laser diode 50 ; and and gate 87 , a gate of which is opened by a reset output from and gate 83 and outputs the output from and gate 85 as a sampling signal for monitoring laser diode 51 . an operation of laser scan timing controller 513a having the above arrangement will be described below with reference to the timing chart of fig1 . that is , signal hsyn supplied from generator 517 is inverted by inverter 80 and supplied to gate terminals g of timers 81 and 82 and clock pulse input terminal cp of ff circuit 83 . therefore , when signal hsyn falls , the gates of timers 81 and 82 are opened to start counting of signals clk as clock pulses supplied from cpu 501 . when signal hsyn falls , a state of ff circuit 83 is also changed , i . e ., circuit 83 is set . as a result , the gate of and gate 86 is kept open by the set output . in addition , since no time - out signal is output from timer 82 , the gate of and gate 85 is kept open by the output from inverter 84 . when the time preset in timer 81 has elapsed , its time - out signal is output as a video clock stop signal to video clock generator 513b through and gate 85 . the output from and gate 85 is supplied as a first sampling signal to laser modulator 514 through and gate 86 . when the time preset in timer 82 has elapsed , its time - out signal is supplied as a forced on signal to modulator 514 . in addition , the output from inverter 84 is inverted by the time - out signal from timer 82 and closes the gate of and gate 85 . therefore , generation of the video clock signal and the first sampling signal is stopped . when signal hsyn falls , timers 81 and 82 are started and ff circuit 83 is reset . therefore , the gate of and gate 87 is kept open by the set output . in addition , since no time - out signal is output from timer 82 , the gate of and gate 85 is kept open by the output from inverter 84 . when the time preset in timer 81 has elapsed , its time - out signal is output as the video clock stop signal to generator 513b through and gate 85 . in this case , the output from and gate 85 is supplied as a second sampling signal to modulator 514 through and gate 87 . when the time preset in timer 82 has elapsed , its time - out signal is output as a forced on signal to modulator 514 . in addition , the output from inverter 84 is inverted by the time - out signal and closes the gate of and gate 85 . therefore , generation of the video clock stop signal and the second sampling signal is stopped . a cycle time of signal hsyn is t1 , an on time of timer 81 is t2 , and an on time of timer 82 is t3 . a relationship between three times t1 , t2 , and t3 is such that t1 & gt ; t3 & gt ; t2 . therefore , and gates 86 and 87 output the sampling signal with respect to one of laser diodes 50 and 51 each time beam scanning is performed . as shown in fig1 , video clock generator 513b comprises : a series of connected and gates 88 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , and 107 ; quartz oscillator 89 having an oscillation frequency of the same cycle as that of the video clock ; delay circuit 90 having four delay time taps provided at equal intervals ; or gates 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , and 103 ; d flip - flop circuits ( to be referred to as ff circuits hereinafter ) 95 , 96 , 97 , and 98 ; nor gate 104 ; inverter 105 ; and counter 106 for counting video clocks from or gate 103 and outputting video clock signal vclk from an effective printing area . an operation of generator 513b having the above arrangement will be described below with reference to the timing chart of fig1 . that is , a reference clock of period t is supplied from oscillator 89 to delay circuit 90 . therefore , clocks having periods sequentially delayed by t / 4 are output from taps 01 , 02 , 03 , and 04 of delay circuit 90 and supplied to clock pulse input terminals cp of ff circuits 95 to 98 , respectively . ff circuits 95 to 98 are cleared by the video clock signal from laser scan timing controller 513a , and the gate of and gate 88 is opened by the output from nor gate 104 . in this state , signal hsyn from beam detector 517 is supplied to and gate 88 . then , &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; signals are output from and gate 88 and supplied to data input terminals d of ff circuits 95 to 98 through or gates 91 to 94 , respectively . in fig1 , when a clock from tap 01 of delay circuit 90 rises , ff circuit 95 is set . the gate of and gate 99 is opened by the set output from ff circuit 95 . therefore , the clock from tap 01 of circuit 90 is output as a video clock to and gate 107 and counter 106 through and gate 99 and or gate 103 . an output from nor gate 104 becomes a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; signal by the set output from ff circuit 95 and closes the gate of and gate 88 . in addition , the set output from ff circuit 95 is supplied to data input terminal d of ff circuit 95 through or gate 91 . therefore , only ff circuit 95 is kept set . when counter 106 reaches a count corresponding to a recording start position , the gate of and gate 107 is opened , and video clock vclk from or gate 103 is output . in accordance with clock vclk , printing data vdat1 and vdat2 supplied from interface circuit 519 are output to modulator 514 . similarly , when clocks from other taps 02 to 04 of delay circuit 90 rise and corresponding ff circuits 96 to 98 are set , the clocks from taps 02 to 04 are output as clocks vclk . laser modulator 514 will be described below with reference to fig1 . that is , modulator 514 comprises : operational amplifier 108 for amplifying a monitor signal obtained by converting a voltage of an output current from monitoring photodiode 56 ; comparator 109 for comparing an output signal from amplifier 108 with a laser light amount control reference voltage obtained by resistor r14 , variable resistor vr2 , resistor r15 , and variable resistor vr3 ; inverting transistor 110 ; analog switches 111 and 121 which are turned on at a channel 1 side , i . e ., when a light amount of laser diode 50 is to be controlled ; analog switches 112 and 122 which are turned on at a channel 2 side , i . e ., when a light amount of laser diode 51 is to be controlled ; operational amplifiers 113 and 114 for following voltages , i . e ., converting impedances of voltages vcl and vc2 charged by capacitors c3 and c4 ; high - speed transistors 119 and 120 for controlling currents to be flowed through diodes 50 and 51 ; analog switches 115 and 117 which are turned on when diodes 50 and 51 are turned on ; analog switches 116 and 118 which are turned on when diodes 50 and 51 are turned off ; buffers 125 to 128 , 123 and 124 for driving switches 115 to 118 , 121 and 122 , respectively ; nor ( gates 129 and 131 ; and buffers 130 and 132 . an operation of laser modulator 514 having the above arrangement will be described below with reference to the timing chart of fig1 . that is , when the first sampling signal is supplied from laser scan timing controller 513a , analog switches 111 and 121 are turned on by the first sampling signal . in addition , an output from nor gate 129 becomes &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; by the first sampling signal , and hence switch 115 is turned on . at this time , since capacitor c3 is not charged , an output from amplifier 113 is at 0v , and the base of transistor 119 is also at 0v . therefore , laser diode 50 does not emit light at this time . in this case , a monitor current of photodiode 56 is also at 0v , and an output of 0v is supplied from amplifier 108 . then , an output from comparator 109 is switched to level &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;, and transistor 110 is turned off . since transistor 110 is kept off , capacitor c3 is charged . an output voltage from amplifier 113 is gradually increased because capacitor c3 is charged , and a collector current of transistor 119 is also increased . when the collector current of transistor 119 reaches a forward current , laser diode 50 emits light . thereafter , while the first sampling signal is kept supplied , diode 50 is controlled to emit a predetermined amount of light in accordance with the monitor current of photodiode 56 . similarly , when the second sampling signal is supplied , switches 112 and 122 are turned on by the second sampling signal . in addition , an output from nor gate 131 is switched to &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; by the second sampling signal . then , switch 117 is turned on . at this time , since capacitor c4 is not charged , an output from amplifier 114 is at 0v , and the base of transistor 120 is at 0v . therefore , laser diode 51 does not emit light at this time . in this case , the monitor current of photodiode 56 is also at 0v , and the output of 0v is supplied from amplifier 108 . then , the output from comparator 109 is switched to level &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;, and transistor 110 is turned off . since transistor 110 is kept off , capacitor c4 is charged . an output voltage from amplifier 114 is gradually increased because capacitor c4 is charged , and a collector current of transistor 120 is increased . when the collector current of transistor 120 reaches the forward current , laser diode 51 emits light . thereafter , while the second sampling signal is kept supplied , diode 51 is controlled to emit a predetermined amount of light in accordance with the monitor current of photodiode 56 . a case wherein printing data vdat1 and vdat2 are supplied from interface circuit 519 to buffers 130 and 132 and nor gates 129 and 131 , respectively , will be described below . in this case , since the first and second sampling signals are not supplied , capacitors c3 and c4 are kept charged . therefore , switch 116 is turned on / off in accordance with data vdat1 output from buffer 130 , and switch 115 is turned on / off in accordance with an output from nor gate 129 . thus , laser diode 50 emits / does not emit light . that is , when data vdat1 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, switch 115 is turned on , and switch 116 is turned off , so that diode 50 emits light . when data vdat1 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, switch 115 is turned off , and switch 116 is turned on , so that diode 50 does not emit light . in accordance with data vdat2 output from buffer 132 , switch 118 is turned on / off , and switch 117 is turned on / off in accordance with an output from nor gate 131 . thus , laser diode 51 emits / does not emit light . that is , when data vdat2 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, switch 117 is turned on , and switch 118 is turned off , so that diode 51 emits light . when data vdat2 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, switch 117 is turned off , and switch 118 is turned on , so that diode 51 does not emit light . assume that the forced on signal is supplied to nor gate 129 . in this case , since the first and second sampling signals are not supplied , capacitors c3 and c4 are kept charged . therefore , switch 115 is turned on in accordance with a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; signal output from nor gate 129 , and only diode 50 emits light . since only diode 50 emits light , only beam detector 308 is irradiated . as described above , two laser diodes generate two laser beams as scanning beams , and light amounts of the two laser beams are independently detected by a single beam detector in a time sharing manner , thereby controlling light - emitting operations of the laser diodes in accordance with respective detection results . therefore , only a single beam detector and a single light amount controller are required . as has been described above , according to the present invention , there is provided a multi - beam scanning system in which only a single light amount controller is required and an arrangement can be simplified . | 6 |
fig1 illustrates an anterior view of the human lung 42 and trachea 1 . the trachea extends into the chest cavity to bifurcate into the primary bronchi 2 to then branch into the lung lobes and become bronchioles and small airways 9 . the lungs are divided by fissures 10 that are lined with a membrane called the visceral pleura 3 . the left side of the human chest contains the superior lobe 7 and the inferior lobe 8 . the right side of the human chest contains the inferior lobe 4 , the middle lobe 5 and the inferior lobe 6 . fig2 illustrates the left side of the human chest cavity with the superior lobe 7 and inferior lobe 8 , fissures 10 , tissue that has been dissected away from the primary bronchi 12 where the surgeon will close off the bronchi and cut the lobe away 11 . lung tissue 12 must be dissected away from tubular structures in the lung to access completely around these structures to apply a closing or blocking device . the tissue 12 is dissected completely around the structure approximately 25 mm down the length of the structure . the cleared segment is typically longer than 10 mm . sections longer than 5 mm or longer than 3 mm are also suitable alternatives . fig3 illustrates a device 29 in use , engaging a dissecting member 19 to remove lung parenchyma away from bronchi 9 . the other instruments are shown to present a typical video assisted thoracic surgery ( vats ) system and how it would be used to perform a minimally invasive lobectomy . the device 29 is inserted through a small hole in the chest 41 . tissue is tensioned using a tensioning device 38 with teeth 39 that engage dissected tissue . an optical element 35 is inserted through a port 40 to communicate a visual image of the procedure to the camera 36 and to a monitor via a video cable 37 . the figure further illustrates how the device dissects to separate the superior lobe 7 from the inferior lobe 8 so that the inferior lobe can be removed . the dissection that is shown must be performed on all airways , arteries and veins that communicate through or into the lobe that is being treated . the illustrated devices and methods are applicable for dissecting tissue from any of the aforementioned structures . the invention can be equally useful for any surgical procedure in the thoracic cavity such as adhesion cutting , pneumonectomy , lobe segment removal , lung volume reduction surgery and other procedures to eliminate spontaneous pneumothorax , tumor removal , and general lung repair . the invention can be utilized in open surgery or introduced through a port or small hole in the chest . fig4 is an anterior view of a chest cavity wherein the bronchi branch 11 that led to the inferior lobe is clipped 14 to occlude the branch and the lobe has been removed to leave only the superior lobe 7 in the chest . fig5 illustrates a cut away view of one configuration of the invention . the surgical system 29 operates by delivering work energy to a distal dissecting element to selectively dissect tissue away from specifically targeted lung tissue that must be preserved . the user can deliver work energy manually or control , via a switch 14 , electrical current from a wall outlet or battery 13 to a motor 15 by way of wires 28 in the invention . the motor rotates the drive shaft 16 that is coupled to an eccentric cam 17 that intermittently loads the follower plates 18 to move the dissecting element 19 from side to side in a reciprocating manor . one or more dissector elements may be driven in a synchronized way or they may be driven in opposing directions to provide shear force on the lung tissue . the dissecting elements may be made of metal , plastic , ceramic or other dimensionally stable materials . the dissector element edge may be made of or coated with an abrasive material to enhance dissecting speed and efficiency . coatings may be selected from the group of materials including plated , electroplated , sputtered , or vapor deposited metals , ceramics , glasses , plastics , fibrous materials such as carbon , oxides or other know substances that are used to provide abrasive surfaces . the dissecting element is guided by a dissector housing 20 that pivots about pin 21 and is stabilized and controlled by a pull rod 23 that is coupled to the dissector housing via coupler pin 22 . the dissector housing may be adapted to hold tissue from moving to maximize the relative motion between tissue and the dissecting elements . grooved tooth profiles are shown that enable fixation . the pull rod 23 incorporates a toothed rack 24 that engages a toothed gear 25 that is coupled to control knob 26 . rotation of the control knob adjusts the pivot angle of the dissecting system . the entire mechanism is housed in housing 34 . the cutting mechanism may be detachable to be replaced with new cutters , or blades of different dimensions for different tasks during the procedure . the power source can be selected from the group of 110 or 220 volt alternating current power or any direct current voltage that can be produced from a battery system such as nickel cadmium ( nicd ), nickel metal hydride ( nimh ), lithium ion ( lion ) or smart batteries that have internal microprocessor circuits which help manage battery energy , report the state of the charge , predict running time or track battery usage . the mechanical parts of the invention can be made from metals , plastics , ceramics or a combination of these . the motor may comprise a gear reduction component or be coupled to one . a stop lock may be coupled to the pivot control mechanism . the motor may be a source for ultrasonic energy to drive the dissecting element at high frequencies above 10 , 000 hertz . a motor and gear reduction may slow the rotational speed to 10 hertz or less to enable slow dissection and physician feedback throughout the process . any speed between the two would be ideal . the invention shown in fig5 illustrates a mechanism that can perform dissection by way of a moving dissector element using reciprocal motion . another embodiment is a system that drives a rotary dissector element whereby the tooth spacing of the dissecting element or the dissecting housing accomplishes the same result as the reciprocating dissecting element . fig6 is a detailed view of the pivot mechanism showing the housing 27 , drive shaft 16 , cam 17 , follower plate 18 , dissecting element 19 , dissector housing 20 , coupler pin 22 , pin 21 and pull rod 23 . the pivot mechanism allows for the physician to controllably change the trajectory that the dissector operates . by manipulating this control , the physician can adjust the relative angle between the dissector element and the tissue or structure that is being trimmed . adjustment such as this allows the invention to be inserted into small ports or various locations between ribs with a high level of success to locate the point of dissection with a favorable angle of attack . the dissector can also be adjusted to one side or the other in the axis that the reciprocal motion takes place . this would be into or out of the plane of the illustration . fig7 illustrates a configuration of a dissecting element 19 or dissector housing 20 that features grooved teeth 32 to engage tissue . the teeth are made with a tapered profile 31 and can be sharp at the extreme tips or faceted 30 to eliminate the possibility of cutting into a tubular structure in the lung . fig8 shows a top view of a dissecting element 19 or a dissector housing 20 that features grooved teeth 32 with facets 30 and sharpened blade sections 33 only on the inside of each groove . this ensures that cutting is performed only on tissue that is allowed inside the tooth groove . the width of the groove dictates the size of structure that can be advanced into the cutting groove . the groove spacing can be the spacing from the start of one tooth to the start of the adjacent tooth . typically the groove spacing is less than 5 . 0 mm , less than 3 . 0 mm , less than 1 . 0 mm , or less than 0 . 5 mm . fig9 illustrates a top view of a dissecting element 19 or a dissector housing 20 that features no cutting blade edges . this configuration is intended to engage tissue without cutting . the relative motion between the dissector element and the dissector housing will pulls apart soft lung tissue without cutting into critical structures such as the arteries , veins , bronchi or dissectible airways . fig1 is an isometric view of another configuration of dissecting element 19 or dissector housing 20 that is tapered 31 and features angular surfaces to offset the grooved tooth section from the mounting plane 43 . this configuration allows the toothed section to be mated closely with either the complimentary dissecting element or dissecting housing . an additional aspect is directed to a kit for removing a portion of a lung from structures of the lung . the kits can be configured to comprise any of the devices or components described above with respect to fig3 - 10 . the kits comprise , for example , a surgical instrument comprising an elongated housing having a longitudinal axis , a forward portion and a rearward portion of the housing , and a dissecting member extending from the forward portion of the housing ; and a hole - making instrument for making an entry site to access a target lung section for the surgical instrument . the surgical instrument can be any suitable surgical instrument adapted and configured to remove a portion of a lung from structures of the lung . additionally , the kit can be configured to include a variety of other components , including , for example , an optical instrument for communicating a visual of a target of the surgical instrument , such as an endoscope , a tensioning device , etc . in a method embodiment , lobectomy surgery is performed using the invention to make dissections to separate adjacent pleura to complete the fissures between the lobe that is to be removed and adjacent lobes . the method includes the step of locating large airways , arteries and veins larger than approximately 0 . 5 mm or larger in diameter ( e . g . generically referred to as structures ) and carefully dissecting out of the lung tissue and / or tumors so they can be reliably clipped , stapled or sealed off with glue or other methods . as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art , failure to identify the critical structures in the lung may result in accidental laceration when the lobe is completely cut away from the adjacent lungs . laceration or any procedure that allows for rupture of the arteries in this region greatly increases the risk of patient death since they transport the majority of the human cardiac output . laceration could cause an immediate and uncontrollable hemorrhage that could result in patient death . an additional method is directed to performing a lobectomy which comprises providing a surgical instrument with a source of work energy that is coupled to a dissecting member extending from the forward portion of the instrument ; activating the source to induce motion of the dissecting member ; contacting the dissecting member to adjacent pleurae along a fissure ; and dissecting a lobe of lung away from a tubular lung structure . additionally , the method can include visualizing the lung with an optical instrument , such as an endoscope . tubular lung structure suitable for dissection include , but are not limited to bronchi , dissectible airways , veins and arteries . in some instances it may be desirable to adjust the projection of the dissection member into different trajectories . while preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only . numerous variations , changes , and substitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention . it should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention . it is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby . | 0 |
fig1 illustrates a part of a typical video conference system . endpoints 1 a at location 1 are connected to endpoints locations 2 , 3 and 4 at different locations . the endpoints 1 a and 1 b are connected via lan 6 to router 5 , which connects to ip network 8 , to which the endpoints 2 , 3 , 4 are also connected . an important point to realize is that there is a point - to - point ip connection set up between each source and each destination endpoint . in the example shown , there are three ip connections to the router 5 shown at the edge of the ip network 8 . the router 5 is typical of many in each ip connection . the ip network shown could be , for example , a corporate private network , the public internet , or a combination of such networks . a typical stylized ip video signal 44 is illustrated in fig3 . larger peaks 44 a represent periods of high data traffic associated with video i - frames transmitting the entire picture . smaller traffic peaks 44 b represent p - frames , transmitting small fragments of the picture , which have changed with respect to the previous i and p - frames , and other data . the signal shown in fig3 reflects a typical one to two second period . each video connection in fig1 carries a signal similar to that shown in fig3 . in the case where the signal from one common video source is transmitted to two destinations , the signal traffic to each destination will be similar ; for example , signal 44 and signal 48 . these are signals transmitted on a virtual ip connection . fig3 shows aggregate traffic on the real , physical , lan 6 . in general , the video data from different sources are not synchronized , which means that there is no particular temporal relationship between traffic peaks resulting from the various i - frames coming from different sources . these peaks from different sources will drift with respect to one another when viewed over time but they will always coincide if the same source streams to multiple destinations . from time to time drifting i - frame peaks will coincide again resulting in a signal similar to that shown at 49 in fig3 . when the traffic peaks on each of the connections to multiple destinations roughly coincide it is possible that the instantaneous traffic level may exceed the traffic capacity of one of more devices ( e . g . router 5 in fig1 ) in the system . this capacity limit is shown as a cap 49 a in fig3 . the router 5 typically discards any data , which would otherwise have exceeded the cap . the consequence of this loss of data is a degradation of the transmitted picture when it is rendered at the display for a period of time that is noticeable and significant to the system users . in a one - way video application , for example , a youtube video , if the video signal is delayed a few hundred ms or even several seconds , users likely will either not notice or not be too concerned . such delay typically occurs once at the point the user starts watching the video and has no perceivable effect to the viewer on the remainder of that video . unlike streaming one - way video applications , round trip delay ( rtd ) is a very important parameter in a videoconference system . a video conference is a two - way communication , like a telephone call . human communication evolved in an environment in which the delay in sound traveling from a speaker &# 39 ; s mouth to a listener &# 39 ; s ear is typically a few ms . to human perception this is instantaneous . visual cues are received even faster . it has been found that communication can continue naturally when the rtd is kept under approximately 150 ms . between this figure and 500 or 600 ms users will find conversation increasingly difficult , especially , for example , if discussion is heated or users are in negotiation . as it relates to video , rtd is the time taken from the moment an individual at the source moves or makes a gesture until that movement occurs on the distant display plus the time taken for a similar movement at the distant location to occur on the local display . each way this includes typically time taken to scan the scene , encode it , packetize it , traverse the ip network and carry out the inverse functions at the display end , where further delay is incurred in a jitter buffer . it is extremely difficult if not impossible with current technology and user desired picture quality to meet the ideal rtd requirements . it will be clear that arbitrarily adding further delay to smooth traffic using a video buffer will further deteriorate the user experience . fig2 is a functional block diagram of a system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . with the exception of the desync control block 32 and delay blocks 52 , whose function will be described in more detail below , the function of the remaining blocks is known in the art . the video displays 12 and 13 could be a dedicated device , such as may be found in a typical conference room or a window on a display more typically found at an individuals desk . network receiver 16 terminates the ip connection 42 from a remote source at endpoint 2 and delivers the digital video signal 14 to the display 12 . video source 22 could be a video camera , a group of switched cameras , or any other source of video including a video player , multiparty conference unit ( mcu ), or a gateway connection to legacy video equipment . network transmitter 26 converts the digital video signal 24 from the source and sends it as an ip signal 44 to the remote endpoint 2 . desynch block 32 , shown in fig7 , comprises a processor 70 , memory 72 , and interface 74 for interfacing with transmitters 26 and receivers 16 . the blocks shown illustrate functions that may be physically integrated with each other and / or other equipment ( not illustrated ). for example displays 12 and 13 may be simply two windows on a single display or they may be separate standalone displays . at remote locations details , similar to 1 with or without blocks 32 and 52 , of video encoding and decoding and ip transmission and reception are omitted for clarity . the endpoints 1 and 2 , 3 , 4 are interconnected via the ip network 8 , which is understood to include all equipment necessary for ip connectivity between the locations . in particular , the network will include many routers , similar to 5 shown and other equipment . this other equipment may be at the respective location and / or part of a private network , a public network , especially the internet . it will be understood that signals traversing the network are subject to significant arbitrary and variable delay ranging from tens of milliseconds to seconds . connections 42 and 44 form one logical two - way connection ( ip virtual connections are illustrated as dashed lines to differentiate from other signals ). it will be understood that these connections comprise more than one signal . these signals include both the video signal ( e . g . carried in real time protocol — rtp ) and round trip delay ( rtd ) information on the rtp flow ( e . g . derived from rtp control protocol rtcp ) referring again to fig3 , it will be seen that the peaks associated with i - frames are aligned and when aggregated onto the lan they result in a 2 × traffic peak . it should be noted that in the example peaks necessarily line up because a single encoder is used . however had there been two independent video sources with two encoders the same situation would arise periodically as the two signals drift in and out of phase . each time they come into phase a large traffic peak is created resulting potentially in data loss around the peak as described earlier . the desync control 32 , shown in fig2 , receives signals 34 from each receiver ( rx ) block 16 ( two or more ) indicative of round trip delay ( rtd ), which information is derived from a network protocol ( e . g . rtcp ) in the ip transport layer . signals 36 from each controlled video source 22 are indicative of the time the last i - frame was transmitted in video signal 24 . the purpose of the desync function is to delay the transmission of the signal transmitted on certain connections in order to minimize aggregate traffic peaks whilst at the same not increasing rtd of any connection beyond the greatest undelayed rtd for all connections . this is achieved by signal 38 . the network transmitter 26 is preceded by the addition of a delay block 52 at the video input . block 52 delays signal 24 by a time specified in signal 38 . the result is that the ip signal 48 is delayed by block 52 by the value specified in signal 38 when compared to conventional endpoints . it will be understood that this modification may or may not be embedded within the existing transmitter code . the desync control 32 determines the delay of each stream so as to separate peaks that would otherwise coincide . it does so by delaying streams with the least rtd more than those with higher rtd such that the stream with the highest rtd is not delayed at all . the amount of delay per stream also has a maximum value so as to cap the total delay . fig4 illustrates the result of the implementing a controlled delay as described and should be compared with fig3 . in this example it is assumed that connection 44 has the greatest rtd and no further delay has been added to this signal . a delay is , according to the invention , applied only to the signal driving connection 48 so that its i - frame peaks do not align with signal 44 . the peaks in the resultant aggregate lan traffic therefore do not exceed the arbitrary traffic cap as they do in fig3 . it will be understood that this method may be used for any number of connections . fig5 illustrates the operation of the invention more generally . in this case three video signals 44 , 48 , and 50 are being transmitted simultaneously . the desync function will attempt to distribute i - frame peaks in signals 48 and 50 between successive peaks of signal 44 which is the un - delayed signal on the connection with the greatest rtd . however , in practice i - frame transmission is not strictly periodic and the round trip delay experienced by each connection may change over time . this change may result in the rank order of connections by rtd changing . the connection with the greatest delay at one moment may be replaced by a different connection at a later moment . fig6 shows a simplified flow chart of embodiment of the desynchronizing control unit 32 . however , it will be appreciated that there a numerous alternative ways of implementing the described function , which will be apparent to a person skilled in the art . in this exemplary embodiment , the process described in the flow chart shown in fig6 is executed on a schedule once every 9 - 10 seconds . the first step in the process 60 is to create an empty signaltable in computer memory . the table contains a row for each destination endpoint currently active . it contains the two columns : in step 62 the signaltable is populated with data from the network receivers 16 and the video sources 22 as described earlier . it will be understood that the round trip delay reported by receivers 16 reflects only the delay in the network , the total for outbound path plus return path , and does not include any additional delay introduced in the endpoint as a result of this invention , either at the subject endpoint or the remote endpoint , if the invention is implemented in any or all the remote endpoints 2 , 3 and 4 . it will be understood that the time stamp signal 36 indicating the last i - frame from a given video source 22 will be relative to a common arbitrary real time clock . in the next step 64 , the signaltable is sorted on the basis of the rtd column in descending order . in step 66 the time reference ( ref ) for the purposes of the rest of the process steps is established . it is taken to be the time of the last i - frame for the video source feeding the connection with the longest rtd , i . e . the first entry in the signaltable column i . further each i value in the signaltable , except the first , is adjusted . it will be understood that i values are roughly periodic . the i values are adjusted by adding or subtracting the i - frame period to i such that i now has a value greater than ref but not exceeding i + ref . next in 68 a table of time slots is created , bslotstable . initially each entry is false . the period into which i - frames could be potentially delayed is divided into “ slots ”, at least as many slots as there are endpoints . each entry in the bslotstable corresponds to one slot , each having a different associated slottime . in the preferred embodiment slots are evenly spaced in time so that the slottime is proportional to the slot number . the remaining loop determines a delay value for each destination ( row ) which will result in moving all but one of any coincident i - frames to an empty slot , so that no slot has more than one i - frame in it . because the destination with greatest rtd is taken as reference , it will be evident that it will not be further delayed by this process . steps 70 and 80 control a typical software loop processing one row of the table , i . e . one destination , in each loop . in the first step of the loop 72 , the next empty slot that is no more than the maximum allowable delay ahead in time is found , i . e . slot having a slottime value greater than or equal to the i value but no more than the maximum allowable delay ahead in time . under certain circumstances it is possible that such a slot may not be found . a test 74 selects the subsequent step on the basis of whether an empty slot was found in 72 . typically a slot is found and step 76 sets the delay 38 ( the specific signal connected to the transmitter 26 of the current loop destination ). it is set to a value equal to the slottime - i . following this 78 the slot value in bslotstable is set true so that this slot will not again be chosen in step 72 when finding a slot for the remaining destinations in signaltable . in the event that no slot is found for this endpoint the delay 38 for that endpoint transmitter is set to zero in step 82 , i . e . no delay . step 80 is the end of the loop . the flowchart either loops back to 70 or ends when all destination have been processed . it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the invention . for example , a processor may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software . when provided by a processor , the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor , by a single shared processor , or by a plurality of individual processors , some of which may be shared . moreover , explicit use of the term “ processor ” should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software , and may implicitly include , without limitation , digital signal processor ( dsp ) hardware , network processor , application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), field programmable gate array ( fpga ), read only memory ( rom ) for storing software , random access memory ( ram ), and non volatile storage . other hardware , conventional and / or custom , may also be included . | 7 |
order and quote flow consolidation is an aim and a goal of the present invention . some exchange operations such as synchronization , receiving data over a network , safe storing information to a disk and the like operations have a relatively high fix resource cost , which is not linear to the amount of information processed . for example , writing data to a disk ; most of the time is spent finding the place on disk where the information could be saved ; the actual transferring of trade information thus has lost its importance , although being the main task . if multiple orders and quotes in a trading application could be received as a single batch the processing cost per order and quote could be decreased due to the fact that the cost for some of the processing steps mentioned earlier are non linear . in order to consolidate the flows of orders and trades there must be a point of consolidation where incoming orders and quotes are batched . this could be accomplished at several places . fig1 illustrates a conventional prior art trading system 10 , which can be modified to achieve the aims and goals of the present invention . the trading system 10 comprises a network 12 for data - and / or telecommunication where trading applications 14 transfer orders requests , order matching , trade captures , settlements , clearings and the like financial tasks . these transfers are received at the intermediate servers 16 for further transfer to a trading server 18 . an exchange or other financial institution providing a market place for trading often provides its service using an electronic trading platform . modern electronic trading systems are often implemented as a three tier layer model : back - end servers , intermediate servers and trading applications . moreover , an exchange operates the back - end system and intermediate servers . market participants connect to the exchange platform using a trading application which is either an application provided by the exchange or other financial institution or more often a proprietary application being integrated with the participants internal systems . trading servers typically provide services such as processing order requests , order matching , trade capture , settlement and clearing . very often all trading functionality is not kept in one server ; it is rather distributed over a set of physical servers . an intermediate server layer handles the trading application connectivity . received requests are dispatched to the appropriate back - end server depending on the request . the intermediate layer is also responsible for feeding updates of information back to trading applications . in a typical message flow , the trading system receives updates from trading applications , applies these updates to the central servers , and then distributes the updates to all trading applications . market markers are participants in a system and they are obliged to provide a “ market ”. the market makers ensure that the market is liquid i . e . that there is a buy and sell interest . there is some sort of economic incitement for market makers to make a market . a simple approach would be to allow participants to submit multiple orders and quotes in a single request . this would reduce the number of transaction to a certain degree but the fact that the trading community is constituted of a large number of participants , the consolidation would be limited . a more efficient place to perform a consolidation in accordance with the present invention would be to accomplish the consolidation at the intermediate server 16 layer . this since the order and quote at this layer are funneled together . according to the present invention the intermediate server applies a hold - back before sending an order or quote to a central matching process . if other orders and quotes would arrive to the intermediate server while the holdback is taken affect . these orders and quotes will be added to the order and quote batch . in fig2 it is schematically depicted in a diagram graph 20 , with time on the x - axis and batch size on the y - axis that the price paid for consolidating orders and quotes are delayed before the orders and quotes get processed , since they are held back in order to build up batches of orders and quotes in accordance with the present invention . the delay is directly linear to the efficiency of the batching , the longer hold - back the better consolidation . hence the present invention introduces a hold - back time frame , where a batch of incoming trading applications 14 is built up for transfer to a final matching process 40 , see fig3 , when a hold - back timer count for a time frame is expired an entire order and quote batch is sent to the matching process 40 , as one large single trading transaction . with the approach consolidating the order and quote flow outside the trading server 18 , the matching process reduces the workload in the matching process . now with reference to fig3 which schematically depicts a tree like configuration for a trading system 30 in accordance with the present invention . this system introduces several layers of consolidation points 32 , 36 , for example , residing in intermediate servers 16 . each layer of intermediate servers 16 consolidates and off loads the workload for the next layer . in fig3 messages from trading applications are transferred to a first consolidation point 32 in an intermediate server 16 at participants sites , where they are collected during the first interval of time and sent as batches 34 to the next consolidation point 36 . at consolidation point 36 , the batches 34 are consolidated in another batch 38 and sent to a matching process 40 for orders and quotes in for instance a trading server 18 . the price paid for consolidating orders and quotes are delays before an order and quote gets processed since they are held back in order to build up batches of orders and quotes . the delay is directly linear to the efficiency of the batching , the longer hold - back the better consolidation as is depicted in fig2 . the factors to consider when determining the hold - back time frame , are that orders and quotes must not be held - back to the extent that their prices become obsolete , and that orders and quotes are processed within in a reasonable time from a participant perspective . the participant perception must be that orders and quotes are processed without delays . the hold - back must be set to a value that results in an efficient consolidation . the hold - back is adaptive in one embodiment of the present invention . if very few orders and quotes are processed there are no reasons to consolidate the flow , the matching process is able to handle the flow . in case the flow of orders increase , the hold - back time will increase to create a consolidation of the order and quote flow . a predetermined threshold or several different threshold values for what is regarded from few to many orders and quotes makes up a basis for a dynamic and adaptive approach of setting first intervals of time through a hold - back - timer . the number of holdback - timers and levels in the tree like structure are dependent on a lot of parameters that are specific for every market place such as the number of members , order and quote flow rates , and other known parameters . there exists normally no dependency between consolidation points in different levels or between hold - back - timers . from a matching perspective each consolidated 34 , 38 batch is treated as one single transaction . the advantage is that the consolidated batch is read as a single message instead of several messages , the consolidated batch is written to audit and recovery file as a single transaction , and the locking in the matching processing is just done once for each batch instead of every order and quote . from a consistency and reliability point of view , the matching process 40 handles the consolidated batch of orders and quotes as a single transaction . in case the matching process abnormally terminates all orders and quotes in the batch will be unprocessed or processed . assuming a matching process is processing 100 transactions per second . this implies that the time for processing a single transaction is 10 milliseconds . assuming that the different steps in processing are divided into : 1 ) receiving over the network 0 . 5 ms 2 ) locking and synchronizing 0 . 05 ms 3 ) logging the transaction to the transaction log for recovery purpose 4 . 95 ms 4 ) processing the transaction 3 ms 5 ) broadcasting changes to prices caused by the transaction to the participant community 1 ms 6 ) send back response to the requestor of the transaction 0 . 5 ms if these 100 transactions are consolidated into one single transaction at a pre - consolidation point in accordance with the present invention the following optimization would be gained , the processing of each sub transaction would remain the same i . e . 3 ms . steps 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 and 6 would basically be just carried out one for each of the 100 sub transaction as they are treated as one single transaction . assume a doubling of the efforts would result in 14 ms for all 100 sub transactions i . e . 0 . 14 ms per transaction . this implies an overall cost of 3 . 14 ms per transaction . a matching engine would then be able to process 318 transactions per second . the present invention has been described through non limiting embodiments and examples , thus the attached set of claims define further embodiments of the invention to persons skilled in the art . | 7 |
fig1 is a programmatic flowchart depicting the analysis algorithm in its most basic form . in this embodiment , the collection of signals is represented by a set of vectors , denoted x i , where i runs from 1 to m , and m is the number of signals in the collection . each vector is an ordered collection of samples , x i ={ x i 1 , x i 2 , . . . }. the length of the vectors is not material to the algorithm ; however , typically they will be of the same length in order to facilitate natural inner product comparisons . in some embodiments , these samples will represent data values of a discrete measure ; in others they may be digitized approximations of continuous analog values . the dictionary , d , represents a large collection of prototype signals . typically these signals will be represented in the same space as the signal vectors , x i . i . e ., d will contain a collection of vectors of length similar to the signal vectors . the exact nature of d is not germane to the basic algorithm description . the initialization of these two sets of vectors occurs in block 10 of fig1 . in some embodiments , however , the elements of d are parameterized by one or more descriptive values and can be quickly generated or manipulated indirectly ; therefore , the vectors comprising d need not always be explicitly generated prior to the next steps . also in block 10 , the step counter n is initialized to zero . in block 11 the algorithm chooses a dictionary element from the set d . any method of scoring possible selections may be plausible so long as the chosen element is close to optimal for at least one of the vectors x . sup . i . by optimal , we mean that the magnitude of the inner product of some x . sup . i with the selected dictionary element g . sub . n is close to the maximum possible value of all possible elements of d . to quantify what is meant by “ close ”, we define a value called . alpha . that is larger than zero and less than or equal to one and write the equation shown in block 11 . . alpha . may be fixed , or may change with n or i . certain highly technical mathematical aspects of the scoring and choice methods will guarantee convergence of the algorithm , these are discussed by the inventor in sieracki , j . m ., “ greedy adaptive discrimination signal component analysis by simultaneous matching pursuits with application to ecog signature detection ,” university of maryland doctoral dissertation , united states copyright office deposit date jun . 10 , 2003 , registration date jun . 13 , 2003 [ hereinafter cited as “ dissertation ”], incorporated by reference herein as though set forth in full . from a practical perspective , however , convergence is not always necessary for the algorithm to be useful . in block 12 the values of the inner product of g n with each of the vectors x i are stored for later retrieval . some representation of g n will also be stored ; this may be the entire vector , or , to save space , only some index or parameter that represents and uniquely describes g n may be stored . storage of these values facilitates future use of the results of the analysis ; however , storage is not strictly required at any step for the algorithm to otherwise proceed . in block 13 the vectors x i are updated by subtracting from each one its corresponding projection on the selected element g n . as mentioned previously , many variations on this update step are obviously plausible ; however , only a few will be detailed in the preferred embodiments . in block 14 , the step counter n is incremented , and in block 15 a decision is made as to whether the stop criteria have been satisfied . reasonable stop criteria may include exceeding some number of steps n , reducing the magnitude of the largest or smallest vector x i below some threshold , reducing some weighted function of the magnitudes of x i below some threshold , and so forth . reasonable stop criteria may also be based upon magnitudes of one more of the stepwise inner products . many other measures will behave appropriately and additional variations in stopping criteria will be evident to those skilled in the art . the exact nature of the stopping criteria is not a critical component of the invention . the basic algorithm depicted in fig1 is summarized using standard mathematical notations that can be easily translated by a skilled programmer into machine - readable computer instructions in numerous equivalent forms . fig2 is a programmatic flowchart depicting the analysis algorithm using a specific scoring and choice method ( block 21 ) that is an additional subject of the present invention . the algorithm begins as before with initialization in block 20 . two dictionaries d and d a are defined . generally speaking d a will be a subset of a larger dictionary d . the specifics of this will be discussed later ; however , the primary motivation for introducing d a is so that the scoring and selection process of block 21 can proceed rapidly on a smaller subset d a that is representative of the larger set d . in some embodiments , d a may offer sufficient choices and no larger set d will be needed . this is reflected in the notion that block 22 is optional . the expression ∥{& lt ; x i , g n & gt ;}∥ p appearing in block 21 is an operation described by the inventor in his dissertation and is defined as follows . the angular brackets & lt ;,& gt ; represent a standard inner product notation well understood in digital signal processing . the curly brackets { } represent a set of inner products taken at a given step n with each of the vectors x i , for i = 1 . . . m . thus the set in curly brackets has m elements . the p - norm denoted ∥.∥ p represents a standard vector p - norm over the set of values . this is a scalar value that can be calculated for a vector x as ( σ | x i | p ) 1 / p , where p is a positive integer from 1 to infinity . other vector norms may also be used . there are other plausible sorting and selection methods within the scope of the invention ; however , the inventor has shown mathematically in dissertation that use of this particular evaluation method has several nice properties that are a subject of this invention . one important property is that the algorithm of fig2 is guaranteed to converge . the stepwise choice function thus defined represents an additional unobvious and novel advance to the state of the art . in block 22 the choice g n is improved by using this value as a starting point and searching in the larger set d in a neighborhood around g n for some even better dictionary element . numerous well - known methods of searching a set d for a local maximum value of the scoring function ∥{& lt ; x i , g n & gt ;}∥ p will be apparent to those skilled in the art . the method will depend on whether d is a finite set or a parameterized infinite set . in some embodiments a so - called newton method is used ; however , the particular method of search is not critical to the larger algorithm so long as the result is no worse than that achieved by block 21 . indeed , the entire block 22 may be considered optional . blocks 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 proceed similarly to blocks 12 , 13 , 14 and 15 ( respectively ) of the algorithm of fig1 . again , a skilled programmer can easily translated the algorithm depicted in fig2 into machine - readable instructions in numerous equivalent forms . fig3 is a programmatic flowchart depicting the analysis algorithm with an additional novel improvement . in particular , the algorithm now allows different dictionary elements g i n to be chosen at each step for each of the vectors x i . this significant change requires more storage of data , but results in an optimal balance between allowing variation in - between signals while representing them in a common framework . in block 30 initialization proceeds as in block 20 of fig2 . as before , generally d a will be a subset of a larger dictionary d . in some embodiments of the present algorithm , however , d and d a may represent the same dictionary . block 31 represents the same choice operation as block 21 of fig2 . block 32 depicts an important element of the improved algorithm . the process operates similarly to block 22 in the previous algorithm ; however , in this case a separate search is performed for each vector x i and a different dictionary element g i n for each will in general be discovered . in certain parameterized dictionaries to be discussed later it may be convenient to define the allowed variation in each parameter with some limit ± δ . constraining variation in the selected dictionary elements within each step helps ensure that the elements selected in that step are always related to each other . this allows the algorithm to automatically discover and equate similar components in different signals without requiring them to match exactly . the improvement facilitates discovery of common characteristics that are blurred or invisible to methods of prior art . block 33 is appropriately modified to store g i n ( or some representation therefore ) for each x i rather than recording only one g n for the entire group as in the previous figures . block 34 is appropriately modified to update each of the vectors x i by subtracting its projection on the individually selected g i n . this is the preferred embodiment ; however , other variations including updating the vectors x i using a common g n as in the earlier algorithms , or calculating some related “ average ” element ĝ n , and others , will be obvious to those skilled in the art . such variations have been considered by the inventor and are within the scope of the present invention . blocks 35 and 36 again proceed similarly to blocks 14 and 15 ( respectively ) of the algorithm of fig1 . as before , a skilled programmer can easily translated the algorithm depicted in fig3 into machine - readable instructions in numerous equivalent forms . the algorithms are each depicted in a straightforward manner . however , certain reconfigurations and optimizations based upon well - known digital signal processing and / or computer science techniques are available , and these basic algorithms may be realized in numerous alternative but equivalent forms . these will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are contemplated within the scope of the invention . it should be noted as well that the depicted algorithms could also be modified to choose only dictionary prototypes at each step with a common inner product sign across all signals in the group . doing so is useful where the polarity ( sign ) of the changes is believed to be of fundamental importance to the analysis . at the completion of any of the above - descried algorithms , a group of signals will be represented by a sequence of stored coefficients and a corresponding sequence of prototype elements selected from the dictionary . typically , the analysis will be terminated after a finite number of steps n , determined by the stopping criteria . the vectors x i will then contain residues that are considered noise for all intents and purposes and are irrelevant to further processing . strictly speaking , these residue vectors should be retained in the event that loss - less reconstruction of the original signals is necessary . practically , we shall ignore them in discussing most of the preferred embodiments below . in order to clearly differentiate between the residues remaining at the end of the execution and the values x i at any particular step , we will describe the stepwise signal values below as x i n . thus the recorded inner product value stored at the n th step of the above algorithms ( blocks 12 , 23 and 33 ) can be written as & lt ; x i n , g i n & gt ; without ambiguity . in the case of the first two algorithms , g i n is the as same g n since the selected dictionary element does not vary with i . the stepwise value & lt ; x i n , g i n & gt ; is also referred to as the n th coefficient in the derived representation space . within this novel representation system , comparisons between signals are available that are not easily made using methods of prior art . for example , we may consider commonalities within a class of signals by finding a mean with respect to the stepwise coefficients . if m is the number of signals x i in a class of interest , then ā n = 1 / m σ & lt ; x i n , g i n & gt ; represents an average value for the class of the n th coefficient of the representation space . similarly we can find a geometric average , ā n 2 = 1 / m σ |& lt ; x i n , g i n & gt ;| 2 , that may be interpreted as an average energy associated with the class for the n th coefficient of the representation space . in both cases g i n may be replaced with g n when , as in the first two algorithms , it is the same for all i . we may threshold these calculated means in order to discover which components elements of the representation space best characterize each class of signals . for example , in some embodiments we may establish a fixed ε and interpret those coefficients with | ā n |& gt ; ε as important to characterizing the class . in other embodiments we may consider |& lt ; x i n , g i n & gt ;− ā n |& lt ; ε or ||& lt ; x i n , g i n & gt ;| 2 − ā n 2 |& lt ; ε a better indicator of which components of the representation space best characterize the signal class . the specific method will depend upon the application . in order to identify characteristics by which to best discriminate between signals classes one may search for a subset of component elements that have large differences in the group means . for example , if we denote two classes of signals with the superscripts α and β then various embodiments of the invention may calculate b n = ā n α − ā n β or b n 2 =( ā n α ) 2 −( ā n β ) 2 and target those components for which | b n |& gt ; ε . these examples represent the type of comparisons that are available within the common representation space generated by the subject algorithms . in order to explain certain additional comparison methods , the concept of a dictionary needs to be detailed . the dictionaries , d and d a , utilized by the subject algorithms have been left very general since the methods so far described to not critically depend on the choice . so long as they contain at least one basis of the space of signal vectors then the algorithms will converge ; and even if they are incomplete in this sense , the algorithms may still serve as useful sorting tools in some circumstances . certain classes of dictionaries , however , extend the usefulness of the invention . a dictionary may be created that reflects specific variations in well - understood parameters , such as scale , frequency , position , and so on . other parameters will be interesting in specific applications and readily identified by those skilled in the art . if the dictionary is composed of prototype elements that span regions of interest in a particular parameter ( or set of parameters ), then the representation that results from the subject algorithms will have direct interpretation . one example dictionary used in an embodiment of the present invention and in methods of prior art is the gabor dictionary . this dictionary is generated from the gaussian curve g ( t )= 2 1 / 4 exp (− πt 2 ) by modulating , shifting , and rescaling operations . the elements can be written as , g s , u , ξ ( t ) = 1 s g ( t - u s ) ⅇ iξl in a complex valued signal space . the dictionary also includes the fourier basis and delta - function basis that represent the mathematical limits of those three operations . it is well known to those skilled in the art that a gaussian generates a very compact simultaneous sampling of both time and frequency information . more precisely , the gaussian exactly satisfies the limits of the classical uncertainty principal . the gabor dictionary derived from a gaussian includes prototype elements that can compactly represent signal components localized in time or frequency , or a blend of the two . here “ time ” is used in reference to analyzing a collection of time varying signals ; however , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that “ space ” or other dimensions of interest may be substituted . equivalent real - valued gabor elements as well as periodization techniques and other modifications useful for dealing with discrete , windowed signals will be known to those skilled in the art . a typical real - valued gabor dictionary may be parameterized by four values . these are scale s , position ( or time ) u , frequency ξ , and phase φ . examples elements from a discrete gabor dictionary are shown in fig4 . these are generated in a 512 coefficient vector space . 41 is an un - modulated element at scale 128 , 42 is at scale 64 with 8 cycle modulation , 43 is scale 128 with 64 cycle modulation , 44 is scale 64 with 8 cycle modulation at phase π / 8 , 45 is a scale 1 discrete dirac delta element , and 46 is a fourier element with 8 cycle modulation . these examples make clear the range of signal components that can be represented by elements in this dictionary . furthermore , other operations may be applied to the gaussian to generate dictionaries that are parameterized on different features of interest . for example , linear or non - linear chirps elements may be useful in the study of certain sonar and radar applications . the parameters of interest will depend on the application . the dictionary used in the example embodiment should not be interpreted to limit the scope of the invention . mallat and zhang showed that a finite sub - dictionary that covers the full range of parameter variation in adequate detail can be extracted from a gabor dictionary . in some embodiments of the present invention , such a finite sub - dictionary may be used as the dictionary d in the subject algorithms . in other embodiments , the finite sub - dictionary may be used as d a in the second or third subject algorithms and the larger , infinite ( continuously parameterized ) gabor dictionary may be used as d . other variations are clearly possible . if the subject algorithms are applied with a gabor type dictionary , then each selected dictionary element may be uniquely described by its parameter values . for example , in the real - valued discrete dictionary described above , the parameters s , u , ξ , φ fully and uniquely describe each element . the algorithms may be embodied so that g i n is represented by these four parameters when it is recorded in blocks 12 , 23 and / or 33 . for the i th signal in an analysis group , the n th stepwise component extracted by the subject algorithms is fully described by its coefficient , & lt ; x i n , g i n & gt ;, and the parameters of g i n . these parameters may be written s i n , u i n , ξ i n , and φ i n following the established conventions above . in methods of prior art based upon mp type algorithms it has not been possible to directly compare these parameters for different signals . this is because for a fixed value of n , the dictionary elements , g i n , selected by independently executed mp style algorithms have no relationship to each other . mallat and zhang and other derivative works have relied upon an additional transformation , based on the wigner distribution , that translates these parameters into a density in the time - frequency plane . disadvantages of this additional step have already been discussed above . again , the present invention allows direct comparisons to be made between the resulting representations of any signals in the analyzed group . moreover , since these parameters can be directly compared , they can be averaged , subtracted and otherwise processed to directly characterize similarities and differences between signals in meaningful terms . for example , we may define a “ parametric mean ” in the representation space generated by the subject algorithm . a _ n = 1 m ∑ i 〈 x n i , g n i 〉 s _ n = 1 m ∑ i s n i u _ n = 1 m ∑ i u n i ξ _ n = 1 m ∑ i ξ n i ϕ _ n = 1 m ∑ i φ n i each new variable represents a mean over the appropriate group of signals in a data set . other parameters could be similarly averaged . in addition , weighted averages may be created . for example , multiplying each summed element by the magnitude of its coefficient |& lt ; x i n , g i n & gt ;| in the above and normalizing will result in emphasizing those elements with the greatest contribution to the signal group . as described above , we may identify characteristics by which to best discriminate between signals classes by searching for a subset of component elements that have large differences in the group means . however , we can now utilize any of the parametric means as well as the calculated coefficient . for example , so long as the subject algorithm has analyzed the entire data set simultaneously , we may examine differences in any two sub - group means simply by subtracting them or by utilizing any appropriate statistical test . we may also clearly and concisely display the difference between groups to aid an analyst in visualizing the comparison . by applying a threshold to parameter values , we may discover a subset of extracted signal components that compactly characterizes each group or sub - group . we may also discover subsets that compactly characterize differences . fig5 outlines a process by which to discover appropriate subsets . this process assumes that we have already divided the signal data set into one or more subgroups based on a priori information , if necessary . we begin in block 51 by analyzing the entire signal data set with one of the subject algorithms ; consider the algorithm of fig3 as an example embodiment . after analysis , in block 52 separate parametric means are calculated for each subgroup of signals . each of these subgroups is treated separately in block 53 , by cycling through the list of signal components extracted in 51 and keeping only those that satisfies certain similarity conditions . for example in some embodiments we may keep only those components whose mean coefficients are large enough , e . g ., | ā n |& gt ; ε . in others , we may keep only those whose coefficients are uniformly large enough , e . g ., |& lt ; x i n , g i n & gt ;|& gt ; ε for all i . in others , we may keep only those whose coefficients are sufficiently close to the group mean , e . g ., |& lt ; x i n , g i n & gt ;− ā n |& lt ; ε for all i . in still others we may keep only those whose coefficients have sufficiently small group variance , e . g ., 1 m ∑ i 〈 x n i , g n i 〉 2 - a _ n 2 & lt ; ɛ the coefficient is used as an example parameter . similar threshold may be applied to the other parameters generated by the parametric mean , or to any combination of parameters . each threshold operation , regardless of the parameters that are utilized , results in two lists of extracted components . one of these satisfies the threshold criteria , the other does not . the subset whose elements satisfy the threshold criteria constitutes a compact list of components that are significant in establishing similarity between signals in the group . by working similarly in block 54 , a subset of elements that compactly characterizes differences between groups and be discovered . for example , denoting as before two classes of signals with the superscripts α and β , various embodiments of the invention may calculate b n = ā n α − ā n β or b n 2 =( ā n α ) 2 −( ā n β ) 2 and threshold for | b n |& gt ; ε , etc . other embodiments will utilize other variations on the theme that are appropriate to the data of interest . the process of block 54 is not strictly limited to pairs of signal groups and comparisons that discover defining elements of three or more groups are readily devised . moreover the subsets discovered in processes 53 and 54 may be compared . by doing so , one may find components that are uniquely present in only one or the other group and contrast those to components that are present in both groups by vary in magnitude . in a further embodiment of the invention this idea can be used to construct a sorting scheme for future data that utilizes as few or as many components as necessary . in parallel with the parametric means defined above , one may calculate a parametric variance for any parameter and then test the hypothesis that the two group parametric - means are different by using standard statistical methods . this allows us to establish confidence bounds on the discrimination parameters . furthermore , we may consider pair - wise comparisons between signals ; e . g ., if a source experiment is designed so that trials under different conditions may be paired one - to - one we may utilize a paired t - test . examining covariance of multiple parameters is also contemplated by the present invention . consider the parametric - means defined above for each extracted component , indexed by n . even though they are means over a group of signals , they still retain descriptive information . for example , if the gabor dictionary is utilized as described above , each parametric - mean component can still be described by scale , position , frequency and phase information . as with any mp method of prior art , we may visualize this information in the time - frequency plane . however , working in the time - frequency plane is unnecessary for comparing signals with gad analysis and , unlike methods of prior art , the comparison retains sufficient information to reconstruct derived “ average ” signals in the original signal space . this is an important , distinguishing feature of the present invention . in order to recover an approximation of the average signal in a group , one simply sums the extracted components , e . g ., where n indexes those components that have been determined to be important to the group . in some embodiments these may be all extracted components , in others these will be subsets of extracted components that were discovered in process 53 or 54 above . each { overscore ( g )} n is simply the parametric - mean of the extracted components taken over the same signal group as ā n . if a large continuous dictionary exists , as with a gabor dictionary , then simply entering the calculated mean parameters into the continuous analytic formula generates each { overscore ( g )} n . the invention facilitates reconstruction of other derived signals as well , including group - mean sums , differences , and so forth . in many applications the reconstructed signal may be used to better understand the generating process . its shape will be more complex than the individual extracted elements used to discover it . this process may be used to reconstruct so called “ signature ” signals , as described in the background to the invention . signatures , whether represented in the original signal space or by a list of extracted components , can be analyzed much more tangibly than by methods of prior art . some applications are addressed below . the invention as so far described is most directly applicable to cases in which observed signals are aligned in some fashion . if the patterns of interest occur at radically different positions within different signals in the group , the subject algorithm will need to allow vary large differences in the g i n selected for each signal at each step . in applications where the recordings are time ( or space ) aligned to an external reference , this situation is not generally a problem because the algorithm can accommodate the jitter . in other applications , however , signals recorded at consistently referenced times ( or positions ) will need to be compared to signals recorded at random times ( or positions .) the randomly correlated signals are often referred to as “ baseline ” data or “ background noise ” depending on the application . the invention can be adapted to accommodate these comparisons by several means . in the description of the algorithm of fig3 above , it was noted that variation the stepwise g i n might be constrained by establishing an allowed range , ± δ , for each parameter of the dictionary . for example , position might be constrained so that | u i n − u j n |& lt ; δ u for all signals i and j in the analysis data set . setting δ u large accommodates more jitter among signals ; setting δ u small ensures that only very similar signal components are compared . if the data is divided into baseline and correlated subgroups , we might take advantage of the existing algorithm by simply setting δ u large for the baseline subgroup and small for the correlated subgroup . while this method is applicable in some instances , it can be shown ( see dissertation ) that it will introduce a bias into the analysis that can affect the algorithm in complex and often undesirable ways . a second method of accommodating baseline data is to treat it separately . first the analysis algorithm is executed on the correlated signal group only . this results in a set of coefficients and a corresponding set of extracted signal prototypes g i n . the expected amplitude of each extracted signal component g i n is then estimated from the baseline data . we can then compare the coefficients estimated by the analysis algorithm to the expected value derived from baseline data . in one embodiment , outlined in fig6 , we utilize the root - mean - squared ( rms ) amplitude of each element in the baseline for a comparison value . this embodiment begins in block 61 by performing the usual analysis on the subgroup of signals that are reasonably time correlated . then , in 62 , a parametric mean is calculated for each of the extracted prototype components for all dictionary parameters except that of position . this means that the resulting parametric mean { overscore ( g )} n is a function of position , u . we indicate this by writing { overscore ( g )} n ( u ). if m is the number of signals in the baseline group and n the number of possible positions in the signal window , i . e . the signal vector length , then the rms amplitude in block 63 can be calculated by b n 2 = 1 m ∑ i 1 n ∑ u 〈 x n i , g _ n ( u ) 〉 2 where b n is then the rms baseline amplitude for parameters other than u associated with the mean element { overscore ( g )} n for each n . for technical reasons , the b n so estimated are not directly comparable to each other ; however , they are comparable to the stepwise coefficients estimated by the analysis algorithm for the correlated signal group . to make use of this comparison , we characterize each extracted prototype in the analysis by rescaling its coefficient ( block 64 ) with the baseline data ; i . e ., the value , rms amplitude was chosen for the example embodiment rather than the mean inner product for several reasons . first , the results are always non - negative real numbers even if the analysis is complex valued . second , since the analyses algorithm allows the inner products at each step to vary without regard to sign , it is inappropriate to consider sign in the baseline comparison . ( as was noted previously , the algorithms can be modified to choose only dictionary prototypes at each step with a common inner product sign across all signals in the group . in that case mean baseline inner product might be of interest rather than rms baseline amplitude .) finally , the square amplitude can be interpreted as the energy associated with each { overscore ( g )} n , which leads to easily interpreted comparisons in certain applications of the invention . we may utilize the various comparison methods describe above on the rescaled data in order to compare subgroups of the correlated data . we may also make comparisons with the baseline data by considering the proportionate change relative to baseline . specifically , 〈 x n i , g n i 〉 - b n b n or 〈 x n i , g n i 〉 2 - b n 2 b n 2 are two reasonable embodiments of this comparison idea . in either case a positive value indicates a proportionate increase over baseline and a negative value indicates a proportionate decrease from baseline . however , caution must be used in applying this comparison method when values near the lower limit of − 1 . these extracted prototypes are only weakly represented and may be near or below the effective dictionary - noise floor of the algorithm . estimates of proportionate decreases may therefore be poor . threshold methods similar to those described previously can be applied to these proportionate change estimates as well . furthermore , signal components that are present in the correlated data set and not the baseline data can be discovered by examining prototypes that have a positive proportionate change value , e . g ., 〈 x n i , g n i 〉 2 - b n 2 b n 2 & gt ; ɛ where ε ≧ 0 . similarly , signal components that are present in the baseline data set and absent from the correlated data may be discovered by examining prototypes that have negative proportionate change values . for any selected subsets of extracted prototypes one can reconstruct a signal in the original signal space just as was described above . the resulting reconstructed signal will be directly comparable in scale and amplitude to the signals in the correlated data set . again , this method may be used to extract signatures by comparing “ active ” condition correlated signal data to “ inactive ” condition baseline data . the baseline comparison method outlined above can also be used to compare a correlated signal set to another correlated signal set or even one data set to itself . in this case positive proportionate change values are interpreted as signal components that are significantly above the noise floor of the signal space . self - comparison is an additional method of automatically identifying components of interest in a large , unclassified data set . in order to improve over the simple threshold comparison , variance may be considered as well as the proportionate magnitude of changes . a z - score may be calculated by well - known means that consider the change from baseline scaled by variance . the essence of the present invention may be further embodied in a number of obvious applications . as described in the summary section above , data compression for both storage and transmission is often based on transforms that concentrate important information into a small number of coefficients . numerous ways of utilizing the present invention for data compression will be obvious to those skilled in the art , once they understand the novel subject algorithms contained herein . one such compression algorithm is simply to threshold the extracted prototypes as described above , and discard those with smaller values from the recorded description . another is simply to set stopping criteria in the analysis algorithms so that only the first , most significantly represented prototype elements are extracted in the first place . either of these will yield a compact description of the most important elements in the signal space that can be used to reconstruct an approximation to the signal by the methods described above . these identical method can be used for noise reduction under the assumption that the noise is additive and that the smaller , discarded elements are more likely to represent “ noise ” than meaningful “ signal .” implementations will be obvious to those skilled in the art . another well - known data compression idea is to record only changes from a previous baseline rather than repeating unchanged data . this is sometimes referred to as “ delta - coding ”. the present invention facilitates this in several ways . first of all , signals may be analyzed into a common representation framework and each sequential signal may be encoded as changes relative to the previous . video frame compression would be one obvious candidate application , as would other streaming data situations . secondly , an entire signal set may be analyzed and each signal may be re - encoded based on its difference from the parametric mean . other variations include first discovering similar subgroups of the analyzed signal set and then encoding differences relative to the subgroup parametric means . methods related to delta - coding compression can also be used for detecting changes in signals . applications in motion detection , speech recognition and other fields will be evident to those skilled in the art . the present invention also offers a method of characterizing and removing noise that goes beyond those of prior art . noise in any parameter of a parameterized dictionary may be targeted . the algorithm of fig3 , allows for constrained variation in the stepwise g i n by establishing an allowed range , ± δ , for each parameter of the dictionary . for example , position might be constrained so that | u i n − u i n |& lt ; δ u for all signals i and j in the analysis data set . by choosing δ u appropriately the algorithm automatically equates similar component features in each signal within the variation range . by examining the mean variation in these equated components g i n the signals can be re - aligned to compensate for time ( or positional ) jitter . moreover , any parameter that is allowed to vary in the subject algorithm can be treated similarly . this means that for example , using a gabor dictionary , frequency instabilities , scale variations , and so on can be automatically detected , analyzed and reduced . indeed , any signal reconstructed from or adjusted by the parametric - mean method already described will automatically compensate for these variations . this method of multi - dimensional noise reduction is an important application of the present invention . several methods of data classification are also enabled by the present invention . as discussed above , the subject algorithms automatically extract those features that are strongly represented in the data set , whether those features are represented in one signal , in a subgroup of signals , or in all signals . by using thresholds and other means described above it is straightforward to extract classes automatically from an undifferentiated group of signals . in addition , since the present invention extracts an easily manipulated , multi - dimensional representation space from the data , any of numerous methods of prior art may be subsequently applied to discover classes . once the data has been appropriately re - represented the application of these methods will be obvious to those skilled in the art . furthermore , once the analysis algorithm characterizes signal classes in one corpus of data , novel signal data may also be quickly sorted as it comes in . to do so , we use the extracted prototype components identified as important to the comparisons by thresholds or other means above . taking an inner product between the novel signal and each parametric - mean element { overscore ( g )} n generates a compact description of the novel signal that is directly comparable to the group means . the novel signal can then be classified on a “ nearest neighbor ” basis or by other well - known means . the invention also facilitates sorting of novel data by other means . using the reconstruction methods described above , a parametric - mean signature of each class can be realized in the original signal space . this puts the comparison into terms that are naturally addressed by any suitable methods in the prior art . however , the comparison would not be possible without the subject methods of the present invention . clearly the dictionary selected for any particular embodiment of the present invention will play a important role in its functionality . the example gabor dictionary embodiment was given because for many classes of signals it represents a very complete , continuously parameterized and unbiased choice . as discussed , other dictionaries may be more applicable to other classes of signals . in some embodiments the dictionary elements will be chosen to represent specific features known to be important in the classification . in addition , it is possible to use the subject methods to customize dictionaries to an application . the process is illustrated in fig7 . starting with a general dictionary thought to be applicable to the data set , in block 71 the analysis algorithm is applied to the primary data set . in block 72 , if the data set is to be compared to a baseline then apply the rescaling process detailed above and in fig6 . next ( block 73 ) apply the threshold process detailed above and in fig5 to determine component prototype elements that are relevant to the comparison process . finally ( block 74 ) create a new dictionary with only those sub - selected prototype elements . alternatively in 74 , by considering co - variance of the prototype elements one can create a new dictionary that contains weighted sums of the original dictionary elements that may be even more appropriate to subsequent analysis of similar data sets . the weighted sum prototype elements are a generalization of the idea of reconstructing a signature for each data set ; in this case there are many component signatures . the subject algorithms can then be applied ( block 75 ) on the same or subsequent data sets using the resulting new dictionary . the analysis will be faster , since the dictionary is smaller , and the analysis results will be directly comparable to those of the previous corpus . furthermore , if the new dictionary elements have already been studied then each subsequent analysis will characterize new signals in familiar and useable terms . the methods herein disclosed have been demonstrated in a working system applied to both synthesized test data and actual data sets . the system was implemented on a standard general - purpose computer , using the algorithms and methods herein disclosed in conjunction with a real - valued gabor dictionary . in practical applications , detailed in dissertation , example signature signals were synthesized , mixed with noise and analyzed . in one example demonstration , a pair of model signals was constructed using chirps , truncated sine waves and transients . both model signals contained a rising linear chirp in common . one model signal contained an additional chip offset in time from the first and a mixed set of truncated sine waves and transients designed to be difficult to discriminate from one another using classical techniques . the second model signal contained a different mix of components . signal components for each were chosen so that between the two models some overlapped in time or frequency completely , some partially and some not at all . components were deliberately chosen so that none could be exactly reconstructed with a small number of gabor dictionary atoms . two ensembles of signals were created by jittering the respective first or second model signal in time by a random amount . independent gaussian noise was then added to each of the signals in the two ensembles . the amplitudes of the various signal components in the models varied , so signal to noise ratio ranged from moderate to very poor depending on the component . the two resulting collections of signals represent two experimental conditions in which noise and time jitter have thoroughly obscured any underlying similarities in the collected samples . neither the algorithm nor the dictionary contained any a priori knowledge of the signal components characterizing the two conditions . a gad analysis was performed on the entire set of signals . the algorithm quickly converged and , using parametric mean techniques disclosed herein , the system was able to : ( 1 ) recover representations of the components of original model signal for each of the two group with most of the noise and time - jitter removed ; ( 2 ) discover representations of those specific components that were common to both classes of signals ; ( 3 ) discover representations of those specific components that were unique to each class of signals ; ( 4 ) separately reconstruct in the time domain signals representative of components specific to each class and components common to both classes . these results could easily be applied to detect similar patterns in future data sets and to quickly discriminate into which class a novel signal should be sorted . furthermore , the resulting signal components representative of each class clearly emerged and could be characterized by their amplitude , time location , frequency range , scale , and phase ; or could be considered jointly as a reconstructed , time - domain signal . in a second example demonstration , another model signal was constructed and similarly buried in independent noise to create an ensemble of signals . in this second example , the signals were placed in a background of high amplitude 1 / f noise , and both time - jitter and systematic time drift were introduced into the collection of samples . while the model signal had a simple , easily identified form , it was impossible to identify visually in any ensemble samples . a second ensemble of independent 1 / f noise samples was also created . a gad analysis was performed on the ensemble of obscured signals , and using the methods for discrimination from background noise herein disclosed , the system was able to : ( 1 ) identify and distinguish model signal components from the background noise ; ( 2 ) de - blur the resulting representation by removing time jitter and drift ; ( 3 ) reconstruct a responsible approximation to the original model signal in the time domain . in addition to synthesized examples , the method has also been successfully applied to analyze human ecog data . as further detailed in dissertation , eletrocortocography ( ecog ) data collected as part of previous medical research studies was re - examined by the inventor using the methods disclosed herein . in these studies , each subject was asked to make sustained voluntary muscle contractions ( a clenched fist ) in response to visual stimuli . electrode placed directly on the subject &# 39 ; s brain recorded electrical signals during these events and between them . in prior studies , unrelated to the present invention , the data had been analyzed using more traditional fourier based methods . samples of ecog data from two different electrodes were reanalyzed using the gad methods herein disclosed , and compared with the baseline data resulting from recordings made between events . the system was able to ( 1 ) discover common components in each set of ecog recordings indicative of muscle contraction ; ( 2 ) discover and isolate systematic noise generated by a nearby video monitor that had not been accounted for ; ( 3 ) reconstruct in the time - domain a clean signature signal representative of each set of electrode data . a meaningful time - domain reconstruction of the ecog signature pattern associated with this or any other task has not been available by prior methods . the discovered patterns were consistent with those identified in previous fourier based analysis , but had much improved detail and time - frequency resolution . the reconstructed signature was very well correlated with muscle twitch recordings ( emg ) from the same sessions , and further gad type analysis of the emg signals reviled fine structure correlations with the ecog data which were entirely invisible to previous methods . as with the synthesized examples , these results could easily be applied to detect similar patterns in future data sets and to quickly discriminate into which class a novel signal should be sorted . in one application a system using the derived signature could detect , for example , when a subject clenches his fist by observing only brain activity . furthermore , the resulting signal components representative of the task condition are now well characterized by their amplitude , time location , frequency range , scale , and phase . this enables researchers interested in the brain to consider how these specific components arise . moreover , the reconstructed , de - noised , time - domain signal enables brain researchers to consider the process that might generate the particular signature pattern . | 6 |
the method of forming bumps according to the preferred embodiment of this invention will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings , wherein the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts . fig5 to 12 are partially enlarged cross - sectional views showing the progression of steps for forming a bump according to the preferred embodiment of this invention . firstly , referring to fig5 , a wafer 200 having a plurality of bonding pads 202 ( only one of the bonding pads is shown ) and a passivation layer 204 is provided . therein , the passivation layer 204 is formed on the wafer 200 and exposes the bonding pads 202 . next , referring to fig6 , a dielectric layer 205 , such as polyimide ( pi ) and benzocyclobutene ( bcb ), is formed on the passivation layer 204 and exposes the bonding pads 202 . afterwards , a first electrically conductive layer 206 is formed on the dielectric layer 205 and covers the bonding pads 202 . then , referring to fig6 again , a patterned photo - resist layer 207 is formed on the first electrically conductive layer 206 disposed over the bonding pads 202 so as to take the patterned photo - resist layer 207 as masks to remove portions of the first electrically conductive layer 206 . thus , a patterned first electrically conductive layer 206 ′ is formed over the bonding pads 202 through leaving the potions of the first electrically conductive layer 206 as shown in fig7 . moreover , referring to fig8 , a second electrically conductive layer 208 is formed above the patterned first electrically conductive layer 206 ′ and the dielectric layer 205 and another patterned photo - resist layer 209 is formed above the second electrically conductive layer 208 , wherein the patterned photo - resist layer 209 has a plurality of openings 209 a therein and located correspondingly to the bonding pads 202 to define the area of the second electrically conductive layer 208 for forming bumps thereon . therein , the width or diameter wp of the opening 209 a is larger than the width or diameter wu of the patterned first electrically conductive layer 206 ′ located over the bonding pad 202 and the thickness hp of the patterned photo - resist layer 209 so as to fill more conductive materials therein . specifically , the second electrically conductive layer 208 comprises two layers , the barrier layer and the wetting layer . therein , the barrier layer is formed on the patterned first electrically conductive layer 206 ′ and the dielectric layer 205 , and the wetting layer is formed on the barrier layer . next , referring to fig9 , there is filled the conductive material into the opening 209 a to form a bump 210 . therein , the conductive material is filled into the opening 209 a through plating method . to be noted , the conductive material can be a solder material . specifically , the solder material may comprise eutectic solder and lead - free solder . as mentioned , the plating process is performed through patterned first electrically conductive layer 206 ′ electrically connecting the second electrically conductive layer 208 . moreover , referring to fig1 and fig1 , after the bump 210 is formed , the patterned photo - resist layer 209 is removed and then the bumps 210 are taken as masks to remove the portions of the second electrically conductive layer 208 not covered by the bumps 210 to expose the dielectric layer 205 to form the patterned second electrically conductive layer 208 ′. therein , the patterned first electrically conductive layer 206 ′ is at least covered by the patterned second electrically conductive layer 208 ′. namely , the projection area of the patterned first electrically conductive layer 206 ′ over the bonding pad 202 is substantially the same as the projection area of the patterned second electrically conductive layer 208 ′ over the bonding pad 202 and smaller than the projection area of the bump 210 over the bonding pad 202 . finally , referring to fig1 , a reflowing process is performed to shape the bump 210 into the sphere or ball 212 . as mentioned above , when the first electrically conductive layer 206 is an adhesive layer directly attaching to the bonding pad 202 , wherein the adhesive layer comprise titanium layer or aluminum layer , and the second electrically conductive layer 202 comprises a barrier layer and a wetting layer , the adhesive layer is firstly formed on the wafer and then the portions of the adhesive layer not coving the bonding pad is removed to form a patterned adhesive layer . next , the barrier layer and the wetting layer are disposed on the patterned adhesive layer and the dielectric layer in sequence . next , a bump is formed on the wetting layer and then the portions of the barrier layer and the wetting layer not covered by the bump are removed to form a patterned barrier layer and a patterned wetting layer . then , a reflowing process is performed to shape the bump into a sphere or a ball . finally , the sphere or the ball , the patterned barrier layer and the patterned wetting layer is taken as mask to remove the portions of the adhesive layer to form a patterned adhesive layer . therein , before the bump is reflowed , the projection area of the patterned barrier layer and the projection area of the patterned wetting layer is substantially the same as the projection area of the patterned adhesive layer and smaller than the projection area of the bump . besides , as mentioned above , a first electrically conductive layer can also be deemed as the under bump metallurgy layer , and the second electrically conductive layer is deemed as a bump defined layer for adapting the photo - resist layer to define the volume of the opening for filling the conductive material therein . in other words , firstly , a wafer having an under bump metallurgy layer is provided . next , a bump defined layer is disposed on the under bump metallurgy layer and above the wafer , and a photo - resist layer is then provided to form a plurality of openings having the size of the opening be larger than the projection area of the under bump metallurgy layer over the bonding pad . afterwards , the photo - resist layer is removed to have the bump and the under bump metallurgy layer define the bump defined layer . thus , the area of the patterned bump defined layer over the bonding pad will be substantially the same as that of the under bump metallurgy layer over the bonding pad . namely , the area of the patterned bump defined layer is substantially the same as that of the under bump metallurgy layer and smaller than the projection area of the bump . moreover , referring to fig1 to fig1 , when the first electrically conductive layer 306 is an adhesive layer directly attaching to the bonding pad 302 , wherein the adhesive layer comprise a titanium layer or an aluminum layer , and the second electrically conductive layer comprises a barrier layer 307 and a wetting layer 308 , the adhesive layer 306 and the barrier layer 307 are firstly formed on the wafer 300 and then the portions of the barrier layer 307 not coving the bonding pad 302 is removed to form patterned barrier layer 307 ′. next , the wetting layer 308 is disposed on the patterned barrier layer 307 ′ and the adhesive layer 306 layer in sequence as shown in fig1 . next , a conductive bump 310 , such as a solder bump , is formed on the wetting layer 308 and then the portions of the wetting layer 308 not covered by the bump 310 are removed to form patterned wetting layer 308 ′ for exposing adhesive layer 306 until the area of the patterned wetting layer 308 ′ over the bonding pad is substantially the same as the area of the patterned barrier layer 307 ′ over the bonding pad . in such a manner , a patterned second electrically conductive layer comprising the patterned barrier layer 307 ′ and patterned wetting layer 308 ′ is formed . namely , the area of the patterned barrier layer 307 ′ is substantially the same as the area of the patterned wetting layer 308 ′ over the bonding pad and smaller than the area for disposing the bump 310 thereon as shown in fig1 . in addition , a reflowing process is performed to have the bump shape into a sphere or a ball 312 . finally , the sphere or the ball 312 , the patterned barrier layer 307 ′ and the patterned wetting layer 308 ′ are taken as mask to remove the portions of the adhesive layer 306 to form a patterned adhesive layer 306 ′. in the embodiments as shown above , the height of the bump formed by the conductive or solder material is pertinent to the volume of the opening formed in the patterned photo - resist layer for filling the conductive or solder material and the area of the patterned under bump metallurgy layer over the bonding pad . accordingly , in this invention , there are provided larger area of the patterned under bump metallurgy over the bonding for disposing bump thereon to reduce the thickness of the photo - resist layer when filling conductive or solder material in the opening to meet the predetermined volume . in addition , the height of the bumps will also beome larger due to the reduction of the area of the patterned under bump metallurgy layer over the bonding pad for disposing thereon . although the invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments , it will be appreciated and understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 7 |
the preferred embodiments of the insertion tool 20 and connector 22 are shown in fig1 - 9 . the insertion tool 20 has a handle 24 connected to an elongated shaft or piercer 26 . the connector 22 has a central cylindrical shaped body 28 with an enlarged and flattened head 30 at one end . an enlarged helical screw - type thread 32 is positioned on or incorporated in the outer surface of the body 28 and the body is hollow with a passageway or channel 34 therethrough . the cross - sectional shape of the passageway 34 is preferably circular and matches the cross - section of the main portion 36 of the shaft 26 on the insertion tool 20 . in this regard , the cross - section of the portion 36 of the shaft 26 in the drawings is circular and in the preferred embodiment , has a diameter of approximately 7 / 32 of an inch . the size of the passageway 34 is also slightly larger than the size of the shaft 26 so that the connector can be easily positioned on the shaft and be easily removed therefrom . the end 38 of the passageway 34 adjacent the head 30 of the connector 22 is enlarged and changed to being oval in cross - section . correspondingly , the end 40 of the piercer of the insertion tool 20 adjacent the handle 24 is also enlarged and similar in cross - section to the end 38 of the passageway 34 . ( this is shown in fig7 .) when the connector 22 is positioned on the tool 20 , the end 38 mates with the end portion 40 of the shaft and prevents the connector from rotating relative to the shaft . this anti - rotational feature will be maintained so long as such mating position is retained . it is understood , of course , that there are other means by which the connectors could be keyed to or mated with the shaft in order to prevent relative rotation in accordance with the invention ; the mating cross - sections described above ( enlarged and non - circular ) only constitutes one way in which this could be accomplished . all parts of the connector 22 and the insertion tool 20 have a non - sharp configuration . the term &# 34 ; non - sharp &# 34 ; means compliance with the united states government consumer product safety commission sharp - point and sharp - edge tests as described in 16 c . f . r . 1501 . 48 ( jan . 1 , 1980 ) and 16 c . f . r . 1501 . 49 ( jan . 1 , 1980 ) respectively . these tests are based on research conducted by the national bureau of standards and assure safe use by children or any other persons . on the connector 22 , the edges of the head 30 and the outer edges of the threads 32 are rounded to a minimum diameter of 7 mils to make them non - sharp . in addition , the end protrusion 44 of the thread 32 is rounded well beyond that necessary to pass the sharpness tests . once the connector 22 is positioned on the piercer or shaft 26 of the insertion tool 20 , a mechanism is provided to releasably hold the connector in place thereon during the assembly process . for this purpose , a raised nub or projection 46 is provided on the portion 40 of the shaft 26 . when the connector is slid along the probe 26 , it is pushed toward the handle 24 until it is wedged in place on the nub 46 . once the connector is positioned on the tool in this manner , the connector can be installed in position with one hand . this aids the installer significantly as it leaves the other hand free for grasping or holding together the materials being secured together . the side of the nub 46 toward the insertion end 48 of the shaft is preferably formed to blend in with the slope of the portion 40 ( which changes in cross - section from circular to oval ). this allows the connector to be seated more easily on the tool and also be removed more easily once the connector is screwed into place . the end or tip 48 of the piercer or shaft 26 is designed and formed to allow accurate , safe and easy penetration and insertion of the piercer into and through the materials being fastened together . the tip 48 can have one of several shapes and configurations ( as described below ), but preferably has the shape and configuration shown in fig6 and 9 . the tip 48 is formed as a flat , rigid ribbon helix ; this is as though the tip was first flattened and then twisted into the shape shown . fig8 and 9 show enlarged orthogonal views of the end of the piercer . a flat - rigid ribbon helix of the type shown is inherently a double - screw thread and in the preferred embodiment has a pitch of 1 / 3 inch . the thickness of the blade is 30 mils and all of its edges are rounded to a minimum diameter of 30 mils . in fig8 the angled part 49 approaching the end has an included angle of 90 ° and in this view , the outermost tip 50 is further rounded to a diameter of 60 mils . use of the connecting system is illustrated in fig1 - 13 . in this series of illustrations , the rotational axis of the tool 20 and the connector 22 is in the plane of the drawing , and the connector 22 and the two sheets 52 and 54 of corrugated board that are to be fastened together are shown in cross - section . in fig1 , the connector 22 has been slid onto the piercer 26 and is releasably held in place by the nub 46 . the piercer 26 is shown just penetrating the nearest liner 55 of the first piece of corrugated board 52 . rotation of the tool in direction 56 with pressure in direction 57 results in the condition shown in fig1 where the end 48 of the piercer 26 is shown having just completed peentration of the farthest liner 58 while the end protrusion 44 of the connector is shown just beginning penetration of the nearest liner 55 . in this regard , 3 pounds of pressure is sufficient to accomplish this step with the most commonly used variety of corrugated board having a liner thickness of 7 mils . in progressing from the condition shown in fig1 to that shown in fig1 , the helical end 48 of the piercer 26 has functioned to control the penetration . being helical , the end 48 of the piercer penetrates the materials only while it is being rotated so the operator has full control of the penetration speed throughout the operation . this gives the operator the safe and comfortable feeling that his free hand ( which is normally positioned behind the area of insertion ) will not be hurt in any way . in the preferred embodiment , the full diameter portion of the piercer tip 48 extends at least 5 / 16 inch beyond the end of the connector 22 so that , with the most commonly used variety of corrugated board ( 5 / 32 of an inch thick ), all piercing will be complete when the end protrusion 44 begins penetration of the nearest liner 55 . this is the condition illustrated in fig1 . since penetration of the piercer end 48 is complete in the condition shown in fig1 , only the connector insertion force is encountered in progressing to the condition shown in fig1 where the connector 22 is fully inserted . typically , the axial force necessary for connector insertion is less than that necessary for the initial piercing because a hole has already been made and the connector draws itself in as the tool 20 is further rotated . also , in progressing from the condition in fig1 to that shown in fig1 , the shaft 26 acts as a stabilizing guide which further facilitates the insertion . the insertion process is continued until the enlarged head 30 of the connector 22 engages the surface of the nearest liner 55 . if rotation of the insertion tool 20 is unnecessarily continued after the connector 22 is in place and the threads that the connector has formed in the corrugated board are stripped , the holding power of the connector 22 remains quite satisfactory with connectors having a thread pitch of 1 / 7 inch . the insertion tool 20 is released from the connector 22 by pulling it away from the corrugated board by applying a force in the direction 59 without rotation ( as shown in fig1 ). the resulting inserted connector is shown in fig1 . the tool 20 is then ready for reuse for inserting other connectors in place . the connectors 22 installed in this manner will remain firmly in place until it is desired or necessary to remove them . also , because the end protrusion 44 of the connector 22 is even duller than that necessary to pass the sharpness tests , and because the diameter of the shank of the connector is preferably 7 / 16 of an inch , there is little tendency for the end protrusion 44 to snag clothing and no cap or other protection is required . if the body length is 1 / 2 inch , it is possible to fasten and hold firmly together three sheets of corrugated board of the most commonly used variety ( 5 / 32 of an inch thick ). for removal of the connector 22 , the insertion tool 20 is used again with reverse rotation and the insertion process is simply repeated , but in reverse sequence . numerous pieces of corrugated board can be held firmly together through use of the unique connectors and insertion tool of the present invention , and many various structures can be built utilizing them . in particular , children can have hours of creative enjoyment constructing various enclosures , furniture , boxes and the like from scrap cardboard that is found around the house . with the present invention , the structures also can be disassembled later and the connectors reused for other projects . it is also possible , of course , to use the connecting system of the present invention for fastening together materials other than corrugated cardboard . for example , fig1 depicts the use of the present invention in connecting together a piece of corrugated board 53 to a piece of plastic foam material 60 . it is further understood that the insertion tool and connector can be made of any material so long as they have the necessary strength and structural characteristics to accomplish the purposes and functions described above . preferably , however , the handle 24 of the insertion tool 20 is made of wood or plastic and the shaft 26 is made of a metal material , such as steel . also , the connectors 22 are preferably made of a moldable plastic material , such as polystyrene , although they could also be made of a metal material , such as steel or aluminum . when the fastening system is used to make a structure from corrugated cardboard , it is often necessary to cut and fold some of the pieces of cardboard . for this purpose , a creasing tool 61 and a cutting knife 62 are utilized , as shown in fig1 and 16 , respectively . the creasing tool 61 has a handle 64 and a roller 66 , the roller being mounted on an axle 68 and a supporting yoke 70 . the roller 66 has a raised ridge 72 on its outer surface . in the preferred embodiment , the ridge 72 is raised 90 mils over the roller 66 and has an included angle of 90 degrees . when the roller is rolled over the surface of the cardboard with moderate pressure applied by the operator , a crease is formed in the cardboard without cutting it . the piece of cardboard then can be bent easily along that crease . by the use of the creasing tool 61 together with the connecting system described herein , complex and intricate structures , such as chairs with arms , backs and legs , can be formed . the cutting knife 62 similarly is used in the fabrication of corrugated cardboard structures . the cutting edge 74 of the knife is non - sharp , having teeth 76 preferably with the same configuration as the end configurations 48 , 49 , 50 of the piercer 26 spaced 1 / 8 inch apart . with this configuration , the knife is sufficiently sharp to cut easily through corrugated board , but not sharp enough to cut skin . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , the connectors 22 can have either a single or double thread form . fig1 and 18 , respectively , illustrate single and double threads on connectors . if both connectors have the same pitch , the double thread embodiment will turn into the material more quickly with one - half as many revolutions of the tool , but it will have slightly less holding power . also , with the double - thread connector , two end protrusions 80 and 82 are provided on the insertion end thereof . other connector and insertion tool embodiments can be used in accordance with the present invention . some of these are shown in fig1 - 24 . the connector 100 of fig1 and 20 differs from connector 22 in its head configuration and in the manner in which it is releasably held on the insertion tool . the head 102 is hexagon shaped in cross - section and the body 104 has a cylindrical - shaped passageway 106 of constant cross - section through the center thereof . the insertion tool 110 used to install the connector 100 in place is shown in fig2 . the tool 110 has a handle 112 , a shaft or piercer 114 with a penetration tip 116 , and a connector holding mechanism 118 . the holding mechanism 118 has a hexagon - shaped socket 120 adapted to mate with and hold the head 102 of the connector 100 in a non - rotating relationship . a wire - type spring clip 122 is positioned in a groove 124 in the outer surface of the mechanism 118 , the spring clip having an end 126 which is inserted through a hole 128 in the bottom of the groove 124 . when a connector 100 is placed on the shaft 114 and into the socket 120 , the end 126 of the spring clip impinges against the head of the connector . in this manner , the connector is held onto the insertion tool essentially by friction . as mentioned above , the end of the elongated shaft 26 on the insertion tool 20 has an end 48 which is adapted to penetrate the surface of the materials and initiate the insertion of the connectors through the materials . ( the preferred form of end is shown in fig6 and 9 .) other forms in which the end or tip 48 may take are shown in fig2 , 23 and 24 . in fig2 , the tip 140 has a screw - type thread 142 on its outer surface with a non - sharp penetration point 144 . in fig2 , the tip 150 has a cone - shaped configuration 152 and a non - sharp point 154 . the configuration 152 can be either a solid cone or flattened on one or two sides like a blade . in fig2 , the tip 160 is made of a flat helix blade 162 with a pair of concave shaped surfaces 164 near its outer end . the point 166 at the outermost tip has a non - sharp configuration . it is to be understood that the foregoing description describes only preferred embodiments of the invention and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 8 |
turning now to the drawings , fig1 schematically illustrates the ozone generating and distribution system of the present invention , generally referenced as 10 . the system includes : a microprocessor based control unit 20 ; an oxygen concentrator 30 , fluidly connected to an ozone generator 40 ; a submerged impeller apparatus 50 , fluidly connected to ozone generator 40 , for distributing ozone to a fluid within a storage tank 60 . water storage tank 60 further includes : a fluid level sensing apparatus 70 ; a water supply line 80 incorporating a flow control valve 82 and a flux unit 84 ; a water discharge line 90 including a pump 92 ; and an ozone concentration sensor 100 . as depicted in fig1 control unit 20 is electrically connected to the various system components to provide overall command and control of the system . in operation , oxygen concentrator 30 provides a source of high purity oxygen from ambient air . in the preferred embodiment , oxygen concentrator 30 comprises a pressure swing absorption device for removing substantially all of the nitrogen from ambient air and producing a highly pure feed gas comprising approximately 92 %- 95 % pure oxygen . oxygen concentrator 30 includes an air intake filter in fluid communication with at least one air compressor , whereby ambient air is filtered and compressed . the filtered and compressed air is then transferred to an after - cooler , such as a fin and tube heat transfer coil having a fan for forcing air thereacross , to increase the density of the compressed air . oxygen concentrator further includes at least one molecular sieve through which the filtered , compressed , and after - cooled air is passed , and wherein moisture and nitrogen are removed resulting in a feed gas comprising approximately 92 %- 95 % pure oxygen having a dew point of approximately - 40 ° f . the resulting feed gas is thus substantially free from nitrogen , and provides a suitable feed gas for ozone generation . accordingly , oxygen concentrator 30 includes a feed gas outlet conduit 32 in fluid communication with ozone generator 40 . outlet conduit 32 includes high and low pressure devices 34 and 36 , for indicating high and low pressure operating conditions which are outside an acceptable range . ozone generator 40 comprises a high frequency corona discharge device for generating ozone from the feed gas produced by oxygen concentrator 30 . the purified oxygen feed gas is transferred through conduit 32 to ozone generator 40 wherein the gas is exposed to a high voltage corona discharge energy source to produce ozone which is subsequently transferred through an output conduit 41 . in the preferred embodiment , ozone generator 40 is powered by an alternating current power source and includes a high voltage transformer to step the power source voltage up to a suitable high voltage ( e . g . 5 , 000 - 10 , 000 v . a . c .). ozone generator 40 includes at least one corona discharge element , generally referenced as 42 and depicted in fig2 and 4 , comprising a generally cylindrical glass tube 43 which contains an electrode 44 received therein . electrode 44 comprises a cylindrical stainless steel mesh inner sleeve 44a coated with a terpolymer conductive coating 44b . electrode 44 , and more particularly stainless steel inner sleeve 44a , is connected to a high voltage power source ( not shown ) via a high voltage lead 45 . glass tube 43 is axially received within a generally cylindrical stainless steel outer sleeve 46 in spaced relation therewith such that a gap of approximately 7 / 100 &# 34 ; exists between the outer surface of glass tube 45 and the inner surface of outer sleeve 46 . outer sleeve 46 is received within a heat sink structure , generally referenced as 47 , for dissipating heat generated by corona element 42 . in the preferred embodiment , outer sleeve 46 is fabricated from stainless steel having a high nickel / low iron content since it has been found that conventional stainless steel includes an undesirably high iron / low nickel content which , if used in a high voltage corona discharge element , causes iron to separate from the stainless steel whereafter the iron may be deposited on various system components as iron oxide . since iron is conductive , deposits of iron oxide on various conductive and non - conductive system components results in short circuiting , rust accumulation , and is believed to be a leading cause of corona generator system failure . the problem of iron separation is further addressed by sintering or passivating of the stainless steel outer sleeve 46 whereby the atoms present in the stainless steel are fused together thereby preventing any residual iron from separating from the sleeve structure . a pair of end caps 48a and 48b are connected to each end of the corona discharge element assembly and are each sealed by a plurality of o - rings , referenced as 48o . end cap 48a is fluidly connected to oxygen concentrator feed gas outlet conduit 32 , and end cap 48b is fluidly connected , via output conduit 41 , to an impeller apparatus , generally referenced as 50 , for reasons that will be further described herein below . as best depicted in fig3 each end cap 48a and 48b defines an axial opening for receiving a portion of an elongate rigid rod 49 therethrough for securely holding the corona discharge element 42 together . in the preferred embodiment , rod 49 is fabricated from an ozone resistant plastic , such as kynar , and includes threaded end portions 49a and 49b for receiving threaded nuts 49c thereon . in addition , ozone generator 40 includes power supply controls for modulating the frequency of the power supplied to the corona discharge element . in the preferred embodiment the frequency is raised to approximately 600 khz , where it has been found that ozone is produced much more efficiently than would be realized by similar systems operating at 60 hz . when a high voltage is applied to the electrode , an electric field is produced creating a corona charge on the outside of the glass tube . the corona charge interacts with oxygen ( o 2 ) in the feed gas to break the oxygen down into individual oxygen molecules ( o ). a portion of the oxygen molecules recombine into ozone ( o 3 ). accordingly , ozone generator 40 converts the feed gas into a mixture of oxygen and ozone , which mixture comprises approximately 4 % ozone by weight and is substantially free of nitrous oxides . as depicted in fig1 an impeller apparatus 50 &# 39 ; is fluidly connected to ozone generator 40 via output conduit 41 , for transferring output gas , comprising a mixture of oxygen and ozone , from ozone generator 40 for introduction into water within the tank wherein the ozone remains dissolved . a preferred embodiment of impeller apparatus 50 is depicted in fig5 and 6 , and includes a motor 52 for providing rotational power , and an impeller assembly having a rotating impeller member 54 connected to motor 52 by drive shaft 53 and sleeve 55 . sleeve 55 includes a fitting 55a for fluid connection to ozone generator 40 via output conduit 41 . impeller apparatus 50 may be mounted in any suitable submerged configuration or orientation ( e . g . vertical , horizontal , angled ). in the preferred embodiment , rotating impeller member 54 includes a shape which is generally square in plan view , and incorporates a plurality of gas outlet apertures 54a each communicating with a central aperture 54b , and each disposed proximate a corner , as best depicted in fig1 . accordingly , motor 52 and drive shaft 53 function to rapidly rotate rotating impeller member 54 thereby generating a venturi - type vacuum or negative pressure within sleeve 55 which causes ozonated gas to flow from ozone generator 40 into sleeve 55 via output conduit 41 and fitting 55a , whereafter the ozonated gas is drawn through apertures 54a and dispelled into the water within tank 60 . rapid rotation of impeller member 54 causes a shearing effect proximate apertures 54a which results in ozonated gas being dispelled and dispersed in the water in the form of fine gas bubbles thereby resulting in rapid absorption of the gas into the water . fig7 depicts an alternate embodiment impeller apparatus 50 &# 39 ; having a submersible motor 52 &# 39 ;, a fixed outer member 56 and an alternate rotating impeller member 54 &# 39 ;. outer fixed member 56 has an inner surface defining an axial aperture 56a for axially receiving a cylindrical projecting portion 54b , of rotating impeller member 54 &# 39 ;, therein , whereby rotating impeller member 54 &# 39 ; is freely rotatable within outer member 56 . alternate impeller member 54 &# 39 ; and fixed member 56 define an internal chamber 58 when axially joined . fixed member 56 further includes an inlet aperture 56b communicating with internal chamber 58 , and rotating member 54 &# 39 ; defines a plurality of outlet apertures 54a &# 39 ; communicating with chamber 58 . in the alternate embodiment , ozone generator output conduit 41 is connected to fixed member 56 at aperture 56b such that rotation of rotating member 54 &# 39 ; creates a vacuum within chamber 58 thereby drawing output gas from ozone generator 40 into chamber 58 whereafter the gas is dispelled via rotating member apertures 54a &# 39 ; and introduced into the water within tank 60 . in the alternate embodiment , fixed member 56 further includes a plurality of projecting shear members 56c which are positioned substantially adjacent to the peripheral edge of rotating member 54 such that rotation of member 54 causes projecting shear members to enhance the shearing of ozonated gas exiting apertures 54a thereby creating a swirling vortex of small gas bubbles and water which greatly enhances ozonation of the water by maximizing the amount of gas which is dissolved in solution . accordingly , impeller apparatus 50 provides for more rapid ozonation of a given volume of water than is realized by conventional ozonation methods . while the preferred embodiment utilizes a fixed member 56 and a rotating member 54 according to the structure disclosed in the drawings herein , any suitable impeller apparatus is considered within the scope of the invention . fig8 depicts a side view of the impeller gas discharge mix pattern , of the alternate embodiment impeller apparatus , illustrated by the area designated &# 34 ; d &# 34 ;, and an effective mixing regime illustrated by the area designated &# 34 ; r &# 34 ;. the dimensions for each area &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; r &# 34 ; will necessarily vary depending upon the size and shape of the impeller apparatus and speed of rotation . fig9 depicts a partial cross - sectional view of the alternate embodiment shear member 56 and rotating member 54 &# 39 ;, wherein chamber 58 is clearly depicted and defined by surfaces of members 56 and 54 &# 39 ;, such that rotating member 54 &# 39 ; generates a venturi suction for drawing ozonated gas from ozone generator 40 and dispelling the gas into water , or other suitable fluid , within the tank . in the preferred embodiment , process water is obtained from a suitable water supply source and piped to water storage tank 60 via a water supply line 80 . in the preferred embodiment , water storage tank 60 comprises a storage tank having a storage capacity of between 50 and 150 gallons , however , any suitable capacity is considered within the scope of the invention . water supply line 80 further includes an automatic flow control valve 82 having an open position wherein water is allowed to flow into the tank , and a closed position wherein water flow is terminated , and a flux unit 84 which includes a conductive coil 84a wrapped around a portion of the supply line . flux unit 84 generates an electromagnetic radio frequency signal ( hereinafter &# 34 ; rf signal &# 34 ;) using a complex modulating frequency waveform in the acoustic range , which is transmitted to the water in supply line 80 via conductive coil 84a thereby producing a lorentz force for removing the surface charge from micro particles suspended in solution . removing the surface charge from micro particles suspended in solution causes the water to more readily accept dissolved ozone thereby enabling increased ozone concentration levels as compared with an equal volume of water that has not be exposed to an rf signal as described above . tank 60 further includes a fluid level sensing apparatus 70 electrically connected to control unit 20 . sensing apparatus 70 includes high and low level indicating floats , 72 and 74 respectively , and high and low level alarm floats , 76 and 78 respectively . high and low water level floats 72 and 74 provide feedback to a controller electrically connected to the automatic valve to maintain a desired volume of water in the tank . a pump 92 is fluidly connected to the water tank for providing a supply of ozonated water to a wide variety of process applications . water storage tank 60 further includes an ozone concentration sensor 100 for monitoring ozone concentration in water . in the preferred embodiment the sensor comprises an oxidation reduction potential sensor ( hereinafter &# 34 ; orp sensor &# 34 ;). orp sensor 100 measures the concentration of dissolved ozone by sensing the oxidation reduction potential of the water , an electrochemical property measured in millivolts ( mv ). the present invention contemplates maintaining the water within the tank with an ozone concentration level in excess of 800 mv as measured by orp sensor 100 . microprocessor based digital control unit 20 ( hereinafter &# 34 ; dcu &# 34 ;), is in electrical communication with the above - referenced system components and associated accessory devices as illustrated in fig1 to provide operational command and control of the system . specifically , as best depicted in fig1 dcu 20 electrically communicates with high and low water level sensors , 72 and 74 , and control valve 82 , and flux unit 84 to maintain a sufficient volume of magnetically polarized water within the storage tank . in addition , dcu 20 electrically communicates with orp sensor 100 to monitor ozone concentration . in the event that the ozone concentration falls below a desirable level ( e . g . 800 mv as sensed by the orp sensor ), the dcu activates the ozone generating and handling components , namely , oxygen concentrator 30 , ozone generator 40 , and impeller apparatus 50 , such that the system thereby generates and injects ozone into the water until the ozone concentration rises to the desirable level . the use of impeller mixing apparatus 50 and flux unit 84 , and the ability of the system to produce ozonated gas having a high level of ozone concentration further allows for rapid absorption of ozone into water within tank 60 resulting in a system that is capable of producing large quantities of highly ozonated water for a variety of applications . the present invention is particularly useful in providing a source of ozonated water for use in laundry applications thereby substantially eliminating the need for chemicals , detergents and the like . furthermore , the present invention is suitable for use with open and closed loop process applications in a wide variety of fields such as industrial water treatment and process applications , as well as biomedical , food processing , hospital operating rooms , laundry and disposal rooms , food service applications , hotels , restaurants , and livestock industries , and any other application wherein ozone or ozonated water is useful . the instant invention is capable of being skid mounted as a single assembly ( indicated by dashed line surrounding fig1 schematic illustration ) whereby all of the above - referenced components are combined into a single unit having water input and output connections and a power connection . accordingly , the present invention may be easily transported to a specific location and placed into service by connecting water and power thereto . the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment . it is recognized , however , that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art . | 2 |
preferred embodiments of this invention relate to reinforcement of duct work ( e . g ., for air conditioning ducts ), and more particularly , to conduits used for reinforcing duct work . in particular , certain embodiments describe plugs for insertion into the ends of the conduits in order to provide for easier insertion into the duct work and / or a more secure connection and reinforcement . [ 0042 ] fig1 illustrates a portion of air conditioning duct 10 . the duct has opposing surfaces 12 and 14 , which include oppositely disposed holes 16 . as described below , these holes 16 are used to reinforce the duct 10 to prevent it from buckling or collapse . [ 0043 ] fig2 a and 2b illustrate a plug with retractable threads according to one embodiment of the present invention . the plug 18 , shown in its unretracted configuration in fig2 a , includes a threaded end 20 , which moves into and out of the tubular body portion 24 through head 22 . the threaded end 20 is integrally formed with a shaft 28 which remains internal to the tubular body portion 24 . a spring ( not shown ) is also positioned within the tubular body portion 24 below the shaft 28 . provided on the shaft 28 is a pin 30 , which extends into an l - shaped cutout 26 provided in the wall of the body portion . the spring within the body portion presses against the bottom of the shaft 28 , forcing the threaded end 20 outward relative to the head 22 , and correspondingly , positioning the pin at the top of the “ l .” thus , the pin 30 , when contacting the top of the l - shaped cut - out , prevents the threaded end 20 and the shaft 28 from exiting the body portion 24 , and also prevents rotation of the threaded end 20 . [ 0045 ] fig2 b illustrates that because of the spring within the body portion , the threaded end 20 can be pushed down , compressing the spring and thereafter moving the pin 30 into the bottom - right portion of the l - shaped cut - out . thus , in this position , the threaded end 20 is in a “ locked ” or retracted configuration . preferably , the threaded end 20 will still extend slightly beyond the head 22 in this locked configuration . it will be appreciated that although the plug 18 has been described as containing a locking mechanism 26 , the plug may also be provided without such a locking mechanism . in such an embodiment , the plug 18 is in a relaxed position when the threaded end 20 is fully extending out of the body portion 24 , as shown in fig2 c . because of the spring inside the body portion 24 , when a force is placed against the threaded end 20 , causing the threaded end to move into the body portion , the threaded end will be biased to move back to its relaxed position unless the force on the threaded end is maintained . fig2 d - 2 g illustrate the components of the plug 18 of fig2 c , according to one preferred embodiment the body portion 24 , shown in fig2 d , has a head portion 22 at its proximal end defining an opening 40 through which threaded end 20 , described below , extends . the walls 42 of the body portion 24 are preferably tapered , such that the cavity 46 inside the body portion has a smaller diameter toward the proximal end of the body portion . fig2 h shows a top view of the body portion 24 . as shown in the bottom view of the body portion 24 of fig2 i , the cavity 46 is preferably hex - shaped to accommodate a bolt having a hex - shaped base , as described below . provided inside the cavity of the body portion 24 are a spring 48 ( shown in fig2 e ) and an inside bolt 52 ( shown in fig2 g ). the inside bolt 52 includes a threaded end 20 extending from its proximal end , a hex - shaped base 44 at its distal end , and a shaft 28 therebetween . the inside bolt 52 is inserted into the cavity of the body portion 24 through its distal end , with the threaded end 20 entering first . the threaded end 20 is sized to pass through the opening 40 , but the hex - shaped base 44 is sized larger than the opening 40 to prevent the inside bolt from falling out of the body portion 24 at its proximal end . moreover , the hex - shaped base 44 approximately mates with the hex - shaped cavity 46 to prevent rotation of the bolt within the cavity . the spring 48 is inserted through the distal end of the body portion 24 after the inside bolt 52 . a tube cap 50 , as shown in fig2 f , seals the body portion 24 after the spring and inside bolt 52 have been inserted . the body portion 24 and the tube cap 50 are preferably made of a material such as aluminum or plastic . the other components of the plug are preferably made of a material such as steel and plated to prevent rust . [ 0049 ] fig3 illustrates that to reinforce an air conditioning duct such as shown in fig1 the plugs 18 are placed in the two ends 34 , 36 of a reinforcing conduit 32 . preferably , the plugs are press fit into the two ends . the distance between the two ends 34 , 36 is preferably substantially the same as the distance between the opposing surfaces 12 , 14 of the air conditioning duct . to install the reinforcing conduit into the duct 10 , the conduit 32 is inserted between the opposing surfaces 12 , 14 of the duct 10 . the threaded ends 20 of the plugs in the conduit , when pressed against the walls of the duct , are forced into the body portions 24 , thereby shortening the length of the conduit with the plugs . this enables the conduit to be moved around more easily within the duct . the conduit 32 is preferably moved within the duct 10 until the threaded ends 20 encounter the opposing holes 16 of the duct . when the threaded ends 20 are free to unretract from the body portions 24 ( i . e ., the embodiment of fig2 c , wherein the threaded ends are not locked inside the body portion with a locking mechanism ), the threaded ends will pop out once encountering the holes and extend to the outside of the duct 10 . alternatively , if the threaded ends are locked such as shown in fig2 b above , because the threaded ends 20 extend slightly beyond the head 22 , the installer can still ascertain when the threaded end encounters a hole 16 . then , the threaded ends 20 can be activated to their unretracted position simply by moving the pin 30 from the locked to the unlocked position . it will be appreciated that when installing conduit as described above , it is often advantageous to install one end of the conduit 32 first into a hole 16 , with the threaded end 20 at that one end already unretracted , and then simply orienting the conduit such that the other threaded end 20 encounters the opposing hole 16 . in this embodiment , as the other threaded end 20 is brought towards the opposing hole 16 , the end 20 will likely retract into the conduit as the force of the wall nearby the opposing hole 16 presses the threaded end 20 into the body portion 24 . in another embodiment , it will be appreciated that a conduit may be provided in which only one end has a retractable threaded end , while the other end has an threaded end which always extends out of the end of the conduit . [ 0054 ] fig4 illustrates a partially completed reinforced duct portion 10 with a reinforcing conduit 32 therein . as can be seen , the threaded ends 20 extend to the external surface of the duct , wherein an outside nut 38 is screwed onto the threaded end 20 and against the surface of the duct walls to secure the conduit in place . this nut 38 is shown more particularly in fig2 l and 2m . when a body portion such as shown in fig2 d is used , as the outside nut 38 is screwed onto the inside bolt 52 of the body portion , the nut draws the bolt towards the nut . because the walls 42 of the body portion 24 are tapered , the hex - shaped base 44 of the inside bolt 52 presses against the walls as the bolt 52 is drawn toward the nut 38 . this exerts an additional pressure of the body portion 24 against the inner walls of the conduit 32 , thereby holding the plug 18 more strongly within the conduit . [ 0055 ] fig4 also illustrates the use of a rubber washer 54 , illustrated more particularly in fig2 j and 2k . prior to installation , rubber washers 54 can be placed against the heads 22 of the plugs 18 at each end of the conduit 32 , with the threaded ends 20 extending through the holes 56 in the washers . then , once the plugs 18 are aligned in the duct 10 and the threaded ends 20 extend through the holes 16 , the rubber washers 54 abut against the surfaces 12 , 14 of the duct to protect the duct from damage . the embodiments described also improve over the prior art in which threaded reinforcement rods are used in that reinforcing conduits as described herein are stronger than threaded rods and therefore are more resistant to buckling . fig5 a - 5 c illustrate another embodiment of a system for reinforcing air conditioning ducts and the like . in this embodiment , a conduit 32 such as described above is provided . plugs 58 and 60 having an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the conduit are inserted into ends 34 and 36 of the conduit , respectively , until the outer ends of the plugs are flush with the ends of the conduit , as shown in fig5 b . as described in further detail below , the plugs 58 and 60 each have a groove 62 extending around the circumference of the plug and have an internally threaded opening 64 extending through the central axis of the plug . after the plugs are inserted into the conduit , a crimping device , such as described below , can be used to crimp the conduit at the location of the grooves 62 , shown by the arrows in fig5 b . as shown in the resulting conduit in fig5 c , the crimping of the conduit locks the plugs 58 and 60 within the conduit at crimped locations 62 a and 62 b to prevent the plugs from being pulled out . fig5 d illustrates in cross - section one preferred plug crimped inside an end of a conduit , with a bolt screwed into the threaded opening 64 through a washer . fig5 e illustrates an end view of the crimped conduit . [ 0058 ] fig6 a and 6b illustrate one preferred design for the plugs 58 and 60 . in this embodiment , the threaded opening 64 preferably has a diameter of about ¼ ″ and extends entirely through the plug . the plug in one embodiment has a diameter of about 0 . 605 ″ and a length of about 0 . 69 ″, with the groove located about 0 . 33 ″ from the outer end of the plug ( i . e ., the end that is flush with the end of the conduit ) and about 0 . 15 ″ from the inner end of the plug . the groove 62 in this embodiment preferably has a length of about 0 . 21 inches . as shown in fig6 b , the groove preferably has a depth of about 0 . 07 inches . [ 0059 ] fig7 a and 7b illustrate another preferred design for the plugs 58 and 60 . in this embodiment , the threaded opening 64 also has a diameter of about ¼ ″, and the length and location of the groove are the same . however , the plug of fig7 a and 7b has a diameter of about 0 . 81 ″. it will be appreciated that plugs of various sizes may be used to accommodate different sized conduits . [ 0060 ] fig8 a illustrate that after the plugs are inserted and crimped into the conduit as shown in fig5 c , the conduit can be aligned with holes 16 in the duct 10 . as shown in fig8 b , from the outside of the duct , a washer 66 is positioned over the hole 16 and a bolt 68 is inserted through the washer , through the hole 16 , and threadedly inserted into the opening 64 to secure the conduit within the duct . this process is repeated for each end of the conduit and for each conduit positioned in the duct . it will be appreciated that the plugs 58 and 60 can be made from a variety of suitable materials . for example , certain preferred materials include , but are not limited to , nylon , steel and aluminum . desired materials may be selected based on the superior pull out strength offered by the crimped plugs . for example , a nylon plug which has been injection molded desirably provides a pull out strength of about 800 to 1200 lbs . a steel plug desirably provides a pull out strength of about 3200 to 5000 lbs . an aluminum plug desirably provides a pull out strength of about 1500 to 2500 lbs . it will also be appreciated that to provide increased pull out strength , more than one groove 62 may be provided on the plugs . crimping of the plugs 58 and 60 to the conduit can preferably be accomplished using any suitable crimping device . one such device is shown in fig9 a - 9 d . as shown in fig9 a , a pneumatic fixture is bench mounted , with a peg extending vertically from the bench . a plug is slipped over the peg , as shown in fig9 b . the plug is covered with a conduit , shown in fig9 c , which preferably has a ½ ″ or ¾ ″ diameter . using the pneumatic crimping device , the conduit is crimped , preferably in only about one second , onto the plug , as shown in fig9 d . it will be appreciated that various crimping mechanisms can be used , and therefore , the plug need not be crimped by the device or methods shown in fig9 a - 9 d . [ 0063 ] fig1 illustrates another design of a plug 70 having a retractable threads similar to the embodiment of fig2 c . the plug includes a threaded end 72 , which moves into and out of the tubular body portion 74 . the threaded end 72 is integrally formed with a shaft 76 ( not shown ) which remains internal to the tubular body portion 74 in an opening 88 ( described below ). a spring 78 ( shown in fig1 a ) is also positioned within the opening 88 of the tubular body portion 74 below the shaft 76 . provided on the shaft 76 is a pin 80 , which extends into a slot 82 provided in the wall of the body portion . the spring within the body portion presses against the bottom of the shaft 76 , forcing the threaded end 72 outward , and correspondingly , positioning the pin at the top of the slot 82 . thus , the pin 80 , when contacting the top of the slot , prevents the threaded end 72 and the shaft 76 from exiting the body portion 74 , and also prevents rotation of the threaded end 72 . near the top of the slot 82 , a passageway 84 is provided to allow the threaded end 72 and the shaft 76 to exit the tubular body portion 74 . an operator can remove the threaded end from the body portion 74 by pressing slightly down on the threaded end 72 , and turning the threaded end ( in the embodiment shown , counter - clockwise ) such that the pin 80 follows the passageway 84 . the passageway 84 turns up toward the top end of the body portion 74 , which allows the threaded end to be removed . the tubular body portion further includes a groove 86 near the end of the plug opposite the threaded end 72 . this groove , as with the embodiments of fig5 a - 5 c described above , enables the plug to be inserted into a conduit and crimped therein to provide excellent pull out strength . once the plug is inserted and crimped at each end of the conduit , a duct can be reinforced such as shown in fig4 above . [ 0067 ] fig1 a and 11b illustrate one preferred design for the plug 70 . in this embodiment , the opening 88 in which the spring 78 and the shaft 76 are inserted preferably has a diameter of about { fraction ( 5 / 16 )}″ and a depth of about 1 . 4 ″. the overall length of the plug is about 1 . 5 ″, with the groove 86 located about 1 . 14 ″ from the outer end of the plug ( i . e ., the end that is flush with the end of the conduit ) and about 0 . 15 ″ from the inner end of the plug . the groove 86 in this embodiment preferably has a length of about 0 . 21 inches and a depth of about 0 . 07 ″. the slot 82 and passageway 84 preferably have a width of about { fraction ( 3 / 16 )}″, with the bottom of the slot located about 1 . 09 ″ from the outside end of the plug . the plug can have a variety of diameters , and in two preferred embodiments , has a diameter of about 0 . 81 ″ or about 0 . 605 ″. [ 0068 ] fig1 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a plug having retractable threads being inserted into a conduit . this plug design is similar to the design of fig2 c , except that the walls 42 of the tubular body portion 24 have slots extending longitudinally therein from the inner end of the plug ( i . e ., the end adapted to be positioned away from the end of the conduit ) and partially toward the head 22 . like the embodiment of fig2 c , the walls 42 are tapered such that the cavity 46 inside the body portion has a smaller diameter toward the proximal end or top end of the body portion . although the embodiments described herein relate to reinforcement of air conditioning ducts , it will be appreciated that the preferred embodiments of the present invention may be used in other applications as well . it will be appreciated that the plugs 18 described above may be used in applications with and without the conduit 32 . for example , a conduit having plugs with retractable threads may be used for inserting shower curtain rods . in another example , plugs with retractable threads may be used for furniture legs . in such an embodiment , in fact , the retractable portion of the plug need not be threaded . other possible uses include hangers between doors and inside closets , and clothes hangers in automobiles . it should be understood that certain variations and modifications of this invention will suggest themselves to one of ordinary skill in the art . the scope of the present invention is not to be limited by the illustrations or the foregoing descriptions thereof , but rather solely by the appended claims . | 8 |
fig1 shows in schematic elevation view a method of carrying out one embodiment of the invention wherein an extruder generally indicated at 10 comprises a feed hopper 12 and a screw housing 14 to which is attached an extruder nozzle 16 which is preferably of a type which will produce a relatively wide , flat ribbon of extruded material . such an extruder nozzle is described , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 389 , 181 of r . h . frick , issued june 21 , 1983 , the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein . a suitable material , for example , one as described in the bunnelle patents incorporated by reference herein , is introduced into hopper 12 and melted to provide a softened plastic extrudable mass of source material from which the strips are formed . a wide flat ribbon of extruded material is deposited from extruder nozzle 16 onto a chill roller 18 which comprises a conventional cooled roller rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow associated therewith and onto which the extruded ribbon is deposited for cooling and setting . chill roller 18 may be maintained at , say , 0 ° c . ( 32 ° f .) in order to chill a material of the type described in the aforementioned u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 259 , 220 and 4 , 418 , 123 . a plurality of extruders or a plurality of extruder nozzles 16 may be arranged to deposit a plurality of extruded ribbons of material onto chill roller 18 , as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art . in any event , one or more ribbons 20 of chilled , extruded material are passed to a driven roller 22 which is rotating ( in the direction indicated by its associated arrow ) at a greater peripheral speed than chill roller 18 whereby the ribbon or ribbons 20 are tensioned and elongated to a desired degree . ribbon or ribbons 20 are maintained under such tension to hold such elongation by rollers 24 and 26 which also serve to transport the ribbon or ribbons 20 onto joining roller 28 which may , but need not necessarily , be a chill roller . a heated conduit 30 is connected in fluid flow communication with extruder nozzle 16 and transports a portion of the fluid mass extruded from screw housing 14 to a remote extruder nozzle 32 . remote extruder nozzle 32 may extrude either a wide flat ribbon similar to that extruded from extruder nozzle 16 or may extrude one or more strands of material such as circular or oval cross - section strands . in any event , the material extruded from remote extruder nozzle 32 or a plurality of remote extruder nozzles 32 is deposited upon the extruded ribbon or ribbons 20 in parallel overlying relationship as illustrated in fig3 a and 3b , as described more fully below . consequently , there is formed on joining roller 28 a plurality of first ribbons 20 of self - adhering elastic material extruded from extruder nozzle 16 and having thereon one or more overlying , parallel second strands 21 of self - adhering elastic material extruded from extruder nozzle 32 . as the first strips of self - adhering elastic material are maintained under tension by the rollers 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 and thereby elongated while the second strands 21 are deposited thereon , there are formed one or more tensioned composite strips 27 of first ribbons 20 and second strips 21 of self - adhering elastic material . a roll 34 of flexible base material , such as a thin , relatively wide polyolefin material is unwound in the direction indicated by its associated arrow to provide a moving continuous web of base material 38 . for example , web 38 may comprise a web of polyolefin material such as polypropylene which is from 1 / 2 to 2 mils thick and from 10 to 15 inches ( 25 . 4 to 38 . 1 cm ) wide . web 38 is brought into contact with the tensioned composite strips 27 of self - adhering elastic material in the nip formed between joining roller 28 and pressure roller 36 whereby the tensioned composite strips 27 are with and self - adhered to the continuous moving web 38 . a cutter 40 may be utilized to cut the web of flexible material 38 into a plurality of discrete articles 42 . as the tension of moving continous web 38 is released by the cutting , the adhered tensioned composite strips 27 relax , providing an elasticized gathered portion of the resultant article 42 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 the first strips of self - adhering elastic material are tensioned and elongated sufficiently to provide the desired degree of elasticity in the finished articles 42 whereas the second strips of material have not been tensioned and so retain a relatively high degree of self - adherence to the material of flexible web 38 . it will be noted that the second strips 21 lie atop the first ribbons 20 upon joining roller 28 so that second strips 21 are sandwiched between the surface of continuous moving web 38 and the first ribbons 20 . since the first ribbons 20 are rendered less adherent to the material of web 38 by virtue of their tensioned , elongated state , untensioned strips 21 of the same material provide enhanced adherence of the composite strips 27 to web 38 . by way of example , a self - adhering elastic material sold by the h . b . fuller company of st . paul , minn . under the trademark fullastic 6650 is formed into a one - half inch wide ribbon comprising a first strip in accordance with the invention . a tensioning force of about 200 grams is imposed thereon to provide an elongation of about 270 % and thereby a desired degree of elasticization when the ribbon is adhered to a 1 . 5 mil thick polypropylene web . the second strip may comprise the same material as the first strip and be in the form of a strand of about 0 . 003 inches ( 0 . 076 mm ) circular diameter cross - section and have zero tension imposed thereon whereby it retains all of its high inherent adhesion to polypropylene . referring now to fig2 there is shown an alternate embodiment in which extruder 10 , chill roller 18 and extruder nozzle 16 are identical to those of the fig1 embodiment and thus have been omitted to avoid repetition . parts in the fig2 embodiment which are identical to those of the fig1 embodiment are identically numbered . heated conduit 30 is identically connected in fluid flow communication between extruder nozzle 16 ( not shown in fig2 ) and remote extruder nozzle 32 which in this case deposits its extruded strands onto a second chill roller 44 to provide one or more second strips 21 of extruded self - adhering elastic material . a driven roller 48 rotating in the direction indicated by its associated arrow has a higher peripheral speed than does chill roller 44 and therefore second strips 21 are tensioned and elongated to a desired degree which is less than that to which first ribbons 20 are elongated . the degree of tensioning and elongation of second strips 21 are maintained by rollers 50 and 26 . first ribbon 20 obtained from chill roller 18 ( not shown in fig2 ) is tensioned and elongated by driven roller 22 and maintained under such tension and elongation ( greater than that of first strips 21 ) by rollers 24 , 54 , 50 and 26 . the first ribbons 20 and second strips 21 of self - adhering elastic material are joined together in parallel overlying relationship by the nip formed between roller 50 and pressure roller 56 to form a tensioned composite strip 27 which is wound about joining roller 28 which , as in the fig1 embodiment , cooperates with pressure roller 36 to apply composite tensioned strip 27 to continuous moving web 38 . second strips 21 are sandwiched between first ribbon 20 and the material of moving continuous web 38 . as in the fig1 embodiment , a cutter 40 may be utilized to cut the moving web of flexible material 38 having the tensioned composite strips 27 joined thereto into discrete articles 42 . referring now to fig3 a and 3b , alternate embodiments of the composite tensioned strip are illustrated in section end view . fig3 a shows an embodiment in which a first strip of self - adhering elastic material 20 comprises a relatively wide flat ribbon and has joined to it a second strip 21 of self - adhering elastic material which is about the same width as first strip 20 ( although it could be narrower than strip 20 ) but considerably thinner . for example , ribbons 20 may be 1 / 2 inch ( 1 . 47 cm ) or 3 / 4 inch ( 1 . 91 cm ) wide . as indicated by the arrow in fig3 a ( and fig3 b ) the resultant tensioned composite strip 27 will be joined to flexible base material 38 with second strip 21 sandwiched between first strip 20 and flexible base material 38 . fig3 b illustrates an alternate embodiment in which the tensioned composite strip 27 comprises a ribbon - like first strip 20 identical to that of the embodiment of fig3 a having thereon a second strand 21 of self - adhering elastic material comprising a strand of generally circular cross - section which may be , for example , from 25 to 40 thousandths of an inch ( 0 . 0635 to 0 . 102 mm ) in diameter . obviously , two or more parallel strands 21 may be utilized in the fig3 b embodiment . it will be noted that in the illustrated embodiments the second strips 21 are disposed in overlying parallel relationship to the first strips 20 . fig4 illustrates an article 42 &# 39 ; cut from a moving web of continuous material to which a tensioned composite strip 27 of self - adhering elastic material has been secured . the illustrated article 42 &# 39 ; comprises a disposable diaper comprising a thin polypropylene backing sheet 38 &# 39 ; cut from a continuous moving web of flexible base material to which has been joined an intermediate absorbent web of material , not visible in fig4 but whose bulk is indicated by the stretch lines on the overlying cover sheet 60 . those skilled in the art will recognize the conventional overall construction of a disposable diaper in which respective webs of backing sheet 38 &# 39 ;, absorbent material ( not shown ) and cover sheet 60 are joined in a three - ply layer continuous web which is cut transversely to provide a finished disposable diaper 42 &# 39 ;. conventional adhesive strips 62 are applied for fastening the folded diaper upon the wearer . composite self - adhering elastic strips 27 &# 39 ; of the invention are indicated in dotted lines adjacent the leg cut - outs 66 of diaper 42 &# 39 ; and are seen to provide elasticized gathers in the leg cut - out areas . fig4 a shows a schematic view of a portion of composite strip 27 &# 39 ; of diaper 42 &# 39 ;, comprising a ribbon - shaped first strip 20 &# 39 ; and a pair of second strips 21 &# 39 ; originally of circular cross - section but flattened ( by rollers 28 and 36 of fig1 or 2 ) and sandwiched between material 38 &# 39 ; and first strip 20 &# 39 ; to adhere the latter two to each other . as used herein and in the claims the term &# 34 ; self - adhering elastic material &# 34 ; embraces any otherwise suitable material which is both elastic and self - adherent to the flexible base material to which it is to be adhered and which , upon elongation , becomes less adherent relative to the flexible base material . as used herein and in the claims , the term &# 34 ; flexible base material &# 34 ; means any otherwise suitable material which is flexible enough so that upon adhering of a tensioned elongated elastic material thereto , it will conform to the elastic strip upon relaxation thereof sufficiently to form an elasticized portion of the flexible base material . reference herein and in the claims to &# 34 ; strips &# 34 ; of self - adhering elastic material is to be understood as including ribbons , bands , strands or other suitable shapes and configurations . further , all percentage elongations are expressed as a percent of the unelongated or relaxed length of the strip . thus , 100 % elongation means that the untensioned strip has been stretched to twice its relaxed , i . e ., untensioned , length . as used herein and in the claims , reference to a &# 34 ; less - tensioned &# 34 ; second strip includes one which is untensioned as well as one which is tensioned but to a percent elongation less than that of the first strip . similarly , reference to forming the strips &# 34 ; in situ &# 34 ; means that the strips are extruded or otherwise formed at or near the place of application to the web of base material for application thereto without the step of unwinding stored strips from a multiple - ply storage roll . such &# 34 ; in situ &# 34 ; formation of self - adhering elastic material is convenient because of the difficulty of storing the self - adhering material in multiple - ply rolls from which it can readily be unwound . in the manufacture of disposable diapers and the like , the flexible base material is conventionally polypropylene , usually of a thickness of from about 1 to 2 mils ( e . g ., 1 or 1 1 / 2 mils ) although other suitable thicknesses and any other suitable material may obviously be employed . similarly , any suitable self - adhering elastic material may be employed and since the materials described in the aforesaid bunelle u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 418 , 123 and 4 , 259 , 220 are commercially available and suitable for the purpose , such materials are to that extent preferred . while the invention has been described in detail with respect to specific preferred embodiments thereof , it will be apparent that upon a reading and understanding of the foregoing other embodiments and modifications may occur to those skilled in the art , which modifications and embodiments are believed to be within the scope of the invention and the appended claims . | 8 |
fig1 depicts a protective pad 100 . the protective pad 100 has a generally rectangular shape with four fastener areas 102 , 104 , 106 and 108 located at each of the four corners of a base 110 of the protective pad 100 . in this embodiment , the fastener areas 102 , 104 , 106 and 108 include bone fastener holes 112 , 114 , 116 and 118 . the bone fastener holes 112 , 114 , 116 and 118 may be used with a bone fastener such as a screw , peg or nail to attach the protective pad 100 to a bone . alternatively , the protective pad 100 may be sutured in place . as shown in fig2 , an overlying portion 120 extends above a portion of the base 110 . the overlying portion 120 and the base 110 define a fluid pocket 122 . in the embodiment of fig2 , the overlying portion 120 and the base 110 are configured to provide an impermeable barrier about the fluid pocket 122 . accordingly , fluid within the fluid pocket 122 is not allowed to exit the fluid pocket 122 . additionally , fluids outside of the protective pad 100 are not allowed to enter the fluid pocket 122 . the protective pad 100 further includes a telltale 124 which in this embodiment extends from the base 110 . the telltale 124 includes a marker 126 . the overlying portion 120 , the base 110 and the telltale 124 are formed from a flexible biocompatible material or subdermal implant material , such as silastic brand silicone rubber or similar organosiloxane polymers . the fluid pocket 122 is filled with a biocompatible fluid which may be liquid or gaseous . in one embodiment , carbon dioxide gas is used . other biologically inert gasses may be used in alternative embodiments . the fluid pocket 122 may be configured to provide a thin layer of fluid between the overlying portion 120 and the base 110 or to provide a more substantial separation between the overlying portion 120 and the base 110 as shown in fig2 . the marker 126 in the embodiment of fig1 includes a radiodense material so as to be readily identified using radiography . the present invention is particularly well suited for use in surgeries on the spinal column of a patient . referring to fig3 , a spinal column 128 of a human being is illustrated . in the drawing figures , certain anatomical details may be omitted or shown somewhat schematically in the interest of clarity . the spinal column 128 includes a cervical region 130 , a dorsal region 132 , a lumbar region 134 and a pelvic region 136 . two of the regions of the spinal column 128 that are most commonly operated on are the lumbar region 134 and the pelvic region 136 . in these regions , the area including lumbar l4 138 and lumbar l5 140 and the area including lumbar l5 140 and the sacrum 142 are the areas to which most spinal operations are directed . one surgical approach that is used when performing a surgical procedure on the above described areas is identified as the pararectal retroperitoneal approach . in this approach , which may be used for procedures such as a disc removal or disc prosthesis installation , the skin of the patient is incised in a curved line over the lateral border of the rectus muscle of the patient . through this incision , the prevertebral space of the patient is exposed . fig4 depicts various anatomical parts that are located within or adjacent to a prevertebral space 144 . as depicted therein , the vena cava 146 extends generally along a line directly above the spinal column ( not shown in fig4 ). the vena cava 146 receives blood from the common iliac veins 148 and 150 and their respective branches . the abdominal aorta 152 begins to the right of the vena cava 146 as viewed in fig4 and extends over the top of the vena cava 146 lower down in the prevertebral space 144 . the abdominal aorta 152 provides blood to two common iliac arteries 154 and 156 and their respective branches . the vena cava 146 , the common iliac veins 148 and 150 and their respective branches , the abdominal aorta 152 , and the common iliac arteries 154 and 156 and their respective branches are anterior to , and generally co - linear with , the spinal column 128 as shown in fig5 . accordingly , when using the pararectal retroperitoneal approach , at least some of these blood vessels must be moved to the side to expose the targeted area of the spinal column 128 . during an index surgical procedure , movement of the blood vessels is accomplished by retracting the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 to one side to expose the lumbar l4 138 and lumbar l5 140 vertebrae or by spreading the common iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 apart from the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 to expose the area about the lumbar l5 140 and the sacrum 142 . depending on the actual location of the veins and arteries of a particular patient and the area being targeted , branches of the iliac vessels may need to be moved in addition to or in place of the iliac vessels . the blood vessels and surrounding tissue exhibit sufficient flexibility and looseness for the amount of retraction required to access areas using the pararectal retroperitoneal approach during an initial surgery on a target area . after the initial surgery , however , scar tissue and / or adhesions may form about the surgical path and restrict the flexibility and looseness of the anatomical parts around the path to and in the area of the target area . to facilitate a revision surgery in the same area as the index surgery , a protective pad may be used to reduce complications resulting from scar tissue and / or adhesions . preferably , the protective pad is attached to the spinal column 128 during the initial surgical operation . more preferably , the protective pad is attached after a procedure has been conducted on a target area and before the blood vessels or other anatomical parts are released from a retracted position . fig6 depicts a portion of the prevertebral space 144 after the blood vessels have been released from retraction . the protective pad 158 is attached to the lumbar l4 138 vertebra with two fasteners 160 and 162 which are inserted through the fastener areas 164 and 166 , respectively . preferably , holes are provided in the fastener areas 164 and 166 which allow the shafts ( not shown ) of the bone fasteners 160 and 162 , which in this embodiment are screws , to pass through the protective pad 158 . similarly , the protective pad 158 is attached to the lumbar l5 140 vertebra with two fasteners 168 and 170 which are inserted through the fastener areas 172 and 174 , respectively . in this configuration , the base 176 of the protective pad 158 is located adjacent to the spinal column 128 and an overlying portion 178 and a fluid pocket 180 are located beneath the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 of the patient as shown in fig7 . in a preferred embodiment , the protective pad 158 is selected from a kit of protective pads having different sizes . this allows a pad to be selected with a length that extends , in this example , from about the mid - point of the lumbar l4 138 vertebra to about the mid - point of the lumbar l5 140 vertebra . additionally , the width of the protective pad 158 is selected to ensure the fluid pocket 180 extends outwardly from the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 on at least one side as is discussed more fully below . in this embodiment , fig7 shows that the fluid pocket 180 extends outwardly from both the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 in a medial - lateral direction . the overall width of the protective pad 158 is preferably selected to provide complete coverage of the targeted vertebrae from psoas to psoas . the telltale 182 extends away from the protective pad 158 and includes a marker 184 which may be similar to the marker 126 of fig1 . to aid in rapidly locating the telltale 182 during a revision surgery , the end portion with the marker 184 may conveniently be tacked to the rectus of the patient or affixed to another readily identifiable location by some other means . accordingly , during a revision surgery on or near the targeted area of the first procedure , radiography is used to identify the location of the marker 184 on the telltale 182 . then , after preparing the incision area in accordance with a proper surgical protocol , an incision in the skin of the patient is made and the telltale 182 is located based upon the radiography . in this embodiment , the telltale 182 is shown attached to the base 176 . alternatively , the telltale 182 may be attached to the overlying portion 178 . in the event the telltale 182 does not interfere with the remaining steps of the surgical procedure , the telltale 182 may remain attached to the patient . alternatively , if the telltale 182 is attached to the overlying portion 178 or will interfere with ensuing steps , the telltale 182 is detached from the patient . in either event , the surgeon then follows the telltale 182 to the protective pad 158 . after lysis of adhesions on the portion of the pad 158 on the side opposite the direction of desired retraction , a longitudinal incision 186 is made through the overlying portion 178 along a line adjacent to the vena cava 146 or the abdominal aorta 152 as shown in fig8 . the width of the fluid pocket 180 preferably extends outwardly of both the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 . this allows a surgeon to select the direction in which the blood vessels will be retracted based upon the particular condition of the patient . if the fluid pocket only extends outwardly of one of the two blood vessels , then the incision is preferably made to allow retraction of the blood vessels in a direction opposite the direction in which the fluid pocket extends outwardly of the one of the two blood vessels . the overlying portion 178 may then be manipulated to retract the adjacent blood vessel away from the longitudinal incision 186 allowing a transverse incision 188 to be made in the overlying portion 178 at one end of the protective pad 158 and another transverse incision 190 along the opposite end of the protective pad 158 . the longitudinal incision 186 and the transverse incisions 188 and 190 form a leaf 192 . once the leaf 192 is sufficiently formed , a retractor is placed through the longitudinal incision 186 and into the fluid pocket 180 . the retractor is used to move the leaf 192 in a direction away from the longitudinal incision 186 . if needed , any of the incisions may be further extended during retraction . as shown in fig9 , the leaf 192 , acting as a protective layer , is used to retract the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 to reveal an exposed portion 194 of the base 176 . an incision may then be made through the exposed portion 194 to reveal the targeted area . as stated above , when using the pararectal retroperitoneal approach in the area about the lumbar l5 140 and the sacrum 142 , the common iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 are spread apart from the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 . accordingly , it is desirable to form two different leaves from the protective pad , one leaf for each set of blood vessels . the protective pad 158 may be used in this setting with appropriate modification of the location of the longitudinal cut to a central area and using transverse cuts to from two leaves . an alternative protective pad that may be used is the protective pad 200 shown in fig1 . the protective pad 200 has a generally rectangular base 202 with four fastener holes 204 , 206 208 and 210 located at each of the four corners . an overlying portion 212 is attached to the base 202 so as to define a fluid pocket 214 ( see fig1 ). the overlying portion 212 may be attached to the base 202 by use of an adherent or other acceptable method such as ultrasonic welding . the fluid pocket 214 is generally plough shaped with a narrow end portion 216 . two trailing portions 218 and 220 extend away from the end portion 224 and diverge from each other . the trailing portions 218 and 220 join a wide end portion 222 so as to form a generally triangular shape when viewed from above the fluid pocket 214 ( see fig1 ). the protective pad 200 further includes a telltale 224 which in this embodiment extends from the narrow end portion 216 . the telltale 224 includes a marker 226 . the protective pad 200 is implanted on a bone such as the spinal column 128 following essentially the same steps set forth above with respect to the protective pad 158 . the procedure for performing a revision surgery in the vicinity of the implanted protective pad 200 is the same as the method set forth above with respect to protective pad 158 until the telltale 224 is followed to the protective pad 200 . the protective pad 200 is configured such that when it is implanted in the area of the lumbar l5 140 and the sacrum 142 , the common iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 are spaced apart from the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 by the plough shaped fluid pocket 214 as shown in fig1 . the protective pad 200 is further configured such that the overlying portion 212 extends away from the spinal column 128 to about the same height as the aorta is located above the spinal column 128 . accordingly , when the telltale 224 is tracked to the protective pad 200 , at least some of the overlying portion 212 will be exposed between the iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 on one side and the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 on the other side as shown in fig1 . the area about the protective pad 200 is then prepared for retraction of the blood vessels . in a preferred approach , a longitudinal incision 228 is made through the overlying portion 212 along a line between the narrow end portion 216 and the wide end portion 222 . typically , the longitudinal incision 228 will be made approximately along the centerline of the overlying portion 212 . depending on the conditions for a particular patient , the location of the incision may be adjusted to one side or the other . transverse incisions 230 and 232 are made along the wide end portion 222 . of course , the order of the incisions may be modified . the longitudinal incision 228 and the transverse incisions 230 and 232 form leafs 234 and 236 . once a leaf is sufficiently formed , a retractor ( not shown ) is placed through the longitudinal incision 228 and into the fluid pocket 214 . the retractor is used to move one of the leafs 234 or 236 in a direction away from the longitudinal incision 228 . as shown in fig1 , the leaf 234 is positioned against the common iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 and their branches . the leaf 234 thus provides protection to the common iliac vein 148 , the common iliac artery 154 and their respective branches . the leaf 234 may further be used to retract the common iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 and their branches to reveal exposed portion 238 of the base 202 . if desired , a second retractor ( not shown ) may be used to move the other of the leafs 234 or 236 in a direction opposite of the direction of the first retraction . thus , as shown in fig1 , the leaf 236 is positioned against the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 and their branches . the leaf 236 thus provides protection to the common iliac vein 150 , the common iliac artery 156 and their respective branches . the leaf 234 may further be used to retract the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 and their branches to reveal portion 240 of the base 202 . an incision may then be made through the base 202 using one or both of the exposed areas 238 and 240 to reveal the targeted area . while the present invention has been illustrated by the description of exemplary processes and system components , and while the various processes and components have been described in considerable detail , applicant does not intend to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail . additional advantages and modifications will also readily appear to those ordinarily skilled in the art . the invention in its broadest aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details , implementations , or illustrative examples shown and described . accordingly , departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant &# 39 ; s general inventive concept . | 0 |
as illustrated in fig1 the present invention is a disposable self - evacuating electrocautery device , indicated generally at 10 , for removing plume created by searing and coagulating tissue and the like during surgical operations with the electrocautery device 10 . typically , the electrocautery device 10 of the present invention comprises an elongated hollow body 12 , an intermittent self - centering rocker switch 14 , a disposable electrocautery blade 16 , an electrical contact member 18 , flexible plume vacuum tubing 20 connected to a vacuum system ( not shown ) and an insulated electrical cable 22 electrically connected to a conventional electrosurgical generator ( not shown ). while the electrocautery device 10 is preferably prepackaged in sterilized containers to be used once and then disposed , it is within the scope of the present invention to have the electrocautery device 10 be non - disposable and disinfectable for re - use by known procedures in the art . still referring to fig1 and now also to fig2 the hollow body 12 of the electrocautery device 10 has a first end 24 and a second end 26 and comprises a first body portion 28 and a second body portion 30 . the first body portion 28 includes a switch receiving opening 32 for receiving the switch 14 and integral first switch stabilizing supports ( not shown ) within the switch opening 32 . referring back to fig1 the second body portion 30 includes integral second switch stabilizing supports 36 cooperating with the first switch stabilizing supports of the first body portion 28 to inhibit lateral movement of the switch 14 within the hollow body 12 . preferably , the first body portion 28 is fixably secured to the second body portion 30 by ultrasonic welding or other means including , but not limited to , adhesive , mechanical means , etc . the first body and second body portions 28 , 30 of the hollow body 12 can further include a plurality of first spaced ribs ( not shown ) integrally adjacent the first end 24 of the hollow body 12 and a plurality of second spaced ribs ( not shown ) along and integrally adjacent the second end 26 of the hollow body 12 on both the first body portion 28 and the second body portion 30 . the first and second ribs along with the first and second switch stabilizing supports 36 , are preferably formed integral to the first and second body portions 28 , 30 , respectively , from the same materials used to form the hollow body 12 during construction of the hollow body 12 . while described as being integral to the first and second body portions 28 , 30 , it is within the scope of the present invention , however , to construct the first and second ribs and the first and second switch stabilizing supports 36 , from a different material than the material used for the hollow body 12 and , also , to add the first and second ribs and the first and second switch stabilizing supports 36 to the first and second body portions 28 , 30 , respectively , after the hollow body 12 has been constructed . the hollow body 12 , in a preferred embodiment of the electrocautery device 10 of the present invention , is constructed from an inexpensive , thermoplastic , electrically non - conductive material . it is within the scope of the present invention , however , to construct the hollow body 12 from other materials including , but not limited to , ceramic , wood , other plastics , etc . the hollow body 12 of the electrocautery device 10 additionally comprises a first opening 42 formed in the first end 24 of the hollow body 12 for receiving the blade 16 and a second opening 44 formed in the second end 26 of the hollow body 12 opposite the first opening 42 for receiving the cable 22 and the plume vacuum tubing 20 as best illustrated in fig1 . the blade 16 of the electrocautery device 10 comprises a blade portion 46 for use in alternatively searing or coagulating tissue and the like during surgery , a contact end 48 opposite the blade portion 46 for contacting the electrical contact member 18 , and an insulating sheath 50 positioned about the blade substantially 10 between the blade portion 46 and the contact end 48 . the blade 16 is positioned such that the insulating sheath 50 of the blade 16 is seated and secured within the first end 24 of the hollow body 12 between the first body portion 28 and the second body portion 30 with the blade portion 46 extending away from the hollow body 12 . the first spaced ribs of the hollow body 12 inhibit lateral and transverse movement of the blade 16 within the hollow body 12 . as best illustrated in fig2 and 10 , the hollow body 12 also comprises a plurality of plume intake ports 52 feeding , 20 as illustrated in fig3 into a first airway path 54 at the first end 24 of the hollow body 12 and defined by the first and second body portions 28 , 30 of the hollow body 12 . the plume intake ports 52 are positioned about the first end 24 of the hollow body 12 in close proximity to the blade 12 effectively remove the plume created during surgical operations . in an embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the plume intake ports 52 are in a circumferential configuration about the first end 24 of the hollow body 12 . a second airway path 56 is defined by the first and second body portions 28 , 30 at the second end 26 of the hollow body 12 and cooperates with the vacuum tubing 20 to remove the plume from the hollow body 12 . function and operation of the plume intake ports 52 in conjunction with the first and second airway paths 54 , 56 and the plume vacuum tubing 20 will be described in further detail below . as illustrated in fig1 the electrical cable 22 of the electrocautery device 10 includes a main insulated contact wire 58 , an insulated searing switch wire 60 , and an insulated coagulating switch wire 62 . the electrical cable 22 is positioned within the second airway path 56 in the second end 26 of the hollow body 12 and extends rearwardly away from the hollow body 12 through the second opening 44 in the second end 26 of the hollow body 12 to a conventional plug ( not shown ) attached to the electrosurgical generator 45 . in another embodiment , as illustrated in fig4 the electrical cable 22 is positioned within an electrical wire pathway 51 . the electrosurgical generator provides electrical energy to the electrical cable 22 and to the vacuum system to remove plume from the area about the blade 16 and the hollow body 12 as will be described in further detail below . as mentioned briefly above , the electrocautery device 10 of the present invention comprises a contact member 18 seated within the second switch stabilizing supports 36 of the second body portion 30 of the hollow body 12 . the contact member 18 comprises a main conducting strip 64 electrically connected to the contact end 48 of the blade 16 via a blade receiver 66 . the blade receiver 66 resiliently receives the blade 16 and is electrically connected to the main contact wire 58 on the electrical cable 22 to provide electrical connection between the main contact wire 58 and the blade 16 . still referring to fig1 the contact member 18 further comprises a searing switch conducting strip 68 and a coagulating switch conducting strip 70 mounted adjacent to and selectively connectable to the main conducting switch 64 . the main conducting strip 64 includes an electrically connected , slightly elevated searing raised member 72 and an electrically connected , slightly elevated coagulating raised member 74 . the searing and coagulating raised members 72 , 74 are movable into contact with the searing and coagulating conducting strips 68 , 70 , respectively , and serve as electrical contacts for the switch 14 upon rotation of the switch 14 into searing and coagulating positions , respectively , to sear and coagulate tissue as desired . the electrical contact member 18 is preferably formed from a single metal stamping . it should be noted , however , that construction of the contact member 18 by other means , besides metal stamping , is within the scope of the present invention . the switch 18 of the electrocautery device 10 of the present invention , as illustrated in fig1 and fig3 is positioned within the switch receiving opening 32 in the first body portion 28 of the hollow body 12 and seated on the second switch stabilizing supports 36 on the second body portion 30 of the hollow body 12 . as illustrated in fig1 a switch cover plate 75 is , preferably , mounted over the switch 18 and the switch receiving opening 32 to inhibit foreign material from entering or escaping the hollow body 12 from around the switch 18 . as illustrated in fig5 the switch 18 , when not in use , self - centers via spring 19 into a neutral , non - electrical contact position . on the other hand , the switch 18 , in operation , is intermittently movable into either a searing position or a coagulating position and controls the electrical current delivered to the blade 16 while correspondingly activating the vacuum system and the self - evacuating features of the electrocautery device 10 of the present invention . both the electrical control by the switch 14 and the self - evacuating features of the electrocautery device 10 of the present invention will be discussed in more detail below . the switch 14 of the electrocautery device 10 of the present invention , as illustrated in fig1 and fig6 - 9 , includes a switch body 76 having top surface 78 , a bottom surface 80 opposite the top surface 78 , and a first and second rounded side surfaces 82 , 84 between the top surface 78 and the bottom surface 80 . the first and second rounded side surfaces 82 , 84 allow the switch 14 to rotatably move within the first and second stabilizing supports 36 of the hollow body 12 of the electrocautery device 10 into and out of the searing and coagulating positions . the switch body 76 further includes a searing activation surface 86 positioned on the top surface 78 of the switch body 76 for moving the switch 14 into the searing position , a coagulating activation surface 88 positioned on the top surface 78 of the switch body 76 spaced from the searing activation surface 86 for moving the switch 14 into the cutting position , and first and second plume airway paths 90 , 92 , extending through the first and second side rounded surfaces 82 , 84 and the switch body 76 . the non - intersecting , crossing first and second plume airway paths 90 , 92 provide a path for the plume created during surgical operations such that the plume can travel through the plume intake ports 52 , through the first airway path 54 of the first end 24 of the hollow body 12 , through either of the first or second plume airway paths 90 , 92 depending on the position of the switch 14 , through the second airway path 56 of the second end 26 of the hollow body 12 , and into the vacuum tubing 20 . the vacuum tubing 20 is connected to a conventional waste receptacle ( not shown ) for collecting the plume and the like for disposal in accordance with federal , state , and local regulations . the switch body 76 can further include a searing protuberance 94 on the bottom surface 80 of the switch body 76 substantially opposite the searing activation surface 86 and contactably adjacent the searing switch conducting strip 68 of the contact member 18 . also , the switch body 76 includes a coagulating protuberance 96 on the bottom surface 80 of the switch body 76 . a recessed area 98 is formed the bottom surface 80 of the switch body 76 between the searing and coagulating protuberances 94 , 96 to better define the searing and coagulating protuberance 94 , 96 thereby assuring contact between the searing protuberance 94 and the searing switch conducting strip 68 and between the coagulating protuberance 96 and the coagulating switch conducting strip 70 . the procedure of using the electrocautery device 10 of the present invention will now be described . in use , a surgeon or other medical professional grasps the electrocautery device 10 and positions the electrocautery device 10 adjacent the desired tissue to be seared or coagulated . to sear the desired tissue , the surgeon or other medical professional activates the electrocautery device 10 into the searing position by applying pressure to the searing activation surface 86 on the switch body 76 of the switch 14 . the pressure on the searing activation surface 86 causes the searing protuberance 94 to move into contact with the searing raised member 72 and causes the searing raised member 72 to contact the searing switch conducting strip 68 . the contact between the searing raised member 72 and the searing switch conducting strip 68 connects the circuit between the searing switch conducting strip 68 and the main conducting switch 64 to provide both electrical energy to the blade 16 to sear the desired tissue and electrical energy to the vacuum to evacuate the plume associated with the searing of the desired tissue . when the searing protuberance 94 on the switch body 76 causes the searing raised member 72 to contact searing switch conducting strip 68 , the first plume airway path 90 in the switch body 76 of the switch 14 aligns with the first and second airway paths 54 , 56 in the hollow body 12 thereby connecting the plume intake ports 52 with the vacuum tubing 20 and , thus , the waste receptacle . the second plume airway path 92 is effectively closed by the first and second stabilizing supports 36 on the first and second body portions 28 , 30 , respectively . when the desired searing is completed , the surgeon or other medical professional releases the pressure on the searing activation surface 86 of the switch body 76 causing the switch body 76 to rotate back to the neutral position moving the searing protuberance 94 out of contact with the searing raised member 72 thereby disconnecting the connection and circuit between the searing raised member 72 and the searing switch conducting strip 68 ceasing electrical current to both the blade 16 and the vacuum . coagulation of tissue utilizing the electrocautery device 10 of the present invention is similar to the procedures for searing tissue . to coagulate tissue and the like , the surgeon or other medical professional activates the electrocautery device 10 into the coagulating position by applying pressure to the coagulating activation surface 88 on the switch body 76 of the switch 14 . the pressure on the coagulating activation surface 88 causes the coagulating protuberance 96 to move into contact with the coagulating raised member 74 and causes the coagulating raised member 74 to move into contact with the coagulating switch conducting strip 70 . the contact between the coagulating raised member 74 and the coagulating switch conducting strip 70 connects the circuit between the coagulating switch conducting strip 70 and the main conducting switch 64 to provide electrical current to the blade 16 to coagulate the desired tissue and activate the vacuum on the waste receptacle . when the coagulating protuberance 96 on the switch body 76 moves into contact with the coagulating switch conducting strip 70 , the second plume airway path 92 in the switch body 76 aligns with the first and second airway paths 54 , 56 in the hollow body 12 thereby connecting the plume intake ports 52 with the vacuum tubing 20 and the waste receptacle . the first plume airway path 90 is effectively closed by the first and second stabilizing supports 36 on the first and second body portions 28 , 30 , respectively . when the desired coagulating is completed , the surgeon or other medical professional releases the pressure on the coagulating activation surface 88 of the switch body 76 causing the switch body 76 to rotate back to the neutral position moving the coagulating protuberance 96 out of contact with the coagulating raised member 74 thereby disconnecting the connection and circuit between the coagulating raised member 74 and the coagulating switch conducting strip 70 ceasing electrical current to both the blade 16 and the vacuum . it thus follows that when the electrocautery device 10 of the present invention is in use , being connected to both the electrosurgical generator and the vacuum source , the mutagenic plume created by contact of the blade 16 with the tissue will be immediately evacuated from the operating site to the vacuum source . of course , suitable filtering systems may be associated with the vacuum system to dispose of contaminants in the materials being drawn to the vacuum source . the foregoing exemplary descriptions and the illustrative preferred embodiments of the present invention have been explained in the drawings and described in detail , with varying modifications and alternative embodiments being taught . while the invention has been so shown , described and illustrated , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that equivalent changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention , and that the scope of the present invention is to be limited only to the claims except as precluded by the prior art . moreover , the invention as disclosed herein , may be suitably practiced in the absence of the specific elements which are disclosed herein . | 0 |
the same reference numerals / characters designate the same circuit components respectively in fig1 to 7 of the drawings . in fig1 showing a fundamental circuit of an embodiment of the present invention , a battery 1 serves as a power source and a chopper circuit means 2 supplies a voltage proportional to the duty factor of the chopper circuit to a main circuit containing a field coil 8 and an armature winding 9 . the duty factor of the chopper circuit is defined hereinafter as the ratio of the conducting time to the period of one cycle of the chopper circuit operation . a free - wheel diode 10 is connected to shunt the series circuit of the field coil 8 and the armature winding 9 . a commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 detects , through a diode 6 , a d . c . voltage delivered by the chopper circuit means 2 when it fails to commutate . a trip coil 11c constituting the protective circuit together with the detecting circuit means 3 is actuated when a commutation failure is detected by the detecting circuit means 3 to open contacts 11a and 11b of a breaker inserted in the main circuit and a lamp 7 is provided for indicating a commutation failure . when it is desired to check the operative condition or validity of the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 and the trip coil 11c which constitute the protective circuit , it is only necessary to close a switch 5 to supply the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 , through a resistor 4 , with a d . c . voltage corresponding to a signal voltage applied from the chopper output to the circuit means 3 when a commutation failure actually takes place . at this time , if the circuit means 3 and the trip coil 11c are in the normally operative condition , the lamp 7 indicates the validity of the protective system . in this case , the current flowing through the resistor 4 is selected to be too small to actuate the trip coil 11c . for example , the current is preferably 50 ma or less in the case of testing the validity and about 1 . 5 - 2 a in the case where the trip coil is to be actuated . namely , the resistor 4 and the switch 5 constitute a circuit means for certifying the validity of the protective circuit . fig2 shows concretely the protective system which is schematically shown in fig1 . the chopper circuit means 2 is composed of a main thyristor s1 , an auxiliary thyristor s2 , a commutating capacitor cc , a commutating reactor lc , a blocking diode d2 and a bypass diode d1 . the travelling speed of the edv is controlled by changing the duty factor of the chopper circuit means 2 . now , the operation of the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 will be described . the output of the chopper circuit means 2 is applied to the detecting circuit means 3 through a diode 6 . when the chopper circuit means 2 is conducting , the chopper output is rendered constant by means of a resistor r1 and a zener diode zd1 and the constant voltage charges a capacitor c1 through a resistor r2 and a diode d4 . on the other hand , when the chopper 2 is cut off , the voltage across the zener diode zd1 vanishes so that the base current associated with a transistor tr 1 flows through resistors r 3 and r 4 due to the electric charges of the capacitor c 1 . consequently , the electric charges stored in the capacitor c1 are released through the transistor tr 1 and the voltage across the capacitor c1 is kept lower than the rated voltage of a zener diode zd2 . if the chopper fails to commutate except when it is at fully opened performance , the chopper output becomes continuous so that the capacitor c1 is continuously charged up . accordingly , when the voltage across the capacitor c1 exceeds the rated voltage of the zener diode zd2 , a current flows into the gate of a thyristor s3 through a resistor r6 so that the thyristor s3 is renedered on . as a result , a current flows through the trip coil 11c of the protective circuit to render the contacts 11a and 11b of the breaker off to thereby cut off the current through the main circuit . thus , by cutting off the current through the electric motor ( 8 , 9 ), the uncontrollable travel of the edv is prevented . when the edv is travelling with the chopper fully opened , a positive signal is applied through a resistor r9 to a terminal a so as to render a transistor tr 3 on to continuously discharge the capacitor c1 to thereby stop the operation of the protective system . the above - described operation of the protective system which plays a very important role , must be always checked so as not to drive the edv into an uncontrollable state . according to the present invention , the check of the validity of the protection system is performed as follows : in the first place the switch 5 is closed prior to the actuation of the chopper circuit 2 and a d . c . voltage is applied to the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 through the resistor 4 and a diode d5 . thus , the same d . c . voltage as that produced in the case of commutation failure is applied to the detecting circuit 3 and when the detecting circuit 3 is in a normally operative condition , the thyristor s3 is turned on as in the case when an actual commutation failure has occurred . consequently , a current from the battery 1 flows through the resistor 4 , the switch 5 , the lamp 7 , the diode d6 , the resistor r7 , the trip coil 11c and the thyristor s3 so that the display lamp 7 is lit to indicate that the operation of the detecting circuit means 3 is normal . thus , according to the present invention , the operation of the commutation failure detecting circuit means can be checked by employing only a simple circuit means consisting of resistors and a switch . in a practical form the switch 5 may be a two - position key switch ( not shown ) which is conductive at its first position to check the operation of the detecting circuit means and cut off at its second position to start the operation of the chopper . a resistor r5 and a capacitor c2 is inserted to eliminate the erroneous operation of the thyristor s3 while the diode d3 is for absorbing the surge voltage of the trip coil 11c . the description of the present invention given above is devoted solely to the commutation failure detecting circuit means of voltage detecting type , but it is a matter of course that the present invention can be applied to the commutation failure detecting circuit means of current detecting type . such an application will be described below with the aid of fig3 . fig3 shows another embodiment of the present invention . in fig3 for certifying whether the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 operates properly or not , it is only necessary to change over a switch 5 so that is assumes a state opposite to that shown in fig3 . by doing so , the capacitor 12 is charged through a resistor 4 and a charging current flows through a current detector 14 to play the same role as the d . c . current due to an actual commutation failure . a resistor 13 serves as a discharging path for the capacitor 12 . fig4 shows still another embodiment of the present invention . the difference of this embodiment from that shown in fig2 is that the switch 5 interlocking with the key switch is replaced by a switch 17 operating in gear with an accelerator of the edv . the switch 17 is closed when the accelerator is depressed . the operation of the circuit shown in fig4 is as follows : when the accelerator is depressed , the switch 17 is closed . so , the voltage equivalent to that due to a commutation failure is applied through a resistor 4 , the switch 17 and a diode d5 to a commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 so that a thyristor s3 ( see fig2 ) of the circuit means 3 is rendered on . just after the turning - on of the thyristor s3 , a current flows through a diode d6 , a resistor r7 , an exciting coil of a relay 15 and a trip coil 11c , so that the relay is energized to open a switch 19 with the result that the lamp 7 remains unlit . if there is trouble in the trip coil 11c or the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 of the protective circuit , the relay 15 is not energized and therefore the switch 19 remains closed so that the lamp 7 is lit to indicate the abnormal condition . a capacitor 16 is used to retard by a certain time the generation of the voltage equivalent to the signal voltage produced due to an actual commutation failure . in the embodiment shown in fig2 and 3 the operation of the commutation failure detecting circuit means can be checked only at the start of the edv while in the embodiment shown in fig4 an abnormal condition , if any , of the preventive circuit including the commutation failure detecting circuit means and the trip coil , can be checked each time the accelerator is released . that is , in the latter embodiment whether there is an abnormal condition or not can be checked during the movement as well as at the start of the edv . the feature that the switch 5 is interlocked with the accelerator and the feature that the commutation failure detecting circuit and the trip circuit are connected in series with each other , may be independently combined with other embodiments . fig5 shows another embodiment of the present invention , in which a lamp 7 is lit for a short period of time after contacts 11a and 11b of a breaker are closed in the case where a commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 is operative normally . in fig5 a switch 5 &# 39 ; is a normally closed one while a switch 20 between a key switch 21 and a transistor circuit 22 is a normally open one . when the contacts 11a and 11b are closed at the start of the edv , the lamp 7 is lit if the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 is operating properly . after a certain lapse of time , the voltage across a capacitor c5 due to the stored charges reaches such a level as to cause a zener diode zd3 to conduct so that a transistor tr4 is rendered on . consequently , a relay l10 is actuated , the switch 5 &# 39 ; is opened and the switch 20 is closed . as a result , the lamp 7 is deenergized and the edv can be started if the key switch 21 is closed . fig6 shows another embodiment of the present invention . in fig6 the contacts 120a and 120b of a breaker 120 are selectively open and closed by means of a trip coil 120c . the trip coil 120c is shunted by a diode d 3 and one end of the coil 120c is connected through a diode d 1 with the output side of a chopper 2 while the other end is connected through a thyristor s 3 with the negative electrode of a power source . when the chopper 2 fails to commutate , the output voltage of the chopper is approximately equal to the voltage of the power source so that by applying the output voltage of the chopper through the diodes d 1 and d 2 to a commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 the thyristor s 3 is rendered conductive . then , a current flows through the trip coil 120c to open the contacts 120a and 120b of the breaker . after the contacts 120a and 120b of the breaker 120 have been closed , the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 is applied with a voltage from the contact 120a through the contacts b and c of a first relay 51 and a resistor r2 . in a like manner , a voltage is applied through the resistor r 1 to the primry terminal of a photocoupler 71 . the secondary output terminal e of the photocoupler 71 is connected through a resistor r 4 with the base of a transistor 72 . the collector of the transistor 72 is connected with a second relay 70 which selectively opens and closes , through its contacts d , e and f , the power circuit of a warning lamp 73 . the check of the operation of the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 is performed as follows : when the breaker 120 is closed , the warning lamp 73 is lit and simultaneously the first relay 51 is kept energized for a certain period determined by the time constant c 1 r 3 of a time - limit circuit 50 , with its contacts b and c , and contacts e and f closed respectively . a gate circuit 80 for controlling the conduction of the chopper circuit 2 is connected through a key switch ( not shown ) with an auxiliary power source ( not shown ), which supplies the gate circuit 80 with a control voltage . in response to the closure of the contacts e and f of the first relay 51 , the application of the control voltage to the gate circuit 80 is interrupted temporarily . if the gate circuit is operated to cause a current to flow through the chopper , the trip coil 120c is energized so that the contacts 120a and 120b will be opened . and a voltage almost equivalent to that due to commutation failure is applied through the contacts b and c of the first relay 51 and the resistor r 2 , to the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 . if in this case the detecting circuit means is operating properly , the thyristor s 1 is rendered on . accordingly , a current flows through the resistor r 1 , the primary circuit of the photocoupler 71 , the trip coil 120c and the thyristor s 1 so that the photocoupler 71 is turned on ( the value of the current in this case is predetermined to be smaller than the energizing current for the trip coil 120c ). when the photocoupler 71 is turned on , a current flows through its collector c , emitter e and the resistor r 4 into the base of the transistor 72 so that the transistor 72 is turned on to energize the second relay 70 . consequently , the contacts a &# 39 ; and b &# 39 ; and the contacts d &# 39 ; and e &# 39 ; of the second relay 70 are opened to deenergize the warning lamp 73 . once the second relay 70 is energized , it is not reset until the breaker 120 is again actuated by the first relay 51 , since the self - hold circuit including the contacts b &# 39 ; and c &# 39 ; of the relay 70 maintains the energized condition of the second relay 70 . thus , the lamp 73 continues to be unlit . the gate circuit 80 is restored to its normal state when the first relay 51 is reset . if there is a problem in the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 , the operation is opposite to that mentioned above , that is , even if the breaker 120 is closed , the detecting circuit means 3 does not operate so that the thyristor s 3 is not energized . the photocoupler 71 remains in the nonconductive state , the transistor 72 is not turned on , the second relay 70 is not energized and therefore the warning lamp 73 remains lit , indicating the existence of the abnormal condition . namely , when the warning lamp is lit for a short period and then deenergized after the breaker has been closed , the commutation failure detecting circuit means is at its normal operation , but the detecting circuit means is in the abnormal condition when the lamp is kept energized . if the lamp is not lit at all , the filament of the lamp or the associated electrical wiring should be checked . since the breaker is closed in advance of the start of the edv , the operation of the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 can be automatically checked before each start . alternatively , another condition for the check of the operation may be employed . namely , the operation of the commutation failure circuit means is checked when both the breaker and the key switch are closed . fig7 shows another embodiment of the present invention , as applied to such an edv as a battery - powered fork lift in which forward and reverse travel change - over switches 122 and 123 are provided as main switches in place of a circuit breaker . the series field coil 8 of the motor 9 may be connected in a change - over manner by the forward and the backward travelling switches 122 and 123 so that the motor 9 can be rotated in the forward or reverse direction . the change - over switches 122 and 123 are changed over in gear with a forward - backward change - over relay 125 . the forward - backward change - over relay 125 has a change - over switch 124 , the contacts a &# 34 ; and b &# 34 ; of which are alternatively selected to change over the switch 122 and 123 respectively . a transistor 126 is connected in series with the relay 125 and the base of the transistor 126 is connected with the anode of a thyristor s 3 which is controlled by a commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 . a first relay 51 , a second relay 70 , a photocoupler 71 and a gate circuit 80 in fig7 are the same as those shown in fig6 . when the key switch 21 is closed , a warning lamp 73 is lit and the first relay 51 is kept energized for a certain period to apply a voltage to the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 . as a result , the photocoupler 71 is turned on when the detecting circuit means 3 is at its normal operation , so that the transistor 72 is turned on , the second relay 70 is energized , the warning lamp 73 is extinguished , and the operation of the gate circuit 80 is interrupted temporarily . in the above described embodiments , the warning lamp is kept lit when there is an abnormal condition in the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 . however , other means may be used for the indication of the abnormality . moreover , in order to increase the safety of the edv , the edv may be stopped when the abnormality is detected . for example , the gate circuit 80 may be so designed as to be closed by the output of the second relay 70 for an abnormal output as well as for check . further , a control means such as a switch provided on the body of the edv may be utilized as a means for checking the operation of the commutation failure detecting circuit means 3 , in the different manner which has been mentioned above . | 1 |
fig1 shows components of digital content control system in which the present invention can operate . user 105 is an authorized user of the digital content control system of the present invention . many of the functions of digital content control system are carried out on digital content control server 150 . as appreciated by those skilled in the art , many of the functions described herein can be divided between the digital content control server 150 and the user &# 39 ; s local device 130 . further , as also appreciated by those skilled in the art , digital content control server 150 can be considered a “ cloud ” with respect to the user 105 and his local device 130 . the cloud can actually be comprised of several servers performing interconnected and distributed functions . the user 105 can connect to the digital content control server 150 via the internet 140 , a telephone network 145 ( e . g ., a wireless cellphone network ) or other suitable electronic communication channels . user 105 has an account on digital content control server 150 , which authorizes user 105 to use the digital content control system . associated with the user &# 39 ; s 105 account is the user &# 39 ; s 105 digital locker 120 located in a digital locker database 180 on the digital content control server 150 . as further described below , in the preferred embodiment , digital locker 120 contains links to copies of digital content 125 purchased or otherwise legally acquired by user 105 . indicia of rights to all copies of digital content 125 owned by user 105 are stored by reference in digital locker 120 . digital locker 120 is a remote online repository that is uniquely associated with the user &# 39 ; s 105 account . as appreciated by those skilled in the art , the actual copies of the digital content 125 purchased by user 105 are not necessarily stored in the user &# 39 ; s locker 120 , but rather the locker 120 stores an indication of the rights of the user to the particular content 125 and a link or other reference to the actual digital content 125 . typically , the actual copy of the digital content 125 is stored in another mass storage ( not shown ). the digital lockers 120 of all of the users 105 who have purchased a copy of a particular digital content 125 would point to this copy in mass storage . of course , back up copies of all digital content 125 are maintained for disaster recovery purposes . although only one example of digital content 125 is illustrated in this figure , it is appreciated that the digital content control server can contain millions of files 125 containing digital content . it is also contemplated that the digital content control server 150 can actually be comprised of several servers with access to a plurality of storage devices containing digital content 125 . as further appreciated by those skilled in the art , in conventional licensing programs , the user does not own the actual copy of the digital content , but has a license to use it . hereinafter , if reference is made to “ owning ” the digital content , it is understood what is meant is the license or right to use the content . user 105 can access his or her digital locker 120 using a local device 130 . local device 130 is an electronic device such as a personal computer , an ebook reader , a smart phone or other electronic device that the user 105 can use to access the digital content control server 150 . in a preferred embodiment , the local device 130 has been previously associated or registered with the user &# 39 ; s 105 account using user &# 39 ; s 105 account credentials . local device 130 provides the capability for user 105 to download the user &# 39 ; s copy of digital content 125 via his or her digital locker 120 . after digital content 125 is downloaded to local device 130 , user 105 can engage with the downloaded content locally , e . g ., read the book , listen to the music or watch the video . in a preferred embodiment , local device 130 includes a non - browser based user interface subsystem that allows user 105 to initiate the purchase of digital content 125 in a non - browser environment . through the device interface , the user 105 is automatically connected to the digital content control server 150 in a non - browser based environment . this connection to the digital content control server is a secure interface and can be through the telephone network 145 , typically a wireless cellular network for mobile devices . if user 105 is accessing his or her digital locker 120 using the internet 140 , local device 130 also includes a web account user interface subsystem . web account interface provides user 105 with browser - based access to his or her account and digital locker 120 over the internet 140 . web interface allows user 105 to initiate the purchase of digital content 125 in a browser based environment . local device 130 further includes an input output subsystem that provides the interface between the local device 130 and the remote server 150 . local device 130 also includes an operating system that is operable to control the operations of the local device 130 . fig1 further illustrates the detailed components of digital content control server 150 . digital content control server 150 handles front - end functions related to web server operations and user interactions with the web and device interfaces in connection with the user &# 39 ; s local devices 130 . digital content control server 150 also handles all backend functions related to managing accounts , maintaining digital locker records , maintaining content metadata and providing encryption services . digital content control server 150 provides both the browser based web interface and the non browser based device interface . user 105 may engage with the web interface or the device interface to initiate a purchase . digital content control server 150 employs web server 160 including web services interface software 170 to handle interactions between front - end components , such as device interface , web account interface , and web interface , and back - end database components of the system . web server 160 services include serving up the web pages 165 that comprise the web account interface and the web interface , and the underlying web services associated with the device interface . web services interface software 170 includes handling users &# 39 ; logins to their accounts and processing the initiation of and response to purchase requests . back - end database components of digital content control server 150 includes customer accounts database 175 , digital lockers database 180 , and content metadata database 135 . records for users &# 39 ; accounts are stored and managed in customer accounts database 175 . records for digital lockers 120 are stored and managed in digital lockers database 180 . content metadata database 135 serves as a source of metadata for individual digital content items 125 in digital content control server 150 . web services interface software 170 in the web server 160 interfaces with customer data services 185 to update customer accounts database 175 and digital lockers database 180 . customer data services 185 processes database updates such as maintaining and validating customer data in users &# 39 ; accounts . web services interface software 170 in the web server 160 also interfaces with content encryption services 155 to secure certain communications with local device 130 and to package digital content 125 for secure delivery to user 105 . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , digital content control server 150 is an ebook and periodical digital content control system . although the ebook and digital periodical applications are the preferred embodiment , as appreciated by those skilled in the art , the digital content control server 150 of the present invention is not limited to user 105 purchasing and using ebooks or digital publications . digital content control server 150 can be used for purchase and use of any digital content , such as digital movies , digital music , digital audio books , digital pictures or other downloadable digital content . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , local device 130 is a mobile electronic reader ( ereader ) device . the embodiment of the invention is not intended to limit local device 130 to a mobile ereader device . local device 130 may be a desktop personal computer or another type of mobile consumer electronic device , such as , for example , a cell phone , a laptop computer , a tablet computer or other mobile digital device . in preferred embodiment , the present invention operates on a user &# 39 ; s local device 130 . the menu or list of the present invention appears on the user interface of device 130 . the ‘ recently read ’ menu has two different basic states , either opened or closed . the closed state menu 210 is illustrated in fig2 a . in a preferred embodiment , the menus of the present invention appear in the corner on a home screen 200 on the device . the home screen 200 can be the basic home screen of the device 130 , the home screen on the native reader application , or the home screen of other applications . in the closed state menu 210 , the most recently read item 220 in any category is listed in the menu 210 . in order to open and read this item 220 , the user simply taps ( assuming a touch screen ) on the item 220 to open it . in a preferred embodiment , the item 220 is opened to the last page that was being viewed by the user 105 . below the most recently read item 220 is a button 230 , which expands the closed state ‘ recently read ’ menu 210 into the open state menu 240 as illustrated in fig2 b . as shown in fig2 b , the open , expanded ‘ recently read ’ menu 240 on interface 200 includes categories 250 , 260 , for different types of materials . category 250 is the book category , and lists the book 220 most recently read by the user 105 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 b , only the most recent book read by the user is listed , as it is less likely that the user would have two unfinished books at any given time ( as opposed to two or more unfinished newspapers or magazines .) one of the functions of the present invention is to allow the user 105 to easily and quickly locate and open the material that she wants to read . this is most likely the material that she has already started reading . tapping on the title of the category , e . g ., books 250 opens the user &# 39 ; s library application on device 130 to the book section , where the user 105 can view of her books . similarly , tapping on the periodical 260 link opens the library to the periodical section where the user can view her periodicals . in the examples of the items read by user 105 illustrated in fig2 b , a hypothetical user 105 read the following items in the following order over the weekend : as shown in fig2 b , book 220 , angels & amp ; demons , is at the top of the list in the books category 250 as it was the book most recently opened by the user 105 . similarly , pc magazine 262 is at the top of the periodical category 260 as it was most recently read periodical . below pc magazine 262 the april 13th issue of the la times 264 is listed and then the april 12th edition of the new yorker magazine 266 . although the user 105 read the april 12th issue of the la times more recently than the issue of the new yorker magazine 266 , in the preferred embodiment , the present invention does not list it on menu 240 since the april 13th issue of the la times 264 is already issued . the operating assumption is that the user can use other navigating tools from the april 13th issue of the la times 264 or the periodicals section of the library application to gain access to the april 12th issue of the same periodical . for example , the present invention has a “ find related items in the series ” search feature . this search feature allows the user , for example , to find yesterday &# 39 ; s newspaper while reading today &# 39 ; s newspaper . button 270 can be used to collapse the open menu 240 back in the closed state 210 as illustrated in fig2 a . further , tapping any place other than on menu 240 on screen 200 closes menu 240 . continuing with the example of the hypothetical user 105 , this same user continued to read the following items in this order : as shown in fig3 a , in the closed state the user &# 39 ; s ‘ recently read ” menu 210 lists the book 300 “ act like a lady , think like a man ” by steve harvey as it was the last item read by the user 105 . if the user 105 clicks on the expand button 230 on the closed menu 210 , the reading list is expanded as illustrated in fig3 b . as seen in fig3 b , the pc magazine 262 was pushed down in the periodical category 260 as the user subsequently read the san jose mercury news 268 and new york times 269 newspapers . in the present embodiment , newspapers and magazine are both grouped in the single generic category periodicals 260 . as described above , the periodical category 260 can further be broken down into sub - categories such as newspapers and magazines . in one embodiment , the sub - categories are configurable by the user 105 . as further shown in fig3 b , the dan brown book angels & amp ; demons ( 220 in fig2 a , 2 b ) was pushed off the list 240 because the user had subsequently opened three other books 300 , 302 , 303 . in a preferred embodiment , each of the categories , e . g ., books 250 , periodicals 260 , has a predefined number of recently read items that it can display . in one embodiment , the number of items that can be displayed is configurable by the user 105 . as further shown in fig3 b , the menu 240 also includes a category for files 310 . this category 310 includes other types of items such as pdf or rtf files or other types of files that can be opened and accessed by the user 105 using the device 130 . some of the rules adopted for formatting the menus 210 , 240 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention are described in table 1 illustrated in fig4 . the menu of the present invention makes it easy to return to books , magazines , or newspapers last read . the present invention thus prevents periodicals , which tend to be read more frequently , from pushing books off of the ‘ recently reading now ’ list . fig5 illustrates an exemplary local device 130 . as appreciated by those skilled the art , the local device 130 can take many forms capable of operating the present invention . as previously described , in a preferred embodiment the local device 130 is a mobile electronic device , and in an even more preferred embodiment device 130 is an electronic reader device . electronic device 130 can include control circuitry 500 , storage 510 , memory 520 , input / output (“ i / o ”) circuitry 530 , communications circuitry 540 , and display 550 . in some embodiments , one or more of the components of electronic device 130 can be combined or omitted , e . g ., storage 510 and memory 520 may be combined . as appreciated by those skilled in the art , electronic device 130 can include other components not combined or included in those shown in fig5 , e . g ., a power supply such as a battery , an input mechanism , etc . electronic device 130 can include any suitable type of electronic device . for example , electronic device 130 can include a portable electronic device that the user may hold in his or her hand , such as a digital media player , a personal e - mail device , a personal data assistant (“ pda ”), a cellular telephone , a handheld gaming device , a tablet device or an ebook reader . as another example , electronic device 130 can include a larger portable electronic device , such as a laptop computer . as yet another example , electronic device 130 can include a substantially fixed electronic device , such as a desktop computer . control circuitry 500 can include any processing circuitry or processor operative to control the operations and performance of electronic device 130 . for example , control circuitry 500 can be used to run operating system applications , firmware applications , media playback applications , media editing applications , or any other application . control circuitry 500 can drive the display 550 and process inputs received from a user interface , e . g ., the display 550 if it is a touch screen . storage 510 can include , for example , one or more storage mediums including a hard - drive , solid state drive , flash memory , permanent memory such as rom , any other suitable type of storage component , or any combination thereof . storage 510 can store , for example , media content , e . g ., ebooks , music and video files , application data , e . g ., software for implementing functions on electronic device 130 , firmware , user preference information data , e . g ., content preferences , authentication information , e . g . libraries of data associated with authorized users , transaction information data , e . g ., information such as credit card information , wireless connection information data , e . g ., information that can enable electronic device 130 to establish a wireless connection , subscription information data , e . g ., information that keeps track of podcasts or television shows or other media a user subscribes to , contact information data , e . g ., telephone numbers and email addresses , calendar information data , and any other suitable data or any combination thereof . memory 520 can include cache memory , semi - permanent memory such as ram , and / or one or more different types of memory used for temporarily storing data . in some embodiments , memory 520 can also be used for storing data used to operate electronic device applications , or any other type of data that can be stored in storage 510 . in some embodiments , memory 520 and storage 510 can be combined as a single storage medium . i / o circuitry 530 can be operative to convert , and encode / decode , if necessary analog signals and other signals into digital data . in some embodiments , i / o circuitry 530 can also convert digital data into any other type of signal , and vice - versa . for example , i / o circuitry 530 can receive and convert physical contact inputs , e . g ., from a multi - touch screen , i . e ., display 550 , physical movements , e . g ., from a mouse or sensor , analog audio signals , e . g ., from a microphone , or any other input . the digital data can be provided to and received from control circuitry 500 , storage 510 , and memory 520 , or any other component of electronic device 130 . although i / o circuitry 530 is illustrated in fig5 as a single component of electronic device 130 , several instances of i / o circuitry 530 can be included in electronic device 130 . electronic device 130 can include any suitable interface or component for allowing a user to provide inputs to i / o circuitry 530 . for example , electronic device 130 can include any suitable input mechanism , such as a button , keypad , dial , a click wheel , or a touch screen , e . g ., display 550 . in some embodiments , electronic device 130 can include a capacitive sensing mechanism , or a multi - touch capacitive sensing mechanism . in some embodiments , electronic device 130 can include specialized output circuitry associated with output devices such as , for example , one or more audio outputs . the audio output can include one or more speakers , e . g ., mono or stereo speakers , built into electronic device 130 , or an audio component that is remotely coupled to electronic device 130 , e . g ., a headset , headphones or earbuds that can be coupled to device 130 with a wire or wirelessly . display 550 includes the display and display circuitry for providing a display visible to the user . for example , the display circuitry can include a screen , e . g ., an lcd screen , that is incorporated in electronics device 130 . in some embodiments , the display circuitry can include a coder / decoder ( codec ) to convert digital media data into analog signals . for example , the display circuitry or other appropriate circuitry within electronic device 1 can include video codecs , audio codecs , or any other suitable type of codec . the display circuitry also can include display driver circuitry , circuitry for driving display drivers , or both . the display circuitry can be operative to display content , e . g ., media playback information , application screens for applications implemented on the electronic device 130 , information regarding ongoing communications operations , information regarding incoming communications requests , or device operation screens , under the direction of control circuitry 500 . alternatively , the display circuitry can be operative to provide instructions to a remote display . communications circuitry 540 can include any suitable communications circuitry operative to connect to a communications network and to transmit communications , e . g ., data from electronic device 130 to other devices within the communications network . communications circuitry 540 can be operative to interface with the communications network using any suitable communications protocol such as , for example , wi - fi , e . g ., a 802 . 11 protocol , bluetooth , radio frequency systems , e . g ., 900 mhz , 1 . 4 ghz , and 5 . 6 ghz communication systems , infrared , gsm , gsm plus edge , cdma , quadband , and other cellular protocols , voip , or any other suitable protocol . electronic device 130 can include one more instances of communications circuitry 540 for simultaneously performing several communications operations using different communications networks , although only one is shown in fig5 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing . for example , electronic device 130 can include a first instance of communications circuitry 540 for communicating over a cellular network , and a second instance of communications circuitry 540 for communicating over wi - fi or using bluetooth . in some embodiments , the same instance of communications circuitry 540 can be operative to provide for communications over several communications networks . in some embodiments , electronic device 130 can be coupled a host device such as digital content control server 150 for data transfers , synching the communications device , software or firmware updates , providing performance information to a remote source , e . g ., providing riding characteristics to a remote server , or performing any other suitable operation that can require electronic device 130 to be coupled to a host device . several electronic devices 130 can be coupled to a single host device using the host device as a server . alternatively or additionally , electronic device 130 can be coupled to several host devices , e . g ., for each of the plurality of the host devices to serve as a backup for data stored in electronic device 130 . although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof , many other variations and other uses will be apparent to those skilled in the art . it is preferred , therefore , that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein , but only by the gist and scope of the disclosure . | 6 |
fig1 a shows a musical instrument 10 according to one aspect of the present disclosure . in this example , the musical instrument is an acoustic guitar 10 . the guitar 10 includes a plurality of musical components , such as a body 12 having a cavity 14 , a neck 16 , a bottom 18 , a top 20 , sides 22 , a sound hole 24 , a bridge 26 , strings 28 , a head 30 , tuning keys 32 , and a neck block 34 extending partially into the cavity 14 . as shown in the cutaway of the guitar 10 , a transmitter housing 35 is permanently secured inside the body 12 of the guitar 10 . fig1 b shows one example of a transmitter housing 35 having a location transmitting device 36 and an electric power source 38 electrically coupled to each other . the location transmitting device 36 may include a location sensing unit 40 and a wireless transmitter 42 electrically coupled to each other . in this example , the transmitter housing 35 is permanently secured to the neck block 34 inside the cavity 14 of the body 12 . it will be appreciated that the location transmitting device 36 and the electric power source 38 may be positioned in separate areas inside the guitar 10 and electrically coupled to each other . accordingly , the location transmitting device 36 is in a position in the guitar 10 that requires removal of a musical component of the musical instrument in order to remove the location transmitting device 36 , such as removal and / or destruction of the bottom 18 , the top 20 , the sides 20 , the strings 28 , and / or the neck 16 . if any of these parts are removed or destroyed , the musical qualities of the instrument are altered or destroyed . in some aspects , the location sensing unit 40 of the location transmitting device 36 is capable of sensing a location of the guitar 10 and communicating such location to the wireless transmitter 42 . accordingly , the wireless transmitter 42 outputs a location of the guitar 10 in the event the musical instrument is lost or stolen , for example . in some aspects , the guitar 10 includes a power supply line 44 and a power supply port 46 electrically coupled to each other . the power supply line 44 may be coupled to the electric power source 38 in the transmitter housing 35 . the power supply port 46 may be coupled to the side 22 of the guitar 10 and may extend exterior to the side 22 to electrically couple the electric power source 38 to an external electric power source for recharging . in some aspects , the transmitter housing 35 is positioned at least partially in the guitar 10 in a position that does not noticeably interfere with the acoustic properties of the musical instrument . accordingly , the transmitter housing 35 may be very small . furthermore , the transmitter housing 35 may be partially or wholly positioned inside of the neck block 34 , or the components inside the transmitter housing 35 may be spatially separated throughout various components inside the guitar 10 . fig2 a shows a musical instrument 110 according to one aspect of the present disclosure . in this example , the musical instrument is an acoustic guitar 110 . the guitar 110 includes a plurality of musical components , such as a body 112 having a cavity 114 , a neck 116 , a bottom 118 , sides 122 , strings 128 , a head 130 , tuning keys 132 , and a neck block 134 . as shown in the cross sectional cutaway view of the guitar 110 , the neck 116 includes a neck cavity 148 that may be milled or otherwise formed during or after the manufacturing process of the guitar 110 , and then may be sealed off from access . the neck cavity 148 includes a transmitter housing 135 permanently installed inside the neck 116 of the guitar 110 . accordingly , after the transmitter housing 135 is installed in the neck cavity 148 , manufacturing of the guitar 110 can be completed , thereby sealing the neck cavity 148 indefinitely . thus , the electric power source 138 is not electrically coupleable to an external power source for recharging . the electric power source 138 may include a sufficient charge that will last for many years , or it may be charged through indirect electrical charging , such as electromagnetic induction . as shown on fig2 b , the transmitter housing 135 includes a location transmitting device 136 and an electric power source 138 electrically coupled to each other . the location transmitting device 136 may include a location sensing unit 140 and a wireless transmitter 142 electrically coupled to each other . accordingly , the location transmitting device 136 is in a position in the guitar 110 that requires removal and / or destruction of a musical component of the guitar 110 in order to remove the location transmitting device 136 from the neck cavity 148 , or otherwise tamper with the device 136 . in some aspects , the location sensing unit 140 of the location transmitting device 136 is capable of sensing a location of the guitar 110 and communicating such location to the wireless transmitter 142 . accordingly , the wireless transmitter 142 outputs a location of the guitar 110 in the event the musical instrument is lost or stolen , for example . fig3 a shows a musical instrument 210 according to one aspect of the present disclosure . in this example , the musical instrument is an electric guitar 210 . the guitar 210 includes a plurality of musical components , such as a body 212 having a neck 216 , strings 228 , and a pickup 222 covering a cavity 248 in the body 212 . as with many electric and hybrid - electric guitars , the pickup 222 is secured to the strings 228 and removably fastened to the body 212 with a plurality of fasteners . the pickup is the component that senses the vibration of the strings and sends a signal to the amplifier to output the sound . as shown by the cutaway of the guitar 210 , a transmitter housing 235 is permanently installed inside the cavity 248 of the guitar 210 . the transmitter housing 235 may include the features of fig1 b . for example , fig1 b illustrates that the transmitter housing 235 of the guitar 210 of fig3 a may include a location transmitting device 36 and an electric power source 38 electrically coupled to each other . the location transmitting device 36 may include a location sensing unit 40 and a wireless transmitter 42 electrically coupled to each other . the location sensing unit 40 is capable of sensing a location of the guitar 210 and communicating such location to the wireless transmitter 42 to wirelessly output a location of the guitar 210 in the event the musical instrument is lost or stolen , for example . the features of fig2 b may also be combinable with the transmitter housing 235 of the guitar 210 of fig3 a . accordingly , the transmitter housing 235 is positioned underneath and adjacent the pickup 222 in a position that requires removal of at least the strings 228 and pickup 222 and in order to remove or tamper with the location transmitting device 235 . in some aspects , the guitar 210 includes a power supply line 244 electrically coupled to the transmitter housing 235 and to an output jack 250 of the electric guitar . in this manner , electric power may be supplied to the electrical power supply in the transmitter housing 235 when an input line is coupled to the output jack 250 , for example . in some aspects , the transmitter housing 235 is positioned in the guitar 210 in a position that does not noticeably interfere with the acoustic and electric properties of the guitar 210 , such as below the pickup 222 or in a formed cavity in another portion of the guitar 210 , for example . fig3 b shows a musical instrument 211 according to another aspect . in this example , a well - known les paul design guitar 211 is provided having the same or similar features with respect to the description of fig3 a , as indicated by the same reference numerals of fig3 a . the guitar 211 may be combinable with features described with reference to fig1 , 2 , and 4 . as shown by the cutaway of the guitar 211 , a transmitter housing 235 is permanently installed inside a cavity 248 underneath a pickup 222 of the guitar 211 . the transmitter housing 235 may include the features of fig1 b . accordingly , the transmitter housing 235 is in a position that requires removal of at least the strings 228 and pickup 222 and in order to remove or tamper with the location transmitting device 235 . fig4 is a musical instrument monitoring system 300 according to one aspect of the present disclosure . the system 300 includes a plurality of guitars 310 in proximity to each other at a location l . each guitar 310 includes a location transmitting device 336 permanently secured inside the guitar 310 in a position that requires removal of a musical component of the guitar in order to remove the location transmitting device , such as described with reference to fig1 a - 3b . each location transmitting device 336 may include a location sensing unit and a wireless transmitter , such as described with reference to fig1 a - 3b . the system 300 may include a computing system 312 in proximity to the location l . the computing system 312 may be capable of receiving and transmitting information obtained from the transmitter of one or more of the location transmitting devices 336 in the plurality of guitars 310 . based on such information , the computing system 312 may determine and monitor the location of one or more of the guitars 310 . in some aspects , the location l is inside or near a building b , for example . the computing system 312 may be coupled to a wireless router 314 inside the building b . the wireless router 314 may be capable of receiving information from the location transmitting devices 336 for transmittal of such information to the computing system 312 . accordingly , the wireless router 314 may be constantly or intermittently determining and monitoring the location of the guitars 310 such that if one or more guitars 310 are removed from building b , the wireless router 314 transmits a signal to the computing system 312 . in some aspects , the computing system 312 is in wireless communication with a mobile device 317 to alert the owner of a location of the guitars 310 , for example . in some aspects , the wireless router 314 detects other information pertaining to the guitars 310 , such as a state of charge of the electric power source to alert the owner when power levels are low , for example . in some aspects , the system 300 includes a means for wireless communication between the guitars 310 and other systems . for example , the location transmitting devices 336 may be capable of outputting a signal to a transmission tower 316 , for example . the tower 316 may be a cellular tower that transmits the signal to the mobile device 317 and / or to a computing system 318 . the computing system 318 may transmit the information to the mobile device 317 . as another example , the location transmitting devices 336 may be capable of outputting a signal having information to a satellite 320 , for example . the satellite 320 may be in space and may transmit the information to the mobile device 317 and / or to the computing system 318 , for example . in some aspects , the information transmitted through the system 300 comprises at least one of a location of the guitar ( s ), a state of charge of the energy power source in the guitars , a proximity of the guitar ( s ) relative to the location l and / or the building b , and data pertaining to a type of guitar ( s ) that may have been removed from the location l and / or the building b . thus , when one or more guitars 310 are removed from the location l and / or the building b , the owner ( or other person ) can immediately receive an alert on the computing system 312 and / or the mobile device 317 that one or more guitars 310 have been stolen , for example . the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments . aspects of the embodiments can be modified , if necessary , to employ concepts of the various patents , applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments . these and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above - detailed description . in general , in the following claims , the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims , but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled . accordingly , the claims are not limited by the disclosure . | 6 |
fig1 illustrates an overview of the present invention as employed with a robotic multi - tool device 10 , such as manufactured by asea company of sweden . the robotic device is equipped with a pneumatic - electrical rotating head to which a rotatable vacuum tool 14 is attached . the tool 14 basically includes an air - electrical manifold 16 which mounts , via arm 17 , a vacuum part handling device 18 . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , the vacuum part handling device 18 individually handles a supply of brackets which are stored in magazine 20 . as each bracket is delivered from the magazine , it is displaced over a double - sided adhesive tape applicator 22 prior to its being picked up by the vacuum part handling device 18 . as will be explained in greater detail in connection with fig4 and 5 , the applied adhesive tape enables the bracket to be temporarily and securely positioned in place against structural members prior to securement of the bracket by fasteners . fig2 illustrates in detail the magazine 20 and the vacuum part handling device 18 . the magazine 20 is seen to store a number of linearly positioned l - brackets 24 , which are held in a loaded condition by flanges 23 and 25 which form an elongated channel . the flanges are spaced to permit the brackets to exit from the magazine one at a time . as each bracket is dispensed by magazine 20 , it becomes positioned at an exit location generally indicated by reference numeral 26 . in this position , the vacuum part handling device 18 may be brought into contact with the bracket and deliver it from the magazine to a selected fabrication location . the vacuum part handling device 18 is seen to include a base shoe 28 connected to an outward end of arm 17 , the opposite end of the arm being connected to manifold 16 . at the illustrated bottom portion of base shoe 28 is a vacuum foot 30 having a rubber pad 32 characterized by openings 34 , which allow vacuum forced securement of a bracket to the vacuum foot when the latter is lowered into contact with a bracket at location 26 . in order to serially feed one bracket to position 26 at any instant of time , a spring - biased solenoid - driven plunger 36 normally protrudes through an opening 38 in magazine flange 25 . when the plunger 36 is normally biased through the opening 38 , the line of brackets 24 are prevented from gravitationally feeding down to the loading location 26 of the magazine . upon actuation of a driving solenoid , the plunger 36 is retracted thereby enabling the lowermost positioned bracket to move from between flanges 23 and 25 to location 26 . the bracket is stopped at location 26 due to a spring - loaded gate 48 extending upwardly from a generally rectangular opening formed in the lower surface 50 of inclined magazine 20 . when a bracket is retained in location 26 , arm 17 of the vacuum part handling device lowers the vacuum foot 30 against the horizontally illustrated flange 44 of the bracket at location 26 . when this step is completed , pneumatically driven plunger 40 is extended outwardly to urge the bracket at location 26 against the vacuum foot 30 . specifically , flange 42 of the bracket is urged against the rubber pad 32 where it is held by vacuum pressure . thereafter , the vacuum part handling device 28 moves the bracket from location 26 to a double - sided adhesive tape applicator , as generally indicated by reference numeral 22 , the latter being located at the lower end of magazine 20 . fig3 illustrates the displacement of a bracket 24 across the tape applicator 22 . the applicator includes a supply roll 56 , which supplies a length of double - sided adhesive tape 51 to a smaller take - up roller 52 . the rolls 56 and 52 are respectively mounted to parallel spaced shafts 58 and 54 . as the lower flange 44 of bracket 24 is about to leave the take - up roller 52 , the rear edge 60 of the bracket is tilted downward against the tape thereby causing it to cut the tape cleanly . a subsequent identical application of double - sided tape will then occur for the next bracket which is moved against the take - up roller 52 . with a length of adhesive tape attached against the lower - illustrated flange 44 of bracket 24 , the bracket may now be moved toward its final destination , as illustrated in fig4 . in fig4 the arm 17 and the vacuum part handling device 18 are illustrated as having been rotated so as to allow the vacuum retained bracket flange 44 to be pressed against structural member 64 , which is located at some distance from magazine 20 . the conclusion of this displacement is illustrated in fig5 . prior to reaching the final deployed position as shown in fig5 the vacuum foot 30 moves the bracket flange 42 , which is not prepared with adhesive tape , against surface 62 of a first structural member . pneumatic lines 66 and 67 operate plunger 65 , to which vacuum foot 30 is attached . this permits the vacuum foot 30 to gently press bracket 24 against second structural member 64 . vacuum line 36 is then made inoperative so that the bracket 24 may be released from the vacuum foot 30 . upon retraction of plunger 65 , the vacuum foot 30 withdraws and bracket 24 will be temporarily secured at a precise location to the adjacent structural members 62 and 64 . this enables the robotic device to return to a home position and repeat the operation for the placement of the next bracket in magazine 20 . after the described invention is successfully employed , fasteners ( not shown ) may be precisely located in fastener holes ( not shown ) formed in the brackets . the subsequent deployment of fasteners may occur with the same robotic device as is employed with the brackets , or a separate robotic device . the particular means of fastening the bracket is not part of the present invention . although the present invention has been described in terms of temporarily securing brackets , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to brackets . rather , the present invention may be employed with a host of mechanical connectors . further , although the present invention has been described in the environment of aircraft fabrication , it is to be understood that it is equally applicable for deployment of connection devices to a wide variety of assemblies . it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described herein , for obvious modifications will occur to persons skilled in the art . | 1 |
the term “ berry ” is any plant material suitable for producing a color neutralizing agent . examples of berry include , but not limited to , blueberries , coffee berries , coffee beans , green tea , pomegranates , bilberries , raspberries , black raspberries , cherries , saskatoons , serviceberries , strawberries , chokecherries , huckleberries , buffaloberries , grapes , blue / purple grapes of many varieties , goose berries , bearberries , moonseed berries , mountain currant ( ribes novadense ), teas , spinach , asparagus , uva ursi , or mixtures thereof . the terms “ extract ( s )” and “ extraction ” refer to any method of rendering in liquid form any part of a plant or natural product . the term extract can include the resins from plants . means to produce extracts and resins can include mashing , grinding , blending , tumbling , stirring and the like . extraction can optionally involve , but does not require , the use of solvents such as water , acetone , ethanol and isopropanol . extraction can optionally involve reducing a plant directly into a fine powder form , such as by fine grinding or milling thereby reducing the plant to small particles such as micron or nano sized particles that can be mixed directly into a lotion without the need for the use of traditional solvent based extraction procedures . the term “ lotion ” means a solution that is more viscous than water , such as a hand lotion , a cream , an ointment and other forms of moisturizers . lotions can be applied to the skin from a tube , a pump applicator , a spray device , or related applicators . the term “ neutralizing agent ,” means the extract made from the berry . in some places herein this term is also known as “ neutralizing color .” the term “ neutralized turmeric ” or “ neutralized turmeric base ” refers to a composition comprising both turmeric extract and neutralizing agent . neutralized turmeric is colorless when applied to human skin , including skin with little natural color . neutralized turmeric can be used by itself , in concentrated or dilute form and it can be combined with other liquids or solutions , such as commercially available creams and lotions . the term “ organic solvent ” or “ organic solution ” is any hydrocarbon based solvent that is also soluble in water . examples include , but are not limited to , simple alcohols , c 1 - c 8 alcohols , c 1 - c 4 alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , isopropanol ( ipa ), butanol , isobutanol , acetone , dmso , and the like , either alone or in combination , mixed in any ratio , with or without water . one example of organic solvent is ethanol and isopropanol , with or without acetone and water . another example of an organic solvent is a mixture of equal amounts of ethanol , isopropyl alcohol ( ipa ) and acetone . the term “ solution ” means any material that can be spread on a surface easily and that contains enough water to measure the solution &# 39 ; s ph . a solution may be cloudy or clear , have color or not , be thick and viscous like a heavy cream or thin as water . as used herein , solution does not mean free of precipitates . the term “ turmeric ” means any part of any of the plants in the turmeric family . turmeric is known to contain curcumin and curcuminoids . turmeric extracts can contain hundreds of compounds , in addition to curcumin and curcuminoids . the term “ turmeric extract ” means the extracted components of turmeric , in solution , after extraction with a solvent . the solvent can be water , or water based , an organic solvent , or any combination of common solvents . to make turmeric extract , one starts with whole turmeric plant parts , or dry powdered turmeric , commercially available . the whole turmeric is extracted with solvent and the solid residue left after extraction is discarded . the turmeric extract can be concentrated or dilute . turmeric “ extract ” can also be made of whole turmeric plant that is ground an milled to such fine particle size that it can be directly mixed with the solutions and creams of this invention . skin care products of the present invention are solutions and lotions which contain turmeric extract and a color neutralizing agent . the solutions may be used for the treatment of wounds , burns , ( including sun burns ), and psoriasis . they may be used as or in body lotions , moisturizers , antiseptic agents , beauty aids , allergic reaction formulations , anti - inflammatory products , anti - cancer products , anti - aging products , anti - oxidant products , and osteoporosis products , including the use as a supplement to vitamin d . the skin care products also provide sun and uv light protection and could be given a sun protection factor ( spf ) rating or equivalent thereof because they protect the skin from harmful ultraviolet ( uv ) rays including uva and uvb . this invention allows for the use of turmeric and all of its active ingredients , including those with staining properties to be used at any concentrations , but especially at therapeutic levels or amounts or concentrations and thus provide the therapeutic effects and benefits of the turmeric but without unwanted color from those aspects of turmeric which act as a dye to skin and clothes . this dye is a property of turmeric tolerated by some for thousands of years . now , with the invention disclosed here , for the first time , this chemical turmeric which was also previously a dye , can be used without the yellowing of skin and fabrics . this invention describes examples of turmeric in creams and lotions , all of which would be yellow staining were it not for the color neutralizing effects of the berry solutions described herein . the therapeutic properties of turmeric are well known , both by ingestion and with topical applications . previous to this invention however when therapeutic levels of turmeric were used in lotions they were staining . using the descriptions provided herein topical formulations of turmeric can be prepared at therapeutic levels and used even by people with fair skin with none of the typical staining that comes with turmeric lotions . therapeutic levels of turmeric in topical applications will vary depending on the condition to be treated and sensitivity of the patient . one skilled in the art would be able to determine suitable levels for individual patients . a treating physician or skin care specialist will typically start with lower levels and increase to higher levels when it is established that the patient has no adverse reaction . turmeric has a very good safety record with few known side effects . it is usually extremely well tolerated , except when rejected because of its staining properties . therapeutic levels of turmeric in lotions will typically range from about 0 . 5 % to 1 . 5 % turmeric extract the final skin care product . see the sections below entitled , “ preparation of the turmeric extract ” and “ final products .” the incorporation of turmeric in topical formulations typically results in yellow formulations that give a yellow stain to skin and clothes . since yellowing of the skin and clothes is objectionable to many people , topical applications of turmeric , especially in the west , are limited . it is possible for a person to ingest turmeric , but adequate skin treatment is difficult to achieve by oral administration of turmeric . this is due to the poor absorption of turmeric and limited concentrations available to the skin from internal use . the present invention discovers a topical lotion containing turmeric at concentrations similar to those used for thousands of years in india and china to provide therapeutic benefits for a wide variety of diseases and ailments , only without the yellow staining , or indeed , without any staining of any color , to the skin or clothes . the skin care products of the present invention have been show to exhibit , in addition to sun and light protection properties , anti - inflammatory activity for osteoarthritis , relief from psoriasis , and as an anti - infective for treating skin infections associated with acne , wounds and other symptoms of infection . the skin care products of the present invention can be in any form suitable for topical application and include , but are not limited to , creams , lotions , ointments , spray solutions , and the like . turmeric formulated into various solutions , liquids , lotions , creams etc . that no longer have the staining properties of turmeric are referred to herein as , “ neutralized turmeric ”, “ color neutralized turmeric ” or “ neutralized turmeric base .” traditionally , if a therapeutic effective quantity of turmeric extract is mixed with common lotions , ointments , or the like , the resultant mixture appears yellow . if applied to a person &# 39 ; s skin , it will stain the skin and any clothes that contact the skin . using the procedures described herein , one can now make a turmeric lotion with high levels of turmeric extract that will have an “ off white ” color ( or it can be any color , including blue , tan , brown , pink or other color ) but when applied to the skin , surprisingly , it no longer possesses the yellow staining properties of turmeric and turmeric extract . it also doesn &# 39 ; t stain skin or clothes with the color from the color neutralizing agent source , the berry , whether it is blueberry , raspberry , grape , tea or any other plant . turmeric is available in raw form and as a dry powder . turmeric can vary in its concentration of active ingredients due to growing conditions and harvesting techniques . it is preferable to use a known source and standard of turmeric . a suitable powder source is mccormick & amp ; co ., among others , and a suitable source of turmeric extract is camden gray company , among others . dry turmeric powder is a suitable starting material . turmeric extract may be prepared as follows : a quantity of turmeric powder is weighed and a known weight of such powder is added to a solvent system for the extraction of the active ingredients of the turmeric . appropriate solvent systems are well known . turmeric can be extracted using many different solvents , solvent systems and techniques . water , ethanol and isopropyl are frequently used , either alone or in combination , because they are often allowed by governments to be used in the manufacture of foodstuffs . techniques for using these and other solvents , including supercritical fluid extraction ( sfe ), low pressure solvent extraction ( lpse ), soxhlet extraction ( soxhlet ), hydrodistillation ( hd ) and others are known . a good review of a few methods and solvents is available in the journal of agriculture and food chemistry ( 2003 ), vol 51 , pp 660 - 6611 , titled , “ comparison of yield , composition and antioxidant activity of turmeric ( curcuma longa l .) extracts obtained using various techniques ” by mara e . m . braga et al are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety . additional means of making turmeric extracts are possible and others will be developed . some nontraditional ways of making an “ extract ” will likely involve direct micronizing the turmeric plant and producing a fine powder such that most of the active ingredients of the turmeric can directly into solutions and lotions as if a traditional solvent extract was prepared . the addition of acetone to ethanol and ipa is not required , but it works especially well . water could also be used . a typical procedure suggested here combines 100 cc of ethanol with 100 cc of isopropyl alcohol and 100 cc of acetone with 30 grams of turmeric powder . however , other procedures and concentrations may be used . in this document the solvent system just described or an equivalent system shall be referred to as an example of an “ organic solvent ” and one skilled in the art could easily make variations of the ethanol , isopropyl alcohol , acetone examples described here . “ organic solvent ” is any solvent that uses any hydrocarbon having water miscible properties and commonly called a solvent or any combination of solvents , such as simple alcohols like methanol , ethanol , propanol , butanol , acetones , and the like , either alone or in combination , mixed in any ratio , an example being a mixture of equal amounts of ethanol , isopropyl alcohol and acetone . to prepare turmeric extract , whole turmeric or turmeric power ( obtained commercially or ground ) is extracted . the turmeric extract can vary from 0 . 5 g / 100 cc to 9 . 5 g / 100 cc of extracted turmeric in the solution of the extract , depending on the method of extraction and the type and quality of the whole turmeric used . the concentration may be from 4 to 8 g / 100 cc . these amounts can also be described in percent terms . used here , 1 g of turmeric in 100 cc is 1 % turmeric ( extracted ) in the turmeric extract . it should be understood that the actual concentration of turmeric in the turmeric extract can vary ; it can be from 4 to 10 %, 4 to 25 %, 10 to 15 %, 10 to 20 %, 9 to 12 %, 30 to 40 %. in some applications lower amounts may be useful , such as 4 to 8 %, 4 to 6 % or 6 to 8 %, or 6 to 12 % turmeric in the extract , or any combination of these percentages . here , “ cc ” and “ ml ” have their common definitions and they mean about the same thing and they are used interchangeably . higher concentrations of turmeric extract tend to be unstable and it is recommended that if the turmeric extract is to be stored , its concentration should be 10 % or less , which may be stored indefinitely . stability has been seen for several years . the neutral compositions are useful either by themselves or to make the final skin care product . see descriptions below under , “ final products ” for descriptions of how the turmeric extract can be made into lotions and creams and especially therapeutically effective lotions and creams that are useful for the prevention and treatment of various skin ailments and disorders including sun and light protection , therapy for sunburn , burn relief , anti - inflammatory activity , anti - inflammatory activity for osteoarthritis , relief from psoriasis , and as an anti - infective for treating skin infections , as an anti - infective for treating skin infections associated with acne , wounds and other symptoms of infection , either as prevention or treatment . the turmeric extract can be made into a lotion and later neutralized or it can remain in the organic solution until neutralization . it is best to neutralize turmeric first , before putting into a lotion for most applications . the neutral composition is made by adding turmeric extract to compositions rich in colored natural plant products . the active ingredient of these natural plant products may vary ; it is thought to be various types and forms of natural phytochemicals and some of them may be characterized as anthocyanins and or bioflavonoids . descriptions of their actual compositions are important only if attempts are made to practice the invention with synthetic , artificial or previously isolated components equivalent to those described herein . use of such compounds would be routine given this disclosure . any suggestion as to the chemical structure or name of these phytochemicals should not in any way be used to limit this invention . the practice of the invention does not in any way require chemical structure or formula . the active components of the neutralizing agent are in those extracts made from the deep colors from plants . preferred plant sources are those known to be rich in color ; the more potent the neutralizing agent , the deeper and darker the plant color . blueberries , for example , when properly squeezed , crushed , mashed or ground have a lot of neutralizing agent . the neutralizing agent can be any color that is not white or light . it can even be yellow , a color , for example , found in sasafras . preferred neutralizing agents are blue , purple , red , black , green and by another name and in any combination or variation . surprisingly and unexpectedly , these highly colored materials can be properly combined with a turmeric extract to produce a lotion that is not staining to the skin , nor does it impart any color to the skin or to clothes that contact skin after recent application of the lotions . these highly colored materials , or “ neutralizing agents ,” are frequently staining when used by themselves or when mixed with other neutralizing agents . surprisingly , the inventive compositions described herein are colorless when applied to the skin but they retain the beneficial properties of lotions or creams that contain turmeric . the intermediates and final products are themselves not clear ; they may have an off - white color , which can range from cloudy to milky blue and even pink , but when applied to the skin , even to fair skin , they are colorless and non - staining . this document refers to extracted plant compositions as “ neutralizing agent ( s ).” the neutralizing agents neutralize and or mask the distinctive and powerful yellow color from turmeric , without adversely affecting its beneficial properties . the neutralizing agents can be up to 40 % of the skin care product . in different aspects of the invention specific disclosure is made of various skin care products containing 1 , 5 , 10 , 15 , 20 , 25 , 30 , 35 , 40 , % neutralizing agent . examples of plant materials that can be used to produce such neutralizing agents are : blueberries , coffee berries or beans , green tea , and pomegranates . other examples of berries that could provide the neutralizing color of this invention are : bilberries , raspberries , black raspberries , cherries , saskatoons , serviceberries , strawberries , chokecherries , huckleberries , buffaloberries , grapes , goose berries , bearberries , moonseed berries , mountain currant ( ribes novadense ), and blue / purple grapes of many varieties . in addition to numerous types of berries , many plants can be used as well , such as various teas , spinach , asparagus , uva ursi , sassafras and other plants rich in phytochemicals . most natural berries , many beans , teas and other plants can be used to make the neutralizing agent , all of such plant type materials listed above as well as other suitable plant materials may herein be referred to here as “ berry .” other coloring , natural or synthetic , also may be used without departing from the scope of the invention . each type of starting material will act differently , depending on its level of color in the natural state . for example , blueberries , when ripe , have a very deep dark purple blue color and a high concentration of neutralizing color or neutralizing agent . their juice can stain skin and clothes due to this rich color . a grape also has neutralizing color ; the amount of neutralizing agent of the grape will depend on the variety of the grape , how it was grown and when it was picked . but on average , the juice from most grapes , when compared to the juice from blueberries , is much lower in neutralizing agents , when comparing similar volumes of juice from blueberry vs . grape . both of these plants , blueberry and grape ( and many others , some mentioned above ) could be used as the starting material for the neutralizing agent of the invention described herein . but their preparation and how they are mixed would differ because they each have different amounts of neutralizing color in their natural state . however , if one started with large quantities of grape one could easily determine how to extract and use the neutralizing agent , through evaporation , filtration or other known methods . adjustments in the process can be readily made to accommodate the different concentrations of neutralizing agent present in different amounts in different natural products . the neutralizing agents , when properly prepared , eliminate the staining color of turmeric without reducing its beneficial properties . whole berries , such as blueberries , and or their skins , are broken and their juice extracted . this can be done with crushing , grinding , mashing , stirring , shaking , mixing and related methods , some described above , using any assortment of well known mechanical devices to assist the effort . it is preferred that the berries should not be dried before their color is extracted , as more neutralizing agent can be obtained this way . it is possible to use dried and reconstituted berries but avoiding drying the extract makes the neutralizing agent more effective at neutralizing the turmeric extract . keeping the berry intact and using extracts in liquid form is preferred . in one aspect of the invention , acid is used to increase the yield of neutralizing agent . any acid can be used . weak acids are disclosed . citrus based acids made from lemon , orange or other citrus are disclosed . orange and grapefruit are other readily obtained alternatives . acetic acid or vinegar could be used . the acid is added to the berries when they are extracted . in one example , equal parts berry and lemon juice are used . when such an acid is used the ph of the neutralizing agent will be in the range of 2 . 5 to 3 . 5 . it is important to monitor and adjust the ph as needed . see “ ph considerations .” another method of extracting neutralizing agent from a berry is to heat the berry extract to a level below the boiling temperature of the mixture until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and warmed . heating increases the efficiency of the extraction and potency of the neutralizing agent . the techniques of adding acid , for example in the form of lemon juice , can be combined with heating to obtain maximum neutralizing agent . after the berries are extracted as described above , with or without heat and acid , the solids are removed from the extract to produce the neutralizing agent . settling , centrifugation , filtration , any number of other procedures can be used to separate the solids from the neutralizing agent . typically about half the extract will settle but amounts can vary . the addition of an acid is used to control and achieve the optimal ph of both the neutralizing agent and the final skin care products . during berry extraction , the ph of the berry extract is not critical but when the neutralizing agent is later combined with the turmeric extract , the ph of the neutralizing agent may need adjustment in order to make a skin care product of proper ph . ph is important to the look , feel and utility of the skin care product . ph also affects the shelf life of the skin care products . the ph of the skin care product should be between about 1 . 5 and 7 . 0 , and more preferably between 4 . 0 and 6 . 0 . a skin care product of ph about 5 . 5 is described . basic solutions with a ph over 7 . 0 can be made but they have a poor shelf life . a high ph can break down turmeric . turmeric is not very stable in high ph solutions . the ph of the turmeric extracts will be about 3 . 5 to 4 . 5 . following the extraction of the berry , the extract is allowed to settle and separate into solid and liquid phases . this separation step can be facilitated by centrifugation , filtration or other known means , or the extracts can just be allowed to sit and precipitate . the solids are removed and discarded . this liquid phase after the solids are removed is called the “ neutralizing agent . combining the neutralizing agent with the turmeric extract to produce the neutral composition the turmeric extract is combined , in the proper ratios , with neutralizing agent to achieve the “ neutral composition .” the proper ratio can be anywhere between and including 1 : 1 ( turmeric extract : neutralizing agent ) and up to and including 1 : 20 . specifically described are ratios of 1 : 1 , 1 : 2 , 1 : 3 , 1 : 4 , 1 : 5 , 1 : 6 , 1 : 7 , 1 : 8 , 1 : 9 , 1 : 10 1 : 12 , 1 : 14 , 1 : 16 , 1 : 18 , 1 : 20 . the neutral composition can be used either by itself or it can be further combined or diluted with conventional skin creams or lotions . with further dilution it becomes the “ skin care product .” for a more stable skin care product it is recommended that the turmeric extract be added to the blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil solution rather than to the diluting lotion . in some circumstances , if the turmeric is added to the diluting lotion before the berry extract is added , the product will be less stable . the final skin care products will have a good shelf life and be suitable for shipping to and purchase by the consumer . in order to have the best shelf life , the skin care product will have between about 0 . 01 % and 2 . 4 % turmeric extract . this percentage is a measure of the percent of turmeric components in the skin care product where turmeric extract has a range of between about 0 . 1 g / 100 cc or ml and up to about 10 g / 100 cc or ml , where these amounts are said to be about 0 . 1 % to 10 % extracted turmeric . the amount of neutralizing agent in the skin care product is the amount needed to neutralize the yellow color of the turmeric . therapeutic levels of turmeric extract in the final skin care products will typically start at higher levels than the range indicated above . therapeutic levels of turmeric extract applied topically are usually in the range of about 0 . 5 % to about 1 . 5 %. therapeutic levels of turmeric can range from about 0 . 5 % up to about 2 . 0 % of turmeric extract in the final product . specific therapeutic levels of turmeric in the final product are provided here as notional examples of 0 . 5 %, 1 . 0 %, 1 . 5 %, and 2 . 0 % and all ranges between those numbers . an experienced skin care specialist is able to determine optimum levels . usually it is turmeric at the higher concentrations that are most desired for therapy but are least desired for their staining properties . the skin care product can have extracted turmeric levels of about 2 . 0 %. levels of extracted turmeric in the skin care product of between about 2 . 4 and 3 % are also described . for the colorless final products , the following amounts of extracted turmeric are specifically described : 0 . 01 , 0 . 05 , 0 . 15 , 0 . 2 , 0 . 3 , 0 . 4 , 0 . 5 , 0 . 6 , 0 . 7 , 0 . 8 , 0 . 9 , 1 . 0 , 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , 1 . 3 , 1 . 4 , 1 . 5 , 1 . 6 , 1 . 7 , 1 . 8 , 1 . 9 , 2 . 0 , 2 . 1 , 2 . 2 , 2 . 3 and 2 . 4 , all as percent (%) by weight in weight or in volume ( wt / wt or wt / vol estimated ) of the final product , and any range between any two numbers provided . the numbers in this paragraph may also be written and considered as weight / weight ( w / w ) such as 0 . 001 mg / g , 0 . 005 mg / g , 0 . 010 mg / g , 0 . 015 mg / g , 0 . 020 mg / g , 0 . 030 mg / g , 0 . 040 mg / g etc . using a weight of active extracted turmeric as a percent of the total weight . the skin care products can be made into or added to other topical lotions , creams , or sprayable solutions , including moisturizers . neutral compositions have been evaluated in the following ratios . from about 0 . 5 cc to 4 . 0 cc turmeric extract mixed with about 10 cc of blueberry lemon juice extract where this extract is made in about equal parts blueberry and lemon juice . when lower amounts of turmeric are used , typically 2 cc turmeric to 10 cc of blueberry lemon juice extract , the mixtures are stable for long periods of time and non - staining . when higher amounts of turmeric are used , over 2 . 5 cc of turmeric extract and 10 cc neutralizing agent , the mixtures can become unstable after a certain period of time and the yellow tint of turmeric may eventually reappear . preferably solutions are diluted to , or use less than , 2 . 5 cc turmeric extract with 10 cc of neutralizing agent . when the turmeric extract is combined with neutralizing agent and made into a colorless cream , it is preferred that the turmeric extract ( typically at 6 to 7 percent turmeric ) be combined with about three times as much neutralizing agent as turmeric extract ( v / v ). specifically disclosed is 3 cc of turmeric extract to 9 cc of neutralizing agent ( ratio of 1 : 3 ). for stable solutions the concentration of turmeric in the final product should be reduced as indicated above , to levels of 2 . 5 % or less . levels of turmeric from 0 . 1 % to 10 % ( g extracted turmeric / cc ) can and have been used prior to neutralization . wide variations are possible in the amounts and types of turmeric and a wide variety of plants and berries can be used to make the turmeric extract and the neutralizing agent . because of the varying nature of the natural products used , a simple test has been devised a simple test to determine when the turmeric extract is neutralized . to the turmeric extract which is yellow , neutralizing agent is added and mixed well . the ph is adjusted . samples are removed and applied to pale skin that is not normally exposed to high levels of sunlight , such as the upper arm , under the ribs or groin . the samples are rubbed gently into the skin . a white gauze is applied for at least 30 minutes . the gauze is removed and inspected . if the gauze appears yellow , then either the turmeric extract is too strong or the neutralizing agent is too little . corrections should be made . if the yellow color appears then either additional neutralizing agent should be added , or less or weaker turmeric extract should be used . 1 . a neutral composition comprising turmeric extract and neutralizing agent in a ratio of turmeric extract to neutralizing agent from about 1 : 1 to about 1 : 20 ( turmeric extract : neutralizing agent ). 2 . the neutral composition of number 1 wherein said neutral composition has a ph between about 2 . 0 to about 5 . 0 . 3 . the neutral composition of number 2 wherein said turmeric extract contains 0 . 05 % to about 10 % of extracted turmeric components . 4 . the neutral composition of number 1 further comprising an acidic solution wherein the ph value of the acidic solution is below 6 . 0 . 5 . the neutral composition of number 4 wherein said acidic solution is a weak acid . 6 . the neutral composition of number 5 wherein said weak acid is lemon oil , lemon juice , orange juice , acetic acid , or vinegar having a ph below 5 . 0 . 7 . the neutral composition of number 5 wherein said weak acid is lemon oil or lemon juice , having a ph from about 1 . 0 to about 3 . 0 and the neutralizing agent is made from blueberry . 8 . a skin care product comprising from about 1 to 40 % neutral composition in a lotion having a ph from about 1 . 5 to 7 . 0 , wherein said neutral composition comprises turmeric extract and neutralizing agent in a ratio of turmeric extract to neutralizing agent from about 1 : 1 to about 1 : 20 ; wherein said neutral composition has a ph from about 2 . 0 to about 5 . 0 ; wherein said turmeric extract contains 0 . 05 % to about 10 % of extracted turmeric components ; wherein said neutralizing agent comprises at least one extract that is a berry extract , made from any suitable plant . 9 . the skin care product of number 8 wherein said berry is any of the following : blueberries , coffee berries , coffee beans , green tea , pomegranates , bilberries , raspberries , black raspberries , cherries , saskatoons , serviceberries , strawberries , chokecherries , huckleberries , buffaloberries , grapes , blue / purple grapes of many varieties , goose berries , bearberries , moonseed berries , mountain currant ( ribes novadense ), teas , spinach , asparagus , uva ursi , or mixture thereof . 10 . the skin care product of number 9 where said berry is a blueberry . 11 . the skin care product of number 9 wherein said skin care product comprises said neutral composition and said lotion comprises any commercially available lotions , body lotions or moisturizers . 12 . the skin care product of number 9 wherein said skin care product comprises a neutral composition from about 1 % to about 30 % of the total volume of the skin care product . 13 . the skin care product of number 9 wherein said skin care product comprises a neutral composition from about 1 % to about 20 % of the total volume of the skin care product . 14 . the skin care product of number 9 wherein said skin care product comprises a neutral composition from about 1 % to about 10 % of the total volume of the skin care product . 15 . the skin care product of number 9 wherein said skin care product comprises a neutral composition about 5 % of the total volume of the skin care product . 16 . the skin care product of number 9 wherein said skin care product has a ph range from about 3 . 0 to about 6 . 5 . 17 . the skin care product of number 9 wherein said skin care product has a ph range from about 4 . 0 to about 6 . 5 . 18 . the skin care product of number 9 wherein said skin care product has a ph range from about 5 . 0 to about 6 . 0 . 19 . the skin care product of number 9 wherein said skin care product has a ph range of about 5 . 5 . 20 . the skin care product of number 9 wherein said skin care product is incorporated in an ointment , a lotion , a cream or made as a spray solution , that contains therapeutic amounts of turmeric and is applied to a patient in need thereof and may be characterized as any of the following agents : an antiseptic agent ; a beauty aid to prevent aging ; a wound healing product ; an allergy relief product ; an anti - inflammatory product ; an anti - cancer product ; a sunscreen product ; an anti - aging product ; an anti - oxidant product ; a product that treats osteoporosis , and a product that treats osteoporosis in combination with vitamin d . 21 . a method of treating a patient in need thereof with a final skin care product comprising a therapeutic amount of turmeric extract , which is applied to the skin of said patient for the prevention or treatment of any of the following ailments or diseases : infections , skin infections , age related skin disorders , sun and age spots , wrinkles and the like , wounds , abrasions in the skin , allergic reactions , inflammation , sores , cancer , keratomas , skin cancer , burns , sun burns , oxidizing injury , osteoporosis , vitamin d deficiency , and combinations thereof ; wherein said composition comprises from about 1 to 40 % neutral composition in a lotion having a ph from about 6 . 0 to 7 . 0 , wherein said neutral composition comprises turmeric extract and neutralizing agent in a ratio of turmeric extract to neutralizing agent from about 1 : 1 to about 1 : 20 ; wherein said neutral composition has a ph from about 2 . 0 to about 5 . 0 ; wherein said turmeric extract contains 0 . 05 % to about 10 % of extracted turmeric components ; wherein said neutralizing agent comprises at least one extract that is a berry extract , made from any suitable plant . 22 . the method of treatment of number 21 , wherein the therapeutic amount of turmeric extract to be applied is in the range from about 0 . 5 to 2 . 0 % turmeric extract . 23 . the method of treatment of number 22 , wherein the therapeutic amount of turmeric extract to be applied is in range from about 0 . 5 to 1 . 5 % turmeric extract . 24 . the method of treatment of number 22 , wherein the neutralizing agent is made from blueberry extract . 25 . the method of treatment of number 24 , wherein said neutralizing agent is made from blueberry extract . 26 . a method of preparing a neutral composition comprising : a ) mixing powdered turmeric in a water or organic solution ; b ) extracting the soluble turmeric into a turmeric extract of between about 1 and 40 % turmeric and discarding any precipitated solids ; c ) neutralizing the color of the turmeric extract by adding a neutralizing agent made from : 1 ) a berry mixed or ground to produce an extract ; 2 ) separating said berry extract into liquid and solid portions ; 3 ) discarding said solid portion ; and 4 ) combining said liquid berry extract with said turmeric extract . 27 . the method of number 26 where said berry is blueberry . 28 . a method of preparing a skin care product comprising a neutral composition made according to number 22 and diluting said neutral composition with a suitable skin lotion or cream such that the neutral composition comprises from about 1 to 40 % of the final skin care product . 29 . the method of number 28 wherein said berry is blueberry . 30 . a composition made by the process of : a ) mixing powdered turmeric in an organic solution ; b ) extracting the soluble turmeric into a turmeric extract ; c ) mixing said soluble turmeric extract with a neutralizing agent ; wherein said neutralizing agent is made by ; 1 ) grinding , mashing , crushing or mixing a berry to produce an extract ; 2 ) separating said extract into liquid and solid portions ; 3 ) discarding the solid portion and using said liquid portion as neutralizing agent ; 4 ) adding said neutralizing agent and mixing with said turmeric extract to producing a neutral composition . 31 . a composition of number 30 wherein said berry is blueberry . 32 . a composition of number 31 further comprising any known skin lotions such that the amount of the neutral composition comprises from 1 to 40 % of the final skin care product and the known lotions comprise from 99 to 60 % of the skin care product . examples are intended to illustrate rather than define or limit the invention . in the first example below , the invention is illustrated with a description of a blueberry - turmeric mixture , but any natural source for the neutralizing color could be used . in all of these examples the solutions would be yellow staining , were it not for the neutralizing agent . the blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil solution , when prepared as described above , has the color standard of fresh blueberry juice or blueberry jam . if the color is not up to standard , which can occur with long standing or aging , then it will not have as much neutralizing power . this problem can be corrected with the addition of freeze dried blueberry . such compositions are commercially available , for example see , “ freeze dried blueberry powder form , van drummed farms , 300 west sixth street , momence , ill . 60954 . the addition of freeze dried blueberry materials will also produce additional pink to purple color . other blueberry products could also be used but it is recommended that the sugar concentration be kept low to avoid a sticky feel to the lotion . drum and air dried blueberries generally cannot be used to produce the neutralizing agent unless they are further treated to reactivate the berry extract after the berries are dried . a mortar and pestle is used to grind 30 grams of turmeric into a fine powder . a solution of organic solvent comprising 100 cc ethanol , 100 cc of isopropyl alcohol , and 100 cc of acetone is prepared . the 30 grams of fine turmeric powder is added to the organic solution . the turmeric is mixed well with the organic solution and then allowed to settle . after 72 hours , the solids have separated from the solution and are discarded . the solution of turmeric in the organic solution is removed and called the turmeric extract . the turmeric extract , ph about 4 . 5 , is set aside until the neutralizing agent is ready . the neutralizing agent is prepared . a batch of raw blueberries are mixed , crushed and ground to produce the neutralizing agent . about equal amounts of blueberry and lemon juice ( standard commercial strength ) with a ph of about 2 . 3 to 3 . 0 , are mixed together . about 300 ml of each , blueberry and lemon juice , are mixed and then heated to about 190 degrees f . the blueberries - lemon juice solution is then allowed to cool and settle to slightly above ambient temperature . the ph of this solution is about 2 . 5 to 3 . 5 . any solids found in the solutions are discarded ; the remaining solution is the neutralizing agent . in the examples below this solution is referred to as “ blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil .” the turmeric extract , 300 ml , ph about 4 . 5 , is then added to the blueberry lemon solutions . after mixing this is called the neutral composition , about 900 ml . in this example . in this example the turmeric extract was about 7 % turmeric in the extract . the amount of turmeric extracts in the neutralized base is calculated to be about 2 . 3 %, and its ph is about 4 . 5 . the blueberry extract made as described ( with heat and lemon juice ) has enough neutralizing strength to neutralize the color of the turmeric . a sample should be tested as above to ensure color neutralization is complete . the resulting solution , the neutral composition , provides an adequate therapeutic concentration of the turmeric active ingredients for topical use without the yellow staining characteristics of standard turmeric extracts . if desired , the neutral composition may be incorporated into an ointment base which accepts a liquid solution . for example , 10 grams of an ointment base , such as a hydrophilic absorption base available under the trademark aquaphor from biersdof , inc ., will accept an equal amount of fluid or approximately 10 cc of the above mixture . in this example the final concentration of turmeric in the skin care product would be about 1 . 15 % and it should have excellent self life . instead of incorporating the neutral composition in the ointment base described , it could be added to other topical lotions , creams , or sprayable solutions , including moisturizers . examples 2 - 9 below describe other lotions that have been made . following the procedures outlined above for example 1 , the following specific lotions are described . for examples 2 - 9 when the term blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil is used it refers to the process described above where 50 % blueberry neutralizing agent is made from extracts of 50 % blueberry and 50 % lemon juice and lemon oil mixed with heating to below the boiling point of the solution , followed by settling and discarding of the solids . see above . when one lotion is said to be comparable to another it means either lotion could be used with a similar results . use 9 cc of blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil , as described in example 1 ; add 1 cc turmeric extract to make a neutral composition . to the neutral composition , add 100 g of “ lubriderm skin nourishing — moisturizing lotion ,” johnson and johnson , cci 2007 # 730922 . the resulting skin care product is light pink to creamy white . it doesn &# 39 ; t color the skin and it appears colorless when applied to the skin . use 5 cc of blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil , as described in example 1 , add 5 cc turmeric extract to make a neutral composition . to this neutral composition , add 100 g of “ lubriderm skin nourishing — moisturizing lotion ,” johnson and johnson , cci 2007 # 730922 . the resulting skin care product is yellow . it doesn &# 39 ; t color the skin and it appears colorless when applied to the skin . use example 3 , only use 15 cc of blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil . the resulting neutral composition is tan colored . it does not stain or color the skin . it doesn &# 39 ; t color the skin and the skin care product appears colorless when applied to the skin . use 10 cc of blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil and 4 cc of turmeric extract to make a neutral composition . to the neutral composition add 100 g of “ lubriderm skin nourishing — moisturizing lotion ,” johnson and johnson . the resulting skin care product is tan colored and it is free of staining properties . it doesn &# 39 ; t color the skin and it appears colorless when applied to the skin . use 10 cc of blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil and 4 cc of turmeric extract to make a neutral composition . to this neutral composition , add 100 g of “ jergens ultra healing — heals & amp ; softens ,” distributed by koa brands company , tm . off . # 11583 - 0 - 301 lot # x009225zz . the resulting skin care product has a pleasing dark pink color . there is no yellow color or staining properties of the skin care product . it doesn &# 39 ; t color the skin and it appears colorless when applied to the skin . use 10 cc of blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil and 2 cc of turmeric extract to make a neutral composition . to this neutral composition , add 100 g of “ jergens ultra healing - heals & amp ; softens ,” as in example 5 . the resulting skin care product has a light pink color , with no staining properties . it doesn &# 39 ; t color the skin and it appears colorless when applied to the skin . use 10 cc of blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil and 2 cc of turmeric extract to make a neutral composition . to this neutral composition , add 100 g of “ walgreens complete moisture dry skin lotion ,” distributed by walgreen co , deerfield , ill . 60015 item # 512505 ( this walgreens lotion is comparable to vaseline intensive care by chesbrough - ponds usa .) the resulting skin care product is a pink lotion with no staining properties and is colorless when applied to the skin . use 8 cc of blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil and 2 cc of turmeric extract to make a neutral composition . to neutral composition , add 100 g of “ equate - advanced healing lotion — hydrates & amp ; heals dry skin and skin protectant ,” distributed by wal - mart stores , inc . bentonville , ariz . 72716 . ( this wal - mart lotion is comparable to vaseline intensive care by chesbrough - ponds usa .) the resulting skin care product is pink and without staining properties . with time , after several years , if stored at 60 to 72 degrees f ., if stored in a 2 oz plastic bottle , this lotion will turn brown or tan but it will not stain the skin or clothes and is colorless when applied to the skin . even with the passage of time the product retains its cosmetically appealing appearance . use 8 cc of blueberry / lemon juice / lemon oil and 2 cc of turmeric extract to make a neutral composition . to this neutral composition , add 100 g “ equate - ultra strength lotion - fast acting for long term relief of extra dry skin ,” distributed by wal - mart stores , inc ., bentonville , ariz . 72716 . ( this lotion is comparable to jergens skincare ultra healing lotion from the andrew jergens co .) the resulting skin care product is a pink lotion , without staining properties . after several years , if stored at 60 to 72 degrees f ., if stored in plastic bottles , it can turn into a dark pink to red lotion that is also without staining properties and is colorless when applied to the skin . even after the passage of time the product retains its cosmetically appealing characteristics . | 0 |
reference is now made in detail to an embodiment of the invention that illustrates the best mode presently contemplated by the inventors forpracticing the invention . other embodiments are also described herein . fig1 is a flow diagram that illustrates the general methodology of the present invention . referring to fig1 a natural or synthetic fiber is provided as the core fiber in step 101 . referring to step 102 , a coating material is provided . the fiber is coated with such coating material in step 103 . the fiber is removed and the coating is carbonized ( step 104 ). carbon tubes of micrometer - sized are then formed . the diameter and the wall thickness of the carbon tubes can be controlled by controlling the diameter of the fiber and the thickness of the coating material . the core fiber of the composite fiber in step 104 can be removed by thermal , solvent , or chemical treatments , or a combination thereof . a thermal treatment is preferred for removing the core fiber . the coating material ( step 102 ) is preferred to be more thermally stable than the core fiber . fig2 is a flow diagram that illustrates a specific embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig2 a thermally removable polymer such as polyethylene terephathlate ( pet ) is provided in step 1 . the pet serves as the growing template to produce a coated polymer fiber . any thermally removable , natural or synthetic fiber can be used as the growing template . natural fibers that can be used as the growing template include silk , cotton , cellulose fiber , vegetable fiber , wool , and hair . synthetic fibers that can be used as the growing template can be made from thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers . thermoplastic or thermosetting polymers can also be used as the coating material , provided that the selected polymer coating material is more thermally stable than the core fiber . other thermally stable materials suitable for use as the coating material can be selected from backbone conjugated polymers . a conjugated polymer , such as polypyrrole ( ppy ), is grown on the pet fiber as the coating layer to produce a composite fiber , i . e ., ppy / pet fiber ( step 2 ). any other material , such as organic polymers , having a higher thermal stability than that of the core fiber ( e . g ., pet ) can also be used as the coating material . in the present embodiment , conjugated conducting polymers or polyacrylonitrile are preferred to be used as the coating material . the conjugated polymers as used in the present embodiment , can either be in the neutral , undoped forms ( i . e ., nonconductive form ) or in the conductive , doped forms having any doping degree . any method suitable for preparing composite fibers having a coating / core configuration can be used , including co - extrusion , coating , and casting . the composite fiber with a similar coating / core configuration can also be prepared from a single - component material fiber , providing that the core fiber is first subjected to some chemical and / or physical pre - treatments , such as radiation - treatment to induce a cross - linking reaction on its surface , to change the chemical or physical property of its surface layer so that its core can be selectively removed by a subsequent treatment , such as by a thermal treatment , or by dissolution with a solvent . coating methods for forming the coating on the pet include reaction coating , solution coating , dipping , casting , melt coating , spray coating , spin coating , brush coating , and thermal evaporation coating . a preferred coating method in the present embodiment is to employ a reaction coating process for preparing the composite fiber . for example , a composite pet fiber having a polypyrrole coating layer can be prepared by placing the pet fiber in a reaction solution that contains pyrrole , which is the monomer of the polypyrrole ( ppy ) coating , and a chemical reagent for inducing the polymerization of the monomer . the ppy coating is applied by suspending the pet polymer fiber in an aqueous pyrrole solution that contains two equivalents of protonic acid , such as toluene - p - sulfonic acid . oxidants , such as fecl 3 or ammonium persulfate , are then added to the solution to initiate the polymerization of pyrrole . a homogeneous , dark black ppy coating is formed on the surface of the pet , and the composite ppy / pet fiber is formed . the thickness of the ppy coating is controlled by altering the pyrrole concentration of the reaction solution , and by controlling the number of reaction coating treatments . any oxidant that is capable of inducing oxidative polymerization can be used . the nature of such oxidants varies widely depending on the monomer employed . illustrative of oxidants for use in the present invention include ammonium persulfate , potassium persulfate , sodium persulfate , sodium dichromate , potassium permanganate , chromic acid , hydrogen peroxide , ferric chloride , potassium dichromate , and the like . other types of chemical reagents can also be used as long as they are capable of initiating or inducing the polymerization of the monomer . the nature of the chemical reagent varies widely depending on the monomer employed . chemical reagents that can be used in the present invention include the reagents or initiators that initiate or induce the monomer polymerization via cationic , anionic , radical ( or a combination thereof ), or any other intermediates known in the art . other useful reaction agents or chemical reagents include photon , heat , oxygen , air , moisture , or transition metal - containing catalysts . the composite fiber with a coating / core configuration can also be formed using a solution coating method . if solution - coating is employed , a solution of the polymeric materials for the coating layer is used . for example , a composite fiber having pet as the core fiber material and polyacrylonitrile as the material for the coating layer can be prepared using a solution coating process by dipping a pet fiber with a polyacrylonitrile solution in dmso ( dimethylsulfoxide ). the dipped fiber is then dried in air or under dynamic vacuum to form the desired composite fiber . the thickness of the coating is controlled by controlling the concentration of the polyacrylonitrile solution , the dipping rate , and the number of dipping treatments . referring to step 3 , a carbon tube is formed after a carbonization process is applied . the ppy / pet fiber undergoes thermal treatment , which removes the pet fiber to form the carbon tube . other physical and / or chemical treatments , such as dissolution by a solvent , can also be used as long as it removes the core fiber totally or partly from the composite fiber . a carbon tube of appreciable length ( up to several centimeters long ) is then formed , with a controllable tube wall thickness ranging from less than 100 nm to several micrometers , and a tube diameter in the range of 1 to 100 micrometers . the physical and / or chemical treatment can be a single - step process or a series of combination steps , as long as at least one of the steps removes the core fiber totally or partly to convert the composite fiber into a tube - shape material , and at least one of the steps carbonize the composite fiber to form a carbon - rich material . in the present embodiment , the composite fiber is subjected to a thermal treatment , or a solvent treatment , to remove totally or partly the core fiber , followed by a thermal treatment to carbonize the remaining material of the composite fiber to form the carbon tube . as for the thermal treatment , the core material can be removed by melting , subliming , vaporizing , decomposing , or any combination of such physical and / or chemical transformation ( s ). in the present embodiment , the composite ( ppy / pet ) fiber is heated to a temperature at least higher than the melting and / or decomposition temperature of the core fiber . the thermal treatment process can be performed under any atmosphere as long as the composite fiber will not be totally removed . the pressure of such atmosphere can be greater or less than 1 atm ( atmosphere ), depending on the requirements for processing the composite fiber of different types . preferably , the thermal treatment is performed under an inert atmosphere such as n 2 , ar , he , ne , or a combinations thereof . the thermal treatment can also be performed in vacuum conditions . the reactive atmosphere , such as air or oxygen , can also be used in combination with the above noted atmosphere as long as such treatment can either enhance the thermal stability of the coating or facilitate the thermal decomposition of the core fiber . for instance , a composite fiber , having pet as the core material and polyacrylonitrile as the coating , is pretreated in air at 200 to 300 ° c . to enhance the thermal stability of the polyacrylonitrile coating . another thermal treatment in a nitrogen atmosphere at higher temperatures is subsequently performed to remove the core pet material and carbonize the oxygen - treated polyacrylonitrile coating . in the present embodiment , the ppy - coated pet fibers are first slurry - washed with a copious amount of deionized water and air - dried for 48 hours . the carbon tubes are prepared from ppy coated pet fibers by heating the composite ppy / pet fibers from room temperature up to 1000 ° c . at a heating rate of 10 celsius per minute (° c ./ min ), and staying at 1000 degrees celsius (° c .) for 3 to 24 hours in a nitrogen atmosphere with a nitrogen flow rate of 0 . 5 liters per minute . the present invention enables the preparation of two - or three - dimensional regular structures assembled by the carbon tubes by the use of woven growing templates , enabling easier design and fabrication of articles for practical applications . the two - or three - dimensional carbon tube structures can easily be made , up to several centimeters in length , using the method of the present invention . such long range and highly regular carbon tube structures are otherwise extremely difficult to obtain using conventional methods of manufacturing small - sized carbon tubes . the coating can be formed on , e . g ., a three - dimensionally woven matrix of core fibers . once the method of the invention is implemented thereon , a three - dimensional structure of carbon tubes is formed . the carbon tubes formed according to the present invention can either be in the form of individually separated tubes or an assembled structure , which is particularly useful in practical applications . for example , individually separated carbon tubes can be prepared from ppy - coated pet fibers . an assembled structure of three dimensionally woven carbon tubes can also be formed from ppy - coated pet fabric cloth . the micrometer - sized carbon tubes formed according to the present invention , with their relatively large inner diameter , allow reactants to easily flow through their cavities . when the inner surface is modified using chemical treatment to render the inner surface active with desired affinity , compounds can be selectively separated ( or extracted ). desired transition metal complexes ( with sizes often larger than 2 - 3 nm ) can be easily embedded on the inner surface of the micrometer - sized carbon tubes to impart specific catalytic functions . the throughput of micrometer - sized carbon tube micro - reactors is optimized with the larger inner tube diameter . the tube length , tube wall thickness and tube diameter of the carbon tubes formed according to the present invention can be controlled . the tube can be obtained in any desired length ranging from a length less than 1 nanometer to several centimeters . note that there is no upper limit in the tube length that can be formed , so long as the core material can be effectively removed by the thermal or solvent treatment . the tube wall thickness of the carbon tubes formed according to the present invention can be controlled by controlling the thickness of the coating of the composite fiber . according to the present invention , the tube wall thickness can be obtained in any desired size , ranging from a thickness of less than 50 nm to greater than several hundred micrometers . carbon tubes with a wall thickness less than 50 nm can also be prepared using the method of the present invention , as long as a core fiber of less than approximately 1 micrometer in diameter is employed . note that there is no upper limit in the tube wall thickness that can be formed , depending upon the requirements of the specific application . the tube diameter of the carbon tubes formed according to the present invention can also be controlled by controlling the diameter of the core fiber . any desired tube diameter can be obtained , depending on the particular natural or synthetic fiber used as the core fiber . according to the present invention , the tube diameter can be obtained in any desired size , ranging from a diameter less than 1 micrometer to greater than several hundred micrometers . note that there is no lower or upper limit on the tube diameter that can be formed , depending on the particular material used as the core , and the requirements of the specific application . although the composition of the carbon tubes formed according to the present invention is rich in carbon , it is not limited to carbon composition only . other elements can also co - exist in the carbon tubes . the amount and type of such co - existing elements can vary widely , depending on the material used and the treatment process employed for forming the carbon tubes . preferably , the carbon tubes formed according to the present invention contain equal to or greater than approximately 40 to 60 weight percentage ( wt %) of carbon . carbon tubes that contain equal to or greater than 50 - 70 wt %, 60 - 80 wt %, and 70 - 90 wt % of carbon can also be formed using the method of the present invention . the phase of the carbon material in the carbon tubes formed according to the present invention can vary widely depending on the materials used and the thermal treatment employed . the phase of the carbon materials can be amorphous , crystalline , turbostratic , graphitic or any phase combination thereof . the carbon tubes formed according to the present invention can be used for any purpose for which carbon tubes are useful . examples of useful applications include electron field emitters , nano - or micro - wires , nanometer - or micrometer - sized chemical probes , natural gas storage , catalytic micro - reactors and biosensors . the carbon tubes can also be used as the carbon electrodes for lithium batteries , fuel cells , electrochemical cells , and capacitors . in addition , the carbon tubes are useful as reinforcement materials . in particular , for micrometer - sized carbon tubes , with their relatively larger inner diameter , inner surface modifications can be efficiently implemented using chemical treatment to render the inner surface active , thus enabling selective separation ( or extraction ) of interested compounds . illustrative of organic polymers for the core fiber and the coating material for use in the present invention are thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers . thermosetting polymers that can be used in the present invention can vary widely . illustrative of such useful thermoset polymers are alkyds derived from the esterification of a polybasic acid such as phthalic acid and a polyhydric alcohol such as glycol ; allylics such as those produced by polymerization of dialkyl phthalate , dialkyl isophthalate , dialkyl maleate , and dialkyl chlorendate ; amino resins such as those produced by addition reaction between formaldehyde and such compounds as melamine , urea , aniline , ethylene urea , sulfonamide and dicyanodiamide ; epoxies such as epoxy phenol novolak resins , diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol a and cycloaliphatic epoxies ; phenolics such as resins derived from reaction of substituted and unsubstituted phenols such as cresol and phenol with an aldehyde such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde ; polyesters ; silicones ; and urethanes formed by reaction of a polyisocyanate such as 2 , 6 - tolylene diisocyanate , 2 , 4 - tolylene diisocyanate , 4 , 4 - diphenylmethane diisocyanate , 1 , 6 - hexamethylene diisocyanate and 4 , 4 ′- dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate with a polyol such as polyether polyol ( trimethylol propane , 1 , 2 , 6 - hexanetriol , 2 - methyl glycoside , pentaerythitol , poly ( 1 , 4 - tetramethylene ether ) glycol , sorbitol and sucrose ), polyester polyols such as those prepared by esterification of adipic acid , phthalic acid and like carboxylic acids with an excess of difunctional alcohols such as ethylene glycol , diethylene glycol , propanediols and butanediols . thermoplastic polymers that can be used in the present invention vary widely . illustrative of such thermoplastic polymers include polyesters such as poly ( glycolic acid ), poly ( ethylene succinate ), poly ( ethylene adipate ), poly ( tetramethylene adipate ), poly ( ethylene azelate ), poly ( ethylene sebacate ), poly ( decamethylene adipate ), poly ( decamethylene sebacate ), poly ( 1 , 2 - dimethylpropiolactone ), poly ( pivaloyl lactone ), poly ( para - hydroxybenzoate ), poly ( ethylene oxybenzoate ), poly ( ethylene isophthalate ), poly ( ethylene terephthalate ), poly ( decamethylene terephthalate ), poly ( hexamethylene terephthalate ), poly ( 1 , 4 - cyclohexane dimethylene terephthalate ), poly ( ethylene - 1 , 5 - naphthalate ), poly ( ethylene - 2 , 6 - naphathalate ), poly ( 1 , 4 - cyclohexylidene dimethylene - terephthalate ) and the like ; polyamides such as poly ( 4 - aminobutyric acid ) ( nylon 4 ), poly ( 6 - amino - hexanoic acid ) ( nylon 6 ), poly ( 7 - aminoheptanoic acid ) ( nylon 7 ), poly ( 8 - aminooctanoic acid ) ( nylon 8 ), poly ( 9 - aminononanoic acid ) ( nylon 9 ), poly ( 10 - aminodecanoic acid ) ( nylon 10 ), poly ( 11 - aminoundecanoic acid ) ( nylon 11 ), poly ( 12 - aminododecanoic acid ) ( nylon 12 ), poly ( hexamethylene adipamide ) ( nylon 6 , 6 ), poly ( heptamethylene pimelamide ) ( nylon 7 , 7 ), poly ( octamethylene sebacamide ) ( nylon 8 , 8 ), poly ( hexamethylene sebacamide ), ( nylon 6 , 10 ), poly ( nonamethylene azelamide ) ( nylon 9 , 9 ), poly ( decamethylene azelamide ) ( nylon 10 , 9 ), poly ( decamethylene sebacamide ) ( nylon 10 , 10 ), poly [ bis ( 4 - aminocyclohexyl ) methane - 1 , 10 - decanedicarboxamide ] ( quiana ) ( trans ), poly ( m - xylene adipamide ), poly ( p - xylene sebacamide ), poly ( 2 , 2 , 2 - trimethylhexamethylene terephthalamide ), poly ( piperazine sebacamide ), poly ( meta - phenylene isophthalamide ) ( nomex ), poly ( p - phenylene terephthalamide ) ( kevlar ), and the like ; polycarbonates such as poly [ methane bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 1 , 1 - ethane bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 2 , 2 - propane bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 1 , 1 - butane bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 1 , 1 -( 2 - methylpropane ) bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 2 , 2 - butane bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 2 , 2 - pentane bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 4 , 4 - heptane bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 1 , 1 -( 1 - phenylethane ) bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ diphenylmethane bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 1 , 1 - cyclopentane bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 1 , 1 - cyclohexane bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ thio bis ( 4 - phenyl ) carbonate ], poly [ 2 , 2 - propane bis -[ 4 -( 2 - methyl phenyl )] carbonate ], poly [ 2 , 2 - propane bis -[ 4 -( 2 - chlorophenyl )] carbonate ], poly [ 2 , 2 - propane bis -[ 4 -( 2 , 6 - dichlorophenyl )] carbonate ], poly [ 2 , 2 - propane bis -[ 4 -( 2 , 6 - dibromophenyl )] carbonate ], poly [ 1 , 1 - cyclohexane bis -[ 4 -( 2 , 6 - dichlorophenyl ) carbonate ], and the like ; polymers derived from the polymerization of α , β - unsaturated monomers such as polyethylene , acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene terpolymer , polypropylene , poly ( 1 - butene ), poly ( 3 - methyl - 1 - butene ), poly ( 1 - pentene ), poly ( 4 - methyl - 1 - pentene ), poly ( 1 - hexene ), poly ( 5 - methyl - 1 - hexene ), poly ( 1 - octadecene ), polyisobutylene , poly ( isoprene ), 1 , 2 - poly ( 1 , 3 - butadiene ) ( isotatic ), 1 , 2 - poly ( 1 , 3 - butadiene ) ( syndiotatic ), polystyrene , poly ( α - methylstyrene ), poly ( 2 - methylstyrene ), poly ( 4 - methylstyrene ), poly ( 4 - methoxystyrene ), poly ( 4 - phenylstyrene ), poly ( 3 - phenyl - 1 - propene ), poly ( 2 - chlorostyrene ), poly ( 4 - chlorostyrene ), poly ( vinyl fluoride ), poly ( vinyl chloride ), poly ( vinyl bromide ), poly ( vinylidene fluoride ), poly ( vinylidene chloride ), poly ( tetrafluoroethylene ) ( teflon ), poly ( chlorotrifluoroethylene ), poly ( vinyl cyclopentane ), poly ( vinyl cyclohexane ), poly ( α - vinyl naphthalene ), poly ( vinyl alcohol ), poly ( vinyl methyl ether ), poly ( vinyl ethyl ether ), poly ( vinyl propyl ether ), poly ( vinyl isopropyl ether ), poly ( vinyl butyl ether ), poly ( vinyl isobutyl ether ), poly ( vinyl sec - butyl ether ), poly ( vinyl tert - butyl ether ), poly ( vinyl hexyl ether ), poly ( vinyl octyl ether ), poly ( vinyl methyl ketone ), poly ( methyl isopropenyl ketone ), poly ( vinyl formate ), poly ( vinyl acetate ), poly ( vinyl propionate ), poly ( vinyl chloroacetate ), poly ( vinyl trifluoroacetate ), poly ( vinyl benzoate ), poly ( 2 - vinyl pyridine ), poly ( vinyl pyrrolidinone ), poly ( vinyl carbazole ), poly ( acrylic acid ), poly ( methyl acrylate ), poly ( ethyl acrylate ), poly ( propyl acrylate ), poly ( iso - propyl acrylate ), poly ( butyl acrylate ), poly ( isobutyl acrylate ), poly ( sec - butyl acrylate ), poly ( tert - butyl acrylate ), poly ( methacrylic acid ), poly ( methyl methacrylate ), poly ( ethyl methacrylate ), poly ( propyl methacrylate ), poly ( isopropyl methacrylate ), poly ( butyl methacrylate ), poly ( isobutyl methacrylate ), poly ( sec - butyl methacrylate ), poly ( tert - butyl methacrylate ), poly ( 2 - ethylbutyl methacrylate ), poly ( hexyl methacrylate ), poly ( octyl methacrylate ), poly ( dodecyl methacrylate ), poly ( octadecyl methacrylate ), poly ( phenyl methacrylate ), poly ( benzyl methacrylate ), poly ( cyclohexyl methacrylate ), poly ( methyl chloroacrylate ), polyacrylonitrile , polymethacrylonitrile , polyacrylamide , poly ( n - isopropylacrylamide ), and the like ; polydienes such as poly ( 1 , 3 - butadiene ) ( cis ), poly ( 1 , 3 - butadiene )( trans ), poly ( 1 , 3 - butadiene )( mixt . ), poly ( 1 , 3 - pentadiene )( trans ), poly ( 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - butadiene ) ( cis ), poly ( 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - butadiene ) ( trans ), poly ( 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - butadiene )( mixt . ), poly ( 2 - tert - butyl - 1 , 3 - butadiene )( cis ), poly ( 2 - chloro - 1 , 3 - butadiene )( trans ), poly ( 2 - chloro - 1 , 3 - butadiene ) ( mixt .) and the like ; polyoxides such as poly ( methylene oxide ), poly ( ethylene oxide ), poly ( tetra - methylene oxide ) poly ( ethylene formal ), poly ( tetra - methylene formal ), polyacetaldehyde , poly ( propylene oxide ), poly ( hexene oxide ), poly ( octene oxide ), poly ( trans - 2 - butene oxide ), poly ( styrene oxide ), poly ( 3 - methoxypropylene oxide ), poly ( 3 - butoxypropylene oxide ), poly ( 3 - hexoxypropylene oxide ), poly ( 3 - phenoxy - propylene oxide ), poly ( 3 - chloropropylene oxide ), poly [ 2 , 2 - bis ( chloromethyl )- trimethylene - 3 - oxide ] ( penton ), poly ( 2 , 6 - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenylene oxide ) ( ppo ), poly ( 2 , 6 - diphenyl - 1 , 4 - phenylene oxide ) ( texax , p30 ), and the like ; polysulphides such as poly ( propylene sulphide ), poly ( phenylene sulphide ) and the like ; polysulfones such as poly [ 4 , 4 ′- isopropylidene diphenoxy di ( 4 - phenylene ) sulphone ]; noryl , and mixtures thereof . in the preferred embodiments of the present invention , the useful organic polymer is a thermoplastic homopolymer or copolymer . preferred thermoplastic polymers are nylons , polyesters , polycarbonates , poly ( α - olefins ), acrylics , methacrylics , substituted and unsubstituted polybutadienes , poly ( vinyl halides ), polysulfones , polyvinyl ethers , polyvinyl esters , poly ( vinyl aromatics ), poly ( ethylene oxides ), poly ( vinyl alcohols ), poly ( vinyl acetates ), and acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene terpolymer . more preferred thermoplastic substituted or unsubstituted homopolymer , or substituted or unsubstituted copolymers include substituted or unsubstituted nylons , substituted or unsubstituted polycarbonates , substituted or unsubstituted polyesters , substituted or unsubstituted poly ( α - olefins ), substituted or unsubstituted chlorinated poly ( α - olefins ), substituted or unsubstituted poly ( butadienes ), substituted or unsubstituted poly ( vinyl halides ), substituted or unsubstituted polysulfones , substituted or unsubstituted poly ( vinyl ethers ), substituted or unsubstituted poly ( vinyl acetates ), substituted or unsubstituted poly ( vinyl alcohols ), substituted or unsubstituted poly ( ethylene oxides ), acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene terpolymer , substituted or unsubstituted polystyrenes ; and most preferred thermoplastic polymers are poly ( ethylene terephthalate ), nylon - 6 , nylon - 6 , 6 , nylon - 12 , polycarbonate , poly ( vinyl chloride ), poly ( chlorotrifluoroethylene ), polyethylene terephthalate glycol , polyethylene , polypropylene , chlorinated polyethylene or polypropylene , polyisobutylene , polybutadiene , polystyrene , polyethylene oxide , acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene terpolymer ( abs ). other preferred coating materials for the core fiber are electrically conductive backbone conjugated homopolymers or copolymers . illustrative of such polymers are poly ( unsaturated ) polymers such as substituted or unsubstituted polyacetylenes ; substituted or unsubstituted polyarylacetylenes ; substituted or unsubstituted poly ( heteroaromatics ), such as polythiophenes , poly ( furans ), polypyrroles , polyquinolines , polyisothianaphthenes , polycarbazoles , poly ( alkyl thiophenes ) and the like ; substituted or unsubstituted poly ( aromatics ) such as polyphenylene sulfides , polyanilines , polyphenylenes , polynaphthalenes , and polyperinaphthalenes , poly ( azulenes ) and the like ; and substituted or unsubstituted poly ( aromatic vinylenes ) such as poly ( phenylene vinylenes ), poly ( dimethoxy phenylene vinylenes ), poly ( naphthalene vinylenes ) and the like ; and substituted or unsubstituted poly ( heteroaromatic vinylenes ) such as poly ( thienylene vinylenes ), poly ( furylene vinylenes ), poly ( carbazole vinylenes ), poly ( pyrrole vinylenes ) and the like . preferred conjugated backbone homopolymer or copolymers are substituted or unsubstituted polyanilines , substituted or unsubstituted polyacetylenes , substituted or unsubstituted polyarylacetylenes , substituted or unsubstituted polypyrroles , substituted or unsubstituted poly ( heterocycles ), substituted or unsubstituted aromatic vinylenes , and substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic vinylenes . illustrative of preferred homopolymers or copolymers of heterocycles , and aromatic or heteraromatic vinylenes are those comprising moieties of the formulas i to xiv of fig3 and 4 : m , and the sum of n , o , p and q are the same or different and are integers at least about 10 , with the proviso that at least one of n or o is greater than zero ; r ′ 1 , r ′ 2 , r ′ 3 , r ′ 4 , r ′ 5 , r ′ 6 , r ′ 7 , r ′ 8 , r ′ 9 , r ′ 10 , r ′ 11 , r ′ 12 , r ′ 13 , and r ′ 14 are the same or different at each occurrence and are hydrogen or isotopes thereof , hydroxyl , alkyl , alkenyl , aryl , alkoxy , cycloalkyl , cycloalkenyl , alkanoyl , alkylthio , aryloxy , alkylthioalkyl , alkynyl , alkylaryl , arylalkyl , amido , alkylsulfonyl , alkoxyalkyl , alkylsulfinyl , aryl , arylamino , diarylamino , alkylamino , dialkylamino , alkylarylamino , arylthio , heteroaryl , arylsulfinyl , alkoxycarbonyl , arylsulfonyl , acid functional groups , such as sulfonic acid , carboxylic acid , phosphonic acid , phosphinic acid , phosphoric acid , sulfinic acid and the derivatives thereof , such as salts , eaters , and the like ; halogen , nitro , cyano , or alkyl or phenyl substituted with one or more of acid functional groups , such as sulfonic acid , carboxylic acid , phosphonic acid , phosphoric acid , phosphinic acid , sulfinic , acid and the derivatives thereof , such as salts , esters , and the like ; halo , amino , nitro , hydroxyl , cyano , or epoxy moieties , or derivatives of a moiety of the formula : r ′ 15 is a divalent alkylene moiety having from 1 to about 7 carbon atoms ; r ′ 16 is alkyl having from 1 to about 20 carbon atoms ; and r is a natural number from 1 to about 50 ; or r ′ 1 and r ′ 2 , or r ′ 3 and r ′ 4 , or r ′ 5 and r ′ 6 , or r ′ 7 and r ′ 8 , or r ′ 9 and r ′ 10 , or r ′ 11 and r ′ 12 , or r ′ 13 and r ′ 14 substituents taken together may form an alkylene , alkenylene , or alkynylene group completing a 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 or 10 membered aromatic or alicyclic carbon ring , which ring may optionally include one or more degrees of unsaturation or one or more heteroatoms of nitrogen , sulfur , phosphorus , selenium , sulfinyl , sulfonyl or oxygen ; and x 1 and x 2 are the same or different and are s , o , se , nr ′ 17 , pr ′ 17 or cr ′ 17 r ′ 18 , wherein r ′ 17 and r ′ 18 are hydrogen , alkylaryl , arylalkyl , alkyl or r 1 . illustrative of useful r ′ 1 , r ′ 3 , r ′ 4 , r ′ 5 , r ′ 6 , r ′ 7 , r ′ 8 , r ′ 9 , r ′ 10 , r ′ 11 , r ′ 12 , r ′ 13 , and r ′ 14 groups are hydrogen ; hydroxyl ; cyano ; nitro ; halo ; alkyl such as methyl , ethyl , butyl , pentyl , octyl , nonyl , tert - butyl , neopentyl , isopropyl , sec - butyl , dodecyl and the like , alkenyl such as 1 - propenyl , 4 - butenyl , 1 - pentenyl , 6 - hexenyl , 1 - heptenyl , 8 - octenyl and the like ; alkoxy such as propoxy , butoxy , methoxy , isopropoxy , pentoxy , nonyloxy , ethoxy , octyloxy , and the like ; alkanoyl such as butanoyl , pentanoyl , octanoyl , ethanoyl , propanoyl and the like ; arylamino and diarylamino such as phenylamino , diphenylamino and the like ; alkylsulfinyl , alkylsulfonyl , alkylthio , arylsulfonyl , arylthio , and the like ; such as butylthio , neopentylthio , methylsulfinyl , benzylsulfinyl , phenylsulfinyl , propylthio , octylthio , nonylsulfonyl , octylsulfonyl , methylthio , isopropylthio , phenylsulfonyl , methylsulfonyl , nonylthio , phenylthio , ethylthio , benzylthio , phenethylthio , sec - butylthio , naphthylthio and the like ; alkoxycarbonyl such as methoxycarbonyl , ethoxycarbonyl , butoxycarbonyl and the like ; alkylamino and dialkylamino such as dimethylamino , methylamino , diethylamino , ethylamino , dibutylamino , butylamino and the like ; cycloalkyl such as cyclohexyl , cyclopentyl , cyclooctyl , cycloheptyl and the like ; alkoxyalkyl such as methoxymethylene , ethoxymethylene , butoxymethylene , propoxyethylene , pentoxybutylene and the like ; arylalkylamino such as methylphenylamino , ethylphenylamino and the like ; aryloxyalkyl and aryloxyaryl such as phenoxyphenylene , phenoxymethylene and the like ; and various substituted alkyl and aryl groups such as 1 - hydroxybutyl , 1 - aminobutyl , 1 - hydroxylpropyl , 1 - hydroxypentyl , 1 - hydroxyoctyl , 1 - hydroxyethyl , 2 - nitroethyl , trifluoromethyl , 3 , 4 - epoxy - butyl , cyanomethyl , 3 - chloropropyl , 4 - nitrophenyl , 3 - cyanophenyl , 1 - hydroxymethyl , and the like ; hydroxyl terminated alkyl and aryl groups such as 2 - hydroxy ethyl , 4 - hydroxy butyl and 4 - hydroxy phenyl ; sulfonic acid , carboxylic acid and phosphoric acid terminated alkyl and aryl groups such as ethylsulfonic acid , propylsulfonic acid , butylsulfonic acid , phenylsulfonic acid , and the corresponding carboxylic and phosphoric acids and derivatives of said sulfonic , carboxylic and phosphoric acids as for example salts , esters and the like . exemplary of other useful r ′ 1 to r ′ 14 groups are moieties of the formula : where r , r ′ 15 and r ′ 16 are as described above . useful r ′ 15 groups include divalent moieties of the formulas —( ch 2 ) 2 —, —( ch 2 ) 3 —, —( ch 2 ) 4 —, and —( ch 2 ch ( ch 3 ))—, and useful r ′ 16 groups include — ch 3 , — ch 2 ch 3 and —( ch 2 ) 8 ch 3 . illustrative of substituents having such r ′ 15 and r ′ 16 are ethyleneglycol monomethylether , diethylene glycol monomethylether , triethylene glycol monomethylether , tetraethylene glycol monomethylether , and the like . illustrative of r ′ 17 groups are hydrogen , methyl , ethyl , propyl , hexyl , octyl , nonyl , phenyl , benzyl , vinyl , allyl , dodecylphenyl , phenethyl , phenylpropyl , 2 , 4 - dimethylphenyl , 4 - methylphenyl and the like . preferred polymers for use in the practice of this invention are homopolymers , and random or block copolymers of the above formulas i to xiv of fig3 and 4 in which : m , and the sum of n , o , p and q are natural numbers at least about 20 , with the proviso that at least one of n or o is not zero ; r ′ 1 , r ′ 2 , r ′ 3 and r ′ 4 are the same or different at each occurrence and are hydrogen or hydroxyl or alkyl having from 1 to about 20 carbon atoms , such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , sec - butyl , isobutyl , n - pentyl , isopentyl , sec - pentyl , tert - pentyl , n - hexyl , n - octyl , n - nonyl , n - decyl , and n - dodecyl ; phenyl ; alkylphenyl such as 2 , 4 - dimethylphenyl , 4 - methylphenyl , 4 - ethylphenyl , and 4 - butylphenyl ; phenylalkyl such as benzyl , phenethyl ; alkxoy having from 1 to about 12 carbon atoms such as methoxy , ethoxy , and propoxy ; alkanoyl having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms such as formyl , acetyl , and propionyl ; alkylthio , having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms such as methylthio , ethylthio , propylthio , dodecylthio and butylthio ; alkoxyalkyl having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms such methoxymethyl , ethoxyethyl and heptoxypropyl ; alkenyl having from 1 to about 20 carbon atoms such as allyl , vinyl and 3 - butenyl ; or aryl and alkyl substituted with phosphonic acid and derivatives thereof , cyano , nitro , epoxy , hydroxyl , carboxylic acid and derivatives , sulfonic acid and derivatives , or halo substituents , such as trifluoromethyl , 3 , 4 - epoxybutyl , cyanomethyl , 2 - nitroethyl , 3 - chloropropyl , 4 - nitrophenyl , hydroxyethyl , — ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 so 3 h ; — ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 p ( o )( oh ) 2 ; and — ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 co 2 h ; or moiety of the formula : r ′ 15 is divalent alkylene having from 1 to about 4 carbon atoms ; r ′ 16 in alkyl having from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms ; and r in a natural number from 1 to about 25 such as ethylene glycol monomethylether and the like ; or any of r ′ 1 , and r ′ 2 , or r ′ 3 and r ′ 4 , substituents taken together may form an alkylene , alkenylene or alkynylene chain having from 2 to 20 carbon atoms completing a 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 or 10 membered ring system ( s ) which may include one or more degrees of unsaturation or one or more heteroatoms of oxygen , nitrogen or sulfur such as 1 , 4 - butanediyl , 1 , 2 - ethanediyl , — ch 2 sch 2 —, — ch 2 och 2 —, — ch 2 ch 2 — nh — ch 2 —, or — ch 2 ch 2 — nh 2 —; r ′ 5 to r ′ 14 are the same or different at each occurrence and hydrogen or hydroxyl or alkyl having from 1 to about 12 carbon atoms , phenyl , alkylthio having from 1 to about 12 carbon atom or alkoxy having from 1 to about 12 carbon atoms ; alkoxyalkyl having from 2 to about 12 carbon atoms ; alkylamino having about 1 to about 12 carbon atoms alkyl ; or phenyl substituted with hydroxyl , acid functional groups , such as sulfonic acid , carboxylic acid , phosphonic acid , phosphoric acid , phosphinic acid , sulfinic acid and the derivatives thereof , such as salts , esters , and the like ; cyano , nitro , epoxy , or halo substituents , or any of r ′ 5 , and r ′ 6 , or r ′ 7 and r ′ 8 , or r ′ 9 and r ′ 10 , or r ′ 11 and r ′ 12 , or r ′ 13 and r ′ 14 substituents together may form an alkenylene , alkynylene or alkylene chain having 2 to about 20 carbon atoms completing a 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 or 10 membered ring system ( s ) which may include one or more degrees of unsaturation or one or more heteroatoms of oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen such as 1 , 4 - butanediyl , 1 , 2 - ethanediyl , — ch 2 sch 2 — or — ch 2 och 2 —; and x 1 and x 2 are the same or different and are oxygen , sulfur , nr ′ 17 or cr ′ 17 r ′ 18 , wherein r ′ 17 and r ′ 18 are hydrogen or alkyl or aryl . preferred for use in the practice of this invention are homopolymers and random copolymers of the above - referenced formula i to xiv , wherein : m , and the sum of n , o , p and q are at least about 40 with the proviso that at least one of n or o is not zero ; r ′ 1 , r ′ 2 , r ′ 3 and r ′ 4 are the same or different at each occurrence and are hydrogen ; hydroxyl ; alkyl having from 1 to about 12 carbon atoms such as ethyl , methyl , propyl , n - butyl , sec - butyl , n - hexyl , n - octyl , and n - dodecyl ; phenyl ; alkoxy or alkylthio having from 1 to about 12 carbon atoms such as methylthio , ethylthio , propylthio , butylthio , methoxy , ethoxy and 1 to about 12 carbon atoms such as methylthio , ethylthio , propylthio , butylthio , methoxy , ethoxy and butoxy ; alkoxyalkyl having from 1 to about 12 carbon atoms ; or a moiety of the formula : r ′ 15 is alkylene of about 2 to 3 carbon atoms ; r ′ 16 is alkyl of from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms ; and r ′ 5 , r ′ 6 , r ′ 7 , r ′ 8 , r ′ 9 , r ′ 10 , r ′ 11 , r ′ 12 , r ′ 13 and r ′ 14 are the same or different at each occurrence and are hydrogen ; hydroxyl ; alkyl , such as methyl , ethyl or the like ; substituted alkyl such as butylsulfonic acid , propylsulfonic acid , cyanomethyl , epoxybutyl , pentafluoroethyl , nitropropyl , and butylcarboxylic acid ; alkoxy such as methoxy , ethoxy , butoxy , and the like ; and alkylthio such as methylthio , ethylthio and the like ; or any of r ′ 5 , and r ′ 6 , r ′ 7 and r ′ 8 , r ′ 9 and r ′ 10 , or r ′ 11 and r ′ 12 , or r ′ 13 and r ′ 14 together may be an alkenylene or alkylene chain forming an alicyclic , aromatic or heteroaromatic ring ; x 1 , and x 2 are the same or different and are oxygen , sulfur , nr ′ 17 or cr ′ 17 r ′ 18 wherein r ′ 17 and r ′ 18 are hydrogen or alkyl having from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms . among the embodiments , preferred are copolymers and homopolymers of formula i to xiv in which : m , or the sum of n , o , p and q is at least about 50 with the proviso that at least one of n or o is not zero ; r ′ 1 to r ′ 4 are the same or different at each occurrence and are hydrogen , or alkyl , alkoxy or r ′ 15 is —( ch 2 ) 2 — or —( ch 2 ch ( ch 3 ))—; r ′ 16 is — ch 3 or — ch 2 ch 3 ; and r ′ 5 , r ′ 6 , r ′ 7 , r ′ 8 , r ′ 9 , r ′ 10 , r ′ 11 , r ′ 12 , r ′ 13 and r ′ 14 , are the same or different at each occurrence and are hydrogen , hydroxyl , alkyl , alkoxy , or any of r ′ 5 and r ′ 6 , r ′ 7 and r ′ 8 , r ′ 9 and r ′ 10 , or r ′ 11 and r ′ 12 , or r ′ 13 and r ′ 14 together may form a divalent alkylene or alkenylene chain forming an alicyclic , aromatic and / or heteroaromatic ring ; and x 1 , and x 2 are sulfur , nr ′ 17 or cr ′ 17 r ′ 18 wherein r ′ 17 and r ′ 18 are hydrogen or alkyl having from 1 to about 7 carbon atoms . still other preferred electrically conductive polymers are polyanilines . as used herein , “ polyanilines ” are homopolymers or copolymers in which at least 50 mole % of the recurring backbone monomeric units in vary ratio are selected from the group consisting of substituted or unsubstituted phenyl rings and amine linkages (— nh — or — nr — where r is substituent other than hydrogen ) with varying amounts of substituted or unsubstituted quinoid rings and imine (— n ═) linkages . any form of such polyanilines can be conveniently used in the practice of this invention . illustrative of useful forms are those described in green , a . g . and woodhead , a . e ., cxvii - aniline - black and allied compounds , part ii ”, j . chem . soc . 101 , pp . 1117 ( 1912 ) and in kobayashi , et al ., “ electrochemical reactions . . . of polyaniline film - coated electrodes ”, j . electroanal . chem ., 177 , pp . 281 - 91 ( 1984 ) and in shacklette , l . w ., et al . “ structure and properties of polyaniline as modeled by single - crystal oligomers ”, j . chem . phys ., 88 , pp . 3955 ( 1988 ), which are hereby incorporated by references . in the preferred embodiments , the polymer is polyaniline . as used herein , the polyaniline consists of repeat units of the formulas xv or xvi of fig5 a combination thereof having various ratios of the above repeat units in the polyaniline backbone such as leucoemeraldine , protoemeraldine , emeraldine , nigraniline and pernigraniline . illustrative of these preferred polyanilines useful in the practice of this invention are those of the formulas xvii to xx of fig5 ; n , m , r 1 and r 2 are as described above ; x and y are the same or different at each occurrence and are integers equal to or greater than 0 , with the proviso that the sum of x and y is greater than 0 , preferably were x is an integer equal to or greater than 0 and / or that the ratio of x to y is greater than or equal to about 0 , more preferably said ratio is equal to or greater than 0 . 5 and most preferably said ratio is equal to or greater than about 1 ; and z is the same or different at each occurrence and is an integer equal to or greater than 1 . preferred for use in the practice of this invention are polyanilines of the above formulas xvii to xx in which : m is an integer from 1 to 4 , with the proviso that the sum of n and m is equal to 4 ; r 1 is alkyl , aryl , arylthio , alkylthio or alkoxy having from 1 to about 30 carbon atoms , sulfinic acid , sulfinate , sulfinic acid salt , amino , alkylamino , dialkylamino , arylamino , diarylamino , hydroxyamino , hydroxy , nitro , phosphinate alkylsulfonyl , arylsulfonyl , sulfonic acid , sulfonate , phosphinic acid , phosphinic acid salt , phosphinate , carboxylic acid , carboxylate , phosphonic acid , phosphonate , phosphonic acid salt , cyano , halo , or alkyl , aryl , arylthio , alkylthio or alkoxy substituted with one or more phosphonic acid , phosphoric acid , borate , sulfonate , carboxylate , phosphonate , phosphonic acid salt , boric acid , phosphinic acid , phosphinate , phosphinic acid salt , sulfinic acid , sulfinate , sulfinic acid salt , carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid substituents ; r 2 is the same or different at each occurrence and is hydrogen , r 1 , alkyl , aryl , or aryl or alkyl substituted with sulfonic acid , sulfonate , phosphinic acid , phsophinate , phosphonic acid salt , carboxylic acid , carboxylate , sulfinic acid , sulfinate , sulfinic acid salt , boric acid , borate , phosphonic acid , phosphonate , phosphonic acid salt substituents ; y is equal to or greater than 0 , with the proviso that the ratio of x to y is equal to or greater than 0 . 5 ; z is an integer equal to or greater than about 5 ; particularly preferred for use in the practice of this invention are polyanilines of the above formulas xvii to xx in which : m is an integer from 2 to 4 , with the proviso that the sum of n and m is equal to 4 ; r 1 is alkyl , alkoxy , arylthio , alkythio , amino , alkylamino , dialkylamino , arylamino , diarylamino , hydroxyamino , hydroxy , alkylsulfonyl , arylsulfonyl , carboxylic acid , carboxylate , phosphinic acid salt , phosphinic acid , sulfonic acid , sulfonate , sulfinic acid , phosphonic acid , sulfinic acid salt , phosphonic acid salt , or alkyl substituted with carboxylic acid , phosphinic acid , sulfinic acid , phosphinic acid salt , halo , sulfinic acid salt , sulfonate , carboxylate , phosphonic acid , phosphonic acid salt , or sulfonic acid substituents ; wherein the aliphatic components of r 1 substituents include from 1 to about 30 carbon atoms and the aryl components of any r 1 substituent include from 6 to about 30 carbon atoms ; r 2 is the same or different at each occurrence and is hydrogen or r 2 , alkyl , hydroxy , alkylsulfonyl , arylsulfonyl , or r 2 , or alkyl substituted with one or more carboxylic acid , sulfinic acid , sulfinic acid salt , carboxylate , phosphinic acid salt , phosphinic acid , sulfonic acid , sulfinate salt , phosphonic acid or phosphonic acid salt substituents ; wherein the aliphatic components of any r 2 substituent include from 1 to about 30 carbon atoms and the aryl components of any r 2 substituent include from 6 to 30 carbon atoms ; y is equal to or greater than 0 , with the proviso that the ratio of x to y is greater than about 1 ; and z is an integer equal to or greater than about 10 . in the preferred embodiments of this invention , the polyaniline is derived from aniline or n - alkylaniline either unsubstituted or substituted with at least one sulfonate , sulfonic acid , alkyl or alkoxy . polyaniline derived from unsubstituted aniline polyaniline of choice . in general , the number of repeat units in the conjugated backbone homopolymer or copolymer repeat units are not critical and may vary widely . the greater the number of repeat units the greater the viscosity and molecular weight of the conjugated backbone homopolymer or copolymer . in those applications where a conjugated backbone homopolymer or copolymer of relatively low molecular weight and viscosity is required , such materials may be used , and in those applications where a conjugated backbone homopolymer or copolymer of relatively high molecular weight and viscosity is required , then such materials can be used . the number of repeat units is at least about 10 . the upper limit can vary widely depending on the desired molecular weight and viscosity and the required degree of processibility , such as melt processibility , solution processibility and the like . in the preferred embodiments of the invention , the number of repeat units is at least about 20 , and in the particularly preferred embodiments , the number of repeat units is at least about 30 . amongst the particularly preferred embodiments , most preferred are those embodiments in which the number of repeat units is at least about 40 . conjugated backbone homopolymers and copolymers can be conveniently prepared through conventional procedures . such procedures are well known in the art and will not be described herein in great detail . see for example u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 940 , 640 ; 4 , 711 , 742 ; 4 , 521 , 589 ; 4 , 808 , 681 ; 4 , 983 , 322 ; 5 , 006 , 278 and 4 , 900 , 782 and “ the handbook of conducting polymers ”, edited by terje a . skotheim , marcell dikker , inc . new york and basel and references cited therein , all of which is hereby incorporated by reference . for example , preferred polyanilines can be prepared through use of chemical and electrochemical synthetic procedures . for example , one form of polyaniline can be prepared by treating aniline with ammonium persulfate ( nh 4 ) 2 s 2 o 8 in excess 1m hcl . this powdered form of polyaniline is blue green in color . after methanol washing and air drying this material exhibits a conductivity of about 5 s / cm . this conductive form of polyaniline can be treated with ammonium hydroxide in ethanol to form a non - conductive form of polyaniline which is purple in color and which has a conductivity of less than 10 − 10 s / cm . other chemical procedures for preparation of various chemical forms of polyaniline are described in detail in green et al and u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 855 , 361 , 4 , 798 , 685 , 4 , 806 , 271 , 4 , 822 , 638 , 4 , 851 , 487 and 4 , 940 , 517 . likewise , unsubstituted polypyrrole can also be prepared by treating pyrrole with ammonium persulfate , ( nh 4 ) 2 s 2 o 8 , or with ferric chloride ( fecl 3 ) in excess 1m hcl . useful forms of polyaniline , polypyrrole or other conducting polymers ( such as polyaromatics or polyheteroaromatics ) can also be prepared electrochemically . for example , useful forms of polyaniline or polypyrrole can be prepared by the electrochemical oxidation of aniline or pyrrole , respectively , in aqueous fluoroboric acid electrolyte on a platinum foil anode . other chemical and electrochemical syntheses and transformations of polyaniline , polypyrrole or other conducting polymers may be discovered and are presently contemplated as being useful . moreover , additional forms or types of polyaniline may be elucidated in the future . accordingly , no limitation to the syntheses , transformation , or structures herein described or postulated is intended beyond the limitations or equivalents of the appended claims . the conjugated backbone homopolymer or copolymer , as used in this invention , can be either in the neutral undoped ( nonconductive ) form ( s ) or in the conductive and doped forms with various doping degrees . in the case of conductive and doped forms , the conjugated backbone homopolymer or copolymer can be doped with a suitable dopant to render the polymer electrically conductive . dopants for use in general can be such materials which are known in the art for use in doping conjugated backbone homopolymer or copolymers to form conductive or semi - conductive polymers , such as oxidizing dopants can be used . illustrative of useful oxidizing dopants are asf 5 , no + and no 2 + salts ( such as nobf 4 , nopf 6 , nosbf 6 , noasf 6 , no 2 bf 4 , no 2 pf 6 , no 2 a s f 6 , no 2 sbf 6 , and the like ), hclo 4 , hno 3 , h 2 so 4 , so 3 , i 2 , and fe ( iii ) salts ( such as fecl 3 , fe ( ots ) 3 , fe ( cf 3 so 3 ) 3 , and the like ). illustrative of other dopants are protonic acid dopants . such dopants include inorganic acids , such as hydrofluoric acid , hydroiodic acid , phosphoric acid , nitric acid , boric acid , sulfuric acid and the like . other protonic acid dopants are organic acids , such as aryl or alkyl compounds containing sulfonic acid , sulfinic acid , carboxylic acid , phosphonic acid , phosphinic acid , or boric acid moieties . the composite fiber of the present invention can be prepared by coating the core fiber with an organic polymer via a reaction coating process , by placing the core fiber in a reaction solution that contains a monomer of the organic polymer and a chemical reagent capable of initiating or inducing monomer polymerization . when the coating material is a non - conjugated polymer , then the monomer is preferably selected from the group comprising of substituted or unsubstituted acrylonitriles , substituted or unsubstituted vinyl chlorides , substituted or unsubstituted vinyl alcohols , or substituted or unsubstituted vinyl acetates . when the coating material is a conjugated polymer , then the useful monomers for performing such reaction coating are substituted or unsubstituted anilines , substituted or unsubstituted pyrroles , substituted or unsubstituted thiophenes , substituted or unsubstituted furans , substituted or unsubstituted benzenes , substituted or unsubstituted thiophenols , substituted or unsubstituted acetylenes , or substituted or unsubstituted arylacetylenes , and other aromatics , or heteroaromatics . in the preferred embodiments of this invention , conjugated conducting polymer ( homopolymer or copolymer ) coating layers are prepared via the reaction coating from their corresponding monomers , as illustrated in the formula from xxi to xxiv of fig6 ; k is an integer from 0 to 4 , or 5 , or 6 ; r 1 is the same or different at each occurrence and is selected from the group consisting of alkyl , deuterium , alkenyl , alkoxy , cycloalkyl , cycloalkenyl , alkanoyl , alkylthio , aryloxy , alkylthioalkyl , alkylaryl , arylalkyl , amino , alkylamino , dialkylamino , arylamino , diarylamino , alkylarylamino , aryl , alkylsulfinyl , aryloxyalkyl , alkylsulfinylalkyl , alkoxyalkyl , phosphonic acid , alkylsulfonyl , arylthio , alkylsulfonylalkyl , boric acid , phosphoric acid , sulfinate salts , arylsulfinyl , alkoxycarbonyl , arylsulfonyl , carboxylic acid , phosphonic acid , halo , hydroxy , cyano , sulfinic acid , carboxylate salts , borate salts , phosphate salts , sulfonate salts , phosphinate salts , phosphonate salts , phosphonic acid , sulfonic acid , nitro , alkylsilyl , or any of the foregoing aryl , aliphatic or cycloaliphatic groups substituted with one or more phosphonic acid , sulfonic acid , phosphoric acid , boric acid , carboxylate salt , borate salt , sulfonate salt , phosphinate salt , phosphonate salt , phosphate salt , phosphinic acid , carboxylic acid , halo , nitro , amino , alkylamino , dialkylamino , arylamino , diarylamino , alkylarylamino , cyano or epoxy moieties ; or any two r 1 groups together , or any r 1 group together with any r 2 group may form a substituted or unsubstituted alkylene , alkenylene or alkynylene chain completing a 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 or 10 membered aromatic , heteroaromatic , heteroalicyclic or alicyclic ring , which ring may optionally include one or more divalent nitrogen , sulfur , sulfinyl , ester , carbonyl , sulfonyl , or oxygen atoms wherein permissible substituents are one or more phosphonic acid , sulfonic acid , phosphoric acid , boric acid , carboxylate salt , borate salt , sulfonate salt , phosphinate salts , phosphonate salt , phosphate salt , phosphinic acid , carboxylic acid , halo , nitro , amino , alkylamino , dialkylamino , arylamino , diarylamino , alkylarylamino , cyano or epoxy moieties ; or r 1 is an aliphatic moiety having repeat units of the formula : —( ch 2 ) q — cf 3 , —( cf 2 ) q — cf 3 or —( ch 2 ) q — ch 3 r 2 is selected from the group consisting of permissible r 1 substituents and hydrogen . x 1 and x 2 are the same or different and are s , o , se , nr 4 , pr 4 , or cr 5 r 6 , wherein r 4 , r 5 , and r 6 are the same or different at each occurrence and are hydrogen , alkylaryl , arylalkyl , alkyl or r 1 . illustrative of useful r 1 groups are hydrogen , alkyl , such as methyl , ethyl , octyl , nonyl , tert - butyl , neopentyl , isopropyl , sec - butyl , dodecyl and the like , alkenyl such as 1 - propenyl , 1 - butenyl , 1 - pentenyl , 1 - hexenyl , 1 - heptenyl , 1 - octenyl and the like ; alkoxy such as propoxy , butoxy , methoxy , isopropoxy , pentoxy , nonoxy , ethyoxy , octoxy , and the like ; cycloalkenyl such as cyclohexenyl , cyclopentenyl and the like ; alkanoyl such as butanoyl , pentanoyl , octanoyl , ethanoyl , propanoyl and the like ; amino ; alkylamino , such as methylamino , ethylamino , butylamino and the like ; dialkylamino , such as dimethylamino , methylethylamino and the like ; arylamino such as phenylamino , p - methylphenylamino and the like ; diarylamino , such as diphenylamino , p - nitrophenyl - p ′- methylphenyl - amino and the like ; alkylarylamino , such as 2 - phenyl - 4 - methylamino and the like ; alkylsulfinyl , alkylsulfonyl , alkylthio , arylthio , arylsulfinyl , and arylsulfonyl such as butylthio , neopentylthio , methylsulfinyl , benzylsulfinyl , phenylsulfinyl , propylthio , octylthio , nonylsulfonyl , octylsulfonyl , methylthio , isopropylthio , phenylsulfonyl , methylsulfonyl , nonylthio , phenylthio , ethylthio , benzylthio , phenethylthio , sec - butylthio , naphthylthio and the like ; alkoxycarbonyl such as methoxycarbonyl , ethoxycarbonyl , butoxycarbonyl and the like ; cycloalkyl such as cyclohexyl , cyclopentyl , cyclooctyl , cycloheptyl and the like ; alkoxyalkyl such as methoxymethyl , ethoxymethyl , butoxymethyl , propoxyethyl , pentoxybutyl and the like ; aryloxyalkyl and aryloxyaryl such as phenoxyphenyl , phenoxymethyl and the like ; and various substituted alkyl and aryl groups such as 1 - hydroxybutyl , 1 - aminobutyl , 1 - hydroxypropyl , 1 - hydroxypentyl , 1 - hydroxyoctyl , 1 - hydroxyethyl , 2 - nitroethyl , trifluoromethyl , 3 , 4 - epoxybutyl , cyanomethyl , 3 - chloropropyl , 4 - nitrophenyl , 3 - cyanophenyl , and the like ; acid and acid salts such as sulfonic acid , carboxylic acid and salts thereof ; aliphatic or aryl groups substituted with an acid or salt thereof such as phosphonic acid , phosphinic acid , sulfonate salt , sulfinate salt , sulfonic acid , sulfinic acid , borate salt , phosphoric acid , boric acid , or carboxylic acid groups such as ethylsulfonic acid , propylsulfonic acid , 4 - nitrobenzene sulfonic acid , butylsulfonic acid , phenylsulfonic acid , and the like . also illustrative of useful r 1 groups are divalent moieties derived from any two r 1 groups , or a r 1 group with a r 2 group , or a r 1 group with a r 4 , or a r 5 , or a r 6 group such as moieties having from about 2 to about 7 repeat units in various combination and various occurrence order of the following formula : wherein r 3 is the same or different at each occurrence and is hydrogen , alkyl , alkoxy , or r 1 , as for example —( ch 2 ) 4 —, —( ch 2 ) 3 —, —( ch ═ ch — ch ═ ch )—, —( ch 2 — ch ( ch 3 )— ch 2 )— and —( ch 2 ) 5 —, and groups comprised of such moieties which include one or more heteroatoms of oxygen , nitrogen , ester , sulfonyl , carbonyl , sulfinyl , and / or sulfur , such as — ch 2 sch 2 — — ch 2 nhch 2 —, — sch 2 nhch 2 —, — o — ch 2 — ch 2 — o — ch 2 — s — ch 2 —, — ch 2 s ( o 2 ) ch 2 —, — ch 2 s ( o ) ch 2 —, — oc ( o ) ch 2 ch 2 —, — ch 2 c ( o ) ch 2 — and — ch 2 — o — ch 2 — to form heterocyclic amino compounds such as tetrahydronaphthylamine , dihydrobenzopyrroleamine , benzofuranamine , dihydrobenzopyranamine , dihydrobenzofuranamine , dihydrobenzoparaoxazineamine , dihydrobenzoparadiazineamine , dihydrobenzotriazoleamine , dihydrobenzothiazineamine , benzothiopyranamine , dihydrobenzoxazoleamine and the like . exemplary of useful r 3 groups are divalent alkenylene chains containing 1 to about 3 unsaturated bonds such as divalent 1 , 3 - butadiene and like moieties which may also include one or more divalent oxygen , nitrogen , sulfinyl , sulfonyl , carbonyl , ester , and / or sulfur groups which form such compounds as benzodiazineamine , benzodiazoleamine , benzotriazepineamine , benzimidazolylamine , benzisoxazoleamine , benzoxazolylamine , benzothiazineamine , benzoxazineamine , naphthaleneamine , benzopyranamine , benzothiazineamine , anthraceneamine , aminobenzothiopyran , aminobenzodiazine , benzthiopyrone amine , aminocoumarin , benzothiopheneamine , benzothiodiazoleamine , and the like . exemplary of useful r 2 groups are hydrogen and the above - referenced representative r 1 groups described above such as alkyl as for example , methyl , ethyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , hexyl , octyl and the like ; alkylsulfonyl such as methylsulfonyl , ethylsufonyl , propylsulfonyl and the like , arylsulfonyl such as phenylsulfonyl , p - methylphenylsulfonyl , naphthylsulfonyl and the like . in the preferred embodiments of this invention , conjugated conducting polymer ( homopolymer or copolymer ) skin layers are prepared via the reaction coating from their corresponding monomers , as illustrated in the formula from xxi to xxiv : r 1 is aryl , alkyl , alkylthio , arylthio , or alkoxy having from 1 to about 30 carbon atoms , cyano , halo , sulfonic acid , carboxylic acid , boric acid , borate salt , phosphoric acid , phosphate salt , phosphonic acid , phosphonate salt , phosphinic acid , phosphinate salt , sulfinic acid , sulfinate salt , carboxylate salt , sulfonate salt , amino , alkylamino , dialkylamino , arylamino , hydroxy , nitro , alkythio , arylthio , diarylamino , alkylarylamino , or alkyl , aryl , alkylthio , arylthio , or alkoxy substituted with phosphonic acid , phosphate salt , phosphoric acid , borate salt , sulfonate salt , amino , alkylamino , dialkylamino , arylamino , diarylamino , alkylarylamino , carboxylate salt , hydroxy , alkoxy , phosphonic acid , boric acid , alkyl , phosphinic acid , phosphonate salt , phosphinate salts , carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid substituents ; and r 2 is the same or different at each occurrence and is a r 1 substituent or hydrogen . x 1 and x 2 are the same or different and are s , o , nr 4 , pr 4 , or cr 5 r 6 , wherein r 4 , r 5 , and r 6 are the same or different at each occurrence and are hydrogen , alkylaryl , arylalkyl , alkyl or r 1 . in the particularly preferred embodiments of this invention , conjugated conducting polymer ( homopolymer or copolymer ) skin layers are prepared via the reaction coating from their corresponding monomers , as illustrated in the formula from xxi to xxiv of fig6 ; wherein : r 1 is aryl , alkyl , alkylthio , arylthio , or alkoxy having from 1 to about 20 carbon atoms , sulfonic acid , halo , carboxylic acid , amino , carboxylate salt , alkylamino , phosphonate salt , dialkylamino , arylamino , phosphonic acid , boric acid , phosphate salt , phosphoric acid , borate salt , diarylamino , alkylarylamino , or alkyl , alkylthio , arylthio , or aryl substituted with carboxylic acid , phosphoric acid , boric acid , phosphate salt , phosphonic acid , borate salt , sulfonate salt , amino , alkylamino , dialkylamino , arylamino , diarylamino , alkylarylamino , carboxylate salt , halo , phosphonate salt , or sulfonic acid substituents ; and r 2 is the same or different at each occurrence and is a r 1 subsituent or hydrogen . x 1 and x 2 are the same or different and are s , o , nr 4 , or cr 5 r 6 , wherein r 4 , r 5 , and r 6 are the same or different at each occurrence and are hydrogen , alkylaryl , arylalkyl , alkyl or r 1 . while the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , the embodiments are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed herein . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . similarly , any process steps described may be interchangeable with other steps in order to achieve the same result . the scope of the present invention is defined by the following claims and their equivalents . | 2 |
referring now in detail to the single figure of drawing , the mumeral 10 denotes a storage tank for the dextrose solution supply . this tank 10 is provided with a heat exchange jacket 11 through which hot water can be circulated to maintain the supply solution at an elevated temperature . the tank is also provided with an impeller 12 ( shown schematically , without any power source ) to keep the solution mixed and at a substantially uniform concentration . the tank 10 is connected through a line 14 to a metering pump 15 , that can transfer the supply solution through a line 16 to a heat exchanger 18 . the heat exchanger 18 discharges through a line 19 to the upper end of a reaction column 20 . the reaction column 20 is generally cylindrical and is provided with : a cover plate 21 that can be bolted to the generally cyliindrical side wall 22 ; a heating jacket 24 about its side wall 22 ; and a bottom plate 25 . the product stream discharges through a line 26 at the lower end of the reaction column . the present invention is concerned with the material that forms the bed within the column 20 . the inert , non - porous beads , for use in the bed , may have a variety of shapes . for convenience , however , spherical beads are preferred , with a size range from about 0 . 1 mm . to about 10 mm . in diameter , or preferably , from about 0 . 3 mm . to about 1 . 0 mm . ( which corresponds to - 18 - + 50 mesh u . s . standard sieve size ). for one preferred mode of operation , the syrup substrate has a specific gravity of about 1 . 15 . spherical glass beads have a bulk specific gravity of about 1 . 5 , whereas the corresponding figure for spherical polystyrene beads is about 1 . 0 . the polystyrene beads are preferred because of their apparent buoyant effect during operation . when spherical beads are placed in a bed in a column , with random packing , the interstitial void space amounts to from about 25 to about 40 % of the bed volume . the enzyme preparation ideally is disposed in this interstitial void space . it may be placed there in a variety of ways . one convenient way is to flow it into place in the form of a dilute slurry , utilizing applied vacuum and / or applied pressure to achieve any desired compaction to permit appropriate loading in terms of activity units per unit of volume . the invention is useful in improving flow characteristics ( indeed , in making flow possible in many cases ) wherever the enzyme preparation , if used alone , would present a packing or channeling problem . the invention will now be described in detail and further illustrated by several specific demonstrations of its use . cells of streptomyces olivochromogenes were grown in a fermentor . the growth medium contained xylose as an inducing agent , to cause the cells to secrete dextrose isomerase . the cells were recovered from the mycelium in the form of a filter cake containing 3 grams of filter aid for each gram of cellular material , dry substance basis . the initial activity of the filter cake - enzyme preparation was 287 units per gram . a mixture was then made of the filter cake , which served as the enzyme preparation , together with generally spherical polystyrene beads having a smooth , non - porous surface and a mesh size of - 18 + 50 , u . s . standard sieve . this mixture was then packed into a cylindrical column , using a particular packing technique . thus , the enzyme preparation was soaked in water for 2 hours before it was mixed with the polystyrene beads . the mixture was then loaded into the column in small increments . after each increment was added , a vacuum was applied to the lower , discharge end of the column , to remove the water from the mixture and to cause the material in the column to pack down . when the water had been substantially completely removed from each increment added to the column , the column was covered , the cover was bolted on , and the column was pressurized with nitrogen . this packed down the mixture in the column . another increment was then added to the column , and this entire procedure was repeated several times until the column was full . a supply liquor was made up from a solution of crystalline dextrose and water , at 30 ° c baume ( 60 ° f / 60 ° f ) ( 700 grams of dextrose per liter ). a stream of this substrate was passed through the column , and was permitted to flow downwardly through the bed , at an initial flow rate of about 0 . 66 bed volumes per hour , where a &# 34 ; bed volume &# 34 ; is calculated as the difference between total bed volume and the volume actually occupied by the beads . in other words , the flow rate is expressed in terms of the interstitial volume of the beads , on the assumption that the active bed of enzyme preparation is equivalent in volume to the interstitial volume of the beads . stated another way , since the beads are inert , actual bead volume , exclusive of void space , is excluded from bed volume as calculated for flow rate purposes . the term &# 34 ; bed volume &# 34 ; is used consistently hereafter with this same meaning . the column was maintained in operation for a period of 28 days , and the flow rate was gradually reduced to about 0 . 25 bed volumes per hour during that period of time . the initial flow rate was adjusted so that the effluent product contained 45 % ketose dry basis . the column was then operated at a constant flow rate for more than 9 days , during which the effluent contained 44 - 45 % ketose dry basis . thereafter , the flow rate was periodically decreased to maintain the effluent at a ketose content of about 45 %, until the operations were finally stopped after 28 days of continuous operation . the column was operated at a ph of about 8 . 0 , and at a temperature of about 60 ° c . based on gross bed volume , the loading of the column was 6 . 96 × 10 5 units of isomerase per cubic foot . throughout the isomerization , the pressure drop through the column was in the range from 50 - 60 psig at 0 . 5 bed volumes per hour flow rate . the product content of undesirable carbohydrates appeared to have a direct relationship , among other things , to the residence time in the column . the psicose content of the effluent stream did not exceed 0 . 5 % dry basis , and generally was 0 . 2 - 0 . 3 % dry basis . the polystyrene beads had a density below that of the dextrose solution . they therefore exhibited buoyancy in the bed during isomerization , and kept the bed loose , to establish a good flow pattern with no observable channelling . by way of contrast , when attempts had been made to operate a column under generally similar conditions , but with the bed made up of the enzyme preparation described above alone , with no inert , non - porous beads , very high pressure drops were required to maintain the bed in operation , channelling developed , and such generally poor flow patterns developed that commercial operations appeared impractical . moreover , while the presence of the filter aid in the enzyme preparation does appear to provide some benefits in connection with the hydraulic characteristics of a column containing the enzyme preparation alone , the porosity of filter aid particles tends to hold up some of the substrate liquor within the column and is therefore conducive to side reactions . continuous isomerization utilizing a fixed bed of microbial cells with polystyrene beads ; light column packing for this example , the column packing procedure was modified to omit the application of nitrogen pressure . instead , the entire bed was built up by adding an increment of the enzyme preparation of example 1 to a column previously filled with the polystyrene beads , removing the water by the application of vacuum , then adding another increment , and then repeating the procedure until the column had been filled . the net result of following this modified procedure was that the amount of material packed in the column was less than in example 1 . upon starting operations , the pressure drop through the column was observed to be only 20 psig . the column was operated for two days at a flow rate of 0 . 5 bed volumes per hour . the ketose concentration in the effluent was only 30 %. the conclusion is that good packing of the bed in the column is essential for efficient continuous isomerization . continuous isomerization utilizing a bed of microbial cells with glass beads for this demonstration of the invention , a jacketed column was used . the jacket was connected to a source of hot water , for controlling column temperature during isomerization . a strain of a microorganism of the streptomyces genus , that is recognized as a good dextrose isomerase producer , was grown under submerged , aerobic conditions on a medium containing xylose , to produce intracellular isomerase . after fermentation , magnesium hydroxide was added to the fermenter broth in the ratio of two parts by weight of magnesium hydroxide for each one part by weight of the cell mass in the broth , dry basis . the slurry thus obtained was filtered , and the filter cake was then dried in an open pan at room temperature . the activity of the dry enzyme preparation thus obtained was 330 units per gram . this dry enzyme preparation was dispersed in a 50 % w / v solution of dextrose . the slurry was then placed in the jacketed column , and as the slurry was added to the column , small glass beads , approximately 3 mm . in diameter , were added simultaneously . the glass beads served as a support and also prevented the enzyme preparation from plugging up the column . in this fashion , approximately 750 units of the enzyme were charged to the column . a dextrose syrup at 50 % w / v concentration was adjusted to a ph in the range from 7 . 0 to 7 . 5 by adding magnesium hydroxide . the syrup was sparged with nitrogen , and was then fed to the top of the column under a nitrogen atmosphere . the isomerization product was collected in aliquots of 15 ml ., in test tubes . the test tubes each contained about 5 ml . of 0 . 5 n perchloric acid to inactivate any soluble isomerase that might be present in the product . the temperature of the column was maintained at about 60 ° c during an initial phase of operation . the flow rate of dextrose solution through the column was maintained at a substantially uniform rate , and the ketose content of the effluent was 40 - 50 % on a dry solids basis . the isomerization was conducted in this manner for nine days before a substantial decrease in enzyme activity became apparent , by a dropping off in the ketose value observed in the effluent . during that initial phase of operation , the average ketose content of the effluent was 38 . 7 %. at the end of this initial phase of operation , the temperature of the column was increased from the initial level of 60 ° c to 70 ° c in a single step . isomerization was then continued , at the increased temperature , for an additional period of 24 hours . the ketose content of the product averaged out at about 49 %, for the second phase of operation . the results are summarized below in table 2 . the column was loaded with a mixture of 754 parts by weight of glass beads and 31 . 2 parts by weight of the enzyme preparation , which was dextrose isomerase immobilized on deae cellulose . in terms of activity , the column loading was 4 . 8 million units per cubic foot or 2 , 983 units per gram . the substrate was prepared by adding to a 12 . 4 ° baume dextrose solution a sufficient quantity of magnesium hydroxide to adjust the ph to 7 . 8 . the feed solution was then passed through the column , to effect isomerization . observations were made with the feed passing through the column under gravity , and under several different applied pressures . a substantially linear relationship was observed between flow rate and pressure drop through the column , where the flow rate was calculated in bed volumes per hour . the use of a pressure drop through the column is advantageous since it permits a higher throughput rate for a given piece of equipment . flow rates from about one bed volume per hour under gravity , to 5 bed volumes per hour under 5 psi gauge , up to as high as 40 bed volumes per hour under a pressure drop of 40 psi gauge , were successfully used with this particular piece of equipment . since the substrate is a rather viscous solution , and its viscosity decreases as its temperature is increased , even high flow rates can be obtained . similarly favorable flow rates were observed when the column was packed with a mixture of an enzyme preparation of dextrose isomerase immobilized on deae starch and beads . generally speaking , less favorable results are obtained when the column is packed with the enzyme preparation alone , such as , for example , dextrose isomerase that is immobilized on deae cellulose , or dextrose isomerase that is immobilized on deae starch , as compared to operations when the column is packed with a mixture of the enzyme preparation with beads . in columns packed with enzyme preparations of this type , the polystyrene beads seem to be preferable to glass beads under similar operating conditions , since the flow rates are generally better with beds utilizing the polystyrene beads . the improvement that is obtained in the flow rate is very responsive to the proportion of beads present . thus , when the enzyme preparation that is employed in the column is dextrose isomerase that is immobilized on deae cellulose , a substantial improvement in flow rate can be obtained when the proportion of beads is adjusted so that the volume of the enzyme preparation in the bed is approximately equal to the interstitial void volume of the beads as distributed in normal , random packing ( that is , an interstitial void volume of about 41 %), as compared to lower amounts of beads . the use of inert , non - porous beads in an isomerization bed is advantageous whenever the enzyme preparation , if used alone , tends to pack into a hard bed and require a high pressure drop , for passage through the column at a reasonable flow rate . any enzyme preparation that is characterized by the presence of a large number of fine particles would fall into this category . also , any enzyme preparation that tended to form a compressible cake would have its flow performance substantially improved by the use of beads in accordance with the present invention . in the foregoing specific examples , the enzymes were derived from microorganisms of the streptomyces genus . however , the present invention can be practiced with dextrose isomerase that is derived from any microorganism , and as is demonstrated in some of the examples , the dextrose isomerase activity in the column can actually be derived from the cells themselves as packed into the column . similarly , the enzyme activity may be present in the form of a dextrose isomerase that has been recovered in purified form and immobilized on a carrier by any of the immobilization techniques that preserve enzyme activity . for example , to produce a stabilized dextrose isomerase , a high purity enzyme is recovered from a microorganism source . a streptomyces - derived enzyme is generally preferred at present , but the source microorganism may be any satisfactory enzyme producer . the high purity enzyme is placed in solution , and the solution is then passed over a bed of finely divided , particulate basic magnesium carbonate . the enzyme is efficiently adsorbed , and the product is a very stable , active form of the enzyme . other adsorbents can also be used to produce adsorbed immobilized enzymes . for example , a high purity enzyme in solution can also be absorbed on activated charcoal granules or on any other suitable , particulate , solid adsorbent , for use as the enzyme preparation in preparing a bed for a plug reactor in accordance with the present invention . there are several important advantages that accrue from the practice of the present invention . as compared to batch isomerization , the same amount of enzyme activity , when utilized in accordance with the present invention , produces more levulose product than batch processing . up to three times more levulose product has been produced from a given amount of enzyme preparation , by practicing the present invention , than is obtained when optimum processing batch techniques are employed . in addition , there are many other important advantages . when a column is employed in accordance with prior art teachings , difficulties are encountered in avoiding high pressure drops across the column , and whenever a high pressure drop develops , channelling usually occurs . channelling , of course , produces poor substrate - enzyme contact , makes the operation inefficient , and permits a high residence time for the substrate liquid that is passing through the bed outside of the channels . when the commercially available filter aids which are in the form of pourous particles , are incorporated in a column for the purpose of reducing the pressure drop , the concommitant result is that there is an extended residence time in the column , and consequent undesirable by - product formation . the use of the present invention reduces pressure drop and eliminates channelling without increasing residence time . moreover , the very brief residence times that obtain when the present invention is practiced subject the sugar to low thermal hazard . for this reason , the finished product contains few color bodies , so that product color is superior and refining costs are lower . in addition , fewer organic acids are formed , and the carbohydrate composition of the end product is more desirable . also , because of the shorter processing time , smaller inventories are required . when 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 in the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth , and as fall within the scope of the invention . | 8 |
the present disclosure will be made using the example of an over - sampling analog - to - digital ( a / d ) converter . it will become apparent , however , that the concepts described herein are applicable to any type of circuit that implements sampling of analog signals . the instantaneous charge required from an input signal source in any single sampling operation is proportional to the size of the sampling capacitors as well as to the amount of charge stored in these capacitors prior to the sampling operation . for example , as shown in fig1 , one terminal of a sampling capacitor c is connected to a reference voltage , e . g ., to ground . the second terminal may be supplied through a switch s 1 with a voltage v 1 or through a switch s 2 with a voltage v 2 . the voltages v 1 and v 2 are defined with respect to the established ground level . assuming that initially the switch s 1 is closed and the switch s 2 is open the charge q 1 stored in the sampling capacitor c is : in the second phase , the switch s 1 is open and subsequently the switch s 2 is closed . at the end of this process the sampling capacitor c will have an accumulated charge q 2 : during this sampling operation , the signal source v 2 provides a charge amount dq which can be calculated as : in another example , illustrated in fig2 , the sampling capacitor c has a first terminal connected to ground , and a second terminal supplied with an input voltage v i through the switch s i , with a first reference voltage v l through the switch s l , and with a second reference voltage v h through the switch s h . at any given time only one of the three switches s l , s i and s h is closed , while the remaining two are open . a first sampling sequence of the input voltage v i starts with the switch s l closed in the first phase and continues with the switch s i closed in the second phase . the amount of charge dq l taken from the input signal v i is : a second sampling sequence of the input voltage v i starts with the switch s h closed in the first phase and continues with the switch s i closed in the second phase . the amount of charge dq h taken from the input signal v i in the second sampling sequence is : it may be assumed that in a set of n consecutive sample sequences of the input signal v i , n 1 sample sequences are of a first type and the remaining n 0 =( n − n 1 ) sample sequences are of a second type . in particular , the first type of the sample sequences may be associated with supplying the reference voltage v h , together with the input signal v i , and the second type may be associated with supplying the reference voltage v l , together with the input signal v i . therefore , the total charge dq n taken from the input signal source v i during these n consecutive sample sequences is : dq n = n 1 *( v i − v h )* c + no *( v i − v l )* c dq n = n 1 *( v i − v h )* c + ( n − n 1 )*( v i − v l )* c dq n = n *( v i − v l )* c − n 1 *( v h − v l )* c than n 1 can be selected as the digital representation of the input signal vi with respect to the reference signal vh − vl with a resolution of n counts . this relation can be written as : using this value of n 1 in the above calculation of dqn we obtain : this result is independent of the order and succession of the two types of sample sequences within the set n . the accuracy of this relation is limited by the quantization accuracy of the input signal vi with respect to the reference signal vh − vi within an n counts representation . thus , while systems and methods according to the invention reduce the current drawn from the analog signal source to substantially zero , nevertheless , some current is drawn from the analog signal source . the amount of current drawn from the analog signal source is preferably within the limits set by the quantization accuracy of the input signal . it has been shown that , within the limitations of ( 1 ) and using prior or concomitent knowledge of the magnitude of vi with respect to vh and vl as expressed by ( 2 ), the proposed strategy reduces significantly the average charge required from the input signal source . this reduction is proportional with the resolution of the digital representation of the input signal ( 2 ) and it is particularly useful in high resolution analog - to - digital converters . an immediate implementation of this proposal is shown in fig3 a . one terminal of the sampling capacitor # 10 is connected to the input signal terminal vi and the reference signal terminals vh and vl through the analog switch block # 20 . the other terminal of the sampling capacitor # 10 is connected to the “ high accuracy converter ” # 30 . the magnitude of input signal vi is evaluated with respect to the reference signals vh and vl by the “ low accuracy adc ” # 50 . this converter can be implemented using a variety of well known analog - to - digital conversion techniques and , because of its relative low accuracy with respect to high - accuracy converter 30 , it does not present a substantial load to the input signal vi . the analog - to - digital converter # 50 , using the input signal vi and the reference signals vh and vl produces an equivalent digital representation dla of input signal vi . the digital signal dla is a serial binary stream as described by equation ( 2 ) and has a resolution of n counts . depending upon the conversion method used by the converter # 50 , this stream can be produced directly or converted from a parallel format through common digital techniques . the dla data stream is used by switch controller # 40 to direct the operation of analog switch block # 20 . during each sample operation , the analog switch # 20 connects the sampling capacitor # 10 in two successive phases to one of the reference terminals vh and vl and to the input signal terminal vi . switch controller # 40 , using the information contained in the digital data stream dla , selects the appropriate sampling sequence such that the total charge taken from the vi signal source during the conversion process is substantially zero . the “ high accuracy ” converter # 30 uses the charge sampled on capacitor # 10 during a minimum of n succesive sampling steps together with the sampling sequence information containded in the dla data stream to produce the output data dout . dout is a high accuracy representation of the input signal vi . in the above description the “ high accuracy ” and “ low accuracy ” are relative terms that relate directly to the different potential loadings of the input signal ( corresponding to the larger capacitors required for higher accuracy resolution as described above ) by the two converters . the terms “ low accuracy ” and “ high accuracy ” as defined herein are intended only to describe the relative relationship of the two analog - to - digital converters and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention , or of either of the converters , to any particular objective accuracy range . the operation of converters # 30 and # 50 can be simultaneous and synchronized or converter # 50 can produce its output at any time prior to the utilization of the output in the sampling process . the implementation of analog - to - digital converters , sampling capacitors , analog switches and switch controllers is well known and widely described in the technical literature . the sampling capacitor , shown as a single device in fig3 a , may be in an actual implementation a set of capacitors which simultaneously perform the input and reference sampling operations required by the over - sampling converter as well as additional scaling and calibration functions . similarly the analog switch may be implemented using multiple physical switches in various parallel and serial configurations supporting simultaneous sampling , scaling and calibration functions . furthermore a single “ high accuracy ” converter # 30 may be connected to multiple sampling capacitors c and receive each of the respective corresponding data streams dla where each capacitor and its coresponding “ low accuracy ” converter producing the dla samples a distinct input signal . the converter # 30 preferably combines each of the multiple capacitors respective charges in the analog domain and produces dout as a digital representation of the ratio of the multiple input signals . an over - sampling converter can greatly benefit from this sampling configuration being able to perform simultaneous the function of both converter # 50 and converter # 30 of fig3 a . during the conversion process such a converter samples the input signal n times ( where n is the over - sample ratio ) and generates a stream of digital data which is subsequently processed in order to obtain the conversion result . this stream of digital data contains information about the ratio between the input signal and the reference signal and such information can be used to control the sampling sequences in order to substantially reduce the average charge taken from the input signal source . another proposed configuration according to the invention is shown in fig3 b . fig3 b is a diagram illustrating components of an a / d converter 10 of the present disclosure that comprises an analog switch 22 , a sampling capacitor c , an over - sampling converter 32 and a switch controller 42 . the analog switch 22 connects one terminal of the sampling capacitor c to an input signal terminal v i and reference signal terminals v h and v l . the other terminal of the sampling capacitor c is connected to the over - sampling converter 32 . a conversion cycle of the over - sampling converter 32 that produces an output data stream dout consists of a set of n successive sample operations where n is the over - sampling ratio . the output data stream dout , which is a digital representation of the ratio between the input signal and the reference signal , is supplied to the switch controller 42 to direct the operation of the analog switch 22 . during each sample operation , the analog switch 22 connects the sampling capacitor c in two successive phases to one of the reference signal terminals v h and v l and to the input signal terminal v i . the switch controller 42 uses the information contained in the digital data stream dout to select the appropriate sampling sequence such that the total charge taken from the v i signal source is substantially zero . one skilled in the art would realize that the analog switch 22 , over - sampling converter 32 , sampling capacitor c , and switch controller 42 may be implemented using various arrangements . for example , the sampling capacitor c may be represented by a set of capacitors which simultaneously perform the input and reference sampling operations required by the over - sampling converter as well as additional scaling and calibration functions . similarly , the analog switch 22 may be implemented using multiple physical switches in various parallel and serial configurations supporting simultaneous sampling , scaling and calibration functions . an exemplary implementation of an a / d converter 100 of the present disclosure is shown in fig4 . the a / d converter 100 comprises a sampling capacitor q , a voltage amplifier 110 having an integrating capacitor c f in its feedback loop , a comparator 120 , and a switch controller 140 . an analog switch s 1 is provided for supplying a reference voltage v r to a first terminal of the sampling capacitor c i . an analog switch s 2 is arranged for connecting an input voltage v i to the first terminal of the sampling capacitor c i . for simplicity , a ground potential is selected as the second reference voltage ( v l = 0 ). an analog switch s 3 connects this ground potential to the first terminal of the sampling capacitor c i . analog switches s 4 and s 5 are provided to connect a second terminal of the sampling capacitor c i to a ground terminal and the amplifier 110 , respectively . the integrating capacitor c f , voltage amplifier 110 , comparator 120 and analog switches s 4 and s 5 represent a first - order delta - sigma modulator . the amplifier 110 , together with the capacitors c i and c f , and the switches s 4 and s 5 , represent a switched - capacitor implementation of an analog integrator . for simplicity of explanation , a ground potential is selected as common mode voltage references for the integrator and comparator circuits . the output of the amplifier 110 is connected to the comparator 120 controlled by a clock signal clk generated by an internal clock of the switch controller 140 to produce a single - bit output digital signal dout . in particular , when the comparator 120 is triggered by the clk signal , it produces output digital value dout = 1 if the output of the amplifier 110 is positive , and output value dout = 0 if the output of the amplifier 110 is negative . the data signal dout is used by the switch controller 140 to control operations of the first - order delta - sigma modulator . in particular , the switch controller 140 produces switch drive signals s 1 to s 5 for controlling the respective switches . further , the data stream dout may be processed by a digital filter ( not shown ) connected to the output of the comparator 120 to calculate the conversion result . based on the data signal dout and an internal clock signal produced by the internal clock , the switch controller 140 controls the first - order delta - sigma modulator to maintain the total charge taken from the input signal source substantially zero for n consecutive sample operations of one conversion cycle . sampling operations of the a / d converter 100 are described below . every pulse of the internal clock signal starts the following two - phase sampling operation sequence : 1 . trigger the voltage comparator 120 using the clock signal clk . 2 . open switch s 5 . 3 . open switch s 2 . 4 . close switch s 4 . 5 . if dout = 0 close switch s 3 , if dout = 1 close switch s 1 . 6 . wait for settling of the first phase samples . 7 . open switch s 4 . 8 . open switch s 1 and s 3 . 9 . close switch s 5 . 10 . close switch s 2 . 11 . wait for settling of the second phase samples . the time allocated for each one of the above steps may be determined in accordance with a particular switched capacitor implementation . the amount of charge q m transferred into the integrating capacitor c f during such a sampling sequence is : when d out = 0 , q m = v i * c i ; when d out = 1 , q m =( v i − v r )* c i . the amount of charge dq taken from the input signal source v i during such a sampling sequence is : when d out = 1 , dq = ( v i − v r ) * c i . it is assumed that among n consecutive sampling operations in a sampling process , for n 1 sampling operations dout = 1 and for n 0 =( n − n 1 ) sampling operations dout = 0 . hence , in each of n 1 sampling operations , the reference voltage v r is supplied together with the input voltage v i , and in each of n 0 sampling operations , the reference voltage v l ( set to a ground potential in this particular example ) is supplied together with the input voltage v i . therefore , the total charge q mtot transferred into the integrating capacitor c f during the set of n consecutive sampling operations is : q mtot = n 0 * v i * c i + n 1 *( v i − v r )* c i =( n − n 1 )* v i * c i + n 1 * c i *( v i − v r ) q mtot =( n * v i − n 1 * v r )* c i . the delta - sigma modulator operates so as to minimize the total charge accumulated in the integrator . hence , within the resolution of the modulator , if q mtot = 0 , n 1 = n * v i / v r . hence , the ratio n 1 / n representing the density of “ 1 ” bits contains information on the ratio v i / v r between the input signal and the reference signal . therefore , the digital output data stream dout provides this information to the switch controller 40 . accordingly , the total charge taken from the input signal source can be calculated as : dq tot = n 0 * v i * c i + n 1 *( v i − v r )* c i =( n * v i − n 1 * v r )* c i if n 1 ,= n * v i / v r dq tot = 0 . therefore , the total charge taken from the input signal source is substantially zero . one skilled in the art would understand that the concept of the present disclosure is also applicable to higher - order modulators that may have additional integrator stages between the output of the amplifier 110 and the input of the comparator 120 . in addition , one skilled in the art would realize that the disclosed technique is not limited to over - sampling converters producing single - bit digital data streams . it may also be applicable to converters generating multi - bit output data streams . in this case , multi - bit output data streams may be converted into multiple single bit data streams such as binary weighted or thermometer encoded streams , which may be used to control multiple equivalent weighted input signal sampling capacitors . further , the disclosed sampling front - end configuration with reduced average input current may be integrated with other well known delta - sigma modulators , such as mash or band - pass modulators . fig5 illustrates an a / d converter 200 having a differential front - end sampling configuration that substantially reduces an average differential input current . the a / d converter 200 comprises 16 analog switches s 01 to s 16 for supplying to first terminals of 4 sampling capacitors c 1 to c 4 a differential input signal defined by voltages v ip , v in , and a differential reference signal defined by voltages v rp , v rn . second terminals of the sampling capacitors c 1 to c 4 are connected to a differential first - order delta - sigma modulator including 12 analog switches s 21 to s 35 , a differential - in / differential - out voltage amplifier 210 , integrating capacitors c 21 and c 22 , and a voltage comparator 220 . the voltage amplifier 210 has a pair of inputs for supplying a differential input signal , and a pair of outputs for producing a differential output signal . together with integrating capacitors c 21 and c 22 , the voltage amplifier 210 forms a differential integrator circuit . the voltage comparator 220 is controlled by a clock signal clk generated by a switch controller 210 to produce a one - bit digital data stream dout . in particular , when the comparator 120 is triggered by the clk signal , it may produce output digital value dout = 1 if the differential output of the amplifier 210 is positive , and output digital value dout = 0 if the output of the amplifier 210 is negative . the data signal dout is used by the switch controller 240 to produce switch drive signals s 01 to s 16 and s 21 to s 35 that control the respective switches s 01 to s 16 and s 21 to s 35 . a control sequence generated by the switch controller 240 using its internal clock signal provides n consecutive samples of the input differential signal while maintaining the total differential charge taken from the input signal source at a substantially zero level . therefore , the switch controller 240 controls the to reduce the average input differential current of the a / d converter 200 to a substantially zero value . although the illustrated a / d converter 200 contains a first - order delta - sigma modulator , one skilled in the art would realize that the concept of the present disclosure is applicable to any modulator . further , to simplify explanation of the present concept , the a / d converter 200 is shown with the input common mode voltage of the amplifier 210 set to a ground potential . sampling operations of the a / d converter 200 are described below . at every pulse of the internal clock signal , the switch controller 240 carries out the following sequence composed of 8 sampling phases : 1 . trigger the voltage comparator 220 using signal clk . 2 . open switches s 21 , s 25 , s 30 , s 34 . 3 . open switches s 01 , s 04 , s 06 , s 11 , s 13 , s 16 . 4 . close switches s 23 , s 27 , s 31 , s 35 . 5 . close switches s 06 , s 11 . if dout = 0 , close switches s 04 , s 13 . if dout = 1 , close switches s 01 , s 16 . 6 . wait for settling of phase 1 samples . 7 . open switches s 23 , s 27 , s 31 , s 35 . 8 . open switches s 01 , s 04 , s 06 , s 11 , s 13 , s 16 . 9 . close switches s 21 , s 26 , s 29 , s 34 . 10 . close switches s 02 , s 15 . if dout = 0 , close switches s 08 , s 09 . if dout = 1 , close switches s 05 , s 12 . 11 . wait for settling of phase 2 samples . 12 . open switches s 21 , s 26 , s 29 , s 34 . 13 . open switches s 02 , s 05 , s 08 , s 09 , s 12 , s 15 . 14 . close switches s 23 , s 27 , s 31 , s 35 . 15 . close switches s 02 , s 15 . if dout = 0 , close switches s 05 , s 12 . if dout = 1 , close switches s 08 , s 09 . 16 . wait for settling of phase 3 samples . 17 . open switches s 23 , s 27 , s 31 , s 35 . 18 . open switches s 02 , s 05 , s 08 , s 09 , s 12 , s 15 . 19 . close switches s 22 , s 26 , s 29 , s 33 . 20 . close switches s 07 , s 10 . if dout = 0 , close switches s 04 , s 13 . if dout = 1 , close switches s 01 , s 16 . 21 . wait for settling of phase 4 samples . 22 . open switches s 22 , s 26 , s 29 , s 33 . 23 . open switches s 01 , s 04 , s 07 , s 10 , s 13 , s 16 . 24 . close switches s 23 , s 27 , s 31 , s 35 . 25 . close switches s 07 , s 10 . if dout = 0 , close switches s 01 , s 16 . if dout = 1 , close switches s 04 , s 13 . 26 . wait for settling of phase 5 samples . 27 . open switches s 23 , s 27 , s 31 , s 35 . 28 . open switches s 01 , s 04 , s 07 , s 10 , s 13 , s 16 . 29 . close switches s 22 , s 25 , s 30 , s 33 . 30 . close switches s 03 , s 14 . if dout = 0 , close switches s 05 , s 12 . if dout = 1 , close switches s 08 , s 09 . 31 . wait for settling of phase 6 samples . 32 . open switches s 22 , s 25 , s 30 , s 33 . 33 . open switches s 03 , s 05 , s 08 , s 09 , s 12 , s 14 . 34 . close switches s 23 , s 27 , s 31 , s 35 . 35 . close switches s 03 , s 14 . if dout = 0 , close switches s 08 , s 09 . if dout = 1 , close switches s 05 , s 12 . 36 . wait for settling of phase 7 samples . 37 . open switches s 23 , s 27 , s 31 , s 35 . 38 . open switches s 03 , s 05 , s 08 , s 09 , s 12 , s 14 . 39 . close switches s 21 , s 25 , s 30 , s 34 . 40 . close switches s 06 , s 11 . if dout = 0 , close switches s 01 , s 16 . if dout = 1 , close switches s 04 , s 13 . 41 . wait for settling of phase 8 samples . the time allocated for each one of the above steps is determined in accordance with a particular switched capacitor implementation . the amount of differential charge q d transferred into the integrator presented above is : if d out = 0 , q d =− 2 *( c 1 + c 2 + c 3 + c 4 )*[( v ip − v in )+( v rp − v rn )]; if d out = 1 , q d =− 2 *( c 1 + c 2 + c 3 + c 4 )*[( v ip − v in )−( v rp − v rn )]. if d out = 0 , q d = 2 * ceq *(− r − v ), if d out = 1 , q d = 2 * c eq *( r − v ). the total amount of charge dq p taken from the input signal source positive terminal v ip during the sampling sequence is : if d out = 0 , dq p = ceq *( v ip − v rn ), if d out = 1 , dq p = ceq *( v ip − v rp ) the total amount of charge dq n taken from the input signal source negative terminal v in during the sampling sequence is : if d out = 0 , dq n = ceq *( v in − v rp ), if d out = 1 , dq n = ceq *( v in − v rn ). it can be assumed that a set of n consecutive sampling operations representing one conversion cycle comprises n 1 operations for which dout = 1 , and n 0 =( n − n 1 ) operations for which dout = 0 . thus , the total differential charge transferred into the integrator during the n consecutive sample operations is : q dtot = 2 * ceq *[ n 1 *( r − v )+( n − n 1 )*(− r − v )] since the modulator control loop operates so as to minimize the charge accumulated by the integrator , within the resolution of the system , it can be stated that : if q dtot = 0 , n 1 = 0 . 5 * n *( 1 + v / r )= 0 . 5 * n *[ 1 +( v ip − v in )/( v rp − v rn )]. this relation shows that the n 1 / n ratio representing the density of “ 1 ” bits contains information about the ratio v / r between the differential input signal and the differential reference signal . the digital output data stream dout provides this information to the switch controller 240 for producing proper switch drive signals . the total charge dq ptot taken from the input signal source positive terminal v ip during a set of n consecutive sample operations is equal to : dq ptot = ceq *[ n * v ip − n 1 * v rp −( n − n 1 )* v rn ] dq ptot = ceq * 0 . 5 * n * [( v ip + v in )−( v rp + v rn )]. similarly , the total charge dq ntot taken from the input signal source negative terminal v in during a set of n consecutive sample operations is equal to : dq ntot = ceq *[ n * v in − n 1 * v rn −( n − n 1 )* v rp ] dq ntot = ceq * 0 . 5 * n *[( v ip + v in )−( v rp + v rn )]. since dq ptot = dq ntot , the average differential current taken from the input signal source including a set of n consecutive sample operations is zero within the resolution of the system . hence , the switch controller 240 controls the sampling procedure to make dq ptot = dq ntot . accordingly , the sampling technique of the present disclosure reduces the average input differential current of the a / d converter 200 to a zero level . one skilled in the art would realize that the disclosed sampling configuration may be used not only with single - bit output data streams dout but also with multi - bit output data streams , and may be integrated with higher - order modulators by inserting additional integrator stages between the output of the differential integrator 210 and the input of the comparator 220 . further , the disclosed system for reducing an average input differential current may also be implemented using other delta - sigma modulators such as mash modulators . the foregoing description illustrates and describes aspects of the present invention . additionally , the disclosure shows and describes only preferred embodiments , but as aforementioned , it is to be understood that the invention is capable of use in various other combinations , modifications , and environments and is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein , commensurate with the above teachings , and / or the skill or knowledge of the relevant art . the embodiments described hereinabove are further intended to explain best modes known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such , or other , embodiments and with the various modifications required by the particular applications or uses of the invention . accordingly , the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein . also , it is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments . | 7 |
as seen in fig1 the modular thermal management package 1 of this invention is analogous to a quartz - halogen light bulb where a hot filament is kept isolated from its surroundings by being enclosed in a quartz envelope that is able to withstand elevated temperature operation . in those bulbs , the external envelope 10 contains a halogen substance designed to enhance the lifetime of the extremely hot filament that it contains . seen in fig1 is a layer of vacuum insulation 16 which surrounds the sofc 14 inside the envelope 10 . in the present invention , the envelope contains an insulative environment 16 such as ceramic fibers , low density aerogel , or vacuum conditions to minimize heat loss to the surroundings . depicted in fig2 is an sofc with a double envelope design . the modular thermal management package 1 of this embodiment provides power supplied by incorporating two electrode connectors 11 which connect the envelope 10 for supplying power to external devices . the packaging scheme for the replaceable , modular thermal packaged 1 will have different , distinctive features from a quartz - halogen bulb such as a catalytic combustor 20 and heat exchanger 15 that are required for its operation . the catalytic combustor 20 can be integrated directly into the sofc 14 exhaust section to burn residual fuel . present in the double envelope design of fig2 is a layer of vacuum insulation 16 which surrounds the sofc 14 inside the envelope 10 . in the double envelope design , there is an inner envelope 17 which is enclosed outer envelope 10 . another feature of the double envelope design of fig2 includes reflective coatings 18 which surround the inner envelope 17 [ 0033 ] fig1 and 2 also show several requirements for sofc operation including reactant supply and product exhaust 12 , at least two electrical connections 11 . thermal management mechanisms of this invention may include a vacuum environment 16 or fibrous low density high - temperature ceramic insulation surrounding the sofc 14 . or , alternatively , aerogel or aerogel - like insulating materials as well as vacuum multifoil insulation ( vmi ) may be used as insulation surrounding each sofc 14 . it may be noted that aerogel is a porous material with extreme microporosity made by high - temperature and pressure supercritical drying of a silicon dioxide gel comprising a colloidal silica structural units filled with solvents . the material is 99 . 8 % air and is 1 , 000 times less dense than glass . multifoil vacuum insulation , or vacuum multifoil insulation ( vmi ) is a material designed for thermal battery needs of advanced defense systems . it is designed to increase the operating life of a thermal battery from 2 - 3 hours to 68 hours [ 0035 ] fig1 is a diagram of one preferred embodiment of the modular thermal management package 1 of the present invention . as shown in fig1 the external envelope 10 may be made from a variety of materials including glass or quartz , but quartz is preferred since it is operable at higher temperatures ( up to 800 degrees c ) than glass , which operates up to a temperature of 500 degrees c . this choice of material is analogous to that of the quartz - halogen lamp , which uses a tungsten filament encased in a quartz envelope to withstand high temperatures . also shown in fig1 are the electrical feed - throughs 11 for cell operation . these can be similar to the quartz - halogen lamp design , but for reactant supply and product exhaust 12 , the feed - throughs must be hollow tubes and be compatible with the reactants and products used for operation of a particular modular thermal management package 1 . it should be noted that if the reactants in a particular sofc 14 must be kept separate they will each need a reactant line 12 a . fuels considered as possible for use in the sofc 14 of this invention are hydrogen , ammonia , methanol , a low molecular weight hydrocarbon , or a reformate mixture . in this invention , a low molecular weight hydrocarbon will have a molecular weight less than or equal to 100 grams / mole . a preferred fuel is methanol or propane . separate fuel lines 12 a will be needed for fuel and air . if the reactants are mixable , a simpler configuration of a single inlet and exhaust 12 will be used . in a preferred embodiment , the feed - through 13 will be compatible ( have similar or matching thermal expansion coefficients and having sealing capability when joined together ) with the external envelope 10 construction material . having similar thermal expansion coefficients and the capability to form the hermetic seal are necessary to maintain vacuum or gas tight conditions inside the envelope 10 , in order to conserve thermal energy in the product stream which emerges from the sofc 14 at the cell temperature , the heat exchanger 15 is important . the heat exchange operation takes place before the exhaust products leave the sofc 14 . heat exchange takes place in the counterflow heat exchanger 15 where the product line 12 b is in direct contact with the reactant line 12 a along their streams . this permits thermal energy in the product stream to be transferred to the reactants , thus heating the reactants and cooling the products . this cools the products before they reach the envelope 10 seal at the base of the thermal package thus relieving some thermal stress on the modular thermal management package 1 . the amount of heat exchanged between the reactants and the products will depend on the degree of heat loss tolerated for a specific cell design . the environment surrounding the sofc 14 shown in fig4 and contained within the disc - shaped inner envelope 30 of this invention performs a thermal management function that allows the sofc 14 to operate at temperatures between 500 c and 850 c . while maintaining the thermal package outer envelope 10 at a temperature level consistent with its surroundings . the modular thermal management package 1 will be generating waste heat from its operation . in addition , the modular thermal management package 1 may incorporate features to catalytically combust the effluent stream exiting the cell , which contains unreacted fuel and oxygen . insulation for cell operation is necessary because the heat generated by the device is insufficient to keep it at high temperatures if exposed to air or other high - convection surroundings . radiation heat loss may also play a larger role as the size of the modular thermal management package 1 is reduced . one method of providing such insulation is to evacuate the outer envelope 10 while maintaining a hermetic seal around it . if the surface of the outer envelope 10 is coated with a thin film of gold or other low emissivity as a reflective coating 18 , the heat radiation effects can be minimized and the convection heat loss can be virtually eliminated . however , when the cell is operating at 500 degrees c . or higher , radiation heat loss will be significant for smaller cells in the power range below 100 watts , and more specifically below 10 watts . another means of insulating the sofc 14 from its surroundings is to pack the space between it and the envelope 10 with a fibrous , low - density high - temperature ceramic insulation . this means of insulation is preferred when the fuel cell unit is at the high end of its operating range , at about 10 watts . the range of power that the modular thermal management package 1 will produce will range from about 10 milliwatts to about 10 watts . replacing the air inside the envelope 10 with a higher molecular - weight gas causes an increase in the thermal resistance between the sofc 14 and envelope 10 occurs and reduces the heat flow out of the modular thermal management package 1 . by using fibrous ceramic insulation and a selected gas , the thermal resistance can be increased while relaxing the need for vacuum conditions on the inside of the envelope 10 , resulting in a more practical arrangement for the thermal packaging system for small - scale the modular thermal management package 1 of this invention . yet another means of insulating the sofc 14 is to maintain a tight vacuum within the envelope 10 . alternately , an inner and an outer quartz ( or glass ) envelope can be used . each of the vacuum - facing glass surfaces is metalized to reduce infrared radiation heat transfer , after which the sofc 14 is placed into the envelope 10 and the space between the inner and outer envelopes would be evacuated . the envelopes of this invention are maintained longer and maintain at a higher level of thermal isolation for the sofc 14 and performance of the modular thermal management package 1 . gettering can be provided by a pellet of material specifically formulated to adsorb residue gasses inside the vacuum envelope 10 . the configurations described above explain the use of miniaturized modular thermal management packages 1 of this invention as easily replaceable energy sources that are spent and interchanged as easily as are quartz / halogen light bulbs . as a miniaturized unit or module , its size may range from about 0 . 1 to about 10 inches . another embodiment of the instant invention is a disc - shaped unit shown in fig4 whose envelope 30 is comprised of an upper disc 31 , a center washer 32 , and a lower disc 33 bonded together and forming a cavity in the center of a disc - shaped fuel cell 34 . in this embodiment a plurality of feed - throughs 35 are necessary including supply lines , exhaust lines , and electrical lines . [ 0047 ] fig3 shows cross - sectional views of circular 3 a and rectangular 3 b packaging arrangements for two of double envelope sofc 14 units of this invention . in both of these views , the sofc 14 is surrounded by two glass envelopes 10 . the sofc 14 of fig3 b on the right is enclosed in a double glass envelope 40 . in either or both of these designs , a vacuum interior can be created with appropriate sealing technology . in addition , low - density fibrous ceramic insulation , aerogel , vmi and the like can be used on the top , bottom , and around the perimeter of the modular thermal management package 1 for insulation . in certain cases , a specified gas such as carbon dioxide or argon , could also be used with the insulative materials to improve the thermal isolation . it is important that the disc - shaped sofc 34 inside the envelope 10 is centered in the disc for vacuum - insulated devices . such centering is done by thin , ( or small - diameter ) protrusions of not more than 0 . 040 inches ( about 1 mm ) coming out of the perimeter of the disc - shaped sofc 34 wall to make contact with the outside washer 32 . alternatively , the supply and exhaust lines 12 ( including both 12 a and 12 b ) may be substantial enough to support the modular thermal management package 1 . a counterflow design should be used for the supply line 12 a and the exhaust line 12 b to recover the thermal energy in the product stream . if this supplies too much heat recovery and excess energy must be dissipated to the environment , the supply line 12 a and exhaust line 12 b could be re - routed to different locations . this would result in exhaust leaving the modular thermal management package 1 with substantial thermal energy . this may prove feasible if other losses , such as conduction and radiation , can be minimized . [ 0050 ] fig4 depicts a modular thermal management package 1 of this invention in a flat disc configuration . in fig4 a , a disc shaped sofc 34 surrounded by an outer glass envelope 10 . the flat disc configuration as seen in fig4 a also includes an integrated heat exchanger 36 and combustor 20 ( not shown ) as part of the flat disc configuration sofc 34 of the invention . the flat arrangement as shown in fig4 a and 4 b are applicable to larger surface applications that require a disc - shaped power source whose space constraints require thin , flat packaging of a modular thermal management package 1 . [ 0051 ] fig5 depicts a modular thermal management package 1 that contains a unit that generates heat by burning a fuel in a catalytic combustor 20 which is ignited by a heater coil adjacent to the combustor 20 . the heat product is emitted through exhaust 12 b . an alternate arrangement for the combustion reaction depicted in fig5 but not shown , is to have two reactant tubes and one exhaust line . in this manner , separate air and fuel lines can be used by the device . the modular thermal management package 1 depicted in fig6 is miniature chemical reactor . these reactions can be endothermic and may take place at moderate or high temperatures . in this invention , moderate temperatures will range from about 200 - 500 degrees c ., and high temperature will signify temperatures from 500 to 1000 degrees c . examples of moderate temperature chemical reactions in this category are the decomposition of ammonia and the water - gas shift reaction . in the water - gas shift reaction , entering the modular thermal management package 1 into inlet 12 a are carbon monoxide ( co ) and water ( h 2 o ) which are converted , in the presence of a high temperature catalyst , to hydrogen ( h 2 ) and carbon dioxide ( co 2 ) the above presents a description of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the present invention , and of the manner and process of making and using it , in such full , clear , concise , and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use this invention . this invention is , however , susceptible to modifications and alternate constructions from that discussed above which are fully equivalent . consequently , it is not the intention to limit this invention to the particular embodiments disclosed . on the contrary , the intention is to cover all modifications and alternate constructions coming within the spirit and scope of the invention as generally expressed by the following claims , which particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter of the invention : | 7 |
referring to fig1 , a network includes various message sources 12 , a pacing system 14 , and a recipient 16 . although only a single recipient is shown , for clarity , it is understood that the pacing system may be applied to multiple recipients . pacing system 14 includes a data storage system 18 , such as a database system , that is used to store pacing and message information . messages 20 intended for recipient 16 ( and possibly for other recipients as well ) are sent from message sources 12 over communication paths 22 , 24 , and 26 to pacing system 14 . although shown as separate communication paths , paths 22 , 24 , and 26 could all be part of a single network , such as the internet . the communication paths also could involve wide area networks ( wans ), local area networks ( lans ), dedicated communication paths , or any other communication channel . or , the message sources 12 and pacing system 14 could be components on the same system , using direct procedure calls or inter - process communications . pacing system 14 forwards messages 20 on to recipient 16 over one or more channels 28 according to a pacing algorithm . for example , messages may be delivered no more than once every n time units ( such as once every 7 days ). the value of n can be different for each recipient , and can vary for different types of messages or different delivery channels . in a preferred embodiment , one channel 28 is an e - mail channel and a second channel is a phone channel . facsimiles , pagers , regular mail , and any other communication channel could also be included . preferably , as shown in fig2 , each message 20 that pacing system 14 receives has , in addition to its content 120 ( including the identity of the recipient , the recipient &# 39 ; s address , and the message to be delivered ), a set of delivery properties , including : an expiration date 102 and a priority 104 . after the expiration date , the message will be discarded if it has not yet been delivered . optionally , some messages can have no expiration date . in a preferred embodiment , there are three levels of priority , high , normal , and low , with normal being the default value . generally , higher priority messages are delivered before lower priority messages . however , the priority can be treated as one factor , along with the expiration date , in determining which message to deliver . some messages also may be marked as “ always deliver ,” ( field 106 in fig2 ) indicating that it should be delivered before its expiration date , even if that would be sooner than provided by the pacing algorithm . for example , if messages are to be delivered no more than once every 7 days , and an “ always deliver ” message would expire 4 days after the last message was delivered , then it would be delivered after 4 days . preferably , the 7 day period would be restarted after the “ always deliver ” message is sent . optionally , messages can be marked as “ urgent ” ( field 108 ) and delivered immediately , regardless of when the last message was delivered . an “ urgent ” message may or may not re - set the delivery timer . according to one embodiment , pacing system 14 will accept each message it receives from each message source 12 . other than with “ always deliver ” or “ urgent ” messages , pacing system 14 then waits until n time units after it sent the last message to recipient 16 . pacing system 14 then considers all messages that have not been delivered and have not expired . the message properties are then used to select a message to deliver , for example , pacing system 14 could select the message with the shortest expiration date , using priority as a tie - breaker . or , pacing system 14 could select the message with the highest priority , using expiration date as a tie - breaker . also , combinations of these and other properties of the message can be considered . for example , the recipient could designate certain senders as higher priority than other senders . in addition , pacing system 14 can treat message channels individually or in combinations . thus , messages sent by e - mail may have no effect on the timing of telephone calls ( and vice versa ), messages sent by e - mail and telephone calls could be treated together for timing ( that is , no call is made or e - mail sent until n days after the last call or e - mail ), or some combination of these extremes could be used . for example , calls could be separated by at least 14 days and e - mails could be separated by at least 7 days , with the added requirements that an e - mail cannot be sent for at least 3 days after a call and a call cannot be made for at least 4 days after an e - mail . as another example , message timing can be based at least in part on categorized message types . instead of a centralized pacing system , a central pacing storage system 214 can be used , as shown in fig3 . in this embodiment , each message source 212 sends messages directly to recipient 216 , through channel 222 or channel 224 . for example , channel 222 could be an e - mail channel and channel 224 a phone channel . although only two channels are shown , it is understood that more channels could be used . in addition , each message source 212 is connected to pacing storage system 214 over network 226 . of course , it is understood that network 226 and one of the channels ( such as e - mail channel 222 ) could overlap ( if , for example , both use the internet ). pacing storage system 214 maintains for each recipient 216 message managing information , such as a record with the value of n ( the timing between messages ) and the date the last message was sent to that recipient . if the value of n is global for all recipients ( or a group of recipients ), then it is understood that its value may be maintained for each recipient without storing separate instances of the value for each recipient . where appropriate , pacing storage system 214 may maintain records of the date the last message was sent on each channel or in each category . when a message source 212 is ready to send a message to a particular recipient , the message source checks with pacing storage system 214 to determine when the last message was sent and the timing interval n . or , message source 212 may make a request for whether a message can be sent to the recipient , in which case pacing storage system 214 would calculate whether the current date is greater than the date the last message was sent plus the timing interval , and respond to message source 212 . if the new message can be - sent , message source 212 sends the message and informs pacing storage system 214 , so that the date of the last message can be updated . if the current time is less than the timing interval since the last message was sent , then message source implements a pacing algorithm to determine when to try again . for example , the message source could wait until the end of the interval and then check again . or , if this is an “ always deliver ” message , the message source would wait until the message is about to expire and then send the message . the message gap can vary based on the priority of the message . for example , the message gap for a high priority message could be 3 days ( that is , 3 days since the last contact of any priority ), with the message gap for a normal priority message 7 days , and the message for a low priority message 14 days . also , the message gap can vary based on the prior message . so , for example , a low priority message can be sent 7 days after a high or normal priority message , but not for 14 days after a low priority message . in a preferred embodiment , pacing system 14 uses storage system 18 to keep track of the message gap or gaps ( which can be a global value , or personalized for each recipient ), and the following information for each recipient : t last ( the date of the last contact , which could be never ); t next ( the earliest date at which the recipient can be contacted ); and s msgs ( the set of messages to be sent to the recipient ). for each message , pacing system 14 records the arrival date , so that messages with the same priority and expiration date can be processed according to a “ first - come , first - served ” algorithm . one way for the pacing system to decide , as each new message arrives , whether it should be sent immediately or placed in the data store , is shown in fig4 . a message arrives at step 310 . pacing system 14 then determines ( step 312 ) whether the message is marked “ urgent .” if so , the message is sent ( step 314 ) and the process ends ( step 316 ). it is assumed , with this example , that urgent messages do not cause the timer gap to be reset . if the message had not been marked urgent , the pacing system looks up the last contacted date ( t last ), at step 318 , and determines if the recipient had previously been contacted ( step 320 ). if the recipient had not previously been contacted , the message is sent ( step 322 ). the pacing system then updates the last contacted date ( step 324 ), looks up the message gap ( step 326 ), and updates the next contact date ( t next ) at step 328 . the process then ends ( step 330 ). however , if the pacing system determines at step 320 that the recipient had been contacted , then the message is inserted into the database by updating s msgs ( step 332 ). the process then ends ( step 334 ). alternatively , the lookup message gap and update next contact date steps ( steps 326 and 328 ) can be performed if the recipient previously had been contacted . in this case , those steps preferably would be performed after inserting the message in the database at step 332 . with this alternative , the pacing system would not “ wake up ” ( as discussed below ) unless a message is waiting in the database . this process also can be implemented in a number of other ways . for example , the system could let the next contact date have a value of “ immediately ” when the last message gap has expired ( or no messages previously have been sent ), and use that value at step 318 ( instead of the last contacted date ) to determine whether a message should be sent . similarly , the system could check whether the next contact date is prior to the current time . or , a separate flag ( such as a “ window open ” flag ) could be tested at step 320 to determine whether a message can be sent immediately . using timers or periodic queries , pacing system 14 “ wakes up ” when the next contact date arrives . the pacing system then determines which message to send , then resets the message dates . one way to implement this process is shown in fig5 . at step 410 the process begins . the pacing system first deletes expired messages , at step 412 . then , the pacing determines whether any active messages remain ( step 414 ). if not , then the system deletes the last contacted date ( step 416 ), so that when a new message arrives it will be sent immediately . the process then ends ( step 418 ). if , at step 414 , the system determined that one or more active messages remained , the messages preferably are sorted by priority , expiration date , and arrival date ( step 420 ). alternatively , other selection processes can be used . after sorting the messages , the system sends the highest priority message ( step 422 ). the system then updates the last contacted date t last ( step 424 ), deletes the sent message from the set s msgs ( step 426 ), and updates the next contact date ( t next ) at step 428 . the process then ends ( step 430 ). if , instead of checking ( at step 320 of fig4 ) the last contacted date , the system checks for whether the window is open , then step 416 could be omitted . or , if at step 320 the system checks the next contact date for an “ immediate ” value or value in the past , then step 416 would be replaced with updating the next contact date to the immediate value , or omitted . alternatively , with either of the above systems , to select which message is sent ( and when the message is sent ) the system ( the pacing system , where a centralized pacing system is used , or each message source where a centralized storage system is used ) could assign delay times based on the message properties and a random number . in this alternative , the system sends messages during an open window period . the window is open if the last message was sent at least n time units previously , where n is the message gap . the message gap can be the same for all recipients or can vary by recipient . otherwise , the window is closed and the message is delayed until a point in time shortly after the window is expected to open . if the window is still closed after the delay , the process repeats . with the use of an open window period , because each message is processed individually , the length of each message delay is staggered , so that messages with a higher priority “ wake up ” before messages of lower priority . for messages with equal priority , the delay is adjusted so that those with shorter expiration dates wake up before messages with longer expiration dates . for messages with the same priority and expiration date , a random factor is used to ensure they do not wake up at the same time . in a system with a single engine or processor executing the programs for sending messages , it may also be the case that only one message is processed at a time , which will lead to one message being processed first , and the other message then waiting until the window re - opens . preferably , the wake up time ( t wake ) determined using the following algorithm : where t open is the time that the window opens , calculated as : and where t exp is the expiration time ( that is , the expiration date of the message ) and where [ priority weight ] is 0 hours for high priority messages , 2 hours for normal priority messages , and 4 hours for low priority messages . alternatively , a simpler algorithm employing only some of these factors , could be used , or a different algorithm could be used . also , the algorithm can consider the message channel as well ( as discussed above ), so that messages in one channel ( such as e - mail ) are considered independently of messages in another channel ( such as phone calls or facsimiles ), or so that prior messages in one channel affect when messages can be sent through another channel . one way to implement this selection process is shown in fig6 . the process begins at step 510 , when a message arrives or a message wakes up . at step 512 , the system determines if a message is marked “ urgent .” if it is , the message is sent ( step 514 ) and the process ends ( step 516 ). if , at step 512 , the message had not been marked urgent , the system determines ( step 518 ) if the message has expired . if so , the process ends ( step 520 ). if not , the system looks up the last contacted date ( step 522 ) and the message gap for this recipient ( step 524 ). the system then checks ( step 526 ) whether the current date is greater than the sum of the last contacted date plus the message gap . if so ( or if the recipient had not previously been contacted ), then the message is sent ( step 528 ). the system then updates the last contacted date ( step 530 ) and ends ( step 532 ). if the current date was not greater than the sum of the last contacted date plus the message gap ( that is , the window is closed ), then the system waits ( step 534 ) until the window opens , then returns to step 518 . this ensures that the current message will be processed before another message that wakes up while the system waits . the window could be closed , for example , because another message had been sent since the wake - up time for that message had been calculated . alternatively , if the window was closed , the message could go back to sleep for a specified time period and the process could end , which could mean that another message will be processed before it if the other message wakes up first . in addition to determining the timing of messages , in a preferred embodiment the pacing system can be used to manage message volume . message volume management mechanisms include aggregating messages , discarding similar messages , and stimulating messages . thus , volume management can be used both to reduce and to increase the number of messages , depending on the message volume . for aggregating messages , as shown in fig7 , messages can be assigned the additional properties of type 610 and topics 612 . a message type indicates the kind of content contained in the message , such as informational , advertisement , or cross - sell . the message topics indicate the subjects that the message contains , such as the type of product to which an offer relates . the message topics also can refer to the source of a product or offer , where information or products from different sources may be offered . the pacing system , in this example , still accepts messages from the message sources . given a pool of messages , pacing system 14 can select a subset of the undelivered messages and combine them into a single message to be delivered at one time . to do this , pacing system 14 is configured with a set of rules and templates for combining messages . the rules could be , for example , “ no more than two advertisements in a message ,” “ at least one informational item in a message ,” and rules preventing certain message topics from being combined in a single message . for example , a rule might ensure that information about a new humidifier is not sent along with information about a new dehumidifier . these rules would work with the selection rule to determine which messages are combined into the single message . the templates describe how to format the messages . for example , informational items are placed on the left side and advertisements are placed on the right side , or two advertisements must be separated by some other type . in addition , messages can be identified as carriers or tag - alongs ( field 614 in fig7 ). tag - along messages are placed in a priority queue or queues . when a carrier message is about to be sent , the message source checks the tag - along queue ( s ) and selects one or more items to add to the carrier message in accordance with a set of rules . the rules could , for example , limit the number of tag - alongs per message or the types of tag - alongs that can be combined in a single message , and could prevent tag - along messages with certain topics from being combined with certain carrier messages or tag - along messages of specified types or topics . the templates , in this case , may describe how to format the carrier message relative to the tag - along messages , and the tag - along messages relative to each other . optionally , messages also can identify the channel or channels ( field 616 ) over which a message can be sent . the channel identifier 616 may be used , for example , to determine which messages to aggregate , so that the pacing system will aggregate messages being sent over the same channel . also , the channel identifier 616 can be used so that the pacing system can choose one of several channels to use for message delivery . this may apply , for example , to optimize aggregation or to minimize the delay before a message is sent to a particular recipient . in one embodiment , channel identifier 616 is used to determine the channel by which to send a message when the delay periods over different channels are different . optionally , where multiple channels are identified , other fields ( such as priority field 604 ) can have an entry for each channel . where recipients have the ability to “ opt - out ” of receiving certain messages or it may otherwise be determined that a message should not be sent to a recipient during the delay period before a message is forwarded to the recipient , messages also may be assigned a permission check property 618 . permission check property 618 can be used , similarly to expiration date property 602 , to determine when a message should not be sent . for example , in a centralized pacing system , if permission check property 618 is true , the pacing system checks whether a participant has opted out of a message before sending the message on to the recipient . for discarding similar messages , the pacing system can apply a set of precedence rules . for example , the pacing system can have a rule that a message is discarded if another message of the same or a similar type ( or on the same or a similar topic ) was delivered within a particular time period . alternatively , this type of rule could be used to delay a message , so that two messages of the same or similar types ( or topics ) are not sent within a specified time period . while the preceding volume management functions reduce the volume of messages ( or the volume of similar messages ), it may also be desirable to stimulate the sending of messages when a specified time frame has elapsed without any messages being sent . thus , in addition to storing a minimum period between messages , the pacing system — can store an upper threshold period . if the upper threshold period is exceeded without a message being sent , the pacing system can notify the message sources . although some of the message volume management functions have been described in terms of a central pacing system and some in terms of a pacing storage system , it should be understood that the functions could be implemented with either type of system or a combination of the two . while there have been shown and described examples of the present invention , it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims . for example , the invention can be implemented with a push system , a pull system , an inbox or outbox system , or any other message delivery system . also , timing periods could be adjusted so that , for example , all e - mails are sent on a particular day of the week or month , or low priority messages are sent only on a particular day . furthermore , some functions of a central pacing system can be combined with some functions of a pacing storage system ( allowing , for example , some messages to be sent directly from the message sources to the recipients ) as part of an overall pacing system . moreover , while some message delivery functions or properties have been described in terms of global properties and some in terms of personal properties , the delivery algorithms can apply the rules globally , at an individual level , or at a group level as desired . accordingly , the invention is limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereto . | 6 |
the method of the invention consists of a method making it possible to increase the level of security of any public key probabilistic or deterministic encryption algorithm . from a public key encryption algorithm for which an attacker cannot obtain the plain text message from the encrypted message c , a public key encryption algorithm is constructed for which an attacker cannot obtain information on the plain text message from the encrypted message c , even if the attacker has access to a machine allowing them to decrypt any encrypted message c ′ different from c . the construction uses in addition a secret key encryption algorithm , such that information on the message m cannot be obtained from the corresponding encrypted message c . a hybrid construction is thus obtained , making use simultaneously of a public key encryption algorithm and a secret key encryption algorithm , in order to obtain a hybrid encryption schema having a maximum level of security . the method of the invention therefore uses a public key probabilistic or deterministic encryption schema ep taking at the input a message mp and a random number u and returning at the output an encrypted item cp . the method also uses a secret key encryption algorithm es taking at the input a message ms and returning at the output an encrypted item cs , using a key k . the public key probabilistic or deterministic encryption algorithm uses the key pk for encrypting a message . decryption is carried out using the corresponding private key sk . the method of the invention comprises two distinct methods each comprising two parts : the first method uses a probabilistic encryption algorithm and comprises two parts : the first part taking at the input the message m to be encrypted and the public key pk and returning at the output the encrypted message c ; the second part is the corresponding decryption algorithm taking at the input an encrypted message c and the private key sk and returning at the output the plain text message m ; the second method uses a deterministic encryption algorithm and comprises two parts : the first part taking at the input the message m to be encrypted and the public key pk and returning at the output the encrypted message c ; the second part is the corresponding decryption algorithm taking at the input an encrypted message c and the private key sk and returning at the output the plain text message m . the first part and the second part of each of the methods of the invention also use a hash function f taking at the input a random number r and the message m , a hash function g and a hash function h . b ) applying the hash function f to the message m and to the random number r in order to obtain s ; c ) applying the hash function h to s and performing an exclusive or of the result with r in order to obtain t ; d ) defining the intermediate message w = s ∥ t , where ∥ denotes the concatenation of two bit strings ; e ) applying the encryption algorithm ep to the intermediate message w and to a random number u in order to obtain c1 , using the public key pk ; f ) applying the hash function g to w and c1 in order to obtain k ; g ) applying the encryption algorithm es to the message m using the key k in order to obtain the encrypted item c2 ; the second part of the first method of the invention comprises the following steps : b ) applying to cl a decryption algorithm ep − 1 corresponding to the encryption algorithm ep , using a private key sk in order to obtain the intermediate message w = s ∥ t ; c ) applying the hash function g to w and c1 in order to obtain k ; d ) applying the decryption algorithm es − 1 corresponding to the encryption algorithm es to the encrypted message c2 using the key k in order to obtain the message m ; e ) applying the hash function h to s and performing an exclusive or with t in order to obtain r ; f ) applying the hash function f to the message m and to the random number r in order to obtain s ′; if s ′ and s are different , rejecting the encrypted message c ; otherwise , going to step h ; the first part of the second method of the invention comprises the following steps : b ) applying the hash function f to the message m and to the random number r in order to obtain s ; c ) applying the hash function h to s and performing an exclusive or of the result with r in order to obtain t ; d ) defining the intermediate message w = s ∥ t , where ∥ denotes the concatenation of two bit strings ; e ) applying the encryption algorithm ep to the intermediate , message w in order to obtain c1 , using the public key pk ; f ) applying the hash function g to w and c1 in order to obtain k ; g ) applying the encryption algorithm es to the message m using the key k in order to obtain the encrypted item c2 ; b ) applying to c1 a decryption algorithm ep − 1 corresponding to the encryption algorithm ep using a private key sk in order to obtain the intermediate message w = s ∥ t ; c ) applying the hash function g to w and c1 in order to obtain k ; d ) applying the decryption algorithm es − 1 corresponding to the encryption algorithm es to the encrypted message c2 using the key k in order to obtain the message m ; e ) applying the hash function h to s and performing an exclusive or with t in order to obtain r ; f ) applying the hash function f to the message m and to the random number r in order to obtain s ′; if s ′ and s are different , rejecting the encrypted message c ; otherwise , going to step h ; preferentially , the steps d of the first part of the two methods are replaced by the calculation w = i ∥ s ∥ t or w = s ∥ i ∥ t or w = s ∥ t ∥ i , where i is any value which may contain useful information like for example the binary size of the message m or the identity of the entity which encrypted m and sent the encrypted message c . also , the secret key encryption algorithm es is replaced in the steps g by an exclusive or operation between the message m to be encrypted and the key k , in order to obtain the encrypted item c2 . also preferentially , the steps b of the second parts of the two methods are replaced by the operations w = i ∥ s ∥ t or w = s ∥ i ∥ t or w = sμt ∥ i , and make it possible to deduce therefrom the value i for any calculation or verification purpose . also , the secret key decryption algorithm es − 1 is replaced in the steps d by an exclusive or operation between the message c2 to be encrypted and the key k , in order to obtain the encrypted item m . the public key encryption algorithm constructed is therefore a hybrid encryption algorithm using both a public key encryption algorithm and a secret key encryption algorithm , which makes it possible to obtain better performance as regards encryption times . the public key encryption algorithm thus constructed has an optimum level of security : an attacker cannot obtain information on the plain text message m corresponding to the encrypted message c , even if they have access to a decryption machine allowing them to decrypt any message c ′ distinct from c . the above - described methods of the invention are intended for portable electronic objects of the smart card type . | 7 |
hereinafter , with reference to the accompanying drawings , the detailed description will be given of an embodiment according to the present invention . fig1 a and fig1 b are views showing a servo field of an optical disk of a clv type for a double density recording as an embodiment according to the present invention . in the optical disk , each track is formed at intervals of 0 . 4 μm , for example . as shown in fig1 a and fig1 b , a synchronous pit having a length of 11t ( where t is one pit interval ) at the head of the servo field of each track , and following this , a plurality of pits are formed for performing tracking servo control . the pit width of the synchronous pit is 0 . 2 μm , for instance . in each of the servo fields of odd numbered tracks , as shown in fig1 a , a first tracking pit having a length of 4t is positioned as a wobble pit apart from the rear edge of the synchronous pit by 15t on the left side to the center of the track in the direction toward the terminal of the segment . a clock pit having a length of 4t is positioned on the track apart from the rear edge of the first tracking pit by 13t . further , a second tracking pit having a length of 4t is positioned as a wobble pit apart from the rear edge of the clock pit by 13t on the right side to the center of the track in the direction toward the terminal of the segment . in each of the servo fields of even numbered tracks , as shown in fig1 b , a first tracking pit having a length of 4t is positioned as a wobble pit apart from the rear edge of the synchronous pit by 7t on the left side to the center of the track in the direction toward the terminal of the segment . a clock pit having a length of 4t is positioned on the track apart from the rear edge of the first tracking pit by 13t . further , a second tracking pit having a length of 4t is positioned as a wobble pit apart from the rear edge of the clock pit by 13t on the right side to the center of the track in the direction toward the terminal of the segment . the wobble pit is centrally formed at a position shifted from the center of the track by 0 . 2 μm , for instance . a data field ( not shown ) is positioned following such a servo field . fig2 shows a circuit for generating the clock pulses which control timing of data reproduction in accordance with the read signal from an optical disk having the servo field shown in fig1 . in the clock pulse generating circuit , an optical beam is irradiated from a pickup 11 onto the disk for reading information . an rf signal , that is , a signal read from the disk by the pickup 11 , is supplied to an a / d converter 12 . the rf signal is converted into a digital rf signal by the a / d converter 12 , and supplied to a clock pit phase detector 13 , threshold calculator 14 , and edge interval / synchronizing detector 15 . in accordance with a clock sampling signal , described below , the clock pit phase detector 13 obtains from the digital rf signal the phase error signals which indicate differences in the sample values before and after the clock pit waveform . a pll circuit 16 is connected to the clock pit phase detector 13 . the pll circuit 16 generates reproduction clock pulses and supplies them to a change - over switch 19 , in order to control the phase or frequency of the reproduction clock pulses in accordance with either the phase error signals or a frequency control signal which will be described later . the change - over switch 19 selectively outputs the reproduction clock pulses output from the pll circuit 16 or outputs master clock pulses , in response to a first frequency lock signal which will be described later . the master clock pulses are generated by a pulse generator which is not shown . the clock pulses selectively output from the change - over switch 19 are supplied to the a / d converter 12 , to the edge interval / synchronizing detector 15 , and to a timing generator 17 . the threshold calculator 14 detects positive and negative peak levels of the digital rf signal per given cycle , and calculates an intermediate value of the positive and negative levels as a threshold level . when a digital rf signal that exceeds the threshold level is detected , the edge interval / synchronizing detector 15 obtains the period of time such level is exceeded by counting the clock pulses from the change - over switch 19 , and then generates a synchronous detection signal indicative of detection of a synchronous pit if the counted value of the clock pulses is more than a first predetermined value . to the edge interval / synchronizing detector 15 are connected the timing generator 17 and a frequency error generator 18 . the timing generator 17 counts the clock pulses from the change - over switch 19 from the time at which the synchronous detection signal is generated , and generates the above - mentioned clock sampling signal in order to supply the clock sampling signal to the clock pit phase detector 13 . the frequency error generator 18 obtains the intervals between synchronous signals by counting the reproduction clock pulses from the pll circuit 16 in response to the synchronous detection signal , and then compares the counted value of the reproduction clock pulses with a second predetermined value , hence generating the frequency control signal in accordance with the result of the comparison . the frequency control signal is supplied to the pll circuit 16 . the frequency of the reproduction clock pulses is controlled in accordance with the frequency control signal . also , the frequency error generator 18 generates a first frequency lock signal when the frequency of the reproduction clock pulses enters the first predetermined range , and generates a second frequency lock signal if the frequency enters a second predetermined range that is narrower than the first predetermined range . the first frequency lock signal is supplied to the change - over switch 19 , and the second frequency lock signal is supplied to the pll circuit 16 . in the clock pulse generator with such constitution , the change - over switch 19 selectively outputs the master clock pulses in the initial state . thus , the a / d converter 12 obtains the sample value from the rf signal read from the disk by the pickup 11 in response to the master clock pulses and digitizes it . the intermediate value of the positive and negative peak levels of the digital rf signal is calculated by the threshold calculator 14 as a threshold level . when the digital rf signal which exceeds such threshold level is detected , the period of time during which the rf signal exceeded this level is obtained by the edge interval / synchronizing detector 15 by counting the master clock pulses accordingly . the edge interval / synchronizing detector 15 generates the synchronous detection signal if the counted value of the master clock pulse is more than the first predetermined value . on the basis of the time at which the synchronizing detection signal is generated , the timing generator 17 counts the master clock pulses and generates the clock sampling signal which indicates the time at which the clock pit has been read . the clock sampling signal is supplied to the clock pit phase detector 13 . in accordance with the clock sampling signal thus received , the clock pit phase detector 13 obtains , from the digital rf signal , the phase error signal which indicates the difference in the sample values before and after the clock pit waveform . the reproduction clock pulses generated by the pll circuit 16 are supplied to the frequency error generator 18 , and the interval between the synchronous signals is determined by counting the reproduction clock pulses from the pll circuit 16 in response to the synchronous detection signal . the counted value of the clock pulses is compared with the second predetermined value , and the frequency control signal is generated in accordance with the result of the comparison . in the initial state , the frequency control signal controls the frequency of the reproduction clock pulses of the pll circuit 16 , forming a frequency control loop . the frequency error generator 18 generates the first frequency lock signal when the reproduction clock pulses enter the first predetermined frequency range . in response to the first frequency lock signal , the change - over switch 19 switches , to then relay and supply the reproduction clock pulses output from the pll circuit 16 to the a / d converter 12 , edge interval / synchronizing detector 15 , and timing generator 17 . therefore , the a / d converter 12 , edge interval / synchronizing detector 15 , and timing generator 17 are actuated in response to the reproduction clock pulses in place of the master clock pulses . the accuracy of the reproduction clock pulses controlled by the frequency control signal becomes higher as greater numbers of the synchronous signals are detected . when the frequency of the reproduction clock pulses enters the second predetermined range , the second frequency lock signal is generated . in response to the second frequency lock signal , the phase of the reproduction clock pulses is controlled in the pll circuit 16 in accordance with the phase error signal from the clock pit phase detector 13 in place of the frequency control signal . hence , the clock pulse generator of fig2 enters a phase control loop state . fig3 shows a spindle servo circuit which controls the rotational speed of the optical disk represented in fig1 . in the spindle servo circuit , a threshold calculator 21 and an edge interval detector 22 are connected to the output of the a / d converter 12 . the threshold calculator 21 detects positive and negative peak levels of the digital rf signal output from the a / d converter 12 per given cycle , and calculates the intermediate value of the positive and negative peak levels as a threshold level . when the digital rf signal exceeding the threshold level is detected , the edge interval detector 22 obtains the time during which the rf signal exceeds that level by counting the clock pulses input from the change - over switch 19 of the clock pulse generator of fig2 . a synchronizing detector 23 and a maximum inversion interval holder 24 are connected to the output of the edge interval detector 22 . the synchronizing detector 23 generates a synchronizing detection signal when the counted value of the clock pulses obtained by the edge interval detector 22 is more than a first predetermined value . the maximum inversion interval holder 24 holds the maximum value of the counted values of the input clock pulses obtained by the edge interval detector 22 as a maximum inversion interval . the value held by the maximum inversion interval holder 24 is reset by an output of a timer 25 . the timer 25 measures a time period greater than the cycle in which the synchronous pit is read when the optical disk is played . the timer 25 generates a reset signal when measurement of the time period is completed , and repeats the time measuring operation . a first comparison operator 26 is connected to the maximum inversion interval holder 24 . the first comparison operator 26 compares a reference value and the maximum inversion interval value held by the maximum inversion interval holder 24 , and outputs an error signal . the reference value corresponds to the length , 11t , of the synchronous pit . the error signal output from the first comparison operator 26 is supplied to a change - over switch 27 and a first spindle lock detector 28 . the first spindle lock detector 28 generates an enabling signal when the level of the error signal output from the first comparison operator 26 is within a third predetermined range , and supplies it to the change - over switch 27 and to a synchronizing protector 29 . the synchronizing protector 29 outputs the synchronizing detection signal generated by the synchronizing detector 23 when the enabling signal is present . if the enabling signal is absent , the protector 29 outputs a pulse signal per interval at which the synchronizing signal is generated in response to input clock pulses instead . a synchronous interval measuring unit 30 is connected to the synchronizing protector 29 . the synchronous interval measuring unit 30 obtains the intervals at which the output signal of the synchronizing protector 29 is generated , by counting the clock pulses , and supplies the counted clock pulses to a second comparison operator 31 . the second comparison operator 31 compares a reference value with the value of the input clock pulses counted by the synchronous interval measuring unit 30 , and outputs an error signal . the reference value is equivalent to the counted value obtainable when the spindle motor rotates at normal speed . to the output of the second comparison operator 31 are connected a second spindle lock detector 32 together with the change - over switch 27 . the second spindle lock detector 32 issues a spindle lock flag when the level of the error signal output from the second comparison operator 31 enters a fourth predetermined range . the change - over switch 27 relays and outputs , as a spindle control signal , the output signal of the first comparison operator 26 if the enabling signal is absent . when the enabling signal is present , the switch 27 relays and outputs the output signal of the second comparison operator 31 as the spindle control signal . the relayed output of the change - over switch 27 is supplied to a driver 34 of the spindle motor ( not shown ) through a d / a converter 33 . incidentally , although the threshold calculator 21 is arranged separately , it may be possible to use the threshold calculator 14 shown in fig2 . also , it may be possible to use the edge interval / synchronizing detector 15 shown in fig2 for the edge interval detector 22 and the synchronizing detector 23 . in the spindle servo circuit constituted as described above , the input clock pulses are preferably supplied from the above - described clock pulse generator of fig2 . as a result , in the initial state , the generation of the spindle control signal is actuated in response to the master clock pulses . in other words , the a / d converter 12 obtains the sample value from the rf signal read from the disk by the pickup 11 in accordance with the master clock pulses and digitizes it . the intermediate value of the positive and negative peak levels of the digital rf signal is calculated by the threshold calculator 21 as a threshold level . when a digital rf signal exceeding the threshold level is detected , the duration of the signal exceeding that level is obtained in the edge interval detector 22 by counting the master clock pulses . the synchronizing detector 23 generates the synchronizing detection signal when the counted value of the master clock pulses is more than the first predetermined value . the counted value of the master clock pulses obtained by the edge interval detector 22 is held by the maximum inversion interval holder 24 . the edge interval detector 22 outputs the counted values of the master clock pulses one after another , and if the value of the master clock pulse currently counted is greater than the value held by the maximum inversion interval holder 24 , the currently counted value is held anew by the maximum inversion interval holder 24 . the value held by the maximum inversion interval holder 24 is compared with the reference value in the first comparison operator 26 , and the error signal thereof is supplied to the d / a converter 33 through the change - over switch 27 as a spindle control signal . then , the driver 34 drives the spindle motor in accordance with the spindle control signal , which is an analog signal output by the d / a converter 33 . when the level of the spindle control signal from the first comparison operator 26 is within the third predetermined range , the first spindle lock detector 28 generates an enabling signal . when the enabling signal is generated , the change - over switch 27 relays the output signal from the second comparison operator 31 at that time , and the synchronizing protector 29 outputs the synchronizing detection signal generated in the synchronizing detector 23 to the synchronous interval measuring unit 30 . the synchronous interval measuring unit 30 obtains the intervals at which the output signals of the synchronizing protector 29 are generated , by counting the input clock pulses . the counted value of the input clock pulses and the reference value are compared in the second comparison operator 31 to output an error signal . the error output from the second comparison operator 31 is supplied to the d / a converter 33 through the change - over switch 27 as a spindle control signal . the driver 34 drives the spindle motor in accordance with the spindle control signal , which is rendered an analog signal by the d / a converter 33 . also , the spindle lock flag is issued from the second spindle lock detector 32 when the level of the spindle control signal output from the second comparison operator 31 is within the fourth predetermined range . the spindle lock flag is supplied to a system controller ( not shown ) of a disk player to transmit the normal rotation of the spindle motor thereto . in the clock pulse generator of fig2 when the frequency of the reproduction clock pulses of the pll circuit 16 enters the first predetermined range so that the first frequency lock signal is generated , the reproduction clock pulses output from the pll circuit 16 are supplied to the spindle servo circuit of fig3 as input clock pulses in place of the master clock pulses . therefore , the a / d converter 12 , edge interval detector 22 , synchronizing detector 23 , synchronizing protector 29 and synchronous interval measuring unit 30 are operated in response to the reproduction clock pulses . even when the reproduction clock pulses are supplied as the input clock pulses , the spindle control signal is supplied from the first comparison operator 26 to the d / a converter 33 through the switch 27 in the same manner as above if the enabling signal is absent . if the enabling signal is present , the spindle control signal is supplied from the second comparison operator 31 to the d / a converter 33 through the switch 27 . as described above , in the initial state , the detection of the interval of the synchronous signals is performed by using the master clock pulses . therefore , if the interval between synchronous signals is given as nt , the detection accuracy is ( n ± 1 ) t even for a correct interval of the synchronous signals . as a result , the interval between synchronous signals , i . e ., the rotational accuracy at the time of rough spindle control based on the spindle control signal from the first comparison operator 26 is estimated at ( n ± 2 ) t in consideration of a fluctuation of ± 1t resulting from further error in controlling the spindle . consequently , when the speed of revolution of an optical disk of a clv type is high , the following condition is required in order to accurately distinguish between the synchronous pit and the maximum inversion interval mt of the data where mt = 8t : on the other hand , if the speed of revolution of the optical disk is low , the following condition must be satisfied so as not to mistake the maximum inversion interval 8t of the data for the synchronous pit : the minimum integer n which satisfies both expressions is 11 . hence , the length of the synchronous pit is preferably set to be 11t . it should be noted that , in the above example , the maximum inversion interval mt is defined to be 8t , and then , the detection error to be generated in reading the synchronous pit and detecting it as the synchronous signal is defined to be 2t . however , these are not necessarily limited to such values . also , when the maximum inversion interval between the recorded marks is detected from the read signal in order to detect the synchronous marks , the detecting zone is made longer than the interval where the synchronous marks appear at the rotational speed of the disk being at its minimum . as described above , according to an optical disk of the present invention , an integer n is set to satisfy the two expressions , ( n - α ) t & gt ; mt and mt ×( n + a )/ n & lt ; nt , where one pit interval of the data is t ; the length of the synchronous mark in the track direction is nt ; the maximum detection error generated when reading the synchronous marks is αt ; and the maximum inversion interval between the marks is mt . therefore , it is possible to set the length of a synchronous mark in consideration of the detection error and varying speed of revolution of the disk . as a result , even in the case of an optical disk of a clv type , the synchronous pattern formed by a single mark can be detected while distinguishing it accurately from the maximum inversion interval in the data . | 6 |
the present invention is described as utilizing a b - shaped double - tube bumper beam that is rollformed and swept . the present b - shaped bumper beam is sufficiently described herein for a person skilled in the art to understand and practice the present invention , but it is noted that the process and method of making the illustrated b - shaped bumper beam is described in greater detail in sturrus u . s . pat . no . 5 , 454 , 504 , if the reader desires such information . it is specifically contemplated that the present invention could be used in combination with a bumper beam having a shallower channel instead of the deep channel illustrated . for example , the present invention would work on a d - shaped bumper where the bumper beam had a vertically - extending surface extending across a significant vertical portion of a front face of the bumper beam but does not extend completely across a vertical front face of the bumper beam . on the merits , the teachings of u . s . pat . no 5 , 454 , 504 are incorporated herein in its entirety for the purpose of providing a complete disclosure of the entire bumper system . in regard to the illustrated preferred embodiment , a bumper system 20 ( fig1 - 6 ) for vehicles includes a bumper beam 21 and an energy absorber 22 attached to a face of the bumper beam 21 . the illustrated beam is rollformed and swept ( see sturrus u . s . pat . no . 5 , 454 , 504 ) and has a continuous b - shaped double - tubular cross section ( fig2 ). the double tubes are spaced vertically apart and include top and bottom mid - walls 23 and 24 defining a longitudinally - extending channel 25 along its rear surface . a polymeric energy absorber 22 has a length with multiple box - shaped sections 27 ( five box - shaped sections are shown , but not all are the same length ) that abut the front surface 26 of the bumper beam 21 . the energy absorber 22 further includes a plurality of tying sections 28 that extend longitudinally between the box - shaped sections 27 and also vertically between top and bottom portions 27 ′ and 27 ″ of the box - shaped sections 27 , as discussed below . the b - shaped section of the bumper beam 21 ( fig3 ) includes , in addition to top and bottom mid - walls 23 and 24 , a top wall 34 , a rear upper wall 35 , a bottom wall 36 , a rear lower wall 37 , a primary front wall 38 and a channel - forming overlapping front wall 39 . the top tube of the bumper beam 21 is formed by the walls 23 , 34 , 35 , and 38 . the bottom tube of the bumper beam 21 is formed by the walls 24 , 36 , 37 , and 38 . the top and bottom tubes are interconnected by front walls 38 and 39 . each of these walls 23 - 24 and 34 - 39 can be flat or non - flat . for example , in some bumper systems ( such as the illustrated bumper beam ), it has been found to be beneficial to make the horizontal walls 23 , 24 , 34 , and 36 slightly bent or curved ( in a front - to - rear direction ), both for purposes of providing a bumper beam that is less likely to prematurely kink and more likely to reliably and consistently bend , but also for the purpose of ease of manufacture of the bumper beam . as illustrated , the mid - walls 23 and 24 include rear portions that are angled to created a tapered throat . the energy absorber 22 is a molded component of non - foam polymer , such as a blend of pc / abs / tpe . for example , it is contemplated that general electric &# 39 ; s xenoy polymer will work for this purpose . the energy absorber 22 includes five box - shaped sections 27 that abut a front of the front wall 38 . tying walls 28 hold the box - shaped sections 27 together . the illustrated box - shaped sections 27 include top and bottom u - shaped sections 27 ′ and 27 ″. the top sections 27 ′ engaging the top of front wall 38 are shaped slightly different ( i . e . taller ) than the bottom sections 27 ′ that engage the bottom of front wall 38 , but it is contemplated that they can be made similar in size and shape , if desired . the box - shaped sections 27 ( fig8 a ) each include a top wall 41 , a bottom wall 42 , and opposing sidewalls 43 and 44 . a flat front wall 45 extends around walls 41 - 44 and forms a perimeter around them , tying the walls 41 - 44 together . additionally , the box - shaped sections 27 include a top wall 41 a , a bottom wall 42 a , and opposing end walls 43 a and 44 a that extend from the outer edges of front wall 45 and extend parallel the walls 41 - 44 , respectively . the u - shaped top section 27 ′ is formed by walls 41 and 42 , which form parallel legs , and by wall 45 , which forms a vertical leg . the u - shaped section 27 ″ is formed by walls 41 a and 42 a , which are parallel , and by vertical leg 45 a . a rear wall 46 extends outwardly from the walls 41 a - 44 a forming a perimeter . the section 28 is that part of wall 46 that interconnects and ties adjacent box - like sections 27 together . all walls of sections 27 ( and wall 28 ) are about 1 . 5 to 3 . 5 mm thick , or more preferably about 2 . 0 mm to 2 . 5 mm thick . it is noted that the top and bottom walls 41 , 41 a , 42 , 42 a , when viewed from a position in front of the bumper system , can be wavy and undulating or otherwise non - linear and non - flat in shape . the other walls can also be wavy or undulating . this provides the walls with increased strength for resisting buckling , and also helps eliminate distortions , such as snaking , that occur when molding a long part . it is also noted that the walls 41 , 41 a , 42 , and 42 a extend longitudinally on the bumper beam 21 , but are discontinuous and further include non - blind surfaces to prevent die lock when molding . ( i . e . this allows mold tooling to pass through the plane of one wall to form another wall .) in other words , the energy absorber 22 can be made by using male and female molds , neither of which require secondary or movable die components for forming the energy absorber 22 . the box - shaped sections 27 of the illustrated energy absorber 22 are able to absorb significant energy without failure , such as may be incurred in a low energy impact . thus , in a low energy impact , the energy absorber 22 absorbs the impact energy , and the bumper beam 21 does not permanently or temporarily deform . in an intermediate energy impact , the bumper beam 21 and the energy absorber 22 do deflect and absorb energy , but do not permanently deform . however , the walls 23 - 24 and 34 - 39 of the energy absorber 22 may permanently deform . in a high energy impact , both the energy absorber 22 and the bumper beam 21 initially absorb energy and then buckle as they approach a maximum amount of deflection . the point of buckling is designed into the bumper system 20 to cause a maximum amount of energy to be absorbed without damaging the vehicle , while considering all relevant factors such as occupant safety , government standards , and the like . a top lip 53 extends rearwardly from the top of wall 46 of the box section 27 , and a bottom lip 54 extends rearwardly from the bottom of wall 46 of the box section 27 . the lips 53 and 54 engage top and bottom surfaces on the bumper beam 21 . optionally , the lips 53 and 54 can include attachment tabs or hooks ( see hook tab 55 in fig7 and hook tab 56 in fig8 ) for engaging apertures or features in the bumper beam 21 for retaining ( temporarily or permanently ) to the bumper beam 21 . these lips 53 and 54 are advantageous in that all ( or most ) fasteners can be eliminated for attaching the energy absorber 22 to the bumper beam 21 . it is contemplated that the vehicle front fascia 57 ( fig5 ) can be used to hold the energy absorber 22 on the bumper beam 21 without any fasteners , if desired , as noted below . it is noted that the present arrangement faces a “ flat side ” of the b - shaped cross section of the bumper beam 21 toward the energy absorber 22 , although it is contemplated that the present inventive energy absorber 22 can be positioned against the lobed part of the b - shaped bumper beam 21 and function satisfactorily . in such case , the b - shaped bumper beam 21 would be swept with its “ flat ” face on the vehicle side of the bumper beam and facing rearwardly . in the present bumper system , the energy absorber 22 is relatively loosely supported on the bumper beam 21 . this is unusual in that historically , automobile manufacturers want the position of the energy absorbers closely controlled and well - fastened to the bumper beam . however , testing has shown that a relatively loose energy absorber can , if properly designed , actually assist in preventing premature collapse of the energy absorber by allowing the energy absorber to adjust to the impacting object to better “ face ” the impacting object as the impact collision occurs . it is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present invention , and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise . | 1 |
this document describes techniques and devices enabling radar - based gesture sensing and data transmission . these techniques and devices enable users to control and transmit data with a radar system rather than multiple different kinds of control devices , thereby permitting users to learn one simple system rather than many different systems to control their devices . further , these techniques and devices also enable data transmission with this radar system , thereby reducing costs not only by reducing the number and type of control devices , but also by replacing other data transmission systems . consider , for example , a user that wishes to transmit a playlist of songs from her smartphone to her stereo system . assume that , in one room of her home , she has three radar - sensitive devices , the stereo system , a television , and a thermostat to control her apartment &# 39 ; s heating and cooling . she may simply point her smartphone in the direction of her stereo system and then make a hand gesture between her smartphone and her stereo system , such as a hand - swipe from her smartphone toward her stereo system . the techniques can determine , based on this pointing and gesture , to transmit the playlist of songs from her smartphone through the radar system and to her stereo system . the radar system may also enable her to continue to control her stereo system by sensing gestures in a radar field ( even the radar field transmitting data to the stereo system ), such as to pause a song or turn up the stereo system &# 39 ; s volume . fig1 is an illustration of an example environment 100 in which techniques using , and an apparatus including , a radar system for gesture sensing and data transmission may be embodied . environment 100 includes a radar - communication device 102 having a radar system 104 , a radar transmission 106 provided by radar system 104 , and a receiving device 108 , which receives radar transmission 106 . as shown , a user 110 points his radar - communication device 102 in a direction of receiving device 108 . with this direction and a gesture that interacts with radar transmission 106 ( described below ), the techniques establish communication with , or control of , receiving device 108 . radar system 104 is configured to transmit data and to sense gestures . to enable this , radar system 104 includes a radio element 112 , a radar antenna 114 , a signal processor 116 , a transceiver 118 , system processors 120 , system media 122 , and a system manager 124 . generally , radio element 112 is configured to provide a radar transmission capable of transmitting data . radio element 112 can be configured to emit continuously modulated radiation , ultra - wideband radiation , and / or sub - millimeter - frequency radiation . radio element 112 , in some cases , is configured to form radiation in beams , the beams aiding a receiving device , and / or radar antenna 114 and signal processor 116 , to determine which of the beams are interrupted , and thus locations of interactions within a field having the radar transmission . in some cases , radio element 112 is configured to transmit radar that penetrates fabric or other obstructions and reflect from human tissue . these fabrics or obstructions can include wood , glass , plastic , cotton , wool , nylon and similar fibers , and so forth , while reflecting from human tissues , such as a person &# 39 ; s hand , thereby potentially improving gesture recognition as clothing or other obstructions can be overcome . in more detail , radio element 112 can be configured to emit microwave radiation in a 1 ghz to 300 ghz range , a 3 ghz to 100 ghz range , and narrower bands , such as 57 ghz to 63 ghz . this frequency range affects radar antenna 114 &# 39 ; s ability to receive interactions , such as to track locations of two or more targets to a resolution of about two to about 25 millimeters . radio element 112 can be configured , along with other entities of radar system 104 , to have a relatively fast update rate , which can aid in resolution of the interactions . by selecting particular frequencies , radar system 104 can operate to substantially penetrate clothing while not substantially penetrating human tissue . further , radar antenna 114 or signal processor 116 can be configured to differentiate between interactions in the radar field caused by clothing from those interactions in the radar field caused by human tissue . thus , a person wearing gloves or a long sleeve shirt that could interfere with sensing gestures with some conventional techniques , can still be sensed with radar system 104 . radar antenna 114 is configured to sense interactions in the radar transmissions and signal processor 116 is configured to process the sensed interactions sufficient to provide gesture data usable to determine a gesture from the sensed interactions . in some cases interactions are also or instead sensed by a receiving device , which is described later below . radar antenna 114 can include one or many sensors , such as an array of radiation sensors , the number in the array based on a desired resolution and the type or types of radar being transmitted . radar antenna 114 is configured to receive reflections of the radar transmission , including those caused by two or more targets ( e . g ., fingers ), and signal processor 116 is configured to process the sensed interactions sufficient to provide data usable to determine gestures . an example of a radar transmission and a gesture interaction within that radar transmission is illustrated in fig2 , which shows radar transmission 202 emitted by radar system 104 of a wearable computing device . in this particular example , the wearable computing device is illustrated as wearable computing bracelet 204 , though any suitable computing device , wearable or otherwise , may implement the techniques described herein . radar transmission 202 is interacted with by a person &# 39 ; s finger 206 , which causes a refection ( not shown ) in radar transmission 202 . this reflection , as noted , can be received and processed to provide data from which a gesture is determined . by way of a second example , consider fig3 , which illustrates a radar transmission 302 ( the transmission shown truncated ) emitted by radar system 104 , which here is not part of a computing device . this radar transmission 302 is shown interacted with by fingers 304 , which again causes reflections in radar transmission 302 . a user may perform complex or simple gestures with a hand or fingers ( or a device like a stylus ) that interrupts the radar transmission . example gestures include the many gestures usable with current touch - sensitive displays , such as swipes , two - finger pinch and spread , tap , and so forth . other gestures are enabled that are complex , or simple but three - dimensional , examples include many sign - language gestures , e . g ., those of american sign language ( asl ) and other sign languages worldwide . a few of these include an up - and - down fist , which in asl means “ yes ”, an open index and middle finger moving to connect to an open thumb , which means “ no ”, a flat hand moving up a step , which means “ advance ”, a flat and angled hand moving up and down , which means “ afternoon ”, clenched fingers and open thumb moving to open fingers and an open thumb , which means “ taxicab ”, an index finger moving up in a roughly vertical direction , which means “ up ”, and so forth . these are but a few of many gestures that can sensed by radar system 104 . returning to fig1 , radar system 104 may include transceiver 118 , which in some cases aids in communicating in manners other than through radar . in cases where radar system 104 is included with a computing device , transceiver 118 may not be used . as noted gesture data can be transmitted through radio element 112 or transceiver 118 . this gesture data can be provided in a format usable by a receiving device sufficient for the receiving device to determine the gesture in those cases where the gesture is not determined by radar system 104 or a computing device into which radar system 104 is integrated . radar system 104 may include one or more system processors 120 and system media 122 ( e . g ., one or more computer - readable storage media ). system media 122 includes system manager 124 , which can perform various operations , including determining a gesture based on gesture data from signal processor 116 , mapping the determined gesture to a pre - configured control gesture associated with a control input associated with a receiving device , and causing radio element 112 or transceiver 118 to transmit the control input to the receiving device effective to enable control of the device . this is but one of the ways in which the above - mentioned control through radar system 104 can be enabled . operations of system manager 224 are described in greater detail as part of methods 600 and 700 below . radar system 104 can be used with , or embedded within , many different garments , accessories , and computing devices . consider , for example , fig4 , which illustrates radar - communication device 102 in greater detail . radar - communication device 102 includes radar system 104 , one or more computer processors 402 , and computer - readable media 404 , which includes memory media and storage media . applications and / or an operating system ( not shown ) embodied as computer - readable instructions on computer - readable media 404 can be executed by processors 402 to provide some of the functionalities described herein . computer - readable media 404 also includes gesture manager 406 ( described below ). example radar - communication devices 102 include computing devices , such as computing spectacles 408 , a computing bracelet 410 ( e . g ., smart watch ), and a smart phone 412 . devices having little or no computing may also be used , including radar transmitter 414 , which includes a network interface 416 , but may or may not include computer processors 402 , gesture manager 406 , display 418 , and direction sensors 420 . direction sensors 420 are capable of sensing a user &# 39 ; s directional selection through various input manners and devices , which range from buttons , capacitive sensors , radar fields , and touch screens to orientation sensors capable of determining an orientation or orientation change of radar - communication device 102 . further , direction can be sensed without movement of radar - communication device 102 , such as through gestures made within a radar transmission or other non - directional selection . for a radar transmission that can be received by multiple devices , selection of the receiving device can be made without changing the direction but instead making a gesture in the radar field that indicates selection of the intended receiving device . this gesture can be directional to the device — such as movement from radar - communication device 102 toward receiving device 108 , or be a gesture associated with the particular device . buttons , capacitive sensors , and touch screens enable a user to select receiving devices or controls of a receiving device , such as to increase a volume or pause a program with a button associated with that control on radar - communication device 102 ( e . g ., a button on radar - communication device 102 for altering volume can be used to control receiving device 108 ). touch screens or pads enable a user to select controls and devices with visual controls similar to the buttons but also through zooming gestures , such as a pinch gesture to zoom out or a spread gesture to zoom in . cameras and orientation sensors can determine selections that tilt , turn , move in , move out , move up , move left , move right , and move down radar - communication device 102 , to name just a few . direction sensors 420 may also include orientations sensors , which can include micromachined accelerometers , which may also be referred to as microelectromechanical system ( mems ) based accelerometers . these micromachined accelerometers , depending on the types , are configured to measure , in multiple axes , magnitude and direction of proper acceleration ( e . g ., g - force ) as a vector quantity . by so doing , the micromachined accelerometers can sense orientation , coordinate acceleration , vibration , shock , and falling . for use as orientation sensors , these micromachined accelerometers can sense six degrees of freedom of radar - communication device 102 , including three degrees of freedom in translation ( x , y , and z ) and three in rotation ( pitch , yaw , and roll ). cameras can be used to track a device &# 39 ; s location , such as relative to a user viewing the display , by tracking imaged objects ( e . g ., a book pictured by the camera can be used to determine , based on the book changing size or location in an image captured by the camera , an orientation or location in three dimensions of the display ) or objects that relate to the viewer , such as by tracking a user &# 39 ; s facial features ( e . g ., eyes , cornea , irises ). radar - communication device 102 may implement little or no computer software , such as when configured as radar transmitter 414 . in addition to the example device shown , radar - communication device 102 may also be implemented as other small wearable devices , such as a ring , bracelet , or broach or small handheld remote controllers and so forth . as noted above , radar - communication device 102 , using radar system 104 , communicates with a receiving device , such as receiving device 108 of fig1 . in more detail , consider fig5 , which illustrates an example receiving device 108 . receiving device 108 is illustrated with various non - limiting example devices , desktop computer 108 - 1 , a television 108 - 2 , a tablet 108 - 3 , a laptop 108 - 4 , a refrigerator 108 - 5 , and a microwave 108 - 6 , though other devices may also be used , such as home automation and control systems , entertainment systems , audio systems , other home appliances , security systems , netbooks , smartphones , and e - readers . receiving device 108 includes one or more computer processors 502 and computer - readable storage media ( storage media ) 504 . storage media 504 includes applications and / or an operating system ( not shown ) embodied as computer - readable instructions executable by computer processors 502 to provide , in some cases , functionalities described herein . storage media 504 also includes receiving gesture manager 506 ( described below ). receiving device 108 may also include network interfaces 508 for communicating data over wired , wireless , or optical networks . by way of example and not limitation , network interface 508 may communicate data over a local - area - network ( lan ), a wireless local - area - network ( wlan ), a personal - area - network ( pan ), a wide - area - network ( wan ), an intranet , the internet , a peer - to - peer network , point - to - point network , a mesh network , and the like . receiving device 108 includes a display 510 , which can be touch - sensitive , though this is not required . receiving gesture manager 506 is capable of interacting with applications and devices associated with or through which receiving device 108 is able to communicate and radar system 104 effective to control and / or alter data communications between various devices or applications . receiving device 108 is also shown including radar system 104 , which can be included in whole or in part . in some cases , receiving device 108 receives reflections from gesture interactions in radar transmissions ( e . g ., radar transmissions of other devices ), and thus can sense gestures within the radar field of the radar transmissions . in such cases , receiving device 108 includes radar antenna 114 and signal processor 116 as described above . further , receiving device 108 may receive and transmit data using radar , in such cases radio element 112 is also included in receiving device 108 . in conjunction with these and / or other elements of radar system 104 operating at receiving device 108 , receiving gesture manager 506 is capable of determining gestures based on interactions to radar transmission 106 . as will be described in greater detail below , radar transmissions can enable data communication between ( e . g ., one - way or bi - directional transmissions ) radar - communication device 102 and receiving device 108 , as well as sensing of gestures made within the radar transmissions . these and other capabilities and configurations , as well as ways in which entities of fig1 - 5 act and interact , are set forth in greater detail below . these entities may be further divided , combined , and so on . the environment 100 of fig1 and the detailed illustrations of fig2 - 5 illustrate some of many possible environments and devices capable of employing the described techniques . fig6 and 7 depict methods enabling radar - based gesture sensing and data transmission . these methods and other methods herein are shown as sets of blocks that specify operations performed but are not necessarily limited to the order or combinations shown for performing the operations by the respective blocks . in portions of the following discussion reference may be made to environment 100 of fig1 and entities detailed in fig2 - 5 , reference to which is made for example only . the techniques are not limited to performance by one entity or multiple entities operating on one device . at 602 , selection of a direction for projection of a radar transmission is received . this selection can be , as noted , through a physical orienting of a radar element of a radar - communication device toward a radar antenna associated with a computing device . selection can made by a user , such as user 110 of fig1 , to point or otherwise select a direction for the radar transmission . as shown in fig1 , user 110 points radar - communication device 102 toward receiving device 108 . this selection can be sensed by radar - communication device 102 through various manners , such as through direction sensors 420 to sense an orientation of radar - communication device 102 as noted above . at 604 , a directed radar transmission is projected to an entity in the selected direction . this is shown at fig1 , where radar - communication device 102 emits radar transmission 106 via radar system 104 to receiving device 108 . this entity to which the directed radar transmission is directed can include various devices , but can also be a specific application or peripheral device of a receiving device , such as an application on a computing device . in more detail , the directed radar transmission can be a directed - beam narrow field . in such a case , a simple or even no gesture need be made to the radar transmission to begin communication between radar - communication device 102 and receiving device 108 , as receiving device 108 may determine that communication is desired through the direction of the directed - beam narrow field . while the gesture interacting with the radar transmission , or direction ( e . g ., pointing ) of the radar transmission to receiving device 108 , is described in the context of establishing communication , and in some other portions herein control of an entity , various other actions can be triggered . thus , these example actions are not limited to selecting an entity to control or device with which to alter communication . at 606 , a reflection caused by an interaction made with the directed radar transmission is received , such as at radar antenna 114 of radar system 104 . this reflection can be received at radar antenna 112 . the type of reflection depends on the frequency as well as other characteristics of radar transmission 106 . thus , when the directed radar field includes time - split radar transmissions , one of the time - split radar transmissions transmits data and the other of the time - split radar transmissions can reflect radar from human tissue . in this case receiving the reflection caused by the interaction receives the reflection from human tissue from the other of the time - split radar transmissions , thereby permitting data to be communicated with less interaction from the interaction . another example radar transmission 106 includes directed beams , where some of the beams are interrupted by an interaction and others are not , thereby enabling data transmission by un - interrupted beams while sensing gestures with the interrupted beams . in still other cases , the radar transmission is interrupted by the interaction , such as for radar transmissions having a single type of transmission . this single type of transmission , however , can reduce costs in producing radar system 104 and still enable data transmission and gesture sensing . at 608 , a gesture made within the directed radar transmission and indicated by the interaction is determined . the determination of the gesture based on the interaction can be performed by system manager 124 and / or gesture manager 406 . the determined gesture can be as simple as an interruption or a complex , multi - target , moving three - dimensional gesture . with more - complex gestures mentioned above , gesture manager 406 can map particular gestures or types of gestures to particular devices or applications or peripherals associated with those devices . thus , one particular gesture may map to control or communication with laptop 108 - 4 , another may map to microwave 108 - 6 , and so forth . at 610 , a selection concerning control of an entity is determined based on the gesture . as noted , these selections can include starting or ceasing communication and various types of control of the entity — from initiating a stream of content from a smart phone 412 to a television 108 - 2 , to dispensing water from refrigerator 108 - 5 , to flipping through pages or images on desktop computer 108 - 1 , to controlling playback of media on television 108 - 2 . at 612 , the selection is passed to the entity effective to cause the control . this passing of the selection ( e . g ., control gesture ) can be through the same radar transmission , though this is not required . for example , any suitable network interface may be used to communicate the selection or other information between radar - communication device 102 and receiving device 108 . following operation 612 , methods 600 may return to operation 606 to continue to receive gestures to control receiving device 108 ( or radar - communication device 102 ). fig7 depicts method 700 , which enables radar - based gesture sensing and data transmission with operations from a perspective of a receiving device . at 702 , a directed radar transmission is received from a radar - communication device . this directed radar transmission can be through a physical orienting of a radar element of a radar - communication device toward a radar antenna ( e . g ., radar system 104 of radar - communication device 102 to radar antenna 114 of receiving device 108 ). in some cases , the directed radar transmission is a broad field having different characteristics at a center of the broad field than at a periphery of the broad field . in such a case , a receiving device ( e . g ., radar system 104 of receiving device 108 ) determines , based on characteristics of radar received , that the directed radar transmission is directed to a computing device on which the method is performed . in some other cases , the directed radar transmission is a directed - beam narrow field . in such a case , the receiving device the determination can be simply based on receiving the radar transmission . at 704 , a reflection caused by an interaction made with the directed radar transmission is received . this interaction can interfere or not interfere with the radar transmission . in cases where the directed radar transmission includes time - split radar transmissions , one of the time - split radar transmissions can send data and the other , which is configured to reflect radar from human tissue rather than pass through human tissue as is with the other radar transmission , can receive the reflection caused by the interaction from human tissue . at 706 , a gesture made within the directed radar transmission is determined based on the interaction . this gesture can be to begin a data connection , in which case a handshake protocol to begin a new data connection with a computing device associated with the radar - communication device can be performed . alternately , this gesture can instead be to cease a current data connection , in which case the data connection is shut down . at 708 , a selection concerning a data connection is determined based on the gesture . as noted , this can be to start or cease communications . the data connection may communicate any suitable type data , such as user files , images , music , video , streaming content , and so on . as such , the selection can be to initiate a stream of content ( or media ) between devices , terminate the stream of content , or select another device as a destination for the stream of content . in some cases , a state of the data connection or data being communicated thereby is determined . for example , if media is being streamed via the data connection , a point at which media playback ceases may be determined to enable subsequent media playback to resume at that point when a data connection is established at another device . at 710 , the data connection is altered based on the selection . the data connection is not required to be between a receiving device and a computing device with which the radar - communication device may be integral . thus , the data connection can be from the receiving device to a third device connected with or associated with the radar - communication device , such as in a case where radar transmitter 414 is acting as a transmitter to set up or pass data with another device , such as a user &# 39 ; s tablet 108 - 3 to a television 108 - 2 . following a data connection being made at operation 710 , method 700 may proceed to operations 712 , 714 , and 716 . at 712 , a second reflection caused by a second interaction made with the directed radar transmission is received . as noted above , a reflection from an interaction can be received at a transmitting device or a receiving device , such as antenna 112 at receiving device 108 . at 714 , a second gesture made within the directed radar transmission is determined based on the second interaction . this can be accomplished similarly to as noted in method 600 above . for example , receiving gesture manager 506 can determine the gesture to be of a particular type or unique , and map it to a desired control , device function , and / or entity ( e . g ., to control a particular application of receiving device 108 ). at 716 , the second gesture is passed to an application , an operating system , or a device effective control the application , the operating system , or the device . as noted above , the passed gesture can control or invoke any suitable function of the application , operating system , or device . for example , the passed gesture may pause playback , advance playback , or skip playback of media tracks being presented by a device . as shown with dashed lines in fig7 , method 700 may perform some mix of operations , excluding some and repeating others . thus , after a data connection is established , other controls can be received , thereby performing operations 712 , 714 , and 716 ( e . g ., to control the same or other entities of receiving device 108 ) or repeating operations 704 , 706 , and 710 ( e . g ., to cease the data connection ). the preceding discussion describes methods relating to radar - based gesture sensing and data transmissions . aspects of these methods may be implemented in hardware ( e . g ., fixed logic circuitry ), firmware , software , manual processing , or any combination thereof . these techniques may be embodied on one or more of the entities shown in fig1 - 5 and 8 ( computing system 800 is described in fig8 below ), which may be further divided , combined , and so on . thus , these figures illustrate some of the many possible systems or apparatuses capable of employing the described techniques . the entities of these figures generally represent software , firmware , hardware , whole devices or networks , or a combination thereof . fig8 illustrates various components of example computing system 800 that can be implemented as any type of client , server , and / or computing device as described with reference to the previous fig1 - 7 to implement a radar - based gesture sensing and data transmission . in embodiments , computing system 800 can be implemented as one or a combination of a wired and / or wireless wearable device , system - on - chip ( soc ), and / or as another type of device or portion thereof . computing system 800 may also be associated with a user ( e . g ., a person ) and / or an entity that operates the device such that a device describes logical devices that include users , software , firmware , and / or a combination of devices . computing system 800 includes communication devices 802 that enable wired and / or wireless communication of device data 804 ( e . g ., received data , data that is being received , data scheduled for broadcast , data packets of the data , etc .). device data 804 or other device content can include configuration settings of the device , media content stored on the device , and / or information associated with a user of the device . media content stored on computing system 800 can include any type of audio , video , and / or image data . computing system 800 includes one or more data inputs 806 via which any type of data , media content , and / or inputs can be received , such as human utterances , interactions with a localized radar field , user - selectable inputs ( explicit or implicit ), messages , music , television media content , recorded video content , and any other type of audio , video , and / or image data received from any content and / or data source . computing system 800 also includes communication interfaces 808 , which can be implemented as any one or more of a serial and / or parallel interface , a wireless interface , any type of network interface , a modem , and as any other type of communication interface . communication interfaces 808 provide a connection and / or communication links between computing system 800 and a communication network by which other electronic , computing , and communication devices communicate data with computing system 800 . computing system 800 includes one or more processors 810 ( e . g ., any of microprocessors , controllers , and the like ), which process various computer - executable instructions to control the operation of computing system 800 and to enable techniques for , or in which can be embodied , a radar - based gesture sensing and data transmission . alternatively or in addition , computing system 800 can be implemented with any one or combination of hardware , firmware , or fixed logic circuitry that is implemented in connection with processing and control circuits which are generally identified at 812 . although not shown , computing system 800 can include a system bus or data transfer system that couples the various components within the device . a system bus can include any one or combination of different bus structures , such as a memory bus or memory controller , a peripheral bus , a universal serial bus , and / or a processor or local bus that utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures . computing system 800 also includes computer - readable media 814 , such as one or more memory devices that enable persistent and / or non - transitory data storage ( i . e ., in contrast to mere signal transmission ), examples of which include random access memory ( ram ), non - volatile memory ( e . g ., any one or more of a read - only memory ( rom ), flash memory , eprom , eeprom , etc . ), and a disk storage device . a disk storage device may be implemented as any type of magnetic or optical storage device , such as a hard disk drive , a recordable and / or rewriteable compact disc ( cd ), any type of a digital versatile disc ( dvd ), and the like . computing system 800 can also include a mass storage media device 816 and radar system 104 , including one or more or multiples of each of radar system 104 &# 39 ; s elements or components noted in fig1 above . computer - readable media 814 provides data storage mechanisms to store device data 804 , as well as various device applications 818 and any other types of information and / or data related to operational aspects of computing system 800 . for example , an operating system 820 can be maintained as a computer application with computer - readable media 814 and executed on processors 810 . device applications 818 may include a device manager , such as any form of a control application , software application , signal - processing and control module , code that is native to a particular device , a hardware abstraction layer for a particular device , and so on . device applications 818 also include any system components , entities , or managers to implement radar - based gesture sensing and data transmission . in this example , device applications 818 include gesture manager 406 or receiving gesture manager 506 and system manager 124 . although embodiments of techniques using , and apparatuses including , radar - based gesture sensing and data transmission have been described in language specific to features and / or methods , it is to be understood that the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described . rather , the specific features and methods are disclosed as example implementations of radar - based gesture sensing and data transmission . | 6 |
referring to fig1 there is shown a block diagram of an embodiment of the microprocessor in accordance with the present invention . the shown microprocessor , generally indicated by reference numeral 100 , includes a group of output terminals 101 for outputting external address signals a 31 - 0 of 32 bits , an external bus cycle start signal bcyst , an external bus cycle period indication signal ds indicating that it is in the period of a bus cycle , and others . the group of output terminals 101 are represented by a single terminal in fig1 for simplification of the drawings . the microprocessor 100 also includes another group of output terminals 102 for outputting external bus cycle status signals st 0 to st 2 , an output terminal 103 for outputting an external read / write control signal r / w , and another terminal 104 for outputting a address space discrimination signal ice / usr . the group of output terminals 101 are connected to outputs of output drivers 105 , which have inputs connected to outputs of latches 106 , which are in turn coupled to an internal address bus and an internal control bus ( both not shown ) for receiving internal address signals of 32 bits , an internal bus cycle start signal , an internal bus cycle period indication signal , and others . the output drivers 105 and the output latches 106 for these signals are represented by a single driver and a single latch , respectively , in fig1 for simplification of the drawings . similarly , the group of output terminals 102 and the output terminal 103 are connected to outputs of further output drivers 105 , which have inputs connected to outputs of corresponding latches 106 , which are in turn coupled for receiving internal status signals st 0 to st 2 112 , and an internal read / write control signal 111 . the shown microprocessor also includes three latches 107 coupled to receive &# 34 ; bit 2 &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; bit 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; bit 0 &# 34 ; of a firmware data bus 1 . 08 , and controlled by a firmware write strobe signal 109 in such a manner that when the firmware write strobe signal 109 is active , the three bits &# 34 ; bit 2 &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; bit 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; bit 0 &# 34 ; of the firmware data bus 108 are latched in the latches 107 , respectively . the three bits &# 34 ; bit 2 &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; bit 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; bit 0 &# 34 ; of the firmware data bus 108 are called &# 34 ; erw bits &# 34 ; hereinafter , and the term &# 34 ; firmware &# 34 ; is abbreviated to &# 34 ; f / w &# 34 ; in the specification . outputs of the erw bit latches 107 are connected to inputs &# 34 ; f &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; of a combinational circuit 301 , which also receive , at its input &# 34 ; e &# 34 ;, an internal ice mode signal 110 indicating that the microprocessor 100 itself is put in the ice mode . furthermore , the combinational circuit 301 receives , at its inputs &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; b &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; d &# 34 ;, the internal status signals st 2 to st 0 112 , and the internal read / write control signal 111 . an output of the combinational circuit 301 is connected to still another output latch 106 , which has an output connected to a corresponding output driver 105 having an output connected to the ice / usr output terminal 104 . all of the output drivers 105 are controlled by an internal output control signal 113 , and all of the output latches 106 are controlled by an internal bus cycle progress strobe signal 114 , so that all the internal signals supplied to the output latches 106 are latched in the output latches 106 in synchronism to each other . here , the three bits latched in the erw bit latches 107 are set in such a manner that the &# 34 ; bit 2 &# 34 ; corresponds to a bus cycle for an instruction fetch ; the &# 34 ; bit 1 &# 34 ; corresponds to a bus cycle for a reading other than the instruction fetch ; and the &# 34 ; bit 0 &# 34 ; corresponds to a bus cycle for a writing . in a period in which the ice mode signal 110 is active , an activated bus status of the erw bits 107 , the internal status signals 112 and the internal read / write signal 111 are compared and discriminated in the combinational circuit 301 , and if a predetermined condition holds , the combinational circuit 301 outputs an ice / usr signal 104 of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. this combinational circuit 301 can be realized by a programmable logic array as shown in fig2 which includes an array of input inverters 302 , an and plane 303 programmed as shown , an or plane 304 . now , operation of the shown microprocessor will be described with reference to the timing chart of fig3 illustrating an operation of the microprocessor shown in fig1 and the table of fig4 showing examples of status codes . in a status in which the &# 34 ; bit 2 &# 34 ; and the &# 34 ; bit 0 &# 34 ; of the erw bits 107 are set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and the &# 34 ; bit 1 &# 34 ; of the erw bits 107 is set to &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;; namely , when it is set that the instruction fetch bus cycle and the write bus bus cycle are the ice address space access and the read bus cycle other than the instruction fetch is the user address space access , the combinational circuit 301 generates the output signal of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in response to the internal status signal 112 of ( 0 , 1 , 1 ) and the read / write signal 111 of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; as shown at a timing 1 in fig3 . therefore , the ice / usr signal 104 is brought into &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in synchronism with a rising of a clock just after the output signal of the combinational circuit 301 is brought to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the ice / usr signal 104 of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; indicates that the bus cycle is the ice address space access . similarly , the combinational circuit 301 generates the output signal of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in response to the internal status signal 112 of ( 0 , 0 , 0 ) and the mad / write signal 111 of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; as shown at a timing 2 in fig3 so that the ice / usr signal 104 is brought into &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in synchronism with a rising of a clock just after the timing 2 . in addition , the combinational circuit 301 generates the output signal of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in response to the internal status signal 112 of ( 0 , 0 , 0 ) and the read / write signal 111 of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; as shown at a timing 3 in fig3 so that the ice / usr signal 104 is brought into &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in synchronism with a rising of a clock just after the timing 3 . referring to fig5 there is shown an example of an ice system incorporating therein the shown microprocessor . the external address signals a 31 - 0 of 32 bits , the external bus cycle status signals st 0 to st 2 , and the external read / write control signal r / w , which are outputted from the microprocessor 100 , are supplied to an ice space hardware 126 and a user address space hardware 127 . on the other hand , the external bus cycle start signal bcyst 121 and the external bus cycle period indication signal ds 122 are respectively supplied through a first pair of and gates 140 and 142 to the ice address space hardware 126 . the external bus cycle start signal bcyst 121 and the external bus cycle period indication signal ds 122 are also respectively supplied through a second pair of and gates 144 and 146 to the user address space hardware 127 . the first pair of and gates 140 and 142 is controlled by the ice / usr signal 104 so that when the ice / usr signal is of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; indicating that the access is the ice address space access , the external bus cycle start signal bcyst 121 and the external bus cycle period indication signal ds 122 are respectively supplied through the first pair of and gates 140 and 142 to the ice address space hardware 126 as an ice bus cycle start signal icebcyst and an ice bus cycle period indication signal iceds . the second pair of and gates 144 and 146 is controlled through an inverter 148 by the ice / usr signal 104 so that if the ice / usr signal is of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; indicating that the access is the user address space access , the external bus cycle start signal bcyst 121 and the external bus cycle period indication signal ds 122 are also respectively supplied through the second pair of and gates 144 and 146 to the user address space hardware 127 as a user bus cycle start signal usrbcyst and a user bus cycle period indication signal usrds . thus , the external bus cycle start signal bcyst and the external bus cycle period indication signal ds are alternatively supplied to either the ice address space hardware 126 or the user address space hardware 127 . turning to fig6 there is shown a block diagram of an essential part of another embodiment of the microprocessor in accordance with the present invention . in fig6 elements corresponding to those shown in fig1 are given the same reference numerals , and explanation thereof will be omitted . as seen from comparison between fig1 and 6 , no external ice / usr terminal 104 is provided in the second embodiment , and external terminals 115 for only the address a 31 - 0 are provided . in addition , the second embodiment of the microprocessor has an output terminal 130 for the ice bus cycle start signal icebcyst , an output terminal 131 for the ice bus cycle period indication signal iceds , an output terminal 132 for the user bus cycle start signal usrbcyst and an output terminal 133 for the user bus cycle period indication signal usrds . the ice bus cycle start signal icebcyst 130 , the ice bus cycle period indication signal iceds 131 , the user bus cycle start signal usrbcyst 132 , and the user bus cycle period indication signal usrds 133 are generated by a combinational circuit 401 , which receives the three erw bits 107 , the f / w write strobe signal 109 , the internal read / write control signal 111 , the internal status signals 112 , the internal bus cycle start signal 117 and the internal bus cycle period indication signal 118 . for example , the combinational circuit 401 can be realized by a programmable logic array as shown in fig7 which includes an array of input inverters 402 , an and plane 403 programmed as shown , and an or plane 404 . from comparison between fig5 and 6 , it can be said that the embodiment shown in fig6 corresponds to a combination of the microprocessor 100 and the logic gates 140 to 148 shown in fig5 . referring to fig8 there is shown a timing chart illustrating an operation of the microprocessor shown in fig6 . as seen from fig8 accesses at timings 1 , 2 and 4 are the user space access , and the user bus cycle start signal usrbcyst 132 and the user bus cycle period indication signal usrds 133 are activated . an access at a timing 3 is the ice space access , and the ice bus cycle start signal icebcyst 130 and the ice bus cycle period indication signal iceds 131 are activated . operation other than the above mentioned points are the same as that of the first embodiment . in the above mentioned embodiments , the erw bits 1 . 07 are set by the firmware . however , it would be apparent in persons skilled in the art that the erw bits 107 can be set by software or hardware . as seen from the description of the embodiments with reference to the drawings , the microprocessor in accordance with the present invention is characterized in that the discrimination between the use address space access and the ice address space access is executed on the basis of the previously set condition and the bus cycle attribute of the read cycle , the write cycle and the instruction fetch cycle . this function of the discrimination between the user address space access and the ice address space access is realized in the internal circuit of the microprocessor . therefore , the re - mapping processing in the ice monitor program becomes unnecessary , and it is possible to avoid the increase of the delay in various control signals . in addition , all space provided to users as architecture of a microprocessor can be ensured in both of the user space and the ice space . the invention has thus been shown and described with reference to the specific embodiments . however , it should be noted that the present invention is in no way limited to the details of the illustrated structures but changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
a preferred embodiment shown in fig1 includes a wide - angle optical lens 1 , an image sensor 2 , image preparation circuitry 3 , image storage circuitry 4 , region selection / projection circuitry 5 , region color processing circuitry 6 , and region transmission circuitry 7 , such as an ethernet network , or analog video cable . images are transmitted to one or more display devices 8 , for example a personal computer or an analog monitor , and the device &# 39 ; s control circuitry 9 is itself controlled by an external control device 10 , such as a personal computer or an analog joystick and keyboard . in a typical application the external control device and a display is a part of a networked remote review station . the display of such a remote review station may show different regions in multiple display windows with each separately addressed and controllable by the external control circuit device attached to the remote review station . the image sensor &# 39 ; s 2 settings are optimized based on feedback drawn from the captured image &# 39 ; s statistics 11 , while the region color processing &# 39 ; s 6 color processing parameters are optimized based on feedback drawn both from the image statistics 11 and from the region statistics 12 . central to one embodiment is the idea of decomposing the image color processing pipeline into two sequential stages . rather than having a single color processing pipeline for the whole image , only the initial image processing steps are carried out in the first stage , while per - region color processing is deferred until the second stage . a high bit - depth intermediate buffer 4 is used to communicate between the two stages . in the first stage , the control circuitry 9 commands the sensor 2 to capture a high - resolution image and forward it to the image preparation circuitry 3 . the image preparation circuitry 3 in turn both collects image statistics 11 from the image and some initial image processing to generate a full - color , high bit - depth intermediate buffer image held in the image storage circuitry ( i . e . intermediate buffer ) 4 . the image statistics collected 11 are used to adjust the sensor settings in frames captured subsequently . sensor settings can include exposure and gain . in the camera as currently built , the high - resolution image captured on the sensor 2 is in the well - known bayer - format mosaic , and the image preparation circuitry 3 performs demosaicing to a 32 - bit rgb image stored in the intermediate buffer 4 , with 10 bits for the r channel , 12 bits for the g channel , and 10 bits for the b channel . some initial color - balancing may also be performed in association with the demosaicing . the camera as built continually adjusts the sensor settings such that the average pixel value read from the sensor approximates to a single value , lower than would normally be used , to produce an intermediate buffer image that would normally be considered unacceptably dark if viewed directly . the target value towards which the control circuitry should drive the average pixel value is a critical factor . in a conventional prior art camera , it is normal to control the incident light ( through mechanisms such as an iris or through adjusting the exposure time ) to aim to achieve an average image pixel intensity on the image sensor of 50 % ( or higher ) of each pixel &# 39 ; s ceiling value . however , it is more efficacious to set a target between 20 % and 40 % or preferably 30 % as the best pragmatic target value . this corresponds to a captured image with ( 30 / 50 )= 60 % of the typical brightness as captured by conventional cameras . an inventive step here is the combination of a high bit - depth intermediate buffer image with a significantly lower target value for mean average pixel values than would normally be considered visually acceptable . the high bit - depth reduces quantization noise , while the lower target value reduces clipping due to overexposure , at the cost of extra sensor noise due to underexposure . the improved sensitivity in modern sensors appears to make them less prone to sensor noise than has generally been thought to be the case . the 10 : 12 : 10 - bit rgb buffer format was specifically chosen because the standard bayer color - mask has twice as many green pixels as red or blue pixels , though because the eye is so insensitive to blue light , an 11 : 11 : 10 - bit rgb buffer format is also a good choice . using 32 - bits per pixel is a well - known performance optimization , specifically chosen because modern microprocessors are usually optimized for reading values from memory in multiples of 32 - bits at a time . in the second stage , multiple regions are projected from the full - color high bit - depth intermediate buffer 4 by the region selection / projection circuitry 5 to form multiple views , where each is subject to its own region color processing 6 , before being sent for region transmission 7 onwards to external displays . in this second stage , multiple image processing pipelines process individual images to generate proper color adjusted images , which includes color balancing and correction . the extraction of multiple views can be accomplished contemporaneously with the color adjustment . additional image processing techniques can also be performed , such as edge enhancement , object tracking , object recognition , scaling , and cropping . here , the present innovations comprise a combination of multiple pre - region image color processing pipelines 6 with a full - color high bit - depth intermediate buffer 4 . the high bit - depth helps reduce quantization noise due to imprecision within the region color processing 6 , as well as allowing individual regions to make subtle color correction based on region statistics 12 . in the camera as built , high performance is maintained by introducing a one - frame delay between creating the region statistics 12 and their use by the region color processing 6 . fig2 shows an embodiment of the image processing steps of the image processing pipelines of the invention . in step 20 , a color filter array ( cfa ) sensor image is obtained . at step 21 , the image preparation is performed which includes demosaicing the image to recover the two thirds of the color data missing for each pixel using the adjacent pixels . some initial color - balancing can also be performed at this stage . this produces a full - color 32 - bit rgb whole image , with 10 bits for the r channel , 12 bits for the g channel , and 10 bits for the b channel ( i . e . 10 : 12 : 10 rgb ) in the preferred embodiment at step 22 . in step 23 , the per - region color processing steps are initiated by image projection of selected regions to produce multiple images with uncorrected 10 : 12 : 10 rgb views at step 24 . the images are processed by separate image processing pipelines operating simultaneously and in parallel in step 25 . step 24 and 25 can occur simultaneously ( i . e ., or at least contemporaneously ), with image projection / extraction and image processing seamlessly integrated and accomplished . in step 26 , the image processing pipelines output corrected 8 - bit r channel , 8 - bit g channel , and 8 - bit b channel views and can include edge enhancement , object tracking , object recognition , scaling , and cropping adjustments to the image . it should be evident to those skilled in the art that , though the preceding description is centered on its application to brightness processing in the second stage , the overall approach can be applied to any and other processes in the image processing pipeline . the examples given above are for illustration and not for limitation which is limited only by the claims appended below . for example , in a scene partially illuminated by daylight , and partially illuminated by tungsten lighting the sensor cannot be adjusted such that both regions appear white balanced ; the daylight areas would appear to be too blue and the artificially lit areas would appear too red . in the embodiment , regions exclusively lit by each illuminant would appear neutral in color temperature as each would be processed through its own independent color pipeline . there are , of course , cases where a selected region of a scene with a bi - or multi - modal distribution of some characteristic , is itself bi - or multi - modal . examples might be regions with both sky and land visible , or with both daylight and tungsten lit areas . in these cases neither a mechanical ptz camera , nor a single pipeline multi - view camera system , nor a multiple pipeline multi - view camera system could ( when used in combination with conventional image sensors ) simultaneously show both areas correctly adjusted . finally , it should be understood that this present innovations do not relate to the many combinations of optical means and projective means by which views can be constructed from a wide - angle view to emulate multiple narrow - angle views , for which process there is a large prior art . as will be recognized by those skilled in the art , the innovative concepts described in the present application can be modified and varied over a range of applications , and accordingly the scope of patented subject matter is not limited by any of the specific exemplary teachings given . it is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims . different color processing models can be used other than rgb , such as cymk ( i . e ., cyan , magenta , yellow , and key ( black )). other camera types can utilize the disclosed innovations . further , different color depths can be used , such as 16 - bit , 24 - bit , 64 - bit , etc depths . it should also be noted that rather than the processing occurring contemporaneously in the camera , the process can be applied to a recording of an unprocessed , raw video image data from a wide - angle lens . a recording can be made from an image sensor , and the processing performed on the raw image data , or initial generated images can be recorded for subsequent processing . the processing can also be accomplished remotely from the camera on a live - feed video image . none of the description in the present application should be read as implying that any particular element , step , or function is an essential element which must be included in the claim scope : the scope of patented subject matter is defined only by the allowed claims . moreover , none of these claims are intended to invoke paragraph six of 35 usc section 112 unless the exact words “ means for ” are followed by a participle . the claims as filed are intended to be as comprehensive as possible , and no subject matter is intentionally relinquished , dedicated , or abandoned . | 7 |
with reference now to the drawings , and in particular to fig1 thereof , a new and improved refrigerant recovery system embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described . from an overview standpoint , the refrigerant recovery system 10 is adapted for use with refrigeration systems such as employed in air conditioning and more particularly in automotive air conditioning to capture escaping refrigerant ordinarily lost during an overpressure failure . see fig1 . the refrigerant recovery system 10 is introduced within the air conditioning system 12 of an automobile 14 by application of a high pressure coupling device 16 which interfaces the refrigerant recovery system 10 to the air conditioning system 12 and additionally directs refrigerant ordinarily lost during an overpressure event through conduit 18 to recovery tank 20 . recovery tank 20 is equipped with a high pressure indicator switch 22 , a refrigeration system disabling switch 24 , and a schrader valve port 26 for removal of captured refrigerant . more specifically , it will be noted that the refrigerant recovery system 10 comprises a high pressure coupling device 16 , a high pressure conduit 18 , a high pressure recovery tank 20 , and a schrader valve port 26 . high pressure coupling device 16 comprises a housing member 30 and a check valve assembly 32 . housing member 30 comprises a first end portion 34 , a central portion 36 , and a second end portion 38 . first end portion 34 comprises an interface to an existing refrigeration system and is generally configured as a centrally disposed through hole 35 threadedley engaging the refrigeration system 12 high pressure relief valve . sealing may be achieved using gaskets or thread compounds applied prior to mating first end portion 34 with refrigeration system 12 . first end portion 34 may alternately engage refrigeration system 12 using a captured nut and sealing gasket . some refrigeration systems , however , may require the employment of a slidably engaging hose type interface wherein a section of high pressure hose is clampedly or threadedly attached at one end to first end portion 34 and , at an opposing end , to refrigeration system 12 . central portion 36 comprises a chamber for check valve assembly 32 comprising a large diameter portion 40 loosely engaging check valve assembly 32 , an exit port 42 , and a valve seat portion 44 . second end portion 38 comprises a substantially tubular interface whereupon conduit 18 is clampedly disposed . or , alternately , second end portion 38 may threadedly engage a fitting member affixed to an end of conduit 18 . check valve assembly 32 comprises a ball member 50 and a compression spring member 52 . ball member 50 is of polymeric or metallic composition solid or hollow in form , and has a sufficiently smooth outer surface to sealably preclude transfer of liquids or gases internal to conduit 18 into the centrally disposed hole of first portion 34 . compression spring member 52 is of helical structure and of sufficient spring constant to maintain a seated condition of ball member 50 under conditions of vibration and pressure variation anticipated during use . excessive values of spring constant are to be avoided in selecting compression spring member 52 because the refrigerant escaping from the overpressure relief valve of refrigeration system 12 is required to overcome the force of compression spring member 52 in order to be captured . check valve assembly 32 may alternately comprise a platelike or a substantially conical replacement for ball member 50 . conduit 18 comprises a high pressure flexible hose or equivalently a high pressure metal tubing bent at various locations to fit particular refrigeration system configurations . conduit 18 may be of arbitrary length and industry standard internal diameters may be employed . high pressure recovery tank 20 comprises a housing 60 , a refrigerant entrance port 62 , a schrader valve port 26 , a high pressure indicator switch 22 , and a refrigeration system disabling switch 24 . see fig2 and 3 . housing 60 is of durable construction and capable of withstanding relatively high pressures associated with the confinement of liquid and gaseous refrigerant introduced under pressure . welded steel construction is a suitable configuration for the housing 60 . refrigerant entrance port 62 comprises a tubular structure having sufficient length and textural qualities to provide sealable attachment of conduit 18 using clamps or other means . alternately , refrigerant entrance port 62 threadedly engages a terminus of conduit 18 . schrader valve port 26 comprises a standardized refrigeration system port employed for installing or removing refrigerants and other additives within a refrigeration system . schrader valves in common use in automotive air conditioners and tires generally have a spring loaded seal which is releasably engaged by a centrally located pin member . schrader valve port 26 may have a variety of dispositions upon housing 60 , however placement at a low point in the housing facilitates rapid extraction of refrigerant during servicing if at least some liquid refrigerant is entrapped therein . high pressure indicator switch 22 threadedly engages housing 60 and provides for electrical circuit closure upon pressurization of high pressure recovery tank 20 by refrigerant during a refrigeration system overpressure event . refrigeration system disabling switch 24 threadedly engages housing 60 and produces an open electrical circuit upon pressurization of high pressure recovery tank 20 by refrigerant during a refrigeration system overpressure event . electrical circuit 70 comprises a first normally open circuit 72 and a second normally closed circuit 74 wherein both circuits are provided electrical power in a parallel arrangement by battery 76 . see fig5 . normally open circuit 72 comprises a series disposition of high pressure indicator switch 22 , warning light 74 , and battery 76 . upon pressurization of high pressure recovery tank 20 the high pressure indicator switch 22 closes circuit 72 and warning light 74 illuminates thereby indicating refrigeration system 12 failure from an overpressure event . normally closed circuit 74 comprises a series disposition of refrigeration system disabling switch 24 , temperature control switch 78 , compressor clutch 80 , and battery 76 . upon pressurization of high pressure recovery tank 20 the refrigeration system disabling switch 24 opens circuit 74 and compressor clutch 80 is de - energized thereby disabling the refrigeration system 12 . check valve assembly 32 maintains pressurization of high pressure recovery tank 60 independently of the state of pressurization of the refrigeration system 12 thereby disabling refrigeration system 12 until high pressure recovery tank 60 is depressurized by removal of refrigerant trapped therein . as to the manner of usage and operation of the present invention , the same should be apparent from the above description . accordingly , no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided . with respect to the above description then , it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention , to include variations in size , materials , shape , form , function and manner of operation , assembly and use , are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art , and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention . therefore , the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention . in as much as the present disclosure includes that contained in the appended claims as well as that of the foregoing description . although this invention has been described in its preferred forms with a certain degree of particularity , it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and numerous changes in the details of construction and combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 1 |
with reference to fig1 , 1 denotes in its entirety a machine for extracorporeal blood treatment . in particular , the machine of fig1 is suitable for performing a pure ultrafiltration treatment . the machine 1 comprises an actuator 2 for ultrafiltration of a liquid through a semipermeable membrane 3 of a blood treatment device 4 . the blood treatment device comprises a blood chamber 5 and a fluid chamber 6 , separated one from another by the semipermeable membrane 3 . an extracorporeal blood circuit comprises an arterial line 7 , which takes the blood removed from a patient to an inlet of the blood chamber 5 , and a venous line 8 , which returns the treated blood from an outlet of the blood chamber 5 to the patient . an actuator 9 , comprising for example a peristaltic blood pump , causes the blood to circulate along the extracorporeal circuit , generating a blood flow rate q b along the arterial line 7 . a discharge line 10 is connected to an outlet of the fluid chamber 6 . the ultrafiltration actuator 2 can be , as in the illustrated embodiment , a fluid circulation pump , such as for example a rotary pump or an alternating pump , arranged on the discharge line 5 . the ultrafiltration actuator 2 generates a flow rate q w of a discharge fluid along the discharge line 10 . the flow rate q w of the discharge fluid corresponds , in the case of pure ultrafiltration , to the ultrafiltration flow rate q uf through the semipermeable membrane 3 . the patient &# 39 ; s weight loss rate q wl in this case is q wl = q uf = q w . the machine 1 comprises a sensor 11 for detecting the ultrafiltration flow rate q uf through the membrane 3 . in this case the sensor 11 comprises a flowmeter arranged on the discharge line 10 for measuring the discharge fluid flow rate q w . the flow rate sensor 11 can be any device of known type ( gravimetric , magnetic , ultra - sound , coriolis effect , turbine , etc .) suitable for measuring an ultrafiltration flow rate q uf in an ultrafiltration system . the machine comprises a sensor 12 of a quantity indicating an operating situation of the ultrafiltration system . in the illustrated embodiment , the quantity is the rotation velocity ω of the discharge fluid circulation pump along the discharge line 10 . the sensor 12 can be , for example , a magnetic encoder for measuring the velocity ω . the machine 1 further comprises another sensor 13 for detecting another quantity indicating an operating situation of the ultrafiltration system . in the example this other quantity is a transmembrane pressure tmp . the sensor 13 comprises three pressure gauges arranged for measuring the pressure , respectively , at the inlet of the blood chamber 5 , at the outlet of the blood chamber 5 , and at the outlet of the fluid chamber 6 . the machine comprises a controller 14 predisposed to receive the signals supplied by the sensors 11 , 12 and 13 , and for supplying command signals to the actuators 2 and 9 . the controller 14 is also able to calculate a transmembrane pressure on the basis of the pressure values received from the sensor 13 . the controller 14 is programmed to perform the following operations : changing ( increasing and / or lowering ) at least one operating parameter of the ultrafiltration actuator 2 ; in this case the parameter is the velocity of rotation ω ; determining a change in the ultrafiltration flow rate δq uf by effect of the above - mentioned change ; determining a change in the transmembrane pressure δtmp by effect of the above - mentioned change ; checking whether the above - mentioned changes δq uf and δtmp satisfy the following predetermined relation with a reference limit value ε , where ε is a constant value close to zero : δq uf / δtmp ≦ ε ; the controller 14 , in substance , generates a procedure for finding a maximum or nearly - maximum value for the ultrafiltration flow rate q uf as a function of the transmembrane pressure tmp . the controller 14 is programmed to perform the above operations during the treatment , e . g . at the start of the treatment and / or in the course of the treatment . if the controller 14 finds that δq uf / δtmp & gt ; ε , it generates a signal by which the above - described operations are repeated , at a different value for the angular velocity ω of the ultrafiltration actuator 2 . if the controller 14 finds that δq uf / δtmp ≦ ε , it generates a signal by which the following operations are performed : selection of a desired value ω des of the operating parameter of the ultrafiltration actuator 2 ; commanding the actuator 2 to operate at the selected value ω des . if , for example , the phase of changing the operating parameter of the ultrafiltration actuator 2 comprises a passage from a first value ω 1 of the angular velocity of the actuator 2 to a second value ω 2 , the above - mentioned desired value ω des can be selected according to ω 1 and / or ω 2 ; for example ω des = ω 1 , or ω des = ω 2 , or ω des = ω 2 − δω ( where δω is a predetermined value being δω & lt ;( ω 2 − ω 1 )), or ω des = ω 1 + δω , or ω des =( ω 1 + ω 2 )/ 2 , or through other functions of ω 1 and / or ω 2 . the controller 14 is programmed to operate the ultrafiltration actuator 2 at the desired ω des , ( i . e . the value at which q uf as a function of tmp has a maximum or , in any case , the derivative of q uf as a function of tmp assumes a null or positive value which is inferior to a small value ) for a predetermined time , for example 10 - 20 minutes , and , once this time has passed , is programmed to repeat the above - described operations in search of the maximum ( or the zeroing of the derivative ) of the function q uf ( tmp ). in substance , the controller 14 is programmed periodically to repeat the search operations for the maximum of the function q uf ( tmp ). in a further embodiment , the controller 14 , instead of verifying whether δq uf / δtmp ≦ ε , or additionally to doing so , verifies whether δq uf / δω ≦ η , where δω is a variant ( measured or set ) of the angular velocity of the actuator 2 , and η is a predefined value close to zero . in a further embodiment , the controller 14 is programmed to carry out the above - described operations to establish the maximum of function q uf ( tmp ), for at least two different values q b1 and q b2 of the flow rate q b of the liquid to be subjected to ultrafiltration ; the flow rate q b can be correlated , in a known way , to a velocity ψ of the blood pump detected , for example , by a sensor 15 associated to the pump itself . in substance the controller 14 determines a first value ω 1 of the velocity of the ultrafiltration pump , at which there is a first value q uf1 of the maximum of the function q uf ( tmp ), maintaining the blood pump at a constant velocity ψ 1 ; after which the velocity of the blood pump is changed , bringing it to a velocity of ψ 2 ≠ ψ 1 , and a second value ω 2 is determined to which a second maximum value q uf2 corresponds for the function q uf ( tmp ). the controller 14 is programmed to compare the results obtained in the two cases and to emit a signal consequent to the comparison ; the controller 14 in effect checks which of the two values q uf1 and q uf2 is the greater and sets the machine to work at either the pair of values ( ψ 1 , ψ 1 ) or ( ψ 2 , ω 2 ), corresponding to the value q uf1 or q uf2 , according to which is the greater of the two values . the above - described procedure can be repeated for other values , q b3 , q b4 , . . . , of the ultrafiltration liquid flow rate . in a further embodiment , the controller 14 is programmed to perform a search for the maximum ( or the value bringing the derivative to almost zero ) of the function q uf ( ω ), that is , the ultrafiltration flow rate as a function of the velocity of the ultrafiltration actuator 2 ; or the controller 14 is programmed to perform a search for the maximum of the function 1 / tmp ( ω ), where tmp ( ω ) is the transmembrane pressure as a function of the velocity of the ultrafiltration actuator 2 . the controller 14 is programmed to perform the following operations : modifying at least one operating parameter of the ultrafiltration actuator 2 , for example passing from velocity ω 1 to velocity ω 2 ; determining a change in the ultrafiltration flow rate δq uf , or the transmembrane pressure δtmp , by effect of the above - described modification ; verifying whether the variation , ωq uf or δtmp , agrees with a predetermined relation with a reference limit value ; this relation can consist in δq uf ≦( δq uf ) min , where ( δq uf ) min is a minimum threshold value , or in δtmp ≦( δtmp ) max , where ( δtmp ) max is a maximum threshold value ; generating a signal consequent to the above control , by which if δq uf ≦( δq uf ) min , or if δtmp ≧( δtmp ) max , the value of ω is deemed to have been found , for which function q uf ( ω ), or function 1 / tmp ( ω ), expresses a maximum . the change in velocity δω = ω 2 − ω 1 can be a set or a measured value . in substance , the above - described control procedures cause the ultrafiltration actuator to operate at a maximum ultrafiltration flow rate , considered as a function of another operating parameter of the ultrafiltration system , or in any case to operate at an ultrafiltration flow rate beyond which the derivative of the ultrafiltration flow rate , as a function of the other considered operating parameter , assumes a value which is very close to zero or is indeed negative , i . e . is at an ultrafiltration flow rate beyond which the operating condition of the semipermeable membrane would be considered critical . the above - described procedures can be applied singly , or alternatingly , or contemporaneously in combination with one another . the above - described procedures enable the ultrafiltration system to operate in optimal conditions in respect of the maximum weight loss q wl of the patient . with reference to fig2 , 1 denotes in its entirety a machine for extracorporeal blood treatment . in particular , the machine of fig2 is suitable for performing a hemofiltration treatment . for the sake of simplicity , the elements which are the same as in fig1 have been denoted using the same numbers . in particular , 2 denotes the ultrafiltration actuator , 3 the semipermeable membrane , 5 the blood chamber , 6 the fluid chamber , 7 the arterial line , 8 the venous line , 9 the blood circulation actuator , 10 the discharge line , q w the discharge fluid flow rate along the discharge line . in the case of hemofiltration an infusion line 16 is included for injecting into the extracorporeal blood a flow q inf of substitution liquid , by means of an infusion actuator 17 . in the illustrated embodiment , the substitution liquid is pre - infused upstream of the blood treatment device 4 ; in any case post - infusion is possible , downstream of the device 4 , or a combined pre - and post - infusion . in the case of hemofiltration the ultrafiltration flow rate is q uf = q w , while the patient weight loss rate is q wl = q uf − q inf = q w − q inf . the infusion rate is detected by means of a flow rate sensor 18 . still in reference to fig2 , 11 denotes a sensor for detecting the ultrafiltration flow rate q uf , comprising a flowmeter for measuring the rate q w of the discharge fluid , with 12 denoting the rotation velocity ω sensor of the discharge fluid circulation pump , 13 the transmembrane pressure sensor , 14 the controller receiving the signals emitted by the sensors 11 , 12 , 13 , 15 and 18 and providing command signals to the actuators 2 , 9 and 17 , with 15 the sensor for the blood pump velocity . the controller 14 is programmed to perform the search operations for the optimal condition of maximum rate of patient weight loss q wl and follows the same modalities as described above in reference to pure ultrafiltration operations . however , differently to fig1 , in this case the flow rate of the ultrafiltration liquid , or rather the liquid part of the ultrafiltration fluid , does not depend only on the patient &# 39 ; s blood flow rate q b and on the blood hematocrit level , but also on the infusion flow rate q inf . the above - described procedure which searches out the optimal conditions upon a variation not only of an operating parameter of the ultrafiltration actuator 2 but also of the ultrafiltration liquid flow rate , will have to take account of the fact that the flow rate is a function of both an operating parameter of the blood circulation actuator 9 and of an operating parameter of the pre - infusion liquid circulation actuator 17 . the above - described procedure in this case may include varying either the blood circulation actuator 9 operating parameter or the pre - infusion actuator 17 operating parameter , or both parameters , then comparing the optimal conditions determined at each variation in order to choose , from among the various optimal conditions , the one which is considered the best overall , for example the condition in which the ultrafiltration flow rate q uf is at the maximum . the above - described procedures enable the ultrafiltration system to operate in optimal conditions in respect of the maximum ultrafiltration flow rate q uf in order , for example , to achieve a maximum infusion rate of substitution liquid q inf to the patient . with reference to fig3 , 1 denotes in its entirety a machine for extracorporeal blood treatment . in particular , the machine of fig3 is suitable for performing a hemodialysis treatment . for the sake of simplicity , the elements which are identical to those in fig1 are denoted by the same numbers . the hemodialysis machine of fig3 comprises a supply line for a fresh dialysis liquid 19 , provided with a supply actuator 20 , which circulates a flow q d of liquid towards an inlet of the fluid chamber 6 . the transmembrane pressure tmp is calculated on the basis of pressure values detected at four points , i . e . at the three points already indicated herein above , and also at the inlet of the fluid chamber 6 . in the case of hemodialysis the ultrafiltration flow rate is q uf = q w − q d , while the patient weight loss rate is q wl = q uf = q w − q d . the ultrafiltration flow rate sensor 11 comprises , in the illustrated embodiment , a q w rate measuring device on the discharge line 10 and a q d flow rate measuring device on the supply line 19 . in other embodiments it is possible to use , as a sensor of the ultrafiltration flow rate , a differential measurement device which measures the difference of the rates q w − q d . the procedures for searching for the optimal operating condition of the ultrafiltration system are essentially the same as the ones described herein above . with reference to fig4 , 1 denotes in its entirety a machine for extracorporeal blood treatment . in particular , the machine of fig4 is suitable for performing a hemodiafiltration treatment . for the sake of simplicity , the elements which are the same as in the machines of fig2 and 3 have been indicated using the same numbers . in the case of hemodiafiltration , the ultrafiltration flow rate is q uf = q w − q d , while the patient weight loss rate is q wl = q uf − q inf = q w −( q d + q inf ). an embodiment is possible in which the substitution liquid , flow rate q inf , comes from the supply line 19 , where flow q d runs . in this case the flow rate at the inlet of the fluid chamber 6 is q d − q inf , and therefore the ultrafiltration flow rate is q uf = q w −( q d − q inf ), while the patient weight loss rate is q wl = q uf − q inf = q w − q d . an embodiment is possible in which the outlet line from the fluid chamber 6 is divided into an ultrafiltration line , where a liquid q uf flows , and a discharge line , where a flow q w runs , which is controlled so that q w = q d . other typologies can be used , of known type , for the ultrafiltration systems , such as for example a system in which the ultrafiltration is obtained by means of a pair of actuators , one operating on the arterial line and the other on the venous line . in all the above - described ultrafiltration systems , and in other ultrafiltration systems of known type and not described , the procedures for seeking the maximum rate of ultrafiltration are similar to those described herein for the apparatus of fig1 and 2 . the characteristics ( shape , maximum , etc .) of the curve q uf ( tmp ) reflect a patient specific pattern not only for a single treatment , but also along changes of the blood composition or disease stage , i . e . by changing / increasing blood viscosity and tendency to create clotting due to increase of fibrinogen as a result of acute inflammatory periods . thanks to the proposed invention it is possible to compare curve profiles of a patient in an historical analysis ( series of the last 3 , 5 , or 10 treatment records ) so as to reduce complications in the treatment in a prospective / preventive manner . this example relates to an hdf or hf machine wherein the substitution liquid is withdrawn from a dialysis circuit for preparation on - line of a dialysis liquid . however , this example can be applied also to pressure controlled hf / hdf treatments of different types , as for example a hf / hdf treatment with a supply of dialysis liquid and / or substitution liquid from bags ( e . g . lvhdf ), or a hf / hdf with separate / independent supply of substitution liquid . before starting the treatment , the screen of the user interface of the machine is used to initiate an automatic tmp scan process or to switch between adjustable time and adjustable volume modes . the operator may press a key to start automatic scan to find optimum tmp ( auto setup mode ). in auto setup mode , the machine will automatically try to find the optimum tmp setting according to the following steps 1 ) to 5 ). the process can be fully automatic ( no operator action required ). 1 ) the operator sets the uf - volume and the pre - or post - dilution mode . setting an initial tmp is optional but will decrease the time required to find the optimum tmp . this initial tmp will also be used as set tmp “ fallback ” if optimum tmp is not confirmed . the operator also sets an infusion volume or a treatment time . 2 ) by pressing a key , the machine will start the automatic tmp - scan process . the set tmp will be increased or decreased in steps to find the maximum uf - rate point . tmp - scan will start at the set tmp . if no initial tmp is set by the operator , the scan will start with a short period in volume control with a low infusion rate , for example depending on blood flow rate and / or on pre - or post - infusion mode ( e . g . 50 % of blood flow q b if pre - dilution and 10 % of q b if post - dilution ), in order to get a stable tmp start value . 3 ) if any limit ( see below ) is reached , the automatic scan will end and a confirmable attention will be issued . 4 ) if a true optimum ( maximum total uf rate ) is found , the machine will automatically lower the set tmp by a predetermined percentage , e . g . 10 %, or by a predetermined value if optimum is in a predetermined range , e . g . by 10 mmhg if optimum is in the range − 100 to + 100 mmhg . in other embodiments the tmp is not adjusted or it is adjusted upwards . 5 ) when the scan has ended , the recommended tmp is used as a set value . the operator may confirm or not the new tmp . the uf - process may be started or not during the optimization process . if started after optimum tmp has been selected , treatment time or infusion volume will change depending on mode . after the scan is complete , the screen will allow the operator to choose from the following options 1 ) to 3 ). 2 ) change from adjustable time mode to adjustable volume mode or vice versa . changing to adjustable volume gives greater control over the delivered dialysis dose , while adjustable time fixes the end of treatment time for the patient . in practice , adjustable volume may be used in the beginning of the treatment , but near the end the operator may switch to adjustable time to accommodate for patient transportation and other logistical needs ( next patient , etc .). 3 ) change the substitution volume ( if in adjustable volume mode ) or change the treatment time ( if in adjustable time mode ). depending on mode , when one parameter ( time or volume ) is adjusted , the other ( volume or time ) will be recalculated in real time . the following is a list of attentions that can be triggered during the scan process . tmp auto setup limit — system pressure high limit — the automatic scan is aborted at 90 % of the current system pressure high limit . the corresponding tmp - value is recommended . the system pressure high limit should be set as high as the filter can tolerate and is safe for the patient . tmp auto setup limit — ratio q inf / q b = predetermined % value — in pre - dilution , the recommended infusion to blood flow ratio ( q inf / q b ) is 80 - 120 %. the corresponding tmp - value minus 10 % or 10 mmhg if tmp within − 100 to + 100 mmhg is recommended . increasing the blood flow , adjusting the substitution volume or treatment time and / or selecting a more appropriate filter can obviate this limit situation . tmp auto setup limit — ratio q uf / q b = predetermined % value — in post - dilution , the recommended maximum filtration to blood flow ratio ( q uf / q b ) is 30 - 40 %. increasing the blood flow , adjusting the substitution volume or treatment time and / or selecting a more appropriate filter can resolve this limit situation . tmp auto setup — dialysate flow changed — to obtain an optimal tmp , the dialysate flow has been automatically increased . this attention informs the operator of this fact and possible consequences such as increased concentrate consumption . dialysate flow may be decreased to save concentrates , water , and energy . tmp auto setup limit — dialysate flow limit reached — the main flow will automatically be increased during the scan process as needed . if no further adjustment is possible and the dialysate flow available for diffusion ( in case of hdf treatment ) is lower than the set blood flow in hdf - pre - dilution mode , the above attention will be triggered . the corresponding tmp - value is recommended . tmp auto setup limit — substitution flow limit reached — if the maximum substitution flow rate is reached , this attention is triggered . the corresponding tmp - value will be recommended . the machine will temporarily enter volume controlled mode at maximum infusion rate until the infusion rate decreases . tmp auto setup ready — confirm new set tmp — the attention will be triggered at the end of the automatic scan to remind the operator to confirm the recommended tmp set point . if not confirmed within a predetermined time , the initial parameters ( either set by the operator or found in initial volume control part of scan ) will be recovered . in other embodiments no operator action is required and an auto - confirmation function is activated . an algorithm to find optimum tmp is described . when tmp auto setup is started , the machine will temporarily enter volume controlled mode for 1 minute using the set parameters . infusion rate will be very low to find a stable tmp to start the scan from ( typically 50 % of q b if pre - dilution and 10 % of q b if post - dilution ). thereafter the resulting tmp will be used as initial value to the algorithm below : 1 ) pufr = cufr 2 ) wait for a predetermined time period , e . g . 30 sec 3 ) sample cufr 4 ) if cufr & lt ; pufr then change direction of scan and reduce entity of step , for example step =− step / 2 5 ) tmpset = tmpset + step 6 ) repeat from 1 ) until step & lt ; predefined value , e . g . | 2 | pufr = previous uf rate ( as saved in previous iteration ) cufr = current uf rate ( 10 sec average ) step initial value is predefined , for example 50 mmhg continuously supervise limits as identified above . the above step 2 ) ( waiting for a stable tmp ) can be combined with or replaced by ( and / or ) a criteria to determine when a stable tmpset is reached from the measured tmp values in order to speed up the scan when taking small steps and allow more time for larger steps . | 0 |
reference will now be made to the drawings in which the various elements of the present invention will be given numerical designations and in which the invention will be discussed so as to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention . it is to be understood that the following description is only exemplary of the principles of the present invention , and should not be viewed as narrowing the claims which follow . the presently preferred embodiment of the invention is a touchpad having a total of five zones disposed thereon . touchpad circuitry is able to detect a finger being placed anywhere on the touchpad surface , movement and position of the finger along the touchpad surface , and removal of the finger from the touchpad surface . the touchpad of the present invention is a mutual capacitance sensitive touchpad as manufactured by cirque ™ corporation . the touchpad utilizes its patented glidepoint ™ technology , and can also use its glidetouch ™ technology . what is important is that the touchpad be capable of detecting touchdown of a pointing device , such as a finger or stylus , on the touchpad surface , movement from one zone to a different zone , and liftoff of the pointing device from the touchpad surface . the zones that have been mentioned in this document are simply regions of the touchpad surface that are defined by the touchpad firmware , software , and / or hardware . in other words , the sensor grid of the touchpad is able to detect the pointing device anywhere on the touchpad surface . the present invention defines arbitrarily assigned areas or regions or zones on the touchpad surface . for the convenience of the user , the zones are defined as having approximately equal amounts of surface area , and also have generally the same shape . this makes it easier for the user to consistently perform touchdown , movement through , and liftoff from the desired zones . one of the advantages of the mutual capacitance sensitive touchpad technology of the preferred embodiment is that the user is not required to use an object other than the user &# 39 ; s finger in order to enter characters . the convenience of using fingers is a distinct advantage . however , it is noted that the in an alternative embodiment , the present invention can utilize cirque ™ corporation &# 39 ; s glidepen technology to input characters . instead of utilizing glidepoint ™ or glidetouch ™ touchpad technology , the invention would utilize magnetic pen technology . this technology utilizes a passive pen having a permanent magnet disposed therein . accordingly , this application incorporates by reference the subject matter disclosed in pending u . s . non - provisional patent application serial no . ( not yet assigned ), and filed nov . 22 , 2001 , and titled stylus input device utilizing a permanent magnet . it will become apparent that the concepts of the present invention are equally applicable to the magnetic stylus technology as to the touchpad technology . nevertheless , it is envisioned that the touchpad technology has broader appeal and application . with these factors in mind , it is now possible to examine the operation of the present invention as currently implemented . fig1 is an illustration of a plurality of views of a touchpad surface , each view of the touchpad surface showing all combinations of movement and / or liftoff of a finger from the touchpad surface that will result in generating each of 12 possible unique characters when there are a total of four unique zones defined on the touchpad surface . the selection of four zones , or four zones and a fifth center zone for the touchpad is advantageous . four zones easily enables a total of 12 unique characters to be generated using the invention . however , adding a fifth center zone makes it possible to generate 16 unique characters . in the examples to be shown 16 characters is noted for its relation to the base 16 hexadecimal numbering system . this is also important because of the relationship of hexadecimal numbers and computer technology . however , it should be remembered that more or less characters could be generated from the four or five zones by using touchdown to indicate characters . furthermore , the total number of zones could be increased , and their arrangement modified . thus , the preferred embodiment of five zones should not be considered limiting , but illustrative of one implementation of the novel aspects of the invention . the 12 touchpad views in fig1 show that the four equally sized touchpad zones are used to generate a character either by movement from one zone into another , or by lifting a finger off a zone . alternatively , touchdown into a zone could also be used to represent a character . that would enable a total of 16 zones to be generated from the four zones , instead of the 12 that are illustrated . a quick explanation of the liftoff or movement that generates a character is now provided . the touchpad views shown in fig1 will be assumed to be viewed from a birds eye view , and having an upper left , lower left , upper right , and a lower right zone . beginning with a view of the touchpad , being called touchpad view 10 , liftoff of the pointing device ( hereinafter a finger ) from the upper left zone results in generating the character 1h , where the symbol h represents a hexadecimal based numbering system being used . the liftoff from the upper left zone could have begun with touchdown in the same zone , or movement into the zone from the lower left or the upper right zones . touchpad view 12 is a liftoff from the upper right zone , and results in the character 2h . touchpad view 14 is a liftoff from the lower right zone , and results in the character 3h . touchpad view 16 is a liftoff from the lower left zone , and results in the character 4h . it is noted that assignment of a particular character to the action in the zones is totally arbitrary . thus , any character can be represented by the liftoffs described above . touchpad view 18 shows that character 5h is generated by movement from the upper left zone to the upper right zone . this character is generated regardless of what previous actions caused the finger to be in the upper left zone to begin with . in other words , the finger could have just had touchdown in the upper left zone , could have been moved to the upper left zone from the upper right zone , or could have been moved to the upper left zone from the lower left zone . these principles apply to all of the movements described herein . touchpad view 20 shows that character 6h is generated by movement from the upper right zone to the upper left zone . touchpad view 22 shows that character 7h is generated by movement from the lower right zone to the lower left zone . touchpad view 24 shows that character 8h is generated by movement from the lower left zone to the lower right zone . touchpad view 26 shows that character 9h is generated by movement from the upper left zone to the lower left zone . touchpad view 28 shows that character ah is generated by movement from the upper right zone to the lower right zone . touchpad view 30 shows that character bh is generated by movement from the lower right zone to the upper right zone . touchpad view 32 shows that character ch is generated by movement from the lower left zone to the upper left zone . [ 0051 ] fig2 is provided to illustrate a series of movements and liftoff that will generate a particular code in accordance with the rules defined above . assume that the finger has made touchdown in the lower right zone of touchpad view 34 . movement from the lower right zone to the lower left zone generates character 7h . movement from the lower left zone to the upper left zone generates the character ch . movement from the upper left zone to the upper right zone generates character 5h . finally , liftoff from the upper right zone generates that character 2h . there are several important observations to make . first , note that for a touchdown , one horizontal stroke , one vertical stroke , another horizontal stroke , and liftoff of the finger , a total of five movements that can also be viewed as writing the alphabetic character “ c ”, four characters have been generated . another important observation is the fact that the characters generated also need to be placed in a particular order . in other words , the characters can be generated in their order of appearance from left to right to form the sequence of numbers 7c52h . likewise , the characters can be generated from right to left to form the sequence of numbers 25c7 . it should also be noted that if the action of touchdown was also being counted , and touchdown in the lower right zone was defined as generating the character dh , then the same movement of drawing the alphabet character c would result in generating the five character sequence of d7c52h , or 25c7dh , depending upon the ordering sequence chosen . the step of generating a character from touchdown , movement , and liftoff is either hardwired into the touchpad circuitry , programmed into a software driver , or stored in firmware , as is known to those skilled in the art . for example , a table can be used to equate the actions with a character . this character can then be transmitted to whatever device or system that is waiting for input from the touchpad . accordingly , the present invention requires the ability to transmit the characters that are generated . this can be implemented as an industry standard computer interface , or a proprietary transmission system . the means of transmission are known to those skilled in the art , and are not a limiting element of the invention . the touchpad also includes whatever hardware and / or programming that is necessary to detect touchdowns , movement , and liftoff from the zones . it is also noted that selecting the type of characters that can be generated is a totally arbitrary decision . thus , a touchpad of the present invention can be designed to generate numbers , alphabetical characters , or a combination of alphanumerical characters . in order to assist the user to know the locations of the zones that the touchpad is using , a template can be disposed over the touchpad surface . the template can include a textured surface with a raised ridge between zones . the template can also be smooth , but incorporate lines to show the borders of the zones . lines might also be manufactured into the overlay that functions as the touchpad surface . [ 0058 ] fig3 is an illustration of 16 views of the same touchpad as seen from a birds eye view . the difference in the touchpad from that shown in fig1 is that there is now a diamond - shaped center zone . the specific shape is not that critical , but in this case is chosen in order to be larger enough for a finger to move through without accidental contact with an unintended zone . another factor to consider when selecting the shape of the zone is to find one that is easy to define in the hardware or software of the touchpad . thus a circular zone may not be as precisely definable . in fig3 the center zone is being used as a function zone . in this embodiment , movement through the function zone is ignored . in the touchpad shown in fig1 it was not possible to have diagonal movement between zones . the center zone now makes this possible . the only action that will result in the touchpad performing an instruction when making contact with the center zone is from touchdown and then liftoff without any movement into a zone between performing these two steps . in this embodiment , touchdown and subsequent liftoff will result in an enter command being generated . however , this function can be programmed to be whatever action is desired . for example , the function performed could be to change the sequence order of the characters that will be generated . thus , the characters could be entered left to right , or right to left . alternatively , it is possible that the user could even change the sequence order at any point during entry of a code . the number of times that the sequence order could be changed is entirely up to the user , but should be kept simple . in the preferred embodiment , all of the characters that are generated since the last enter command was entered will be considered to be the code . thus , this might enable grouping or editing of the characters . another option is to enable some predetermined period of time to elapse since a character was last generated in order to empty a code buffer . a code buffer holds all of the characters that a user wants to have considered as a code . this is because it is likely that a user may have to place a finger on the touchpad , move the finger , and then remove the finger several times before enough characters have been generated to complete the password . before describing more benefits of this embodiment , it is useful to review an arbitrarily selected set of touchdowns , movements , and liftoffs that will generate a selected set of characters , in order to see how the center zone affects the function of the touchpad in comparison to the touchpad of fig1 . touchpad view 40 is a liftoff from the upper left zone , and results in the character 0h . touchpad view 42 is a liftoff from the lower right zone , and results in the character 1h . touchpad view 44 is a liftoff from the lower left zone , and results in the character 2h . touchpad view 46 is a liftoff from the lower right zone , and results in the character 3h . touchpad view 48 shows that character 4h is generated by movement from the upper left zone to the upper right zone . touchpad view 50 shows that character 5h is generated by movement from the upper right zone to the upper left zone . touchpad view 52 shows that character 6h is generated by movement from the lower right zone to the lower left zone . touchpad view 54 shows that character 7h is generated by movement from the lower left zone to the lower right zone . touchpad view 56 shows that character 8h is generated by movement from the upper left zone to the lower left zone . touchpad view 58 shows that character 9 h is generated by movement from the upper right zone to the lower right zone . touchpad view 60 shows that character ah is generated by movement from the lower right zone to the upper right zone . touchpad view 62 shows that character bh is generated by movement from the lower left zone to the upper left zone . unique to this embodiment is the movement between zones by passing through the center zone . touchpad view 64 shows that character ch is generated by diagonal movement from the upper left zone to the lower right zone . touchpad view 66 shows that character dh is generated by diagonal movement from the lower right zone to the upper left zone . touchpad view 68 shows that character eh is generated by diagonal movement from the lower left zone to the upper right zone . and lastly , touchpad view 70 shows that character fh is generated by diagonal movement from the upper right zone to the lower left zone . one of the key advantage of the present invention , but not the only one , is that the user only has to remember patterns or symbols , not actual numbers . the patterns could be , for example , the writing strokes that the user would normally make to spell a name , or write a well known sequence of numbers . even writing the letters in a short word such as cat will result in generating a large number of numbers in the preferred embodiment . specifically , the sequence 5873e93493h could be generated . it should be apparent the remembering how to spell cat is much easier than remembering the numerical sequence 5873e93493h . it is generally the case that it is easier to remember a few characters or symbols than it is to remember a large number . this is especially true when dealing with numbers . even more advantageously , it can be easier to remember symbols as opposed to a randomly generated series of numbers or alphabetical characters . for example , if a person enters a “#” symbol by tracing it on the touchpad surface shown in fig3 a total of eight characters will be generated , and yet the user only had to remember one symbol . of course , which eight characters that will be generated depends upon which zone a user decided to begin to trace the lines of the symbol . the user could have decided on the convention of always moving top to bottom , and left to right , but this could also be changed . thus , even the same symbol can generate many different character combinations . in this case , the four lines of the “#” symbol can be drawn 16 different ways ( 2 4 = 16 ). following the convention of top to bottom and then left to write , the combination of characters that is generated using fig2 is 82934173h . however , changing the convention and performing bottom to top , and left to right will result in the combination of characters being b0a17341h . a user should decide upon and use a single convention in order to consistently enter a password . [ 0071 ] fig4 is provided to illustrate a series of movements and liftoff that will generate a particular code in accordance with the rules defined above in fig3 . assume that the finger has made touchdown in the lower right zone of touchpad view 72 . movement from the lower right zone to the lower left zone generates character 6h . movement from the lower left zone to the upper left zone generates the character bh . movement from the upper left zone to the upper right zone generates character 4h . finally , liftoff from the upper right zone generates that character 1h . thus , the code generated would be either 6b41h , or 14b6h , depending upon the sequence order convention being used . [ 0072 ] fig5 is a series of views of a touchpad . each view of the touchpad shows an example of the movements that can be made on the touchpad surface in order to enter a code . note that in touchpad views 80 and 82 , that the movements to generate characters can be continuous , and do not need to be short , discrete movements . specifically , touchpad view 80 shows touchdown in the upper right zone , then a circular motion of the pointing device through the upper left zone , the lower left zone , the lower right zone , back into the upper right zone , and terminating in the upper left zone where there is liftoff . according to the rules of fig3 the code generated would be 587a50h . movement as shown in touchpad view 82 would generate the code 496b41h , using the same sequence order convention . touchpad view 84 would generate the code fh , and touchpad view 86 would generate the code ch . finally , touchpad view 88 would enter the code . the present invention is also capable of generating alphabetical characters . typically , the problem with generating such characters is that you are required to learn a new shorthand , such as grafitti ™ as taught by the palm ™ operating system . advantageously , the present invention does not require this . [ 0074 ] fig6 is a series of touchpad views that show an example of the movements that can be made to generate all of the letters in the english language alphabet . the touchpad would be placed in a mode where instead of generating numbers , the characters would be letters of the alphabet . most or all of the letters could be made as one continuous movement through specific zones . note that the center zone is necessary for this particular set of movements . [ 0075 ] fig6 is a series of touchpad views that show an example of how to enable entry of numbers 0 through 9 , as well as some punctuation . more movements to generate punctuation marks could be developed . these marks should only be considered illustrative of several possibilities . the applications of the present invention are many , and are even uniquely made possible by the use of a touchpad . possible applications include entry of digital signatures for conducting e - commerce such as an internet transaction , accessing a financial account by entering a pin on - line or at an atm , and entering a code a door of a car , house or a secure area of a business . the present invention can also be used in portable electronic appliances such as pdas and mobile telephones . using a touchpad as the input device can also provide advantages . for example , touchpads from cirque ™ corporation can even be hidden behind solid surfaces using its hidden touch surface ™ technology . thus , a door can appear to have no way of unlocking it , but a touchpad can be hidden beneath the surface of a wall next to the door . only those who know of the existence of the entry pad will be able to enter the code in order to gain entry . the present invention can even be used to secure small devices such as a safe or even a small box . the power requirements of the present invention are not large , and will enable implementation of the present invention by utilizing a battery or other isolated power source . it is to be understood that the above - described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention . numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements . | 6 |
the embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise form disclosed in the following detailed description . rather , the embodiments were chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize their teachings . embodiments of an inlet metering valve according to the present disclosure are described herein in the context of a work machine having a high pressure fuel pump system 10 as depicted in fig1 . it should be understood that a work machine may be any type of fixed or mobile machine that performs some type of operation required by a particular application . non - limiting examples of work machines may include commercial machines , such as cranes , earth moving machines , other material handling equipment , farming equipment , marine vessels , aircraft , vehicles of any type and power - generation equipment . in particular applications , the present metering valve is used in conjunction with a diesel engine that forms part of such a working machine . referring now to fig2 and 4 , one embodiment of an inlet metering valve according to the present disclosure is shown . valve 100 generally includes a housing 102 which at least partially contains a valve barrel 104 , a solenoid 106 , a plunger 118 and a spool 120 . barrel 104 includes a central bore 110 , an inlet 112 in flow communication with central bore 110 , and outlets 114 , 116 in flow communication with central bore 110 . in this embodiment , two additional outlets ( not shown ) are formed in barrel 104 in perpendicular relationship to outlets 114 , 116 . it should be understood , however , that more or fewer outlets may be used according to the principles described herein . in the embodiment described herein , inlet 112 receives fuel from fuel supply 12 depicted in fig1 and outlets 114 , 116 provide metered fuel ( in the manner described below ) to pumping chambers 16 depicted in fig1 . it should be understood , however , that the valve according to the present disclosure can meter fluid or any type ( i . e ., not just fuel ) and that the direction of flow of the fluid may opposite to that described herein . in other words , fluid may flow into the valve through the openings labeled outlets 114 , 116 in the drawings , and out of the valve through the opening labeled inlet 112 in the drawings . in one embodiment , plunger 118 is formed as an elongated rod having an upper end 122 and a lower end 124 which contacts spool 120 . in one embodiment , spool 120 includes a substantially cylindrical body 126 sized to fit within central bore 110 of barrel 104 with low clearance and for reciprocating movement in the manner described below . spool 120 further includes a ball tip 128 at an end distal to lower end 124 of plunger 118 , a circumferential metering edge 130 , and bore 132 extending through body 126 . more specifically , in one embodiment bore 132 extends from a lower orifice 134 disposed in a side wall 136 adjacent ball tip 128 and below metering edge 130 to an upper orifice 138 disposed in an upper surface 140 of body 126 . barrel 104 further includes a conical seat 142 formed at the inner end of inlet 112 in lower wall 144 of barrel 104 . additionally , a spring 146 is disposed within a lower chamber 148 of central bore 110 between lower wall 144 of barrel 104 and metering edge 130 . as is further described below , in one embodiment spring 146 biases spool 120 upwardly such that valve 100 is biased toward the opened position shown in fig2 and 4 . movement of plunger 118 is guided by upper guide 150 and lower guide 152 . as will be apparent to one skilled in the art , valve 100 may instead be configured such that spool 120 is biased toward the closed position shown in fig3 and 5 . in such an embodiment , spring 146 may be positioned in upper chamber 154 of barrel 104 to exert a downward biasing force onto upper surface 140 of spool body 126 . alternatively , spring 146 may have a normally compressed shape and be disposed in lower chamber 148 with one end connected to wall 144 and another end connected to body 126 . in any such “ normally closed ” embodiment of valve 100 , lower end 124 of plunger 118 is connected to spool 120 and solenoid 106 , when powered , causes plunger 118 to move upwardly thereby moving spool 120 out of its normally closed position . while not shown in the drawings , solenoid 106 of valve 100 is coupled to ecm 15 ( fig1 ) to receive control current from ecm 15 . in one embodiment , the amount of current supplied to solenoid 106 by ecm 15 determines the strength of the magnetic flux generated by solenoid 106 . in general , the strength of the magnetic flux generated by solenoid 106 , which in one embodiment imparts a downward force on armature 108 , determines the linear position of spool 120 against the upward biasing force of spring 146 . when valve 100 is in the opened position as shown in fig2 and 4 , insufficient current is supplied to solenoid 106 by ecm 15 to overcome the upward biasing force of spring 146 and cause downward movement of spool 120 . as such , plunger 118 is in its uppermost position with its upper end 150 engaged against housing 102 , which thereby limits upward movement of plunger 118 and spool 120 . in this fully opened position , valve 100 permits maximum flow of fluid through barrel 104 . more specifically , in the embodiment shown fluid flows into inlet 112 , between conical seat 142 and ball tip 128 , into lower chamber 148 , and out of barrel 104 through the spaces formed between metering edge 130 and outlets 114 , 116 . referring now to fig3 and 5 , when valve 100 is in the closed position , sufficient current is supplied to solenoid 106 by ecm 15 to overcome the upward biasing force of spring 146 . as such , spool 120 is in its lowermost position such that ball tip 128 engages conical seat 142 and metering edge 130 is disposed below outlets 114 , 116 rather than in the flow path of outlets 114 , 116 as shown in fig2 and 4 . consequently , fluid is prevented from flowing through valve 100 by two mechanisms . first , the seal between ball tip 128 and conical seat 142 prevents fluid from entering lower chamber 148 of barrel 104 . second , the position of metering edge 130 below outlets 114 , 116 and tight fit between body 126 of spool 120 and central bore 110 of barrel 104 prevents fluid from flowing from lower chamber 148 through outlets 114 , 116 . valve 100 is moved from its closed position ( fig3 and 5 ) to its opened position ( fig2 and 4 ) by reducing the current supplied to solenoid 106 . as the current is reduced , the downward magnetic flux force exerted by solenoid 106 on plunger 118 begins to be overcome by the upward force of spring 146 on spool 120 . consequently , plunger 118 and spool 120 begin to move upwardly . as this occurs , ball tip 128 separates from conical seat 142 and permits fluid to enter into lower chamber 148 . it should be understood that other near zero leak mating surfaces ( i . e ., other than ball tip 128 and conical seat 142 ) may be used to prevent fluid flow into lower chamber 148 until spool 120 is permitted to move upwardly by solenoid 106 . for example , various combinations of ball , conical , flat or crowned spool tip surfaces may be used with conical , flat or crowned seating surfaces . as the fluid fills lower chamber 148 , it flows into lower orifice 134 of bore 132 . the fluid further flows out of upper orifice 138 and fills upper chamber 154 . with the pressure balance drilling provided by bore 132 in this manner , the pneumatic pressure placed on spool 120 by the fluid is substantially equalized between lower chamber 148 and upper chamber 154 . as such , solenoid 106 does not need to be sized to overcome the upward biasing force of spring 146 in addition to the upward force applied to spool 120 by the fuel flowing into inlet 112 . when valve 100 is moved to an opened position such that metering edge 130 is positioned within the flow path of outlets 114 , 116 , fluid not only flows from lower chamber 148 through outlets 114 , 116 , fluid also flows through diagonal bore 132 , into upper chamber 154 , and from upper chamber 154 , between spool 120 and the inner surface of central bore 110 , through outlets 114 , 116 . the diagonal orientation of diagonal bore 132 and the fluid flow through bore 132 causes spool 120 to rotate or spin about its longitudinal axis . this rotation occurs each time valve 100 is moved to an opened position , and provides for distributed wear on the surfaces of spool 120 . while a diagonal bore 132 is shown in the drawings for providing the above - described pressure balancing , it should be understood that many different balancing configurations that provide a flow path between lower chamber 148 and upper chamber 154 may be employed . for example , grooves or flats may be formed in the outer surface of side wall 136 of spool 120 , a plurality of ports may be formed through body 126 , grooves may be formed on the inner surface of central bore 110 , etc . in still other embodiments , the clearance between side wall 136 of spool 120 and the inner surface of central bore 110 may be adjusted such that fluid may flow around spool 120 between lower chamber 148 and upper chamber 154 to balance pressure exerted on spool 126 . as the current supplied to solenoid 106 is further reduced , plunger 118 moves upwardly within upper guide 150 and lower guide 152 , and spool 120 moves further upwardly within central bore 110 . eventually , metering edge 130 is disposed in the flow path of outlets 114 , 116 such that lower chamber 148 is in flow communication with outlets 114 , 116 . the knife edge formed by metering edge 130 not only functions to prevent fluid flow out of lower chamber 148 when metering edge 130 is positioned below outlets 114 , 116 , it also provides highly precise flow characteristics when metering edge is positioned in the flow path of outlets 114 , 116 . more specifically , the knife edge results in a very precise flow vs . solenoid 106 current curve . the foregoing description has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the exemplary embodiments disclosed . many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings . it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description of examples , but rather by the claims appended hereto . | 5 |
embodiments of the invention discuss method and apparatus for correcting duty cycle of a cmos level signal when converted from a current - mode - logic ( cml ) to a cmos level signal via a cml to cmos signal converter . reference in the specification to “ an embodiment ,” “ one embodiment ,” “ some embodiments ,” or “ other embodiments ” means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments , but not necessarily all embodiments . the various appearances of “ an embodiment ,” “ one embodiment ,” or “ some embodiments ” are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments . if the specification states a component , feature , structure , or characteristic “ may ,” “ might ,” or “ could ” be included , that particular component , feature , structure , or characteristic is not required to be included . if the specification or claim refers to “ a ” or “ an ” element , that does not mean there is only one of the element . if the specification or claims refer to “ an additional ” element , that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element . fig1 a illustrates a processor 100 having a cml to cmos signal level converter , according to one embodiment of the invention . in one embodiment , a phase locked loop ( pll ) unit 101 generates a clock signal . in one embodiment , the clock signal is converted to low swing signal such as a cml level signal by a converter ( not shown ) which resides inside the pll unit 101 or outside the pll unit 101 . in one embodiment , the cml level signal is received by an i / o buffer 102 . in one embodiment , the i / o unit 102 includes a cml to cmos signal level converter 103 which is discussed later . in one embodiment the processor 100 includes a memory 104 ( e . g ., a random access memory ) to store computer executable instructions which are executed by the core logic 105 . in one embodiment , the computer executable instructions when executed perform a method which is discussed in fig6 . fig1 b illustrates a cml to cmos signal level converter 110 , according to one embodiment of the invention . in one embodiment , the converter 110 receives differential cml level signals cml_p and cml_n via a receiver 111 . in one embodiment , the receiver 111 includes an adjustable high pass filter . in one embodiment , the high pass filter includes adjustable capacitors c 1 - c 2 and adjustable resistors r 1 - r 2 . in one embodiment , the receiver 111 includes a duty cycle adjustment circuit 111 a . in other embodiments , the duty cycle adjustment circuit 111 a is outside the receiver 111 . in one embodiment , the duty cycle adjustment unit 111 a adjusts the dc bias levels of signals at the gates of transistors m 1 , m 6 , m 2 , and m 5 . the adjusted dc bias levels further adjust the duty cycle of the cmos level signals at the output . the term unit is interchangeably called circuit . in one embodiment , the duty cycle adjustment unit 111 a in 111 is a digital to analog converter ( dac ). the adjustment of the dc bias levels of signals at the gates of transistors m 1 , m 6 , m 2 , and ms are based on the duty cycle of the cmos output signal clk_out ( or buffered version of that signal ). in one embodiment , the capacitors c 1 - c 2 and resistors r 1 - r 2 are adjusted by a digital logic ( not shown ) having multiplexers to select appropriate combination of capacitance and resistance for a particular input cml level signal frequency . in one embodiment , the capacitors c 1 - c 2 and resistors r 1 - r 2 are configured to have fixed values that are predetermined for a particular cml level signal frequency range . in one embodiment , the values for c 1 - c 2 and r 1 - r 2 are configured to be 200 ff and 10 kohms respectively for cml level signals having frequency range of 4 - 5 ghz . in one embodiment , the duty cycle control bits to the duty cycle adjustment block 111 a lowers the difference between the dc bias levels of signals at the gate of transistors m 1 and m 6 and the dc bias levels of signals at the gate of transistors m 2 and m 5 . in one embodiment , the lower difference in the dc bias levels increases the duty cycle of the output cmos level signals in another embodiment , the duty cycle control bits to the duty cycle adjustment block 111 a raise the dc bias levels of the signals at the gate of transistors m 1 and m 6 and lower dc bias levels of the signals at the gate of transistors m 2 and m 5 . in one embodiment , the above adjustment of dc bias levels reduces the duty cycle of the output cmos level signals . in one embodiment , the duty cycle control bits are set by hardware or software or both . in one embodiment , the duty cycle control bits are generated by a compensation unit discussed later in reference to fig4 . referring back to fig1 b , as discussed above the cml level signals cml_p and cml_n are coupled with a pair of differential amplifiers / units 112 and 113 via the receiver block 111 . in one embodiment , the two differential pair amplifier / units are based on a current mirror architecture having transistors m 1 - m 4 and m 5 - m 8 . other implementations of differential pair amplifiers / units can be used without changing the principle of operation of the described embodiments . in one embodiment , each differential pair amplifier / unit 112 and 113 has its independent current sources 112 a and 113 a respectively . in one embodiment , the differential amplifiers / units 112 and 113 , are configured to receive complementary cml level input signals , i . e . transistor m 1 of 112 receives cml_p while corresponding transistor m 5 of 113 receives cml_n . such configuration generates complementary output signals outp 1 and outp 2 of 112 and 113 respectively . in one embodiment , the complementary output signals outp 1 and outp 2 are received by a differential - to - single - ended converter 114 that converts the differential outputs outp 1 and outp 2 to a single - ended output . in one embodiment , the differential - to - single - ended converter 114 is implemented as a current mirror architecture having transistors m 9 - m 12 . other implementations of differential - to - single - ended converter can be used without changing the principle of operation of the described embodiments . in one embodiment , the complementary differential outputs outp 1 and outp 2 compensate for non - 50 % duty cycle in the cml level signals by controlling the current in the differential - to - single - ended converter 114 . in one embodiment , the transistors m 10 and m 12 that receive the signals outp 1 and outp 2 are biased by the dc levels of the signals outp 1 and outp 2 . the dc bias levels of the signals outp 1 and outp 2 also depend on the duty cycle adjustment unit 111 a . in one embodiment , the dc bias level of outp 1 increases when the dc bias level of the signals at the gate of transistors m 1 and m 6 increases . in one embodiment , the dc bias level of outp 1 decreases when the dc bias level of the signals at the gate of transistors m 1 and m 6 decreases . in one embodiment , the dc bias level of outp 2 increases when the dc bias level of the signals at the gate of transistors m 2 and m 5 increases . in one embodiment , the dc bias level of outp 2 decreases when the dc bias level of the signals at the gate of transistors m 2 and m 5 decreases . the complementary nature of the signals outp 1 and outp 2 adjusts the duty cycle of the single - ended output clk 3 to be of 50 % duty cycle . the single - ended output from the differential - to - single - ended converter 114 is also in cmos level , i . e . with rail - to - rail signal swing . in one embodiment , the differential - to - single - ended converter 114 is configured by appropriate device sizes to behave as a final driver of the cmos level output signal . in such an embodiment , the differential - to - single - ended converter 114 amplifies the cmos level output and thus limits the power supply induced jitter on the cmos level output . in one embodiment , the single - ended output clk 3 is driven out by a driver 115 coupled with the differential - to - single - ended converter 114 . in one embodiment , the driver 115 is implemented as an inverter having transistors m 13 - m 14 . other implementations of the driver 115 can be used without changing the principle of operation of the described embodiments . in one embodiment , the driver 115 inverts the polarity of the cmos level signal from the differential - to - single - ended converter 114 . the driver 115 amplifies the signal strength of the cmos level signal and also limits the power supply induced jitter on the cmos level output . fig2 a illustrates a cml to cmos signal level converter 200 with differential biasing and gate shielding devices , according to one embodiment of the invention . compared to the embodiment of fig1 b , the cml to cmos signal level converter of fig2 a includes an embedded duty cycle controller 205 ( instead of independent current sources ) that allows the cml level signals cml_p and cml_n to directly connect with a pair of differential amplifiers / units 201 and 202 while providing 50 % duty cycle at the output of the converter 200 . in one embodiment , jitter amplification is reduced by shielding devices in the differential pairs 201 and 202 , and differential - to - single - ended converter 203 . in one embodiment , the shielding devices are inserted between the diode connection of the diode connected transistors m 3 , m 7 , and m 9 . in one embodiment , the shielding devices 206 - 208 are resistors r 1 - r 3 . in one embodiment , the resistors r 1 - r 3 have adjustable resistance controlled by a logic circuit ( not shown ) which controls the amount of jitter amplification of the converter 200 at the cost of active area of the converter 200 . the shielding devices shield the gates of transistors m 3 , m 7 , and m 9 from noise generated by high speed nodes outn 1 , outn 2 , and clk 2 . in one embodiment , the nodes outn 1 , outn 2 , and clk 2 operate at the same frequencies as the frequencies of the input cml level signals cml_p and cml_n . by shielding the gates of transistors m 3 , m 7 , and m 9 , the effective dynamic capacitance , i . e . switching capacitance , of the converter 200 is reduced compared to when no shielding devices are inserted between the diode connection of the diode connected transistors m 3 , m 7 , and m 9 . a person skilled in the art knows that power consumption of a cmos based circuit depends on power supply level , frequency of the signal , and the capacitance of the circuit . by reducing the active capacitance via the shielding devices , active power consumption is reduced for the converter 200 . furthermore , by reducing the active capacitance seen by outn 2 , outn 1 , and clk 2 nodes bandwidth of these nodes is increased . an alternative way to understand the bandwidth enhancement of the converter 200 is via the low frequency output impedance of the diode connected transistors m 3 , m 7 , and m 9 . the low frequency ( near dc ) output impedance of the diode connected transistors m 3 , m 7 , and m 9 is the inverse of their trans - conductance ( 1 / gm ) while the output impedance at high frequencies ( e . g ., 4 ghz and above ) is 1 / gds . the output impedance of 1 / gds is higher than the output impedance of 1 / gm . this means that at high cml level signal frequency ( e . g ., 4 ghz and above ), the output impedance increases gain of the converter 200 . the shielding resistors 206 - 208 enhance bandwidth of the converter 200 because the amount of capacitance observed by nodes outn 2 , outn 1 , and clk 2 is reduced . in one embodiment , the gate shielding resistors r 1 - r 3 are set to 10 k ohms for an input cml level signal frequency of 4 - 5 ghz to generate a cmos level signal having 50 % duty cycle and reduced jitter amplification . in such an embodiment , the bandwidth of the nodes outn 2 , outn 1 , and clk 2 , and hence the bandwidth of the converter 200 , is increased by 25 % versus when no shielding devices are used . furthermore , the 25 % increase in bandwidth is realized without any additional power consumption because it is not based on the resistance values . instead , in one embodiment , active power consumption is reduced by 5 % because the nodes outn 1 , outn 2 , and clk 2 now see less gate capacitance ( of transistor gates m 3 , m 7 , and m 9 ). the embedded duty cycle converter 205 controls the amount of current that flows through the differential amplifiers / units 201 and 202 . in one embodiment , the cml level signals cml_p and cml_n are directly connected with the pair of differential amplifiers / units 201 and 202 . in one embodiment , the two differential pair amplifiers / units 201 and 202 are based on a current mirror architecture having transistors m 1 - m 4 and m 5 - m 8 . other implementations of differential pair amplifiers / units can be used without changing the principle of operation of the described embodiments . in one embodiment , the differential amplifiers / units 201 and 202 , are configured to receive complementary cml level input signals , i . e . transistor m 1 of 201 receives cml_p while corresponding transistor m 5 of 202 receives cml_n . such configuration generates complementary output signals outp 1 and outp 2 of 201 and 202 , respectively . in one embodiment , the complementary output signals outp 1 and outp 2 are received by a differential - to - single - ended converter 203 that converts the differential outputs outp 1 and outp 2 to a single - ended output clk 3 . in one embodiment , the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 is implemented as a current mirror architecture having transistors m 9 - m 12 . other implementations of differential - to - single - ended converter can be used without changing the principle of operation of the described embodiments . in one embodiment , the complementary differential outputs outp 1 and outp 2 compensate for non - 50 % duty cycle in the cml level signals by controlling the current in the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 . in one embodiment , the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 behaves as a gain stage in the cml to cmos level signal converter . the gain generated by the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 enhances the overall gain of the converter 200 . a higher gain of the converter 200 limits power supply induced jitter because the gain increases the slew rate of the cmos level signal . in one embodiment , the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 also operates as a driver of the cmos level signal . the complementary differential outputs outp 1 and outp 2 compensate for non - 50 % duty cycle in the cml level signals by controlling the current in the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 . in one embodiment , transistors m 10 and m 12 of the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 receive signals outp 1 and outp 2 from the differential pairs 201 and 202 . in one embodiment , the signals outp 1 and outp 2 are indirectly biased by the differential current biasing circuit 205 . the complementary nature of the signals outp 1 and outp 2 adjusts the duty cycle of the single - ended output clk 3 to be of 50 % duty cycle . in one embodiment , the single - ended output clk 3 is driven out by a driver 204 coupled with the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 . in one embodiment , the driver 204 is implemented as an inverter having transistors m 13 - m 14 . other implementations of the driver 204 can be used without changing the principle of operation of the described embodiments . in one embodiment , the driver 204 inverts the polarity of the cmos level signal from the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 . the driver 204 amplifies the signal strength of the cmos level signal and also limits the power supply induced jitter on the cmos level output . in one embodiment , the driver 204 inverts the polarity of the cmos level signal from the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 . in one embodiment , the signal strength of node outp 1 verses that of node outp 2 is scaled by controlling the bias current of the differential pair units 201 and 202 . the scaling of the current is performed by the differential current biasing unit 205 . in one embodiment , the difference in signal strength of outp 1 and outp 2 and the dc voltage levels ( bias level ) at nodes outp 1 and outp 2 determine the duty cycle of the output clk 3 and clk_out . in one embodiment , the tail current to the differential pair 201 is increased by the differential current biasing unit 205 while the tail current to the differential pair 202 is decreased by the differential current biasing unit 205 . as a result of the difference in the tail currents of the differential pair units 201 and 202 , the signal swing at node outp 2 becomes larger than it was before the increase in the tail current of the differential pair unit 201 and before the decrease in tail current of the differential pair unit 202 . in one embodiment , the increase in signal swing at node outp 2 causes the duty cycle at node clk 3 ( output of the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 ) to be increased . in one embodiment , the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 is followed by a driver 204 . in such an embodiment , the duty cycle of the output clk_out of the driver 204 is decreased . in one embodiment , the tail current to the differential pair unit 201 is decreased by the differential current biasing unit 205 while the tail current to the differential pair unit 202 is increased by the differential current biasing unit 205 . as a result of the difference in the tail currents of the differential pair units 201 and 202 , the signal swing at node outp 2 becomes smaller than it was before the decrease in the tail current of the differential pair unit 201 and before the increase in tail current of the differential pair unit 202 . in one embodiment , the decrease in signal swing at node outp 2 causes the duty cycle at node clk 3 ( output of the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 ) to be decreased . in one embodiment , the differential - to - single - ended converter 203 is followed by a driver 204 . in such an embodiment , the duty cycle of the output clk_out of the driver 204 is increased . in one embodiment , the embedded differential current biasing unit 205 is controlled by bias current control bits . in one embodiment , the values of the current control bits are controlled by software . in another embodiment , the values of the current control bits are controlled by hardware . in yet another embodiment , both hardware and software are used to control the values of the current control bits . the control mechanism is later discussed in reference to fig5 . in one embodiment , the embedded differential current biasing unit 205 does not interfere with the high speed path of the cml to cmos signal level converter . details of an embodiment of the embedded differential current biasing unit 205 are later discussed in reference to fig3 a . the embodiment 200 of fig2 a consumes less power than the embodiment of fig1 b because the duty cycle adjustment circuit and capacitors c 1 - c 2 are not used . fig2 b illustrates via a graph 210 the duty cycle performance of a cml to cmos signal level converter , according to the embodiment described in fig2 a . the x - axis of the graph list values of the bias current control bits . these bits control the currents of embedded differential current biasing unit 205 which in turn control the tail currents of the differential pair units 201 and 202 . the y - axis of the graph lists the duty cycle in percentage at node clk_out . the cml to cmos level signal converter 200 of fig2 a provides a monotonic response 211 to duty cycle for the control bits . in this example , 50 % duty cycle is achieved near control bit setting of 16 . in one embodiment , the setting of the control bit is achieved by a compensation unit discussed later in reference to fig5 . fig3 a illustrates an embedded differential biasing circuit / unit 300 , according to one embodiment of the invention . in one embodiment , the embedded current source 301 provides current sources to both the differential pair units 201 and 202 of fig2 a . the outputs of the embedded current source 301 are shown as ioutp and ioutn which are connected with tail current nodes of differential pair units 201 and 202 of fig2 a . in one embodiment , the current strength for these outputs is independently controlled by control bits . in one embodiment , the control bits are complementary bits , i . e . control bits ( biasdac [ n : 0 ]) are of opposite polarity to the control bits biasdacb [ n : 0 ], where n is the number of control bits that are individually controlling transistors m 4 and m 5 . in one embodiment , transistors m 1 and m 3 are configured to provide a minimum static current to the differential pairs 201 and 202 . the embedded current source 301 has a maximum current sourcing capacity set by transistor m 2 which is biased by nbias . in one embodiment , nbias is an analog voltage generated by a bias circuit ( not shown ) such as a band - gap circuit . fig3 b illustrates an embedded differential biasing circuit / unit 310 , according to one embodiment of the invention . this circuit is explained later in detail as an alternative to the embedded differential biasing circuit / unit 300 of fig3 a . fig4 illustrates a compensation scheme 400 for compensating duty cycle via a cml to cmos signal level converter , according to one embodiment of the invention . in one embodiment , a cml to cmos level signal converter 401 a is compensated for a 50 % duty cycle over process , voltage , and temperature ( pvt ) conditions . in one embodiment , the converter 401 a is the same as the converter 110 of fig1 b . in one embodiment , the cmos level signal from the converter 401 a is converted to differential signals by single - to - differential converter 401 b . in one embodiment , the output of the single - to - differential converter 401 b is detected by a duty cycle detector 402 . in one embodiment , the output of the duty cycle detector 402 is received by a finite state machine ( fsm ) 403 . the fsm 403 determines the appropriate dc control bit setting for the dc adjustment circuit 405 of the receiver 111 of fig1 b . in one embodiment , the loop ( 401 a → 401 b → 402 → 403 → 404 → 401 a ) is repeated regularly to provide duty cycle control bit settings for a pvt condition so that the cml to cmos level signal converters provide 50 % duty cycle cmos level signals . fig5 illustrates a compensation scheme 500 for compensating duty cycle via a cml to cmos level signal converter 501 a having an embedded differential biasing unit and gate shielding devices , according to one embodiment of the invention . in one embodiment , a cml to cmos level signal converter 501 b is compensated for a 50 % duty cycle over pvt conditions . in one embodiment , the converter 501 b is the same as the converter 200 of fig2 a . in one embodiment , the cmos level signal from the converter 501 a is converted to differential signals by a single - to - differential converter 501 b . in one embodiment , the output of the single - to - differential converter 501 b is detected by a duty cycle detector 502 . in one embodiment , the output of the duty cycle detector 502 is received by a finite state machine ( fsm ) 503 . the fsm 503 determines the appropriate biasdac bit setting for the embedded differential bias current source of fig2 a . in one embodiment , the loop ( 501 a → 501 b → 502 → 503 → 501 a ) is repeated regularly to provide biasdac settings for a pvt condition so that the cml to cmos level signal converters provide 50 % duty cycle cmos level signals . fig6 illustrates a flow chart 600 for generating a 50 % duty cycle cmos level signal via a cml to cmos signal level converter , according to one embodiment of the invention . the flow chart 600 is applicable to converters 110 and 200 of fig1 b and fig2 a respectively . at block 601 , cml level signals are received by the first differential pair ( 111 of fig1 b , 201 of fig2 a ). at block 602 , cml level signals are received by the second differential pair ( 112 of fig1 b , 202 of fig2 a ). at block 603 , compensation control bits to adjust drive strengths of the first and the second differential pairs are received . in one embodiment , the compensation control bits are the duty cycle control bits generated by the compensation unit 400 of fig4 for the converter 110 of fig1 b . in one embodiment , the compensation control bits are duty cycle control bits generated by the compensation unit 500 of fig5 for the converter 200 of fig2 a . at block 604 , the duty cycle of the cmos level signal is adjusted to be 50 % duty cycle based on the compensation control bits . at block 605 , the converter generates a 50 % cmos level signal . elements of embodiments are also provided as a machine - readable medium ( e . g ., 104 of fig1 a ) for storing the computer - executable instructions ( e . g ., setting the control bits for biasing the embedded differential biasing circuits 300 and 310 of fig3 a and fig3 b , setting the duty cycle adjustment bits in the cml to cmos level signal converter 200 of fig2 a ). the machine - readable medium may include , but is not limited to , flash memory , optical disks , cd - roms , dvd roms , rams , eproms , eeproms , magnetic or optical cards , or other type of machine - readable media suitable for storing electronic or computer - executable instructions . for example , embodiments of the invention may be downloaded as a computer program ( e . g ., bios ) which may be transferred from a remote computer ( e . g ., a server ) to a requesting computer ( e . g ., a client ) by way of data signals via a communication link ( e . g ., a modem or network connection ). while the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof , many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description . for example , in one embodiment , the embedded differential biasing unit / circuit 300 of fig3 a can be implemented as the circuit shown in fig3 b . fig3 b illustrates an embedded differential biasing circuit 310 , according to one embodiment of the invention . this embodiment biases the source transistor m 5 by pbias and the biasdac [ n : 0 ]. in one embodiment , to increase sourcing of current at connections ioutp and ioutn ( which are both connected to differential pair 201 and 202 respectively of fig2 a ) biasdac [ n : 0 ] controls the current strength of transistor m 7 . in one embodiment , the dc level of pbias which is connected with the gate of transistor m 8 determines the maximum amount of current that the embedded differential biasing circuit 300 can sink via transistor m 5 . in one embodiment , pbias is generated by a bias circuit ( not shown ) such as a band - gap circuit . in one embodiment , transistors m 4 and m 5 , which in fig3 a were n transistors each controlled by biasdac [ n : 0 ] and its complementary control bits , are no longer controlled by biasdac [ n : 0 ] control bits . instead , the complementary function of biasdac [ n : 0 ] of fig3 a is implemented via the bias enable signals biasp_en and biasn_en . in one embodiment , both biasp_en and biasn_en are complementary to one another . in one embodiment , transistors m 1 and m 3 are configured to provide a minimum static current to the differential pair units 201 and 202 of fig2 a . by having the ability to control the tail current of differential pairs units 201 and 202 of fig2 a via ioutp and ioutn , the duty cycle of the cmos level signal is adjusted . while the cml to cmos level signal converter of fig1 b and fig2 a are implemented as nmos input based differential amplifiers / units , pmos input based differential amplifiers / units can easily replace the nmos based differential amplifiers / units without changing the essence of the embodiments of the invention . similarly , the nmos bias generation circuits / units of fig3 a and fig3 b can be easily replaced with pmos bias generation circuits / units without changing the essence of the embodiments of the invention . embodiments of the invention are intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications , and variations as to fall within the broad scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
it is an objective of the present invention to provide a device for use in the training of one or more dogs to detect one or more contaminants , wherein the device simulates the one or more contaminants to be detected by the dog , and wherein the device does not adversely affect any of the dogs when each is exposed to the device . in one embodiment , the device is a semi - rigid , voc - free apparatus for training one or more animals in the detection of viable contaminants in a field environment , comprising a housing , for containing one or more scent samples , having an upper portion and a lower portion having a cup - shaped inner surface area , and a means for removably securing said upper portion with said lower portion , wherein said upper portion further comprises an adjustable exposure means for either increasing or decreasing the exposure of said one or more samples contained within said apparatus to the atmosphere . the device used is a formulated sample of the one or more contaminants which are to be detected by the dog . the formulated sample is comprised of active ( i . e ., live ) cultures of the one or more contaminant species of interest , at a minimal concentration , wherein each of the active cultures undergoes an autoclave process to deactivate each of the active cultures initially used in the sample &# 39 ; s formulation . as used herein , the term “ minimal concentration ” is defined as a concentration of at least one part per trillion ( 1 ppt ) for vocs , or a concentration of at least five ( 5 ) colony forming units per m 3 of air ( cfm / m 3 ) and preferably at least eighteen ( 18 ) cfm / m 3 for spores . the sample may be of a liquid , powder , gaseous or solid form which retains each of the contaminant scent characteristics while being devoid of the previously live or active contaminant cultures . in another embodiment of the present invention , three liquid device samples are used at a field site , each of which is comprised of a stock culture provided by a commercial vendor ( such as american type culture collection ( atcc ) of maryland ). a first device sample being comprised of a stachybottys charatarum stock ( atcc 18842 ), a second device sample being comprised of aspergillus versicolor stock ( atcc 9577 ) and a third device sample being comprised of aspergillus fumigatus stock ( atcc daom 222005 ). in preparing each of the three device samples , three primary sterile centrifuge tubes were each filled with 10 ml of sterile water and then each was flamed . then , about one loopful of each of the three stock cultures was placed into one of the three centrifuge tubes . as used herein the term “ loopful ” is a term of art commensurate with that definition known in the field wherein a loop device is used to prepare a sample of a stock culture . each tube was incubated at approximately 25 ° c . for about 48 hours . approximately one loopful of the incubated solution from each tube was then plated onto sterile agar plates having a media thereon . the incubated solution having the stachybotrys charatarum stock was plated onto a malt extract media and both the incubated solution having the aspergillus versicolor stock and the incubated solution having the aspergillus fumigatus stock were plated onto a sabouraud dextrose media . each of the plates of the incubated solutions was incubated at approximately 25 ° c . for about 48 hours and evaluated to determine the viability of the spore stocks . each of the tubes were then autoclaved at about 121 ° c ., near 15 psi , for about 45 minutes . approximately one loopful of the autoclaved solution from each tube was then plated onto sterile agar plates having a media thereon . the autoclaved solution having the stachybotrys charatarum stock was plated onto a malt extract media and both the autoclaved solution having the aspergillus versicolor stock and the autoclaved solution having the aspergillus fumigatus stock were plated onto a sabouraud dextrose media . each of the plates of the autoclaved solutions was incubated at approximately 25 ° c . for about 48 hours and evaluated to determine the non - viability of the spore stocks . each of the autoclaved solutions ( i . e ., non - active solutions ) was then formulated such that approximately a minimal concentration of each stock culture sample was present in each of the three device samples such that each of the device samples could be used by a canine trainer for training a dog to detect a specific contaminant at a location determined by the canine trainer , without detrimental impact to the dog . in another embodiment , the device is a formulated liquid device sample of a stock culture in a spill - free , semi - rigid , voc - free container in which an adjustable lid of the container may be adjusted by a trainer to either increase or decrease the atmospheric exposure of the device sample for modifying training of a dog . in a further embodiment , the device is a formulated liquid device sample of a stock culture which may be injected by a syringe - like instrument into a testing site ( e . g . a wall , carpeting , mattress ) for modifying training of a dog . fig1 shows a spill - free device 100 of the present invention containing a liquid device sample 110 of a formulated stock culture contaminant . the device 100 preferably is a semi - rigid , voc - free container having a lower vessel 120 with an inner surface area 125 and a lower container threaded connection means 127 , an upper cap 155 having an upper cap threaded connection means 157 , and cap apertures 160 on a rotatable cap lid 190 wherein the cap lid 190 has grips 199 for rotating , an upper vessel 130 having an inner surface area 135 greater than the inner surface area 125 of the lower vessel 120 , an upper container threaded connection means 167 which is securably connectable with the lower container connection means 127 , an inner hull 140 , an upper vent 145 having a plurality of apertures 150 on the upper vent surface 195 integrated with the inner hull 140 and a lower cap threaded connection means 170 which is securably connectable with the upper cap threaded connection means 157 and a vent stem 160 having a curved open end 165 which extends from the upper vent 145 towards the center of the inner surface volume of the upper vessel 130 a distance of less than two - thirds of the radius 175 of the upper surface 180 of the lower lip 185 of the upper vessel 130 , wherein the vent stem 160 is integrated with the vent hull 140 . a trainer may insert a liquid device sample 110 into the lower vessel 120 . alternatively , the trainer may simply swipe a device sample portion into the inner surface of the upper vessel 130 or the lower vessel 120 . the trainer then secures the upper vessel 130 to the lower vessel 120 by connecting their respective connection means 167 , 127 . the trainer then secures the upper cap 155 by connecting the upper cap threaded connection means 157 with the lower cap threaded connection means 170 . preferably , each of the threaded connection means ( 127 , 157 , 167 , 170 ) is a threaded connection mount , such that when each is securely connected with its respective mate , a secure and sealable connection results . the trainer then adjusts the exposure of the contaminant 110 to the outside environment by grasping the grips 199 and rotating the cap lid 190 such that the apertures 160 of the cap lid 190 are adjustably aligned to a predetermined setting at the discretion of the trainer with the apertures 150 of the upper vent 145 . the trainer may then place the device 100 at a training site to train one or more dogs to detect the scent of the contaminant sample 110 . although the device 100 as shown in fig1 contains a contaminant sample 110 , the device 100 may be used with any liquid or gas for any purpose wherein a spill - proof and / or exposure - adjustable device may be utilized ( e . g ., aroma therapy , fragrance and scent release , child olfactory - stimulus products , and the like ). it is also an objective of the present invention to provide a relatively simple and safe method for training one or more dogs to detect one or more contaminants using a device comprised of a formulated sample of the one or more contaminants which are to be detected by the dog . the method comprises the steps of : ( 1 ) placing one or more devices in a training area in one or more predetermined locations , ( 2 ) introducing one or more dogs responsive to a field command into the training area ; and ( 3 ) instructing each of the dogs , separately or jointly , using the field command to locate the one or more devices . optionally , during the training process , as the dog locates each of the devices which have been placed in the training area , it is desirable to provide the dog being trained a reward ( e . g ., a biscuit , a dog treat , additional physical attention , etc .) to further enforce the training progress and successes of the dog . as used herein , the term “ field command ” includes one or more commands such as “ fetch ”, “ find ”, “ search ”, “ work ”, “ stay ” and similar , which when made by a canine handler to a dog responsive to such a command , will cause the dog to react as instructed in a controlled and conditioned manner . as used herein , the term “ canine handler ” shall also be interpreted to mean “ canine trainer ” or person capable of instructing and commanding a dog to act in a predetermined and conditioned manner . as used herein , the term “ device ” shall be interchangeable with that of an “ apparatus .” in a preferred embodiment , a trained dog of the present invention , in which is a dog trained by the method of the present invention , is selected from stock which has been selectively bred such that certain desirable instincts are likely known to be present in the selected breed stock ( e . g ., ability to perform “ tricks ” on command , ability to listen and respond , mental and physical conditioning providing an ability to work such as in search or rescue , and similar ). in another preferred embodiment , a dog which has prior field experience and is able to respond to more than one field command such that the dog may actively signal his canine handler upon completing the field command given , is desirable and utilized in certain embodiments of the present invention . however any dog having a desire to work in the field , as defined by its handler , thereby having at least a minimal mental ability prerequisite , mental desire , and a minimal physical ability , is understood by those skilled in the art to be considered for use in and by the present invention . in another embodiment of the present invention , a border collie having prior field training is trained using the device ( 100 of fig1 ) having a liquid formulated contaminant sample ( 110 of fig1 ) in a minimal concentration . alternatively , a handler applies the formulated sample to three absorbing pads and each pad is then separately placed into its own device ( 100 ) or into a perforated sampling tube . then the trainer places each of the three devices or tubes at predetermined locations within the training area ; however , it is preferred that the device is used . the devices are placed by the trainer in visible locations and / or in proximity to one another during the initial training of a dog so as to reinforce early successes the dog is able to achieve during the process . as early successes are achieved by the dog being trained , the trainer may optionally thereafter hide the devices , reduce the quantity of devices , remove the pads from devices when used , reposition the devices at greater distances from one another , and similar . the trainer thereafter introduces the border collie into the training room and commands the border collie using a trigger command , to locate the devices , although any command sequence or technique may be used with the present invention . as used herein , the term “ trigger command ” is defined to include any verbal or physical action performed by the trainer which the dog has been trained to be responsive to , such as a field command of “ search ” or a single clap of the trainer &# 39 ; s hands . alternatively , the trainer may use a “ click - treat ” method wherein a dog is commanded to act by clicks from the trainer and is reward with a treat instantly when the dogs promptly responds to the trainer &# 39 ; s click ( s ). the border collie then searches for each of the devices and the trainer may thereafter assist in the border collie &# 39 ; s search efforts by providing further trigger commands or other training guidance . at the discretion of the trainer , the trainer provides the border collie a dog treat after locating each of the devices in the testing room and may repeat the process until the desired result is achieved . fig2 shows a dog 200 being trained in a training room 210 to detect contaminants located in devices ( 100 of fig1 ) in which a trainer 230 instructs the dog 200 to locate one or more of the devices 100 , according to an embodiment of the present invention . it is a further objective of the present invention to provide a method for the non - intrusive detection of contaminants using one or more trained dogs which have been trained to detect one or more contaminants using a device comprised of a formulated sample of the one or more contaminants which are to be detected . the method for training one or more animals to detect at least one viable contaminant in a field environment , using one or more non - viable formulated contaminant samples , comprises the steps of : ( b ) placing at least one sample at a predetermined field sample location in said training area , ( c ) admitting at least one animal to said training area at a predetermined field animal location , ( d ) instructing each animal using at least one field triggering command to first key on at least one sample and thereafter traverse a path to non - intrusively locate each sample at its respective field sample location in said training area , wherein each formulated sample comprises a minimal concentration of one or more non - viable contaminant cultures of interest . as used herein , the term “ command ” includes field commands , trigger commands and all other oral , visual , auditory and / or physical signals which when made by a canine handler to a dog responsive to such a command , will cause the dog to react as instructed in a controlled and conditioned manner . as used herein the term “ site ” includes any area which is susceptible to the presence of a minimal contamination including but not limited to buildings , structures , spaces , rooms , walls , containers , wallpaper , floors , flooring , edible products , foods and produce , food - additives , clothing , fabrics , any portion or sample thereof , and / or any organic matter capable of supporting microbiological growth or any surface capable of supporting or containing such organic matter . in another embodiment of the present invention , a border collie having prior field training and having been trained to detect microbiological contaminants , is introduced into a room in which at least one person was identified as being allergic to and / or irritated by an unidentified contaminant in the room ( e . g ., allergic alveolitis , hypersensitivity pneumonitis , and similar ). once introduced to the room , the border collie is then commanded by a trainer to locate possible areas of contamination using a trigger command . the border collie then searches for “ active contamination sites ” within the room . as used herein the term “ active contamination site ” is defined as a location in or on a “ site ” having a minimal concentration of contamination . as the border collie searches , areas identified by the border collie as being active contamination sites may then be marked by the trainer or by the border collie depending on its level of experience and field training . optionally , these marked areas may then be sampled for further analysis . in another embodiment of the present invention , a border collie having prior field training and having been trained to detect microbiological contaminants , is introduced to a four square foot portion of a carpet which was located in a room in which at least one person was allergic to and / or irritated by the carpeting . once introduced to the carpet portion , the border collie is then commanded by a trainer to locate possible areas of contamination using a trigger command . the border collie then searches for active contamination sites on the carpet portion . as the border collie searches , areas identified by the border collie as being active contamination sites may then be marked , identified and / or sampled . in another embodiment of the present invention , two border collies and a havanese , each having prior field training and each having been trained to detect different contaminants from one another , are introduced to a site having possible contaminants . preferably , each dog is introduced to or into the site one at a time . once introduced to the room , each of the dogs is then commanded by a trainer , separately or jointly , to locate possible areas of contamination , using a single or series of trigger commands . each dog then searches for active contamination sites within the room , based upon each of their own contaminant detection training . as each dog searches , areas identified by each dog as being active contamination sites may then be marked , identified , sampled and / or compared with the results of each of the other dogs &# 39 ; findings for comparison and evaluation . another embodiment of the present invention includes a method of using at least one dog trained using non - viable contaminant samples to non - intrusively detect one or more viable contaminants at one or more undetermined locations at a field site having at least said one or more viable contaminants therein , comprising the steps of : ( b ) admitting at least one dog to said site area at a predetermined site animal location , ( c ) instructing each dog using at least one field triggering command to first key on at least one viable contaminant and thereafter traverse a path to non - intrusively locate said viable contaminant at its respective contaminant location site at the site area , and , ( d ) rewarding each dog upon locating at least one contaminant location site . by way of example without limitation , a border collie , having prior field training and having been trained to detect contaminants used by possible terrorists , including microbiological agents , is introduced to a site having a plurality of containers , one or more of which may contain hazardous biological agents and / or microbiological contaminants . once introduced to the site , the border collie is then commanded by a trainer to locate containers possibly containing hazardous biological agents and / or microbiological contaminants , using a single or series of trigger commands . the border collie then searches for containers having active contamination sites . containers identified by the border collie as having active contamination sites may then be marked , identified , and / or sampled . while the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described with respect to training of dogs and the use of dogs to detect contaminants , including possible implementations with more than one dog at a time , the present invention is not so limited . the present invention may also be used to train other animals having olfactory sensory capabilities better than those of humans , such as those of a pig , cat , rat , and similar , and / or any other animal having a vomero - nasal area greater in size than that of a human . the present invention may also be used with two or more animals simultaneously , wherein , optionally , an untrained animal may be teamed with a trained animal and using the method herein , such untrained animal may have its training supplemented by the presence , movements and actions of the trained animal . it will be further understood that various changes in the details , materials , and arrangements of the elements and / or steps which have been described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of this invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims . the above disclosed invention has a number of particular features which should preferably be employed in combination , although each is useful separately without departure from the scope of the invention . | 8 |
embodiments of the present invention are described below by way of example only . these examples represent the best ways of putting the invention into practice that are currently known to the applicant although they are not the only ways in which this could be achieved . fig1 shows a prior art ims network which contains two home subscriber servers ( hss ) 101 . as each subscriber is associated with a particular hss , client nodes in the network ( e . g . cscf and as nodes ) need to know which subscriber is associated with which hss in order that it can retrieve the required subscriber information when required . in the network of fig1 , this is addressed by inclusion of a service location function ( slf ) which the client nodes contact to retrieve the correct hss address for a given subscriber . however , it can be seen that the slf solution of fig1 can be problematic . firstly , as the number of subscribers grows , the slf will need to handle increasing numbers of requests for hss addresses and will also need capacity to store increasing amounts of information . thus this solution is not scalable . secondly , if the slf fails , or needs to be taken out of operation for maintenance or upgrade , the network cannot operate . by definition there can be only one slf in the network . thirdly , the information maintained in the slf needs to be updated dynamically to reflect changes in the internal distribution of subscribers across the operator &# 39 ; s hss nodes . the 3gpp r5 standards do not provide a mechanism to support the informing of client nodes which have cached the hss name for a given subscriber that the subscribers serving hss address / node has changed . the approach that accommodates this limitation is to not cache the hss name — thus imposing a greater processing load on the slf and the network . thus the use of slf is not robust and imposes an extra load both on network and operational resources . fig2 shows a schematic diagram of an improved ims network 200 according to a first example of the invention . the network comprises a number of nodes ( not all of which are shown in fig2 ): an i - cscf 201 , an s - cscf 202 , an as 203 and an hss 204 , all connected by an ip network 205 . the hss 204 comprises two hss nodes , hss a 1 206 and hss a 2 207 , which can be considered as a cluster of hss nodes . the cluster may contain two or more hss nodes , but the following discussion will refer to two hss nodes within the cluster by way of example only . preferably the two hss nodes within the cluster are separated geographically , perhaps by as much as 1000 s of km , in order to reduce the vulnerability to events such as fire , flooding etc . the nodes in the cluster may be configured such that one node is the active hss node and the other node is the standby hss node , with both nodes containing data on all subscribers . alternatively a configuration containing multiple active nodes is permissible . as the number of subscribers to the network grows , the numbers of hss nodes within the cluster can be increased and each node within the cluster may not necessarily contain information on all the subscribers . it is preferable that the information associated with a particular subscriber is stored on at least two geographically separated hss nodes within the cluster , to reduce the likelihood of the information not being available if a hss node within the cluster is out of action e . g . through failure or planned maintenance . as the number of nodes within the cluster can be increased , the solution is very scalable . the network shown in fig2 does not require a node with the functionality of an slf to provide a centralised network based load - balancer router , but instead the hss nodes within the cluster communicate with each other to ensure that requests received from client nodes within the network ( e . g . from s - cscf 1 202 ) are sent to the correct hss node within the cluster . this means that the single point of failure concern with the slf is avoided . although the hss cluster is shown operating without an slf or other centralised network based load - balancer router , which is the preferred implementation , the invention could also be implemented in a network containing an slf and could inter - operate with the slf . one example may be where a network contains , in addition to the hss cluster , a further hss ( which may or may not be of cluster type ). the slf can then operate with the two hss entities in the same manner as described with reference to fig1 and the slf need not be aware of the intra hss structure of the two hss entities . as shown in fig2 , the two hss nodes within the cluster do not have a common address as viewed from the network , e . g . hss a 1 has the address hssa 1 . oper . com and hss a 2 has the address hssa 2 . oper . com . a client node in the network , e . g . s - cscf 1 may connect to one of the hss nodes ( e . g . to hss a 1 via link 210 ) or may maintain links to both the hss nodes ( e . g . to hss a 1 via link 210 and also to hss a 2 via link 211 ). additional links 212 , 213 are shown between s - cscf 1 and hss a 1 and a 2 which may be present for added resilience . the client nodes do not need to be aware of the cluster nature of the hss node 204 , but each node 206 , 207 within the hss cluster is aware of the host names ( e . g . hssa 1 . oper . com ) of the other hss nodes in the cluster and their current state ( e . g . active / standby / failure / off line ). the links shown in fig2 ( 210 - 213 ) and subsequent figures are indicated as lines . as will be apparent to a person skilled in the art , these may represent logical links rather than physical links and traffic may take any route between the end points through the ip network 205 . furthermore , where two links are shown between two node , in fig2 and subsequent figures , this is by way of example only . there may alternatively be only one link between the two end nodes or more than two links . further detail of the structure of each hss node within the cluster is shown in fig3 and 4 . each hss node comprises an application layer 301 and a network gateway ( or interface ) 302 . the application layer ( or application processing layer ) 301 provides the specific hss processing functionality and is isolated from the network connection structure . the network gateway 302 communicates with client nodes ( e . g . cscf , as nodes ) and also with the network gateways of other hss nodes within the cluster . this is shown in fig3 where the network gateways communicate with s - cscf 1 via links 210 - 213 and the gateways communicate with each other via links 303 , 304 . the connections between the hss nodes within the hss cluster could be provided by dedicated point to point links , for example by optical fibre or wired connection . however , use of the standard ip network and diameter cx / sh peer connections is preferable because it does not require a specialised or optimised network infrastructure between the hss nodes . this eases deployment and implementation since the internal resilience mechanism uses largely the same components as are required to support the ims service . alternatively , or in addition to the diameter cx / sh peer connections , a new diameter application may be used to share information about the connection state of each hss node between all the hss nodes within the cluster . diameter is a protocol defined by 3gpp . the diameter protocol is intended to provide a framework for any services which require aaa ( access , authorization , and accounting )/ policy support across many networks . cx and sh are different 3gpp defined application protocols / interfaces that use a common diameter base peer mechanism . different nodes use different protocols e . g . cscfs use cx interfaces into the hss whereas application servers use sh interfaces to communicate with the hss . the intra hss connections hence can communicate both application protocols whereas from the network only one will be in use on a given connection . further detail of an example implementation of the network gateway 302 is shown in fig4 . the gateway comprises an application messaging layer 310 which hides the network connection structure from the application processing 301 . the application messaging layer routes messages across connections and may also implement some functions defined by diameter base , for example , setting of end to end identifiers and organising retransmission on connection failure . the diameter base core ( dbc ) 311 sets up connections to the network via a processing structure which maintains logical connections with peer nodes . this is achieved by implementing diameter base protocol and creating and managing diameter base connections . a dbc wrapper 312 interfaces the dbc into the higher layer , the application messaging layer 310 , and therefore performs the required translations and interpretation . fig4 shows two dbc instances , however two are not necessary and one dbc ( with its associated dbc wrapper ) may be sufficient . providing more than one dbc instance gives benefits of increased resilience , serviceability ( e . g . for software upgrade ) and performance ( through loadsharing ). in an example , as shown in fig3 , one hss node is the active node ( hss a 1 ) and the other hss node is the standby node ( hss a 2 ). as described above both hss a 1 and hss a 2 are aware of the host name of the other node in the cluster and also its active / standby state . the network gateway at the standby node , hss a 2 , then acts as the diameter proxy for the active node ( this may be via standard diameter proxy methods ) and the client nodes need not know or alter their behaviour . for example , if s - cscf 1 sent a request to hss a 2 via link 211 using address hssa 2 . oper . com , the network gateway at hss a 2 would transfer the request to hss a 1 via link 303 . an example of hss connectivity is described below with reference to fig5 and 6 . in this example , it is assumed that s - cscf 1 has selected hssa 2 . oper . com as the primary route to the hss and that hss a 1 is the active node and hss a 2 is the standby node . particular types of network messages are detailed here by way of example only . step 501 : s - cscf 1 sends a sar ( 3gpp cx interface server assignment request ) to hssa 2 . oper . com . step 502 : the sar reaches hss a 2 network gateway setup as a proxy . step 503 : the network gateway uses normal diameter proxy action to send the sar to hss a 1 . this may involve adding diameter proxy avps ( attribute value pairs )— for instance containing the original hop - hop identifier ( h - h id ). step 504 : the request reaches hss a 1 where it is processed . step 505 : the network gateway at hss a 1 sends a saa ( 3gpp cx interface server assignment answer ) back to hss a 2 because it has been proxied . hss a 1 cannot send the saa directly back to s - cscf 1 because the hop - hop identifiers will not match on that diameter peer connection . step 506 : hss a 2 restores the original hop - hop identifiers removes any proxy avps and sends the saa back to s - cscf 1 . step 507 : the saa is received as expected at s - cscf 1 i . e . it will tally with the pending request queue for the diameter peer connection on which the request was sent . if subsequently , the active / standby states of the hss nodes change within the cluster , this can be communicated between the hss nodes in the cluster via the new diameter application . this altered situation is shown in fig7 and the revised process flow is shown in fig8 . step 701 : s - cscf 1 sends a sar to hssa 2 . oper . com . step 702 : the sar reaches hss a 2 network gateway and is processed by the hss a 2 application layer . step 703 : the network gateway at hss a 2 sends a saa directly back to s - cscf 1 . step 704 : the saa is received as expected at s - cscf 1 . it can be seen by comparison of fig6 and 8 and the above description that although the active / standby states of the hss nodes within the cluster has changed , the network clients ( in this example s - cscf 1 ) have not needed to react or change either their actions or their network connectivity configuration ( steps 501 and 701 are the same , and steps 507 and 704 are the same ). this enables upgrade or maintenance of the hss application layer to be totally transparent to the network . as described above , a new diameter application may be used between the network gateways associated with each hss node in the cluster to communicate information on their state , e . g . standby / active . this application may also be used to share other information between the hss nodes in the cluster , for example , information on whether connections are available from that hss node to particular client nodes or whether such connections have been lost . furthermore , routing information may be shared , such as instructions not to use this connection because it is about to be taken out of service in x seconds , and instead connections to node y should be used instead . additionally , connection performance information may be shared between the hss nodes within a cluster . sharing of such information may allow optimisation of the operation of the hss cluster , particularly where the numbers of hss nodes within the cluster increases . the sharing of information between nodes within the hss cluster enables self - organisation and optimisation of connections within the cluster . in a further example of the invention , the use of the new diameter application may be extended outside the hss cluster itself to capable peer nodes , as shown in fig9 and 10 . the information shared with peer / client nodes may be the same as the information shared within the hss cluster , e . g . information on hss node state , information on whether connections are available between an hss node and a particular client node and routing information . in fig9 , s - cscf 1 is shown as capable of receiving information via the new diameter application . the client node s - cscf 1 may have registered / negotiated with the hss cluster to indicate this capability . s - cscf 1 is shown having its primary connection to hss a 2 and its secondary connection to hss a 1 . in this example , hss a 2 is to be taken completely out of service ( including the network gateway ). information is therefore shared with s - cscf 1 ( step 901 ) using the new diameter application , that service by hss a 2 is about to be lost and s - cscf 1 should instead use hss a 1 as the alternative connection . the receipt of the information is acknowledged by s - cscf 1 ( step 902 ). in fig1 three different types of connection are shown . the two hss nodes a 1 and a 2 communicate over cx / sh / routing capable connections 1001 , 1002 , where routing is used as the reference for the new diameter application described above . in the example of fig1 , s - cscf 1 is not capable of using the new diameter application and therefore communicates with the hss nodes via only cx capable connections 1003 - 1006 . the i - cscf of fig1 , however is enabled for the new diameter application and can therefore communicate with the hss nodes via cx / routing capable connections 1007 , 1008 . this extension of the new diameter application outside the hss cluster extends the benefits of self - organisation of connections and optimisation outside the cluster and more widely within the ims network . it enables the network to self - organise the cx / sh application routing , for example a client node could determine whether their primary / secondary or loadsharing balance is correct . this may be achieved by the client nodes taking account of the origin host in answer message from the hss . alternatively , a hop count avp being could be used which reflected to the client node how many hops were required in a given transaction . the client node could then determine optimal routing based on this statistic . an example of the benefits that can be achieved by the extension of the new diameter application outside the hss cluster can be explained with reference to fig5 . in fig5 , s - cscf 1 sends its requests to hss a 2 , which is in a standby state , so that all the requests have to be proxied to hss a 1 for handling and then transferred back to hss a 2 before the answer can be provided to hss a 2 . if s - cscf 1 was enabled with the new diameter application , it could be informed that hss a 1 was the active node and hss a 2 was the standby node and then change the selection of primary and secondary links to the hss nodes . in addition , this extension of the new diameter application outside the hss cluster provides a basis for managing connectivity , e . g . in the case of nodal maintenance . the discussion above relates to routing within the operators home network ( intra - realm routing ), as shown by the fact that all the nodes in fig2 have addresses with the same ending : oper . com . this is because usually an hss cluster would belong to a given administrative domain . however , the new diameter application could also be used to inform nodes of routing changes / node states in an inter - realm situation since diameter is designed to function in that environment — i . e . the infrastructure is there . it will be understood that the above description of a preferred embodiment is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
it should be understood at the outset that although exemplary implementations of the present disclosure are illustrated below , the present disclosure may be implemented using any number of techniques , whether currently known or in existence . the present invention should in no way be limited to the exemplary implementations , options , drawings , and techniques illustrated below , including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein . additionally , the drawings contained herein are not necessarily drawn to scale . a component for land mobile radios is a control head that offers superior readability and display options for the radio user . referring to fig1 , the control head can be fitted to a remote mount in a land mobile radio installation . alternatively , referring to fig2 , the control head can be fitted or integrated as a dash mount in a land mobile radio installation . turning to fig3 , the front panel of the control head can have multiple features . for example , it can have an on - off / volume switch 100 for turning the power on / off function to the radio . when the power is on , this control can be rotated to adjust the radio speaker volume . also , an electroluminescent display 102 can show all primary operating information , such as active channel , zone , channel / zone alias , status symbols , and labels for the function buttons under the display . in the embodiment shown in fig3 , five buttons are provided under the display on the control head . additionally , a multi - function indicator 104 can be provided in which halo light surrounding a button or switch , such as a select zone / channel switch 106 , is used to indicate radio transmit and receive status . a steady red halo , in one embodiment , may indicate that the radio is transmitting , while a steady green halo may indicate that the radio is receiving , and a steady amber halo may indicate that the radio is idle . further , the select zone / channel switch 106 may be implemented with two actions : rotation and press . in normal nonmenu mode , pressing the control can select either the zone or the channel . then , rotation of the control can change either the zone or channel . an indication can be provided on the display whether zone or channel is selected . yet further , a microphone connection 108 can be provided that allows a compatible microphone to plug into this jack connector . further still , the control head can have a number , such as eight , one - touch buttons 110 , including two on the left of the display , five under the display , and an orange button on the right of the display . these buttons in certain embodiments may be programmed with different radio functions . finally , a 4 - way navigation pad 112 may be provided for navigating through various radio functions and menus . in other embodiments the navigation pad 112 may be implemented with either more or less than a 4 - way pad . like the buttons 110 , the pad 112 can be programmed with different radio functions . turning now to fig4 , as mentioned above , the control head can have a number , such as nine , of programmable controls 114 - 130 . a number of land mobile radio functions can be assigned to these buttons using a computer processor that connects to the land mobile radio control head via the microphone connection 108 . example radio functions that the user can configure include scan , backlight level , monitor , emergency , and transmitter power . referring now to fig5 , an advantageous feature of the control head is a highly readable electroluminescent display . in some embodiments , the display is a monochrome display with 320 × 80 pixels . this display can support a classic single line display mode familiar to users of previous types of land mobile radio control head displays . in classic single line display mode , the display can have primary fields corresponding to the fields available on earlier model ( s ) of control heads , but with the addition of the soft menu keys and display of labels 132 of functions assigned to those soft menu keys as described above . more familiar display contents include channel name 134 , zone number 136 , channel number 138 , and symbols 140 a - 140 c to indicate operating mode and status . a list of symbols used on the display to indicate various operating modes and status that may be implemented in certain embodiments is provided in fig6 . the electroluminescent display panel provides a clear , bright and readable display , which is advantageous in public safety applications . in some embodiments , the electroluminescent display features high brightness and contrast , resists fading , provides long operating life , has a viewing angle greater than 160 °, and provides 200 g shock durability . furthermore , the electroluminescent display incorporates , in some embodiments , emissive pixel technology , which makes small text more legible . the electroluminescent display may be operated in a reflective mode to provide crisp , clear viewing of the electroluminescent display in bright light , even through polarized lenses . additionally , the size of alphanumeric characters presented on the electroluminescent display may be adjusted . turning now to fig7 , a land mobile radio system 142 generally has a control head controller 144 that operates as a slave to a land mobile radio master controller 146 . the control head controller 144 detects user actuations of controls 148 a - 148 d and signals the master controller 146 . controller 144 also reacts to user actuation of a push to talk microphone by signaling transmission and passing the audio data . the master controller 146 transmits audio data from microphone 150 via transmitter 154 , and drives speakers 156 to output audio data received via receiver 158 . also , the master controller 146 constructs user interface data frame contents of electroluminescent display 160 in accordance with a configuration stored in data store 152 . additionally , the master controller 146 operates the ui in response to the user actuations at least partly in accordance with the configuration . controller 144 constructs ui data received from master controller 146 into images that are buffered into a video stream for rendering on electroluminescent display 160 . additional components of the control head operated by master controller 146 in accordance with the configuration include indicators , such as lights or leds , located behind light pipes 162 a - 162 e . these light pipes provide halo light for controls 148 a - 148 d , and for display 160 . in one embodiment , each of the light pipes 162 a - 162 e has an amber led that provides the halo light at an intensity level recorded in the configuration , and that can be adjusted by user actuation of one of the controls 148 a - 148 d , or another control . at least one of the light pipes additionally may include red and green leds collocated with its amber led . a signal line 164 to that amber led can be controlled independently of signal lines 166 to the other amber leds . the red and green leds may also have independently controllable signal lines 168 and 170 . turning now to fig8 , the controllers operate the leds according to a method that accomplishes indication of the lmr transmit / receive status . beginning at power up 172 , the configuration is read at step 174 to determine an intensity level for the amber leds , and an active state is set for the amber leds at step 176 according the configuration . next , one or all inactive amber leds may be activated at step 178 . thereafter , the user can adjust intensity of the leds by actuation of one of the controls of the control head , resulting in modification of the configuration according to the user selections at step 180 . if the radio is determined to be idle at decision step 182 , then processing may return to step 174 and steps 174 - 182 are traversed continually , resulting in adjustment of the intensity level of the amber leds according to the user selections . when the radio is transmitting or receiving , this state change will be detected at step 182 , resulting in deactivation at step 184 of the amber led that is collocated with the red and green leds . then , if the radio is determined to be transmitting at decision step 186 , then the red led , in one embodiment , is activated at step 188 . thereafter , as long as the radio is determined to still be transmitting at decision step 190 , the red led will remain active . once a determination is made at step 190 that the transmission has ended , then the red led is deactivated at step 192 , and processing returns to step 174 . thereafter , the amber led is reactivated at step 178 and remains active as long as the radio is determined to be idle at step 182 . processing during a receive state is similar to that during the transmit state . if the radio is determined to be receiving at decision step 194 , then the green led , in one embodiment , is activated at step 196 , and it remains activated as long as the radio is determined to be receiving at decision step 198 . once the receipt is determined to have ended at step 198 , then green led is deactivated at step 200 , and processing returns to step 174 . thus , a halo light behind one of the user interface components serves as a multifunction indicator without interfering with the halo function of the other components , and while allowing the intensity of the amber halo light of the components to be adjusted of the red and green indicator lights . turning now to fig9 , the control head display 202 , in one embodiment , can be implemented as an alternating - current thin - film electroluminescent ( ac - tfel ) display . in this case , the display glass panel can be covered by two sets of electrodes ( 80 row electrodes and 320 column electrodes ) in the horizontal and vertical directions . the electrodes are separated by thin film insulating layers . the center layer can be a phosphor layer that emits light when exposed to a strong electric field . a single light emitting pixel is created at the intersection of each row and column electrode . the brightness of the pixel is determined by the voltage between the two electrodes . in other embodiments , the control head display 202 may be implemented using other known or available display technology . the control head controller 204 , in one embodiment , may be freescale mc9s08qe128 which has internal flash and sram for program and data storage , general purpose i / o ports , and a uart port for communication with the master controller in the land mobile radio . in some embodiments , the control head controller 204 is configured to operate as a slave to the master controller in the land mobile radio for most i / o . in this case , it reports key presses , switch changes , and microphone inputs to the master controller via rs485 serial data links . in one embodiment , the control head controller 204 does not act on these data . similarly , control of leds and other output functions can be directed by the master controller . in one embodiment , the control head controller 204 formats the data , from the master controller , into a pixel image that is displayed on the ac - tfel display . the low voltage power supply 206 can be one or more switching and low drop out linear regulators which provide power to the logic and analog circuits . contained within this block is a circuit that generates a reset signal if the battery ( 13 . 6 vdc nominal ) supply from the radio , the 3 . 3 vdc supply , or 1 . 2 vdc supply , for example , is out of tolerance . the high voltage ( hv ) power supply 208 may be a pwm controlled flyback transformer design which provides nominal 220 vdc , 50 vdc , and − 150 vdc outputs to power the ac - tfel display . input power to supply may be provided in one implementation from the radio battery supply ( 13 . 6 vdc nominal ) through a fet switch controlled by the display fpga 210 . the output voltage levels can be adjusted by a volume adjustment potentiometer 212 to set the brightness level of the ac - tfel display . the power supply switching frequency ( 150 khz ) is controlled by display fpga 210 . a display frame in one implementation may be composed of 80 lines of 320 bits ( pixels ) for a total of 25600 pixels per frame . in operation , a line of pixels ( 320 ) can be shifted into a column hv driver / shift register 216 and latched into output registers which control the outputs of the hv output drivers attached to the column electrodes on the ac_tfel display . a new line of pixels is shifted into the register 216 after the pixels for the line have been latched into the output registers . when the column data is latched , a hv pulse from the row hv driver / shift register 214 can be applied to the ac_tfel display row electrode associated with that line of pixels . the hv pulse on the active row electrode is either 200 vdc or − 150 vdc . a pixel will begin to emit light when the voltage across its row and column electrode exceed approximately +/− 180 vdc . for a positive row voltage of pulse of 200 vdc , a column voltage of 0 vdc will light the pixel and a column voltage of 50 vdc will in turn it off . for a negative row voltage of pulse of − 150 vdc , a column voltage of 50 vdc will light the pixel and a column voltage of 0 vdc will in turn it off . the row hv driver / shift register 214 may be loaded at the beginning of each frame , in one embodiment , with a seed bit that enables a single row hv driver output . after a row is pulsed , the seed bit is shifted to the next row to enable its hv driver output . the polarity of the row voltage pulse alternates with each line of pixels . the positive row voltage charge / discharge fet 218 and negative row voltage charge / discharge fet 220 circuits generate the hv pulses applied to the row electrode through the hv output drivers in the row hv driver / shift register 214 and discharge the electrode after the pulse has been applied . the display fpga 210 controls the operation of the circuitry associated with the ac_tfel display 202 to display images on the display that are generated by the control head controller 204 . functionally the display fpga 210 contains a display data buffer , a frame timing generator , and display control logic to control operation of the negative row voltage charge / discharge fet 220 , positive row voltage charge / discharge fet 218 , row hv driver / shift register 214 , and column hv driver / shift register 216 . the display buffer can be a 3200 byte dual port ram that is accessed by the control head controller 204 to load pixel data for screen images and by the internal frame generator logic to read the pixel data . the control head controller can load data into the display buffer though an eight bit parallel data port . two internal eight bit registers form the byte address of display buffer to which the control head controller writes data . the control head controller 204 can load an address into these registers though the eight bit parallel data port . the combined address register can be auto - incremented each time the control head controller 204 writes to the display buffer . the frame timing generator can generate internal frame start , line start , pixel data , and pixel clock signals that are used by the display control logic to control the circuitry surrounding the ac_tfel display 202 . the frame refresh rate can be controlled by a register that is set by the control head controller 204 via the eight bit parallel data port . the display control logic can use the framing , clock , and pixel data from the frame timing generator to generate the actual signals used by the ac_tfel display electronics . this signal generation can include timing for hv row charge / discharge pulses , shifting and latch column and row data , and alternating polarity of row charge / discharge pulses . additionally , the display control logic can provide for an orderly start up / shut down of the ac_tfel display 202 after reset or if the high voltage power supply 208 is in an under voltage condition . turning now to fig1 , the display mode of the land mobile radio 222 can be programmed by the end user , in one implementation , employing a computer processor 224 to define a display configuration of the land mobile radio 222 . to this end , the computer processor 224 can communicate with the land mobile radio 222 by a cable that connects to the microphone port on the control head . the computer processor 224 runs a program that allows the user to define the configuration stored in a processor memory of the radio through a set of menus . by defining this configuration , a number of different display modes can be realized . turning to fig1 , there are a variety of display modes that can be available in some embodiments . for example , a classic mode 226 can be available that provides a display mode like that provided by previous land mobile radios not having electroluminescent displays . there can also be an enhanced single line mode 228 with zone / channel display similar to that of the classic mode , but with soft key function labels and additional or different symbols for indicating operational modes and statuses of the radio . another display mode 230 can be an enhanced single line mode in which display of zone and channel is inhibited , permitting display of additional text . an additional display mode 232 can be an enhanced dual line display mode allowing display of even more text with zone and channel display inhibited . yet another display mode 234 can be a dual line display mode in which zone and channel are displayed . finally , an enhanced menu 236 can be displayed with user configurable options that are navigable by use of a control on the control head . these modes can be selected by the user selecting options for controller head type , whether to inhibit zone / channel display , a classic versus enhanced display mode , and if in the enhanced mode , whether to exercise the option to display two lines of text , as indicated below in table 1 . there are a number of menus that allow the user to configure the display mode of the control head in addition to other functions of the radio . for example , turning to fig1 , one of the menus that allows the user to make a selection for configuring the display mode can contain a checkbox 238 for exercising an option to inhibit the zone / channel indicator . selecting this checkbox can inhibit the display of the zone / channel indicator even in the classic mode . also , turning to fig1 , a controller type drop down menu 240 can allow the user to select controller type . turning to fig1 and 15 , a display mode drop down menu 242 allows the user to select a standard or enhanced display mode , which can affect options provided for configuring the radio . some of these options relate to display options . for example , turning to fig1 and 17 , display options 244 for the standard display mode do not permit selection to display two lines of text . in contrast , the display options 246 in the enhanced mode permit selection to display two lines of text . thus , it is apparent that there has been provided , in accordance with the present disclosure , a control head that satisfies one or more of the advantages set forth above . although the preferred embodiment has been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions , and alterations can be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure , even if all of the advantages and benefits identified above are not present . for example , the various embodiments and examples shown in the drawings and descriptions provided herein illustrate that the present disclosure may be implemented and embodied in numerous different ways that still fall within the scope of the present disclosure , whether expressly shown herein or not . for example , the various elements or components may be combined or integrated in another system or certain features may not be implemented . also , the techniques , systems , sub - systems , and methods described and illustrated in the preferred embodiment as discrete or separate may be combined or integrated with other systems , designs , techniques , or methods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure . for example , the control head can be used with a wide variety of types of lmr systems and networks , including those not specifically discussed herein . other examples of changes , substitutions , and alterations are readily ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure . | 5 |
referring to fig1 an example of a digital communication system that incorporates the present invention . the digital communication system is shown including a central office switch 2 and a plurality of cpe units 4 , 6 and 8 . the central office switch 2 has a plurality of clock recovery ( cr ) circuits 10 , 12 , and 14 . each cr circuit 10 , 12 and 14 is connected to the cpe units 4 , 6 and 8 through a passive optical network ( pon ). as an example , cr 10 is connected to the set of cpe units 4 through pon 16 . cr 12 is connected to the set of cpe units 6 through pon 18 . cr 14 is connected to the set of cpe units 8 through pon 20 . thus , the upstream data is transmitted from the individual cpe units to the corresponding cr circuit at which the upstream data is recovered and processed by the central office switch 2 . the path of the downstream data from the central office switch 2 to each of the cpes through the pons is not shown . fig2 shows an adprs 22 in combination with the elements of the system in fig1 . as an example , the adprs 22 is inside the cr 10 . the figure shows the adprs 22 connected to the central office switch 2 and the pon 16 . the central office switch 2 sends the pon 16 the downstream data 24 so that it can be transmitted to the corresponding cpes of fig1 . the pon 16 sends the adprs 22 an upstream data 26 . the central office switch 2 also sends the adprs 22 a downstream clock ( clk 28 ) to process the received upstream data 26 . when the adprs 22 receives the upstream data 26 and the clk 28 , the adprs 22 produces a recovered upstream data clock ( clk out 30 ), a recovered output from the upstream data ( data out 32 ), a start of cell ( soc 34 ) indicator , and preamble ( pr 38 ) sequence . the clk out 30 , data out 32 , soc 34 , and pr 38 are all sent to the central office switch 2 for processing . in fig3 an example of a time slot frame 48 structure is shown for the upstream data 26 format of fig2 . the frame 48 is one millisecond long and is composed of 324 cell slots each 60 bytes long for a total frame length of 19 , 440 bytes . each cell slot has five sub - cells . the first three sub - cells are each two bytes and have the guard band ( gb ) 36 , the pr 38 , and a delimiter ( dl ) 40 . a fourth sub - cell is a one byte data indicator ( di ) 42 and a fifth sub - cell is a fifty three byte asynchronous transfer mode ( atm ) cell 44 . the upstream data 26 of fig2 is transmitted via the atm cell 44 . the other sub - cells 36 , 38 , 40 , and 42 transmit the header information for the system . the gb 36 is defined as all zeros and keeps the cell slots from interfering with each other . the pr 38 is filled with the binary pattern 1010101010101010 and is used for the phase recovery . finally , the dl 40 is filled with a value of 1011001111010000 and identifies the byte alignment while the di 42 identifies the type of cell being transmitted . fig4 is a functional block diagram of the adprs 22 of fig2 in accordance with the invention . fig4 shows a phase circuit 50 , a combination circuit 60 , and a phase alignment circuit 66 , which are the main sub - circuits of the adprs 22 . the phase circuit 50 generates a sequence of phase signals 52 . the phase circuit 50 generates n phase signals 54 , 56 , and 58 . for illustration purposes n is chosen to be four . the phase signals 52 are inputted into a combination circuit 60 that combines the individual phase signals ( such as 54 , 56 , and 58 ) with a data packet 62 and produces a selected phase signal 64 that is closest to the data packet 62 . the data packet 62 is the time slot frame 48 structure in fig3 of the upstream data 26 of fig2 . the selected phase signal 64 is input into a phase alignment circuit 66 that aligns the data packet 62 with the selected phase signal 64 and produces a aligned phase data sequence 68 . the aligned data sequence is the data out 32 of fig2 . fig5 is a flow chart showing the steps performed by the fig4 elements of the adprs 22 of fig2 . the phase circuit 50 of fig4 performs the first step . the phase circuit 50 generates a sequence of phase signals 52 in step 70 . the combination circuit 60 of fig4 then performs multiple steps . the combination circuit 60 compares the phase signals 52 with the data packet 62 and selects a phase signal in step 76 . next a test is performed in decision step 78 to see if the selected phase signal is closest to the data packet 62 . if the answer is no , the decision step 78 sends the process back to step 76 and select another phase signal to test . if the answer is yes , the decision step 78 sends the selected phase signal to the phase alignment circuit 66 that aligns the data packet with the selected phase signal in step 80 , produces the aligned phase data 68 of fig4 and ends the process at step 82 . fig6 is a circuit diagram of the adprs 22 in fig2 for the invention . as an example based on g 3 , the circuit uses the downstream data link 622 . 08 mhz as the downstream clock source ( clk ) 28 . at initialization , a four bit shift register 84 is loaded with the binary values 0001 86 at the terminals d 0 a , d 1 a , d 2 a , and d 3 a respectively by reset 88 which is synchronous with clk 28 . the outputs q 0 a , q 1 a , q 2 a , and q 3 a of the shift register 84 containing phase information ph 0 , ph 1 , ph 2 , and ph 3 are feed into the corresponding input terminals d 0 b , d 1 b , d 2 b , and d 3 b of a four bit holding latch 90 . the corresponding outputs of the shift register 84 and the four bit latch 90 are first individually combined in separate and gates ( ph 0 and q 3 b at gate 92 , ph 1 and q 0 b at gate 94 , ph 2 and q 1 b at gate 96 , and ph 3 and q 2 b at gate 98 ) and then combined again in a four bit or gate 100 . the output of or gate 100 is then used to enable a detector circuit 102 while pho enables a flip - flop b 104 and a flip - flop c 106 . both flip - flop b 104 and flip - flop c 106 use clk 28 . the upstream data 26 is input into the d terminal of the detector circuit 102 . then , the dl 40 output ( binary sequence 1011001111010000 ) of the detector circuit 102 is input into an and gate 108 which is anded with a stretched pr 110 from a pulse stretcher 112 and the pr 38 . the q b ( the data closest to center bit ) output of the detector circuit 102 is input into the d terminal of flip - flop c 106 . the q terminal of flip - flop c 106 produces the data out 32 and the q terminal of flip - flop b 104 produces the soc 34 information . the detection circuit 102 also produces the pr 38 which is input into a flip - flop e 114 and the pulse stretcher 112 . flip - flop e 114 always has a one value at the d terminal and is clocked by pr 38 . the output of flip - flop e 114 is combined with the reset 88 in or gate 116 and then input into a set input of a flip - flop a 118 . flip - flop a 118 always has a zero value at the d terminal and is clocked by an inclk 120 . inclk 120 is generated by the combining of the inverse of clk 28 with the upstream data 26 in an and gate 116 . inclk 120 also clocks the four bit holding latch 90 . the output of flip - flop a 118 is input into the enablement of the four bit holding latch 90 and clear terminal of flip - flop e 114 . the ph 0 and ph 2 values from the shift register 84 are combined in and gate 124 and input into the enablement of flip - flop d 126 . the d input terminal of flip - flop d 126 is connected to the ph 2 value of the shift register 84 and the flip - flop d 126 output clk out 30 . after reset , the initialization binary value 0001 86 , initially loaded into the shift register 84 , rotates through four binary values in the shift register 84 providing the phase encoding ( phase signals of fig4 ) for ph 0 , ph 1 , ph 2 , and ph 3 . ph 1 corresponds to the initial binary value 0001 86 . when the upstream data 26 goes to a high state the pr 38 value goes high for two bits which clocks flip - flop e 114 . flip - flop e 114 has a one value at its d terminal so it then sets flip - flop a 118 high when inclk 120 is high . inclk 120 only goes high when data is present because it is the result of upstream data 26 being anded with the inverse of clk 28 . once flip - flop a 118 goes high it enables the latch 90 and clears the flip - flop e 114 . once the latch 90 is enabled it accepts the phase signals ph 0 , ph 1 , ph 2 , and ph 3 from the shift register 84 and holds onto the phase value until the next pr 38 is received by the system . until the next pr 38 is received , the shift register 84 counts through all the phases without loading the latch 90 . the combinatorial gates 92 , 94 , 96 , 98 , and 100 the counted phase value of the shift register 84 with the stored phase value in the latch 90 . a high value at or gate 100 will only be produced when the counted phase value of the shift register 84 matches the stored phase value of the latch 90 . the detector circuit 102 is enabled when the counted phase value of the shift register 84 matches the stored phase value of the latch 90 . once enabled the detector circuit 102 processes the upstream data 26 input and extracts the pr 38 cell , the dl 40 cell , and the q b . the extracted pr 38 , from the detector circuit 102 , is input into the pulse stretcher 112 and used to clock flip - flop e 114 . the q b is used to align the data out 32 when the phase value of the shift register 84 is at binary value 1000 86 . the dl 40 and the stretched pr 110 are anded in and gate 108 to produce a high value at flip - flop b &# 39 ; s 104 d terminal only when both dl 40 and stretched pr 110 match which corresponds to the start of new cell . flip - flop b 104 will produce a high soc 34 value when both dl 40 and the stretched pr 110 match and the ph 0 is high . the first , ph 0 , and third , ph 2 , phase values of the shift register 84 are combined in or gate 124 and input into flip - flop d 126 to produce the clk out 30 . flip - flop flip - flop d 126 is enabled only when either ph 0 or ph 2 is high . thus the flip - flop d 126 is active at one fourth the rate of clk 28 . ph 2 is chosen as the input to flip - flop d 126 because ph 0 would give a false input at reset . fig7 is a comparative timing of the waveforms at the various inputs and outputs of the digital circuit of fig6 . the waveforms for the clk 28 , the phase encoded values ph 0 , ph 1 , ph 2 , ph 3 , the upstream data 26 , inclk 120 , pr 38 , flip - flop e 114 , flip - flop a 118 , the latch 90 , the detector circuit 102 enable from or gate 100 , flip - flop b 104 , data out 32 , and clk out 30 . the clk 28 is shown having set period . in g 3 this frequency would be 622 . 08 mb / s . the encoded phase values ph 0 , ph 1 , and ph 2 , and ph 3 are shown having a period a fourth as fast as clk 28 . as the shift register 84 in fig4 counts through the different phase signals , the signal waveforms of the different phases change by one period of clk 28 . thus , ph 1 lags ph 0 by one clk 28 period , ph 2 lags ph 1 by one clk 28 period , and ph 3 lags ph 2 by one clk 28 period . in fig7 the diagram shows that when the upstream data 26 is high the fnclk 120 signal is generated which has the same period as clk 28 but inverse in amplitude . initially when the upstream data 26 is high , a pr 38 signal is produced for two clk 28 periods . as the pr 38 goes high it generates a high signal in flip - flop e 114 . flip - flop e 114 sets flip - flop a 118 high which in turn quickly clears flip - flop e 114 back to a zero value . flip - flop a 118 enables the latch 90 to accept the new phase value from the shift register 84 of fig4 . as an example , if the old phase value in the latch 90 was ph 0 ( opv = 1 ) the new phase value would be ph 3 ( npv = 3 ) because the high value of flip - flop a 118 lines up with the high value of ph 3 . the or gate 100 is shown producing a high value every four periods of clk 28 . this is a result of the shift register 84 of fig4 counting through all four phase values before matching the stored phase value in the latch 90 . once the or gate 100 ( detector circuit 102 enablement ) output is anded with the stretched pr 110 of fig4 flip - flop b 104 produces a pulse , corresponding to the soc 34 of fig4 that is aligned with the pr 52 and has a period one eighth the clk 28 . data out 32 is then shown to align to the output of flip - flop b 104 . clk out 30 is aligned to data out 32 and of one - fourth the period of clk 28 . while the specification in this invention is described in relation to certain implementations or embodiments , many details are set forth for the purpose of illustration . thus , the foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention . for example , this invention may have other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics . the described arrangements are illustrative and not restrictive . to those skilled in the art , the invention is susceptible to additional implementations or embodiments and certain of the details described in this application can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention . it will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which , although not explicitly described or shown herein , embody the principles of the invention and are thus within its spirit and scope . | 7 |
in the following figures , respectively identical or corresponding parts are given the same reference numerals and will not be introduced again . fig1 shows a cross section through a magazine 1 provided with a storage unit 2 . the magazine 1 additionally comprises a chamber 20 that is spatially separated from the storage space 2 and accommodates a tensioning device 10 that will be described below . in addition , a filter - feeding device 8 is arranged on one side of the magazine 1 and / or the storage unit 2 . this filter - feeding device is supplied via a connected conveyor pipeline 9 with rod - shaped articles , e . g ., filter rods from a filter supply station . the supplied filter rods are inserted with lateral axial positioning and via inlets 3 of the filter - feeding device 8 into the storage unit 2 . a system including a filter feeding device and a filter sending station that may be used with the present invention is manufactured and sold by the assignee of the present application under the name filtromat . one end of a belt 19 that includes a belt element 5 is locally secured to the bottom of the storage unit 2 at a securing point 12 . with the aid of several deflection devices and guides ( which are not described in further detail herein ), the other end of the belt 19 is arranged inside the chamber 20 that is adjacent to the storage unit 2 . the belt 19 is kept tensioned by means of a tensioning device formed by a block and pulley 10 . one section of the belt 19 is held between the securing point 12 and a deflection point 21 . the section of belt 19 between the points 12 and 21 is referred to as the belt element 5 . the length of the belt element 5 in the storage unit 2 varies , based on the filling of the storage unit 2 with filter rods . the belt element 5 held between the securing point 12 and the deflection point 21 divides the storage unit 2 into a fixed storage unit 6 and a working storage unit 7 . when filling the storage unit 2 with filter rods , the fixed storage unit 6 is initially filled with the filter rods . thus , the belt element 5 increases in length only after the fixed storage unit 6 is filled , as a result of the continuous filling with filter rods , thus forming the working storage unit 7 . the belt element 5 , originally tensioned to be straight , subsequently becomes increasingly more round in shape . to allow for a secure start - up of the machine , e . g ., a filter - attachment machine during a change in the cigarette brand , which also involves a change in the filter type , the fixed storage unit 6 as a rule is filled manually ahead of time . the filling of the fixed storage unit 6 prevents the crosswise positioning of filter rods to be removed , for example with a removal drum via the outlet 4 on the fixed storage unit 6 . as a result of inserting the filter rods from the side via the inlet 3 on the filter - feeding device 8 , in the upper region of the storage unit 2 , the mechanical stress on the inserted filter rods is reduced considerably . this is due to the fact that owing to the variable length of the belt element 5 , the working storage unit 7 can be adjusted continuously during the machine operation based on the filling level and the filter type . a compact arrangement of the filters thus results in the working storage unit 7 , as is indicated with the filter packet 18 in the working storage unit 7 . experiments have shown that the filter rods in the working storage unit 7 move while the filling level increases . however , their position relative to each other changes only slightly or hardly , thus reducing the mechanical stress . in particular , it has turned out that the filter packet 18 carries out a type of rolling movement . that is to say , the filter rods in the magazine and / or the working storage unit 7 have not experienced any essential change in the position relative to each other . light barriers 15 for polling the magazine filling level are furthermore arranged inside the chamber 20 for the tensioning device 10 . these light barriers send signals based on the height of the weight ( s ) of the block and pulley to a machine controller 24 controlling the feeding of filters via the conveyor pipeline 9 and feeding device 8 to the magazine 1 . depending on the filter type , different types of weights can be used on the block and pulley 10 . fig2 discloses an alternative embodiment of the magazine 1 , which uses in place of the block and pulley 10 arrangement a motor 11 , which exerts a defined , predetermined force onto the belt 19 and / or the belt element 5 with a torque - controlled servomotor . this force can be determined in dependence on the filter type and the magazine filling state of the working storage unit 7 . the state of the filling level can be determined with an incremental measuring method at the motor 11 . the filter packet 18 can furthermore be moved via the belt 19 and by altering the torque with the aid of a respective control and adjustment unit 26 built into the motor 11 . the alternative embodiment of a magazine 1 , shown in fig3 , makes it possible to fill a larger storage unit space 2 . in place of a fixed securing point 12 , the one end of the belt 19 and / or the belt element 5 is arranged to be movable on a conveyor belt 14 . a light barrier 16 , arranged alongside the storage unit 2 , is used to control the conveyor belt 14 during the filling of the working storage unit 7 . the light barrier 16 polls the height of the filter rods in the working storage unit 7 . once a specific height and / or a predetermined level are reached , the conveyor belt moves to the left , so that the height inside the working storage unit 7 is reduced . the volume of the working storage unit 7 is increased as a result of the movement of conveyor belt 14 . while the working storage unit 7 is emptied , the insertion region near the filter - feeding device 8 is polled with the aid of another sensor 17 that is arranged crosswise to the first sensor 16 . as soon as empty spaces are discovered in the working storage unit 7 or the filling level is reduced , the conveyor belt 14 is moved back ( to the right ). a corresponding control or adjustment unit 28 is provided for controlling and / or regulating the conveyor belt 14 in response to inputs from the light barrier 16 and the sensor 17 . the advantage of the magazine 1 shown in fig3 is that the storage volume inside the storage unit 2 can be expanded or reduced by extending the working storage unit 7 . a block and pulley arrangement 10 ( fig3 ) as well as an incremental motor 11 ( fig4 ) can be used as a tensioning device for the belt 19 . the invention permits the careful storage inside a magazine of sensitive articles in the tobacco - processing industry ( e . g . filter rods ). the magazine according to the invention can be used for a filter - attachment machine as well as a dual hopper . the invention has been described in detail with respect to preferred embodiments , and it will now be apparent from the foregoing to those skilled in the art , that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects , and the invention , therefore , as defined in the appended claims , is intended to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit of the invention . | 0 |
hereinafter , a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 a and 1b illustrate a blue light emitting diode in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention . fig1 a illustrates the plan configuration , while fig1 b illustrates the cross - sectional structure taken along the line ib — ib of fig1 a . as shown in fig1 a and 1b , a first semiconductor layer 12 , a multi - quantum well ( mqw ) active layer 13 , and a second semiconductor layer 14 are sequentially formed on a substrate 11 made of sapphire , for example . the first semiconductor layer 12 is made of n - type gallium nitride ( gan ) having a thickness of about 4 μm and a carrier density of about 1 × 10 17 cm 2 . the mqw active layer 13 is formed by stacking three pairs of an about 7 nm thick barrier layer of gan and an about 3 nm thick well layer of in 0 . 3 ga 0 . 7 n . the second semiconductor layer 14 is made of p - type gallium nitride ( gan ) having a thickness of about 0 . 8 μm and a carrier density of about 1 × 10 18 cm 2 . a transparent electrode 15 having a thickness of about 100 nm and made of indium tin oxide ( ito ) is formed on the second semiconductor layer 14 . a bonding pad 16 of gold ( au ) is formed selectively on the transparent electrode 15 , and an n - type ohmic electrode 17 , made of a multilayer structure of titanium ( ti ) and gold ( au ), is formed on a selectively exposed portion of the first semiconductor layer 12 . by this structure , blue light , generated and emitted from the mqw active layer 13 , and passing through the second semiconductor layer 14 and the transparent electrode 15 , is taken out to the exterior . the first embodiment is characterized in that the impurity element introduced into the ito that forms the transparent electrode 15 is magnesium ( mg ), which is the impurity element introduced into the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 . as will be described later , the magnesium introduced into the ito is diffused into the second semiconductor layer 14 by an annealing performed during fabrication process , causing contact resistance between the second semiconductor layer 14 and the transparent electrode 15 to decrease . it should be noted that the impurity element to introduce into the transparent electrode 15 is not limited to magnesium , but zinc ( zn ), beryllium ( be ), or any other dopant that makes the conductivity type of gallium nitride be p - type , may be used . in addition , instead of the mqw active layer 13 , a single - quantum well ( sqw ) active layer of indium gallium nitride with a thickness of about 20 nm may be provided . moreover , as shown in fig1 a , since the transparent electrode 15 is conductive , the location and shape of the electrode may be determined arbitrarily . as described above , in the first embodiment , magnesium , which is the impurity element introduced into the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 , is introduced into the transparent electrode 15 . therefore , contact resistance between the second semiconductor layer 14 and the transparent electrode 15 is decreased , thereby allowing the operating voltage to be reduced . hereinafter , referring to the accompanying drawings , it will be described how to fabricate a blue light emitting diode having the above - mentioned structure . fig2 a through 2c and fig3 a and 3b are cross - sectional views illustrating sequential process steps for fabricating a blue light emitting diode in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention . first , as shown in fig2 a , a low - temperature buffer layer ( not shown ) made of gallium nitride is grown on a substrate 11 made of sapphire by a metal organic vapor phase epitaxy ( movpe ) process . the substrate 11 is about 5 . 1 cm (= 2 inches ) in diameter , and the plane orientation of the principal surface thereof is a ( 0001 ) plane . in the movpe process , trimethylgallium ( tmg ) is used as a gallium source , ammonia ( nh 3 ) is used as a nitrogen source , and hydrogen ( h 2 ) is used as a carrier gas , while the growth temperature is set at about 500 ° c . the buffer layer buffers a lattice mismatch between the sapphire and a first semiconductor layer 12 , for example , grown on the sapphire . subsequently , while mono - silane ( sih 4 ), which is a source material containing silicon serving as a donor impurity , is introduced , and with the growth temperature being set to about 1030 ° c ., the first semiconductor layer 12 made of n - type gallium nitride with a thickness of about 4 μm is grown on the low - temperature buffer layer . then , the supply of the mono - silane is stopped , and a barrier layer made of gallium nitride with a thickness of about 7 nm is grown on the first semiconductor layer 12 . the carrier gas is then changed to nitrogen ( n 2 ), and at the same time the growth temperature is lowered to about 800 ° c ., and while trimethylindium ( tmi ) as an indium source is also supplied , a well layer is grown on the barrier layer . the well layer has a thickness of about 3 nm , and is made of indium gallium nitride , in which indium proportion is 30 %. the barrier layer and the well layer are grown alternately in three pairs , thereby forming a mqw active layer 13 . by this quantum well structure , the mqw active layer 13 generates blue light with a wavelength of about 470 nm . as mentioned above , when the barrier layers of gallium nitride are grown , hydrogen is used as the carrier gas , and the growth temperature is set at about 1030 ° c . on the other hand , when the well layers of indium gallium nitride are grown , nitrogen is used as the carrier gas , and the growth temperature is set at about 800 ° c . next , cyclopentadienyl magnesium ( cp 2 mg ), which is a source material containing magnesium as an acceptor impurity , is introduced into the respective source gases of trimethylgallium and ammonia , and a second semiconductor layer 14 made of p - type gallium nitride with a thickness of about 0 . 8 μm is grown on the mqw active layer 13 . after the second semiconductor layer 14 has been grown , the second semiconductor layer 14 is subjected to an annealing process performed using an annealing furnace for 20 minutes in a nitrogen ambient at a temperature of about 750 ° c . through the annealing process , the p - type dopant introduced into the second semiconductor layer 14 is activated , which further reduces the resistance of the second semiconductor layer 14 . subsequently , as shown in fig2 b , the second semiconductor layer 14 , the mqw active layer 13 , and upper portions of the first semiconductor layer 12 are removed selectively by dry etching , such as reactive ion etching ( rie ) using , e . g ., chlorine ( cl 2 ) as an etching gas , or inductively coupled plasma ( icp ) etching , thereby forming n - type electrode formation regions 12 a in the first semiconductor layer 12 . then , as shown in fig2 c , ito , into which magnesium , i . e ., the same impurity element as the p - type dopant in the second semiconductor layer 14 , has been introduced , is selectively grown to a thickness of about 100 nm on the second semiconductor layers 14 , thereby forming transparent electrodes 15 . the ito may be grown by a sputtering process , a pulsed laser deposition ( pld ) method , an electron beam ( eb ) process , or a sol - gel method , for example . in terms of reducing the resistance of the ito , a sputtering process or a pld method is preferable . further , if a sputtering process or a pld method is employed , a target material is normally formed by sintering , thus making it easy to introduce an impurity element such as magnesium . subsequently , after the transparent electrodes 15 have been grown , the transparent electrodes 15 are subjected to an annealing process performed at a temperature of about 500 ° c . through the annealing process , part of the magnesium introduced into the ito is diffused into the second semiconductor layers 14 through the interfaces between the ito and the second semiconductor layers 14 . this leads to a decrease in the value of resistance in the second semiconductor layers 14 where the second semiconductor layers 14 are near the interfaces with the transparent electrodes 15 , such that the transparent electrodes 15 having small contact resistance with respect to the second semiconductor layers 14 are formed . in this embodiment , the impurity element to introduce into the ito is not limited to magnesium , but zinc or beryllium may be used . nevertheless , magnesium is preferable in terms of activation of the dopant . further , the transparent electrodes 15 are not limited to ito , but may be made of any substance that makes the transparent electrodes 15 transparent with respect to emitted light having a wavelength of 470 nm , and tin oxide ( sno 2 ) or zinc oxide ( zno ), for example , may be used . then , as shown in fig3 a , bonding pads 16 for wire bonding are selectively formed on the respective transparent electrodes 15 . subsequently , titanium and gold are sequentially grown on the n - type electrode formation regions 12 a in the first semiconductor layer 12 , thereby forming n - type ohmic electrodes 17 . next , as shown in fig3 b , the substrate 11 is divided into chips each about 300 μm square , thereby obtaining blue light emitting diodes . in this manner , magnesium , that is , the impurity element with which the p - type second semiconductor layers 14 have been doped , is introduced beforehand into the transparent electrodes 15 ( p - type electrodes ), and diffused through the interfaces into the second semiconductor layers 14 by an annealing process . therefore , in the resultant blue light emitting diode , in which emitted light is taken out through the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 , the contact resistance of the transparent electrode 15 with respect to the second semiconductor layer 14 is allowed to be small , so that the second semiconductor layer 14 has small resistance near its interface with the transparent electrode 15 . as a result , it is possible to lower the operating voltage . in the first embodiment , a dopant that makes the conductivity type of gallium nitride be p - type is introduced into the transparent material ( ito ) that forms the transparent electrodes 15 . however , in addition to the p - type dopant , a metal element that tends to adsorb ( bind to ) hydrogen atoms , e . g ., nickel ( ni ), palladium ( pd ), or platinum ( pt ), may be introduced . in that case , in order to form the transparent electrodes 15 , a metal element , such as nickel , that easily adsorbs hydrogen atoms may be introduced beforehand into the target material for growing the transparent electrodes 15 . normally , a p - type dopant introduced into a p - type gallium nitride semiconductor tends to bind to hydrogen atoms , causing the p - type dopant to be deactivated . in view of this , if metal atoms that easily adsorb hydrogen atoms are diffused into the p - type semiconductor layer through the transparent electrode 15 , the metal atoms diffused into the p - type semiconductor layer attract the hydrogen atoms that have been taken into the p - type semiconductor layer . in this manner , the metal atoms such as nickel atoms separate the hydrogen atoms that cause the p - type dopant to be deactivated , from the p - type dopant , so that activation of the p - type dopant such as magnesium is facilitated . therefore , the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 has small resistance where the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 is in the vicinity of the interface with the transparent electrode 15 . as a result , it is possible to form the transparent electrode 15 with small contact resistance with respect to the second semiconductor layer 14 . in the first embodiment , generated light is extracted through the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 . however , a flip - chip device , in which generated light is taken out through a substrate 11 , may be formed . as shown in fig4 , in a blue light emitting diode , a transparent electrode 15 is secured onto a mounting substrate 20 with a high - reflectance film 21 and a first solder material 22 being interposed therebetween . the high - reflectance film 21 is made of a multilayer film composed of a plurality of dielectrics . further , an n - type ohmic electrode 17 is secured onto the mounting substrate 20 with a second solder material 23 being interposed therebetween . in this way , in the blue light emitting diode in accordance with a second modified example , the high - reflectance film 21 , instead of the bonding pad 16 , is provided on the transparent electrode 15 , so that light emitted toward the transparent electrode 15 is reflected by the high - reflectance film 21 , and extracted through the substrate 11 . in this modified example , the higher the reflectance of the high - reflectance film 21 the better , and it is preferable that the reflectance is at least 70 % or more . hereinafter , a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig5 illustrates a cross - sectional structure of an ultraviolet light emitting diode in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention . in fig5 , the same members as those shown in fig1 a and 1b are identified by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted herein . as shown in fig5 , a first semiconductor layer 32 , a mqw active layer 33 , and a second semiconductor layer 34 are sequentially formed on a substrate 11 made of sapphire , for example . the first semiconductor layer 32 is made of n - type aluminum gallium nitride ( al 0 . 4 ga 0 . 6 n ) having a thickness of about 4 μm and a carrier density of about 1 × 10 17 cm 2 . the mqw active layer 33 is formed by stacking three pairs of an about 7 nm thick barrier layer of aluminum gallium nitride ( al 0 . 12 ga 0 . 88 n ) and an about 3 nm thick well layer of gan . the second semiconductor layer 34 is made of p - type aluminum gallium nitride ( al 0 . 4 ga 0 . 6 n ) having a thickness of about 0 . 8 μm and a carrier density of about 1 × 10 18 cm 2 . an n - type ohmic electrode 37 made of titanium and aluminum is formed on an exposed portion of the first semiconductor layer 32 . on the second semiconductor layer 34 , formed is a transparent electrode 35 having a thickness of about 100 nm and made of gallium oxide ( ga 2 o 3 ), into which about 1 mol % of tin ( sn ) has been introduced . it is preferable that β -( cubic ) gallium oxide be used , in which case the conductivity becomes excellent . further , the impurity element introduced into the gallium oxide that forms the transparent electrode 35 is magnesium ( mg ), which is the impurity element introduced into the p - type second semiconductor layer 34 . as in the first embodiment , the magnesium introduced into the gallium oxide is diffused into the second semiconductor layer 34 through an annealing performed during fabrication process , causing contact resistance between the second semiconductor layer 34 and the transparent electrode 35 to be decreased . ito , normally used as a transparent electrode , has low transmissivity with respect to ultraviolet light with a wavelength of about 300 nm , and thus is not suitable for a transparent electrode . on the other hand , gallium oxide , particularly β - gallium oxide , into which tin oxide has been introduced , has high transmissivity with respect to ultraviolet light in the 300 nm wavelength range , and is thus suitable for the transparent electrode 35 formed in the ultraviolet light emitting diode in accordance with the second embodiment . as described above , in the ultraviolet light emitting diode of the second embodiment , since the transparent electrode 35 with high transmissivity is used , light - extraction efficiency is increased . in addition , the impurity developing the same conductivity type as that of the impurity that makes the second semiconductor layer 34 be of p - type , is introduced into the transparent electrode 35 , such that contact resistance between the transparent electrode 35 and the second semiconductor layer 34 is small , allowing the operating voltage to be decreased . it should be noted that the impurity element to introduce into the transparent electrode 35 is not limited to magnesium , but zinc , beryllium , or any other dopant that renders the conductivity of gallium nitride p - type may be used . moreover , instead of the mqw active layer 33 , a single - quantum well ( sqw ) active layer of gallium nitride with a thickness of about 20 nm may be provided . hereinafter , referring to the accompanying drawings , it will be described how to fabricate an ultraviolet light emitting diode having the above - mentioned structure . fig6 a through 6c and fig7 a through 7c are cross - sectional views illustrating sequential process steps for fabricating an ultraviolet light emitting diode in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention . first , as shown in fig6 a , a low - temperature buffer layer ( not shown ) of aluminum gallium nitride is grown on a substrate 11 made of sapphire by a movpe process . the substrate 11 is about 5 . 1 cm in diameter , and the plane orientation of the principal surface thereof is a ( 0001 ) plane . in the movpe process , trimethylgallium is used as a gallium source , trimethylaluminum is used as an aluminum source , ammonia is used as a nitrogen source , and hydrogen is used as a carrier gas , while the growth temperature is set at about 500 ° c . the low - temperature buffer layer buffers a lattice mismatch between the sapphire and a first semiconductor layer 32 , for example , grown on the sapphire . in this process step , the low - temperature buffer layer may be made of gallium nitride . subsequently , while mono - silane , which is a source material containing silicon as a donor impurity , is introduced , and with the growth temperature being set at about 1030 ° c ., the first semiconductor layer 32 made of n - type aluminum gallium nitride having a thickness of about 4 μm is grown on the low - temperature buffer layer . then , the supply of the mono - silane is stopped , and a barrier layer made of aluminum gallium nitride with a thickness of about 7 nm is grown on the first semiconductor layer 32 . thereafter , the supply of the trimethylaluminum as the aluminum source is stopped , and a well layer made of gallium nitride having a thickness of about 3 nm is grown on the barrier layer . the barrier layer and the well layer are grown alternately in three pairs , thereby forming a mqw active layer 33 . by this quantum well structure , the mqw active layer 33 generates ultraviolet light with a wavelength of about 360 nm . then , cyclopentadienyl magnesium , which is a source material containing magnesium as an acceptor impurity , is introduced into the respective source gases of trimethylgallium , trimethylaluminum , and ammonia , and a second semiconductor layer 34 made of p - type aluminum gallium nitride with a thickness of about 0 . 8 μm is grown on the mqw active layer 33 . next , as shown in fig6 b , β - gallium oxide is grown to a film thickness of about 100 nm on the second semiconductor layer 34 by a pld method , for example , thereby forming a transparent electrode 35 , wherein tin for making the electrode itself conductive , and magnesium to be diffused into the second semiconductor layer 34 have been introduced into the β - gallium oxide . the gallium oxide film may be grown by a sputtering process , but a pld method , which gives excellent crystallinity , is preferable . subsequently , after the transparent electrode 35 has been grown , the second semiconductor layer 34 and the transparent electrode 35 are subjected to an annealing process performed using an annealing furnace for 20 minutes in a nitrogen ambient at a temperature of about 750 ° c . through the annealing process , the resistance of the transparent electrode 35 is decreased , while at the same time the p - type dopant in the second semiconductor layer 34 , including the p - type dopant diffused from the transparent electrode 35 , is activated , thereby further lowering the resistance of the second semiconductor layer 34 . next , as shown in fig6 c , patterning is performed to selectively remove the transparent electrode 35 where the transparent electrode 35 is located above n - type ohmic - electrode formation regions . subsequently , as shown in fig7 a , the second semiconductor layer 34 , the mqw active layer 33 , and upper portions of the first semiconductor layer 32 are selectively removed by dry etching , such as rie using , e . g ., chlorine as an etching gas , or icp etching , thereby forming n - type electrode formation regions 32 a in the first semiconductor layer 32 . next , as shown in fig7 b , bonding pads 16 for wire bonding are selectively formed on the respective transparent electrodes 35 . titanium and aluminum are then sequentially grown on the n - type electrode formation regions 32 a in the first semiconductor layer 32 , thereby forming n - type ohmic electrodes 37 . next , as shown in fig7 c , the substrate 11 is divided into chips each about 300 μm square , thereby obtaining ultraviolet light emitting diodes . as described above , in the fabrication method of the second embodiment , since tin - oxide - added gallium oxide having high transmissivity with respect to ultraviolet light is used to form the transparent electrode 35 , the light - extraction efficiency is extremely favorable , resulting in an increase in power conversion efficiency . additionally , since magnesium , that is , the p - type impurity element with which the p - type second semiconductor layer 34 has been doped , is introduced into the transparent electrode 35 , part of the magnesium is diffused into the second semiconductor layer 34 where the second semiconductor layer 34 is in the vicinity of the interface with the transparent electrode 35 by an annealing process performed after the formation of the transparent electrode 35 as in the first embodiment . this allows the second semiconductor layer 34 to have small resistance near the interface with the transparent electrode 35 , thereby reducing contact resistance between the second semiconductor layer 34 and the transparent electrode 35 . it should be noted that the impurity element to introduce into gallium oxide is not limited to magnesium , but zinc , beryllium , or any other dopant that makes aluminum gallium nitride develop p - type conductivity , may be used . in the second embodiment , a dopant that renders the conductivity of aluminum gallium nitride p - type is introduced into the transparent material ( gallium oxide ) that forms the transparent electrodes 35 . however , in addition to the p - type dopant , a metal element that tends to adsorb ( bind to ) hydrogen atoms , e . g ., nickel ( ni ), palladium ( pd ), or platinum ( pt ), may be introduced . in that case , in order to form the transparent electrodes 35 , a metal element , such as nickel , that tends to adsorb hydrogen atoms may be introduced beforehand into the target material for growing the transparent electrodes 35 . then , the ultraviolet light emitting diode made of nitride semiconductors in accordance with this modified example achieves an increase in the light - extraction efficiency as well as a decrease in the operating voltage . hereinafter , a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig8 illustrates a cross - sectional structure of a blue light emitting diode in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention . in fig8 , the same members as those shown in fig1 a and 1b are identified by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted herein . as shown in fig8 , the blue light emitting diode in accordance with the third embodiment has a so - called n - up structure , in which a transparent electrode 45 is formed on a first semiconductor layer 12 made of n - type gallium nitride . a second semiconductor layer 14 made of p - type gallium nitride is formed to the side of a mqw active layer 13 opposite to the first semiconductor layer 12 , that is , the second semiconductor layer 14 is formed under the mqw active layer 13 . a p - type electrode 41 made of platinum having a thickness of about 100 nm is formed underneath the second semiconductor layer 14 . underneath the p - type electrode 41 , a plated underlying layer 42 made of gold with a thickness of about 200 nm is formed . underneath the plated underlying layer 42 , a plated layer 43 made of gold having a thickness of about 50 μm is formed . the third embodiment is characterized in that the impurity element introduced into the ito that forms the transparent electrode 45 is silicon ( si ), which is the impurity element introduced into the n - type first semiconductor layer 12 . as will be described later , the silicon introduced into the ito is diffused into the first semiconductor layer 12 through an annealing performed during fabrication process , so that contact resistance between the first semiconductor layer 12 and the transparent electrode 45 decreases . it should be noted that the impurity element to introduce into the transparent electrode 45 is not limited to silicon , but a dopant , such as germanium ( ge ), that renders the conductivity of gallium nitride n - type , may be used . further , in this embodiment , the substrate 11 of sapphire is removed from the semiconductor multilayer structure , and the plated layer 43 of gold is provided instead . therefore , instead of the sapphire having inferior heat - dispersion characteristics , the plated layer 43 with excellent heat - dispersion characteristics is mounted on a submount , thus ensuring that the temperature characteristics of the device increases . in this embodiment , although the n - up structure is employed as shown in fig8 , a so - called p - up structure , in which a transparent electrode is formed on the face of the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 opposite to the mqw active layer 13 , may be adopted . in that case , magnesium is introduced into the transparent electrode as in the first embodiment . then , as in the case of the n - up structure , a device having excellent heat - dispersion characteristics , and capable of operating at low operating voltage , is obtained . moreover , as in the second embodiment , aluminum gallium nitride may be used to form the semiconductor multilayer structure , so that the mqw active layer emits ultraviolet light . in that case , it is preferable that the transparent electrode 45 be made of gallium oxide , in particular , β - gallium oxide , into which tin oxide and an impurity that develops the same conductivity type as that of an impurity introduced into a semiconductor layer having an interface with the transparent electrode 45 , have been introduced . furthermore , instead of the mqw active layer 13 , a single - quantum well ( sqw ) active layer of indium gallium nitride having a thickness of about 20 nm may be provided . hereinafter , referring to the accompanying drawings , it will be described how to fabricate a blue light emitting diode having the above - mentioned structure . fig9 a through 9c and fig1 a through 10c are cross - sectional views illustrating sequential process steps for fabricating a blue light emitting diode in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention . first , as shown in fig9 a , a low - temperature buffer layer ( not shown ) is grown on a substrate 11 made of sapphire by a movpe process . the substrate 11 is about 5 . 1 cm in diameter , and the plane orientation of the principal surface thereof is a ( 0001 ) plane . in the movpe process , trimethylgallium is used as a gallium source , ammonia is used as a nitrogen source , and hydrogen is used as a carrier gas , while the growth temperature is set at about 500 ° c . the buffer layer buffers a lattice mismatch between the sapphire and a first semiconductor layer 12 , for example , grown on the sapphire . subsequently , while mono - silane , which is a source material containing silicon as a donor impurity , is introduced , and with the growth temperature being set at about 1030 ° c ., the first semiconductor layer 12 made of n - type gallium nitride having a thickness of about 4 μm is grown on the low - temperature buffer layer . then , the supply of the mono - silane is stopped , and a barrier layer made of gallium nitride having a thickness of about 7 nm is grown on the first semiconductor layer 12 . the carrier gas is then changed to nitrogen ( n 2 ), and at the same time the growth temperature is lowered to about 800 ° c ., and while trimethylindium as an indium source is also supplied , a well layer is grown on the barrier layer . the well layer has a thickness of about 3 nm and is made of indium gallium nitride , in which indium proportion is 30 %. the barrier layer and the well layer are grown alternately in three pairs , thereby forming a mqw active layer 13 . then , cyclopentadienyl magnesium , which is a source material containing magnesium as an acceptor impurity , is introduced into the respective source gases of trimethylgallium and ammonia , and a second semiconductor layer 14 made of p - type gallium nitride having a thickness of about 0 . 8 μm is grown on the mqw active layer 13 . after the second semiconductor layer 14 has been grown , the second semiconductor layer 14 is subjected to an annealing process performed for 20 minutes in a nitrogen ambient at a temperature of about 750 ° c . through the annealing process , the p - type dopant introduced into the second semiconductor layer 14 is activated , which further reduces the resistance of the second semiconductor layer 14 . subsequently , as shown in fig9 b , a p - type electrode 41 made of platinum is formed on the entire surface of the second semiconductor layer 14 by an eb deposition method , for example . in this process step , the material for the p - type electrode 41 is not limited to platinum , but may be any material that has excellent ohmic with respect to the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 , and has high reflectance . for example , rhodium ( rh ) or silver ( ag ) may be used . next , as shown in fig9 c , a plated underlying layer 42 made of gold is grown on the entire surface of the p - type electrode 41 by an eb deposition method , for example . then , a plated layer 43 made of gold having a thickness of about 50 μm is grown on the entire surface of the plated underlying layer 42 by a plating process . thereafter , as shown in fig1 a , the substrate 11 is removed from the semiconductor multilayer structure with the plated layer 43 formed thereon . the substrate 11 may be removed , for example , by a polishing method , in which the substrate 11 is polished mechanically , or by a laser lift - off method , in which the substrate 11 is peeled off by irradiating the substrate 11 through its reverse face ( that is , its face opposing the first semiconductor layer 12 ) with a laser beam having a wavelength that passes through sapphire and is absorbed by gallium nitride . in a case of using a laser lift - off method , since metal gallium is produced by the thermal decomposition of the gallium nitride , and adheres to the face of the first semiconductor layer 12 from which the substrate 11 has been peeled off , the attached metal gallium has to be removed using hydrochloric acid . subsequently , as shown in fig1 b , ito , into which silicon , i . e ., the same impurity element as the n - type dopant in the first semiconductor layer 12 , has been introduced , is grown to a thickness of about 100 nm by a pld method , for example , on the exposed face of the first semiconductor layer 12 , that is , on the face of the first semiconductor layer 12 opposite to the mqw active layer 13 , thereby forming a transparent electrode 45 . in this process step , the impurity element to introduce into the material for the ito may be a dopant that makes the first semiconductor layer 12 develop n - type conductivity . for example , germanium may be used in place of silicon . further , the material for the transparent electrode 45 is not limited to ito , but may be any substance that is transparent with respect to light with a wavelength of about 470 nm , and tin oxide or zinc oxide may thus be used . furthermore , as in the second embodiment , if the diode is formed so that the mqw active layer 13 emits light having a wavelength in the ultraviolet region , the use of tin - oxide - added gallium oxide in forming the transparent electrode 45 makes the transparent electrode 45 transparent with respect to the wavelength of the emitted light . next , after the transparent electrode 45 has been grown , the transparent electrode 45 is subjected to an annealing process performed at a temperature of about 500 ° c . through the annealing process , part of the silicon introduced into the ito is diffused into the first semiconductor layer 12 through the interface between the transparent electrode 45 and the first semiconductor layer 12 . this results in a decrease in the value of resistance in the first semiconductor layer 12 where the first semiconductor layer 12 is near the interface with the transparent electrode 45 , thus leading to the formation of the transparent electrode 45 with small contact resistance with respect to the first semiconductor layer 12 . then , as shown in fig1 c , bonding pads 16 for wire bonding are selectively formed on the transparent electrodes 45 . the semiconductor multilayer structure is then divided into chips each about 300 μm square , thereby obtaining blue light emitting diodes . as described above , in the blue light emitting diode having the n - up structure in accordance with the third embodiment , silicon , that is , the impurity with which the n - type first semiconductor layer 12 has been doped , is introduced beforehand into the transparent electrode 45 ( n - type electrode ), and then diffused into the first semiconductor layer 12 through an annealing process . this allows the transparent electrode 45 to have small contact resistance with respect to the first semiconductor layer 12 , enabling the operating voltage to be decreased . in addition , the substrate 11 made of sapphire is removed , and the plated layer 43 of gold is formed covering the p - type electrode 41 formed on the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 . therefore , when the plated layer 43 is mounted onto a submount , for example , a device having excellent heat - dispersion characteristics is obtained . as a first modified example of the third embodiment , instead of introducing a dopant that determines the conductivity type of the gallium nitride into the transparent material ( ito ) that forms the transparent electrode 45 , a metal element which tends to adsorb ( bind to ) hydrogen atoms , e . g ., nickel ( ni ), palladium ( pd ), or platinum ( pt ), may be introduced into the transparent material . further , as a second modified example , as shown in fig1 , the p - type electrode 41 made of platinum may be formed to be a transparent p - type electrode 41 a made of transparent material , and a multilayer film ( reflecting film ) 46 made of dielectrics or semiconductors may be formed to the side of the transparent p - type electrode 41 a opposite to the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 . in this case , it is also preferable that magnesium , which is the acceptor impurity in the second semiconductor layer 14 , be introduced into the transparent p - type electrode 41 a . further , the optical reflectance of the multilayer film 46 is preferably 70 % or higher . hereinafter , a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 illustrates a cross - sectional structure of a blue light emitting diode in accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 , the same members as those shown in fig1 a and 1b are identified by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted herein . in the blue light emitting diode in accordance with the fourth embodiment , a passivation film 51 made of magnesium - added silicon oxide ( sio 2 ) is formed so as to cover the upper surface of a second semiconductor layer 14 except the region where a transparent electrode 15 is formed , and to cover the respective exposed lateral faces of the second semiconductor layer 14 , mqw active layer 13 , and first semiconductor layer 12 . as described above , the lateral sides of the blue light emitting diode of the fourth embodiment are covered by the passivation film 51 , which prevents current leakage due to the solder material flowing into the lateral sides of the semiconductor multilayer structure when the diode is mounted onto a submount , for example . in addition , magnesium , which is the impurity element serving as a dopant in the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 , is introduced into the transparent electrode 15 and the passivation film 51 . therefore , contact resistance between the transparent electrode 15 and the second semiconductor layer 14 is allowed to be reduced , thereby enabling low - voltage operation . it should be noted that the impurity element to introduce into the transparent electrode 15 is not limited to magnesium , but zinc , beryllium , or any other dopant that makes the conductivity type of gallium nitride be p - type , may be used . in addition , instead of the mqw active layer 13 , a single - quantum well ( sqw ) active layer of gallium nitride having a thickness of about 20 nm may be provided . hereinafter , referring to the accompanying drawings , it will be described how to fabricate a blue light emitting diode having the above - mentioned structure . fig1 a through 13d and fig1 a through 14c are cross - sectional views illustrating sequential process steps for fabricating a blue light emitting diode in accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention . first , as shown in fig1 a , a low - temperature buffer layer ( not shown ) is grown on a substrate 11 made of sapphire by a movpe process . the substrate 11 is about 5 . 1 cm in diameter , and the plane orientation of the principal surface thereof is a ( 0001 ) plane . in the movpe process , trimethylgallium is used as a gallium source , ammonia is used as a nitrogen source , and hydrogen is used as a carrier gas , while the growth temperature is set at about 500 ° c . the low - temperature buffer layer buffers a lattice mismatch between the sapphire and a first semiconductor layer 12 , for example , grown on the sapphire . subsequently , while mono - silane , which is a source material containing silicon as a donor impurity , is introduced , and with the growth temperature being set at about 1030 ° c ., the first semiconductor layer 12 made of n - type gallium nitride having a thickness of about 4 μm is grown on the low - temperature buffer layer . then , the supply of the mono - silane is stopped , and a barrier layer made of gallium nitride with a thickness of about 7 nm is grown on the first semiconductor layer 12 . the carrier gas is then changed to nitrogen ( n 2 ), and at the same time the growth temperature is lowered to about 800 ° c ., and while trimethylindium as an indium source is also supplied , a well layer is grown on the barrier layer . the well layer has a thickness of about 3 nm , and is made of indium gallium nitride , in which indium proportion is 30 %. the barrier layer and the well layer are grown alternately in three pairs , thereby forming a mqw active layer 13 . subsequently , cyclopentadienyl magnesium , which is a source material containing magnesium as an acceptor impurity , is introduced into the respective source gases of trimethylgallium and ammonia , and a second semiconductor layer 14 made of p - type gallium nitride having a thickness of about 0 . 8 μm is grown on the mqw active layer 13 . after the second semiconductor layer 14 has been grown , the second semiconductor layer 14 is subjected to an annealing process performed for 20 minutes in a nitrogen ambient at a temperature of about 750 ° c . through the annealing process , the p - type dopant introduced into the second semiconductor layer 14 is activated , which further decreases the resistance of the second semiconductor layer 14 . then , as shown in fig1 b , the second semiconductor layer 14 , the mqw active layer 13 , and upper portions of the first semiconductor layer 12 are selectively removed by dry etching , such as rie using , e . g ., chlorine as an etching gas , or icp etching , thereby forming n - type electrode formation regions 12 a in the first semiconductor layer 12 . next , as shown in fig1 c , a passivation film 51 made of magnesium - added silicon oxide is deposited to a thickness of about 300 nm on the entire surface of the second semiconductor layers 14 as well as on the n - type electrode formation regions 12 a by a sputtering process , for example . subsequently , the passivation film 51 is subjected to an annealing process performed at a temperature of about 500 ° c ., so that the magnesium introduced into the passivation film 51 is diffused from the passivation film 51 across the interfaces into the upper portions of the second semiconductor layers 14 , thereby decreasing the resistance value of the second semiconductor layers 14 in the vicinity of the interfaces with the passivation film 51 . it should be noted that in order to introduce magnesium into the passivation film 51 , if a sputtering process is employed , magnesium may be mixed into a target material , and if a sol - gel method is adopted , magnesium may be mixed into a source solution as an organic compound . next , as shown in fig1 d , transparent - electrode formation portions in the passivation film 51 on the second semiconductor layer 14 , and portions of the passivation film 51 located on n - type electrode formation regions 12 a are selectively removed by dry etching . subsequently , as shown in fig1 a , ito , into which magnesium , that is , the impurity element serving as the p - type dopant in the second semiconductor layer 14 , has been introduced , is selectively grown to a thickness of about 100 nm by a sputtering process or a pld method , for example , on the exposed faces of the second semiconductor layers 14 , thereby forming transparent electrodes 15 . thereafter , the transparent electrodes 15 are also subjected to an annealing process performed at a temperature of about 500 ° c . through the annealing process , the magnesium introduced into the transparent electrodes 15 is further diffused from the transparent electrodes 15 across the interfaces into the upper portions of the second semiconductor layers 14 , thereby further decreasing the value of resistance in the second semiconductor layers 14 where the second semiconductor layers 14 are near the interfaces with the transparent electrodes 15 . this results in the formation of the transparent electrodes 15 having further reduced contact resistance , on the p - type second semiconductor layers 14 . it should be noted that the impurity element to introduce into the passivation film 51 and the transparent electrodes 15 is not limited to magnesium , but may be a dopant , such as zinc , that makes gallium nitride develop p - type conductivity . then , as shown in fig1 b , bonding pads 16 for wire bonding are selectively formed on the respective transparent electrodes 15 . subsequently , titanium and gold are sequentially grown on the n - type electrode formation regions 12 a in the first semiconductor layer 12 , thereby forming n - type ohmic electrodes 17 . next , as shown in fig1 c , the substrate 11 is divided into chips each 300 μm square , thereby obtaining blue light emitting diodes . as described above , in the blue - light - emitting - diode fabrication method in accordance with the fourth embodiment , since magnesium , which is the p - type dopant in the second semiconductor layer 14 in contact with the transparent electrode 15 , is introduced into the passivation film 51 and the transparent electrode 15 , the magnesium is diffused into the second semiconductor layer 14 through the interfaces with those members by the annealing process performed after the deposition of the passivation film 51 and by the annealing process performed after the formation of the transparent electrode 15 formed after the removal of the passivation film 51 . as a result , the value of resistance in the second semiconductor layer 14 where the second semiconductor layer 14 is in the vicinity of the interface with the transparent electrode 15 decreases significantly , such that contact resistance between the transparent electrode 15 and the second semiconductor layer 14 is reduced , enabling operation at low operating voltage . in addition , since the passivation film 51 covers the semiconductor multilayer structure laterally , current leakage , caused by the solder material flowing into the lateral sides of the semiconductor multilayer structure during mounting process , is prevented , therefore resulting in an increase in yield . as a first modified example of the fourth embodiment , instead of introducing a dopant that determines the conductivity type of the gallium nitride into the passivation film 51 and the transparent material ( ito ) that forms the transparent electrode 15 , a metal element which tends to adsorb ( bind to ) hydrogen atoms , e . g ., nickel ( ni ), palladium ( pd ), or platinum ( pt ), may be introduced into at least one of the passivation film 51 and the transparent material . further , the effects of the present invention are obtained by introducing an impurity that serves as a dopant in the nitride semiconductor , or a metal element that tends to adsorb hydrogen atoms , into just one of the passivation film 51 and the transparent electrode 15 . hereinafter , a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 illustrates a cross - sectional structure of a blue - light surface - emitting laser device in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 , the same members as those shown in fig1 a and 1b are identified by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted herein . as shown in fig1 , between a substrate 11 made of , e . g ., sapphire and a first semiconductor layer 12 made of n - type gallium nitride , a first dbr ( distributed bragg reflect ) mirror 61 is formed by alternately stacking aluminum gallium nitride and gallium nitride one upon the other . further , a second dbr mirror 65 made of dielectrics is formed in an optical waveguide portion on a transparent electrode 15 that has been doped with magnesium , for example . moreover , a passivation film 51 made of , e . g ., magnesium - added silicon oxide is formed on the end portion of a second semiconductor layer 14 , thereby forming a current confinement structure for confining operating current supplied from the transparent electrode 15 . in this embodiment , a mqw active layer 63 made of indium gallium nitride may have a sqw structure . by the above - mentioned structure , contact resistance between the transparent electrode 15 and the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 is decreased as in the first embodiment , which enables the blue - light surface - emitting laser device to operate at low voltage . in the fifth embodiment , a p - type dopant such as magnesium may be introduced into at least one of the transparent electrode 15 and the passivation film 51 , but introducing the p - type dopant into both allows the effects of the present invention to be attained more notably . hereinafter , referring to the accompanying drawings , it will be described how to fabricate a blue - light surface - emitting laser device having the above - mentioned structure . fig1 a through 16c and fig1 a through 17c are cross - sectional views illustrating sequential process steps for fabricating the blue - light surface - emitting laser device in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the present invention . first , as shown in fig1 a , a low - temperature buffer layer ( not shown ) is grown on a substrate 11 made of sapphire by a movpe process . the substrate 11 is about 5 . 1 cm in diameter , and the plane orientation of the principal surface thereof is a ( 0001 ) plane . in the movpe process , trimethylgallium is used as a gallium source , ammonia is used as a nitrogen source , and hydrogen is used as a carrier gas , while the growth temperature is set at about 500 ° c . the low - temperature buffer layer buffers a lattice mismatch between the sapphire and a first dbr mirror 61 , for example , grown on the sapphire . subsequently , with the growth temperature being set at about 1030 ° c ., a first layer made of aluminum gallium nitride and a second layer made of gallium nitride are stacked alternately one upon the other , on the low - temperature buffer layer , thereby forming the first dbr mirror 61 . in this process step , in growing the first layers , trimethylaluminum as an aluminum source is added to the source material . the first dbr mirror 61 is formed so as to have 99 % or higher reflectance with respect to the wavelength of light emitted from a mqw active layer 63 . thereafter , mono - silane , which is a source material containing silicon as a donor impurity , is introduced , and a first semiconductor layer 12 made of n - type gallium nitride is grown . then , the supply of the mono - silane is stopped , and a barrier layer made of gallium nitride is grown on the first semiconductor layer 12 . the carrier gas is then changed to nitrogen ( n 2 ), and at the same time the growth temperature is lowered to about 800 ° c ., and while trimethylindium ( tmi ) as an indium source is also supplied , a well layer made of indium gallium nitride is grown on the barrier layer . the barrier layer and the well layer are grown , e . g ., alternately in three pairs , thereby forming the mqw active layer 63 . the mqw active layer 63 generates blue light having a wavelength of about 470 nm . subsequently , cyclopentadienyl magnesium , which is a source material containing magnesium as an acceptor impurity , is introduced into the respective source gases of trimethylgallium and ammonia , and a second semiconductor layer 14 made of gallium nitride is grown on the mqw active layer 63 . after the second semiconductor layer 14 has been grown , the second semiconductor layer 14 is subjected to an annealing process performed for 20 minutes in a nitrogen ambient at a temperature of about 750 ° c . through the annealing process , the p - type dopant introduced into the second semiconductor layer 14 is activated , which further decreases the resistance of the second semiconductor layer 14 . then , as shown in fig1 b , the second semiconductor layer 14 , the mqw active layer 63 , and upper portions of the first semiconductor layer 12 are selectively removed by dry etching , such as rie using , e . g ., chlorine as an etching gas , or icp etching , thereby forming an n - type electrode formation region 12 a in the first semiconductor layer 12 . next , a passivation film 51 made of magnesium - added silicon oxide is deposited to a thickness of about 300 nm on the entire surface of the second semiconductor layer 14 as well as on the n - type electrode formation region 12 a by a sputtering process , for example . the passivation film 51 is then subjected to an annealing process performed at a temperature of about 500 ° c ., so that the magnesium introduced into the passivation film 51 is diffused from the passivation film 51 across the interface into the upper portion of the second semiconductor layer 14 , thereby lowering the resistance value of the second semiconductor layer 14 in the vicinity of the interface with the passivation film 51 . thereafter , a transparent - electrode formation portion of the passivation film 51 on the second semiconductor layer 14 , and a portion of the passivation film 51 located on the n - type electrode formation region 12 a are selectively removed by dry etching , thereby resulting in the state shown in fig1 c . subsequently , as shown in fig1 a , ito , into which magnesium , i . e ., the impurity element serving as the p - type dopant in the second semiconductor layer 14 , has been introduced , is selectively grown on the exposed face of the second semiconductor layer 14 by a sputtering process or a pld method , for example , so as to cover the passivation film 51 , thereby forming a transparent electrode 15 . thereafter , the transparent electrode 15 is also subjected to an annealing process performed at a temperature of about 500 ° c . through the annealing process , the magnesium introduced into the transparent electrode 15 is further diffused from the transparent electrode 15 through the interface into the upper portion of the second semiconductor layer 14 . this further reduces the value of resistance in the second semiconductor layer 14 near the interface with the transparent electrode 15 . as a result , it is possible to form the transparent electrode 15 having further reduced contact resistance , on the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 . then , as shown in fig1 b , a second dbr mirror 65 is formed by stacking a plurality of dielectric layers having different refraction indexes , on an optical waveguide portion of the transparent electrode 15 , that is , on a portion of the transparent electrode 15 which is in contact with the second semiconductor layer 14 . next , as shown in fig1 c , a bonding pad 16 for wire bonding is selectively formed on the transparent electrode 15 where the transparent electrode 15 is located on the passivation film 51 . subsequently , titanium and gold are sequentially grown on the n - type electrode formation region 12 a in the first semiconductor layer 12 , thereby forming an n - type ohmic electrode 17 . as described above , in the method for fabricating a blue - light surface - emitting laser device in accordance with the fifth embodiment , the passivation film 51 and the transparent electrode 15 are doped with magnesium that is the p - type dopant in the p - type second semiconductor layer 14 in contact with the transparent electrode 15 . therefore , the magnesium is diffused into the second semiconductor layer 14 across the interfaces with the passivation film 51 and the transparent electrode 15 by the respective annealing processes performed after the deposition of the passivation film 51 and after the formation of the transparent electrode 15 formed after the removal of the passivation film 51 . this significantly reduces the value of resistance in the second semiconductor layer 14 where the second semiconductor layer 14 is near the interface with the transparent electrode 15 , so that contact resistance between the transparent electrode 15 and the second semiconductor layer 14 is decreased , which enables operation at low operating voltage . as a first modified example of the fifth embodiment , instead of introducing a dopant that determines the conductivity type of the gallium nitride into the passivation film 51 and the transparent material ( ito ) that forms the transparent electrode 15 , a metal element which tends to adsorb ( bind to ) hydrogen atoms , e . g ., nickel ( ni ), palladium ( pd ), or platinum ( pt ), may be introduced into at least one of the passivation film 51 and the transparent material . further , the effects of the present invention are obtained by introducing an impurity that serves as a dopant in the nitride semiconductor , or a metal element that tends to adsorb hydrogen atoms , into just one of the passivation film 51 and the transparent electrode 15 . moreover , as a second modified example , the substrate 11 may be removed as in the third embodiment , and an n - type ohmic electrode may be formed on the face of the first dbr mirror 61 opposite to the first semiconductor layer 12 . further , in the case of removing the substrate 11 , the first dbr mirror 61 may be etched so that part of the first semiconductor layer 12 is exposed , and an n - type ohmic electrode may be formed on the exposed portion . furthermore , in the case of removing the substrate 11 , instead of forming the first dbr mirror 61 made of the nitride semiconductors in the process steps for growing the semiconductor multilayer structure , a first dbr mirror 61 made of dielectric materials instead of the nitride semiconductors , may be formed on the face of the first semiconductor layer 12 opposite to the mqw active layer 63 , after the substrate 11 has been removed . in a case in which the first and second dbr mirrors 61 and 65 are formed out of dielectric materials , among silicon oxide ( sio 2 ), silicon nitride ( si 3 n 4 ), niobium oxide ( nb 2 o 5 ), hafnium oxide ( hfo 2 ), titanium oxide ( tio 2 ) and tantalum oxide ( ta 2 o 5 ), at least two substances having different refraction indexes may be selected as the dielectric materials . further , in the first through fifth embodiments , although the principal surface of the substrate 11 is not processed at all , a mask for selective growth may be formed on the substrate 11 , or steps may be created in the upper portion of the substrate 11 , so that a selective epitaxial lateral over growth ( elog ) may be performed . furthermore , in the foregoing embodiments , the material for the substrate is not limited to sapphire , but silicon carbide ( sic ), gallium arsenide ( gaas ), zinc oxide ( zno ), spinel , or silicon ( si ), for example , may be used . moreover , in the foregoing embodiments , although light emitting diodes and surface - emitting laser devices are described as surface - emitting nitride semiconductor light - emitting devices , any semiconductor light emitting devices , in which a transparent electrode is provided on a nitride semiconductor , produce the effects of the present invention . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , in a first embodiment , there is provided a sub bass , bass and low mid frequency ( 1 hz 850 hz ) loudspeaker enclosure . in fig1 , top and bottom pieces are solid flat panels , which in the drawing have been removed and are not shown in order to reveal vertical parts , detailed as follows . a solid rear wall 1 has removable door panels ( not shown ) to allow loudspeaker driver access . solid side walls 2 also have removable door panels ( not shown ) to allow for loudspeaker driver access . driver baffles 3 mount loudspeaker drivers 4 . the loudspeaker drivers 4 are mounted in reverse to aid cooling , and through a hole cut in the baffle 3 matching the size required by the driver 4 . channel dividers 7 , 8 , 10 keep the sound waves of each loudspeaker driver 4 in separate sections . this stops sound interference between each of the loudspeaker drivers 4 . sound waves produced from each loudspeaker driver 4 travel toward the centre and forward as shown by lines 5 . each sound wave is guided through a channel by channel dividers 7 , 10 proximal to the loudspeaker drivers 4 , which lines up each sound wave coherently into an arrangement created by channel dividers 8 at an exit 6 from the loudspeaker enclosure . this arrangement correctly forms each separate sound channel in time and phase alignment to form one coherent sound wave at the exit 6 . the loudspeaker drivers 4 are arranged in a semi - circle arrangement with channel dividers 7 separating each channel . the semi - circle arrangement can also be thought of as an arc formation . as can be seen from the drawings , the concave side of the arc formation faces the exit 6 whereas the convex side of the arc faces rear wall 1 . in other words , the channels extend from the drivers towards the inside of the semi - circular configuration . the channel dividers 7 also form the side channels for the drivers 4 at each side of the loudspeaker enclosure . it is useful for the angle of the baffles 3 to follow a semi - circle arrangement . the angle between each channel on the semi - circle can be increased or decreased to suit alternative designs and sizes as required . the channels run between the drivers 4 and exit 6 , and exits of the respective channels are positioned adjacent to each other . the length of each channel is substantially the same such that drivers 4 are substantially acoustically equidistant from exit 6 . by arranging the drivers 4 such that they are acoustically equidistant from the exit 6 a natural time - alignment in the output of the drivers 4 is achieved . it will be apparent that symmetric arrangements are particularly useful in order to produce a natural time - alignment ; arrangements such as triangles , squares , arcs , hemispheres etc . may all be used . however , it is also possible that asymmetric arrangements might be employed . the loudspeaker drivers 4 each comprise a cone adapted to produce acoustic energy . the cone faces along an axis the same as its axis of symmetry . each of the cones moves a volume of air proportional to a cross - sectional surface area of a projection along this axis . each exit from the channels also has a cross - sectional surface area , which may be calculated in the present embodiment by multiplying the width of the exit by the height of the exit . the cross - sectional area of a channel exit is less than the cross - sectional surface area of the cone , projected along the axis , of the driver housed in the respective channel . in the present embodiment fours speaker drivers are employed , but it will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that any suitable number of speaker drivers might be used . the angle between each pair of adjacent drivers 15 is substantially identical such that the axes along which drivers 15 project acoustic energy converge at a point within loudspeaker enclosure 14 . in the present embodiment this arrangement has been found desirable so as to mimic the acoustic energy provided by the drivers originating from a single point when loudspeaker system 9 is in use . however , arrangements where the axes of the drivers do not converge on a single point , or converge at a point outside of the enclosure have also been found to work . multiple loudspeaker enclosures according to the first embodiment can be stacked vertically to increase the overall sound system size whilst maintaining correct time and phase coherence . referring to fig2 , in a second embodiment , a loudspeaker enclosure is provided that has an overall design that is half that of the loudspeaker enclosure according to the first embodiment . the construction method is the same as that for the first embodiment , with the exception of it being half the horizontal size . multiple loudspeaker enclosures according to the second embodiment can be stacked vertically or two placed side by side in mirror formation to form a complete loudspeaker enclosure according to the first embodiment . this enables an increase in overall sound system size whilst maintaining correct time and phase coherence of the entire system . referring to fig3 , in a third embodiment a loudspeaker enclosure is provided that is similar to that of the first embodiment , except that is has a straight exit channel arrangement . similarly , referring to fig4 , in a fourth embodiment a loudspeaker enclosure is provided that is similar to that of the second embodiment , except that it has a straight channel exit arrangement . this allows multiple loudspeaker enclosures of the third or fourth embodiments to be setup alongside and on top of each other . one loudspeaker enclosure of the second embodiment could be setup on each end in mirror formation to mimic natural sound wave formation . this would allow the sound system to increase in size both vertically and horizontally whilst maintaining correct time and phase coherence over the entire system as shown in fig5 . it has been found that compressing the sound wave channels inside the enclosure as shown by channel dividers 7 at an angle similar to that of the loudspeaker driver &# 39 ; s cone ( not shown ) reduces sound resonance and increases efficiency . the areas 11 behind each of the loudspeaker drivers 4 are sealed and air tight . sealing this area 11 enables greater power to be put though the loudspeaker driver 4 without reaching its limit of displacement . this sealing also prevents the negative phase of the sound wave created by the loudspeaker driver 4 interfering with the positive sound wave . referring to fig6 , in a further embodiment , a loudspeaker system comprises four reverse - mounted drivers 4 contained within a loudspeaker enclosure , mounted in a double semi - circular configuration . in this embodiment , the semi - circular configuration comprises the drivers being placed around the entire circumference of a circle , and may therefore be thought of as double a true semi - circle . indeed , in this embodiment , as there are four drivers equally spaced from one another , the arrangement of the drivers is square . the enclosure comprises channel walls 7 such that each driver 4 is partitioned into its own individual channel . however , the present embodiment differs from those discussed before in that the acoustic energy exits from channel exits 10 of loudspeaker enclosure at ninety degrees to the axes of drivers 4 . referring to fig7 , in a further embodiment , a loudspeaker system is arranged in a similar formation to that of the loudspeaker system of the embodiment described with reference to fig6 , except that eight drivers 4 are provided instead of four . this means that the semi - circular configuration becomes an octagon , instead of four drivers 4 being positioned in a square . once more , the system comprises channel walls 7 such that each driver is partitioned into its own individual channel . the acoustic energy exits from adjacent channel exits 10 of loudspeaker enclosure at ninety degrees to the axes of drivers 4 . referring to fig8 , in yet a further embodiment , a loudspeaker system comprises a plurality of drivers 4 arranged in an extended semi - circular configuration within a loudspeaker enclosure . in this embodiment , the semi - circular configuration comprises the drivers being placed along three - quarters of a circumference of a circle , and may therefore be thought of as extended in comparison to a true semi - circle . the loudspeaker enclosure is partitioned by channel walls 7 into a plurality of channels , each housing a separate driver 4 . acoustic energy from the drivers 4 may exit enclosure via adjacent channel exits 10 at a sound dispersing area . finally , referring to fig9 , in yet a further embodiment , a loudspeaker system comprises two drivers 4 arranged in a truncated semi - circular configuration within a loudspeaker enclosure . in this embodiment , the semi - circular configuration comprises the drivers being placed along a quarter of a circumference of a circle , and may therefore be thought of as truncated in comparison to a true semi - circle . the loudspeaker enclosure is partitioned by a channel wall 7 into two separate channels , each housing a separate driver 4 . acoustic energy from drivers 4 may exit enclosure via adjacent channel exits 10 at a sound dispersing area . it is clear that many variations on the arrangement of the drivers and the sound dispersing area are possible . in all of the embodiments disclosed in the present application each driver 15 has a separate acoustic channel 17 . this is by far the preferred arrangement as housing more than one driver in a single channel would result in interference and loss of sound quality . however , it may be possible to house more than one driver in a single channel and still derive some increase in sound quality by providing a channel exit that has a smaller cross - sectional area than the total cross - sectional area of the driver cones housed within the channel . it has been proved through testing that this invention produces very high sound definition at highly increased sensitivities in sub bass , bass and low mid frequencies with a greater control of dispersion that far exceeds that found in prior art . it will be apparent that many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention as set out in the appended claims . | 7 |
fig1 shows an example of a public switched telephone network architecture in accordance with the principles of this invention . the network serves to provide telecommunication services to a number of subscribers , for example , subscribers designated with reference numerals 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 , and 20 in fig1 . in the example shown in fig1 the public switched telephone network architecture actually comprises a plurality of separate public switched telephone networks . specifically , a subscriber such as a subscriber 12 in fig1 is connected via a subscriber line 22 to a public switched telephone network 24 operated by a local exchange carrier ( lec ) which provides local telephone service to the subscriber 12 and access to long distance networks . although not shown specifically in fig1 the public switched telephone network 24 of the local exchange carrier may comprise one or more network nodes and associated trunking and subscriber lines connected to a plurality of subscribers like subscriber 12 . the equipment of the local exchange carrier is connected to another public switched telephone network 26 which may be operated by a long distance interexchange carder such as at & amp ; t . the network 26 comprises a network node 28 which is connected to the network 24 of the local exchange carder via one or more trunks schematically represented by a line 30 in fig1 . the network node 28 may also be directly connected to certain subscribers such as subscriber 14 via one or more trunks schematically represented by a line 32 in fig1 . the network node 28 is connected to another network node 34 via one or more trunks 36 . network node 34 , in turn , is connected to a third network node 38 via one or more trunks 40 . the network node 38 may be connected to another public switched telephone network 42 via one or more trunks 44 . the public switched telephone network 42 illustratively comprises another local telephone network operated by a local exchange carder ( lec ) which provides local telephone service to the subscribers 16 , 18 , and 20 connected to the network 42 by subscriber lines 46 , 48 , and 50 , respectively . the local exchange carder may provide its subscribers with access to a long distance network such as network 26 in fig1 via the connection represented by line 44 in fig1 . the public switched telephone network 26 illustrated in the example of fig1 includes a network based outbound call management system 52 which is connected to one of the network nodes 34 in the public switched telephone network 26 . the connection between the outbound call management system 52 and the network node 34 comprises one or more input trunks 54 which receive signals from the rest of the public switched telephone network 26 and one or more output trunks 56 by which the outbound call management system 52 directs signals into the rest of the public switched telephone network 26 . the input trunks 54 and output trunks 56 are sized and configured to handle the amount of communications traffic expected to occur between the outbound call management system 52 and the rest of the public switched telephone network 26 . for example , the capacity of the trunking between the outbound call management system 52 and the rest of the network 26 may be the same as or similar to the capacity of the trunking between two of the nodes in the network 26 . as is described in detail below , the outbound call management system 52 advantageously permits any subscriber connected to the public switched telephone networks shown in fig1 to obtain outbound call management services without the necessity of obtaining expensive outbound call management equipment to be added to their private telecommunication systems and without the necessity of obtaining the services of a special service bureau in addition to the services of a telephone company . the invention thus advantageously avoids the need for significant amounts of special customer premises equipment ( cpe ) to accomplish outbound call management functions . the outbound call management system comprises two main components , a processor 58 which interacts with the rest of the public switched telephone network to provide outbound call management services to subscribers connected to the network and a data base 60 connected to the processor 58 which contains information about the nature of the outbound call management programs which are to be executed by the processor 58 . the network nodes 28 , 34 , and 38 may be telephone switching systems located in central offices , such as at & amp ; t &# 39 ; s 4ess ™ central office switches or similar circuitry . although fig1 illustrates only one outbound call management system 52 connected to one of the network nodes 34 in the public switched telephone network 26 , there may be a corresponding outbound call management system connected to any of the network nodes in the network 26 . in addition , there may be one or more network based outbound call management systems attached to one or more of the nodes found in the public switched telephone networks 24 and 42 . these outbound call management systems can be used to provide outbound call management services to local calling areas via the local network or to other calling areas via the connections between the local telephone networks and a long distance network like network 26 in fig1 . in the case of local area public switched telephone network having outbound call management capability , the network nodes to which outbound call management systems are connected may be central office switching systems customarily used in public switched telephone networks operated by local exchange carders , such as at & amp ; t 5ess ™ central office switches and the like . although fig1 shows that the network based outbound call management system 52 is a physically separate piece of equipment which is trunked to a network node , some or all of the system 52 may also be an integral part of the node to which it is connected . for example , some or all of the system 52 may comprise software located in computer circuitry already existing in the node to which the system is connected . fig2 is a detailed block diagram of the systems in the network based outbound call management system shown in fig1 . as described in connection with the description of fig1 the outbound call management system is connected to a network node 34 through an input trunk 54 and an output trunk 56 . a pathway or link 62 receives signals from the network node 34 and directs those received signals to appropriate systems in the outbound call management system 52 . the pathway 62 also receives output signals from each system in the outbound call management system 52 and directs those received signals to the network node 34 or to other systems in the outbound call management system , as appropriate . the outbound call management system 52 comprises an automatic call dialing system 64 which automatically dials into the rest of the public switched telephone network a number of predetermined phone numbers selected by one or more network subscribers who are users of the outbound call management services provided by the network . the identity of the phone numbers is stored in the database 60 in the outbound call management system 52 and represent one or more dialing programs . the time at which the calls are to be placed by the automatic call dialing system is communicated to the system 52 by the user of network based outbound call management services through any telephone instrument or other input mechanism connected to the network . the user is permitted to call the outbound call management system 52 through the network and communicate with a scheduling module 66 which keeps track of , and manages records relating to , the reserved and unreserved capacity of the outbound call management system . the scheduling module 66 also receives appropriate commands from the user signifying the time period or time periods during which the user desires the outbound call management system to execute the user &# 39 ; s outbound call management dialing programs . if the requested dialing programs are able to be accommodated by the unreserved capacity of the outbound call management system , the scheduling module 66 makes an appropriate reservation and notifies the user of the successful reservation . if not , the scheduling module 66 causes the system 52 to so notify the user . when the outbound call management system 52 executes such a dialing program , the automatic call dialing system 64 dials in sequence each telephone number identified by the user as part of the calling program stored in the database 60 . a call management module 68 monitors the attempted telephone calls made by the automatic call dialing system 64 and directs the automatic call dialing system 64 to follow predetermined strategies in response to the behavior of the public switched telephone network as a result of the attempted telephone calls . if the automatic call dialing system is successful in completing an attempted telephone call specified by the dialing program , then a call distribution system 70 follows a predetermined program of specifying and selecting an agent or attendant of the user who will handle the completed telephone call . a call merging system 72 then is responsive to the selection made by the call distribution system 70 to connect the selected agent with the party who answered the successfully completed telephone call made by the automatic call dialing system 64 . the agent then communicates with the connected party in accordance with the desires of the outbound call management system user . the agent may engage in telemarketing activities , survey taking , and bill collection , as well as any other activities for which outbound call management services may be used . if the telephone call placed on the network by the automatic call dialing system 64 is not answered or a busy signal is detected , then the call management module 68 is responsive to this condition and determines how these types of events are treated in accordance with the wishes of the outbound call management user , as programmed by the user in the system 52 . for example , the call management module 68 may direct the automatic call dialing system 64 to drop the phone number , and make no further attempts to complete the telephone call , or the call management module 68 may direct the automatic call dialing system 64 to place the telephone number which was unsuccessfully dialed in a predetermined location in a queue which makes up the list of telephone numbers yet to be dialed in the user &# 39 ; s dialing program . for example , the call management module 68 may direct the telephone number defining the unsuccessful call to be placed at the end of the dialing program so that a further attempt can be made when the other phone numbers in the dialing program have been called . the network based outbound call management system 52 also comprises a voice response system 74 which may be an at & amp ; t conversant ™ type voice response system which receives information from a user wishing to employ outbound call management services . the voice response system 74 also communicates information to a user of network outbound call management services . the voice response system 74 may instruct the user as to how to schedule the performance of outbound call management services on the network . it may also direct the user as to how to download the telephone numbers which make up a desired dialing program loaded into the database 60 . the voice response system 74 may also direct the user as to how to download the telephone numbers of the agents to whom it is desired to connect successfully completed telephone calls made in accordance with the dialing program . the voice response system may be responsive to actual voice commands from the user or to dual tone multifrequency commands keyed into the network by the user via a touch tone ™ type or other similar telephone instrument . the commands are then stored in the database 60 for execution in accordance with reservations made by the user via the scheduling module 66 . the network based outbound call management system 52 also comprises a calling program analysis module 76 which monitors predetermined aspects of calling programs as they are executed . the analysis module 76 can provide certain predetermined statistical information about those calls . for example , the analysis module 76 can provide a user of outbound call management services with information about the successful completion rate of the telephone calls made in accordance with the user &# 39 ; s predetermined dialing program . the analysis module 76 may also provide information about which of the user &# 39 ; s agents were used in the course of the program and how efficiently they were used in terms of the percentage of time they were actually handling phone calls completed by the outbound call management system 52 . the analysis module 76 may also detect the duration of each call . all of the data generated by the analysis module 76 may be stored in the database 60 and later down loaded to the user at his request via a phone call the user makes to the system 52 or automatically to a telephone number earlier specified by the user and stored in the system 52 . fig3 is a detailed diagram of the structure of the database 60 which illustrates the nature of the information stored in the database 60 . as shown in fig3 the database 60 contains a block 78 which contains certain information about each network customer who subscribes to and uses the outbound call management services in accordance with the principles of this invention . the customer information may include an account number uniquely identifying each customer . the customer information may also include an address , telephone number , and other information useful in identifying and communicating with each customer and in segregating the information in the database 60 . the block 78 also contains information entered by the customer through an appropriate phone call placed into the telephone network and the call management system 52 about the dialing programs which the customer desires the outbound call management system 52 to execute on the customers behalf . the dialing plan may involve one or more lists of telephone numbers which a customer would like the outbound call management system 52 to make . the block 78 also includes scheduling information identifying the time or times at which the user wishes to have the outbound call management system dial the phone numbers in each list stored in block 78 . the block 78 also contains information specified by each user relating to the telephone numbers of the user &# 39 ; s agents or attendants who are to handle the telephone calls completed by the outbound call management system 52 . the block 78 also contains information about selected analysis programs to be performed by the outbound call management system for each of the customer &# 39 ; s dialing plans . the block 78 finally contains information about each customer &# 39 ; s desires with respect to call management options , namely , the outbound call management system &# 39 ; s treatment of answered , busy , and no answer phone calls . the database 60 also contains a block 80 which contains information about the results of the execution of the analysis programs requested by the customer . the database may contain , for example , information about call completion , call duration , and analysis of responses made by the voice response unit 74 . a block 82 in the database 60 contains information about scheduling . specifically , the block 82 may contain information about the times at which the outbound call management system is to effectuate outbound call management services , the amount of unused capacity , and the unavailable capacity which has been already reserved by users of the outbound call management system 52 . finally , the database 60 comprises of block 84 which contains information about various call management options . specifically , the block 84 may contain data relating to the strategies used in retrying unsuccessfully completed telephone calls or dropping a telephone number relating to an unsuccessfully completed telephone call . fig4 is a flow chart describing the steps by which any subscriber to a public switched telephone network in accordance with the principles of this invention can become a customer or user of the network based outbound call management services . in block 86 , a network subscriber wishing to use the outbound call management services of a public switched telephone network in accordance with this invention first calls an appropriate operator employed by the public switched telephone network and notifies that operator that he or she wishes to use the outbound call management services of the network . in block 88 , the operator takes appropriate information from the proposed user and initializes that user in the database 60 by entering the information therein . the operator then provides the customer , as indicated in block 90 , with a computer login and any associated passwords and a voice response system password which will be used by the customer to obtain desired outbound call management services . fig5 is a flow chart illustrating the steps undertaken by a user of network based outbound call management services in accordance with the principles of this invention to program the outbound call management system 52 to perform desired operations . in block 92 , a user may manually dial the outbound call management system 52 through the public switched telephone network from any user &# 39 ; s telephone . alternatively , a computer controlled by the user may dial into a system in the outbound call management system 52 which receives and handles computer generated input signals . also in block 92 , a computer in the outbound call management system 52 checks for a valid login id and any associated passwords received from the user or the user &# 39 ; s computer . in one embodiment , the voice response unit 74 in the outbound call management system 52 responds to the phone call placed by the user and provides appropriate instructions for the user to program the system in accordance with his or her desired outbound call management needs . the user responds to the instructions produced by the voice response unit 74 by inputting either voice commands or dual tone multiple frequency commands ( dtmf commands ) into the network . in block 94 , the user inputs phone numbers comprising one or more dialing lists which are to be called by the automatic call dialing system 64 in the management system 52 . if the user already has one or more dialing lists input to the system , he or she may change those lists at block 94 in fig5 . the schedule on which the dialing list is to be called is also input by the user in response to a prompt from the voice response system 74 . the user may be asked to confirm the accuracy of the input in block 96 . in block 97 , the computer sends a confirmation acknowledgment to the user . in another embodiment , a user &# 39 ; s computer may input , in block 94 , information about desired dialing lists , schedules , and changes to existing dialing lists and schedules . ( large dialing lists and complicated outbound call management procedures advantageously may be programmed into the system 52 via computer input to the telephone network or , in some cases , may be made via a transmission of hardcopy directly to the telephone network services provider .) fig6 is a flow chart representing the call flow for an example of a network based outbound call management system in accordance with the principles of this invention . the call flow involves a customer making a reservation of outbound call management capacity in block 91 involving provision of a list of telephone numbers to be dialed by the system and a schedule for dialing those numbers . the customer may dial a predetermined access number which will cause the customer to be connected to the outbound call management system 52 . the caller will interact with the system 52 via voice or dtmf commands and enter the appropriate information for his or her calling program . the customer may cause the processor 58 to initiate the calling program via a phone call to the system 52 or the processor 58 may automatically cause the customer &# 39 ; s calling program to be initiated at the designated time specified in the reservation , as indicated in block 93 . the processor 58 then performs the desired calling program in accordance with the specified dialing list until the program is completed or until the customer requests that the program be interrupted , as shown in block 95 . during the course of executing the calling program , the customer &# 39 ; s agents or attendants perform their scripts as successful calls are connected back to them by the processor 58 . in the alternative , the customer may provide a voice polling system instead of live agents or attendants . in this system , called parties may interact with a computer generated voice which can be responded to via dtmf or voice commands entered by the called party into a telephone instrument . the processor 58 performs any desired analysis in block 98 at the completion of the program or when the program is interrupted by the customer . the analysis produced in block 98 can then be requested by the customer in block 100 . | 7 |
the present invention teaches a novel play garage structure for children . numerous details are set forth such as construction materials and interconnection methods , but it will be obvious that the invention may be practiced apart from these details . in other instances , details of well known toy manufacturing methods have not been set forth , so as not to obscure the present invention . fig1 shows a perspective view of the play garage 100 of the present invention . preferably , garage 100 is constructed of plastic , but those skilled in the art will understand that alternative construction materials may be substituted without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . garage 100 includes a front wall 110 , a right wall 115 , a left wall 120 , a back wall 125 , and a roof 130 . right wall 115 and left wall 120 each define a plurality of slots 135 , and front wall 110 and back wall 125 each include a corresponding plurality of hooks 140 . hooks 140 engage slots 135 to interconnect right wall 115 and left wall 120 with front wall 110 and back wall 125 . the hook / slot interconnection method provides structural strength and ease of assembly . front wall 110 , right wall 115 , left wall 120 , and back wall 125 , each include one or more roof tabs 145 which engage corresponding roof grooves ( not shown ) to securely mount roof 130 on top of the four interconnected walls 110 , 115 , 120 , and 125 . as shown , the preferred roof tabs 145 may also be used as carrying handles . a vehicle door 180 and a user door 185 provide user access to the interior of play garage 100 . vehicle door 180 is pivotably mounted to front wall 110 such that vehicle door 180 can be opened by grasping a handle 190 and lifting in an upward and outward direction . user door 185 is pivotably connected to left wall 120 by hinges 195 . play garage 100 also includes a toy compartment partition 150 ( shown with dotted lines as hidden ) which defines one side of a toy compartment 155 , the other sides of toy compartment 155 being defined by portions of front wall 110 , right wall 115 , and back wall 125 . toy compartment 155 can be accessed from the inside of play garage 100 or from the outside of play garage 100 through portal 160 defined by right wall 115 . portal cover 165 is pivotably connected to right wall 115 and is supported in the open position by support cords 170 . when closed , portal cover 165 prevents access to toy compartment 155 , and when open provides a flat surface area that children can use for activities such as coloring . fig2 a and 2b show an inside view and a side view , respectively , of vehicle door 180 , including handle 190 , a first lateral edge 201 , a second lateral edge 202 , a top edge 203 , a bottom edge 204 , an interior surface 225 , an exterior surface 230 , a first pinion bracket 205 , a second pinion bracket 210 , a first octagonal pinion 215 , a second octagonal pinion 220 , a plurality of windows 235 , and a retaining lip 240 . first lateral edge 201 is parallel to second lateral edge 202 and perpendicular to top edge 203 and bottom edge 204 , such that external surface 230 is substantially rectangular . windows 235 are empty portals which may optionally be fitted with transparent plastic panels . first pinion bracket 205 and second pinion bracket 210 extend orthogonally from opposite , lateral edges of interior surface 225 . first octagonal pinion 215 and second octagonal pinion 220 are right octagonal cylinders , each having a central axis , which are fixed to and extend laterally from first pinion bracket 205 and second pinion bracket 210 respectively . first octagonal pinion 215 and second octagonal pinion 220 are disposed with their respective central axes colinear with each other , parallel to top edge 203 and a spaced distance from interior surface 225 . preferably , vehicle door 180 is manufactured as a single piece of durable plastic , but it should be obvious that the components of vehicle door 180 could be manufactured separately and assembled by an alternative method , such as with screws or nuts and bolts . fig3 a and 3b show a front view of front wall 110 and a side view of front wall 110 with vehicle door 180 mounted thereon , respectively . front wall 110 includes exterior surface 305 , interior surface 310 , top edge 312 , first door support arm 315 , second door support arm 320 , vehicle opening 325 , and front partition receiving slot 330 . front partition receiving slot 330 receives the front end of and provides support for toy compartment partition 150 . vehicle opening 325 is large enough to facilitate ingress and egress of larger toys , such as tricycles and other riding toys . first door support arm 315 and second door support arm 320 extend orthogonally from interior surface 310 . first door support arm 315 defines a first octagonal bore 335 , having a central axis , near its distal end . second door support arm 320 also defines a second octagonal bore 340 , having a central axis , near its distal end . first octagonal bore 335 and second octagonal bore 340 are disposed with their respective central axes colinear with each other , parallel to top edge 312 and a spaced distance from interior surface 305 . vehicle door 180 is mounted to front wail 110 through a coupling of octagonal pinions 215 and 220 with octagonal bores 335 and 340 . door support arms 315 and 320 , which define octagonal bores 335 and 340 , are constructed of a stiff elastic plastic which distorts slightly to allow pinions 215 and 220 to rotate with some friction within octagonal bores 335 and 340 . the friction between pinions 215 and 220 and the walls of octagonal bores 335 and 340 is sufficiently weak to permit vehicle door 180 to open when lifted by door handle 16 , but strong enough to prevent door 180 from closing due to its own weight . alternatively , vehicle door 180 may include a counter weight 345 , and circular cylindrical pinions and bores . in such an embodiment , the friction between the pinions and hubs is minimal . counter weight 345 biases door 180 to either the open position or the closed position depending on the location of counter weight 345 relative to a vertical plane 350 passing through the centers of pinions 215 and 220 . if counter weight 345 is located on the front wall 310 side of vertical plane 350 , counter weight 345 urges door 180 to a closed position , biasing retaining lip 240 against interior surface 310 of front wall 110 . on the other hand , if counter weight 345 is on the side of vertical plane 350 away from front wall 310 , counter weight 345 urges door 180 to an open position , biasing exterior surface 230 of vehicle door 180 against the top edge of vehicle opening 325 . fig4 shows an outside view of right wall 115 and detached portal cover 165 . right wall 115 includes window opening 405 , window shelf 410 , proximal support cord attachments 415 , and hinge pin receivers 420 . portal cover 165 includes cylindrical hinge pins 425 latch 430 inside surface 435 , outside surface 440 , and distal support cord attachments 445 . window opening 405 allows children located inside play garage 100 to see out , and supervising adults located outside play garage 100 to see in . preferably , window opening 405 is simply a rectangular opening in right wall 110 , but alternatively window opening 405 can be fitted with a transparent insert to provide increased protection against the elements . window shelf 410 serves the multiple purposes of providing a bottom frame to window opening 405 , providing a play surface for drawing and writing , and serving as a storage shelf . proximal support cord attachments 415 are connected to right wall 110 inside and near the top of each side of portal 160 . proximal support cord attachments provide a means for connecting the proximal ends of support cords 170 to right wall 110 . hinge pin receivers 420 are cylindrical shells , and are attached to right wall 110 near the bottom of portal 160 , with their central axes running parallel to the bottom edge of portal 160 . preferably , right wall 110 is manufactured as a single piece of durable plastic , but it should be obvious that proximal support cord attachments 415 and hinge pin receivers 420 could be manufactured separately and mounted to right wall 110 by some conventional method such as with screws or nuts and bolts . portal cover 165 is mounted to right wall 100 by inserting hinge pins 425 into hinge pin receivers 420 , such that the central axes of hinge pins 425 are coincident with the central axes of hinge pin receivers 420 . thus mounted , portal cover 165 can be rotated between open and closed positions , about the central axes of hinge pins 425 . latch 430 protrudes slightly from the top interior surface of portal cover 165 and frictionally engages the top edge of portal 160 when portal cover 165 is in the closed position , thus retaining portal cover 165 in the closed position until a user exerts sufficient outward force to open it . distal support cord attachments 445 are disposed near the top , outer edges of portal hatch 165 , and engage the distal ends of support cords 170 . preferably , distal support cord attachments 445 are openings passing through portal hatch 165 , orthogonal to interior surface 435 and having diameters slightly larger than support cords 170 . support cords 170 pass from the interior surface 435 of portal cover 165 , though distal support cord attachments 445 , to the exterior of portal cover 165 . the ends of support cords 170 are knotted to engage and support portal cover 165 , when open , in a position parallel to the floor or surface upon which play garage 100 rests , such that interior surface 435 of portal cover 165 can be used as a writing surface or flat crafts or play surface . fig5 shows an inside view of back wall 125 , including back partition receiving slot 505 . back partition receiving slot receives the back end of and provides support for toy compartment partition 150 . when the front and back ends of toy compartment partition 150 are engaged in front and back receiving slots 330 and 505 respectively , front wall 110 and back wall 125 hold toy compartment partition 150 in place , thereby creating toy compartment 155 between front wall 110 , right wall 115 , back wall 125 , and toy partition 150 . fig6 shows an inside view of left wall 120 and detached user door 185 . left wall 120 includes user door opening 605 , window opening 610 and hinge pin receivers 612 . user door opening 605 provides ingress and egress to and from the interior of play garage 100 . window opening 610 allows children inside play garage 100 to see out , and supervising adults to see in . preferably , window opening 610 is simply a rectangular opening in right wall 110 , but alternatively window opening 405 can be fitted with a transparent insert to provide increased protection against the elements . hinge pin receivers 612 are cylindrical shells , and are attached to left wall 120 near the hinge edge 614 of user door opening 605 , with their central axes running parallel to hinge edge 614 of user door opening 605 . preferably , left wall 120 is manufactured as a single piece of durable plastic , but it should be obvious that hinge pin receivers 612 could be manufactured separately and mounted to left wall 120 by some conventional method such as with screws or nuts and bolts . user door 185 includes hinge pins 615 , door knob 620 , and window openings 625 . user door 185 is mounted to left wall 120 by inserting hinge pins 615 into hinge pin receivers 612 , such that the central axes of hinge pins 615 are coincident with the central axes of hinge pin receivers 612 . thus mounted , a child can grasp door knob 620 and swing user door 185 between open and closed positions , about the central axes of hinge pins 615 . preferably , window openings 625 are simply rectangular openings in user door 185 , but alternatively window openings 625 can be fitted with a transparent inserts to provide increased protection against the elements . in a preferred embodiment , user door 185 is manufactured as a single piece of durable plastic , but it should be obvious that hinge pins 615 could be manufactured separately and mounted to user door 185 by some conventional method such as with screws or nuts and bolts . fig7 a - c show a top plan view , a bottom plan view , and a vertical cross section of roof 130 , including a plurality of roof grooves 705 . roof grooves 705 frictionally engage roof tabs 145 of front wall 110 , right wall 115 , left wall 120 , and back wall 125 , to hold roof 130 securely on top of walls 110 , 115 , 120 , and 125 . in addition to providing shade , security , and weather protection to the inside of play garage 100 , roof 130 also provides structural support . while the present invention has been described with reference to a certain preferred embodiment , those skilled in the art will recognize that certain described features of the present invention can be altered , substituted or omitted without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , the number of walls may be increased or decreased . alternatively , the roof may be omitted by interlocking triangular shaped walls into a pyramid shaped structure . in addition , various known latching mechanisms may be employed to secure the vehicle door or the user door . further , known interlocking methods , for example tongue and groove , may be employed to join the walls and / or the roof . therefore , the present invention is limited only by the following claims . | 0 |
the following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show , by way of illustration , specific details and embodiments in which the invention may be practiced . these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention . other embodiments may be utilized and structural , logical , and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention . the various embodiments are not necessarily mutually exclusive , as some embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments . as used herein , “ width ” may be the width of any shaped structure , including round wires . thus , “ diameter ” may be substituted with “ width ”. as used herein , “ head portion ” will be understood to mean the portion of an electrode that raised features are attached to or formed into for the purposes of increasing emissivity of an electrode . raised features include , but are not limited to , coils , groove structures , formations formed from etching , and / or a round , oval , or polygon - shaped wire or plurality of wires . fig3 shows an electrode structure according to an embodiment . electrode 300 includes single - layer coil 302 wound around electrode head portion 304 . electrode head portion 304 is adjacent to electrode shaft portion 306 . in some embodiments , coil 302 may be formed from tungsten wire . the emissivity of the electrode is increased by winding coil 302 at an optimized pitch around electrode head portion 304 . this increases the natural emissivity of electrode 300 by a factor of 65 % above a flat surface and by 20 % above a tightly wound coil ( e . g ., coil 202 of fig2 ). in some embodiments , the coil diameter or width of coil 302 is manufactured as small as possible in order to increase the heat conduction form the heat &# 39 ; s origin at front portion 308 to the high emissive area of coil 302 . in some embodiments , a maximum preferred coil diameter is 0 . 2 mm . the optimal pitch found in finite element method simulations was about 140 %, although other optimal pitches may be found depending on the coil material &# 39 ; s emissivity . in general , significant improvements were found within a pitch range of as used herein the “ pitch ” is defined as the distance between two raised features ( e . g ., wire center to wire center ) divided by the width of the raised features , expressed as a percentage . thus , a pitch of 100 % indicates that adjacent raised features are touching and a pitch of 200 % indicates that consecutive raised features are spaced apart a distance equal to the width of the raised feature . the term “ average pitch ” will be understood to mean the sum of the distances between consecutive raised features divided by the number of pairs of raised features . for example , a coil wrapped around an electrode head portion three times will have two distances to sum and two pairs of raised features . average pitch may also be calculated using other methods such as the median or mode . fig4 is a graph showing the emissivity gain of electrode structures according to embodiments over a conventional electrode structure . as seen from graph 400 , the spacing of coils leads to a significantly reduced electrode temperature compared to a tightly - wound coil design . as the pitch increases beyond 140 - 150 %, however , the emissivity gain begins to diminish . in a tungsten electrode embodiment for ultra - high pressure lamps that included a pitch of 130 %, the operating temperature on the front area was reduced by 50 ° k compared to a tight winding electrode structure . the lower temperature resulted in a 50 % reduced evaporation rate over a tight winding electrode structure . fig5 is a bar graph showing electrode operating temperature measurements of a conventional electrode structure according to electrode 200 of fig2 and an electrode structure according electrode 300 , with coil 302 wound at a pitch of 130 %. ultra - high pressure mercury lamp test samples were produced with a conventional electrode structure as a first electrode and an embodiment electrode structure as second electrode in the same burner to ensure that both electrodes were operated under identical conditions . six lamps were investigated . each of the lamps are designated in graph 500 by unique hatching patterns , wherein the hatching patterns match for the two electrodes in each lamp . the temperatures on the electrode surface were measured with ir pyrometry , excluding areas on the electrode where the ir signal is superposed by plasma radiation . graph 500 shows the electrode temperatures normalized to the average operating temperature of the conventional coil electrodes . the average operating temperature of the embodiment coils were reduced by more than 2 %. because the tungsten evaporation rate is exponentially related to temperature , the tungsten evaporation rate is halved with an average temperature reduction of approximately 2 %. thus lamps with an electrode structure according to an embodiment , will last longer at a given temperature or can be operated at higher temperatures over conventional electrode structures . moreover , manufacturing electrode structures according to an embodiment will typically entail inexpensive modifications to existing electrode manufacturing equipment . fig6 shows an alternative electrode structure according to an embodiment . electrode 600 includes plurality of wires 602 attached to electrode head portion 604 in axial sections . electrode head portion 604 is adjacent to electrode shaft portion 606 . plurality of wires 602 , if made of tungsten , is expected to have properties similar to coil 302 of fig3 , and thus the optimized pitch of plurality of wires 602 would be around 140 % with a groove width of approximately 0 . 2 mm . fig7 shows an alternative electrode structure according to an embodiment . electrode 700 includes raised groove features 702 formed as a result of grooving , carving , or etching electrode head portion 704 . groove features 702 , if electrode head 204 is made of tungsten , is expected to have properties similar to coil 302 of fig3 , and thus the optimized pitch of groove structure 702 would be around 140 % with a groove width of approximately 0 . 2 mm . it will be understood that the electrode structures shown in fig3 , 6 , and 7 are only three possible electrode structures , and many more are within embodiments of the invention . for example , wire applied in a coil , as shown in fig3 , could also be applied in concentric sections . similarly , groove structure 702 of fig7 could also take the form of circumferential slots machined by micro - machining techniques at an optimized pitch , depth , and width . the slots could be applied near the tip and / or elsewhere . other machined shape variations may include cork screw slots , axial slots , or hole patters . fig8 is a flow chart for a method of manufacturing an electrode structure within an embodiment . at 802 , an electrode is provided . at 804 , a wire is attached to the front portion of the electrode . at 806 , the wire is coiled around the electrode head portion at an average pitch of at least 105 %. at 808 , method 800 ends . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . the scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced . | 7 |
an example of a basic hollow modular building block 57 made in accordance with one embodiment of the invention is shown in fig4 which is an exploded three - dimensional view of a block consisting of three elements , i . e ., a block body 58 , an upper insert 60 , and a lower insert 62 . the block body 58 can be made , e . g ., in the form of a parallelepiped , from various materials such as wood , plastic , metal , gypsum , ceramic , stone , or preformed from light cement , concrete , fiber - reinforced concrete . it can be made as an integral body or assembled from several components . these components are the following : an outer or external wall 64 which , after assembling of the blocks into a construction element such as a wall of the building , may comprise a finally textured external surface of the building wall ; an inner or internal wall 66 , which , after assembling of the blocks into a construction element such as a wall of the building , may comprise a finally decorated surface of the interior design of the room ; three parallel connection elements 68 , 70 , and 72 which interconnects the external wall 64 with the internal wall 66 . the connection elements 68 and 72 constitute side walls of the block body 58 , and through openings 74 and 76 are formed between the side walls 68 , 72 and the connection element 70 . furthermore , through recesses 78 and 80 are formed on the upper and lower sides of the block body 58 , respectively . these recesses extend in the longitudinal direction of the block body shown by the arrow x in fig4 . in the embodiment of fig4 the through recesses 78 and 80 have a seimicircular cross sections in the transverse direction of the block body 58 shown by the arrow y . reference numerals 82 , 84 , 86 , 88 designate self - aligninig self - fixing projections on the upper surface of the block body 58 for fixing the adjacent blocks with respect to each other when the blocks are assembled by stacking one onto the other . it is understood that recesses ( only one of which 90 is shown in a partially broken external wall 64 in fig4 ) for insertion of the projections 82 , 84 , 86 , 88 are provided on the lower surface of the block body 58 . it is understood that in order to prevent penetration of moisture into the interior of the cell , the projections 82 , 84 , 86 , 88 are inclined from the inner to outer side of the respective wall 64 or 66 . the upper insert 60 is made of a deformable material with non - resilient properties which allow non - elastic deformations which may occur during setting of the cement inside the insert . an examples of such materials are foam plastics , such as foam polyethylene . extruded polystyrene , or a compressed chip wood board , glass wool , etc . this element fulfills three functions , i . e ., a function of heat / cold insulation , a function of a formwork for molding a cementation material , and a function of releasing a lateral load applied to the internal and external walls 66 and 64 , respectively , which will be described below . the upper insert 60 is molded or preformed as an integral body , which has two projections 92 and 94 with a recess 96 between them , which extends in the direction of the arrow y . projections 92 and 94 have cross sections that ensure free insertion of the projections 92 and 94 into the through openings 74 and 76 during assembling of the modular block . the height h of the upper insert 60 is equal to a half of the height h 1 of the block body 58 between the upper and lower surfaces of the block . the recess 94 is saddled onto the connection element 70 . the upper insert 60 has a pair of through vertical openings 98 and 100 with the center distance l 1 between the centers of these openings equal to the center distance l 2 between the centers of the through openings 74 and 76 in the block body 58 . a through longitudinal recess 102 extending in the direction of arrow x is formed on the side of the upper insert 60 opposite to the recess 96 . reference numerals 97 and 99 designate outer semi - cylindrical projections which rest onto inner seni - cylildrical surfaces 101 and 103 of the block 57 . the lower insert 62 is made of the same material as the upper one . this element fulfills the same aforementioned three functions as the upper insert 60 . the lower insert 62 also is molded or preformed as an integral body , which has two projections 104 and 106 with a recess 108 between them , which is oriented in the direction of the arrow y . projections 104 and 106 have cross sections that ensure free insertion of the projections 104 and 106 into the through openings 74 and 76 of the block body 58 during assembling of the modular block . the height h 2 of the lower insert 62 is equal to a half of the height h 1 of the block body 58 between the upper and lower surfaces of the block . the recess 108 has a cross section that allows saddling of the lower side of the connection element 70 onto the profiled bottom surface 110 of the recess 108 . the lower insert 62 has a pair of through vertical openings 112 and 114 with the center distance l 3 between the centers of these openings approximately equal to the aforementioned center distances l 1 and l 2 . a through longitudinal recess 116 extending in the direction of arrow x is formed on the side of the lower insert 62 opposite to the recess 108 . thus , it can be concluded that the basic modular block 57 shown in fig4 consists at least of two cells a and b . each cell is defined by a separate through opening into which a projection of the insert is inserted . in the embodiment of fig4 such openings are openings 74 and 76 . the cells are connected by a connection element , in this case by the connection element 70 . each cell has a certain direction or orientation defined by the direction of a recess , such as the recess 78 in the longitudinal direction of the block . it is important to note that the distances between the cells in all configurations of the blocks of the present invention are equal . in the embodiment of fig4 this is distance l 1 . the cells are thermally isolated by the material of the insert , and the “ bridges of cold ” are significantly reduced in their cross sections and remain only through the connection element 70 and side walls 68 and 72 of the block . in the embodiment of fig4 both cells have the same orientation and arranged in a straight - line manner . fig5 is a three - dimensional view that illustrates appearance of a modular block of the invention in an assembled state , and fig6 and 7 , which illustrate internal positions of inserts 60 and 62 in the block body 58 , are transverse and longitudinal sectional views along lines vi — vi and vii — vii of fig5 respectively . it can be seen from fig5 and 6 that in an assembled state of the modular block the edges 118 and 120 of the upper and lower inserts 60 and 62 are in flush with outer surfaces 122 and 124 of the block body 58 . it is also seen that in the embodiment of fig4 - 7 the through recesses 123 and 125 have a semiciucular cross section . as shown in fig6 openings 100 and 114 of the upper and lower inserts form a single through opening passing through the entire block in a vertical direction . the same is true for openings 98 and 112 . the lower surface of the upper insert 60 is in contact with the upper surface of the lower insert 62 . reference numeral 68 , 70 , and 72 in fig7 shows positions of the connection elements in the longitudinal cross section of the assembled block . it is important that the thickness of the connection element 70 be twice the thickness of side walls 68 and 72 . it is important for manipulation with the inserts and for versatility of the assembling in making a masonary - like staggered arrangements of the blocks . fig8 is a three - dimensional view of an assembly consisting of two modular blocks 126 and 128 . each block has a two - cell structure shown in fig4 . it can be seen that the blocks 126 and 128 are interconnected by means of common inserts ( only an upper insert 130 is seen in this drawing ). in this case , the projection portions , such as portions 94 and 106 of the upper and lower inserts 60 and 62 are inserted into two adjacent recesses , such as recesses 74 and 76 of the blocks 126 and 128 ( fig4 ). in other words , the upper insert 130 ( as well as the lower insert ) is fixed in the neighboring recesses of the adjacent blocks . i . e ., bridges the blocks and secures them to each other . this is possible when the distances l 4 , l 5 , and l 6 ( fig8 ) between the centers of the adjacent vertical openings are equal to distances l 1 , l 2 , l 3 ( fig4 ). in an assembly of fig9 modular blocks 132 and 134 are interconnected by common inserts ( only an upper insert 136 is seen in this drawing ) having a length equal to the length of two modular blocks . in this case the insert 130 has a two - cell structure with four projections inserted into all four openings of both blocks . the embodiment of fig9 with the use of a single insert for interconnecting two block is shown only as an example . it is understood that a common insert may span three or more than three blocks at the same time . fig1 illustrates an angular hollow modular building block 138 of the invention for construction of angular parts of the buildings or other structures . this block also has a two - cell structure . the block body 140 consists of an outer or external wall 142 , which after assembling of the blocks into a construction element such as a wall of the building , may comprise a finally textured external surface of the building wall , an inner internal wall 144 , which , after assembling of the blocks into a construction element such as a wall of the building , may comprise a finally decorated surface of the interior design of the room and three parallel connection elements 146 , 148 , and 150 which interconnects the external wall 142 with the internal wall 144 . it can be seen from fig1 that the connection element 150 constitutes an external or outer wall of the building or another structural element . through openings 152 and 154 are formed between the connection elements 146 , 148 , and 150 . furthermore , similar to the construction of the building blocks of the previous embodiments , recesses 156 and 158 are formed on the upper and lower sides of the block body 140 . only upper recesses 156 and 158 are designated in fig1 . arrow x 1 shows direction of cell defined by the recess 156 , and arrow y 1 shows direction of the cell defined by the recess 158 , it can be seen that the directions of both recesses are perpendicular to each other . it can be seen that the recess 156 intersects the recess 158 . in the embodiment of fig1 the recesses 156 and 158 have a semicircular cross sections . the unit modular block 138 of the embodiment shown in fig1 also has a two - cell structure with the cells a 1 and b 1 defined by openings 152 and 154 . however , the cells a 1 and b 1 have mutually perpendicular directions of the recesses 156 and 158 . it can be seen that in an angular modular block 138 of fig1 the recesses 156 and 158 are not through and are terminated by the walls 150 and 140 , respectively . fig1 is a three - dimiensionial view of upper insert 160 for the building block 138 of fig1 . this insert can be made of the same thermal insulation materials as the inserts of the previous embodiments . similar to inserts of other embodiments , the insert 160 fulfills three aforementioned functions , i . e ., a function of heat / cold insulation , a function of a formwork , and a load - release function . this element is molded or preformed as an integral body , which has two projections 162 and 164 with a recess 168 between them , which extend in the direction of the arrow y 1 shown in fig1 . projections 162 and 164 have cross sections that ensure free insertion of the projections 162 and 164 into the through openings 152 and 154 during assembling of the modular block . the height h 4 of the upper insert 160 is equal to a half of the height h 3 of the block body 140 between the upper and lower surfaces of the block . the recess 168 is saddled onto the connection element 148 ( fig1 ). the upper insert 160 has a pair of through vertical openings 170 and 172 with the center distance l 8 between the centers of these openings approximately equal to the center distance l 7 between the centers of through openings 152 and 154 in the block body 140 ( fig1 ). recesses 174 and 176 , which have the same orientation and shape as recesses 156 and 158 ( fig1 ) are formed in the upper insert 160 . the lower insert for block 138 is not shown , but it is an exact mirror image of the upper insert 160 relative to an imaginary plane that may contain arrows x 1 and y 1 shown in fig1 and is located under the upper insert . fig1 and 11 shown the angular block 138 and the angular insert 160 for construction of the wall , which starts from this block and extends in the direction opposite to the arrow y 1 . fig1 , 13 , and fig1 show an angular block 178 , an upper insert 180 , and a lower insert 182 for construction of the wall which starts from this block and extends in the direction of the arrow y 1 ( fig1 ). detailed description of the block 178 and of the inserts 180 and 182 is omitted since they are almost identical to those described and shown with reference to the embodiment of fig1 and 11 and differ from them by the fact that the external wall 184 which closes the recess 186 is located on the side opposite to the recess - closing wall 142 shown in fig1 . in other words , the angular module of fig1 can be defined as a right angular block , and the block of fig1 can be defined as a left angular block . as shown in fig1 , the block 178 consists of cells a 2 and b 2 having mutually perpendicular orientation . fig1 is a three - dimensional view of a single - cell hollow transition modular block 188 designed , as shown in fig1 , for initiation of internal load - carrying walls . as can be seen from fig1 , the transition block 188 interconnects basic blocks 57 of fig4 for the construction of the wall in the direction of arrow y 2 . the block 188 has a box - like body 190 with a through opening 192 confined by foul side walls 194 , 196 , 198 , and 200 . opposite walls 194 , 198 and one side wall 196 have respective semi - cylindrical recesses 202 , 204 , and 206 in the upper part of the body 190 . symmetrically arranged recesses ale formed in the lower part of the body 190 , only one of which 208 is seen in fig1 . fig1 is a three dimensional view of a single - cell insert 210 for the transition modular block 188 of fig1 . the insert 210 has external dimensions that allow free insertion of the insert 210 into the opening 192 . the block 188 utilizes upper and lower inserts of identical configuration . the insert 210 has semi - cylindrical projections 212 , 214 , and 216 which in inserted position of the insert 210 rest on the inner cylindrical surfaces 202 , 198 , and 206 of the block 188 . the insert 210 has a single through opening 218 . fig1 is a plan view of a basic rounded modular block 220 for the construction of rounded walls or other structures . in general this modular block is the same as the basic block 57 shown in fig4 and differs from it by the fact that the outer wall 222 and the inner wall 224 are rounded over the outer radius r 1 and the inner radius r 2 , respectively and that the side walls 226 and 228 are directed along the radial lines . the same is true for the inserts ( not shown ) which otherwise are similar to the inserts 60 and 62 of fig4 . fig1 is a three - dimensional view of a modular hollow building block 230 of the invent ion with significantly improved heat / cold - insulating properties . the modular block 230 of fig1 is similar to the block 57 shown in fig4 and differs from it by the fact that the block body 232 is divided in the longitudinal direction of the body 232 shown by the allow x 2 into two parts 234 and 236 which are interconnected via auxiliary inserts 238 , 240 , and 242 made of a material with extremely high heat / cold insulating properties , such is phenol formaldehyde plastic , high - density polyethylene , polyvinylchloride , etc . for further amplification of heat / cold - insulation properties , the block 230 can be provided with a thin metal shield 244 molded into the material of the external wall 246 or applied onto its internal surface , e . g ., by metallization . the shield 244 will prevent loss of heat via radiation and will return a significant amount of heat back into the interior part of the building or other structure . fig2 is a three - dimensional view of a part of a wall 248 built from the modular hollow blocks 250 , 252 , 254 , and 256 of the present invention illustrating the method of the invention . in this drawing , reference numerals 258 , 260 , 252 , and 264 designate inserts which constitute a formwork for molding the cementation material that forms a multiple cell structure ( in the case of one row ) or a lattice - like load - carrying structure 266 of the wall ( in the case of multiple rows of blocks ). the wall 248 is produced by inserting the inserts , such as inserts 60 and 62 ( fig4 ) into recesses , such as recesses 78 and 80 of the block 57 ( fig4 ), assembling the blocks into the structure of the wall 248 . if the blocks are provided with lock recesses such as the recess 90 of fig4 these recesses are fitted onto the projections 82 , 84 , 86 , 88 of the type shown in fig4 . it is understood that the connection via recesses 90 and the projections 82 - 88 are shown only as examples . for example , as shown in fig2 , which is a view similar to fig2 , the blocks can be held in place by means of block - holding reinforcement bars 268 , 270 , 272 , 274 . after the wall or a part of the wall 248 is assembled , the verticals holes 98 , 112 , 100 , 114 , and axial recesses 102 , 116 of all interconnected blocks form a continuous lattice - like space . this space is filled with a cementation material in a liquid state . if the blocks are held by reinforcement bars 268 - 274 , prior to pouring the cementation material these bars are inserted into the centers of the vertical holes formed in the inserts . after the cementation material is solidified or set , it form a continuous lattice - like framework 276 of the type shown in fig2 . it can be seen from fig2 , that the outer wall 278 of each block forms an exterior surface of the wall built from the blocks . in this construction , the inserts 280 , 282 , 284 , 286 are used as a formwork for the formation of the lattice - like load - carrying skeleton of the structural element , in this embodiment , a part of the wall 288 . alternatively , the wall 248 can be assembled row - by - row . in this case , first the lowermost row of the blocks 252 , 256 is assembled and the space inside the inserts is filled with the cement . the second row is built on the first row from the blocks 250 , 254 , and the cement is poured into the inner space of the inserts while the cement of the first row is not yet solidified for bonding to the cement row . then the third row is assembled , etc . since the insert is made of a material such as porous plastic which allows non - elastic deformations , the lateral forces applied to the inner and outer walls of the blocks are dampened by the material of the inserts , whereby the inner and outer walls are free of deformations . it is known that as compared to the continuous plate - like wall , the lattice - type structure of the same mass , has higher stress and load - carrying capacity . this is because , in case of overload , the lattice will break only in a locally overload area , while the lattice as a whole will remain undamaged . this is especially important in the case of a building in a seismic area . the aniti - seismic properties can be further improved by forming the load - carryiny framework from fiber - reinfoiced cement , or by interconnecting the vertical reinforcement bats 268 - 274 with horizontal bars ( not shown ). thus , it has been shown that the present invention provides a hollow modular building block which works under no - load or low - load conditions and therefore can be made of wood , plastics , and lightweight concrete , such as a fiber - reinforced concrete , and different composite materials . the hollow modular building block of the invention is free of bridges of cold and possesses excellent heat / cold insulating properties . the block combines functions of a formwork for the formation of a load - carrying framework of the structural element with additional functions of outer and inner surfaces of the construction element such as texture , color , decorative features , etc . although the invention has been shown and described with reference to specific embodiments , it is understood that these embodiments should not be construed as limiting the areas of application of the invention and that any changes and modifications are possible , provided these changes and modifications do not depart from the scope of the attached patent claims . for example , the inner and outer walls of the blocks may have a relief configuration . thus the outer walls can be formed as wooden logs , and then inner walls can be made as a masonry , or vice verse . the inner walls can be selected in accordance with any interior decoration design . the recesses may have a rectangular cross section rather than a semicircular cross section . a metallized plastic can be used as a thermoinsulation shield . the inserts can be made in a chain - like form for insertion into a series of sequentially arranged blocks which can be interconnected by such multiple inserts . the chain - like insert can be cut in a place required by the design of the building or structure assembled from the building blocks . the holes in the inserts may have cross sections other than round . the block may not be molded but assembled from separate parts . the connection elements between the walls of the block can be shifted to the sides for a half - length of the cell , so that in an assembled state the half - cells will form a full - size cell in combination with the half - cell of the adjacent block . the blocks stacked onto each other in a vertical direction can be fixed with connections other than projections 82 , 84 , 86 , 88 on the lower block and recesses such as 90 on the upper block . | 4 |
with reference to the drawings , fig1 shows the prior art wherein two separate halves h1 and h2 were needed to make up a complete wire frame w1 having the closed cross - section shown in fig1 a , the two halves being bound together by several circumferentially spaced copper wire fastenings such as the single loop l1 shown in the drawing . each of the two frame halves h1 and h2 is fashioned of four wire rings held together by circumferentially spaced ribs r . in making up a complete frame f1 the halves h1 and h2 comprised a total of 8 wire rings w1 - w4 . the improved unitary toroidal frame 10 of this invention is illustrated in fig2 where the toroidal frame 10 is made up of only six generally concentric wire rings arranged in three pairs including an upper pair of wires 12a , 12b , a lower pair of wires 14a , 14b and an intermediate pair of wires 16a and 16b . each pair of wires lies within a common plane the three imaginary planes occupied by the three wire ring pairs being stacked one over the other . each ring pair has an inner wire ring denoted by the lower case letter b and an outer wire ring denoted by the lower case letter a . the six wire rings are held together and supported in the aforedescribed spatial relationship by means of circumferentially spaced wire ribs 18a and 18b . all the ribs have a similar u - shape but differ in that one set of ribs identified by the lower case a interconnects the upper ring pair 12a , 12bwith the intermediate wire ring pair 16a , 16b while the ribs 18b interconnect the lower ring pair 14a , 14b with the intermediate ring pair 16a , 16b . the upper ribs 18a and lower ribs 18b alternate with each other along the circumference of the frame . the resulting frame 10 is unitary , and does not require assembly nor wire ties l1 as in fig1 a , saving time and labor to the user and furthermore is more economical to manufacture because two wire rings w1 , w4 are eliminated over the prior art frame . a further improvement in the frame 10 is the optional inclusion of candle holder elements 20 , several of which may be spaced around the frame 10 . each candle holder element 20 is made up of a single length of wire similar to that used for the construction of the remainder of the frame 10 , one portion of the wire segment being coiled as best seen in the cross - sections of fig3 - 5 to make up a candle receiving base 22 , another segment 24 of the candle holder 20 being extended and secured as by welding to one of the upper and one of the lower wire rings , either the inner or outer of these . in the illustrated example , the extended wire segment 24 of the candle holder 20 is welded to the outer rings 12a and 14a of the upper and lower wire ring pairs respectively , thus substantially improving the overall structural strength and rigidity of the toroidal frame assembly 10 in a simple and convenient manner while simultaneously providing a means for supporting candles on the ornamental wreath . the building of a living plant wreath using the improved wire frame 10 will now be described in connection with fig4 through 8 . a quantity of spagnum moss is soaked for several hours with water , drained and spread evenly into a circular mat 30 approximately three times the diameter of the wreath frame 10 . a sufficient quantity of soil 32 is mixed with water to a fairly thick consistency such that it holds its shape . the wire frame 10 is then centered on top of the moss mat 30 , as suggested in fig4 and moist potting soil is placed on the wire frame until it covers the top of the frame . the moist soil is mounded along the entire circumference of the frame until it takes on the appearance of a chocolate angel food cake as in fig5 . the moss mat 30 is folded in small sections , beginning from the outside edge of the mat , over the top of the sail core 32 . at the same time , an oposite portion of the moss mat 30 is lifted from the center towards the outer portion . the two moss sections are brought together to cover a section of the soil core 32 . the end of a small gauge copper wire 34 on a spool 36 is slipped from the outside of the frame under the moss mat towards the center . the wire end is pulled up from the inside of the frame , wrapped over the moss covered portion of the core and joined with the wire on the outside connected to the spool . the moss covering is secured to the soil covered frame by firmly twisting these two wire portions together as at 38 in fig6 . it is desirable to leave a conspicuous &# 34 ; tail &# 34 ; 40 of wire to mark the beginning point of the base building process . the copper wire from the spool 34 is then coiled around the wreath base 42 at approximately 11 / 2 inch intervals measured along the outside edge of the frame . the last coil of the wire 32 should be joined to the &# 34 ; tai &# 34 ; 40 marking the beginning with a few twists of wire . the completed base 42 may be hung on a vertical surface from a hanging chain connected by means of two s - hooks attached to two spaced apart ribs 18a or 18b . in the alternative , the wreath may be suspended as a candelabrum , particularly when candles are to be placed on the wreath , by attaching four s - hooks at four circumferentially equidistant ribs 18a on the frame 10 and hanging the four chains from a suitable support or a common tie point suspended from the ceiling . a variety of plants 44 may be propagated onto the annular base 42 by punching small holes 46 with a pencil point 48 through the moss covering 30 and into the soil core 32 . the stub 58 of the plant cutting is inserted into the hole 46 and where necessary may be secured to the wreath base with an s - shaped head fern pin pushed into the moss covering . the candle holder elements 20 are easily hidden beneath the planting cuttings and usually will not be visible even when no candles are to be mounted on the frame thus making the planted wreath adaptable for horizontal use as either a centerpiece or a vertical wall wreath . it is therefore best to mark the positions of the candle holders with corks inserted into the candle holders or by other suitable markers before covering the base 40 with plants . as the seedlings or cuttings grow on the wreath base it is desirable to turn the base a quarter turn , when the wreath is on a horizontal surface or suspended horizontally to keep the growth patterns and rate of growth as even as possible . this turning is facilitated by the use of a swivel hook . when the living wreath is placed on a horizontal surface , it is desirable to support the toroidal frame on a toroidal half - frame h1 such as shown in fig1 of the drawings which allows free circulation of air around and underneath the wreath for aeration of the plants and soil . because the soil core 32 and covering moss 30 are relatively fragile , and easily break apart or crumble in handling , it is highly desirable to provide maximum rigidity and integrity in the wire frame 10 as the supporting element . in prior art frames assembled from two equal halves as illustrated in fig1 and 1a , the frame was more susceptible to disruption of the soil and moss core because of possible relative movement between the two wire pieces , unless great care was taken to firmly secure the two pieces with wire along their entire perimeter . even then , since these wreaths can be maintained for periods of years , there was no assurance that the binding wire loops would not corrode or break over such periods of time . if that happens , the possibility of separation between the two wire wreaths arises and any significant such separation can create danger of substantial pieces of the soil and moss core breaking away , along with the plants supported on such pieces with consequent damage to the wreath . these difficulties are eliminated by the improved unitary wire base 10 here disclosed which not only cannot separate into two halves but can be provided with the candle holder elements 20 which also serve the dual function of significantly reinforcing the wire frame against distortion to thereby better support the soil core 32 and moss covering 30 . the extended wire portions 24 of the candle holder also contribute as reinforcing bars extending through the soil core when the frame 10 is packed with potting soil . wreath maintenance may be expedited by providing an efficient and convenient drip irrigation system shown in fig8 which greatly facilitates the problem of irrigating indoor wreaths suspended on walls , doors or over furniture or rugs . since no water tight container exists in the wreath , even a slight excess of water will drip onto the underlying floor or furniture . measuring the exact amount of water needed to consistently and adequately moisten the soil core without dripping is for all practical purposes too difficult , at least without a fair amount of experimentation . this problem is alleviated by a drip bag 52 of the type commonly used in the medical field for the purpose of administering forced feeding solutions , and which includes a plastic bag which in this case will be filled with water and optionally a soluble fertilizer or pesticide solution , a flexible plastic tube 54 connected to the bottom of the bag terminating in a hollow needle or equivalent stiff end tube 56 which may be inserted into the soil core of the hanging wreath . the drip bag is further provided with a control valve 58 mounted at an intermediate point on the flexible tube which has a thumb wheel adjustment whereby the flexible conduit tube can be constricted to a variable degree so as to effectively change its internal cross - section and thereby adjust the drip rate of the irrigation system . such bags are commercially available but have not until now been used for this particular application nor are such medical drip bags sold for this purpose . it is found that by use of such a drip bag 52 water , fertilizer and / or systemic pesticide solutions are equally distributed and effectively applied throughout the annular soil core 32 without spillage or awkward watering of the hanging wreath . gravity and the capillary action of the moss and soil helps to evenly distribute the fluid being administered by the drip irrigation system at rates which , however , vary depending on the wreath size , plant density and various other factors which should be compensated for by proper adjustment of the thumb wheel on the flow control valve . the end of the feed tube 54 of the drip bag 52 should be inserted near the top of the wreath when it is hanging on a vertical surface and optimally two such bags 52 have been found best , each feeding one side of a hanging wreath equally and simultaneously . while a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and illustrated for purposes of clarity and example only , many changes , substitutions and modifications to the described embodiment will become apparent to those possessed of ordinary skil in the art without thereby departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention which is defined only by the following claims . | 0 |
according to the present invention , disclosed herein are binary guanosine gels formed by mixing soluble guanosine - 5 ′- monophosphate ( gmp ) with insoluble guanosine ( guo ) that exhibit unique properties that make them highly effective for swnt dispersion . guanosine gels , or “ g - gels ”, formed by individual guanosine compounds have been extensively studied ( gellert , m ., et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . 1962 , 48 , 2013 ; sasisekharan , v ., and zimmerman , s . ; davies , d . r . j . mol . biol . 1975 , 92 , 171 ; proni , g ., et al ., chem . eur . j . 2000 , 6 , 3249 ; walmsley , j . a . and burnett , j . f . biochemistry 1999 , 38 , 14063 and davis , j . t . angew . chem . int . ed . 2004 , 43 , 668 ). the basic building block is the g - quartet formed by hoogsteen hydrogen bonding between each of four guanines and its two nearest neighbors . as the monomer concentration increases , the g - quartets can aggregate into columnar stacks through π - π interactions or , in the case of 5 ′- guanosine monophosphate ( gmp ), into continuous , hydrogen - bonded helices . it is demonstrated herein that by combining the soluble gmp with the insoluble guo in particular ratios in aqueous solution , the resulting solutions are shown to form reversible , binary g - gels with unique chiral and thermoresponsive properties that can be controlled by adjusting the guo : gmp ratio , cation content and ph . the chirality of g - gels offers the possibility of chiral selectivity that is supported by previous work demonstrating separations of small molecules using g - gels ( dowling , v . a ., et al ., anal . chem . 2004 , 15 , 4558 ; mcgown , us pregrant publication 2004 / 0241718 , published dec . 2 , 2004 ). specifically , in some proportions the gels of the present invention are formed by self - association of guanosine and 5 ′- guanosine monophosphate that are solution at low temperatures and then become a firm gel at higher temperatures before melting at even higher temperatures . as used herein , low temperatures are below room temperature and are between 2 - 20 ° c . while room temperature is defined as between 20 - 27 ° c . and high temperatures are defined as those above room temperature , particularly above 35 ° c ., above 45 ° c ., above 55 ° c ., above 65 ° c . or above 100 ° c . it is noted that the actual transition temperatures will vary depending upon the specific gel recipe , but in general the solution phase exists below room temperature , the gel exits at and above room temperature , and the higher temperature melting occurs above 40 - 50 ° c . this unique thermal dependence makes this gel ideal for encapsulation of heat sensitive components such as living cells , enzymes and other biological components , since they could be added to the solution at low temperature for homogeneous distribution and then raised to room or body temperature for gelation into , for example , drug delivery devices , artificial cells , artificial tissues , artificial organs , or bioreactors for medical use or environmental bioremediation . similarly , nanocomponents such as carbon nanotubes ( cnts ) or cnt - biological hybrids can be dispersed and stored in the solutions at low temperatures and then immobilized in the gels for use at higher temperatures . as such , nanostructures comprised of cnts may be incorporated into the binary gels for use in applications such as fuel cells , solar cells , articifical cells or tissues for medical purposes , microreactors containing cells or enzymes for bioremediation and / or drug delivery . furthermore , it is shown here that binary g - gels provide selective solubilization and dispersion of individual swnts , presumably through selective interactions of the nanotubes with the aromatic guanines in the chiral g - gel structures . solutions of guanosine ( guo ) and guanosine 5 ′ monophosphate ( gmp ) in buffer ( 25 mm tris buffer , ph 7 . 2 ) and then refrigerated as liquids overnight were evaluated for phase changes in different temperature ranges and across a range of cation concentration . the data are shown in table 1 . it is noted that the buffer may be modified to any suitable buffer and may even comprise water alone . the buffer may also contain cations other than potassium or no cations at all . the phase observations labeled in the table include “ l ” for liquid , “ vl ” for viscous liquid and “ g ” for gel . the symbol “-” indicates no observation data for this temperature range . the data suggest that at a guo : gmp ratio of 1 : 4 , the thermoassociative properties of the gel ( from liquid to gel on increased temperature ; see id 1058 ) occurs and is enhanced at higher concentrations of monomer . compare id 1058 with id 1059 . additional studies were performed with samples having monomer concentrations between those of gel id 1058 and 1059 . samples were prepared according to the concentrations in the table ( 25 mm tris buffer , ph 7 . 2 ) and then refrigerated as liquids overnight . these data are shown in table 2 . the time , in minutes , that each sample took to reach a gel state once at room temperature was also measured . these data are listed in the table in the room temperature column . the phase observations labeled in the table include “ l ” for liquid , “ vl ” for viscous liquid and “ g ” for gel . the symbol “-” indicates no observation data for this temperature range . the data shown here suggest that while maintaining a guo / gmp ratio of 1 : 4 , higher monomer concentrations expand the temperature window of the low temperature liquid phase . the effects of cation concentration were investigated . samples containing 0 . 025m guanosine and 0 . 1m guanosine 5 ′ monophosphate were prepared having concentrations of 0 . 01 m , 0 . 03 m , 0 . 05 m , 0 . 07 m or 0 . 09 m potassium chloride ( kcl ) ( 25 mm tris buffer , ph 7 . 2 ). the phase data are shown in table 3 . the phase observations labeled in the table include “ l ” for liquid , “ vl ” for viscous liquid and “ g ” for gel . the symbol “-” indicates no observation data for this temperature range . the data suggest that , while at the lowest concentration of kcl the phase transition is slightly shifted , the phase transition properties of the gel remain constant across a range of cation concentration . using the same binary g - gel ( 0 . 025 / 0 . 1 ; guo : gmp ), the effects of ph were investigated . the data are shown in table 4 . samples were prepared ( 25 mm tris buffer , ph 7 . 2 ) and then refrigerated as liquids overnight . the time , in minutes , that each sample took to reach a gel state once at room temperature was also measured . these data are listed in the table in the room temperature column . the phase observations labeled in the table include “ l ” for liquid , “ vl ” for viscous liquid and “ g ” for gel . the symbol “-” indicates no observation data for this temperature range . an observation matrix of samples was prepared across a range of guo and gmp concentrations . in this experiment , all samples were prepared having a guo : gmp ratio of 1 : 4 , ph 7 . 2 and kcl concentration of 0 . 05m in x buffer . ( 25 mm tris buffer , ph 7 . 2 ). the binary gels were observed at three temperature ranges , low temperature , room temperature and high temperature . the resultant observations are shown in table 5 in the order of low temperature observation / room temperature observation / high temperature observation . the concentration of guo is given in the last row running across the matrix , while the concentration of gmp is given in the first column running down the matrix . the observations are labeled in the table include “ l ” for liquid , “ vl ” for viscous liquid and “ g ” for gel . the symbol “-” indicates no data for this temperature . as other data herein have suggested , the most notable gel behavior occurs at higher concentrations of both monomers where the gels become viscous liquids on increased temperature . additional studies have failed to identify an upper boundary for the concentration of the monomers in preparing these binary gels . this boundary might only be reached at the solubility of each monomer . the binary g - gels disclosed herein exhibit thermoassociative behavior with gelation temperatures that decrease with increasing swnt concentration . single walled carbon nanotubes ( swnts ) were solubilized in g - gels formed by mixtures of guanosine and 5 ′- guanosine monophosphate in aqueous solution . three different guanosine media were investigated . in all cases , swnt suspensions were prepared by sonicating swnts in the dispersing media in bath sonicator for 15 min . stable suspensions of as much as 5 mg / ml could be achieved simply by sonicating . as a control or reference , the first medium was 0 . 25 m gmp alone in 25 mm tris buffer , ph 7 . 2 . gmp is highly soluble in water and does not readily form higher order structures in the absence of stabilizing k +. in contrast to the binary gels described below , up to 1 . 4 mg / ml swnt could be solubilized for up to 24 h in 0 . 25 m gmp without guo , after which the swnts precipitated . the temporary suspension could be reformed by shaking the solution . the result shows that gmp alone does not provide stable suspension of dispersed swnts . analogous experiments could not be performed for guo since it is insoluble in water . second , swnts were solubilized in a binary g - gel ( gel 1 ) comprised of 20 mm guo , 250 mm gmp , ( guo : gmp ratio of 1 : 12 . 5 ) 50 mm kcl in 25 mm tris buffer , ph 7 . 2 . suspensions of 5 μg / ml , 10 μg / ml , 20 μg / ml , 50 μg / ml , 100 μg / ml and 2 mg / ml swnt in gel 1 were evaluated for solubilization , dispersion and viscosity . these suspensions were liquid between 2 - 25 ° c . at swnt concentrations & lt ; 1 mg / ml . at higher swnt concentration , the suspensions exhibit thermoassociative behavior , forming gels at room temperature . suspensions of as much as 5 mg / ml swnt were stable , showing no signs of degradation or precipitation after 4 weeks . when inverted , a vial containing 50 ug / ml swnt in gel 1 flowed to the bottom ( inverted top ) of the vial . however , a solution of 2 mg / ml swnt in gel 1 remained in the top ( inverted bottom ) of the vial as a gel when inverted . third , swnts were solubilized , in a binary g - gel ( gel 2 ) comprised of 60 mm guo , 300 mm gmp , ( guo : gmp ratio of 1 : 5 ) 50 mm kcl in the same buffer as gel 1 . gel 2 was found to be thermoassociative even in the absence of swnt , forming gels at temperatures ≧ 33 ° c . suspensions of 6 μg / ml , 12 μg / ml , 30 μg / ml , 60 μg / ml , 120 μg / ml and 240 μg / ml swnt in gel 2 were evaluated for solubilization , dispersion and viscosity . the gelation temperature was found to decrease with increasing swnt concentration until , above 2 mg / ml swnt , the suspension is a gel even at 2 ° c . concentrations as high as 2 . 4 mg / ml could be suspended in g - gel 2 . for both gels 1 and 2 , recovery of swnts could be achieved by heating the suspension above its melting temperature , causing the swnts to precipitate . optical microscopy using a simple light microscope at a resolution of 200 ×, was performed on g - gels with and without swnts . gels were prepared with 10 ug / ml swnt or no swnt and allowed to dry . in both cases the dehydrated gel exhibited crystallinity but the crystallinty was more pronounced and regular in the presence of swnts . these results suggest that swnts promote the self - assembly of the gels and become an intergal part of the gel structure . atomic force microscopy ( afm ) of 2 mg / ml swnt in gel 1 showed well - dispersed swnts with diameters of ˜ 2 nm ( from line scan analysis ), which is consistent with diameters of ˜ 0 . 9 - 1 . 7 nm that were obtained from micro - raman spectra of the radial breathing mode ( see example 9 below ). the average length of the suspended swnts is 1 μm , which is similar to their length in the starting material . thicker regions of the swnts were observed and may be individual or bundled swnts , or g - gel bridges between adjacent swnts . atomic force microscopy ( afm ) of 240 μg / ml swnt in gel 2 showed that swnts were individually dispersed in the gel . there was evidence of parallel alignment suggesting a high degree of organization that might be increased by optimization of experimental conditions and application of an electric field . the presence of a thicker structures observed in the image may be evidence of different modes of interaction between the gel and the various structures in the heterogeneous swnt preparation , or to solubilization of both bundled and monodispersed nanotubes . micro - raman spectroscopy was performed of the radial breathing mode ( rbm ) region ( 100 - 300 cm − 1 ) and the g - band region ( 1400 - 1700 cm − 1 ) for acid treated swnts in aqueous suspension ( reference sample ) and for 1 mg / ml swnts in gel 1 after one week and from the top and bottom of the gel after four weeks . relative intensity was measured against raman shift ( cm − 1 ). calculations of others have shown that swnts with diameters d & lt ; 1 . 1 nm are metallic with rbm frequencies of 218 - 280 cm − 1 , while swnts with d & gt ; 1 . 1 nm are semiconducting with rbm frequencies of 175 - 213 cm − 1 . ( rao , a . m ., et al ., phys . rev . lett ., 2001 , 86 , 3895 ). here , it was found that the peaks in both regions are blue - shifted by 5 - 7 cm − 1 in the g - gel relative to the reference , which is evidence of interactions between the swnts and the g - gel structures ( dresselhaus , m . s . et al ., carbon 2002 , 40 , 2043 ). compared to the reference , the peaks associated with the semiconducting swnts in the g - gel samples were diminished , indicating that the metallic tubes are preferentially solubilized in the g - gels relative to the semiconducting tubes ( krupke , r ., et al ., am . chem . soc . 2003 , 125 , 3370 ). furthermore , the spectra of the suspensions after 4 weeks show evidence of selective enrichment from top to bottom of different structures within each class of swnts . most notable were the relative increases of the semiconductor peak at 186 cm − 1 and the metallic peak shoulder at 272 cm − 1 in the top of the gel and the increase of the semiconductor peak at 206 cm − 1 in the bottom of the gel . in the g - band region ( 1400 - 1700 cm − 1 ), the sharp peak of the semiconducting swnts was blue shifted from 1587 cm − 1 in the reference to 1592 cm − 1 in the g - gel suspension , which is evidence of association with the g - gel matrix . the shoulder near 1565 cm − 1 , also attributed to semiconducting nanotubes , was less distinct in the gel and indiscernible in the sample taken from the top of the 4 - week suspension . in contrast , the broad peak of the metallic swnts ( dresselhaus , m . s . ; et al ., carbon 2002 , 40 , 2043 ; krupke , r . et al ., science 2003 , 301 , 344 ; and chattopadhyay , d ., et al ., j . am . chem . soc . 2003 , 125 , 3370 ) at 1540 cm − 1 was much more prominent in the g - gel than reference , especially in the sample taken from the top of the gel after 4 weeks . these results indicate that g - gels solubilize high concentrations of swnts with preferential dispersion and enrichment of metallic tubes , and suggest that , as the sample ages , the swnts within the two classes are further distributed based on their chirality . the circular dichroism spectrum of 5 mg / ml swnt in gel showed increased magnitudes of the positive peak at 220 nm and a negative peak at 260 nm relative to the spectrum of the gel in the absence of swnts . it is known that 220 nm indicates the formation of g quartet and 260 nm signals formation of secondary structure . the addition of swnt in high concentration to the thermoassociative gels was found to destroy their thermoassociative ( ta ) property . the cd results suggest that addition of carbon nanotubes results in an increase in the concentration of g - quartet in solution while concomittantly destroying or changing second structures . based upon this finding , it is possible that the pi - pi interaction between g - quartet and swnt may be the driving force for dispersion . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims . | 2 |
hereafter , embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings . in a first embodiment of the present invention , a soft x - ray irradiator is installed on a transportation path of a sample and simultaneously at a position in the atmosphere , whereby regarding inspection of a charged - up sample , a measurement with the same accuracy and the same throughput as those of a non - charged up sample becomes possible . fig1 a shows the first embodiment of the present invention , specifically showing a sample introduction unit of a metrology system of fine pattern using an electron beam . hereafter , a metrology system will be explained by taking a semiconductor wafer being a sample as an example . a command to inspect a predetermined wafer in the wafer cassette 1 in foup ( front opening unified pod ) or smif ( front opening unified pod ) is inputted . a predetermined wafer is automatically taken out by a mechanical arm 2 for wafer transportation of an atmosphere - side robot . in the figure , two wafer cassettes can be carried by a load board section . it is possible that these wafer cassettes can be cassettes of the same wafer size or can be cassettes of different forms . by the mechanical arm 2 for wafer transportation , the taken - out wafer is temporarily transported onto a rotation stage 3 of an aligner . here , the notch ( or orientation flat ) position of the wafer 3 a is detected and a position of the wafer 3 a center is found . in this embodiment , a charge neutralizer , e . g ., a charge neutralizer 4 with corona discharge is supported by a support member along with the rotation stage 3 , immediately above this rotation stage 3 . in this embodiment , a combination of this rotation stage 3 , the charge neutralizer 4 , and the support member that supports them is designated as a charge neutralizer unit . a charge neutralization principal of this charge neutralizer unit uses ions generated by corona discharge . the charge neutralizer unit can generate both positive ions and negative ions necessary for charge neutralization by altering a voltage impressed on the electrode ( ac pulse method ). in addition , since the electrodes of the charge neutralizer 4 are arranged to form a line that is long in a one - direction as each form of the electrode , ions can be supplied so as to become uniform on the whole surface of a wafer 3 a by rotating the wafer 3 a with the rotation stage 3 . on / off of charge neutralization can be automatically operated with combination of wafer transportation and charge neutralization by inputting an on time beforehand . subsequently , a gate valve 5 a that isolates a load lock chamber 5 and the atmosphere is opened , and the wafer is transported from the charge neutralizer unit onto the wafer holder 6 existing in the load lock chamber 5 by the mechanical arm 2 for wafer transportation . a static probe 7 is installed in front of an inlet of the load lock chamber 5 , making possible measurement of a surface potential of the wafer being transported to the load lock chamber 5 . the static probe partially constitutes a surface potentiometer and can measure a potential of a charged - up substance by approaching a sensor part at the end of the probe to the charged - up substance . moreover , since the probe is so adjusted that a central part of the wafer may travel right under the sensor part of the probe at the time of wafer transportation , it can measure a charged - up potential on a diameter of the wafer including the wafer center . therefore , it is possible to estimate a rough charge - up distribution of the transported wafer . next , in the load lock chamber 5 , the wafer holder 6 carrying the wafer transports the wafer to a predetermined position inside a sample vacuum chamber 8 b of the column that is maintained vacuum and performs inspection of the sample by the electron beam via a gate valve 8 a that isolates the load lock chamber 5 and the column in a vacuum . fig2 shows the column of the metrology system ( cd - sem ) using an electron beam to which the present invention is applied . after the sample is transported to the predetermined position inside the sample vacuum chamber as described above , a user interface / mpu 9 a that is a control system of the metrology system performs automatic operations . in order to observe a wafer 11 placed on a wafer holder 6 inside the sample vacuum chamber 8 b , a primary electron beam 17 a emitted from the electron gun 6 is irradiated onto the sample ( wafer ) 11 on the wafer holder 6 via a convergent lens 18 a , a deflector 9 , and an objective lens 10 . a retarding voltage of a predetermined value outputted from an electric power supply / control electric power 9 b of the cd - sem is impressed on the wafer holder 6 holding the wafer 11 . next , astigmatism correction of the incident beam is conducted by controlling a coil 12 for astigmatism correction . note here that when the wafer 11 is not charged up at all , if the astigmatism correction is conducted at a position 46 a of the wafer ( fig4 a ); even when a position of irradiation on the wafer is moved to a position 46 b ( fig4 c ), it is unnecessary to conduct astigmatism correction newly at the position . however , there is a case where , when the wafer is charged up , even if the shape of the beam is formed rotational symmetrical in the center of the wafer , as shown in fig4 a , by correcting the astigmatism there , the beam cannot be formed rotational symmetrical at positions near the edge of the wafer , remote from the wafer center , with the same amount of correction as that of the center ( fig4 b ). in this case , it is necessary to conduct astigmatism correction every time at each measurement point . since a time required to conduct astigmatism correction for one time is about 20 seconds and the number of measurements per wafer reaches several points to a few tens of points in a normal measurement , the astigmatism correction will cause a large reduction in throughput . in terms of this respect , it is determined that , as in this embodiment , the reduction in throughput is prevented by using a charge neutralization capability of the charge neutralizer 4 mounted . provided that the wafer exists on the rotation stage and the positioning operation of the wafer using aligner capabilities is ended , the wafer is rotated to a predetermined rotational velocity . then a switch of the charge neutralizer 4 using corona discharge is turned on . a charge neutralization time is set to about 1 min . it is only necessary that a required time per rotation of the wafer be sufficiently small to the charge neutralization time . this charge neutralization results in charge neutralization of wafer charge - up that may affect astigmatism correction . therefore , it becomes possible to converge a shape of the incidence beam by giving the same amount of astigmatism correction as that of the center of the wafer even at a position near the edge of the wafer , as shown in fig4 c . accordingly , it becomes unnecessary to do astigmatism correction every time at each measurement point . next , an improvement effect for wafers such that their charge - up potential is measurable by the static probe 7 of the surface potentiometer ( fig1 a ) among charged - up wafers will also be explained . in this case , when the wafer is transported from the wafer cassette 1 to the load lock chamber 5 via the rotation stage 3 , the surface potential of the wafer surface is monitored by the static probe 7 . fig4 d shows the result . in doing this , the amount of correction for the retarding voltage is calculated from a value of the charge - up potential of the wafer surface , subsequently a voltage is varied in a rage of the corrected retarding voltage ± 20 ( v ) to find its optimal value , a value of the retarding voltage is fixed to the optimal value , and finally a focus position is determined by conventionally practiced adjustment of the objective lens by adjusting the amount of current thereof . a subsequent procedure of finding a length measurement value of the pattern in concern is the same method as the conventional method . in this case , since potential measurement by the static probe 7 and calculation of the amount of correction of the retarding voltage are conducted during a waiting time before the wafer is measured , they do not affect the throughput . however , a time required by setting the retarding voltage and adjusting scanning of the voltage etc . directly affects the throughput to lower it . a measurement time per measurement point , which takes five seconds conventionally for a non - charged up wafer , has deteriorated to eight seconds . also for such a charged - up wafer , the wafer is rotated at a predetermined velocity when the wafer exists on the rotation stage 3 ( fig1 a ) and after a positioning operation of the wafer using the aligner capabilities is completed . then , a switch of the charge neutralizer 4 using corona discharge is turned on . the charge neutralization time was set to 90 seconds . a required time per rotation of the wafer was set to a sufficiently small value with respect to the charge neutralization time . when the wafer was transported to the load lock chamber 5 after this charge neutralization , the surface potential of the wafer after the charge neutralization was measured with the static probe 7 , which gives a profile of the surface potential as “ after charge neutralization ” shown in fig4 d . all values of potential fall in a range of + 15 v down to + 10 v , and focusing adjustment for each potential can be done merely by adjusting the current value of the objective lens . as the throughput after charge neutralization , a time required for measurement of one point is five seconds similarly as in a non - charged up wafer . next , a method for installing a charge neutralizer using corona discharge in the metrology system of fine pattern using a charged particle beam will be explained . in almost all conventional charge neutralizers , if positive and negative ions generated in the electrodes of a main body of the charge neutralizer come to recombination before reaching a sample ( wafer ) that is a target of charge neutralization , the charge neutralization velocity becomes small . therefore , it is necessary to take a measure of ensuring the charge neutralization velocity by decreasing a distance between the charge neutralizer and the sample or the like . although there is a method of using ventilation by a fan etc . for ion transportation , in most cases where handling a semiconductor wafer , this methods is not adopted on fear that contamination by adhesion of particles etc . might occur . in the present invention , specifically , as shown in fig5 c , a value of a distance ( s 1 ) between the back side of a wafer 57 being a sample and a position of an electrode of the charge neutralizer is set to not more than a value of a radius ( r 1 ) of the wafer being a sample regarding a charge neutralizer 59 with corona discharge placed above the wafer 57 on a rotation stage 58 , whereby it is possible to reduce a loss of ions generated by the charge neutralizer and attain a practical charge neutralization velocity . in addition , the following setting is also possible : an upper limit and a lower limit of the back side potential are set up in the surface potentiometer beforehand , and if a measured value comes off a range ( threshold value ) defined by the upper limit and the lower limit , an alarm will be generated and displayed automatically or the wafer will be returned to the charge neutralizer unit . in that case , it is also possible to , according to a degree by which the surface potential exceeds ( lowers ) the upper limit and the lower limit , control the charge neutralization time in the charge neutralizer unit . although in this embodiment , as described above , the charge neutralizer 4 with corona discharge is placed on the rotation stage , it may be placed on any part of the transportation path of the wafer as long as the ions supplied by the charge neutralizer at the time of charge neutralization can be supplied uniformly to the whole surface of the wafer , and its installation position is not limited . although the neutralization method for generating corona discharge was specified to be the “ ac pulse method ” in this embodiment , any other discharge method can be applied to this embodiment regardless of kinds of discharge methods for generating corona discharge , such as a dc method , an ac method , and a dc pulse method . moreover , it is known that ionization of an air molecule is promoted by irradiation of x - ray , uv light , and α - ray , which promotes charge neutralization of a charged - up substance . a charge neutralizer using this principle , e . g ., a charge neutralizer of an x - ray irradiation method , a charge neutralizer of a uv light irradiation method , and a charge neutralizer of a α - ray method , are commercially available . this embodiment can be applied to these charge neutralizers . further , in this embodiment , the charge neutralizer is not limited merely by its capability of ion generation as long as charge neutralization advances , and all types of charge neutralizers can be applied to this embodiment . moreover , although this embodiment was explained taking the scanning type metrology system using an electron beam , i . e ., scanning electron microscope ( sem ) as an example , this embodiment is not limited to this and can also be applied to other charged particle beam apparatuses , such as an other ion beam irradiator . moreover , although this embodiment was explained for the example of detecting the secondary electron that is one of charged particles , the embodiment is not limited to this and the metrology system may be configured to detect other charged particles , e . g ., a reflected electron , a secondary ion , etc . in a second embodiment of the present invention , a soft x - ray irradiator is installed on the transportation path and in the atmosphere , whereby also regarding inspection of a charged - up sample , a measurement with the same throughput as that of the non - charged up sample becomes possible . fig1 b shows the second embodiment of the present invention , specifically showing a sample introduction unit of a metrology system of fine pattern using an electron beam . hereafter , taking a sample of a semiconductor wafer as a sample , this embodiment will be explained . a wafer is taken out from a wafer cassette 21 in foup or smif by a mechanical arm 22 for wafer transportation of the atmosphere - side robot . although according to the figure , two wafer cassettes can be carried , it is possible that they are specified to be cassettes of the same wafer size or cassettes of different forms . the taken out wafer is temporarily transported to a rotation stage 23 by the mechanical arm 22 for wafer transportation . on the rotation stage 23 , a position of a notch or orientation flat is detected and a center position of the wafer is found . in this embodiment , a soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer 24 is installed as charge neutralizing means right above the rotation stage . the embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in fig1 in this respect . when a transported wafer is charged up , this charge neutralizer is operated for a predetermined time to irradiate the soft x - ray onto the wafer . a first action of the soft x - ray is to excite air molecules in air existing in an irradiation path of the soft x - ray and thereby generate positive and negative ions . therefore , among the positive and negative ions generated near the wafer , ions with a polarity reverse to the wafer are supplied to the wafer surface by electrostatic induction and the charged - up wafer is charge neutralized . because of this , in a vacuum whose density of air is very small , the neutralization effect by soft x - ray irradiation is not expectable . another action of soft x - ray is to eliminate charge up in a sample film by exciting electrons in the film . after a wafer is positioned on the rotation stage 23 and charge neutralization is conducted , if necessary , subsequently the gate valve 5 a that isolates the load lock chamber 5 from the atmosphere is opened , and the wafer is transported onto the wafer holder 6 being in the load lock chamber 5 by the mechanical arm 2 for wafer transportation . the static probe 7 is installed in front of the inlet of the load lock chamber 5 , making possible measurement of the surface potential of the wafer transported to the load lock chamber 5 . since the probe is so adjusted that a central part of the wafer may travel right under a sensor part thereof at the time of wafer transportation , it can measure the charged - up potential on a diameter of the wafer including the wafer center . therefore , a rough charge - up distribution of the transported wafer can be estimated . next , the wafer holder 6 carrying the wafer in the load lock chamber 5 is transported to a predetermined position inside the sample vacuum chamber 8 b of the column that is maintained vacuum and performs inspection of the sample by the electron beam via the gate valve 8 a that isolates the load lock chamber 5 and the column in a vacuum . subsequently , a method for obtaining length measurement values of a predetermined pattern is the same as in the case of the first embodiment of the present invention . note here that there is a case where charge - up is generated on the whole surface of the wafer , as shown in fig4 e , and the amount of charge - up is nonuniform . therefore , when the measurement is conducted at a plurality of different points , since the amount of charge - up is different at each measurement point by a few tens of volts , it is necessary to do coarse adjustment of the retarding voltage of the focal length every time at each measurement point . in the usual measurement , one wafer is measured at measurement points counted up to several points or a few tens of points , which will cause reduction in throughput . here , in the case of this embodiment , the soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer 24 is installed on the rotation stage 3 . when a charged - up wafer has come onto the rotation stage 3 , charge neutralization is conducted while the wafer is being rotated . this leads the amount of charge - up of the wafer to become a uniform value on the whole surface of the wafer , as shown in fig4 f . therefore , even when measurement is conducted at a plurality of different points on the wafer , it is unnecessary to do coarse adjustment of the focal length every time at each measurement point , and this embodiment was able to control the reduction in throughput to be a minimum . next , a method for installing a soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer in the metrology system of fine pattern using this electron beam will be explained . almost all the conventional soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizers are each a point light source such that soft x - ray is irradiated from a certain point . then , in the case where the charge neutralizer has a configuration ( fig5 a ) that one soft x - ray irradiator is placed above a center position of the wafer , being opposed to the wafer , the intensity of the soft x - ray that reaches the wafer surface has a distribution such that the intensity is large in the wafer center and is small near the edge of the wafer . therefore , in order to realize an arbitrary soft x - ray intensity distribution on the wafer , the charge neutralizer needs to have a plurality of soft x - ray irradiators and one or more rotation stages , and it is necessary that heights of the soft x - ray irradiators to the sample of the soft x - ray or distances to a rotation shaft of the soft x - ray irradiators are mutually different , or both of them are mutually different . a simplest distribution that is presumable is a case where charge - up of the wafer are almost equal everywhere in the plane of the wafer . consideration of how to conduct uniform charge neutralization on the whole surface of the wafer with two soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizers gave a method for installing a soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer 54 b , which is placed at larger distance from a rotation center 55 of the rotation stage than a soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer 54 a , nearer to a sample mount plane 53 a in its perpendicular direction . the reason is the following . the soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer 54 a placed nearer to the center position with respect to a horizontal direction of the wafer 53 than the other charge neutralizer 54 b has a larger ratio of energy being able to be irradiated onto the wafer to the total generated energy . therefore , only when a distance between itself and the wafer 53 is set larger than the other soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer 54 b , the intensity of the soft x - ray become more uniform on the whole surface of the wafer . in this embodiment , specifically , designating the diameter of the wafer being a sample as d , a vertical direction position of the soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer 54 a to the sample mount plane 53 a as h 1 , a horizontal direction position to the rotation center 55 as d 1 , a vertical direction position of the soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer 54 b as h 2 , and a horizontal direction position as d 2 , the charge neutralizers 54 a , 54 b satisfy a geometrical configuration of ( h 1 , d 1 , h 2 , d 2 )=( d / 5 , d / 4 , d / 10 , d / 2 ) as shown in fig5 b , whereby ions can be supplied uniformly to the sample , so that uniform charge neutralization on the whole surface of the wafer can be conducted . besides the above - mentioned embodiments , if the surface potential can be measured at a stage before the charge neutralization by a soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer on the rotation stage , it is possible to determine an irradiation time of the soft x - ray irradiator or irradiation times of a plurality of soft x - ray irradiators individually by feeding back the result , and accordingly reduction in throughput caused by charge neutralization can be controlled to be a minimum . specifically , as shown in fig3 , installation of the 2nd static probe 39 of the surface potentiometer between the wafer cassette 1 and the rotation stage 3 having a function of positioning a wafer enables the amount of charge - up measured by the static probe and a result of monitoring a charge - up distribution of the wafer to be fed back to parameter setting concerning the charge neutralization . as a result of the feedback , a necessary and sufficient charge neutralization time can be predicted , and therefore this embodiment can improve the throughput better than the conventional method . moreover , after conducting this charge neutralization , the wafer is transported to the load lock chamber 5 , and during this time , it is possible to measure the surface potential of the wafer after charge neutralization with the 1st static probe 7 . the metrology system may be configured to feed back this measurement result to setting of the retarding voltage at the time of fine pattern measurement . although in the embodiment shown in fig3 , two probes , i . e ., the 1st static probe 7 and the 2nd static probe 39 are shown , it is natural that one static probe is sufficient provided that the one static probe is installed right above the rotation stage 3 and this static probe has a mechanism of retracting itself at the time of charge neutralization of the soft x - ray irradiation type . this is because the surface potential before and after the charge neutralization of the wafer can be monitored . although in the above , the wafer is charged up uniformly in the plane of the wafer , conversely even if the charge - up has an ununiform distribution , the wafer can be charge neutralized appropriately by controlling the charge neutralization time of a plurality of charge neutralizers based on a result obtained by monitoring the wafer with the 2nd static probe 39 . for example , as shown in fig1 b , in the case of a wafer where charge - up is generated unevenly , i . e ., distributed only in the center and its vicinity , what is recommended is that the irradiation times of the soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizers in the center and its vicinity are increased and the irradiation times of the soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizers installed near the edge of the wafer are decreased , as shown in fig1 a . by this setting , curtailment of energy and cost down of consumable supplies of the soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer were realized because of halting unnecessary irradiation , and annual cost of the soft x - ray irradiating charge neutralizer was able to be curtailed by 20 %. although this embodiment was explained taking the scanning type metrology system using an electron beam , i . e ., scanning electron microscope ( sem ) as an example , this embodiment is not limited to this and can also be applied to other charged particle beam apparatuses , such as an other ion beam irradiator . moreover , although this embodiment was explained taking the example of detecting the secondary electron that was one of charged particles , the embodiment is not limited to this and the metrology system may be configured to detect other charged particles , e . g ., a reflected electron , a secondary ion , etc . in a third embodiment of the present invention , one or more electrodes are arranged on the transportation path of the sample , whereby length measurement processing with an equivalent throughput to that of the non - charged up sample becomes possible even in measuring lengths of the charged - up sample . fig6 shows the third embodiment of the present invention , specifically showing a sample introduction unit of a metrology system using an electron beam . hereafter , taking a semiconductor wafer as an example , the embodiment will be explained . like the case of the second embodiment , a wafer is taken out from the wafer cassette 1 currently kept in the foup or smif by the mechanical arm 2 for wafer transportation of the atmosphere - side robot . the taken - out wafer is temporarily transported to the rotation stage 3 by the mechanical arm 2 for wafer transportation . in this embodiment , a plurality of electrodes 64 are arranged as charge neutralizing means right above the rotation stage 3 . when the transported wafer is charged up , the charge - up wafer is charge neutralized by opposing a plurality of electrodes to which a high voltage of the order of a few kv is impressed , without discharging it , to the charged - up wafer for a predetermined time . this charge neutralization method is called a charge neutralization method of an electric - line - of - force radiation type ( reference document : japanese patent application laid open no . 2001 - 148297 ). basically , when the sample intended to be charge neutralized is negatively charged up , the polarity of an electrode is set positive and the electrode is opposed to the sample . when the charge - up of the sample is positive , all that is needed is to set the polarity of the electrode being opposed to the sample negative . after the wafer is positioned on the rotation stage 23 and charge neutralization is conducted , if needed , a gate valve 5 a that isolates the load lock chamber 5 from the atmosphere is opened and the wafer is again transported onto the wafer holder 6 existing in the load lock chamber 5 by the mechanical arm 2 for wafer transportation . the static probe 7 is installed in front of the inlet of the load lock chamber 5 , making possible measurement of the surface potential of the wafer transported to the load lock chamber 5 . since the probe is so adjusted that a central part of the wafer may travel right under a sensor part thereof at the time of wafer transportation , it can measure a charged - up potential on a diameter of the wafer including the wafer center . therefore , a rough charge - up distribution of the transported wafer can be estimated . next , the wafer holder 6 carrying the wafer on it in the load lock chamber 5 is transported to a predetermined position inside the sample vacuum chamber 8 b of the column that is maintained vacuum and performs inspection of the sample by the electron beam via the gate valve 8 a that isolates the load lock chamber 5 and the column in a vacuum . subsequently , a method whereby a primary electron beam emitted from the electron gun is irradiated onto the wafer transported to the column via a convergent lens , a deflector , and an objective lens and length measurement values of a predetermined pattern are obtained is the same as in the case of the first embodiment of the present invention . note that in the case where a plurality of electrodes capable of being impressed a high voltage are not mounted like the conventional case , when the sample wafer is charged up and has a rotational asymmetry distribution of charge - up with respect to the position of the wafer center , since a method for estimating the surface potential of the wafer ( the amount of charge - up ) described in the first embodiment is predicated on rotational symmetry , its estimation error becomes large . therefore , adjustment of the retarding voltage requires a time , which results in a decreased throughput . however , in this embodiment , since the metrology system has a plurality of electrodes each having a charge neutralization capability in it , the charge - up of the wafer can be charge neutralized . therefore , it is unnecessary to adjust the retarding voltage , and even with the charged - up wafer , the same throughput as that of the non - charged up wafer can be secured . there will be given an explanation about setting of an inter - electrode distance of the electrodes of the metrology system of fine pattern using an electron beam having a charge neutralization capability of an electric - line - of - force radiation type that uses a plurality of electrodes capable of being impressed this high voltage of a few kv without discharging it . it is appropriate that the inter - electrode distances are set to a length of the order of a radius of a circular sample . the reasons are as follows : ( 1 ) since all the electrodes are placed right above the sample , an electric power being put thereinto can be used efficiently for charge neutralization . ( 2 ) conversely , if the sample is approached to the electrode while keeping the inter - electrode distance at a value of the radius , a distribution of a high potential of a few kv impressed on the respective electrodes is rendered more uniform with decreasing distance between the electrode and the sample at the time of charge neutralization . the reason for the above is that if the distance is too small , the high - potential distribution reaches the sample before completion of rendering the high - potential distribution sufficiently uniform , and accordingly an in - plane distribution of a charge neutralization capability becomes a distribution reflecting the arrangement of the electrodes . if such a phenomenon occurs , it is necessary to conduct charge neutralization again with the distance between the electrode and the sample increased , and accordingly it become a cause for reduction in throughput . there will be given an explanation regarding setting of an electrode diameter of the electrode of the metrology system of fine pattern using an electron beam and having the charge neutralization capability of an electric - line - of - force radiation type that uses one or more electrodes capable of being impressed this high voltage of a few kv without discharging it . in the case where an object to be charge neutralized is sufficiently large in dimensions , like a 12 - inch wafer whose diameter is 30 cm , a plurality of electrodes are often arranged to conduct charge neutralization . even in this case , charge neutralization accompanied with easy potential control of the sample can be conducted by setting the polarity of some electrodes placed in the center to the reversed polarity , as shown in fig7 . the reason for this is that addition of the reversed polarity electrodes reduces the charge neutralization capability , and when a charge neutralization time is controlled by time control , this method can prevent charge neutralization from being impressed excessively to charge - up the wafer in the reversed polarity . specifically , all electrodes 102 a , 102 b , 102 c , and 102 d arranged right above the peripheral part of a wafer 101 are set positive and only an electrode 102 e in the central part of the wafer is set negative , as shown in fig1 . before alteration of arrangement of the electrodes , two wafers out of 100 wafers were inversely charged up and needed charge neutralization again . after the alteration , when the 100 wafers are put into the process , there occurs no inversely charged - up wafer . moreover , there will be given an explanation regarding potential control of the sample at the time of charge neutralization in a metrology system of fine pattern with an electron beam that has a charge neutralization capability of an electric - line - of - force radiation type using one or more electrodes capable of being impressed this high voltage of a few kv without discharging it . in the embodiments so far described , all the objects that support the wafer at the time of charge neutralization are assumed to be in floating states . on the contrary , since installation of an object for supporting the sample enlarges a ratio of electric line of force converging to the sample to electric line of force diverging from the electrode at the time of charge neutralization , the charge neutralization velocity can be made large . each of rotation stages 63 , 73 shown in fig6 and fig7 generally has a mechanism of rotating a sample while it holds the sample . use of this rotation mechanism at the time of charge neutralization can contribute to uniform charge neutralization on the whole surface of the wafer . the metrology system of fine pattern using an electron beam having a charge neutralizer of an electric - line - of - force radiation type that uses one or more electrode capable of being impressed this high voltage of a few kv without discharging it can have an additional function as follows : as shown in fig8 , if a second static probe 89 of the surface potentiometer is installed between the wafer cassette 1 and the rotation stage 3 having a function of positioning a wafer , a monitoring result of the amount of charge - up of the wafer and a charge - up distribution thereof measured by the first static probe 7 can be fed back . this feed back enables a necessary and sufficient charge neutralization time to be predicted , and this also makes it possible to improve the throughput better than the conventional case . moreover , since after the execution of this charge neutralization , the wafer is transported to the load lock chamber 5 , the surface potential of the wafer after the charge neutralization can be measured with the 1st static probe 7 in this occasion . therefore , the metrology system may be configured to feed back this data to the retarding voltage . although the embodiment shown in fig8 uses the two static probes 7 , 89 of the surface potentiometer shown in the figure , it is natural that only one static probe is enough , dispensing with the other one , provided that the one static probe is installed right above the rotation stage 3 and this static probe has a mechanism that enables the static probe to escape at the time of charge neutralization , which enables the surface potential of the wafer to be monitored before and after the charge neutralization . in the above explanation , it was assumed that the wafer was charged up uniformly on the whole surface of the wafer . however , conversely in the case where charge - up has an ununiform distribution , the charge neutralization can be completed within a minimum necessary time by controlling the charge neutralization times of a plurality of charge neutralizers based on a result of monitoring it by the second static probe 89 . for example , conventionally , when it is found that a wafer of a certain lot is charged up , charge neutralization is conducted over 3 min . irrespective of the magnitude of the amount of charge - up of the wafer . however , some wafers among the wafers of the lot have only one fourth times the average amount of charge - up of wafers in the lot . therefore , a charge neutralization time that accords to the amount of charge - up of the wafers can be set from the measurement results with the second static probe 89 , and accordingly a time required to charge neutralize all the wafers of the lot can be reduced to one half times the time required so far . although this embodiment was explained taking the scanning type metrology system using the electron beam , i . e ., scanning electron microscope ( sem ) as an example , this embodiment is not limited to this and can also be applied to other charged particle beam apparatuses , such as an other ion beam irradiator . moreover , although this embodiment explained the example of detecting the secondary electron that is one of charged particles , the embodiment is not limited to this , and the metrology system may be configured to detect other charged particle , e . g ., a reflected electron , a secondary ion , etc . as described in detail above , according to the present invention , there can be realized the metrology system of fine pattern by charged particle beam capable of high - accuracy measurement with high throughput at all the measurement points in measuring and inspecting the fine pattern by the charged particle beam . | 7 |
with reference first to fig1 there is illustrated one preferred embodiment for use of the concepts of this invention . fig1 shows apparatus 2 for creating a pillowless booklet . apparatus 2 includes , in part , frame 4 , bundle clamp 5 , suspension 6 , lower bundle plane 8 , drive rollers 10 , sheet diverter 12 , bundle clamp 14 , hand - off rollers 16 , fastener 18 , stapler anvil 20 , anvil drive gear 22 , bundle diverter 23 , hand - off rollers 24 , upper bundle plane 26 , crease wire 28 , jaw centering arm 29 , crease rollers 30 , clamping jaws 32 , carriage centering rollers 34 , carriage guide rail 36 , spine form roller 38 , spine form roller tensioner 39 , carriage drive screw 40 , and drive nut 42 . with respect to apparatus 2 , frame 4 , preferably , is constructed of any suitable , durable , rigid material . bundle clamp 5 , preferably , is constructed of any suitable , durable , rigid material . suspension 6 , preferably , is constructed so as to adequately provide suspension between frame 4 and the remainder of apparatus 2 . lower bundle plane 8 , preferably , is constructed of any suitable , durable material that is capable of allowing media ( element 3 in fig3 ) to be held upon lower bundle plane 8 and traverse along lower bundle plane 8 . drive rollers 10 , preferably , are any suitable rollers that can introduce media on to sheet diverter 12 . sheet diverter 12 , preferably , is constructed of any suitable , durable material . bundle clamp 14 , preferably , is constructed of any suitable , durable , rigid material . hand - off rollers 16 , preferably , are any suitable rollers that can introduce the bundle into bundle diverter 23 . fastener 18 , preferably , is any suitable fastening device , such as a stapler , that is capable of fastening the sheets of the bundle together . stapler anvil 20 , preferably , is constructed of any suitable , durable , rigid material . anvil drive gear 22 , preferably , can be any suitable gear that is capable of moving stapler anvil 20 and crease wire 28 up - and - down . hand - off rollers 24 , preferably , are any suitable rollers that can introduce the bundle on to upper bundle plane 26 . upper bundle plane 26 , preferably , is constructed of any suitable , durable material that is capable of allowing the bundle to be held upon upper bundle plane 26 and traverse along upper bundle plane 26 . crease wire 28 , preferably , is constructed of any suitable , durable , rigid material that is capable of pushing the bundle into jaw centering arm 29 , crease rollers 30 , clamping jaws 32 , and spine form roller 38 . jaw centering arm 29 , preferably , is constructed of any suitable , durable , rigid material that is capable of allowing clamping jaw 32 to traverse along its length . crease rollers 30 , preferably , are any suitable rollers that can introduce the bundle into clamping jaws 32 and spine form roller 38 . clamping jaws 32 , preferably , are constructed of any suitable , durable , rigid material that is capable of clamping the bundle in order to retain the spine of the bundle . carriage centering rollers 34 , preferably , are any suitable rollers that are capable of traversing spine form roller 38 along the spine of the bundle . carriage guide rail 36 , preferably , is constructed of any suitable , durable , rigid material that is capable of allowing carriage - centering rollers 34 to traverse along its length . spine form roller 38 , preferably , is any suitable v - shaped roller that is capable of traversing along the spine of the bundle in order to flatten the spine . carriage drive screw 40 and drive nut 42 , preferably , can be any conventional drive screw and drive nut that are capable of driving spine form roller 38 along the spine of the bundle . [ 0024 ] fig2 is a cross sectional view of apparatus 2 , as illustrated in fig1 . fig2 more clearly shows how the various elements interact with each other . [ 0025 ] fig3 shows the introduction of media 3 into apparatus 2 . it is to be understood that media 3 can be any suitable media upon which printing or other similar types of imaging can be placed . as shown in fig3 bundle clamp 5 is conventionally moved to a downward or closed position to allow media 3 to come into contact with drive rollers 10 . in this manner , sheet diverter 12 causes sheets of media 3 to accumulate along lower bundle plane 8 . as shown in fig4 as a new sheet of media 3 is placed upon bundle 50 , the sheet of media 3 is traversed along bundle 50 . the various sheets of media 3 of bundle 50 are pre - cut prior to being introduced into apparatus 2 . in this manner , when the spine of bundle 50 is formed and flattened , the various media sheets of bundle 50 will align to form a straightedge , thereby resembling a booklet . consequently , the various sheets of media 3 of bundle 50 must be placed upon bundle 50 , as shown in fig4 in order to produce a “ stairstep ” effect between the adjacent sheets of media 3 of bundle 50 . this is accomplished through the use of bundle clamp 14 and drive rollers 10 . as a sheet of media 3 is introduced on to bundle 50 , the leading sheet edge of media 3 is conventionally monitored so that when leading sheet edge of media 3 reaches a desired point along bundle 50 , bundle clamp 14 is lowered or closed on to the sheet of media 3 and drive rollers 10 creates a trailing edge buckle that causes the trailing end of the sheet of media 3 to position itself at the other end ( trailing end ) of bundle 50 . as shown in fig5 after the desired number of sheets of media 3 are accumulated , in order to form bundle 50 , bundle clamps 5 and 14 are conventionally lowered on to bundle 50 in order to hold bundle 50 in place . as shown in fig6 stapler anvil 20 is conventionally lowered by anvil drive gear 22 on to bundle 50 in order to fasten the sheets of media 3 of bundle 50 into place through the use of fastener 18 . also , bundle clamps 5 and 14 are conventionally raised . as shown in fig7 after bundle 50 has been fastened , hand - off rollers 16 interact with bundle 50 in order to cause bundle 50 to traverse along bundle diverter 23 and interact with hand - off rollers 24 . as shown in fig8 hand - off rollers 24 traverse fastened bundle 50 along upper bundle plane 26 and conventionally centers the area where bundle 50 was fastened over crease wire 28 . it must also be noted that once bundle 50 has been transferred to upper bundle plane 26 , another sheet of media 3 can be introduced on to lower bundle plane 8 in order to begin the formation of another bundle 50 . as shown in fig9 crease wire 28 is conventionally raised by anvil drive gear 22 such that spine 52 in bundle 50 is formed between crease rollers 30 . as shown in fig1 , crease wire 28 and crease rollers 30 cause bundle 50 and spine 52 to traverse through clamping jaws 32 and interact with spine form roller 28 . this manner , clamping jaws 32 are caused to clamp down on bundle 50 and , more particularly , spine 52 in order to hold spine 52 in place to create a spine edge . after clamping jaws 32 have clamped down on bundle 50 and spine 52 , v - shaped spine form roller 28 is traversed along the length of the edge of spine 52 through the use of carriage drive screw 40 , drive nut 42 , carriage - centering rollers 34 , and guide rail 36 in order to flatten spine 52 . tensioners 39 are utilized in order to keep spine form roller 38 centered along spine 52 as spine form roller 38 flattens spine 52 . in this manner , substantially any raised areas or “ pillowing ” located along spine 52 is eliminated . as shown in fig1 , after booklet 100 has been formed and conventionally ejected from apparatus 2 , another fastened bundle 50 is traversed from lower bundle plane 8 to upper bundle plane 26 so that another booklet 100 can be formed through the flattened of spine 52 . it is to be understood that the present invention can be embodied in any computer - readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system such as a computer / processor based system or other system that can fetch or obtain the logic from the computer - readable medium and execute instructions contained therein . a “ computer - readable medium ” can be any medium that contains , stores , or maintains programming for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system . the computer - readable medium can comprise any one of many physical media such as , for example , electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic , infrared , or semiconductor media . more specific examples of a suitable computer - readable medium would include , but are not limited to , a portable magnetic computer diskette such as floppy diskettes or hard drives , a random access memory ( ram ), a read - only memory ( rom ), an erasable programmable read - only memory , or a portable compact disc . once given the above disclosure , many other features , modifications or improvements will become apparent to the skilled artisan . such features , modifications or improvements are , therefore , considered to be a part of this invention , the scope of which is to be determined by the following claims . | 1 |
now , an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to accompanying drawings . in ethernet , all data packets to be forwarded come from user devices in a user layer of a network . the user devices include ethernet terminal devices such as pcs , servers , ip telephone sets and so on , and switch which is in access layer connect these user devices together . each of the ethernet terminal devices has respective mac addresses which usually do not change , i . e ., the mac address of each port at the switch usually does not change , unless the mac addresses corresponding to the switch ports may change only under the circumstances of the entire terminal device being replaced , the pc network nic being changed or the terminal device being moved with a long distance , under which physical connection between the terminal device and the switch needs to be disconnected . the present embodiment applies a learning mechanism to the switch , and determines whether the mac table needs to be updated by detecting whether the physical connection between the terminal device and the switch is cut off through detection of physical signals , thus can prevent ethernet from being attacked by malicious users through mac address cheating or mac address bombing , and overcome the disadvantages of system maintenance inconvenience and high maintenance cost induced by the fixed mac table . fig3 is a general flow chart according to an embodiment of the invention . now , the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to fig3 . after establishing a connection between an ethernet user device and a switch port , in step 301 , the switch receives a data packet from the terminal device . in step 302 , after receiving a data packet from the terminal device on a port , the switch judges whether the mapping between the mac address carried in the data packet and the switch port has been established in a mac port map based on mac address learning process . if there is no entry in the mac table for this terminal device , step 303 will be executed ; otherwise , step 305 will be executed . in step 303 , the switch port implements mac address learning process , i . e ., establishes the map between the terminal device and the switch port . in step 304 , the data packet is forwarded according to the conventional forwarding processing . in step 305 , it is determined whether the source mac address in the data packet is the same as the mac address corresponding to the port in the mac table . if they are the same , it indicates that the terminal device from which the data packet comes has the mac address corresponding to the port in the mac table , and step 304 will be executed . otherwise , it indicates that the data packet is probably transmitted from a spurious mac address by a malicious user , and step 306 in which the data packet is discarded will be executed . after it is judged that the two mac addresses are inconsistent and the data packet is discarded , the occurrence of the inconsistency can be further recorded in a log and reported to the network administrator . forwarding data packet can be accomplished through the above - noted steps . then in step 307 , the switch judges whether the terminal device connected to the port is disconnected . if so , in step 308 , the switch deletes the entry associated with the port in the current mac table , i . e . deletes the map between the port and the mac address of the current terminal device , then the current processing ends . if the port is once again connected with a terminal device , such as another terminal device , the same terminal device with a changed nic , or the same terminal device with the same nic , the processing flow of the embodiment will be restarted , i . e . the map between the port and the mac address of the terminal device connected to the port will be re - established . if the connection is not cut off , step 301 and its following steps will be repeated . in the embodiment , whether the connection is established between the terminal device and the port is judged by detecting physical signals in the port . specifically , after a connection between the terminal device and the port is established and the terminal device is initiated , the switch can detect a high level on the port , this indicates the terminal device has been initiated . when the connection between the terminal device and the port is cut off , including the circumstance in which the power of the terminal device is broken , the switch can detect a low level on the port , this indicates the terminal device has broken the connection with the switch port , and the switch will delete the entry associated with this port in the mac table . in this embodiment of the present invention , the map between the mac address of the terminal device and the switch ports is established based on mac address learning mechanism , in such a way that the disadvantages of low maintenance efficiency and high cost induced by fixed binding of the mac address information and the ports are overcome . and , as long as the connection between the terminal device and the port is not cut off , the entry associated with the port in the mac address table will not be modified , therefore , running a software for fabricating mac addresses in a pc will not affect the mac table in the switch , and thus mac address cheating or mac address bombing and the like can be avoided . therefore , with the embodiment , through dynamic binding of the terminal devices and the ports , security and reliability of network is improved , network maintenance efficiency is increased and maintenance cost is decreased . it will be understood by one skilled in the art that the switch can be a two - layer switch or a three - layer switch , and this embodiment is not limited to switches , but can be any communication device , such as a firewall device or an ethernet bridge based on mac address leaning mechanism . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to an exemplary embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
the calibrator of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 of the drawings , wherein the particle size analyzer itself consists of a collimated light source 10 , a detector 11 for measuring transmitted light , and electronic equipment , not shown , for analyzing any decrease in light transmission from the source 10 to the detector 11 to correlate the same with the size of the particle causing the reduced light transmission . the electronic equipment may be , for example , a nuclear data model no . 2400 analyzer . particles 21 for analysis pass singularly through inlet tube 12 , through the light beam from the source 10 and thence through the outlet tube 13 for storage , recycle or other analyses . a calibrator disc 14 , mounted on a shaft 15 , is located in near proximity to the path of the light from the source 10 . projecting radially from the disc 14 are a plurality of opaque wires 16a , 16b , etc ., each being of a specific but different diameter . the wires 16 may be affixed to the surface of the disc 14 or may be mounted in recesses in the edge of the disc 14 . the length of the wires 16 are such that when disc 14 is rotated , the wires will each sweep across the path of the light beam and reduce light transmission to the detector 11 . the disc 14 and shaft 15 are typically driven by a motor 17 via a belt 18 , a pulley 20 , and a pulley 19 . it should be understood that during the calibration procedure , no particles 21 are flowing through the inlet tube 12 . in a particular embodiment , the disc 14 was fabricated from sheet plastic and was about 1 1 / 2 inches in diameter . the disc was rotated at 6180 rpm , for example . in any application the speed of rotation is chosen so that the parameters of the electrical signal derived from the light detector are equivalent to signals derived from the detector when actual particles pass through the analyzer . the principal parameters are the rise time and duration of the pulse so that meaningful comparisons may be made . the high rotational speed ( 6180 rpm ) chosen in this particular application results from the use of vacuum to draw the particles through the analyzer . obviously , if particles fall through an analyzer only under the effect of gravity , the rise time of resultant signals is longer and therefore the calibration wheel would be rotated at a slower speed to obtain electrical signals having proper pulse parameters . six metallic wires projected radially from the rim of disc 14 provide six size standards , as follows , to cover the particle size range 380 - 1000 μm : ______________________________________ equivalent particlewire diameter , in . × 10 . sup .- 3 size , μm______________________________________3 . 0 397 . 36 . 3 563 . 815 . 0 875 . 05 . 0 504 . 110 . 0 717 . 020 . 0 1005 . 3______________________________________ referring now to fig2 this is a typical trace from the light detector seen on an oscilloscope when the calibration disc is rotated . it may be seen that the peak heights are proportional to the above - cited wire sizes ( equivalent particle sizes ) in the order of their passage through the light beam . in this manner the electronic components may be adjusted so that correct sizes may be assigned to acutal particles passing through the analyzer . at the above - cited speed of rotation , about 700 individual measurements of each wire will be made in about 5 - 7 seconds . fig3 shows a simulation of an oscilloscope trace from the particle size analyzer wherein the calibrator data and data of an actual sample are compared . in this figure , the size is plotted left - to - right ( smallest at left ), and the total number of a particular size is accumulated in a vertical direction . this illustration shows that the particles within the sample were between 563 . 8 and 717 μm . fig4 illustrates the calibrator of fig1 in conjunction with a typical apparatus for feeding particles singularly into the analyzer . it should be noted that the orientation of the components of fig1 are shown displaced 180 ° from the position of these same components as shown in fig4 for the sake of clarity . in fig4 a housing 2 is mounted on a u - shaped base member 1 . within the housing 2 is mounted the motor 17 with its pulley 20 extending exterior of the housing 2 . the pulley 19 and the drive belt 18 between the pulleys 19 and 20 are also positioned exterior of the housing 2 . the calibrator disc 14 and its drive shaft 15 ( coupled to the pulley 19 ) extend to within the housing 2 in a suitable recess provided therefor , and the shaft 15 is supported by any conventional bearing means , not shown . the particle inlet tube 12 extends downward through the housing 2 in opposing spaced relation to the particle outlet tube 13 which extends upward through the housing to define an air gap therebetween . the light source 10 has its light beam collimated by a suitable lens 22 , which collimated beam passes through the air gap between tubes 12 and 13 onto the detector 11 , such that each time a particle passes through said gap , the intensity of the light beam reaching the detector 11 is reduced in an amount proportional to the size of the particle . the disc 14 with its radially extending wires 16 , each of different diameters as discussed above , is positioned to one side of the tubes 12 and 13 in such a manner that during a calibration procedure as discussed above , the wires 16 sequentially pass between the collimated light beam from source 10 to the detector 11 to provide the calibration data . mounted on top of the housing 2 is an assembly consisting of three rectangular plates 3 , 8 , and 9 , for example , through which an evacuated hollow , rotatable drum 4 extends . this may be , alternatively , a one - piece unit . the drum 4 is provided at one end thereof with a notched driving member 6 which is coupled to a drive belt 7 which in turn , is coupled to a suitable drive motor , not shown . the middle plate 8 is provided with a particle receiving hopper 27 as shown in dashed lines and a particle receiving funnel 26 has its lower portion extending into said hopper as shown in the drawing . in the rotary drum 4 there are provided a plurality of small holes or apertures 28 arranged in a straight line around the periphery of the drum with the holes sequentially passing over the entrance of the particle inlet feed tube 12 . since the interior of the drum 4 is maintained under a vacuum during the operation of the analyzer , each of the above holes will attract by virtue of said vacuum , a particle from the feed hopper 27 and the single particle will be held thereby . there is provided a jet , not shown , within the drum 4 , so positioned with respect to said line of holes and the feed tube 12 that as each hole 28 comes into alignment with the entrance to the tube 12 , the jet effects the release of the vacuum - held particle into the tube 12 . furthermore , a vacuum in tubes 12 and 13 draws the released particles through the particle size analyzer . as the drum continues to rotate , another particle from the hopper 27 will then take the place of the just released particle . in the event that two particles are held by any of said holes 28 , there is provided a blow - off jet 5 as shown in the drawing for removing the excess particle from the hole . after the particles have been analyzed by the above - described device , they may be fed by means of the outlet tube 13 to a cyclone separator 23 which is provided with a vacuum line 24 for its operation . the particles fall into a collection bottle or jar 25 , for storage , recycle or other analyses . it will be recognized that the components shown in fig4 may be mounted by means different than those shown therein . also , other means may be used for sequentially feeding particles into the particle size analyzer . it should be understood that , if desired , the cyclone separator may be mounted above the funnel 26 with the jar 25 removed and replaced by a suitable vacuum lock ( not shown ), and thus the same particles may be recycled through the analyzer any desired number of times . in such an operation , it should be evident that standard sized particles could be utilized in the recycling operation to provide primary calibration to the desired statistical accuracy . however , the use of the calibrator disc 14 with its radial wires 16 is the preferred method of subsequent calibration of the analyzer since such calibration is 25 times , or greater , faster than with actual standard size particles and calibration can be performed without altering equipment . this invention has been described by way of illustration rather than by limitation and it should be evident that it is equally applicable in fields other than those described . | 6 |
reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention , one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings . each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention , not limitation of the invention . in fact , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . for instance , features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment . thus , it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . fig1 provides a cross - sectional side view of an exemplary embodiment of a vertically oriented water heater 100 of the present disclosure . in this embodiment , water heater 100 includes a tank 124 for storing water . tank 124 defines a radial direction r and a vertical direction v . in fig1 , vertical direction v runs parallel to the axial direction of tank 124 . notably , however , in other exemplary embodiments , tank 124 may be horizontally oriented , in which case radial direction r of tank 124 would be approximately parallel with the vertical direction , and the axial direction of tank 124 would be approximately parallel with the horizontal direction . tank 124 may be positioned within an outer jacket 98 that surrounds tank 124 to create an annular space 146 between tank 124 and jacket 98 . insulation 126 may be provided within annular space 146 to reduce the amount of heat transfer from tank 124 to the environment . insulation 126 may be provided as foamed - in insulation , but other materials may be used as well . tank 124 extends between a pair of end portions or , more particularly , between a bottom portion 170 and a top portion 172 . top portion 172 may include a water outlet 122 with associated coupling 114 and a water inlet 120 with associated coupling 116 . coupling 114 may connect with conduit 110 , and coupling 116 may connect with conduit 112 , and each may extend through housing 102 . in turn , conduits 110 and 112 can each be fitted with couplings 106 and 108 , respectively , for connection of water heater 100 to the piping or plumbing associated with a water supply system of , e . g ., a commercial or residential structure . coupling 108 may be connected with , e . g ., a pipe delivering a pressurized water supply that flows into tank 124 using dip tube 118 . in turn , heated water may be returned to such piping system through the connection provided by coupling 106 . in an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure , however , water outlet 122 may include conduit 110 welded to tank 124 and water inlet 120 may include conduit 112 welded to tank 124 , each having no separate couplings for connection to tank 124 . additionally , instead of couplings 106 and 108 , conduits 110 and 112 may include a threaded portion and pipe nipples for connection of water heater 100 to the piping or plumbing associated with a water supply system of , e . g ., a commercial or residential structure . bottom portion 170 of tank 124 may include a circular bottom edge 142 and a bottom wall 128 . beneath bottom wall 128 is a gas fuel heating system 224 , which may include a combustion chamber 208 . within combustion chamber 208 may be one or more gas burners 206 . gas burner 206 may be constructed of a circular plate with a series of burner holes 222 positioned along an edge of the circular plate . gas fuel and air may enter the burner through a burner inlet 220 positioned at a side of the gas plate or , alternatively , burner inlet may be positioned underneath the circular plate . gas burners 206 heat the water in tank 124 by providing thermal energy to tank 124 through combustion of a gas fuel . a separate pilot light may be provided to ignite the gas fuel and air as it exits burner holes 222 , such that flames are provided that come up and around the circular plate . the gas fuel may be supplied by , e . g ., a gas line from consumer &# 39 ; s house supply 214 , which in turn may be connected to a gas control mechanism 216 , configured for providing the gas fuel to burners 206 through gas line 218 . other constructions and configurations of gas fuel heating system 224 , as are well known in the art , are contemplated by the present disclosure as well . the exhaust air from the combustion of gas fuel in combustion chamber 208 exits through an exhaust flue 174 . exhaust flue 174 may extend through the center of tank 124 and out through housing 102 , where it may then connect with a vent to , e . g ., the consumer &# 39 ; s chimney 204 using a draft hood 202 . exhaust flue 174 may have a diameter that is approximately twice the size shown in fig1 , such as from between 3 inches and 5 inches . additionally , exhaust flue 174 may include one or more restrictive baffles ( not shown ) to slow down and create turbulence in the exhaust gas . this may allow for increased heat transfer from exhaust flue 174 to the water in tank 124 . mounted to top 172 is housing 102 , which houses an electric heat pump heating system 104 using a refrigerant cycle . heat pump heating system 104 may be used to heat the water in tank 124 in conjunction with or in alternative to gas fuel heating system 224 . heat pump heating system 104 employs coils 130 to circulate hot refrigerant around tank 124 and heat water in tank 124 . coils 130 operate as a heat exchanger or , more particularly , as a condenser for heat pump heating system 104 . as will be understood by one of skill in the art , compressed refrigerant vapor flowing through coils 130 condenses to a liquid in coils 130 to provide heat to water in tank 124 . the refrigerant in coils 130 then flows through an expansion valve , wherein the refrigerant is depressurized and the temperature of the refrigerant drops . the refrigerant then flows through an evaporator 178 , wherein air may be moved past evaporator 178 to begin warming the refrigerant prior to the refrigerant being compressed and sent back around tank 124 . a fan 226 , configured for creating a flow of air over evaporator 178 in an air flow direction f , may be provided . water heater 100 is provided by way of example only . using the teachings disclosed herein it will be understood that other configurations , constructions , or shapes for water heater 100 with heat pump heating system 104 and gas fuel heating system 224 may be used as well . the configuration of water heater 100 is provided by way of example only . as will be understood by one of skill in the art using the teachings disclosed herein , the present invention includes water heaters of other constructions and configurations as well . for reasons previously stated , it is desirable to capture the waste heat from exhaust flue 174 of gas fuel heating system 224 and utilize it in evaporator 178 of heat pump heating system 104 . such a configuration will provide a heat pump heating system having increased efficiency , as well as providing increased efficiency in water heater 100 as a whole . additionally , the waste heat from exhaust flue 174 may be utilized to defrost evaporator 178 , or prevent evaporator 178 from accumulating frost . fig2 provides an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , wherein water heater 100 includes a heat pipe 176 to transfer waste heat from exhaust flue 174 of gas fuel heating system 224 to evaporator 178 of heat pump heating system 104 . a fan 226 is configured for creating a flow of air past exhaust flue 174 and over evaporator 178 . in one exemplary embodiment , as shown in fig2 , pipe 176 may capture waste heat from exhaust flue 174 by extending in the vertical direction along exterior surface 196 of exhaust flue 174 . further , pipe 176 may transfer the waste heat captured from exhaust flue 174 by also extending in the vertical direction adjacent to evaporator 178 , and by being positioned upstream from evaporator 178 in the air flow direction f created by fan 226 . a variety of configurations may be used for providing heat transfer between pipe 176 , exhaust flue 174 , and evaporator 178 . in one exemplary embodiment , pipe 176 may be comprised of a solid material for transferring heat by conduction , whereas in another exemplary embodiment pipe 176 may carry a heat transfer fluid for transferring heat using the sensible and / or latent heat of the fluid . as used herein with regard to pipe 176 , the term “ pipe ” is not limited to a circular shape in cross - section or to a tube and refers , instead , to a medium for conducting heat as described herein . in one exemplary embodiment the transfer fluid may be a single phase fluid . as used herein , a “ single phase fluid ” is a material that does not change phases as it passes through pipe 176 and is heated and cooled by exhaust flue 174 and evaporator 178 . when a single phase fluid is used , pipe 176 may be positioned along exhaust flue 174 and evaporator 178 so as to allow the fluid to act as a thermosyphon , where natural convection will move fluids in pipe 176 from exhaust flue 174 to evaporator 178 . more particularly , as shown in the exemplary embodiment of fig2 , pipe 176 may extend vertically upward along axial direction a of exhaust flue 174 . this allows fluid to move upward along vertical direction v in pipe 176 as it is heated while travelling next to exhaust flue 174 . pipe 176 may also extend vertically downward along evaporator 178 so that as fluid in pipe 176 cools and becomes more dense , it can move vertically downward along evaporator 178 and return to exhaust flue 174 . for the exemplary embodiment shown , a leg 177 of heat pipe 176 extending between the exhaust flue 174 and evaporator 178 is angled upwardly therebetween so as to allow heated fluid to in pipe 176 to move towards evaporator 178 . other configurations may be used as well . in yet another exemplary embodiment , pipe 176 may carry a phase change fluid . as used herein , a phase change fluid refers to a material that is capable of storing a relatively large amount of energy when it changes phase between , e . g ., a gas and liquid or between a liquid and a solid . by way of example , for pipe 176 of the present disclosure , phase change fluids that may be used include dichlorodifluromethane , trichlorofluromethane , benzene , methanol , ammonia , water , mercury , and mixtures thereof . other materials may be used as well . by way of example , where a phase change material is used , the configuration of pipe 176 can be similar to that shown in fig2 . however , as is discussed below , other configurations of pipe 176 are contemplated as well . referring now to fig3 , in one exemplary embodiment , pipe 176 may capture waste heat from the exhaust flue by wrapping around exterior surface 196 of exhaust flue 174 one or more times . pipe 176 may then transfer the waste heat captured from exhaust flue 174 to evaporator 178 by extending adjacent to evaporator 178 , and by being positioned upstream from evaporator 178 in the air flow direction f created by fan 226 . additionally , pipe 176 may extend across evaporator 178 one or more times . in another exemplary embodiment , as shown in fig3 , evaporator 178 may contain a plurality of grooves 190 , and pipe 176 may further be positioned within grooves 190 . this configuration may assist in holding pipe 176 in position and may increase the amount of heat transfer between pipe 176 and evaporator 178 . with each of the above exemplary embodiments , however , pipe 176 may be comprised of a solid material , a single phase fluid , or a phase change fluid , as previously discussed . in another exemplary embodiment , as shown in fig4 and 5 , a portion of pipe 176 may extend around a portion of exhaust flue 174 to form a partial sleeve 192 around exhaust flue 174 . in this exemplary embodiment , exhaust flue 174 further defines a radial direction , r . as shown in the cross - sectional top view of fig4 , partial sleeve 192 may have an interior surface 194 that has a semi - circular shape as viewed in a plane containing radial direction r , which shape approximately matches the shape of exterior surface 196 of exhaust flue 174 in radial direction r . further , as shown in the side view of fig5 , partial sleeve 192 may extend along exterior surface 196 of exhaust flue 174 in axial direction a for a defined length . pipe 176 may be affixed to evaporator 178 in a number of ways . in one exemplary embodiment , pipe 176 may be welded to evaporator 178 . as previously discussed , in an alternative exemplary embodiment , pipe 176 may be fitted integrally to evaporator 178 by positioning pipe 176 within grooves 190 defined by evaporator 178 . this embodiment is illustrated in fig3 . in yet another exemplary embodiment , pipe 176 may be attached to evaporator 178 by a plurality of hooks 188 , as is shown in fig6 . in this exemplary embodiment , hooks 188 may be attached to pipe 176 and then hooked into evaporator 178 or vice versa . hooks 188 may be comprised of a metal , which may assist in heat transfer by acting as a heat exchanger between pipe 176 and evaporator 178 . referring now to fig7 , in one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , pipe 176 may run adjacent to evaporator 178 , without physically touching it . additionally , pipe 176 may be positioned upstream from evaporator 178 in the air flow direction f created by fan 226 . further , as is shown in fig7 , a portion of pipe 176 may comprise a plurality of fins 186 . fins 186 may assist in transferring waste heat captured by pipe 176 to the air flow and then to evaporator 178 . the portion of pipe 176 with fins 186 may extend across the air flow path to evaporator 178 one or more times . referring now to fig8 , in still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , water heater 100 may transfer waste heat from exhaust flue 174 to evaporator 178 by having exhaust flue 174 define a plurality of branches 200 along axial direction a , wherein each branch is configured for carrying exhaust air . the branches 200 may also be configured for allowing air to pass between branches 200 and over evaporator 178 , and may be positioned upstream from evaporator 178 in the air flow direction f created by fan 226 . the addition of branches 200 to exhaust flue 174 exposes additional surface area of exhaust flue 174 to the air passing by exhaust flue 174 and over evaporator 178 . this may allow for an increased transfer of waste heat from exhaust flue 174 to evaporator 178 . branches 200 may rejoin to form a single exhaust flue 174 , as shown in fig8 . in yet another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , shown in fig9 , water heater 100 may transfer exhaust heat from exhaust flue 174 to evaporator 178 by having exhaust flue 174 includes a plurality of fins 184 . in this exemplary embodiment , fan 226 is configured for causing a flow of air past fins 184 and over evaporator 178 , wherein exhaust flue 174 is positioned upstream from evaporator 178 in the air flow direction f created by fan 226 . this configuration may assist in the transfer of waste heat from exhaust flue 174 to evaporator 178 . in still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , waste heat from exhaust flue 174 may be transferred to evaporator 178 by diverting a portion of the exhaust air , including heated gases from gas fuel heating system 224 , from exhaust flue 174 over evaporator 178 , as is shown in fig1 . in one exemplary embodiment , the amount of exhaust air that flows over evaporator 178 may be fixed . for example , a small portion of the exhaust air may be diverted to flow over evaporator 178 , or all of the exhaust air may be diverted to flow over evaporator 178 , or anywhere in between . in another exemplary embodiment , the amount of exhaust air that flows over evaporator 178 may be varied depending on the operating conditions of water heater 100 . for example , the entire stream of exhaust air from exhaust flue 174 may be diverted over evaporator 178 when gas fuel heating system 224 is not being operated , while only a portion of the exhaust air from exhaust flue 174 may be diverted over evaporator 178 when gas fuel heating system 224 is being operated . this written description uses examples to disclose the invention , including the best mode , and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention , including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods . the patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims , and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art . such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims , or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims . | 8 |
for the purposes of this invention , c ( 1 - 6 ) alkyl ( which may be alternatively referred to as ( c 1 - c 6 ) alkyl , including , e . g ., c ( 1 - 4 ) alkyl or c 1 - c 4 alkyl ) refers to a straight - or branched - chain hydrocarbon radical having the specified number of carbon atoms . for example , as used herein , the terms “ c ( 1 - 6 ) - alkyl ” refers to an alkyl group having at least 1 and up to 6 carbon atoms . examples of such branched or straight - chained alkyl groups include , but are not limited to , methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , isobutyl , n - butyl , t - butyl , n - pentyl , isopentyl , and n - hexyl , and branched analogs of the latter 3 normal alkanes . halo refers to fluoro , bromo , chloro or iodo . where such a moiety is on an alkyl group , there may be 1 or more of any one of these four halo groups , or mixtures of them . when the term “ mono to perfluoro - c ( 1 - 4 ) alkyl ” is used it refers to an alkyl group having at least 1 and up to 4 carbon atoms that is substituted with at least one fluoro group on any or all of the carbons , and may have up to 2n + 1 fluoro groups where n is the number of carbons . examples include , but are not limited to , fluoromethyl , difluoromethyl , trifluoromethyl , 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl , pentafluoroethyl , 2 -( trifluoromethyl ) ethyl , and nonafluoro - tert - butyl . trifluoromethyl is a particularly useful group , especially when present at the 4 position on the r 4 phenyl ring . with regards to the phenyl of r 1 , if it is substituted by fluoro there may be 1 - 3 fluoro groups on the phenyl ring at any combination of positions on the ring . particularly useful are the 4 - fluorophenyl , 3 , 4 - difluorophenyl , 3 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl , or 2 , 3 - difluorophenyl groups , more particularly the 4 - fluorophenyl , 3 , 4 , 5 - trifluorophenyl , or 2 , 3 - difluorophenyl groups . in regard to r 2 , suitable 5 - to 7 - membered heterocyclic rings containing n include pyrrolidine , piperidine and azepane . c 1 - 6 ( e . g . c 1 - 4 ) alcohols include branched or straight - chained alkanes having at least 1 and up to 6 carbons , and substituted by 1 , 2 or 3 — oh groups . examples include , but are not limited to , methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , isobutyl , n - butyl , t - butyl , n - pentyl , isopentyl , and n - hexyl alcohols , and branched analogs thereof . in some embodiments , the process is carried out in accordance with the following description . in step ( a ), alkyl esters of 2 - oxocyclopentanecarboxylate are available commercially . the methyl ester is particularly useful and readily available . the alkali metal salt of glycine may be the sodium , potassium or lithium salt , which are available commercially or prepared in situ from glycine and a suitable base such as sodium ethoxide . the sodium salt is particularly useful . the reaction is run in a polar solvent such as a low molecular weight aqueous alcohol ( e . g . c 1 - 4 , e . g . ethanol , methanol , and / or isopropanol ), an amidic solvent ( e . g . n - methylpyrrolidinone ) or a carboxylic acid ( e . g . acetic acid ). the reaction mixture is heated , e . g ., to between 50 °- 70 ° c . for a sufficient , generally short time , e . g . a couple of hours or so , and is then worked up by conventional means to obtain the alkali metal salt of ({ 2 -[( methyloxy ) carbonyl ]- 1 - cyclopenten - 1 - yl } amino ) methyl ester or used in solution as is . with regards to the cyclization step ( b ), making the hexahydro - 1h - cyclopenta [ d ] pyrimidin - 1 - yl ) acetic acid of formula ( b ), the alkali metal salt of formula ( a ) is treated with either : ( i ) a thiocyanate salt such as ammonium thiocyanate or an alkali metal thiocyanate such as sodium thiocyanate , or potassium thiocyanate , and a ) a haloalkylsilane and a proton source such as water or alcohol ( e . g ., c 1 - 4 alcohols , including e . g . methanol ) in an appropriate solvent , such as an amidic solvent ( e . g . n - methylpyrrolidinone ) or a carboxylic acid ( e . g . acetic acid ), for a sufficient time , generally several hours , at elevated temperature such as between 80 °- 120 ° c . ; or b ) an anhydrous acid ( inorganic or organic ) such as anhydrous hydrochloric acid or methane sulfonic acid , with heating ( such as in ( a ) above ); or methods using the thiocyanate salt are particularly suitable . in such methods , treatment with the thiocyanate salt will generally be followed by treatment with the haloalkylsilane and proton source , or with anhydrous acid , although the reagents may be combined in any order . by any of the cyclization methods , after applying heat to the mixture , generally for several hours , it is cooled and the product isolated and purified by conventional means . the thiol of formula ( c ) [ step ( c )] is prepared by treating the hexahydro - 1h - cyclopenta [ d ] pyrimidin - 1 - yl ) acetic acid with a thio - alkylating agent which is an unsubstituted or substituted benzyl moiety of formula ( d ). formula ( d ) can have any suitable leaving group ( x ) which is exemplified by cl , br , i or an — oso 2 r group where r is alkyl ( e . g ., c 1 - 6 ), perfluoroalkyl ( e . g . trifluoromethyl ) or an aromatic group ( e . g . phenyl ). acid ( b ) is stirred in a suitable polar solvent , for example water and a low molecular weight alcohol , and then treated with organic or inorganic base . for example , an alkali metal base such as naoh or koh and / or an alkali metal carbonate such as na 2 co 3 or k 2 co 3 is added . this mixture is maintained or heated at low temperature , e . g . 20 °- 50 ° c . and the benzyl derivative is added and heating is continued for a suitable time , generally a couple of hours . the product is recovered by conventional means ; addition of a low molecular weight organic or inorganic acid ( e . g ., formic , sulphuric or phosphoric acid ) may facilitate crystallization . in step ( d ), the secondary amine ( f ) needed to form the amide group in formula ( i ) is prepared from an aldehyde ( e ) by treating the aldehyde with the appropriate substituted amine in the presence of a heavy metal catalyst such as palladium and hydrogen gas , in an appropriate solvent such as an aromatic solvent ( e . g . toluene ), a ketonic solvent ( e . g . methylisobutylketone ) or an alkyl acetate solvent ( e . g . isopropyl acetate ). suitable amines are alkylene diamines of the formula ( c 1 - 3 ) nr 5 r 6 , where r 5 and r 6 are as defined in formula ( i ), and of the formula het - c ( 0 - 2 ) alkyl in which het is a 5 - to 7 - membered heterocyclic ring containing n and in which n may be substituted by c ( 1 - 6 ) alkyl . when hydrogenation is completed , the product is recovered by conventional means ( it may be left and used in solution ). the last step , step ( e ) will typically comprise treating compound ( c ) with carbonyldiimidazole in an aprotic solvent , then combining the mixture with the amine ( f ) and heating the mixture . thus , step ( e ) is suitably effected by first treating the thiol ( c ) prepared in step ( c ) with carbonyldiimidazole in an appropriate aprotic solvent such as an aromatic solvent ( e . g . toluene ), a ketonic solvent ( e . g . methylisobutylketone ) or c 1 - 6 alkyl acetate solvent ( e . g . isopropyl acetate ) and heating the solution . alternatively , thiol ( c ) may be combined with the reagents in any order . this step forms an imidazole intermediate that is not isolated , but added as is to a solution of the secondary amine ( f ) prepared in step ( d ). this solution is heated to e . g ., 80 °- 100 ° c . or thereabout until conventional testing shows the reaction has gone to completion . product is isolated by conventional means . in alternative embodiments , the imidazole intermediate may be isolated for subsequent reaction with amine ( f ). it has been found that combined use of the carbonyldiimidazole and amine in this step desirably reduces or removes residual thio - alkylating agent ( e . g . ( d )) in the thiol ( c ) ( in some embodiments , to less than 1 ppm ( d )). in some embodiments , methanol is used as a solvent during isolation of the product and may improve yield and / or purity . the present invention encompasses a methanol solvate of compounds of formula ( i ), formed by isolation comprising the use of methanol as a solvent . in one aspect , the invention relates to novel compounds of formula ( a ). in another aspect , the invention relates to a method of preparing a compound of formula ( a ), comprising the aforementioned step ( a ). in another aspect , the invention relates to novel compounds of formula ( b ). in another aspect , the invention relates to a method of preparing a compound of formula ( b ), comprising the aforementioned steps ( a ) and ( b ). in another aspect , the invention relates to a method of preparing a compound of formula ( c ), comprising the aforementioned steps ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ). in another aspect , the invention relates to a method of preparing a compound of formula ( i ), comprising the aforementioned steps ( a )-( c ). in another aspect , the invention relates to a method of preparing a compound of formula ( i ), comprising the aforementioned steps ( a )-( e ). all publications ( including but not limited to published patent applications and patents ) referred to herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety . glycine sodium salt ( 69 . 64 g , 1 . 02 eq ) and industrial methylated spirits (“ ims ”) ( 800 ml ), a grade of denatured ethanol , were combined and stirred . then water ( 40 ml ) was added to the slurry . methyl oxocyclopentanone carboxylate ( 100 g , 1 . 00 eq ) was then added and the slurry heated to 60 ° c .± 3 ° c . after 2 hrs the slurry was cooled to 20 ° c .± 3 ° c . over 40 min , aged for 30 min then filtered . the cake was washed with industrial methylated spirits ( 2 × 200 ml ), deliquored , then dried further at 70 ° c . in an oven under reduced pressure to yield the title compound as a white solid ( 139 . 8 g , 89 %). 1 h nmr ( d 4 meod ) δ 1 . 80 ( 2h , quintet ), 2 . 49 ( 2h , t ), 2 . 56 ( 2h , t ), 3 . 63 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 75 ( 2h , s ). sodium ({ 2 -[( methyloxy ) carbonyl ]- 1 - cyclopenten - 1 - yl } amino ) acetate ( 60 g ) and sodium thiocyanate ( 26 . 6 g ) were stirred in n - methylpyrrolidinone ( 280 ml ) and water ( 2 . 94 ml ) under a nitrogen atmosphere . chlorotrimethylsilane ( 73 . 8 g ) was added and the mixture heated to 117 ± 3 ° c . after 3 hours at this temperature the reaction mixture was cooled to 90 ° c . and water ( 480 ml ) was added . the mixture was cooled to 2 ° c . and the product isolated by filtration . it was washed with water ( 2 × 120 ml ) then acetone ( 2 × 60 ml ) and dried at 60 ° c . in an oven under reduced pressure to yield the title compound as an off - white solid ( 50 . 69 g , 83 %). 1 h nmr ( d 6 dmso ) δ 2 . 00 ( 2h , quintet ), 2 . 60 ( 2h , t ), 2 . 87 ( 2h , t ), 4 . 95 ( 2h , broad s ), 12 . 57 ( 1h , broad s ), 13 . 26 ( 1h , broad s ). methyl 2 - oxocyclopentanecarboxylate ( 750 g ) was added to a stirred suspension of glycine , sodium salt ( 528 g ) in n - methylpyrrolidinone ( 4 l ) under a nitrogen atmosphere at 60 ± 3 ° c . over 45 minutes . the ester was washed in with a further portion of n - methylpyrrolidinone ( 1 . 3 l ) and the mixture was stirred at this temperature for 2 hours . the mixture was then cooled to 20 ± 3 ° c . and sodium thiocyanate ( 599 g ) was added . chlorotrimethylsilane ( 2 . 01 kg ) was added over 45 minutes and the reaction mixture was heated with a jacket set to raise the temperature to 123 ° c . over 45 minutes . during this heating up period , the reaction mixture became thicker and some volatiles were distilled out . the temperature of the reaction mixture rose to 117 ± 3 ° c . this reaction temperature was maintained for 3 hours . the reaction mixture was cooled to 90 ± 3 ° c . water ( 10 . 5 l ) was added and the suspension was cooled to 2 ± 3 ° c . over 4 hours and the product was collected by filtration . the product was washed twice with water ( 2 × 2 . 3 l ) and twice with acetone ( 2 × 1 . 2 l ) and dried in vacuo at 60 ° c . to yield the title compound as an off - white solid ( 920 g , 77 %); 1 h nmr ( d 6 dmso ) δ 2 . 00 ( 2h , quintet ), 2 . 60 ( 2h , t ), 2 . 87 ( 2h , t ), 4 . 95 ( 2h , broad s ), 12 . 57 ( 1h , broad s ), 13 . 26 ( 1h , broad s ). ( 4 - oxo - 2 - thioxo - 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - hexahydro - 1h - cyclopenta [ d ] pyrimidin - 1 - yl ) acetic add ( 30 . 0 g , 1 . 0 eq ) was slurried in a mixture of water ( 162 ml ) and isopropyl alcohol ( 30 ml ). koh solution ( 50 % aqueous , 28 . 3 g , 1 . 90 eq ) was added followed by a water line wash ( 15 ml ) resulting in a solution . then k 2 co 3 ( 2 . 75 g , 0 . 15 eq ) was charged and the solution was heated to 40 ± 3 ° c . thereafter 4 - fluorobenzyl chloride ( 18 . 2 g , 0 . 95 eq ) was added , followed by a line wash of isopropyl alcohol ( 18 ml ) and the reaction mixture was stirred at 40 ± 3 ° c . until the reaction was deemed complete ( ˜ 2 . 5 hours ). the reaction mixture was cooled to 20 ± 3 ° c . and formic acid ( 3 . 1 g , 0 . 5 eq ) was added resulting in crystallisation of the product within 30 minutes . a second charge of formic acid ( 10 . 4 g , 1 . 7 eq ) was added over 1 hour and the slurry was stirred at 20 ± 3 ° c . for at least one hour . the slurry was filtered to isolate the product , which was washed twice with a mixture of water ( 48 ml ) and isopropyl alcohol ( 12 ml ), then with isopropyl alcohol ( 60 ml ) and dried in vacuo at 50 ° c . to yield the title compound as an off - white solid ( 40 . 6 g , 92 %). 1 h nmr ( d 6 dmso ) δ 1 . 95 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 57 ( 2h , t ), 2 . 85 ( 2h , t ), 4 . 4 ( 2h , s ) 4 . 7 ( 2h , s ), 7 . 15 ( 2h , dd ), 7 . 45 ( 2h , dd ), ˜ 13 . 0 ( 1h , vbrs ). a mixture of 4 ′-( trifluoromethyl )- 4 - biphenylcarbaldehyde , ( 43 . 6 kg , 1 . 1 eq ., see wo 01 / 60805 ), n , n - diethylethylenediamine ( 21 . 2 kg , 1 . 15 equiv .) and 5 % palladium on charcoal ( degussa e101 n / w , 50 % wet paste , 1 . 7 kg ) in toluene ( 138 kg ) was hydrogenated at 20 ± 3 ° c . and 50 psi until completion . the reaction mixture was filtered and the catalyst bed washed with toluene ( 2 × 36 . 7 kg ). the solution was washed with water ( 84 . 8 kg ) and concentrated under reduced pressure to ca . 85 l . this concentrate was used in the next step , example 6 , without further purification . 6a . a stirred slurry of carbonyldiimidazole ( 30 . 9 kg , 1 . 2 equiv .) in methylisobutylketone ( 255 kg ) under nitrogen was heated to 70 ± 3 ° c . ( 2 -{[( 4 - fluorophenyl ) methyl ] thio }- 4 - oxo - 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - tetrahydro - 1h - cyclopenta [ d ] pyrimidin - 1 - yl ) acetic add ( 53 . 0 kg ) was added in a portionwise manner and the mixture stirred at 70 ± 3 ° c . until no starting material remained . 6b . the suspension of imidazolide intermediate from 6a was added to a solution n , n - diethyl - n ′-{[ 4 ′-( trifluoromethyl )- 4 - biphenylyl ] methyl }- 1 , 2 - ethanediamine ( see example 5 ), washing in with methylisobutylketone ( 43 kg ). the mixture was heated to 92 ± 3 ° c . until complete conversion to the title compound was established . the reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure to ca . 240 l and then cooled to 40 to 45 ° c . prior to the addition of methanol ( 105 kg ). the solution was cooled to 20 to 25 ° c . to give a slurry , which was then heated to 50 ° c . and held for 30 mins . the slurry was cooled to 2 ± 3 ° c . at 0 . 3 ° c ./ min and held for a further 30 mins . the product was isolated by filtration and washed with cold methanol ( 5 ± 3 ° c ., 2 × 168 kg ) before being dried under reduced pressure at 47 ± 3 ° c . to yield the title compound , intermediate grade as an offwhite solid ( 97 . 4 kg uncorrected for methanol ; 90 . 9 kg corrected for methanol , 86 %). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , ca 1 . 9 : 1 rotamer mixture ) δ 0 . 99 ( 6h , t ), 2 . 10 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 50 ( 4h , q ), 2 . 58 / 2 . 62 ( 2h , 2 × t ), 2 . 70 / 2 . 82 ( 2h , 2 × t ), 2 . 86 ( 2h , t ), 3 . 28 / 3 . 58 ( 2h , 2 × t ), 4 . 45 / 4 . 52 ( 2h , 2 × s ), 4 . 68 / 4 . 70 ( 2h , 2 × s ), 4 . 61 / 4 . 93 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 95 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 31 ( 2h , d ), 7 . 31 / 7 . 37 ( 2h , 2 × m ), 7 . 48 / 7 . 52 ( 2h , d ), 7 . 65 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 72 ( 2h , m ). ( 4 - oxo - 2 - thioxo - 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - hexahydro - 1h - cyclopenta [ d ] pyrimidin - 1 - yl ) acetic acid ( 20 . 0 g , 1 . 0 eq ) was slurried in a mixture of water ( 112 ml ) and isopropyl alcohol ( 20 ml ). naoh solution ( 50 . 9 % aqueous , 13 . 82 g , 1 . 99 eq ) was added followed by a water line wash ( 10 ml ) resulting in a solution . then na 2 co 3 ( 1 . 50 g , 0 . 16 eq ) was charged and the solution was heated to 40 ± 3 ° c . thereafter 4 - fluorobenzyl chloride ( 13 . 4 g , 1 . 05 eq ) was added , followed by a line wash of isopropyl alcohol ( 12 ml ) and the reaction mixture was stirred at 40 ± 3 ° c . until the reaction was deemed complete ( ˜ 2 . 5 hours ). the reaction mixture was cooled to 20 ± 3 ° c . and formic acid ( 2 . 4 g , 0 . 6 eq ) was added resulting in crystallisation of the product within 30 minutes . a second charge of formic acid ( 6 . 9 g , 1 . 7 eq ) was added over 1 hour and the slurry was stirred at 20 ± 3 ° c . for at least one hour . the slurry was filtered to isolate the product , which was washed twice with a mixture of water ( 32 ml ) and isopropyl alcohol ( 8 ml ), then with isopropyl alcohol ( 40 ml ) and dried in vacuo at 50 ° c . to yield the title compound as an off - white solid ( 28 . 6 g , 97 % th ). 1 h nmr ( d 6 dmso ) δ 1 . 95 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 57 ( 2h , t ), 2 . 85 ( 2h , t ), 4 . 4 ( 2h , s ), 4 . 7 ( 2h , s ), 7 . 15 ( 2h , dd ), 7 . 45 ( 2h , dd ), ˜ 13 . 6 ( 1h , vbrs ). these examples are given to illustrate the invention , not to limit it . what is reserved to the inventors can be determined by reference to the claims below . | 2 |
fig1 illustrates in cross - sectional representation a powder actuated tool 10 in accordance with the invention . such tools are designed to drive a metallic fastener ( not shown ), such as a nail , into a workpiece . the powder actuated tool 10 resembles a hand gun and has a handle 12 intersecting a barrel 14 . typically , both the handle 12 and the barrel 14 are formed of metal , plastic or rubber . the barrel 14 has a generally cylindrical interior bore 16 that terminates at an open end 18 corresponding to the muzzle of the powder actuated tool . a slot 20 extends through the handle 12 and is sized to receive a cartridge strip magazine 24 . the cartridge strip magazine 24 includes a metal or plastic cartridge strip 26 supporting a plurality of cartridges 28 . in one embodiment of the invention , the cartridges 28 are formed from small caliber ammunition shells , 0 . 22 caliber cartridge brass ( nominal composition by weight -- 70 % copper , 30 % zinc ) shells are exemplary . the cartridges 28 extend through circular apertures 30 formed in the cartridge strip 26 of a size effective to hold the cartridge 28 in place by friction . it is not necessary to form an aperture in the base 32 of the cartridge 28 to receive a primer . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the cartridge 28 &# 39 ; is either molded directly in a plastic cartridge strip 26 &# 39 ; or is formed from a combustible material . cartridges 28 , 28 &# 39 ; are filled with a suitable flammable propellant mix 34 . the flammable propellant mix is any suitable material such as granular single base gunpowder or granular double base gunpowder . other suitable propellants include gas generating propellants such as nitrocellulose and sodium azide . in operation of the powder actuated tool 10 , the cartridge strip magazine 24 is inserted into slot 20 by an operator . an indexing means aligns a cartridge with the interior bore 16 . the cartridge is then fired , providing the propulsive force necessary to drive the metallic fastener . a conduit 36 provides access to a portion of the interior bore 16 disposed between the muzzle 18 and the chambered cartridge 28 . the conduit 36 introduces a combustible gas to the interior bore . when the operator manually depresses a trigger 38 , an electric impulse is generated and conducted 40 to the interior bore 16 generating a spark that ignites the combustible gas . the combustible gas ignites the flammable propellant mix 34 contained within cartridges 28 rapidly generating a volume of gas effective to generate a pressure to drive the fastener into a workpiece . fig2 illustrates in cross - sectional representation the powder actuated tool of fig1 along barrel 14 . the barrel 14 has a housing 44 terminating at an open end 18 at the muzzle end of the powder actuated tool . the generally cylindrical interior bore 16 has a first diameter 46 adjacent to the open end 18 . the first diameter 46 is of a size effective to receive a work piston 48 . the work piston 48 is formed from any hard material that will not be deformed by the forces generated during actuation of the powder actuated tool . a typical material for the work piston 48 is a work hardened , impact resistant steel . the work piston 48 generally has a diameter slightly less than the first diameter 46 and is provided with an obturation band or piston seal ring 50 . the piston seal ring 50 can be formed from a compressible spring steel having low friction and is typically fit within a circumferential groove formed in the work piston 48 . a stop 52 at the muzzle reduces the diameter of the bore to retain the work piston 48 within the bore . in opposition to the first diameter 46 is a second diameter 54 that intersects the slot forming a chamber to receive the next cartridge to be fired . the second diameter 54 is of a size and shape effective to receive and chamber the cartridge 28 . disposed between the first diameter 46 and the second diameter 54 is a third diameter 56 portion of interior bore 16 . the third diameter 56 is less than both the first diameter 46 and the second diameter 54 . the conduit 36 extends to the third diameter 56 for delivery of a combustible gas to the third diameter portion . the electrical conductor 40 provides a voltage effective to generate a spark to the third diameter portion . with reference to fig3 in one embodiment of the invention , the combustible gas is supplied as compressed liquid 58 such as mapp ( methyl acetylene propadien ). the liquid 58 is contained within a pressurized cylinder 60 at an equilibrium pressure effective to provide a volume of gas 62 . a regulator 64 controls the flow of the pressurized gas 62 to an outlet 66 , such as a flexible hose , joined to the conduit ( 36 not shown ) of the powder actuated tool by any suitable gas tight fitting . the removal of gas 62 from the pressurized cylinder 60 to the powder actuated tool reduces the pressure in the pressurized cylinder 60 causing a portion of the compressed liquid to boil , increasing the volume of gas and returning the pressure to equilibrium . the use of a compressed liquid as the pressure medium facilitates the storage of a larger quantity of gas than when stored as a compressed gas . in another embodiment , illustrated in fig4 a gas cylinder 68 contains a pressurized combustible gas such as butane , propane , propylene or ethane . regulator 64 controls the flow of the combustible gas to outlet 66 for delivery to conduit ( 36 not shown ). alternatively , a second gas cylinder 70 is provided containing a second gas . for example , the first gas may be hydrogen and the second gas may be oxygen . a first regulator 72 controls the flow of the first gas into a mixing chamber 74 while a second regulator 76 controls the flow of the second gas into the mixing chamber 74 . the gaseous mixture is then delivered through outlet 66 to the conduit ( 36 not shown ). the combustible gas is delivered to the third conduit portion and ignited by a spark . fig5 illustrates a first spark generating source . a power supply 78 , for example a alkaline battery contained within the handle of the powder actuated tool , charges capacitor 80 . a first end 82 of capacitor 80 is electrically interconnected to the power supply 78 . a second end 84 of the capacitor 80 is electrically interconnected to an electrode 86 disposed within the third diameter 56 portion of barrel 14 . an isolated lead 88 that may contact the housing 44 , if the housing 44 is electrically conductive , or extend into the interior bore 16 , if the housing 44 is not electrically conductive , completes the circuit . when the trigger 38 is depressed , to the alternate position indicated by broken lines , the electrical circuit is completed , causing capacitor 80 to discharge as an electric arc 90 . the electric arc 90 extends between the electrode 86 and a proximate ground to ignite the combustible gas contained by the third diameter 56 creating a priming flash . an alternative method of generating the priming flash is illustrated in fig6 . depression of trigger 38 compresses a piezoelectric crystal 92 causing a current to flow and providing the voltage necessary to charge capacitor 80 . when the capacitor 80 is sufficiently charged , an electric arc 90 extends from electrode 86 to either a grounded portion of the housing 44 or to a grounded metallic cartridge 28 . the electric arc 90 ignites the combustible gas providing a priming flash . one piezoelectric spark igniter system is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 954 , 078 to nelson that is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein . it is within the scope of the invention to direct the electric arc directly to the propellant mix contained within the metallic cartridge 28 eliminating the need for a combustible gas primer . with reference back to fig2 the priming flash either ignites the flammable propellant mix 34 contained within the cartridge 28 or first ignites an ignitable closure disk 94 such as a combustible nitrocellulose wad . the closure disk 94 is desirable to retain a granular flammable propellant mix within the cartridge 28 and to minimize moisture permeation . it is also within the scope of the invention to coat interior surfaces 96 of the cartridge 28 with an ignitable material such as a lacquer . ignition of the flammable propellant mix 34 generates a rapidly moving high pressure wave that drives work piston 48 into a metallic fastener 98 driving the metallic fastener 98 into a workpiece 100 . a vent 102 opened by movement of the piston ring 50 past vent 102 releases the pressure and expels gaseous combustion products . a compression spring ( not shown ), or other suitable means , then returns the work piston 48 back to its original position to repeat the cycle . the flammable propellant mix is ignited at the open end of the cartridge and burns rearward therefrom , towards the closed end of the cartridge . the burning direction results in most combustion debris being deposited within the cartridge rather than being expelled into the powder actuated tool barrel . it is apparent that there has been provided in accordance with the present invention a powder actuated tool having a lead - free primer that fully satisfies the objects , means and advantages set forth hereinabove . while the invention has been described in combination with embodiments thereof , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description . accordingly , it is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modification and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims . | 2 |
reference is now made to fig1 and 2 , which schematically illustrate a device 20 for implantation in a body passage , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . fig1 is a pictorial illustration of the device , while fig2 is a cross - sectional view taken along a line 11 - 11 in fig1 . device 20 is adapted for use particularly in restricting blood flow through the coronary sinus , as described in the above - mentioned pct publication wo 01 / 72239 . alternatively , devices in accordance with the principles of the present invention may be implanted elsewhere in the vascular system , as well as in other body passages . for the sake of simplicity and clarity , however , and not limitation , embodiments of the present invention are described hereinbelow with reference to implantation of flow - constricting devices in blood vessels , such as the coronary sinus . device 20 comprises ring elements 22 and 24 , each of which comprises a resilient framework 26 . each framework defines a generally - cylindrical shape , although this shape is distorted by the mechanical constraints of the device , as described below . therefore , the cylinders tend to widen at the ends of device 20 and narrow toward the middle , as shown in fig1 . in the pictured embodiments , framework 26 comprises a wire or thin rod , which is bent into a serpentine shape . typically , the framework comprises an elastic material , which may be compressed or otherwise bent , but then returns to its original shape , as shown in the figure . super - elastic materials , such as nitinol , are useful for this purpose . alternatively , the framework may comprise a resilient , deformable material , such as a suitable metal or plastic . further alternatively or additionally , each framework 26 may comprise a mesh or coil , as is known in the art . in any case , the term “ resilient ” as used herein means that once device 20 is deployed within a body passage , framework 26 has sufficient mechanical strength to withstand normal forces exerted by the wall of the passage and by fluid flow within the passage , in the manner of stents known in the art . ring elements 22 and 24 are fixed to a flexible sleeve 28 , which has a generally tubular form . typically , sleeve 28 comprises a biocompatible fabric , such as gore - tex or dacron , which is stitched or otherwise fastened to framework 26 . alternatively , other sleeve materials may be used , such as thin plastic or rubber materials . the sleeve is fixed to the ring elements in such a way as to form a lumen 32 ( fig2 ) through device 20 . the sleeve is supported at each end of the lumen by one of the ring elements , while leaving a longitudinal gap in , the sleeve , typically several millimeters long , between the inner ends of the two ring elements . while the ring elements themselves are relatively stiff ( due to the resilience of framework 26 ), device 20 can be bent and deformed freely within the gap region of the sleeve . a constricting element 30 is fitted around sleeve 28 within the gap region . as can be seen in fig2 , the effect of this constricting element is to reduce the diameter of lumen 32 to a predetermined size , less than the expanded diameter of ring elements 22 and 24 . constricting element 30 may simply comprise a thread , which is tied around the sleeve , or it may alternatively comprise a closed ring , made of plastic or metal . a constricting ring of this latter type is shown in fig9 a and described hereinbelow with reference thereto . fig3 is a schematic side view of device 20 after implantation inside a blood vessel 40 . typically , device 20 is passed through the vascular system to the appropriate location ( such as the coronary sinus ), using a suitable percutaneous catheter ( not shown in the figures ). suitable methods of catheterization for this purpose are known in the art . during the insertion procedure , device 20 is compressed radially , so that its outer diameter is substantially smaller than the blood vessels through which it must pass . as noted above , device 20 is able to bend freely in the area of the gap between ring elements 22 and 24 , where constricting element 30 is located . this bending capability generally makes it easier for the physician operating the catheter to pass the device through bends in the blood vessels . upon reaching the desired location in blood vessel 40 , device 20 is released from the catheter . if framework 26 is made of an elastic material , such as nitinol , the device will expand by itself , due to its own elasticity , as soon as it is released . alternatively , if framework 26 comprises a malleable material , a balloon may be inflated within each of ring elements 22 and 24 , or other means known in the art may be used , in order to expand the framework . the above - mentioned pct publication describes special types of balloons that may be used for this purpose . as can be seen in fig1 and 3 , the serpentine shape of framework 26 creates elongated “ fingers ” that protrude at the ends of device 20 . once the ring elements have expanded , these fingers press outward against the wall of the blood vessel , thus anchoring device 20 in place . blood in vessel 40 flows through lumen 32 , but flow is restricted by the constriction at constricting element 30 . if device 2 q is deployed in the coronary sinus , for example , the flow restriction causes increased pressure in the coronary veins , thus promoting myocardial angiogenesis . device 20 may be left in place indefinitely , in substantially the form shown in fig3 . alternatively , it may be desirable in some cases to eliminate the flow restriction caused , by the device . in such cases , it is not necessary to remove device 20 from the body . rather , a catheter with a suitable cutting tool may be inserted percutaneously to the location of the device , and the cutting tool may then be used to cut constricting element 30 . the constriction in the diameter of lumen 32 will then open up by itself . fig4 is a schematic side view of an implantable device 50 after implantation inside blood vessel 40 , in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention . blood in vessel 40 is assumed to flow from left to right in the view of the figure . device 50 is substantially identical to device 20 , as described above , except for the shape of sleeve 28 . in device 20 , sleeve 28 is trimmed so that the ends of the sleeve have the same general shape as the “ fingers ” of framework 26 . in device 50 , however , sleeve 28 is trimmed to a generally straight edge at the upstream ( left ) end of the device , covering the interstices between the fingers , as well as the fingers themselves . the straight upstream edge can be useful in reducing blood leakage around the sides of the device , thus providing more complete and reliable flow restriction . the uneven shape of the sleeve is maintained on the downstream edge , in order to anchor device 50 securely to the walls of vessel 40 against the pressure exerted by the blood flow in the vessel . alternatively , sleeve 28 may be cut in other configurations , as mandated by medical and mechanical considerations . fig5 is a schematic , pictorial view of an implantable device 60 , in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention . device 60 is also substantially similar to device 20 , as described above , except for the addition of longitudinal support members 62 and 65 . the support members join ring elements 22 and 24 together and thus enhance the mechanical strength and stability of device 60 . although two longitudinal support members are shown in fig5 , greater or smaller numbers of supports members may be used in like fashion . note , however , that in the gap between the ring elements , sleeve 28 is detached from the support members , so that the diameter of lumen 32 can still be reduced by constricting element 30 . fig6 a and 6b are schematic side views of a catheter 70 , in a cutaway view , which is used to deliver device 20 to a target position in blood vessel 40 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig6 a , catheter 70 has a tubular outer shell 72 and a central lumen 74 . prior to delivery , device 20 is held inside shell 70 , with lumen 74 passing through lumen 32 of device 20 . a distal end 76 of shell 72 has a roughly conical shape , and has a small exit aperture 78 surrounding lumen 32 . typically , to implant device 20 in vessel 40 , an operator threads a guide wire 80 through a part of the patient &# 39 ; s vascular system to the target position , as is known in the art . for example , the guide wire may be passed through the jugular vein into the coronary sinus . once the guide wire is in place , the operator slides lumen 74 over the guide wire , and thus guides distal end 76 of catheter 70 to the target position . a contrast medium may be injected through lumen 74 or through another , parallel lumen ( not shown ) to aid the operator in visualizing vessel 40 during the procedure using a fluoroscope , as is known in the art . when distal end 76 has reached the target position , the operator uses an ejector 82 to push device 20 out through aperture 78 in the distal end of the catheter . distal end 76 in this embodiment is made of a material that is sufficiently elastic so that the aperture opens freely to the diameter of device 20 . once the device is ejected , it expands to the diameter of vessel 40 , as shown in fig3 , and anchors itself in place . the operator then withdraws catheter 70 , and distal end 76 contracts back roughly to its original form . fig7 a and 7b are schematic side views of another catheter 90 , which is used to deliver device 20 , in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention . fig7 a shows the catheter before delivery of device 20 , while fig7 b shows the catheter , after , the delivery . in this embodiment , distal end 76 comprises a thin sheath , which tears open as ejector 82 pushes the device out of the catheter . optionally , as shown in fig7 a , the distal end is scored along lines 92 , so that as device 20 is ejected , the distal end tears cleanly , in a predictable fashion . once device 20 has been ejected , the distal end may remain open where it has torn , but the open distal does not interfere with withdrawal of catheter 90 along wire 80 . fig8 a , 8 b and 8 c are schematic side views of a catheter 100 for delivering device 20 , in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , distal end 76 has an aperture 102 that is large enough to accommodate the ( compressed ) diameter of device 20 when the device is ejected from the catheter . until the catheter reaches the target position , however , the aperture is closed by a distended portion 104 of a lumen 106 that passes through the catheter , as shown in fig8 a . the lumen is typically used to accommodate a guide wire and / or to inject contrast medium , as described above . distended portion 104 is made of a flexible material , which may be either elastic or malleable , and is shaped so as to plug aperture 102 . when distal end 76 reaches the target position , lumen 106 is advanced ( and / or catheter 100 is withdrawn ) so as to open aperture 102 , as shown in fig8 b . ejector 82 then pushes device 20 out through the aperture . as shown in fig8 c , portion 104 is sufficiently flexible so that as the narrow , gap region of lumen 32 through device 20 passes over it , portion 104 closes down so that lumen 32 can slide over it . once device 20 has been implanted at the target position , portion 104 resumes its previous shape , and lumen 106 may be pulled back in the proximal direction in order to close aperture 102 . catheter 100 is then withdrawn from the body . fig9 a is a schematic , pictorial illustration of a constricting ring 120 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . this ring may be used as a constricting element in device 20 , taking the place of element 30 shown in the preceding figures . ring 120 comprises a flexible , elastic wire 122 . for example , wire 122 may comprise a super - elastic material , such as nitinol . wire 122 is formed with multiple bends , typically in a serpentine pattern , as shown in fig9 a . some of the bends are closed bends 124 , at which the wire segments on opposing sides of the bend are fixed together , thus narrowing the overall circumference of ring 120 . when ring 120 is installed in place of element 30 on device 20 , the narrowed circumference of the ring constricts the diameter of lumen 32 , as shown in fig1 and 2 . fig9 b and 9c are schematic , detail views of one of closed bends 124 in ring 120 , in accordance with two exemplary embodiments of the present invention . in the embodiment of fig9 b , the opposing segments of wire 122 are pulled together and then fastened by welding , glue or other means , at a fastening point 126 . laser micro - welding , as is known in the art , may be used for this purpose . in fig9 c , a connecting element 128 , such as a miniature ring , is welded or otherwise fastened in place between the segments of wire on either side of the bend . in either case , bends 124 are typically closed weakly enough so that the fastening points or connecting elements will break open under outward radial pressure . fig1 is a schematic , pictorial illustration of ring 120 following opening of closed bends 124 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the closed bends may be opened in situ , after device 20 has been implanted in a blood vessel . for this purpose , for example , a balloon catheter may be inserted into lumen 32 of device 20 , and the balloon may be inflated with sufficient pressure to break open the fastening points of at least some of bends 124 . due to the elasticity of wire 122 , ring 120 will then expand to the larger diameter shown in fig1 , and lumen 32 will open up accordingly . this sort of procedure may be used , for example , to permit free flow of blood through vessel 40 when the constriction due to device 20 is no longer needed or desired . fig1 is a schematic , detail view of a part of a stent 130 , in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention . this embodiment also uses the principle of radial expansion of an intravascular implant that was described above . stent 130 comprises a structure of struts 132 with intervening openings 134 . some of the openings are bridged by narrow connecting pieces 136 . stent 130 is initially collapsed and crimped over a balloon for insertion into the target blood vessel . inflation of the balloon to a first , intermediate pressure causes the stent to expand radially outward , so that openings 134 between struts 132 open to the configuration shown in fig1 . the balloon is then withdrawn . the stent may be used in this configuration , for example , to open a blocked artery or other body lumen . it often occurs after implantation of a stent that the body lumen in question once again becomes constricted , due to accretion of material inside the stent , for example . in this case , a balloon may once more be inserted inside stent 130 and inflated to a second , higher pressure . the balloon thus exerts an outward radial force on stent 130 , causing one or more of connecting pieces 136 to break open . thus , the diameter of stent 130 ( and of the lumen it is supporting ) is increased simply and safely . although in the embodiments described above , framework 26 and sleeve 28 are shown to have certain particular shapes , alternative shapes and forms of these elements , which will , be apparent to those skilled in the art , are considered to be within the scope of the present invention . similarly , catheters of the general types described above may be used to deliver not only device 20 , but also other implantable devices as described hereinabove and as are otherwise known in the art . on the other hand , although the catheters shown here provide convenient means for delivering implants in accordance with the present invention , such implants may also be delivered by other means , both minimally invasive ( typically percutaneous ) and invasive ( i . e ., surgical ). methods for reducing the diameter or circumference of a vascular structure by surgical means are also known in the art . methods of this sort are described , for example , in , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 593 , 424 and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 561 , 969 , whose disclosure are incorporated herein by reference . these methods generally require suturing of the vascular tissue , which can be difficult and time - consuming to carry out . in contrast to these methods and to the preceding embodiments , fig1 schematically illustrates a method for constricting the diameter of a vascular structure without the use of sutures or a stent , in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention . the embodiment is illustrated here with reference to reducing the diameter of a coronary sinus 140 of a patient , although this method is also applicable to other vascular structures . a catheter 142 is inserted through a right atrium 144 of the patient into coronary sinus 140 . the catheter is bent at its distal end , as shown in the figure , to permit convenient deployment of a constricting clip 146 , as described below . fig1 a - c are schematic , sectional views of coronary sinus 140 , taken along a line xiii - xiii in fig1 , showing stages in the deployment of clip 146 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . clip 146 typically comprises a super - elastic material , which is formed so that in its relaxed state , it has an approximately closed form , as shown in fig1 c , for example . during insertion of catheter 142 into the coronary sinus , however , clip 146 is compressed within the distal end of catheter 142 , as shown in fig1 a . once catheter 142 has been advanced into coronary sinus 140 , a deployment mechanism , such as a pusher ( not shown ) inside the catheter , is actuated in order to advance clip 146 out of the distal end of the catheter . as a result , the clip opens up into the configuration shown in fig1 b . ends 148 of the clip catch the tissue of coronary sinus 140 at two points that are spaced apart on the wall of the coronary sinus . the elasticity of clip 146 causes the ends of the clip to draw together as the clip is advanced further out of the catheter , as illustrated by arrows 150 . finally , when the clip has advanced completely out of the end of the catheter , ends 148 close in toward one another and pinch together the portion of the vascular tissue that is located between the clip ends . the result , as seen in fig1 c , is that the effective diameter of coronary sinus 140 is reduced . it will thus be appreciated that the embodiments described above are cited by way of example , and that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove . rather , the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove , as well as variations and modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not disclosed in the prior art . | 0 |
as shown in fig1 , the reaction is believed to consist of the base removing a hydrogen atom from the compound z — ch 2 x , causing x to leave as x − so that a carbene species z — ch : is formed . this is able to react at the surface of a carbon substrate , so that the moiety z — ch is attached to the substrate surface through two single carbon - carbon bonds . as shown by fig2 the scheme is essentially the same if the compound to be attached is z 2 — chx . several experiments were carried out in order to provide evidence for this reaction scheme . 1 ml dbu and 2 ml cdcl 3 were quickly mixed in a 20 ml vial , which was then sealed with a butyl rubber septum . heat was liberated , indicating that an exothermic reaction was taking place . the mixture turned yellow in 16 hours and became dark coloured and viscous in 2 to 3 days , after which time the adduct dbu . hcl was detected by nmr spectroscopy . it was confirmed by single crystal x - ray diffraction after isolating it 1 ml dbu and 2 ml chbr 3 were quickly mixed in a 20 ml vial , which was then sealed with a butyl rubber septum . the solution turned yellow immediately the reactants were mixed and reaction released a considerable amount of heat . the solution turned dark brown within 4 hours . dbu . hbr was detected by nmr spectroscopy . the above experiments 1 and 2 showed that dbu was able to break carbon - hydrogen ( and likewise carbon - deuterium ) bonds in deuterochloroform and bromoform . the following three experiments demonstrate formation of carbene species . 1 ml dbu , 2 ml cdcl 3 and 0 . 4 ml cyclohexene were quickly mixed in a 20 ml vial and then sealed with a butyl rubber septum . several days later , after the solution had turned a dark brown colour , the mixture was analysed by headspace gc - ms . 7 , 7 - dichloro - bicyclo [ 4 , 1 , 0 ] heptane was detected . the latter is the product obtained by reaction of dichlorocarbene at the double bond of cyclohexene . it appeared as a clear peak in the gas chromatogram and the mass spectrum for that peak included a molecular ion at mass 164 . 1 ml dbu , 2 ml cdcl 3 and 0 . 4 ml tetramethylethylene were quickly mixed in a 20 ml vial and then sealed with a butyl rubber septum . the solution turned a dark brown colour over several days , after which the mixture was analysed by headspace gc - ms and 3 , 3 - dichloro - 1 , 1 , 2 , 2 - tetramethyl - cyclopropane was detected . the product 3 , 3 - dichloro - 1 , 1 , 2 , 2 - tetramethylcyclopropane was observed as a sharp peak in the gas chromatogram which could be identified by the associated mass spectrum . this experiment once again confirmed the production of dichlorocarbene in the reaction of dbu with cdcl 3 . 1 ml dbu , 2 ml chbr 3 and 0 . 4 ml cyclohexene were quickly mixed in a 20 ml vial , which was then sealed with a butyl rubber septum . upon mixing the mixture turned yellow immediately and after several days it had turned black . the mixture was examined by headspace gc - ms and 7 , 7 - dibromo - bicyclo [ 4 , 1 , 0 ] heptane was detected . it was observed as a sharp peak in the gas chromatogram which was identified by the associated mass spectrum with a molecular ion at mass 256 . this experiment confirmed that dibromocarbene was produced in the reaction of dbu with chbr 3 . the following examples demonstrate the process of the invention being used to attach reactive moieties to carbon substrates . all chemicals were supplied by aldrich and used without further purification . this reaction is illustrated as fig3 of the drawings . 4 - nitrobenylbromide becomes nitrophenylmethylene moieties attached to carbon . 4 - nitrobenzylbromide ( 1 . 4421 g , 6 . 68 mmol ) supplied as a crystalline pale yellow powder was mixed with graphite ( 1 . 0182 g ) in a 20 ml vial . dbu ( 1 ml ) was added to the vial which was then sealed with a butyl rubber septum . the dbu acted as the required strong base and also provided the reaction solvent . the mixture was stirred at first , but after one day the mixture had solidified and could no longer to be stirred . acetone was added to the mixture , then the solvent was filtered off and the graphite was washed repeatedly with acetone by filtration . initially the acetone filtrate was dark brown but after repeated washing the acetone filtrate was colourless . the graphite which had been filtered off was allowed to dry in air . the binding of nitrophenyl groups to graphite was demonstrated by mechanically immobilising the dried graphite on an electrode and examining its electrochemistry . the dried graphite which had been derivatised with nitrophenyl groups was placed on a fine filter paper . a basal plane pyrollytic graphite ( bppg ) electrode was polished smooth on glass polishing paper and then on silicon carbide paper , after which the polished surface was gently rubbed on the dried graphite on the filter paper , so that this graphite became immobilised on the electrode . cyclic voltammetry was then carried out using this electrode . fig4 shows the initial three repeat cyclic voltammograms ( scan rate = 100 mv s − 1 ) in a solution containing 0 . 1 m hcl . the voltammetry for a blank electrode without derivatised carbon is shown dotted . on the first cycle a single large reduction wave is observed at − 0 . 50 v . the potential was then reversed at − 0 . 60 v and swept in an oxidative direction . this produced an oxidation wave at + 0 . 39 v . the subsequent reduction sweep showed a new reductive process at + 0 . 29 v corresponding to the reduction of the oxidised species at + 0 . 39 v . it can also be seen that the reduction wave at − 0 . 50 v has diminished in the second cycle showing that the nitrophenyl groups present on the electrode surface had undergone a permanent electrochemical reduction . the reduction process at − 0 . 5 v was attributed to the nitrophenyl group undergoing a 4 electron , 4 proton reduction to form the corresponding hydroxylamine species as shown in the reaction scheme which is fig5 of the drawings . the new oxidative wave at + 0 . 39 v was assigned to the oxidation of the newly formed hydroxylamine entity back to the nitrosophenyl species . this nitrosophenyl species was then reduced back to the hydroxylamine on the subsequent reduction scan at + 0 . 29 v . plots of oxidation and reduction peak current , measured at + 0 . 39 v and + 0 . 29 v respectively , against scan rate were found to be linear from 25 to 400 mv s − 1 . these results showed that the 4 - nitrophenyl group was strongly attached to the carbon surface . further evidence to show that the nitrophenyl group had been immobilised onto the carbon was obtained by exchanging the buffer solution with a fresh solution and recording the voltammetry again . the voltammetric waveshapes ( not shown ) for each response were similar to those obtained previously , thereby confirming that the nitrophenyl group was attached to the graphite particles . the stability of the electrode was further tested by placing it in fresh buffer solution and repetitively cycling over the voltage scan range . it was observed that although there was a 50 % loss in peak current over the first 50 cycles , the peak current and voltammetric response were almost constant for the next 100 cycles , indicating strong attachment to the graphite . as a control experiment the derivatisation procedure was carried out without dbu . acetone was substituted as the solvent . the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 days . the solvent was filtered off , and the graphite was washed with acetone by filtration several times until the acetone filtrate was colourless . the resulting graphite was dried in air . testing as above did not show the redox behaviour described above , indicating that attachment of nitrophenyl groups to graphite had not occurred in this control experiment . as with the previous example , the scheme of the reaction is shown in fig3 . crystalline pale yellow powder 4 - nitrobenzylbromide ( 1 . 4347 g , 6 . 64 mmol ) was mixed with carbon nanotubes ( 117 . 76 mg ) in a 20 ml vial . into the vial was added 3 ml dbu while stirring , and the vial was then sealed with a butyl rubber septum . the mixture quickly solidified and could no longer be stirred . after this reaction had taken place , acetone was added to the mixture , the solids were filtered off and washed with acetone by filtration . the acetone filtrate was at first red brown colored . washing was repeated until the acetone filtrate was colourless . the recovered carbon nanotubes were then allowed to dry whilst exposed to the air . the binding of nitrophenyl groups to carbon nanotubes was demonstrated by immobilising the dried carbon nanotubes on a glassy carbon electrode and examining its electrochemistry . before immobilizing on an electrode , the derivatised carbon nanotubes ( 1 mg ) were washed again using dmf ( n , n - dimethylformamide ) for many times by centrifugation until the dmf supernatant was colorless . an immobilising suspension was prepared by introducing 1 mg of carbon nanotubes into 1 ml of dmf . the liquid was then sonicated for 20 minutes to aid in the dispersion of the carbon . a 20 μl_aliquot of the sonicated suspension was then placed directly onto the glassy carbon surface and left to dry . the electrode was then ready for use . cyclic voltammetry was then carried out . fig6 details the initial five cyclic voltammograms of the 4 - nitrobenzylbromide derivatised carbon nanotubes in ph 7 phosphate buffer as the potential was repetitively cycled over a wide potential range (− 0 . 2 to + 0 . 6 v to − 1 v ) at a scan rate of 0 . 1 vs − 1 . the first oxidative sweep produced no well defined voltammetric signals , but upon reversal of the scan a reductive wave was observed at − 0 . 8 v , consistent with the reduction of the nitro group to the corresponding hydroxylamine species in accordance with the reaction scheme of fig5 . upon initiating the second voltammetric scan a new oxidation wave was observed at 0 . 0 v , which had a corresponding reduction wave at − 0 . 2 v . the form of the sequence of voltammograms is consistent with the oxidation of hydroxylamine species to the corresponding nitroso compound ( fig5 ). these results therefore demonstrate the presence of nitrophenyl species upon the surface of the carbon nanotubes . subsequently the potential scan was narrowed to examine only the voltammetric response of the hydroxylamine / nitroso redox couple , and various scan rates were used . as the scan rate was increased from 0 . 025 v to 0 . 4 v , an increase in the oxidative and reductive peak current was observed . a plot of peak current against scan rate was found to be linear over the entire scan rate studied indicating that the nitrophenyl species is attached to the surface of the carbon nanotubes . in a further experiment , the square wave voltammetric response of these nitrobenzyl - derivatised carbon nanotubes was examined in buffer solutions with various ph values . as the ph was varied from 4 to 9 the oxidative peak potential for the oxidation of hydroxylamine to the nitroso species increased . a plot of peak potential versus ph was found to be linear with a gradient of 52 . 2 mv / ph unit consistent with a 2 electron , 2 proton transfer as illustrated for the hydroxylamine / nitroso redox couple in fig5 . again the fact that the electrode can be successfully removed , washed and placed into various buffer solutions shows that the species undergoing electrochemical oxidation and reductions is attached to the carbon nanotubes . in a control experiment 4 - nitrobenzylbromide ( 1 . 3826 g ) was mixed with carbon nanotubes ( 123 mg ) in ca . 3 ml acetone but without the presence of dbu . the reaction mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 2 days . the acetone was filtered off and was pale yellow in colour . the remaining solid was washed with acetone several times more by filtration until the acetone filtrate was colourless . the acetone filtrate was evaporated and almost all of the 4 - nitrobenzylbromide was recovered . the cnts which had been used in this experiment were immobilised on a glassy carbon electrode in the same manner as described above . the voltammetric response of these carbon nanotubes did not show the redox couple at 0 . 0 v , indicating that there is no hydroxylamine or nitroso species present on the surface and hence that derivatisation of the cnts had not taken place . the scheme of this reaction is illustrated as fig7 . graphite powder ( 115 mg , 9 . 57 mmol ) and 2 , 4 - dinitrobenzyl bromide ( 267 mg , 1 . 02 mmol ) were suspended in toluene ( 3 ml ) in a 20 ml reaction vial and cooled in an ice bath . dbu ( 1 ml , 6 . 6 mmol ) was added drop wise over ca . 10 mins . the vial was sealed with a butyl rubber septum and the resultant purple suspension stirred at ambient temperature overnight . the liquid was filtered off and the remained solid was washed with toluene by filtration several times . after this , the solid was washed with n , n - dimethylformamide using a centrifuge until the supernatant was colourless . the solid was dried at ambient temperature overnight and then at 120 ° c . for 6 hours . a control experiment was also carried out , using the same procedure , but omitting the dbu . the derivatised graphite , graphite from the control experiment , and untreated graphite were all immobilised on glassy carbon electrodes using the procedure of the previous example ( except that acetone was used in place of dmf ). the derivatised graphite showed a large reductive wave at − 0 . 8 v followed by emergence of a new redox wave at 0 . 0 v . by contrast , these features were not seen in the voltammetric response of graphite from the control experiment which was the same as that of untreated graphite . the procedures described in the above examples could also be used for attaching a variety of other species to various forms of carbon , including carbon nanotubes . the attached species could be redox active . one possibility is to attach ferrocene as illustrated in fig8 or a moiety containing both ferrocene and nitrophenyl as illustrated in fig9 . the nitrophenyl group would then provide a ph - sensitive redox active species , while the ferrocene would provide a reference species , insensitive to ph . | 2 |
specifically , the present invention provides an individual with an edible , palatable diet combining a laxative , which is polyethylene glycol based , and a gelatin based food . this when taken in a specific manner will provide a sense of satiety , palatability , and good colon cleansing by facilitating stool removal . the diet minimizes stool formation and is low in both fiber and fat . it provides for a calorie base that allows an individual to do routine activities and maintain hydration . one embodiment is to provide a packaged powder that is to be mixed with warm or boiling water and refrigerated , and another embodiment is pre - made portions of solid gelatin food to be taken at specific times with a hydrating beverage . combine above mixture a with 36 grams of unflavored gelatin and 36 grams of sugar free jell - o ® gelatin dessert . mix 12 cups of hot water and b mix until all solids are dissolved , then slowly add 4 cups of cool water . mix well and refrigerate for 4 hours . d . above makes 16 cups of c mix this needs to be prepared the day prior to beginning the bowel cleansing or a pre - prepared formulation could be purchased . 1 . eat low fiber high protein breakfast such as eggs , juice 6 oz , 8 oz coffee , tea or other beverage 2 . lunch boost ® or ensure ® low fiber and 10 or more oz beverage 3 . mid - afternoon snack — 2 . 5 cups c mix with sports drink 6 - 10 oz 4 . dinner 3 . 5 cups c mix with sports drink 6 - 10 oz 5 . early evening snack 2 . 5 cups c mix with 6 - 10 oz water 6 . bedtime snack 2 . 5 cups c mix with 6 - 10 oz water 7 . in am 6 hours before procedure , 3 . 5 cups c mix with 6 - 10 oz water 8 . 4 hours prior to procedure 1 . 5 cups c mix with 8 - 12 oz of water or other clear liquid 1 . combine a mix with 20 . 25 grams of unflavored gelatin and 20 . 25 grams of sugar free jell - o ® gelatin dessert . 1 . mix 7 cups of hot water with b mix — mix until all solids are dissolved then add 2 cups of cold water - mix well and refrigerate for at least 4 hours . d . 9 cups of c mix are formed . this needs to be prepared the day prior to beginning the bowel cleansing or it could be purchased pre - prepared 1 . eat low fiber high protein breakfast such as 3 eggs , 18 - 20 or more oz beverage ( juice , coffee , tea , etc .) 2 . lite lunch — either boost ® or ensure ® 1 can and 8 - 10 oz fluid 3 . mid - afternoon snack 2 cups c mix and 8 oz sports drink 5 . evening snack 2 cups c mix with 8 - 10 oz water 6 . in am 6 hours before procedure 2 cups c mix with 8 - 10 oz water halflytely contains : polyethylene glycol 3350 210 g , sodium bicarbonate 2 . 86 g , sodium chlorides 5 . 6 g , potassium chloride 0 . 74 g . when mixed with water to make 2 liters , this solution contains peg - 3350 31 . 3 mmol / l , sodium 65 mmol / l , chloride 53 mmol / l , bicarbonate 17 mmol / l and potassium 5 mmol / l . for halflytely prep i measure out 24 tablespoons of ( peg 3350 prep ) 100 gram . separately , one package of 0 . 6 ounces & amp ; 1 tablespoon of sugar free jell - o & amp ; three envelopes ( 5 . 4 grams ) of knox gelatin ( used to thicken the gelatin ) will be placed in a dry mixer and mixed together , blending well for three minutes . set separately aside all dry mix on a 15 × 15 sized piece of waxed paper . in a four cup measuring container , pour 1 cup of bottled drinking water and heat to 97 degrees fahrenheit . when the water is brought to the appropriate temperature , six tablespoons of halflytely powder are added and whisked for five minutes until ingredients are solubilized . in yet another four cup container , add one cup of bottled drinking water and heat using microwave heat for one minute and thirty seconds . when the water is appropriately heated , slowly add the dry jell - o and knox gelatin mixture , while simultaneously whishing the water and dry ingratiates together until all particles are dissolved . the placement of food gauge thermometer into the mixture is then made , delineating the temperature from the microwave oven between approximately 130 - 135 degrees fahrenheit . slowly add chilled bottled water until the volume of the solution reaches the two - cup mark on measured container . the gelatin slurry should then be cooled to reach a temperature of 97 degrees fahrenheit . when the gelatin mix has cooled to 97 . 0 degrees fahrenheit , add the one cup of liquid halflytely with the jell - o and knox gelatin slurry constantly stirring the solution , adding more chilled water until the solution reaches the four - cup mark on the measuring container . this entire process yields four cups of edible gelatin bowel cleansing preparation . the total colon cleansing preparation will require the mixing of an amount equal to 16 cups of gelatinized product . chill the halflytely , jell - o and gelatin matrix in the refrigerator for two hours . entire product consumed all the halflytely prep / 21 . 6 ounces & amp ; 4 tablespoons sugar free jell - o /& amp ; 21 . 6 grams ( 3 envelopes of knox gelatin ) 16 cups of bottled drinking water chilled and heated to appropriate temperatures . prior art of interest includes re 36 , 288 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 985 , 339 and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 866 , 873 , and these us patent disclosures are incorporated herein in their entirety for all useful purposes . | 0 |
a new set of insurance systems and business methods are described herein that use online social networking functions to assemble low - cost insurance programs , continuously improve the risks and costs in those insurance programs , and give policyholders greater control over their insurance . the business methods apply to business insurance , including but not limited to workers compensation , general liability and property , auto liability and physical damage , and specialty lines , and to personal insurance , including but not limited to homeowners and renters , auto , short - term disability and long - term disability insurance . the systems and methods described herein use a number of online social networking functions , including but not limited to profiles , friending , invitations , liking , social savings , wikis , location , reputation and viral marketing . each of these functions is currently being used in a variety of internet - based social media and social networking businesses . the embodiments described herein modify and adapt the use of these functions in an entirely new way to create insurance management programs for members of online social networks . in accordance with the embodiments described herein , online social networks including but not limited to the social net and social media , are used for product development product distribution , and administration . aggregator : a person , or firm , or association that has been certified by the insurance facilitator , after training , to promote the establishment of programs . application ( noun ): a specialized computer program , downloadable onto electronic devices , that is designed to help a user perform a specific task . candidate : a person or firm that has created and published a risk profile and is eligible to become a member of a program . computer : a pc , mobile device , laptop , or other electronic device capable of electronically connecting to other electronic devices and processing data . electronic communications network : a computerized system that interconnects computers and / or organizational computer facilities that are positioned at multiple locations . insurance facilitator : an insurance services and technology company that operates an online insurance business , using an associated technology platform . the technology platform supports one or more online insurance programs . insurance program ( program ): an online risk sharing and risk control community of members bounded by program eligibility criteria , and , which operates on the technology platform . member assembly : a periodic online meeting , weblog , chat room or other set of electronic communications at which members of a program establish or re - establish members &# 39 ; consensus . member invitation : a formal offer from a member to a candidate to join a program , subject to members &# 39 ; consensus . members &# 39 ; consensus : a majority position , established by online polling , on whether a candidate should be admitted into a program , and whether a member should remain in a program . online social network : a set of data available to an interconnected network of computer users that interact with one another and share information , including identifying information , within the bounds of the network . the information can be accessed through a computer system which provides access to the members of the network . online social networking : interacting with , and joining groups with , other users of an online social network . pledge : a signed statement by a candidate or member agreeing to certain behaviors in a program . the pledge is one element of the risk profile . program sponsor : a person , company or firm that has paid a fee to advertise its products or services to members on a program computer site . many program sponsors will be prospective unbundled service providers . risk profile : a risk identity created by a candidate or member and made available to members of a program . risk reputation rating : a combination of factual scores , and subjective opinions among fellow members . member reputation adheres to the member risk profile and is a critical element in maintaining members &# 39 ; consensus . riskwiki : a program electronic “ page ” on a risk management topic that is created and continuously edited by members and program sponsors . topic areas will include exposure identification , risk evaluation , and loss control . unbundled service provider : a person , company or firm under contract to the insurance facilitator or a program to provide a service . examples include fronting carriers , third party claims managers , accountants , and investment managers . the insurance facilitator and its related companies will at times perform one or more of the following roles : insurance program manager , retail insurance broker , managing general agent , reinsurance intermediary , reinsurance company , and technology service provider . depending on the roles being performed by the insurance facilitator on a particular insurance program , the data elements to be exchanged between the insurance facilitator server and the user &# 39 ; s computer , and the data exchanged between the insurance facilitator server and the insurance company server and the data exchanged between the online network server and the insurance facilitator server will vary according to the specifics of that insurance program and the particular roles being played by the insurance facilitator on that insurance program . in one nonlimiting example , the insurance facilitator interacts with both the users who purchase insurance and with the insurance company , but does not handle the underwriting or the claims . in another nonlimiting example , the insurance facilitator conducts underwriting and handles claims for the insurer . in some embodiments , the insurance facilitator has two sources of income , namely program fees calculated as a percent of “ gross premium under management ”; and a percentage of advertising revenue from program sponsors . in some embodiments the insurance facilitator will take an underwriting risk . in this case , all of the underwriting risk can reside inside of a program , or the risk can be apportioned among the issuing carrier , the member - owned reinsurance company ( if any ), the insurance facilitator and / or any outside reinsurers . in other embodiments , the insurance facilitator will not take an underwriting risk . in embodiments , each member of a program gets insurance at a lower cost than would be paid for the same coverage for a conventional insurance policy and may share in profits of the program . some programs may be structured so that the members own their program . the low cost is due to no agents &# 39 ; commissions , low capital requirements for the member - owned reinsurance company , competitive bidding for each unbundled service provider , operational efficiencies on the insurance facilitator &# 39 ; s platform , advertising revenue from program sponsors , and the positive leveraging effects of social savings . as a number of programs accumulate on the insurance facilitator &# 39 ; s platform , the value of the insurance facilitator &# 39 ; s company increases . the insurance facilitator is highly scalable . the insurance facilitator has a strong value proposition , with the following elements of value : lower upfront cost for insurance coverage . these cost reductions are the result of the lower insurance facilitator expense ratio , and the risk improvement that occurs in each program due to friending / de - friending . the insurance facilitator will operate at a lower expense ratio because it will not need to pay agents commissions or engage in expensive television advertising . coupons provided to program members at the end of each coverage period , if loss experience is better than expected . coupons can be used for subsequent coverage periods or provided to friends as an incentive to join the program . transparent and simple pricing . an engaging online user experience that is a natural extension of the consumers &# 39 ; already active online social networking . in embodiments , the insurance facilitator allows the members of its insurance programs to share in the underwriting results of their programs . today , in some alternative insurance arrangements , such as pools and captive insurance companies , there is the opportunity for members to share in the underwriting results . however , none of these entities do so inside of the online social networking method described herein . each program will be structured so that the members &# 39 ; final cost is a function of the actual loss experience of all members combined in that program . this will be accomplished by either ( a ) a profit sharing arrangement with the fronting carrier , or ( b ) the use of a group captive arrangement with the fronting carrier . under a group captive arrangement , the members establish a reinsurance company ( the “ captive ”) that reinsures a portion of the risk of the fronting carrier . this captive arrangement is an existing risk financing technique , but has never been used in the online social media - based business method described here . the disclosed embodiments enable the purchaser of insurance to realize substantial cost savings as compared to the purchase of a conventional insurance policy . each program has an annual budget for loss costs and operating expenses , and each member is allocated a share of total expenses . each member pays a conventional premium to the fronting carrier . this premium will conform to state rate regulations . in embodiments , the members will view this premium as an initial deposit on their cost of insurance for that year . the members &# 39 ; final net cost of insurance will be a function of the shareholder dividends , if any , paid to members by the member - owned reinsurance company . each program on the insurance facilitator &# 39 ; s platform will have the ability to attract program sponsors and the associated advertising fees . non - limiting examples of program sponsors include persons and firms that want to provide services as an unbundled service provider , insurance companies that offer special coverages and “ companion lines ” not available through the program , vendors of goods and services for safety and loss control , and vendors of products and services unrelated to insurance and risk management but relevant to the program customer segment . in embodiments , the insurance facilitator manages all advertising relationships on behalf of programs . in one scenario , advertisers will pay a fee for advertisements , with the fee being based , for example on type of the product or service being advertised , the number of computer users who will see the advertisement , the geographic location and demographic characteristics of the target audience , etc . advertising fees typically will be apportioned between a program and the insurance facilitator . referring to fig1 , a system according to a first embodiment is shown and is designated as 10 . the overall system relies upon interactions and data exchanges among and between the insurance facilitator server , the online social network server , the user &# 39 ; s computer , the insurance company server , and optionally also a third - party claims administration company server , an aggregator &# 39 ; s computer , and a programs sponsor computer . the system is used as described below . a social network server 12 is electronically connected to a user &# 39 ; s computer 14 via the internet or another electronic communications network system through a connection line 16 , which can include wired and / or wireless communcations . the social network server 12 also is electronically connected to the insurance facilitator server 18 through a communication line 20 . when a prospective member ( user ) applies for membership based on an invitation from a member , the prospective member communicates with the insurance facilitator through the insurance facilitator server 18 , either via the social network server 12 or directly through communication line 22 . the insurance facilitator server 18 communicates with the insurance company through a communication line 24 with the insurance company server . the insurance company server 26 optionally is electronically connected to the social network server 12 by a communication line 28 , although in many embodiments there is no direct contact between the insurance company and the social network server . in some cases , the insurance facilitator server 18 is electronically connected to an aggregator &# 39 ; s computer 30 by communication line 32 , and in some cases the insurance facilitator server 18 is electronically connected to a program sponsor &# 39 ; s computer 34 by a communication line 36 . in some embodiments , the insurance company uses a third - party claims administrator , which communicates via electronic communication line 38 with a third party claims administrator server 40 . in some cases , the program sponsor &# 39 ; s computer communicates directly with the social network server via communication line 42 . each server has a cpu that is connected to a memory , a display ( not shown ) and a keyboard ( electronic or physical — not shown ). each memory includes applications and data . when a user applies for membership after having received a member invitation , their application data is transmitted from the computer 14 to the social network server 12 and then to the insurance facilitator server 18 , or is transmitted directly from the user &# 39 ; s computer 14 to the insurance facilitator server 18 . personnel at the insurance facilitator then process the incoming data and make a determination about membership in the group . if a membership invitation is extended , data indicative of the offer for insurance in some embodiments data is transmitted directly to the user , without going through the social network server , in the form of an offer for insurance . alternatively , communication is transmitted from the insurance facilitator server 18 via communication line 20 to the social network server 12 , and then onward via communication line 16 to the user &# 39 ; s computer 14 . in many cases , the insurance offer includes a policy that will become bound if a premium is paid . at this point , if the user decides to join the group , they will create a login , usually with the insurance facilitator server and pay a premium , usually to the insurance facilitator server , using an online payment system . the policy coverage becomes effective either when payment is received , or when the user receives written electronic confirmation that coverage is bound . the user prints , saves and / or otherwise retains their insurance policy on the user &# 39 ; s computer 14 and / or in hard copy form . the aggregator &# 39 ; s computer 30 interacts with the insurance facilitator server 18 and a processor associated therewith along electronic communication line 32 to transmit data indicative of potential new groups and to receive responses from the insurance facilitator 18 . the program sponsor &# 39 ; s computer 34 interacts with the processor of the insurance facilitator server 18 along a communication line 36 , with data being transmitted in both directions . in embodiments , the insurance company uses a third party claims administrator 40 to handle claims . the insurance company server 26 electronically communicates with the third - party claims administrator server though an electronic communication line 38 . in one embodiment , the insurance obtained by the user is auto insurance . in another embodiment , the insurance obtained by the user is renter &# 39 ; s insurance . in embodiments , the user learns of an existing insurance program through a source other than an online friend , and the user requests an opportunity to join an established insurance group on a social network . in this scenario , the first contact by the user is with the insurance facilitator by way of the social network server . on the user &# 39 ; s computer , the user enters the online social network site and registers a username and password ( if not already registered ). the user indicates to the insurance facilitator server that the user is interested in buying insurance through an insurance facilitator insurance program by establishing status as a candidate . the user establishes candidacy by completing a risk profile . when the insurance being sought is automobile insurance , the risk profile includes a number of data elements , including but not limited to , name , address , age and vehicle description . the user also indicates an agreement to allow the insurance facilitator server to access 3rd party sources of underwriting information such as prior claims experience , motor vehicle records , and credit history . when the insurance being sought is renter &# 39 ; s insurance , the risk profile includes a number of data elements , including but not limited to , name , current address , prior addresses , age , type of residence , number of units , number of occupants , copy of lease agreement , etc . the user also indicates an agreement to allow the insurance facilitator server to access 3 rd party sources of underwriting information such as percent owner occupany of a building , building owner name and address , identity of other buildings owned by the same party , etc . the programs grow ( in the number of insureds ) through networking . in embodiments , any person or business that meets the program eligibility requirements can automatically be deemed a candidate . a candidate can create and publish a risk profile at any time . in embodiments , a member can invite a candidate to become a member ( friending ), so long as that candidate has published a risk profile . the insurance facilitator establishes a standard invitation process . in embodiments , once a candidate has been friended by a member , that candidate &# 39 ; s membership in the program is subject to membership consensus , and is subject to other underwriting criteria that may be established by the insurance facilitator . candidates are provided with a method to contact members to request invitations . a person or business that does not meet the eligibility requirements of an existing program , but who is interested in the insurance facilitator concept , will be referred to an aggregator as a prospective founding member of a new program . as the size of a program increases , and as the risk composition of the members improves , each member gets a lower deposit premium and larger shareholder dividends . each insurance program will have a set of insurance service providers . this “ unbundled ” service provider model is already used successfully by most alternative market insurance entities such as pools and captive insurance companies . the insurance facilitator will establish and maintain these service provider relationships on behalf of the insurance programs . each insurance program has a contract with a highly rated insurance company to act as the issuing carrier . two different approaches are applied to the development of insurance programs in order to make full use of the positive affects of social savings ( social savings is used by companies such as groupon and livingsocial to create purchasing leverage by being able to deliver blocks of customers to a company at one time ). in a first embodiment , the insurance facilitator identifies an insurance company to be the issuing carrier and then assembles the insurance program to be insured by that carrier . in this case the prospective policyholders know who the insurance company will be in advance . in this case there are some social savings components that are similar to the power of group purchasing . however the insurance company does not have to compete for the business under this alternative . in a second embodiment , the insurance program is assembled first and then the program is shopped by the insurance facilitator to several insurance companies . this creates a competitive situation . the lowest insurance company bidder wins , which creates significant social savings for the members . every candidate and member creates , maintains , and publishes a risk profile . while in candidate status , the risk profile is anonymous . while in member status , the risk profile may or may not be anonymous depending upon that program &# 39 ; s membership guidelines . the insurance facilitator establishes a standard risk profile template . however , each program will have custom features on the profile template , reflecting the unique risk exposures of that program &# 39 ; s eligibility requirements . the risk profile will include information on risk exposures of the candidate / member , including geocoding , actual loss experience : in the aggregate and individual large losses , information that is similar to that required in conventional insurance applications and submissions , only pared down to essential elements ( such as type of auto , location of auto , and age of driver ), badges , i . e . symbols of special member recognition for accomplishments and / or input , including but not limited to candidate referrals , contributions to member - generated content , and number of years in the program . in embodiments , the risk profile makes use of multimedia content . key information on the risk profile will be independently verified by the insurance facilitator . for example , for automobile insurance , key information will include driver history of traffic accidents and tickets , and credit rating . in embodiments , the risk profile also includes the insurance facilitator pledge and the risk reputation rating . in some programs , the pledge will be a requirement of continued membership , and thus a risk profile is not complete until the candidate or member has signed the pledge . the pledge is a standardized statement that includes one or more of the following : a certification that all information on the risk profile is correct , an agreement that opinions provided on other members &# 39 ; reputation will be well intentioned and well informed , an agreement to participate on the board of directors and / or appropriate committees , an agreement to be an active contributor to member - generated content for loss control , and an overall commitment to act in the spirit of joint cooperation and mutual self - interest . the degree of compliance with the pledge helps to shape reputation . a non - limiting example of a pledge is : “ as a member , i have agreed to make my net insurance costs subject to the actual loss experience of other members . we are all friends in risk management ; and all of my behaviors inside the program will be aligned with reducing the costs of insurance .” each member has a reputation determined by the insurance facilitator that is established using a standardized insurance facilitator methodology . the member reputation adheres to the member profile , and in embodiments is a combination of factual scores , based on actuarial analysis , and subjective opinions among fellow members . the insurance facilitator provides guidance to members on how to reach an opinion on another member &# 39 ; s reputation , and on how to manage their own reputation . each member &# 39 ; s risk profile and reputation will be a predominant factor in the outcome of member consensus during member assembly . the insurance facilitator will develop online training modules in reputation management . this will provide guidance to members on how to reach an opinion on another member &# 39 ; s reputation , and on how to manage their own reputation . each member &# 39 ; s risk profile , which includes reputation , will be the predominant factor in the outcome of member consensus during member assembly . the member reputation concept is important to the insurance facilitator model , because the model is heavily dependent on maintaining peer pressure to keep loss experience as low as possible and to continually remove poor performing members and add good performing members . the “ sum ” of all members &# 39 ; reputation in a specific insurance program creates an implicit program reputation . a positive program reputation can attract more interest and better terms from unbundled service providers and more program sponsors . in many cases , each member of a program has a reputation . in one non - limiting embodiment , the reputations are categories as platinum , gold , silver , bronze and probation . the reputation of a member is determined by a set of risk elements and a set of behavior elements . in the context of auto insurance , for example , risk elements include motor vehicle record ( externally sourced ), credit score ( externally sourced ), vehicle information ( provided by member ), driver information ( provided by member ), and location information ( provided by member ). behavior elements include the following : ability to recruit new members with good loss experience , ability to recruit new members who also get new members , participation in voting , active in the group network . after a predetermined term , a nonlimiting example of which is six months , each member &# 39 ; s reputation is re - assigned to a category . a forced distribution of risk reputation ratings is used by the insurance facilitator to assign members in a program to categories , with the total being 100 %: in embodiments , each member of a group can see the reputation category of each other member . in embodiments , the insurance carrier can see the reputation category of each member of a group . in some cases , each member of a group can see the details of how they were assigned to their reputation category , how they can improve their reputation , and the progress they are making in that improvement . the insurance facilitator can see the individual data elements comprising the reputation . reputation and reputation distribution is used for setting premiums , determining eligibility for , and amount of dividends , determining eligibility for , and amount of promoter incentive awards , determining continued eligibility for membership , and determining amount of discounts for advertisers &# 39 ; products . in some embodiments , each program has a program reputation , which is based on the forced distribution , usually by the carrier , of all groups into reputation categories . the member reputation concept is beneficial to the insurance facilitator model , because the model is heavily dependent on maintaining peer pressure among members to manage their risk and to avoid insurance claims . this will reduce the loss experience in the program . the “ sum ” of all members &# 39 ; reputation in a program creates an implicit program reputation . a positive program reputation can attract more interest and better terms from unbundled service providers , and more program sponsors . a typical process in which individual reputations are established is depicted in fig2 . the overall process is designated at 100 . a prospective member completes an application for insurance at 110 . based on the contents of the application , combined with any data obtained from other sources , an initial risk reputation rating is assigned at 112 . members are invited to comment on the rating at 114 . based on the comments , the risk reputation rating may be revised at 116 . next , a determination is made as to whether the rating is acceptable at 118 . if the rating is acceptable , the prospective member is given the opportunity to pay the insurance premium and join the group and , in most cases , becomes a member at 120 . if the rating is not acceptable , the prospective member &# 39 ; s application is denied at 122 . after a set period , for example 6 months , a query is conducted at 124 as to whether any claims have been filed against the member . if not , the other members are invited to comment of the risk reputation rating of the individual at 126 . if appropriate based on the comments , the reputation of the member is revised at 128 . if , at 130 , the reputation is high enough to remain in the group , the member stays in the group . if necessary , a new premium will be paid . if a claim has been filed by or against a member at 124 , the member &# 39 ; s risk reputation rating is revised , if a change is warranted , at 132 . other members are then invited to comment on the reputation of the member at 126 . if appropriate , the risk reputation rating is revised at 128 . if the risk reputation rating is adequate , the member stays in the group , and after another set period , e . g . 6 months , the claims review is again conducted at 124 . if the reputation is inadequate , the member is given notice at 134 that they will be non - renewed when their term of their insurance policy ends . an insurance enterprise must continuously manage its “ book of business ” to ensure profitability . this is also known as risk portfolio management . in the embodiments disclosed herein , risk portfolio management is handled in a highly innovative and unique manner : it makes use of the “ friending / de - friending ” concepts in online social networks : a candidate must obtain members &# 39 ; consensus to join a program as well as meeting any other underwriting requirements that may be established by the insurance facilitator . akin to “ defriending ” on facebook and deleting “ contacts ” on linked in , a member will be expelled from a program if the member cannot maintain members &# 39 ; consensus . a program will have periodic member assemblies , when the window opens for friending and defriending . the members &# 39 ; consensus will be heavily influenced by a member profile and by member reputation . the insurance facilitator can use algorithms to establish reputation . in embodiments , the insurance facilitator uses dynamic financial analysis ( dfa ) methods , and applies the concepts of the efficient frontier to risk the insurance facilitator uses market research to identify target market segments of persons and firms . the analysis will include assessments of the likelihood of prospective insureds being attracted to the insurance facilitator model , and the desirability of a group of insureds being part of the same insurance program . the results of market research will be provided to aggregators . aggregators will also be provided with an “ application package ” to enable program creation . some programs will be homogeneous , while others will be heterogeneous . non - limiting examples of homogeneous programs include : personal and business insurance for graduates from computer science programs in the last five years : “ computer science insurance program ,” personal and business insurance for members of linkedin global private equity & amp ; venture capital group : “ vc insurance program ,” and personal and business insurance for owners and employees of subway franchises : “ footlong insurance program .” personal and business insurance in the state of colorado , exclusive to a particularly important aggregator : “ andromeda insurance program ,” personal and business insurance for employees of google : “ leo insurance program ,” and commercial property insurance for businesses in florida : “ gemini insurance program .” in some programs , members will share in the underwriting profits of their programs . in embodiments , programs will be structured so that the members &# 39 ; final cost is a function of the actual loss experience of all members combined in that program . this will be accomplished by either ( a ) a profit sharing arrangement with the fronting carrier , or ( b ) the use of a group captive arrangement with the fronting carrier . under a group captive arrangement , the members establish a reinsurance company ( the “ captive ”) that reinsures a portion of the risk of the fronting carrier . this captive arrangement is a well established risk financing technique today , but has never been used in an online insurance program . one example of a potential customer segment is auto insurance for “ any person who is a current or former student of rockport university ( a “ rockport tiger ”).” using tigerauto as an illustration , the actual customer experience is described below in fig3 . the overall process is designated as 200 . an eligible candidate who is interested in joining an online insurance program creates a risk profile on a social networking site , such as facebook , linkedln , google chrome , or another internet or intranet at 210 . this is just some additional information added to the online identity that they have already posted . the new information includes a description of their car and their driving habits . the insurance facilitator then automatically pulls in from external sources information including prior motor vehicle accidents , traffic tickets , etc . at 220 . the preliminary risk profile is now visible to all of the other candidates and members of tigerauto . the members then use the insurance facilitator &# 39 ; s online polling system to vote on each candidate &# 39 ; s admission to the program , referencing the information in the risk profiles , at 230 . the results of the voting at 240 determine whether the prospective member is invited to join the program . if the prospective member is invited to join and joins at 250 , they pay the deposit premium . if the prospective member is denied , the process ends at 260 . then , every 6 months or at another specified interval , the members review the reputations of the other members and vote at 270 on who can stay in the program and who will be removed from the program . after a determination is made at 280 for each member individually , those remaining in the program may be eligible for a coupon at 290 . others will be asked to leave the program at 300 . over time each member earns a reputation score that is based on their driving experience , how long they have been members of the group and how engaged they have been in the program . for example , an engaged member would have been active in the online polling and in recruiting new members into the program . this reputation score , which is now part of their profile , is seen by all members and helps in the online voting . this innovative process gives lots of control to the members . they will naturally balance their desire to see the program grow with the need to prune the poor performers . the insurance facilitator also sets up a group dynamic where each member wants the group to get bigger , because that &# 39 ; s good for everybody , but also each member wants just the right mix of members so that there are fewer claims . good loss experience translates into coupons for members at 310 . average loss experience results in retention in the program at 320 without a discount coupon . also the actual pricing for each individual is a function of the size of the group is and its overall risk quality . there are two parts to the insurance price in tigerauto : the deposit premium and coupon . the deposit premium is what is paid up front at 250 . almost all of the members have seen a lower going in premium from tigerauto compared to their old insurance company premium . this is not surprising because the insurance facilitator operates with a much lower expense ratio . the insurance facilitator does not use insurance agents and therefore does not pay agent commissions . furthermore , the insurance facilitator and carrier do not choose to pay for tv advertising because the marketing is affected by the members of the group . the second part of the price is the coupon . each member of tigerauto is eligible to get a coupon every period , e . g . every 6 months , based on their own loss experience and the overall loss experience in the group . also , the amount of the coupon is affected by growth in the program . coupons can be applied to the next deposit premium , or can be given to a friend to encourage them to join the group . in embodiments , the coupon system creates a strong incentive for the members to grow the program and to keep their claims experience down . coupons also encourage existing members to be selective at to who comes into the group and who should be voted out . this is an application of the social savings concept . the insurance facilitator has an agreement with an a + rated insurance company that is licensed in alabama , alaska , arizona , or another state or set of states . the company has agreed to let the insurance facilitator underwrite on its behalf and provide customer service . this means that the tigerauto members get an insurance policy from a highly rated company , and the insurance facilitator runs the insurance program . the insurance facilitator can establish its own mutual insurance company , to be owned by the members of the programs . in this scenario , the members receive an annual rebate from the insurance company if there is a surplus at the end of the annual accounting period . sales and marketing for new programs are established by aggregators , in cooperation with the insurance facilitator . in embodiments , the aggregators are provided with applications , created by the insurance facilitator , for program development . in embodiments , some aggregators are given exclusive access to specified customer segments . marketing usually is through electronic communication . candidates are attracted to programs by invitations from members , social savings initiatives , and viral marketing initiatives . social networking potential ( snp ) tools will be embedded in the marketing and sales plans . online social savings is highly relevant to the creation of risk pools , due to the “ law of large numbers ”. the more exposure units ( number of autos , for example ) in a program , the lower the risk margin around expected values of loss . the insurance facilitator can use pre - existing online social networks to produce increases in awareness of the insurance facilitator &# 39 ; s brand . in addition , the insurance facilitator will create and launch viral promotions including video clips , interactive flash games , ebooks , and text messages . snp is a numeric coefficient , derived through algorithms , to represent both the size of an individual &# 39 ; s online social network and their ability to influence that network . snp can enhance viral marketing strategies . loss control programs are an inherent method in insurance programs for reducing the frequency and severity of claims . in embodiments described herein , the method has a new and unique approach to loss control . as is shown in fig4 , in some cases , loss control programming and content will be created and disseminated by members . in some cases , each program has a loss control committee 320 , composed of a subset of program members 310 , and staffed by the insurance facilitator 330 . the loss control delivery mechanisms can include riskwikis at 340 , and videos ( including “ how to &# 39 ; s ”), webinars , and podcasts at 350 . in embodiments , all content can be created by members and will have search capabilities . in some embodiments , members are eligible for loss control achievement awards , symbolized with badges on the risk profile . members &# 39 ; contributions to the creation and editing of loss control content will improve reputation on the risk profile . in embodiments , the insurance facilitator establishes a “ guide to riskwikis ”, modeled after the wikipedia manual of style . the embodiments described herein are new in that they combine the concepts of mutual insurance with online social networking . furthermore , they use the following online social networking functions to establish and maintain high quality insurance pools that are largely owned and operated by the members of the networks : member profiling , invitations to join networks , member reputation , and member rewards for network participation . the wiki concept is used to develop , refine , and disseminate member - generated loss control information . group social savings concepts are used to attract members to establish risk pools that have a sufficient size to allow for actuarial estimates of expected losses , and the probability distributions of losses around the expected values . in some programs , the insurance program is owned by the members / policyholders , and operates entirely in the internet or an intranet system ( no “ bricks and mortar ”). some insurance companies and programs are currently making use of social media and social networking for advertising , and for tracking policyholder opinion . however , no insurance companies or programs are actually using social networks to establish member - owned pools of risk ( insurance programs ), nor using the key functions of social networks to manage the risk profile of these insurance pools . the new insurance programs are formed as unique risk pools , whereby the profitability of each risk pool is measured individually . in addition , the embodiments are new , in the following ways : the policyholders in each risk pool control which prospective policyholders may enter the pool and which policyholders are expelled from the risk pool . the policyholder control over the entry and exit of prospective policyholders is exercised via an online “ member assembly ”, supplemented by underwriting criteria established by the insurance facilitator . continued participation in a risk pool requires “ member consensus ” which is measured by an online voting process during the member assembly . the member assembly process results in risk portfolio optimization ; the quality of the risk pool improves on a continuous basis . each prospective policyholder ( a “ candidate ”) creates a unique “ risk profile ” that is for the sole purpose of participating in a risk pool . this risk profile is different , and supplemental to , any member profiles that have already been established on the online network . each member signs a “ pledge ” agreeing to certain risk prevention behaviors in a program . the pledge is one element of the risk profile . “ risk reputation ” is established for each member , using a proprietary scoring system combined with subjective opinions of all other members in the program . programs are created through the use of “ aggregators ”, which are persons or firms that have been certified by the program . insurance services for each program are provided by unbundled service providers . examples include fronting carriers , third - party claims administrators , accountants , actuaries , and investment managers . one source of income for the insurance facilitator is fees paid by program sponsors who want to advertise products or services on a program &# 39 ; s electronic “ page .” in embodiments , program sponsors will assist the insurance facilitator and its programs use the wiki methodology to create , continuously improve , and publish information on exposure identification , risk evaluation and loss prevention . facebook has published extensive documentation on the core concepts of online social networking experiences . the facebook core concept framework is a useful way of thinking about the system and method of providing insurance using an insurance facilitator . social design is a way of thinking about product design that puts interactive experiences at the core . the insurance facilitator business model and associated technology will adhere to this social design concept . according to facebook , social design defines how we understand ourselves and each other and can be broken down into three core elements : identity , conversation and community . community refers to the people we know and trust and who help us make decisions . the insurance facilitator creates communities comprised of affinity insurance groups . conversation refers to the various interactions of people within communities . the insurance facilitator adds to existing online conversations in the context of risk and insurance . identity refers to our own sense of self and how we are seen by our communities . the risk scoring and reputation algorithms will be an extension of pre - existing online identities . facebook has demonstrated that one way to model a social product is by working from the inside out : allow people to create an identity , let them share it and build community over time . facebook began this way . the insurance facilitator will benefit from the pre - existing online communities and optionally has the advantage of working from the outside in : the insurance facilitator is able to utilize the existing community users have built , define new conversations around insurance and let the users continue to build their identities further . in one embodiment , community facebook profile data is used by the insurance facilitator to personalize the user experience . communities feel familiar , relevant and trusted by default . users will feel comfortable and engaged knowing their friends are already actively participating in an insurance group run by the insurance facilitator . when users join , the insurance facilitator automatically connects them to the friends who are already there , instead of making them search and add friends manually . not only is this easier for the user , but it provides the insurance facilitator with social data at the start that helps engage the user . the online platform run by the insurance facilitator will be transparent and will give users control . at the same time , the insurance facilitator ensures that users of the platform have control over the data they provide . using the facebook concept of “ building conversations ”, the insurance facilitator builds tools and experiences that give people the power to connect and share , allowing them to effectively listen and learn from each other , within the new context of risk and insurance online conversations enable individuals to express their identities to communities and to receive feedback from the communities . according to facebook , an effective conversation is based in two experiences : “ listening ”: displaying personalized content , social context and user activity , and “ speaking ”: making it easy for users to talk , share , give feedback and engage . in embodiments , the insurance facilitator enables listening and speaking , this creating a positive feedback loop that has the potential to grow exponentially . users are encouraged to participate when they can listen to and watch other active users on the platform . the platform will show a history of activity ( highlighting friend activity ) as an effective way to generate interest and conversation . users will better understand what is expected of them and will likely seek out ways to participate . presenting information about the activity and actions of others is an effective and natural way to inform and engage other users . users are far more likely to start engaging with the insurance facilitator by responding to content created by their friends than they are likely to create content their own . because of this , in some cases the insurance facilitator has the capability to interact with nearly every piece of content in the platform , as every piece of content can be its own conversation topic . the staff of the insurance facilitator , especially the program managers , assists users by curating identity : users share and interact with others because self - expression feels good and rewarding . the insurance facilitator assists the program managers to learn more about themselves and curate their identity , as it applies to insurance . according to facebook , social design plays to the most powerful form of motivation : the self . people share and interact with communities because they want to , because they learn more about themselves and enjoy feeling known by their community . we know that creating and curating an identity within with the insurance facilitator will lead to a stronger emotional connection with the platform over time . building a profile that represents a user &# 39 ; s identity provides self - motivation and personal value to users . in embodiments , the insurance facilitator takes advantage of two other key elements of the facebook framework : authentication and social channels . the facebook authentication enables the insurance facilitator to interact with the graph application programming interface ( api ) on behalf of facebook users and will provide a powerful single sign - on mechanism across internet , intranet , mobile , and test top caps . the facebook platform involves three different authentication steps : user authentication , app authorization and app authentication . user authentication ensures that the user is who they say they are . app authorization ensures that the user knows exactly what data and capabilities they are providing to the insurance facilitator . app authentication ensures that the user is getting their information to the insurance facilitator and not someone else . once these steps are complete , the insurance facilitator is issued a user access token that enables it to access the user &# 39 ; s information and take actions on their behalf . the facebook platform allows the insurance facilitator to integrate with social channels such as newsfeed to help drive growth and engagement with the platform . one benefit of using a platform such as facebook or linked in , or a corporate or university internal platform , is the potential access to prospective customers the insurance facilitator will have when users of the networking platform share content from their experience and insurance group with their friends . because of the strength of a friend &# 39 ; s endorsement , communication through a platform such as facebook helps the insurance facilitator to grow . at facebook &# 39 ; s core is the social graph ; people and the connections they have , and everything they care about . the open graph will allow the insurance facilitator to model user activities based on actions and objects . with the open graph , the insurance facilitator becomes a part of the user &# 39 ; s identity and social graph . the principal benefits of the embodiments described herein are the provision of insurance at low cost , and stable cost across time . the disclosed embodiments also give policyholders much more control over many elements of their insurance programs . as people and businesses increasingly participate in one or more online networks , they will expect to use , and be capable of using , those networks for more and more tasks and functions . the embodiments described herein leverage the functionality in these networks to provide low cost insurance . buyers of insurance want insurance products that meet their specific needs . the embodiments described herein allow the buyers to design and participate in the modification of their own insurance , and provide the buyers with control over which other buyers will be in their risk pools . buyers of insurance want low cost products with appropriate coverage , and want the costs to be relatively stable over time . the embodiments described herein provide insurance at a reduced cost relative to conventional insurance products because the marketing , purchasing and selling are internet or intranet - based , and the risk profiles are constantly being improved by leveraging the functions of online social networking . buyers of insurance are increasingly doing all kinds of transactions over the internet , and are increasingly participating in online social networks . they are likely to find it a natural extension to use internet - based and / or intranet - based social networks to obtain insurance . one embodiment of an insurance system 400 , as shown in fig5 , involves ( a ) an internet or other network application and database that includes a command center software program and database 410 within and / or associated with an insurance facilitator server memory 415 that acts as a “ command center ” for the venture and most likely is located on the insurance facilities server 420 , ( b ) an internet or other network application and database 430 for insurance group formation , which is most likely located on the insurance facilitator server 420 but also can be located on the social network server 440 , that allows users to assemble groups and share data with the insurance facilitator , and ( c ) an api 450 within the network , most likely being primarily associated with the insurance facilitator server and being controlled by the operating system 460 for the insurance facilitator server 420 to facilitate communication between the server 420 and the server 440 . the api also can support additional applications on the user &# 39 ; s computer 470 . the risk engine ( loss control program 480 ) and reputation algorithm ( reputation rating program 490 ) can sit inside the system , for example within the command center , or can reside with another part of the insurance system 400 . applications are served up and processed through the internet or other network application by the affiliate group administrator or insurer . policy communications , claims , etc . would be handled through conventional channels — this tool would serve to market and administer the membership component of the program . in embodiments , similar to other financial service related facebook apps , no financial transactions or sensitive data will reside on the social network platform itself . some insurance programs on the insurance facilitator platform will be open only to persons or businesses that meet certain program criteria , or persons and businesses who are part of a homogeneous affinity group . for example , one program may be open to “ persons who graduated from rockport university between the year 2000 and the year 2011 ”. in such program circumstances , the user would also include in the candidate profile the necessary information to prove that it meets the general program criteria . the data entered by the candidate is combined with the data obtained by the insurance facilitator from third - party sources of underwriting information . this new combined set of data constitutes the initial risk profile of the candidate . this risk profile is then presented by the insurance facilitator server back to the user &# 39 ; s computer via the online social networking site . the user may then examine the risk profile for accuracy and correct any erroneous data elements . the user then indicates back to the insurance facilitator server that the risk profile is complete and that the user is interested in being considered for moving from candidate status to member status for a particular insurance program . the candidate will then receive a message from the insurance facilitator server informing the candidate of the date and time of the next member assembly . at the time of the member assembly , the user may use its computer to go to the online social networking site and monitor the results of the voting process taking place at the member assembly . the candidate will then be informed by the insurance facilitator server via the online social networking site whether or not the candidate has received a majority vote of the other members in order to move from candidate status to member status . if the user is voted in as a member to the insurance program , the member sends a message from their computer to the insurance facilitator server confirming that they want to accept insurance coverage , subject to the cost and coverage details that are not already available and known . the user then receives data from the insurance facilitator server with details on the insurance coverage , effective date , premiums , and reporting requirements . the member also receives from the insurance facilitator server an electronic copy of the insurance policy . at this point , the member receives data from the insurance facilitator server on the composition of the other members of the insurance program and the new member now has viewing access to the risk profiles and risk reputations of other members . the member receives instructions from the insurance facilitator server on how to participate in member assemblies on a going forward basis . additionally , the member receives from the insurance facilitator server invitations to provide input into risk management , and loss control materials including wikis , videos , blogs , and other online media that are being used by the members to share experiences related to insurance and loss control . the insurance facilitator monitors what is shown to keep out incorrect material , opinions not supported by stated facts , and criticism of other members . in embodiments , the member is able to use its computer to access information via the online social networking site that is provided by the insurance facilitator server regarding when premiums are due and the status of the member &# 39 ; s account . in many cases , the user is able to receive data from the insurance facilitator via the online social networking site pertaining to periodic changes to the user &# 39 ; s risk reputation , as a consequence of future ( favorable or unfavorable ) loss experience , and future participation in the development of informational materials for other members on insurance and loss control topics . the user may also update its own risk profile with current information . when the initial term of insurance is coming up for expiration , the member will also receive data from the insurance facilitator via the online social networking site on how to participate in the next member assembly in order to continued to receive insurance coverage . it will be appreciated that variants of the above - disclosed and other features and functions , or alternatives thereof , may be combined into many other different systems or applications . various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations , or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims . the claims can encompass embodiments in hardware , software , or a combination thereof . | 6 |
fig1 presents an illustration of an embodiment of this invention as a complete ice making system 1 housed on an upper floor 2 and a lower floor 3 of a building . the ice making apparatus 5 rests on support floor 4 , which has a large opening communicating with the floor 3 below . under this opening is conveyor belt 25 which moves dumped ice segments 26 to bin 27 which rests on the lower floor surface 28 . a vapor compression refrigeration system 11 ( part of ice making apparatus 5 ) includes compressor motor 12 , compressor 13 , fan motor 16 , fan 15 , heat exchanger 14 , and rigid refrigerant lines 17 . frame 6 supports a horizontally oriented lower ice tray 21 with rotator housing 23 and a horizontally oriented upper ice tray 20 with its rotator housing 22 . control housing 10 is also attached to frame 6 . flexible refrigerant hoses 18 connect upper tray 20 to housing 10 , while corresponding hoses 19 connect to lower ice tray 21 . fixed housings for the two looped hose bundles 18 and 19 have been removed for this illustration . prechilled water at just above the freezing point enters at 9 and is distributed by manifold and drip tubes 7 to upper horizontal tray 20 while manifold and drip tubes 8 serve the same function for lower horizontal tray 21 . besides fresh water , salt water can enter at input 9 , as can sweetened beverages , such as beer , wine or soda beverages . while dual horizontal ice trays are shown in this embodiment , an ice making machine with only one horizontal freezing tray or with as many as three stacked horizontal freezing trays may be configured to serve the desired capacity . a single ice tray system will be described in the following detailed discussion . implementation on two separate floors of a building as illustrated is also not required ; a conveyor can be placed within frame 6 on a single floor of a building . the prechilled water from which ice is made can be supplied by a separate chiller or by a heat exchanger on the evaporator line . fig2 shows horizontally oriented ice tray 20 , which includes one or more attached troughs 36 , such as four , with ice segment separators 35 . the distance between separators 35 can be varied by placement of spacers 36 a conforming to the same overall shape as compartments 36 , but with smaller sub - compartments 36 b therein . these spacers 36 a are of a non - stick , non - metallic material , such as plastic or teflon . for example , while fig2 shows separators 35 forming spaces 36 of a square configuration , separators 35 can be farther apart from each other , to form elongated compartments which can be broken up incrementally into smaller compartments by insertion of non - metallic spacers 36 a therein . fig3 is a crossection of a trough 36 showing inner ice forming surface 38 which is circular attached at edges 41 to outer layer 39 which is also circular , but of a smaller radius . this construction creates an enclosed space 40 through which refrigerant is conducted . the material for the trough can be copper which is brazed at edges 41 and then nickel plated . other materials of high heat conductivity can be used as well . welded stainless steel construction can : be used for making brine ice for low temperature applications . it is understood that water resting on surface 38 would freeze if liquid refrigerant is permitted to evaporate within space 40 ; similarly , hot refrigerant vapors in space 40 would tend to condense melting ice in contact with surface 38 . ice segment separators 35 are similarly attached as by brazing or welding ; they are made of the same material as the two layers of the trough . in the alternate embodiment shown in fig3 a , trough 36 a has inner ice forming arcuate surface 38 a , which is attached by vertically extending spacers 41 a to outer layer 39 a , which is also arcuate of the same diameter and therefore parallel to inner ice forming arcuate surface 38 a , to form enclosed space 40 a therebetween . the benefit of the configuration shown in fig3 a is that an equal amount of liquid refrigerant or alternatively hot refrigerant vapors flows at the edges near spacers 41 a , as flows in the center of enclosed space 40 a , thereby reducing flow stagnation for more even heat transfer at surface 38 a . in fig3 a , outer arcuate layer 39 a has the same length as inner ice forming arcuate surface 38 b , which minimizes loss of heat or cold through outer arcuate layer 39 a and minimizes space loss between adjacent channel troughs of ice tray 20 . in the further alternate embodiment of fig3 b , trough 36 b has inner ice forming arcuate surface 38 b , which is attached by spacers 41 b , which extend between inner arcuate surface 38 b and outer layer 39 b in a different orientation , such as being horizontally extending . outer layer 39 b is also arcuate of the same diameter and therefore parallel to inner ice forming arcuate surface 38 b , to form enclosed space 40 b therebetween . the benefit of the configuration shown in fig3 b is also that an equal amount of liquid refrigerant or alternatively hot refrigerant vapors flows at the edges near spacers 41 b , as flows in the center of enclosed space 40 b , thereby also reducing flow stagnation for more even heat transfer at surface 38 b . fig4 shows ice segment 26 with width w , length l and depth d . the maximum depth , dmax , would be w / 2 thereby making the end contour into a semicircle . it has been found that a shallower configuration dumps easier ( shorter cycle time ). length l can be much longer than w if desired for some applications ; this is regulated by the placement of spacers 35 . fig5 and 6 show two positions of ice tray 20 . in fig5 , it is in a slightly tilted position from horizontal ( angle “ h ”) to facilitate filling from drip tubes 7 with any overflow of chilled water captured and returned in trough 47 . after the filling period , the water in horizontal tray 20 is frozen while in this position . typically , 3 hoses are attached to each horizontal tray 20 , two smaller evaporator hoses ( approximately ⅜ ″ diameter ) and a suction hose ( about ½ ″ diameter ). these types of hoses are currently used to carry refrigerant in truck mounted units . in this figure only the vapor hose 45 is shown so as to more clearly illustrate the spiral shape of the flexible connection from tray hose plate 46 to fixed attachment end at “ f ”. housing 48 would occupy the outline as shown . after the ice is formed , horizontally oriented tray 20 is rotated clockwise ( a ) into the vertical position shown in fig6 . note that the spiral of hose 45 is now tighter . when “ thaw ” heating is applied while in this position , ice segments 26 are dumped from tray 20 . after the dumping cycle is complete , tray 20 is rotated counterclockwise ( b ) back to the horizontal position for the next ice making cycle . both the ice making ( freezing ) cycle as well as the thaw cycle flow are shown on the flow schematic of fig7 . in addition to components already mentioned , expansion / throttle valve 57 with bypass check valve 58 , expansion / throttle valve 59 with bypass check valve 60 , as well as 3 - port solenoid valves 55 and 56 are shown . in the freeze cycle ( shown by solid arrow shafts ), liquid refrigerant flows through expansion valve 59 into ice tray 20 where it evaporates by extracting heat from ice water thereby freezing it . suction is drawn from horizontal tray 20 by a path from orifice “ c ” to orifice “ a ” of solenoid 56 to the input of compressor 13 . refrigerant vapors are compressed and emerge from compressor 13 as hot vapors through orifice “ a ” to orifice “ b ” of solenoid 55 and onward to heat exchanger 14 which is now acting as a condenser with liquid refrigerant flowing through check valve 58 to complete the cycle . for the thaw cycle ( shown by dashed arrow shafts ), liquid refrigerant flows through expansion valve 57 into heat exchanger 14 which now acts as an evaporator extracting heat from environmental air to vaporize refrigerant . suction is drawn from heat exchanger 14 by a path from orifice “ b ” to orifice “ a ” of solenoid 56 to the input of compressor 13 . compressed hot vapors emerge from compressor 13 through orifice “ a ” to orifice “ c ” of solenoid 55 and onward to ice tray 20 which now acts as a condenser giving up heat to melt a surface of ice segments whereby refrigerant is condensed to a liquid which flows through check valve 60 to complete the cycle . note that segments of piping 61 and 62 denote flexible hoses . fig7 a and 7b show alternate embodiments for flow of liquid refrigerant through hollow arcuate enclosed pipe spaces 40 or 40 a of ice tray 20 . in fig7 a , fluid flows of refrigerant enter an expansion valve before entering enclosed pipe spaces 40 , 40 a or 40 b of ice tray 20 for the freezing cycle , before the fluid flows are alternated for the defrost gas cycle . in fig7 a , however , fluid flows alternately through adjacent enclosed pipe spaces corresponding to fluid flow paths s 1 , s 2 , s 3 and s 4 . however , as the defrost gas passes through the extended lengths of flow paths s 1 , s 2 , s 3 and s 4 of enclosed pipe spaces 40 , 40 a or 40 b , the hot defrost gases cool down , so that they are not as hot when they exit enclosed pipe space indicated by fluid flow path s 4 at the exit return pipe . an even more efficient flow occurs in the flow configuration of fig7 b , where refrigerant enters an enclosed pipe space corresponding to fluid flow path s 1 . the refrigerant flows thence to adjacent enclosed pipe spaces indicated by fluid flow paths s 2 , s 3 and s 4 , before exiting at a return pipe . in the defrost cycle , hot defrost gas enters from a receiver pipe to a defrost input pipe into the enclosed pipe space corresponding to fluid flow path s 1 . however , as the hot defrost gas fluid flows from the enclosed pipe space corresponding to fluid flow path s 1 into the enclosed pipe space corresponding to fluid flow path s 2 , further hot defrost gas enters through from defrost bypass pipe b to further bypass pipe b 1 to augment defrost gas flow entering the enclosed pipe space corresponding to fluid flow path s 2 . in addition , as hot defrost gas passes from the enclosed pipe space corresponding to fluid flow path s 2 into the enclosed pipe space corresponding to fluid flow path s 3 , it is augmented by further hot defrost gas from bypass pipe b 2 . likewise , as defrost gas exist from the pipe space corresponding to fluid flow path s 3 , it is also augmented by fresh , hot defrost gas entering from bypass pipe b 3 . this maintains equilibrium in defrosting , so that as the original hot defrost gas passes through the enclosed spaces corresponding to fluid flow paths s 1 , s 2 , s 3 and s 4 , and is cooled by exposure to ice in the mold compartments of the troughs above the enclosed pipe spaces , it is reheated by the fresh defrost gas being entered through bypass pipes b 1 , b 2 and b 3 . in that manner , although the defrosting fluid vapors lose some of their effectively by being cooled by exposure to the ice being defrosted , they are augmented by this auxiliary hot gas defrost flow . this also causes even separation of the ice from tray 20 , and at a considerably faster defrost time . certain controls and electrical wiring are required to support the activity described in fig7 . for example , fig8 is an electrical block diagram which describes the functioning of this invention . either three phase ac or single phase 3 - wire utility electricity enters at 70 . utility box 71 contains protection fuses . contactor 72 applies power the entire ice making system including refrigeration subsystem 11 . a master timer 73 controls the timing of the various components ; solenoid 74 which controls the filling of ice tray 20 is directly controlled . motor controller 75 gets its timing cue from master timer 73 to initiate the operation of motor 76 which changes the position of tray 20 form one position to the alternate position . limit switch 78 stops motor 76 when tray 20 has reached the fill position ; limit switch 77 stops motor 76 when tray 20 has reached the vertical position . solenoid controllers 79 and 80 control solenoids 55 and 56 respectively upon cues from master timer 73 . while illustrated as an open - loop control , timer 73 can be enhanced with feedback sensors such as temperature and / or refrigerant pressure sensors ; however , since operating conditions should be quite invariant once initially set up , this refinement may not significantly improve efficiency and can contribute to unreliable operation . fig9 shows a timing diagram of the various operations . the timing relationships , durations , and overlap can be seen for a typical installation . a total cycle time for making an ice batch of ten minutes is achievable with proper matching of the various parameters . this would be illustrated by the chart distance from the start of a “ water fill ” pulse to the next . water filling , freeze periods , dump turning , thaw periods , and fill turning are illustrated in the timing diagram . fig1 , 11 , 12 and 13 show alternate embodiments with respect to the horizontal orientation of the freezing tray . in fig1 and 11 , inlet drip tubes 108 are shown close to freezing tray 121 for introducing water , and then inlet drip tubes 108 lifted out of the way as in fig1 , so that tray 121 can be used as a counter - top for displaying fish for sale at a fish store , as shown in fig1 . fig1 - 12 presents an illustration of an embodiment of this invention as a countertop display ice making system 101 . the ice making apparatus 105 rests on support floor 104 which has an optional drain opening 124 communicating with the floor 104 . a vapor compression refrigeration system 111 ( part of ice making apparatus 105 ) includes compressor motor 112 , compressor 113 , fan motor 116 , fan 115 , heat exchanger 114 , and rigid refrigerant lines 117 . frame 106 supports a liftable or removable horizontally oriented ice tray 21 with lift mechanism 123 . control housing 110 is also attached to frame 106 . flexible refrigerant hoses 119 connect horizontal countertop tray 121 to housing 110 . prechilled water at just above the freezing point enters at inlet 109 and is distributed by manifold and drip tubes 108 to horizontal countertop freezing tray 121 . while liftable horizontal countertop ice tray 121 is shown in this embodiment , an ice making machine with a removable or horizontally shiftable horizontal countertop freezing tray or trays 121 may be configured to serve the desired capacity . the prechilled water from which ice is made can be supplied by a separate chiller or by a heat exchanger on the evaporator line . fig1 shows horizontally oriented countertop ice tray 121 displaying fish 180 thereon . tray 121 includes one or more attached troughs 136 , such as four , with ice segment separators 135 . fig1 shows an even further alternate embodiment where the horizontal freezing tray 220 is used as a physical therapy bed device for a human patient 280 with a need for ice application to the back , neck or limbs . fig1 shows corresponding attached troughs 236 with ice segment separators 235 . it is anticipated for user comfort that the tops of troughs 236 and separators 235 are covered with an soft elastomeric material , such as rubber or synthetic materials such as polyurethane foam . furthermore , in the embodiments of fig1 - 13 where the ice can remain in place and does not have to be dumped until melted after use as a display countertop or physical therapy bed , then the introduction of hot gas in the curved hollow sleeves under respective ice segment compartments 136 or 236 can be optional if the ice formed just stays in place until melted , such as in a fish display or in the physical therapy bed embodiment . in that case one would only need the refrigerant to flow through hollow arcuate sleeves similar to hollow arcuate sleeves 40 in fig1 - 3 herein , to freeze the water in horizontal countertop tray 121 of fig1 or physical therapy bed 221 of fig1 . therefore , the method of producing salt containing segments of ice in which the salt is substantially uniformly distributed throughout the ice segments includes the steps of : a ) pouring water containing salt into a horizontal mold divided into separate ice forming compartments ; b ) chilling said mold while in a horizontal position at a sufficient rate of cooling to prevent desalination of the water in said mold and produce a single solid segment of ice in each compartment ; and c ) continuing said chilling until the temperature of the ice in said mold is between minus 10 ° f . and minus 50 ° f . thereby producing supercooled segments of ice . the segments of ice are removed by rapidly subjecting said supercooled ice segments to a short , temporary contact with a high heat source to melt a thin layer of ice adjacent walls of said mold and rotating said mold to a substantially vertically oriented dump position whereby said segments of ice are dumped from said mold into a collection bin . the salt water can be fresh water with salt added or seawater . typically , the water contains salt in the amount of about 3 % by weight . if the salt percentage is increased , the temperature of the ice cube thus formed , is lower than if the salt percentage is about 3 % by weight . chilling of the salt water to about minus 40 degrees f . is preferably done at the rate of about twenty to thirty minutes time duration . the ice cube containing mold is tipped slightly during filling to discharge excess water into a trough , with the mold being righted back into a horizontal position after said compartments are filled with salt water for freezing . preferably the ice cube forming mold includes a conduit with an upper curved wall extending the length of the mold forming an upwardly facing concave surface divided into ice cube compartments , by a plurality of spaced separators and a lower curved wall forming an arcuate , preferably crescent shaped passageway through the length of the mold , with the upper and lower curved walls being joined at parallel edge walls or edges thereof . it is further noted that the ice cube making machines of the present invention can be deployed upon a boat for producing the saltwater ice cubes from seawater . the supercooled segments of ice containing salt are therefore made by the process of : a ) pouring water containing salt into a horizontal mold divided into separate ice forming compartments ; b ) chilling the mold while in a horizontal position at a sufficient rate of cooling to prevent desalination of the water in the mold and to produce a single solid segment of ice in each compartment ; and c ) continuing the chilling until the temperature of the ice in the mold is between minus 10 ° f . and minus 50 ° f . thereby producing supercooled segments of ice in which the salt content of said segments is preferably about 2 . 7 % by weight , such as in the range of about 2 % to 4 % by weight . the same process can be used to produce fresh water ice cubes or ice cubes of sweetened beverages , such as beer , wine or soda . in the foregoing description , certain terms and visual depictions are used to illustrate the preferred embodiment . however , no unnecessary limitations are to be construed by the terms used or illustrations depicted , beyond what is shown in the prior art , since the terms and illustrations are exemplary only , and are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention . it is further known that other modifications may be made to the present invention , without departing the scope of the invention , as noted in the appended claims . | 5 |
in the following , like numerals refer to like structures in the drawings . referring to fig1 there is shown a general reference model identifying the general components of a merchant payment system according to the present invention . the system 100 preferably includes at least one wap enabled device 110 having a card reader , keypad 112 or other similar means for inputting information into the wap device . the wap device normally connects via a wap proxy 114 to a server 116 , which is in turn connected via a network to a transaction gateway server ( tgs ) 118 . the transaction gateway server connects via a proprietary or dedicated network or other similar network to at least one financial transaction server ( fts ) or payment gateway 120 . in addition , the system 100 may also include an enterprise reporting subsystem ( ers ) which includes a bank open exchange server ( box ) which is connected to the server 116 for receiving wireless pos transaction information . the box also receives information from the clerk or merchant from its pos terminals and possibly the wap devices . while traditional pos merchant systems relied on specialized wireless pos devices , the present system extends the functionality of these traditional systems to the use of common wireless devices that support a wap environment . as identified earlier , existing systems presume that the payment system is a trusted system . however , by enabling a merchant to accept payment using a generic telephone such as a cell - phone , in conjunction with a customer pin , it is important the customer has a level of trust in the device itself . accordingly , in the present system , in order for a merchant to be able to accept smart card based payment from customers , the merchant first registers with an appropriate portal site . this site would define the merchant id , the processing banks or processes , the merchants smart phone or wireless appliance type , the merchant &# 39 ; s microbrowser type and version , network , network id and ecr configuration . in use , when a merchant wants to accept payment from a customer , the merchant would begin by connecting to an application server by entering the appropriate url in the microbrowser of the wireless appliance . a wireless connection will be made via a wap proxy server , establishing a secure link to the application server . the application server will authenticate the merchant and recognize the merchant &# 39 ; s wap appliance type , browser type as well as the desired processor or bank and provide the appropriate wap pages to facilitate the transaction . the set of wap pages contains the user interface and may include intermediary calculations to complete the financial transaction request regardless of tender type . once the information gathering of the financial transaction is completed , the merchant device will request a customer &# 39 ; s smart card for payment . this may be a smart card , a credit card , a debit card , a check card , a route to a client wallet server , or some other means of electronic payment . at this point , bidirectional authentication is required for the customer to be assured he is dealing with a valid merchant and a valid merchant payment acceptance system . the present invention provides for the cardholder to have a secret identification known only to the cardholder , which is encrypted using the application server &# 39 ; s public key and which is stored on the card . the encrypted cardholder secret identification is sent to the application server . the application server knowing the originating device via the wap will identify the merchant and allow for authentication of the merchant via an anchor portal site . once this is done , the application server decrypts the cardholder secret identification received from the smart card and re - encrypts the cardholder secret identification via a standard wap security protocol . this re - encrypted cardholder secret identification is then transmitted back to the merchant device . on the merchant device , the customer will see a prompt such as “ merchant authenticated by ( skypay application server ) as evidenced by a secret code xyz ”. referring to fig2 there is shown a ladder diagram for an online credit card payment , according to an embodiment of the present invention . the sequence of message flow is as follows : firstly , it is assumed that as a precondition the clerk is registered on the system . 2 . the clerk selects a url to activate an online credit payment script which reads the card data ; 3 . the script fills in an appropriate payment form , and presents the populated payment form in a browser ; 4 . the clerk enters transaction details of the purchase into the payment form ; 5 . in the case of an ic card transaction certain payment details are presented to the card and the card responds with an encrypted message of the payment details ; otherwise the script generates a message authentication code ( mac ); 6 . the transaction details are sent to the server using an online credit payment request ; 7 . if the server determines a pin is required , it responds with a decoded cardholder secret ; 8 . the cardholder validates the decoded secret and if satisfied then enters pin ; 9 . in the case of an ic card transaction , the pin is sent to the ic card for encryption ; 13 . the payment center response is returned to the vt in the server ; 14 . the vt issues a response to the browser in the wap device ; 15 . an optional manual confirmation of receipt of the response is sent ; 16 . ( assuming successful response from the tgs ) payment details are sent to box after brief timeout or manual confirmation ; a correction record can be sent to box if there is no manual confirmation and the next transaction sequence id ( cookie ?) indicates the payment response was not received ; 17 . the cardholder retrieves his / her card and possibly a printed receipt . by the customer visually ( or audibly ) verifying that the displayed secret is indeed the cardholder &# 39 ; s secret known only to the customer , the customer can truly authenticate and trust the merchant and the application or merchant payment acceptance system that is being used by that now trusted merchant to accept and process the customer &# 39 ; s payment . thus , the customer enters a pin or some other information such as biometrics into the wap appliance to complete the financial transaction . at this point , the application server will construct the appropriate pos transaction and forward this transaction to the transaction gateway server . details of the operation of a transaction gateway server is described in the applicant &# 39 ; s pending u . s . application ser . no . 09 / 559 , 278 and incorporated herein by reference . in a further embodiment , the secret could also be in the form of a spoke phrase . in this case , the customer would speak a certain phrase that would then be encrypted and sent across the communications link from the wap appliance to the wap server . here the wap server would decode the encrypted spoken phrase . the decrypted spoken phrase would then be fed into a voice recognition server . at one level , the particular phrase would result in a particular card holder secret being returned either in voice or alpha numeric form . at another level of authentication , a voice print could be done to uniquely associate the spoken phrase with the particular card holder secret . in this model , the card holder secret stored on the voice recognition server could be sent back via verbal confirmation or a text confirmation . a further embodiment of the client cardholder secret may be as follows . the secret may be held in a client wallet server run by an issuing bank . a client wallet server is a holder of cardholder credentials run on behalf of the cardholder . to complete a payment transaction , a backend merchant system , perhaps a merchant wallet server ( mws ) will initiate communications with the client wallet server , obtaining a cardholder &# 39 ; s credentials . all commercial implementations of client wallet servers are run behind a financial institution &# 39 ; s firewall . these implementations are concerned with bi - directional authentication of both the mobile device and the client wallet server . however , the client is not assured that the merchant entity asking for cardholder credentials is an authentic and trusted merchant or that the system being used by the merchant is an authentic and trusted system . the mws acting on behalf of the merchant , would process the payment transaction on behalf of the merchant . a payment transaction is triggered by a payment request from the merchant to the mws . this mws then requests cardholder credentials from a client wallet server and processes the payment transaction using those credentials to a financial host . since the mws holds the key used to encrypt the cardholder secret , this key is first encrypted with the mws public key and passed through the backend system to the client wallet server . the client wallet server ( or some system such as a client wallet secret server acting on behalf of the client wallet server ), then decrypts the key used originally to encrypt the cardholder secret and then decrypts the actual cardholder secret and sends this back to the mws via some secure method . the mws then forwards this secret to the merchant payment acceptance system or to some other sytem owned by the cardholder ( such as the cardholder &# 39 ; s cell phone or home computer ). then the cardholder &# 39 ; s secret is shown to the cardholder prior to the cardholder giving final authorization to proceed with the payment . in this way , the cardholder is assured that he / she is dealing with a trusted system and a trusted merchant prior to providing final authorization to proceed with the transaction as only a trusted merchant using a trusted system would have been able to disclose the cardholder secret to the cardholder . it may be seen , that the present system provides a relatively simple and efficient method for the customer to authenticate the merchant . the present invention may be used to extend existing standards for electronic transactions such as set . the set standards specify secure means for electronic transactions . specifically , they address the situation of a cardholder paying for goods from their home computer over the world wide web . there are two key assumptions , specifically , the home computer , is trusted by the cardholder and a magnetic stripe card account is used . on the other hand , the nv96 standards enhance set for the use of ic cards or smart cards . like set , the emv standard assumes that a trusted device , typically a home computer , is used for transactions . accordingly , with the present invention , security concerns associated with the use of generic devices may be ameliorated with the use of ic cards in place of magnetic stripe cards . although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments , various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in the claims appended hereto . although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments , various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in the claims appended hereto . | 6 |
embodiments of the invention will be described below in detail with reference to drawings . fig2 is a block diagram showing a schematic construction of a design supporting apparatus for designing a sheet feeding mechanism , such as a copier , according to an embodiment of the invention . in fig2 , a sheet feeder design supporting apparatus 1 is an information processor including a central processing unit ( cpu ) 17 , a display apparatus 18 , an input apparatus 19 , a storage apparatus 20 , and an output apparatus 21 . in the sheet feeding design support apparatus 1 shown in fig2 , the central processing unit ( cpu ) 17 processes an input parameter or form in accordance with an instruction input from the input apparatus 19 . the display apparatus ( display ) 18 displays an obtained simulation result as three - dimensional form and design input ( parameters and path information ) information . furthermore , the display apparatus 18 displays developments during simulation processing . the input apparatus 19 includes a keyboard , a mouse and / or a pointing device . the input apparatus 19 can be used to input selection information required for operations , input information , select items under a menu , or input other instructions . the storage apparatus 20 stores various programs for implementing operations of the information processor , such as a parameter input / output program , data corresponding to a 3d model and information such as a simulation result for the model . the output apparatus 21 may be a printer for printing information displayed on the display apparatus 18 , such as design input information ( parameters and / or information relating to a paper feeding path ), data corresponding to a 3d model and a simulation result , or a network interface for outputting the information as information data to another design supporting apparatus . here , the storage apparatus 20 includes at least one selected from a read - only memory ( rom ), a random access memory ( ram ), a hard disk drive ( hdd ) and a separate external storage apparatus . the storage apparatus 20 stores programs for implementing processes and design information on a 3d model . the hardware construction of the information processor does not have to be a specific apparatus and may be a generic computer system such as a personal computer . according to this embodiment , programs and parameter information such as unit forms to be designed are stored in a rom and a ram or a hard disk , respectively , in the storage apparatus 20 . then , selection information required for processing is selected through the input apparatus 19 , and the operation result is re - displayed on the display apparatus 18 . parameters / model data can be stored in the storage apparatus 20 . next , a specific operation of a sheet feeder design support apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described in accordance with steps by a user with reference to the flowchart in fig1 and the construction diagram of the sheet feeder design supporting apparatus 1 in fig2 . [ input part form and position information ] at [ step st 0 ] first of all , a user models ( renders ) outside shapes and positions of parts included in a paper feeder unit by using a cad system . first of all , an attribute group relating to paper feeding of each part included in the modeled paper feeder system mainly include six attributes , “ feeding guide ”, “ feeding roller ”, “ mylar ”, “ flapper ”, “ sensor ” and “ paper path ”. then , each unit is defined by assigning any one of these six part attributes thereto . like the screen shown in fig3 a , a designer defines a parameter for each modeled unit . for example , a material as a parameter of a guide plate is determined with reference to a friction coefficient of the guide plate , for example , in a parameter database ( db ) ( not shown ). fig3 b is a diagram illustrating a preferred example of an input screen on which parameters of parts are defined . on the upper window in fig3 b , buttons having attribute names ( sensor , guide , roller and paper feeding path ) in a predetermined attribute group are displayed . ( for simple description , buttons for attributes relating to a mylar and a flapper are not shown here .) for example , sensor is selected , a window is displayed having a delay and chatter as parameter items under drive conditions . a user can select a desired item to change the value of the parameter . [ create section diagram of feeder system unit / add attribute of section diagram ] at [ steps st 2 / st 3 ] next , a main section is defined for a feeder unit in a three - dimensional space . subsequently , a section diagram of the feeder unit is created on the defined main section . design information according to this embodiment includes a feeder unit in a three - dimensional space and a section of the created feeder unit . fig4 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a main section of a paper feeder unit is defined at a step st 2 in fig1 . in fig4 , a two - dimensional main section is defined in a three - dimensional space , and the main section is displayed on the screen . the main section is defined in perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the feeding roller of the feeder unit and at the center of the feeding roller . at a step st 3 in fig1 , it is selected whether parts ( screws / exterior parts and so on ) not relating to the paper feeder system are projected on the main section or not or parts having on flags and relating to the paper feeder system , such as the feeding guide attribute , feeding roller attribute , mylar , flapper and sensor attribute defined at the step st 1 in fig1 are only projected or not . next , a section diagram of a part selected on the main section at the step st 3 is created . fig5 is a diagram showing an example of the main section created by the projection processing at a step st 4 in fig1 . fig5 shows a state in which a part to be projected in accordance with a selection at the step st 3 is projected . thus , projecting only required projection parts can reduce the complexity of the diagram . subsequently , a sheet feeding path is input for the main section shown in fig5 . the sheet feeding path is defined to extend between guides shown on the section diagram created by the step st 4 . fig6 is a diagram showing an example having the sheet feeding path input at the step st 5 in fig1 . the displayed guide elements include pairs of elements such as splines and arcs . a designer can define a general sheet feeding path by connecting the substantial centers of these elements . when a loop path exists in the sheet feeding path defined at the step st 5 , a branching position thereof is selected . when no loop path exists and defining a branching position is not required , the process goes to the next step as it is . fig7 is a diagram illustrating an example having the input branching points on a section diagram . in fig7 , when the path has a branching point as a result of forming a closed loop based on a process such as double - side copying , a designer can divide elements on the path by providing branching points in the paper feeding path on the section diagram . next , an order of paper feeding is defined on the defined sheet path . fig8 a to 8c are diagrams illustrating an example in which a paper feeding route is defined . fig8 a shows a state in which an order for feeding a sheet is selected based on path elements divided at the step st 6 in fig1 . in order to feed a sheet in accordance with the arrow in fig8 a , a definition operation is started upon a manipulation on the paper feeding path select button . then , sheet sections are sequentially selected on the screen in accordance with a desired route . upon completion of the definition operation , as shown in fig8 b , the arrangement of element numbers can be checked on the screen in an order of elements that sheets are to be fed . as shown in fig8 c , a sheet feeding path can be displayed schematically . when a sensor must be placed for determining whether paper is on a sheet path or not , a position for placing the sensor is defined . in order to place multiple sensors , points for the sensors are defined . fig9 is a diagram illustrating an example having defined sensor positions . in fig9 , positions of sensors are defined on the sheet feeding path defined up to the step st 6 . more specifically , coordinate values of the sensors can be provided on the section diagram as attributes . the attribute information may be selected between local coordinates about the origin on the section diagram and entire coordinates in a 3d - space . through the steps st 2 to st 8 , the section diagram is input with the settings of two - dimensional attributes relating to the paper - feeding path . subsequently , based on the defined information as described above , a simulation for sheet feeding is performed by a process by the central processing unit 17 . as a result of the simulation , sheet operation information , timing of sheet arrival at the sensors , motor control timing and so on are calculated . next , the sheet operation information and / or information on timing of sheet arrival at the sensors and / or motor control timing are processed which are the simulation results . thus , a logic analyzer diagram ( timing chart ) shown in fig1 and a sheet line diagram indicating a distance traveled of a sheet with respect to a sheet feeding time shown in fig1 are displayed on the screen of the display apparatus 18 . through these steps , results from the sheet feeding simulation can be obtained . according to this embodiment , a simulation can be easily retried by processing the data on the graph resulting from the simulation . for example , a designer may examine shifting of detection timing of the sheet sensor ps - b on the logic analyzer diagram on the screen of the display apparatus 18 , as shown in fig1 . fig1 is a diagram showing a relationship between sheet arrival times and positions of the sensors and motors . fig1 is a flowchart of performance of the apparatus when a designer amends the diagram shown in fig1 . at first , the cpu 17 detects that the diagram has been amended by a designer ( st 20 ). for example , as indicated by the arrow d in fig1 , line data displayed on the logic analyzer diagram is moved by a drag operation on the mouse of the input apparatus 19 . thus , a designer can correct the line data to desired timing . in accordance with the change due to the correction , the central processing unit 17 inversely computes values of the parameters to be corrected from the amount of change in detection timing ( time difference in fig1 ). furthermore , as shown in fig1 , a parameter table of all design information involved in the change in detection timing is displayed . a designer may select a type of parameter of an amended part of the designed model to be changed from the table . the cpu 17 detects that a parameter is selected by the designer ( st 21 ). furthermore , the cpu 17 calculates a value of the selected parameter on the basis of the amendment at the step st 20 ( st 22 ). for example , a position of the sensor b is selected , the sensor position input at the step st 8 is calculated and corrected based on a sheet feeding speed calculated from the changed time difference and the diagram in fig1 so as to obtain the corrected detection timing . here , the correction is performed without departing from the sheet path . more specifically , as shown in fig1 , when line data is moved so as to delay the paper arrival time at the position of the sheet sensor ps - b by 500 msec ., the position of the sensor ps - b is only moved to correct by ( paper feeding speed * 500 msec .). the paper feeding speed can be obtained from a distance from the beginning of the sheet feeding path to the position of the sensor ps - b and the arrival time in a simulation result , or from an inclination of the sheet line diagram shown in fig1 . in accordance with the result of the calculation at the step st 22 , the cpu 17 corrects the designed model ( st 23 ). for example , the central processing unit 17 corrects not only the coordinates of the sensor b in the parameter table but also the position of the sensor ps - b on the main section diagram as indicated by the arrow e in fig1 . here , since the original position of the sensor ps - b is indicated by the dashed line , the change in sensor position can be recognized immediately . at the same time , the original position information , which is the first design information , may be stored to return the sensor to the original position . similarly , when a sheet feeding path length is selected as a parameter to be corrected , a sheet feeding path length from a branch point of a loop forming the sheet feeding path to the position of the sensor ps - b is corrected to increase by ( paper feeding speed * 500 msec .) in accordance with the corrected detection timing , as shown in fig1 . as described above , according to this embodiment , based on the graph showing the simulation result , parameters such as a predetermined sensor position can be automatically corrected . thus , an optimal condition for sheet feeding design can be obtained efficiently , and the efficiency of sheet feeding design can be improved significantly . data may be corrected by using graph data , which is simulation results , so that parameters of predetermined design information can be automatically corrected . thus , the efficiency of sheet feeding design can be improved significantly . furthermore , since an inverse operation is automatically performed to automatically correct design information , an unnecessary simulation under design conditions based on wrong manual calculations can be prevented . since design information can be automatically corrected in response to a correction on simulation results , a designer never forgets correcting design information . thus , disagreement between design information and simulation results thereof can be prevented . next , a second embodiment will be described with reference to fig1 and 16 showing input screens for parameters of design information and fig1 showing a display screen of simulation results . since the construction and simulation steps , which will not be described below , are the same as those of the first embodiment , the description will be omitted herein . fig1 is a display screen of the display apparatus 18 . a 3d - model example of a feeder unit is displayed on the display screen as design information ( design diagram ) of a three - dimensional space . fig1 shows a section diagram of the 3d model shown in fig1 . fig1 shows a sheet line diagram on the screen of the display apparatus 18 , which is one of simulation results . since the fact that design data input first can be automatically corrected by correcting line data in fig1 showing a sheet line diagram indicating a sheet feeding distance with respect to a sheet feeding time , which is a simulation result , is the same as that of the first embodiment , the description will be omitted herein . according to the second embodiment , processing , which will be described below , is further implemented . according to this embodiment , when a parameter of design information of a three - dimensional space ( 3d - model ) is corrected with respect to simulated data , the central processing unit 17 performs an operation with the changed parameter in real time . then , the simulation results can be automatically corrected . for example , it is assumed that the diameter of a roller 30 in the 3d model shown in fig1 is slightly corrected from the dashed line to the solid line after a simulation . in this case , the diameter of the roller 30 on the section diagram in fig1 of the 3d model is also automatically corrected ( from the dashed line to the solid line ). furthermore , the central processing unit 17 performs an operation ( simulation ) with the changed diameter data of the roller 30 . thus , the slope ( sheet feeding speed ) of a part of the sheet line diagram shown in fig1 , which is a simulation result , can be corrected downward like the arrow f ( meaning the change from the dashed line to the solid line ) in accordance with an increase in diameter of the roller 30 . also in this case , like the first embodiment , a roller diameter , which is first input design information , and / or a sheet line diagram , which is a simulation result display , are represented by a dashed line , for example . thus , the change can be recognized immediately , and , at the same time , the roller diameter , which is the first design information , and the sheet line diagram can be returned to the original slope . as described above , according to this embodiment , data resulting from one simulation can be changed in accordance with a change in design without another simulation from the beginning . thus , the simulation results can be examined immediately . therefore , the efficiency of sheet feeding design can be also improved . furthermore , simulation results in accordance with a change in parameters in design information can be obtained immediately . thus , the most time - consuming determination of a parameter to be changed for efficient processing can be performed easily , which may reduce the design time significantly . while design information of a sheet feeder mechanism , for example , has been described above according to this embodiment , the present invention is applicable to design information ( design drawings ) of all apparatus . while the present invention has been described with reference to what are presently considered to be the preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments . on the contrary , the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . the scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions . this application claims priority from japanese patent application no . 2003 - 316942 filed sep . 9 , 2003 , which is hereby incorporated by reference herein . | 6 |
in the following detailed description , preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described . however , it is to be understood that features of the different embodiments are exchangeable between the embodiments and may be combined in different ways , unless anything else is specifically indicated . it may also be noted that , for the sake of clarity , the dimensions of certain components illustrated in the drawings may differ from the corresponding dimensions in real - life implementations . even though in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well known constructions or functions are not described in detail , so as not to obscure the present invention . the following discussion is in particular concerned with hydrophilic urinary catheters for intermittent use . however , the invention can also be used in relation to other types of urinary catheters , or other types of catheters in general . a urinary catheter according to a preferred embodiment is illustrated in fig1 - 3 . the catheter comprises an elongate shaft 1 with an insertion end 2 . the insertion end 2 is preferably provided with one or several openings 3 , in fluid communication with an internal lumen 4 of the catheter . the catheter further comprises a discharge end 5 with an integrally formed and connected insertion aid 6 . as is best seen in fig3 , the discharge end 5 is preferably arranged with an inwardly tapering inner surface 51 , arranged to be connectable to a frusto - conical connection to external tubing or a urine collection bag . the discharge end is further preferably arranged with a cylindrical outer or outwardly facing surface 52 . as shown in the drawings such as fig3 , inner surface 51 is tapered as described but outward surface 52 is essentially or substantially uniform in diameter , again in a preferred embodiment . however , alternatively , the outer surface may have other shapes , such as having a tapering cross - section , a non - circular circumference , or the like . the insertion aid 6 is preferably formed as a tubular part , with an inner cross - sectional dimension slightly larger than the corresponding outer surface of the discharge end . however , the insertion aid may also incorporate a slit opening extending over part of the axial length of the tubular part , or even extending over the entire axial length . further , the insertion aid may have cross - sectional shapes other than circular . the insertion aid 6 is releasably connected to the discharge end , so that it may be released by will , e . g . by applying a certain force in a certain direction . the released insertion aid may then be moved along the elongate shaft , for aiding during catheterization . the insertion aid is preferably sufficiently flexible to be compressed , e . g . by applying a pressure between the thumb and the index finger , over the elongate shaft . sufficient flexibility of the insertion aid may be accomplished by forming it by a sufficiently flexible material , and / or by having a sufficiently narrow thickness . further , the thickness may vary over the tubular part , thereby making some parts more flexible than others . preferably , the tubular part has a shore a hardness in the range 60 - 80 . the connection between the insertion aid and the discharge end is preferably formed by means of one or several breakable connection arms 7 extending between the discharge end and the insertion aid . preferably , at least two , and most preferably three or four connection arms 7 are provided . the plurality of connection arms are preferably evenly distributed around the circumference of the discharge end . preferably , the arms 7 have a longer extension in the length direction of the catheter than in the circumferential direction of the catheter . hereby , the resistance to axial forces are greater than the resistance to rotational forces . in order to further facilitate removal of the insertion aid , gripping means 71 , such as protruding portions , may be arranged on the outer surface of the insertion aid . the catheter may be of any size suitable for catheterization . for use by female users the elongate shaft preferably has a length in the range of 5 - 20 cm , such as in the size of 15 cm . hereby , a very compact and discrete catheter is obtained . for male users , the elongate shaft preferably has a length in the range 18 - 45 cm , such as in the size of 40 cm . preferably , the discharge end and the insertion aid are formed and connected by means of injection molding . most preferably , the discharge end and the insertion aid are formed and connected by means of injection molding in a single molding cycle . however , alternatively , the discharge end and the insertion aid may be formed and connected by means of injection molding in at least two separate molding cycles . this is e . g . preferred if there is a need for different materials in the insertion aid and the discharge end of the catheter . if two separate molding cycles are used , the integration of the discharge end and the insertion aid may still be directly molded together . however , alternatively , it is possible to use a two - step molding process in which the discharge end and the insertion aid are formed in two separate molding cycles , and mechanically interconnected within the molding apparatus . hereby , the insertion aid and the discharge end may be formed at a distance from each other , and then moved together while still within the molds after sufficiently solidified . the connection may in this case e . g . be accomplished by a bayonet joint . the discharge end and the insertion aid are preferably formed by the same material . further , the elongate shaft and the tip portion may also be of the same material . alternatively , the various components of the catheter may be of different materials . for example , the discharge end and the insertion aid may be formed by two different materials . the at least one material may be any thermoplastic and / or thermosetting plastic materials which are useable for providing sufficient strength and flexibility for the intended use . for example , the material may be one or several of : a polymer material , such as polyurethanes , thermoplastic rubbers , polyvinylchloride , other vinyl polymers , polyesters , polyether block amid , polypropene , polyethen polyamide and styren - ethen / butadiene - styren co - polymer and polyacrylates . the material may also be a polymer blend comprising a polyolefin and a composition having molecules with active hydrogen groups , and preferably a composition having molecules with active hydrogen groups . the polyolefin can comprise at least one polymer selected from the group : polyethene , polypropene , and styrene block copolymer ( scbs ). the composition having molecules with active hydrogen groups can be a polymer having active hydrogen groups bound to the polymer via nitrogen , such as polyamide or polyurethane . in order to further facilitate insertion of the catheter , the elongate shaft may comprise a hydrophilic material at the surface , said hydrophilic material providing a low - friction character to the catheter surface when wetted . for example , the elongate shaft can be made essentially entirely of a hydrophilic material . alternatively , the elongate shaft may be provided with a hydrophilic surface coating . the hydrophilic material may e . g . be polyvinyl pyrrolidone ( pvp ), but many other types of hydrophilic coatings are known in the art , and may be used in the context of the present invention . the hydrophilic coating provides a low - friction character to the catheter when wetted , thereby facilitating insertion of the catheter into the urethra , and reducing the risk of pain etc . more specifically , the hydrophilic material may comprise material ( s ) selected from polyvinyl compounds , polysaccharides , polyurethanes , polyacrylates or copolymers of vinyl compounds and acrylates or anhydrides , especially polyethyleneoxide , polyvinyl - pyrrolidone , heparin , dextran , xanthan gum , polyvinyl alcohol , hydroxy propyl cellulose , methyl cellulose , copolymer of vinylpyrrolidone and hydroxy ethylmethyl acrylate or copolymer of polymethylvinyl ether and maleinic acid anyhydride . the preferred hydrophilic polymer is polyvinylpyrrolidone . in case the hydrophilic material is arranged as a coating , the coating preferably forms a polyurea network , whereby said polyurea network forms a covalent bond to said active hydrogen groups in the substrate . alternatively , the hydrophilic coating may form an ester bond or an epoxy bond to said active hydrogen groups in the substrate . the coating may also comprise an osmolality - increasing compound , as is e . g . taught in ep 0 217 771 . the above - discussed and other obvious modifications must be considered to be within the scope of the present invention , as it is defined by the appended claims . it should be noted that the above - mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention , and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims . in the claims , any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting to the claim . the word “ comprising ” does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed in the claim . the word “ a ” or “ an ” preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements . | 0 |
fig1 a to 4e are bottom views and longitudinal - sectional views conceptually showing white led devices in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure . fig1 a is a bottom view of a white led device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure , and fig1 b is a longitudinal - sectional view taken along line i - i ′ of fig1 a . referring to fig1 a and 1b , a white led device 11 a in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a phosphor film 40 , and a reflective side layer 30 . the led chip 20 may generate blue light . for example , the led chip 20 may include a blue led . the led chip 20 may include (+)/(−) electrodes 21 and 22 disposed on a surface thereof . the electrodes 21 and 22 may have a polygonal mesa shape protruding from a lower surface ( or an upper surface ) of the led chip 20 . otherwise , the surfaces of the electrodes 21 and 22 may be planar to be coplanar with the lower surface ( or the upper surface ) of the led chip 20 , or buried in the led chip 20 so that the surfaces thereof are recessed from the lower surface of the led chip 20 . when the electrodes 21 and 22 are buried , reference numerals 21 and 22 may indicate bumps . the electrodes 21 and 22 may include metals such as w , al , cu , ni , au , ag , or another . the phosphor film 40 may be disposed on the upper surface of the led chip 20 . a part of a lower surface of the phosphor film 40 may be in direct contact with the entire upper surface of the led chip 20 . the phosphor film 40 may be a single - layered film type or single - layered sheet type which has a substantially uniform thickness . the phosphor film 40 may include a yellow phosphor material and a base resin . for example , the phosphor material may include phosphor particles or phosphor powders , and the base resin may include silicon resin . the reflective side layer 30 may surround side surfaces of the led chip 20 in a top view or a bottom view . an upper surface of the reflective side layer 30 may be in direct contact with the lower surface of the phosphor film 40 . the upper surface of the led chip 20 may be planar and coplanar with the upper surface of the reflective side layer 30 . the lower surface of the led chip 20 and a lower surface of the reflective side layer 30 may be substantially planar . side surfaces of the phosphor film 40 and side surfaces of the reflective side layer 30 may be planar and vertically aligned to form an outer side surface of the led chip 20 . the reflective side layer 30 may include a reflective material and a base resin in a ratio of about 40 : 60 . for example , the reflective material may include a white - colored metal oxide , such as tio 2 , al 2 o 3 , or zro 3 . the base resin may include a transparent material such as silicon . the tio 2 , al 2 o 3 , or zro 3 may exist in a particle or powder state in the reflective side layer 30 or the base resin . when the white led device 11 a and the led chip 20 are assumed to have a cubic shape , a horizontal width w 1 of the white led device 11 a or the phosphor film 40 may be about 1 . 25 to 1 . 4 mm , a horizontal width w 2 of the led chip 20 may be about 0 . 7 to 0 . 9 mm , a horizontal width w 3 of the reflective side layer 30 may be about 0 . 23 to 0 . 27 mm , a vertical thickness t 1 of the phosphor film 40 may be about 0 . 9 to 1 . 1 mm , and a vertical thickness t 2 of the led chip 20 or the reflective side layer 30 may be about 0 . 14 to 0 . 18 mm . the above - mentioned values are optimized through various experiments in order for the white led device 11 a to generate optimal white light . in the white led device 11 a in accordance with the embodiment of the disclosure , since light emitted and lost in a lateral direction of the led chip 20 is reduced by the reflective side layer 30 , an effective light emitting angle is improved to about 110 °. fig1 c is a bottom view of a white led device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure , and fig1 d is a longitudinal - sectional view taken along ii - ii ′ of fig1 c . referring to fig1 c and 1d , a white led device 11 b in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a phosphor film 40 , a reflective side layer 30 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the phosphor film 40 . the buffer layer 50 may be in direct contact with upper and side surfaces of the led chip 20 , and a part of a lower surface of the phosphor film 40 . the buffer layer 50 may fully cover the upper surface of the led chip 20 , and partly cover the side surfaces of the led chip 20 . the buffer layer 50 may substantially conformably cover the upper and side surfaces of the led chip 20 . the buffer layer 50 may have a superior adhesion than the phosphor film 40 . accordingly , the led chip 20 and the phosphor film 40 may have improved adhesion . the buffer layer 50 may include a hardened silicon resin or solidified silicone . referring to fig1 e , a white led device 11 c in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a phosphor film 40 , a reflective side layer 30 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the phosphor film 40 , and between the reflective side layer 30 and the phosphor film 40 . the buffer layer 50 may be conformably interposed between an upper surface of the led chip 20 and a lower surface of the phosphor film 40 , and between an upper surface of the reflective side layer 30 and the lower surface of the phosphor film 40 . the buffer layer 50 may be in direct contact with the upper surface of the led chip 20 , the upper surface of the reflective side layer 30 , and the lower surface of the phosphor film 40 . the buffer layer 50 may have a shape of a thin film such as a coated film . referring to fig1 f , a white led device 11 d in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a phosphor film 40 , a reflective side layer 30 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the phosphor film 40 . the buffer layer 50 may be in direct contact with an upper surface of the led chip 20 and a lower surface of the phosphor film 40 . the buffer layer 50 may fully cover the upper surface of the led chip 20 , and substantially not cover side surfaces of the led chip 20 . in addition , the buffer layer 50 may protrude outward than the side surfaces of the led chip 20 . referring to fig1 g , a white led device 11 e in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a phosphor film 40 , a reflective side layer 30 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the phosphor film 40 , and between the reflective side layer 30 and the phosphor film 40 . the buffer layer 50 may be conformably interposed between an upper surface of the led chip 20 and a lower surface of the phosphor film 40 , and between an upper surface of the reflective side layer 30 and the lower surface of the phosphor film 40 . the buffer layer 50 may be in direct contact with the upper surface of the led chip 20 , the upper surface of the reflective side layer 30 , and the lower surface of the phosphor film 40 . the buffer layer 50 may have a predetermined thickness as being formed by a spreading , plasting , or stamping method . referring to fig2 a , a white led device 12 a in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a multilayered phosphor film 45 , and a reflective side layer 30 . the multilayered phosphor film 45 may include an upper phosphor film 46 and a lower phosphor film 47 . the upper phosphor film 46 may be stacked directly on the lower phosphor film 47 . the lower phosphor film 47 may be in contact with , abut , or be adjacent to the led chip 20 and the reflective side layer 30 . the upper phosphor film 46 may include a green phosphor material and the lower phosphor film 47 may include a red phosphor material . for example , the upper phosphor film 46 may include a green phosphor film and the lower phosphor film 47 may include a red phosphor film . the upper phosphor film 46 and the lower phosphor film 47 may include yttrium aluminum garnet ( yag ), silicate , or silicon . referring to fig2 b , a white led device 12 b in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a multilayered phosphor film 45 , a reflective side layer 30 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 . the buffer layer 50 may be conformably formed on upper and side surfaces of the led chip 20 . the buffer layer 50 may be in direct contact with the upper and side surfaces of the led chip 20 , and a part of a lower surface of a lower phosphor film 47 . referring to fig2 c , a white led device 12 c in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a multilayered phosphor film 45 , a reflective side layer 30 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 , and between the reflective side layer 30 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 . the buffer layer 50 may be conformably interposed between an upper surface of the led chip 20 and a lower surface of a lower phosphor film 47 , and between an upper surface the reflective side layer 30 and the lower surface of the lower phosphor film 47 . the buffer layer 50 may be in direct contact with the upper surface of the led chip 20 , the upper surface of the reflective side layer 30 , and the lower surface of the lower phosphor film 47 . the buffer layer 50 may have a thin film shape such as a coated film . referring to fig2 d , a white led device 12 d in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a multilayered phosphor film 45 , a reflective side layer 30 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 . the buffer layer 50 may be in direct contact with an upper surface of the led chip 20 and a lower surface of a lower phosphor film 47 . referring to fig2 e , a white led device 12 e in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a multilayered phosphor film 45 , a reflective side layer 30 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 , and between the reflective side layer 30 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 . the buffer layer 50 may have an appropriate conformal thickness . referring to fig3 a , a white led device 13 a in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a phosphor film 40 , and a phosphor side layer 60 . the phosphor side layer 60 may surround side surfaces of the led chip 20 in a top view or a bottom view . an upper surface of the phosphor side layer 60 may be in direct contact with a lower surface of the phosphor film 40 . an upper surface of the led chip 20 and the upper surface of the phosphor side layer 60 may be planar and coplanar . a lower surface of the led chip 20 and a lower surface of the phosphor side layer 60 may be substantially planar . side surfaces of the phosphor film 40 and side surfaces of the phosphor side layer 60 may be planar and vertically aligned . the phosphor side layer 60 may include the same material as the phosphor film 40 . when the phosphor side layer 60 and the phosphor film 40 include the same material , a boundary therebetween may disappear . a vertical thickness t 3 of the phosphor side layer 60 may be substantially the same as the reflective side layer 30 . in the white led device 12 a in accordance with the embodiment of the disclosure , since light emitted and lost in a lateral direction of the led chip 20 is used as an effective light by the phosphor side layer 60 , an effective light emitting angle is improved to about 130 °. referring to fig1 a , in certain embodiments of the white led device 300 a , the light emitting device has a light emitting angle α . in certain embodiments there may be some yellowing of the white light at peripheral portions γ of the light emitting angle α . in certain embodiments of the white led device 300 b , peripheral yellowing is prevented , thereby providing white light across the entire light emitting angle α , as shown in fig1 b , by forming phosphor film 40 and the phosphor side layer 60 having different densities . in certain embodiments , the density of the phosphor side layer may be less than the density of the phosphor film . the density of the phosphor side layer may be about 35 - 50 % the density of the phosphor film . referring to fig3 b , a white led device 13 b in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a phosphor film 40 , a phosphor side layer 60 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the phosphor film 40 . referring to fig3 c , a white led device 13 c in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a phosphor film 40 , a phosphor side layer 60 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the phosphor film 40 , and between the phosphor side layer 60 and the phosphor film 40 . referring to fig3 d , a white led device 13 d in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a phosphor film 40 , a phosphor side layer 60 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the phosphor film 40 . referring to fig3 e , a white led device 13 e in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a phosphor film 40 , a phosphor side layer 60 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the phosphor film 40 , and between the phosphor side layer 60 and the phosphor film 40 . referring to fig4 a , a white led device 14 a in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a multilayered phosphor film 45 , and a phosphor side layer 60 . referring to fig4 b , a white led device 14 b in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a multilayered phosphor film 45 , a phosphor side layer 60 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 . referring to fig4 c , a white led device 14 c in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a multilayered phosphor film 45 , a phosphor side layer 60 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 , and between the phosphor side layer 60 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 . referring to fig4 d , a white led device 14 d in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a multilayered phosphor film 45 , a phosphor side layer 60 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 . referring to fig4 e , a white led device 14 e in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include an led chip 20 , a multilayered phosphor film 45 , a phosphor side layer 60 , and a buffer layer 50 disposed between the led chip 20 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 , and between the phosphor side layer 60 and the multilayered phosphor film 45 . since the white led devices 11 a to 14 e in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure include a reflective side layer 30 or a phosphor side layer 60 formed on side surfaces of the led chips 20 , light generation efficiency is excellent . for example , since light emitted from the led chip 20 in a lateral direction is reflected by the reflective side layer 30 or emitted by the phosphor side layer 60 , intensity of light emitted outward from the led chip may increase . in the white led devices 11 a to 14 e in accordance with all embodiments shown in fig1 a to 4e , the electrodes 21 and 22 may be planar and coplanar with the lower surface ( or upper surface ) of the led chip 20 , or buried such that the surfaces of the electrodes 21 and 22 are recessed from the lower surface of the led chip 20 . when the electrodes 21 and 22 are buried , reference numerals 21 and 22 may indicate bumps . the white led devices 11 a to 14 e in accordance with all embodiments shown in fig1 a to 4e may include a lens ( not shown ) disposed on the phosphor film 40 so as to obtain a preferred shape of light distribution at a light - emitting side . the lens may fully cover the upper surface of the phosphor film 40 . the lens may include a transparent material , such as hardened silicon or an organic polymer resin . since some of the white led devices 11 a to 14 e in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure include the buffer layer 50 , adhesive strengths of the led chip 20 , the phosphor film 40 , the reflective side layer 30 , and / or the phosphor side layer 60 are improved , and thus physical , mechanical , thermal , and electrical characteristics are improved , and life span increases . since some of the white led devices 11 a to 14 e in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure include the buffer layer 50 , the phosphor film 40 are less affected by heat generated from the led chip 20 . by adjusting the refractive index of the phosphor film 40 and the buffer layer 50 , emission efficiency of light generated from the led chip 20 may increase . fig5 a to 12b are views for describing various methods of fabricating white led devices in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure . referring to fig5 a , a method of fabricating a white led device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include forming a releasing layer 2 on a supporting substrate 1 . the supporting substrate 1 may include a transparent polymer compound . for example , the supporting substrate 1 may include polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ). in other embodiment , the supporting substrate 1 may include a hard film , such as glass . the releasing layer 2 may include fluorine ( f ). for example , the forming the releasing layer 2 may include coating a material containing fluorine ( f ) on the supporting substrate 1 . in other embodiments , the releasing layer 2 may be omitted . referring to fig5 b , the method may include forming a phosphor layer 40 a on the releasing layer 2 of the supporting substrate 1 . the forming the phosphor layer 40 a may include providing a paste - state phosphor resin 40 r on the releasing layer 2 , and forming the phosphor resin 40 r in an appropriate thickness on the releasing layer 2 of the supporting substrate 1 using a blade bl . in addition , the phosphor layer 40 a may be formed by a spreading and plasting method . the phosphor layer 40 a and / or the phosphor resin 40 r may include a phosphor powder , silicon , and a solvent . in other embodiments , the phosphor resin 40 r may be a form of a tape or sheet having softness . accordingly , the phosphor layer 40 a may be directly formed in the form of a film on the releasing layer 2 of the supporting substrate 1 . in this embodiment , the phosphor layer 40 a may include a yellow phosphor material . referring to fig5 c , the method may include pre - curing the phosphor layer 40 a . the pre - curing of the phosphor layer 40 a may include loading the supporting substrate 1 on which the phosphor layer 40 a is formed into a curing oven ov , and heating for several tens of minutes . for example , the phosphor layer 40 a may be heated at about 125 t for about 30 minutes in the curing oven ov . in this process , the solvent component in the phosphor layer 40 a may be partially removed , and thus the phosphor layer 40 a may be cured and converted into a soft pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b . in another embodiment , when the phosphor resin 40 r is a form of a tape or a sheet , this process may be substantially omitted . the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b may have a thickness of about 100 μm . referring to fig5 d , the method may include arranging and mounting a plurality of led chips 20 on the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b of the supporting substrate 1 . the arranging and mounting of the led chips 20 may include lightly pressing and attaching the led chip 20 on the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b . (+)(−) electrodes 21 and 22 may be disposed on a surface of each of the led chips 20 . the plurality of led chips 20 may include blue led chips which generate blue light . the led chips 20 may be singulated from a wafer state to a single chip state through a dicing process . referring to fig5 e , the method may include fully curing the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b on which the led chips 20 are arranged . the fully curing of the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b may include further heating the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b in the curing oven ov for several tens of minutes . for example , the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b may be further heated in the curing oven ov at about 150 ° c . for about 20 minutes . in this process , the solvent components in the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b may be substantially fully removed , and thus the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b may be fully cured and converted to a hard cured phosphor film 40 . in other embodiments , the phosphor film 40 may be a form of a sheet . referring to fig5 f , the method may include providing a reflective side material 30 a between the led chips 20 on the phosphor film 40 . thy providing of the reflective side material 30 a may include dispensing the reflective side material 30 a having fluidity between the led chips 20 using a dispenser dp such as a nozzle , etc . the reflective side material 30 a may include a reflective material and a base resin in a ratio of about 40 : 60 . for example , the reflective material may include a white - colored metal oxide powder , such as tio 2 , al 2 o 3 , or zro 3 , and the base resin may include a transparent material such as silicon . the reflective side material 30 a may further include a solvent to obtain fluidity or viscosity . the reflective side material 30 a may have viscosity of about 1500 to 2000 centipoises ( cp ). an upper surface of the viscous reflective side material 30 a may become substantially flat over time . referring to fig5 g , the method may include forming a reflective side layer 30 by curing the reflective side material 30 a . the curing of the reflective side material 30 a may include heating the reflective side material 30 a at about 170 ° c . for about 30 minutes in the curing oven ov . in this process , the solvent components in the reflective side material 30 a may be substantially fully removed , and thus the reflective side material 30 a may be cured to be the solid - state reflective side layer 30 . an upper surface of the reflective side layer 30 may be substantially planar with or have a similar height to upper surfaces of the led chips 20 . referring to fig5 h , the method may include performing a singulation process in which the reflective side layer 30 is diced . thereby , each of the led chips 20 are diced and separated into white led devices 10 . the white led device 10 may include the led chip 20 , the reflective side layer 30 surrounding side surfaces of the led chip 20 , and the phosphor film 40 disposed on a lower surface of the led chip 20 and a lower surface of the reflective side layer 30 . in a top view , the reflective side layer 30 may fully surround four side surfaces of the led chip 20 . the singulation process may include cutting the reflective side layer 30 , the phosphor film 40 , and the releasing layer 2 , and partially cutting the supporting substrate 1 , using a cutter ct or a blade . referring to fig5 i and 5j , the method may include replacing the supporting substrate 1 with a transfer substrate 4 by performing a transfer process . referring to fig5 i , the transfer process may include attaching a transitional substrate 3 on the led chips 20 and the reflective side layers 30 such that the transitional substrate 3 is opposite to the supporting substrate 1 , and physically separating the phosphor film 40 from the releasing layer 2 on the supporting substrate 1 . the transitional substrate 3 may include an acryl - based resin or a polymer compound which has a higher flexibility and thermal expansion than the supporting substrate 1 . the process may be performed in a state in which the supporting substrate 1 and the white led devices 10 are overturned such that the white led chips 20 face down . referring to fig5 j , the transfer process may include attaching the transfer substrate 4 on the phosphor film 40 , and separating the transitional substrate 3 . the transfer substrate 4 may also include an acryl - based resin or a polymer compound which has a higher flexibility and thermal expansion than the supporting substrate 1 . the process may be performed in a state in which the transitional substrate 3 and the white led devices 10 are overturned such that the led chips 20 face up . referring to fig5 k , the method may further include testing the white led device 10 . the test of the white led device 10 may include picking up and transferring the white led device 10 to a test system ts using a collet cl , and testing electrical and optical properties of the white led devices 10 by contacting probes pb onto the electrodes 21 and 22 of the led chips 20 of the white led device 10 on the test system ts . next , the method may include listing non - defective goods b 1 and defective goods b 2 depending on the result of the test . fig5 l is a view for describing another method of forming the phosphor layer 40 a on the releasing layer 2 , with reference further to fig5 b . the forming the phosphor layer 40 a may include providing a phosphor resin 40 r on the releasing layer 2 , and spreading and plasting the phosphor resin 40 r in an appropriate thickness on the releasing layer 2 of the supporting substrate 1 using a roller rl . referring to fig6 a , a method of fabricating white led devices in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include , with reference further to fig5 a and 5b , forming a releasing layer 2 on a supporting substrate 1 , and stacking a multilayered phosphor layer 45 a including a first phosphor layer 46 a and a second phosphor layer 47 a on the releasing layer 2 . for example , the first phosphor layer 46 a may be directly formed on the releasing layer 2 of the supporting substrate 1 , and the second phosphor layer 47 a may be directly formed on the first phosphor layer 46 a . the first phosphor layer 46 a may include a green phosphor material , and the second phosphor layer 47 a may include a red phosphor material . the first phosphor layer 46 a and the second phosphor layer 47 a may include one of a casin phosphor material , an yttrium aluminum garnet ( yag ) phosphor material , and / or a silicate phosphor material . each of the first phosphor layer 46 a and / or the second phosphor layer 47 a may be provided in a form of a resin , a film , or a sheet . the method may include , by fully or selectively performing the processes with reference to fig2 a , and 5 c to 5 k , pre - curing the first phosphor layer 46 a and the second phosphor layer 47 a , arranging and mounting a plurality of led chips 20 on the pre - cured second phosphor layer 47 a , forming a first phosphor film 46 and a second phosphor film 47 by fully curing the pre - cured first phosphor layer 46 a and the pre - cured second phosphor layer 47 a , providing a reflective side material 30 a between the led chips 20 , forming a reflective side layer 30 by curing the reflective side material 30 a , and / or cutting each of the led chips 20 to be separated into white led devices 10 by performing a singulation process . the method may further include , with reference further to fig5 i to 5l , and 6 b , replacing the supporting substrate 1 with a transfer substrate 4 , picking up and transferring the white led devices 10 to a test system ts using a collet cl , and classifying the white led devices 10 into non - defective goods b 1 and defective goods b 2 by testing electrical and optical properties of the white led device 10 on the test system ts using a probe pb , etc . referring to fig7 a , a method of fabricating white led devices in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include , with reference further to fig5 a to 5f , forming a releasing layer 2 on a supporting substrate 1 , forming a phosphor layer 40 a on the releasing layer 2 , pre - curing the phosphor layer 40 a , arranging and mounting a plurality of led chips 20 on the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b , fully curing the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b to form a phosphor film 40 , and providing a phosphor side filling material 60 a between the led chips 20 on the phosphor film 40 . the phosphor side filling material 60 a may include a phosphor powder , silicon , and a solvent . the phosphor side filling material 60 a may include a yellow phosphor material , or a green - red mixed phosphor material , etc . for example , the phosphor side filling material 60 a may include the same materials as the phosphor resin 40 r . the method may include , with reference further to fig3 a , and 5 g to 5 h , curing the phosphor side filling material 60 a to form a phosphor side layer 60 , and cutting each of the led chips 20 to be separated into white led devices 10 by performing a singulation process . the method may further include , with reference further to fig5 , 5 j , and 7 b , replacing the supporting substrate 1 with a transfer substrate 4 , picking up and transferring the white led devices 10 disposed on the transfer substrate 4 to a test system ts using a collet cl , and classifying the white led device 10 into non - defective goods b 1 and defective goods b 2 by testing electrical and optical properties of the white led device 10 using probes pb . referring to fig8 a , a method of fabricating white led devices in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include , with reference further to fig5 a to 5f , 6 a , and 7 a , forming a releasing layer 2 on a supporting substrate 1 , stacking a multilayered phosphor layer 45 a including a first phosphor layer 46 a and a second phosphor layer 47 a on the releasing layer 2 , pre - curing the multilayered phosphor layer 45 a , arranging and mounting a plurality of led chips 20 on the pre - cured second phosphor layer 47 a , fully curing the pre - cured phosphor layer 45 a to form a phosphor film 40 , and providing a phosphor side filling material 60 a between the led chips 20 on the phosphor film 40 . the method may include , with reference further to fig4 a , and 5 g to 5 h , curing the phosphor side filling material 60 a , and cutting each of the led chips 20 to be separated into white led devices 10 by performing a singulation process . the method may further include , with reference to fig5 i , 5 j , and 8 b , replacing the supporting substrate 1 with a transfer substrate 4 , picking up and transferring the white led devices 10 disposed on the transfer substrate 4 to a test system ts using a collet cl , and classifying the white led devices 10 into non - defective goods b 1 and defective goods b 2 by testing electrical and optical properties of the white led device 10 using probes pb on the test system ts . referring to fig9 a , a method of fabricating white led devices in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include partly forming a buffer layer 50 on parts of surfaces of the led chips 20 . the forming the buffer layer 50 may include partially dipping the led chips 20 in a vessel vs which contains a buffer material 50 a , to form the buffer layer 50 on the entire lower surface and parts of side surfaces of the led chip 20 . the buffer material 50 a may include adhesive silicon resin . the buffer material 50 a may be a liquid state having an appropriate fluidity , or a paste state having an appropriate viscosity . the method may include , with reference to fig5 a to 5d , and 9 b , arranging and mounting the led chips 20 having the buffer layer 50 on the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b . the method may include , with reference to fig5 e and 9c , fully curing the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b , and providing a reflective side material 30 a between the led chips 20 . the method may include , with reference further to fig5 g and 5h , curing the reflective side material 30 a to form a reflective side layer 30 , and cutting each of the led chips 20 to be separated into white led devices 10 by performing a singulation process . the method may further include , with reference further to fig5 i to 5k , replacing the supporting substrate 1 with a transfer substrate 4 , picking up and transferring the white led devices 10 disposed on the transfer substrate 4 to a test system ts using a collet cl , and classifying the white led devices 10 into non - defective goods b 1 and defective goods b 2 by testing electrical and optical properties of the white led device 10 using probes pb on the test system ts . referring to fig1 a , a method of fabricating white led devices in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include , with reference to fig5 a to 5c , forming a buffer layer 50 on the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b . the forming the buffer layer 50 may include spraying a buffer material 50 a onto the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b by performing a spraying process using a nozzle nz . the method may further include drying or heating the buffer material 50 a . accordingly , the buffer material 50 a may be dried or heated and converted to the buffer layer 50 in a form of a film or a sheet . the method may include , with reference to fig5 d and 5e , arranging and mounting the led chips 20 on the buffer layer 50 , and curing the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b and the buffer layer 50 . referring to fig1 b , the method may include providing a reflective side material 30 a between the led chips 20 using a dispenser dp , etc . the method may include , with reference to fig5 g and 5h , curing the reflective side material 30 a to form a reflective side layer 30 , and cutting each of the led chips 20 to be separated into white led devices 10 by performing a singulation process . the method may further include , with reference to fig5 i to 5k , replacing the supporting substrate 1 with a transfer substrate 4 , picking up and transferring the white led devices 10 disposed on the transfer substrate 4 to a test system ts using a collet cl , and classifying the white led devices 10 into non - defective goods b 1 and defective goods b 2 by testing electrical and optical properties of the white led devices 10 using probes pb on the test system ts . referring to fig1 a , a method of fabricating white led devices in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include , with reference to fig5 a to 5c , providing a buffer material 50 a on the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b . the supply of the buffer material 50 a may include dropping the buffer material 50 a in the form of an island on the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b using a dispensing process . the method may include , with reference to fig5 d and 11b , arranging and mounting the led chips 20 on the buffer material 50 a using a collet cl . the led chips 20 may be pressed and attached . accordingly , the buffer material 50 a may be spread or plasted on the entire lower surface of the led chip 20 . for example , the buffer material 50 a may be converted into a buffer layer 50 having protrusions from side surfaces of the led chips 20 . a process of partially or fully drying the buffer layer 50 may be more performed . the method may include , with reference to fig5 e to 5h , and 10 c , providing a reflective side material 30 a between the led chips , forming a reflective side layer 30 by curing the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b and the buffer layer 50 , and cutting each of the led chips 20 to be separated into white led devices 10 by performing a singulation process . the method may further include , with reference fig5 i to 5k , replacing the supporting substrate 1 with a transfer substrate 4 , picking up and transferring the white led devices 10 disposed on the transfer substrate 4 to a test system ts using a collet cl , and classifying the white led devices 10 into non - defective goods b 1 and defective goods b 2 by testing electrical and optical properties of the white led device 10 using probes pb on the test system ts . fig1 c , compared to fig1 a , is a view for describing another method of forming a buffer layer 50 on the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b . referring to fig1 c , the forming the buffer layer 50 may include stamping a buffer material 50 a on the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b by performing a stamping process using a stamp st . referring to fig1 a or 12 b , a method of fabricating white led devices in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may include , with reference to fig5 a to 5c , providing a buffer material 50 a on the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b , and forming a buffer layer 50 by spreading and / or plasting the buffer material 50 a using a blade bl or a roller rl . the method may include , with reference to fig5 d to 5h , arranging and mounting a plurality of led chips 20 on the buffer layer 50 , fully curing the pre - cured phosphor layer 40 b , providing a reflective side material 30 a between the led chips 20 , forming a reflective side layer 30 by curing the reflective side material 30 a , and cutting each of the led chips 20 to be separated into white led devices 10 . the method may further include , with reference fig5 i to 5k , replacing the supporting substrate 1 with a transfer substrate 4 , picking up and transferring the white led devices 10 disposed on the transfer substrate 4 to a test system ts using a collet cl , and classifying the white led devices 10 into non - defective goods b 1 and defective goods b 2 by testing electrical and optical properties of the white led device 10 using probes pb on the test system ts . regarding to the white led devices 11 a to 14 e described in fig1 a to 4e , each of methods of fabricating thereof may be easily anticipated and understood when the various embodiments of the disclosure described with reference to fig5 a to 12b are combined . fig1 a is a diagram conceptually showing an led module 100 including at least one of the white led devices 10 , and 11 a to 14 e in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure . referring to fig1 a , the led module 100 in accordance with the embodiment of the disclosure may include a plurality of white led devices 120 arranged on a module substrate 110 . the white led devices 120 may include at least one of the white led devices 11 a to 14 e described in fig1 a to 4e . the white led devices 120 may be arranged on the module substrate 110 using a flip - chip bonding method . metal interconnections 130 disposed on the module substrate 110 may be in direct contact with the electrodes 121 and 122 of the white led devices 120 . when the electrodes 121 and 122 are buried to be recessed from lower surfaces of the white led devices 120 , the electrodes 121 and 122 may include bumps , such as metal pillars or solder balls . fig1 b is a diagram conceptually showing an illumination system 200 including at least one of the white led devices 11 a to 14 e in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure . referring to fig1 b , the illumination system 200 in accordance with the embodiment of the disclosure may include a body 210 , an led module 220 , and a reflector 230 . the body 210 may include screw - type grooves 211 and an electrode 212 so as to be inserted into a socket , etc . the led module 220 may include a white led device 222 disposed on a module substrate 221 . the module substrate 221 may include a printed circuit board ( pcb ), and the white led device 222 may include one of the white led devices 11 a to 14 e in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure described in fig1 a to 4e . the reflector 230 may increase light efficiency so that light generated from the led module 220 is irradiated in a direction . since the white led devices in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure include a reflective side layer or a phosphor side layer formed on side surfaces of led chips , light generation efficiency is excellent . for example , since light radiated in a lateral direction from an led chip is reflected by a reflective side layer or emitted by a phosphor side layer , intensity of the light emitted outward from the led chip increases . since the white led devices in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure include a buffer layer , adhesion of a led chip , a phosphor film , and a reflective side layer and / or a phosphor side layer are improved , and the phosphor film is less affected by heat generated from the led chip . accordingly , physical , mechanical , thermal , and electrical characteristics of a device are excellent , and life span of a device increases . the foregoing is illustrative of embodiments and is not to be construed as limiting thereof . although a few embodiments have been described , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages . accordingly , all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims . in the claims , means - plus - function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function , and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures . | 7 |
referring initially to fig1 and 3 , there is shown an expansion bolt assembly , generally referenced 10 , containing an expansion shell 12 that includes four quarter segments 14 - 17 . the segments are brought together in assembly to provide a cylindrical base 20 having a plurality of finger - like elements depending outwardly from the top surface thereof in an axial direction . each segment further includes an arcuate shaped base section 20a - 20d having one or more fingers 19 depending therefrom . as is typical , the finger sections have a stem 21 affixed to the base section and a leaf 22 at the terminal end comprised of a number of teeth 25 that are for gripping earth and rock when the shell is expanded within a hole bored or drilled into a mine shaft roof . although the present shell is herein depicted as being formed of four independent quarter sections , it is well within the scope of the present invention to utilize more or less shell segments provided that the segments can be simply formed by any well - known forming process and are brought together in a manner which will be explained in greater detail below . as best illustrated in fig3 each of the arcuate base sections carried by the individual segments contains a radially extended sidewall 27 that has a sawtooth configuration 28 . the sidewall of each base section compliments that of the next adjacent section so that when assembled , the base sections interlock to prevent the segments from moving inwardly in a radial direction or slipping over each other in an axial direction . each base section also contains a locking groove , generally referenced 30 . as illustrated in greater detail in fig4 each groove has an entrance passage 31 beginning at the bottom surface 32 of the base and extending upwardly in an axial direction for a short distance . the entrance passage is then joined by a second circumferentially extending passage 35 that describes a portion of an upwardly directed spiral or helix . in assembly , an end cap 40 ( fig5 ) is passed over the bottom of the shell base 20 . the end cap includes an annular side wall 41 and a cylindrical end wall 42 . the cap typically is cast or machined from 0 . 060 inch thick steel with its inner diameter providing a close running fit with the outside diameter of the shell base . a plurality of dimple - like , inwardly directed , protrusions 44 are formed on the inner side wall of the cap , the number of protrusions being equal to the number of locking grooves formed in the base 20 . the protrusions are circumferentially spaced about the side wall of the cap so that they are slidably receivable within the entrance grooves contained in the base . the cap can thus be conveniently slipped over the base . upon reaching the bottom of the entrance grooves , the protrusions are directed laterally into spiral passages 35 . as the protrusions on the cap move up the spiral passages , the inside end wall 48 of the cap is drawn into seating contact against the bottom surface of the base 20 so that the cap and the base are locked together to create a high strength unitized pedestal for the fingers . the depth of spiral passage 35 decreases from its entrance region towards its terminal region . the depth at the terminal end of the passage is shallow enough to interfere with the extended end of a protrusion moving therealong . this , in turn , causes the side walls of the cap to be stressed further strengthening and securing the base section in assembly . an indentation 38 is formed in the bottom wall 39 at the end of passage 35 for receiving in seated contact therein a coacting protrusion when the cap is turned to a fully locked position . the depth of the indentation , however , is insufficient to permit the cap from being totally unstressed when in the locked position . equally spaced openings 45 are provided in the outer side wall of the cap to enable a spanner wrench or the like to engage the cap and thus facilitate locking and unlocking of the cap . referring once again to fig1 a draw bolt 50 is arranged to pass through the end cap into the expansion shell so that it can threadably engage a tapered wedge 51 , which is of well - known conventional construction . a centrally located threaded opening 46 ( fig5 ) passes through the cap and engages the threaded end of the draw bolt . a plate 53 is located at the head end of the bolt which , although not shown , seats against the mine roof and exerts a compressive force thereagainst as the bolt head 54 is torqued . as can be seen , in this particular bolt assembly , the cap and wedge are drawn toward each other as the draw bolt is torqued down . this forces the wedge downwardly into deforming contact against the fingers of the expansion shell . the stem section 21 of each shell segment forms the weakest section in the assembly and , as a consequence , only the fingers are caused to expand outwardly in a uniform manner under the influence of the descending wedge to establish a true uniform expansion of the shell . as noted above , the cap 40 functions to lock the thicker base into a single acting unit incapable of shifting axially or radially as the fingers are undergoing expansion . referring now to fig2 there is shown another embodiment of the present invention in which like numbers depict like elements as described above in reference to the first embodiment . in this particular arrangement the threaded opening in the end wall 42 of cap 40 is replaced with a more generous clearance hole 58 through which the draw bolt 50 freely passes . an inverted , generally u - shaped , bail 60 , of typical construction , is inserted into the shell assembly with the bottom leg 61 of the bail engaging the end of the bolt and horizontally turned arms 62 passing out of the hole 58 in the cap and being seated against the top surface of the cap . as is conventional in this type of assembly , the draw bolt acts between the wedge and the bail to permit the wedge to move down into deforming contact with the shell and thus engage the fingers to be expanded outwardly . here again , the cap and base section of the segmented shell act in concert to hold the base of the shell unitized during the expansion process . while this invention has been described with reference to the structure disclosed herein , it is not confined to the details set forth , and this application is intended to cover such modifications or changes as may come within the scope of the following claims . | 8 |
a detailed description of embodiments of the present invention is provided with reference to fig1 through 12a - 12 c . fig1 is a block diagram of an integrated circuit memory device including a memory array 5 comprising self - aligned phase change cells according to the present invention . the integrated circuit includes a substrate in which circuitry supporting the memory array is disposed . the circuitry includes address decoders , input drivers , and output drivers in this example . thus , y - decoder and input driver circuitry 10 and 11 are disposed next to the array . also , x - decoder and output sense amplifier circuitry 12 and 13 are disposed next to the array . in one embodiment , a program and erase voltage generator circuit 14 is included on the integrated circuit . such a voltage generator circuit 14 may include charge pumps or other high voltage or negative voltage generators as required for programming and erasing the phase change cells . in one embodiment , the integrated circuitry is implemented using standard cmos techniques . other manufacturing techniques , including advanced materials and processes may be used for the circuitry integrated in the substrate . in addition , the layout of the circuitry may include logic control circuit beneath the array 5 . [ 0040 ] fig2 shows a basic circuit layout for the array 5 of self aligned phase change memory cells according to the present invention . the array 5 includes bit lines 20 and 21 , and word lines 22 and 23 , which are arranged so that they intersect at memory cells 24 - 27 . the memory cells 24 - 27 are disposed at the intersections between the bit lines and the word lines . the memory cells , for example memory cell 27 , include a selection device 28 , a heating / barrier layer 29 and a phase change layer 30 . a selection device 28 comprises an isolation diode in one embodiment . the phase change layer 30 comprises the chalcogenide memory element in a preferred embodiment . a memory cell is selected by biasing the word line and bit line which intersect at the selected memory cell , so that the isolation diode of the selection device is conductive , while word lines and bit lines coupled to other memory cells are reverse biased so that the isolation diode of the selection device is nonconductive . as shown in fig2 the bit lines 20 , 21 are coupled to output sense amplifier circuitry . the word lines 22 , 23 are coupled to input drivers . a method for manufacture of the memory array , and the structure of the memory cells , of a preferred embodiment of the present invention are described with reference to fig3 - 10 . [ 0042 ] fig3 illustrates a multilayer film 99 formed on a substrate 100 . the substrate 100 comprises a semiconductor having circuitry integrated therein as discussed above . the substrate 100 includes an insulator 101 on the surface . the insulator in this embodiment comprises silicon dioxide . the material and thickness of the insulator 101 are chosen so that the memory array is isolated from the underlying integrated circuitry . the multilayer film 99 includes a layer 102 of bit line material , a first polysilicon layer 103 , a second polysilicon layer 104 , an intermediate heating / barrier layer 105 and a layer 106 of chalcogenide . the layer 102 of bit line material comprises tungsten in this embodiment between 150 and 600 nanometers thick , deposited using chemical vapor deposition . a variety of other materials are suitable for use as the bit line material , for example heavily doped polysilicon , or other high melting point metals or compounds , such as ta , pt , tin , tan , wsi and alloys thereof , are possible . the first polysilicon layer 103 comprises n − doped polysilicon 100 to 600 nanometers thick deposited using cvd , plasma enhanced cvd or sputtering , and doped using a n - type donor such as arsenic or phosphorus . the second polysilicon layer 104 comprises p + doped polysilicon about 100 to 400 nanometers thick deposited using cvd , plasma enhanced cvd or sputtering , and doped using a p - type donor such as b , ga , or indium . the first and second layers of polysilicon are adapted to form a selection device in the form of the diode . the layers of materials chosen to implement the selection device can implement junctions other than p +/ n − junctions . other types of junctions such as n +/ p −, p +/ intrinsic / n −, n +/ intrinsic / p −, p +/ n +, p +/ intrisic / n + and schottky junctions are possible . also other selection device structures may be used . the intermediate heating / barrier layer 105 in this embodiment comprises a film of material 20 to 200 nanometers thick deposited for example by sputtering or cvd . in the preferred embodiment , the intermediate layer acts as a heating element to heat up phase change material and a barrier to electromigration and diffusion . in addition , the material of the intermediate layer does not react with the phase change material and the selection element . in the preferred system , the resistance of the intermediate layer is higher than the resistance of the phase change material in a high resistance phase . in this manner , it can act as a heating plate to facilitate changing phase of the phase change material adjacent to the barrier layer . suitable materials include tiw , tialn , ta , mo and others . a variety of other materials characterized by relatively high resistance , compared to the high resistivity phase of the phase change material , and good barrier characteristics can be utilized . the intermediate layer 105 can be chosen from a compound which includes one element selected from the group consisting of ti , v , cr , zr , nb , m , hf , ta , w and two or more elements selected from the group b , c , n , al , si , p and s . candidate barrier materials are described in u . s . reissue pat . no . re37 , 259 at column 13 , line 31 through column 14 , line 4 . the intermediate layer 105 in various embodiments may include one material chosen for barrier characteristics and another material chosen for suitability as heating plate . preferably , a single material performs both functions . the top layer in the multilayer film shown in fig3 is the phase change material . in this example , the phase change material comprises a film of chalcogenide . in some embodiments , thin films of materials chosen to act as top or bottom electrodes for the chalcogenide layer can be included . although chalcogenide is utilized in this embodiment , all kinds of phase change materials can be used . the chalcogenide material lo in this example is about 5 to 200 nanometers thick , and preferably between 20 and 40 nanometers thick . typically chalcogenide materials are deposited using sputtering . representative phase change materials include chalcogenides such as those described in u . s . reissue pat . no . re37 , 259 . after formation of the multilayer film shown in fig3 the next step in the manufacturing process is shown in fig4 . this next step is used for defining a first plurality of lines using photoresist having a first mask pattern as shown in fig4 . thus , lines 120 , 121 , 122 are defined using photoresist . the lines 120 , 121 , 122 are substantially parallel and extend in a first direction , and are used to define the bit lines for the array . [ 0048 ] fig5 illustrates gaps etched , using reactive ion etching , into the multilayer film using the mask shown in fig4 . the etching of the gaps is stopped at the insulator layer 101 , and defines bit lines in the bit line layer 102 . as shown in fig6 the gaps are filled with an oxide 125 or other good insulation material , using a high - density plasma chemical vapor deposition process , or other process suitable for filling narrow gaps . [ 0049 ] fig7 illustrates a next step in the process of manufacturing them every array . in the step , a word line conductor layer 126 is deposited over the lines and oxide 125 of the structure shown in fig6 . the word line conductor layer 126 comprises a conductive material such as w , ta , pt , tin , tan , wsi or heavily doped polysilicon . such materials may be deposited for example by sputtering or chemical vapor deposition . [ 0051 ] fig8 illustrates a second plurality of lines defined by a second mask step resulting in photoresist lines 127 , 128 as shown . the second plurality of lines extended a second direction generally orthogonal to the direction of the bit lines . [ 0052 ] fig9 shows the structure resulting from a reactive ion etching of the gaps ( e . g . gap 129 ) between the second plurality of lines in the structure of fig8 . the etching is stopped on the bit line layer . as a result of the second etching step , memory cells ( e . g . cell 130 ) are disposed between the word lines and a bit lines at the intersections . the word lines and the bit lines lie in essentially parallel planes , but intersect in the plan view of the array . the memory cells are self - aligned with the word lines and bit lines , because the sides of the cells are defined using the same mask steps as are used to define the word lines and the bit lines . as shown in fig1 , a final step in formation of the memory array is the filling of the gaps in the structure of fig9 with an insulator 131 using any high - density plasma chemical vapor deposition of oxide or other suitable insulator . the basic structure of the memory array is shown in fig1 . the array includes a first plurality of conductive lines 135 , 136 , 137 and a second plurality of conductive lines 138 , 139 . the second plurality of conductive lines 138 , 139 crosses over the first plurality of conductive lines at intersections . memory cells , for example memory cell 130 , are disposed at the intersections , and are in series electrical contact with the first and second pluralities of conductive lines . the memory cells comprise self - aligned structures including a selection device formed from remaining portions of the first and second polysilicon layers , an intermediate heating / barrier plate layer and a chalcogenide element , all arranged vertically at intersections between the first and second pluralities of conductive lines . a layout plan view of the array can be seen with reference to fig1 . thus , bit lines 140 - 144 are arranged vertically in the array shown in fig1 . word lines 145 - 149 are arranged horizontally in the array . the bit lines 140 - 144 extend to respective contact structures 150 - 155 . likewise the word lines 145 - 149 extend to respective contact structures 155 - 159 . the contact structures comprise for example tungsten plugs extending through the insulator layer 101 to the circuitry integrated in the substrate . operation of the memory cells of the present invention is described with reference to fig1 a - 12 c . fig1 a illustrates the basic memory cell of the present invention including a selecting element 200 , a barrier / heating plate layer 201 , and a phase change element 202 . as shown in fig1 b , when current is applied the barrier / heating plate layer 201 heats up to the phase change temperature of the phase change element 202 . the phase change element comprises material having a first solid - state phase with a lower resistance , and a second solid - state phase with a higher resistance . material of the phase change element 202 in the region 203 adjacent to barrier / heating plate layer 201 changes phase . the bulk resistance of the phase change element 202 indicates the relative amounts of material of the phase change element in first and second solid - state phases . by controlling the phase change , data is stored in the phase change element 202 . [ 0056 ] fig1 c illustrates a multibit embodiment , including a selecting element 200 , a barrier / heating plate element 201 , and a phase change element 202 . in this embodiment , the phase change is controlled so that more than 2 memory states are achieved . thus for example , in state 1 the material in region 205 is in the high resistance state . in state 2 , the material in regions 205 and 206 is in the high resistance state . in state 3 , the material in regions 205 , 206 and 207 is in the high resistance state . in state 4 , the material in regions 205 , 206 , 207 , and 208 are all in the high resistance state . so , in this example , there are four different resistance states stored in a cell , and the four different states can represent 2 bits in one cell . basic operation of the device can be understood with reference to fig1 . the top metal lines act as word lines , and the bottom metal lines act as bit lines . the p +/ n − polysilicon junction acts as a diode to isolate / select each memory cell . when programming or erasing a cell , a suitable voltage is built between the word lines and bit lines to supply enough current penetrating the chalcogenide and barrier / heating plate layer to generate heat . by controlling the heating rate , the solid - state phase of the chalcogenide is controlled to establish a memory state indicated by the bulk resistance of the chalcogenide . when reading the cell , a current flows from the word lines through the chalcogenide , barrier / heating plate layer and p +/ n − junction to the bit line . by distinguishing the voltage or current level of the specific cell , the data is sensed . the memory array of the present invention can be used for one - time programmable non - volatile memory , non - volatile memory programmed during manufacture , and electrically erasable and programmable random access memory suitable for thousands of program and erase cycles . while the present invention is disclosed by reference to the preferred embodiments and examples detailed above , it is to be understood that these examples are intended in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense . it is contemplated that modifications and combinations will readily occur to those skilled in the art , which modifications and combinations will be within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
the present invention provides a solution for the above mentioned shortcoming of existing quality assurance ( qa ) management tools . the disclosed system and method manage the decision making processes during runtime of the testing tools of any given qa system and provides a solution for automating this process . according to some embodiments the present invention is a decision management platform which controls the activity and the flows of operation of the qa tools . the decision management platform is a decision driven mechanism which analyzes the decision making process performed by the operators of the qa system and automatically provides a decision whenever similar conditions occur . an embodiment is an example or implementation of the inventions . the various appearances of “ one embodiment .” “ an embodiment ” or “ some embodiments ” do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiments . although various features of the invention may be described in the context of a single embodiment , the features may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination . conversely , although the invention may be described herein in the context of separate embodiments for clarity , the invention may also be implemented in a single embodiment . reference in the specification to “ one embodiment ”, “ an embodiment ”, “ some embodiments ” or “ other embodiments ” means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiments , but not necessarily all embodiments , of the inventions . it is understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is not to be construed as limiting and are for descriptive purpose only . the principles and uses of the teachings of the present invention may be better understood with reference to the accompanying description , figures and examples . it is to be understood that the details set forth herein do not construe a limitation to an application of the invention . furthermore , it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out or practiced in various ways and that the invention can be implemented in embodiments other than the ones outlined in the description below . it is to be understood that the terms “ including ”, “ comprising ”, “ consisting ” and grammatical variants thereof do not preclude the addition of one or more components , features , steps , or integers or groups thereof and that the terms are to be construed as specifying components , features , steps or integers . the phrase “ consisting essentially of ”, and grammatical variants thereof ; when used herein is not to be construed as excluding additional components , steps , features , integers or groups thereof but rather that the additional features , integers , steps , components or groups thereof do not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed composition , device or method . if the specification or claims refer to “ an additional ” element , that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element . it is to be understood that where the claims or specification refer to “ a ” or “ an ” element , such reference is not be construed that there is only one of that element . it is to be understood that where the specification states that a component , feature , structure , or characteristic “ may ”, “ might ”, “ can ” or “ could ” be included , that particular component , feature , structure , or characteristic is not required to be included . where applicable , although state diagrams , flow diagrams or both may be used to describe embodiments , the invention is not limited to those diagrams or to the corresponding descriptions . for example , flow need not move through each illustrated box or state , or in exactly the same order as illustrated and described . methods of the present invention may be implemented by performing or completing manually , automatically , or a combination thereof , selected steps or tasks . the term “ method ” refers to manners , means , techniques and procedures for accomplishing a given task including , but not limited to , those manners , means , techniques and procedures either known to , or readily developed from known manners , means , techniques and procedures by practitioners of the art to which the invention belongs . the descriptions , examples , methods and materials presented in the claims and the specification are not to be construed as limiting but rather as illustrative only . meanings of technical and scientific terms used herein are to be commonly understood as by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention belongs , unless otherwise defined . the present invention can be implemented in the testing or practice with methods and materials equivalent or similar to those described herein . the terms “ bottom ”, “ below ”, “ top ” and “ above ” as used herein do not necessarily indicate that a “ bottom ” component is below a “ top ” component , or that a component that is “ below ” is indeed “ below ” another component or that a component that is “ above ” is indeed “ above ” another component . as such , directions , components or both may be flipped , rotated , moved in space , placed in a diagonal orientation or position , placed horizontally or vertically , or similarly modified . accordingly , it will be appreciated that the terms “ bottom ”, “ below ”, “ top ” and “ above ” may be used herein for exemplary purposes only , to illustrate the relative positioning or placement of certain components , to indicate a first and a second component or to do both . any publications , including patents , patent applications and articles , referenced or mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated in their entirety into the specification , to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein . in addition , citation or identification of any reference in the description of some embodiments of the invention shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention . according to some embodiments of the present invention the operation of the decision making platform is comprised of two stages . the first is an interactive learning stage in which the system enables the operators of the qa system to control the work flow of the testing procedures . through a graphic user interface ( gui ) the operators may create protocols for running the tests and control the work flow of the tests in real time . whenever the system encounters a decision making point it represents the possible options to the operators and waits for their decision . it may also present to the operators decisions which were made by other operators of the system at previous stages concerning the same situations so that they may review them and decide whether to except them or to revise these decisions . all decisions provided by the operators are recorded by the platform for implementation in the automatic stage . having completed the interactive learning stage the platform may be run in an automatic mode . the platform controls the operation of the qa systems and directs the tests performed by them . whenever new conditions occur , presenting a decision making point which was not already addressed by the operators , the platform may be configured to perform one of two action courses . according to the first , which is a semiautomatic mode , the platform stops the operation of the qa systems and waits for the operators of the system to make the decision before continuing with running the qa procedures . the decisions provided by the operators of the system are then recorded and implemented automatically by the platform whenever the same conditions occur . according to the second mode of operation the platform operates in a fully automatic mode . the platform implements the decisions made by the operators for situations which were previously encountered . whenever the platform encounters a situation in which new conditions were created and a new decision must be made it analyzes all previous decisions and searches for a similar decision made by the operators which may be applied for the current situation in accordance with the decision tree of the platform . below is a description of the decision tree as it is implemented in some embodiments of the system . the automatic decisions made by the platform may be reviewed and revised by the operators during runtime or after the testing procedure is completed . the decision tree is a module which holds the logical connections between all decision points . it is composed of a database and an analyzer . the database is a set of tables where all decision data is stored . the analyzer is a unit responsible for storing , popping , recognizing and processing ongoing decisions , both automated and human - initiated . the decision tree serves both the testing workflow and the qa project management activities . fig1 is an illustration of the three - tier structure of the decision points . each decision point 100 is comprised of a thee - tier structure of actions 110 , tests 120 and decisions 130 . the actions 110 include a set of unconditional activities 115 to be executed . these activities 115 relate to the test tools 140 and may include , for instance , running stress tests , initiating performance data measurements , executing third party tool functionality or ready third party test scripts , or executing any available workflow . the actions 110 may be a long or a short test , involving multiple equipment and systems . the tests 120 are a set of unconditional checks 125 executed in order to collect data required for the process of decision making . this data may be collected during or after a test scenario 150 and it may use the same tools and equipment as the actions do . the tests 120 may run either before , during , or after the actions activities 115 . both the actions 110 and the tests 120 must be completed logically ( by milestone ) before proceeding to the decisions 130 stage . for example , the operator may run several actions 110 , such as a http stress and initiate performance measurements and then using the tests 120 instruct the system to run a third party software every half an hour over the collected data to discover whether there is a memory leak on server application during these actions . in this case , the actions 110 and tests 120 are logically complete every half an hour despite the fact that activities 115 of the actions 110 may continue running . since they are logically complete , decisions may be made concerning the accumulated results . the definitions of the ‘ end of session ’ are defined in the tests tier 120 . in the action tier 110 the length of the session , which determines the duration of the defined activity 115 , may be defined . however , the length of session is not a logical entity and is therefore not available for the decisions tier 130 . both the actions tier 110 and the tests tier 120 may receive input from the outside , such as scheduling , variables and test harness files from existing decisions or from overall test scenario 150 definitions . similarly , the decisions 130 may pass data to consequent points 100 decisions or save data in a common dynamic array , which is available to any other decisions points 100 in the tree in the current testing session . in the decisions tier 130 the system decides which course of action to take as it is activated by tests tier 120 according to the tests data . the decision 130 may include , for instance , reporting a bug , but often it would lead to proceeding to other decision points 100 in the decision tree . for example , provided that a bug was found ( decision 0 ), the decision may include a command to restart the system under test ( decision 1 ), which may include the command to re - install the tested system ( decision 2 ) and run the same tests again ( decision 3 ). decision 1 passes the relevant data about the test which was discovered to be problematic to a common array . this information is then available for any other decisions in the same testing scenario . the dynamic common array ( dca ) is created for every test scenario session and holds all dynamic data relevant to the test . some information is entered by default , but most of the data is defined according to user preferences . the operators define the names and values to be saved in the dca by any of the decisions in order to be read by the other decisions in the same session . fig2 is an illustration of the decision tree in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention . the decision tree 200 is composed of all the available decision points 100 in the test scenario and the relations between them . all decision points 100 have the same structure as described above . each decision point 100 may have any number of parents and / or children decision points 100 . different decision points 100 may have the same actions 110 or tests 120 tiers . a new decision point which has the same data both at the tests and at the actions as that of any existing decision point is automatically connected to the original decision point . fig3 is an illustration of the decision tree when automatic connections between decision points are made by the system . similarities which were found between decision point 310 and decision point 320 allow making automatic connection 300 . similarly , similarities which were found between decision point 330 and decision point 340 allow making automatic connection 305 . thus , when decision point 310 is reached , the conclusions of decision 320 are performed , and when decision point 330 is reached the conclusions of decision point 340 are performed . the operators of the system are informed about this new connection . provided that the operators think that these decision points should not be connected , they are required to add additional information either to the actions or to the tests so that these decision points may be distinguished . the analysis module of the dca is responsible for storing new decision points in the database , locating existing decision points by criteria and selecting decision points that answer partial criteria in the interactive mode . additionally , it also runs and retrieves data from third party tools , application program interfaces ( api ) and command line interfaces ( cli ) which are integrated into the system , stores raw data collected during test sessions , runs regression tests , reproduces bugs and the like according to operators &# 39 ; decisions and performs the system management , such as integrating new tools , apis , clis , user management and db backups . appendix a provides an example for the operation of the analysis module in interactive mode . while the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention , but rather as exemplifications of some of the embodiments . those skilled in the art will envision other possible variations , modifications , and applications that are also within the scope of the invention . accordingly , the scope of the invention should not be limited by what has thus far been described , but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents . therefore , it is to be understood that alternatives , modifications , and variations of the present invention are to be construed as being within the scope and spirit of the appended claims . | 6 |
it has been found that a particularly suitable composition for the total parenteral nutrition in accordance with the present invention comprises : ______________________________________soybean oil 50 - 200 g / lglycerine 22 - 26 g / legg yolk phospholipids ( ovolecithin ) 10 . 5 - 12 . 5 g / lcarnitine or pharmaceuticallyacceptable salt thereof 5 - 25 g / lsodium hydroxide sufficient to adjust the ph of the composition to 5 . 5 - 9 . 0distilled water balance to 1 liter . ______________________________________ the composition thus obtained is an isotonic intravenous emulsion having an osmolarity of from about 250 to 330 milliosmoles / kg of distilled water . the desired daily dosage will be determined in accordance with standard usage , a daily dosage of 500 ml being generally sufficient . a suitable mode of treating patients in need of total parenteral nutrition is to administer first the above specified emulsion and to continue carnitine administration for a total of 12 to 24 hours . this will ensure that sufficient carnitine is present to maintain high serum levels to increase triglyceride utilization and counterbalance any adverse metabolic effects of the triglycerides . carnitine administration may be , therefore , started by intravenous perfusion and then continue by the oral or parenteral route . as known , carnitine contains an asimmetric atom and consequently exists in two stereoisomers . either the racemate or the isolated isomers can be conveniently used in the method of the present invention , although it appears that the l - isomer is more active , while the d - isomer is slightly more toxic . thus , the ld 50 in rats and mice assessed for various routes of administration according to the litchfield and wilcoxon method is as shown in the following table a . ( litchfield , j . t ., and wilcoxon , f ., j . pharm . exptl . therap . 96 , 99 . 1949 ). table a______________________________________product animal route ld . sub . 50 ( mg / kg ) ______________________________________d , l - carnitine rat i . v . 995d - carnitine &# 34 ; sc 10 , 000d , l - carnitine mouse i . v . 610d , l - carnitine &# 34 ; sc 6 , 000d - carnitine &# 34 ; sc 5 , 400l - carnitine &# 34 ; sc 7 , 000______________________________________ the dose of carnitine which is administered will be determined by the attending physician having regard to the age , weight and condition of the patient , using sound professional judgement . although effective utilization of exogenous glycerides can be noticed at doses as low as from 30 to 50 mg / kg of body weight daily , a dose of from about 150 to about 200 mg / kg of body weight daily is preferred . should it be deemed necessary , larger doses can be safely administered , because of the extremely low toxicity of carnitine . a 63 year old female , patient was hospitalized with duodenocutanous and colocutaneous fistulas ; the fistulas had appeared 20 days earlier , after cholecystectomy and plastic repair of papilla ( through duodenotomy ) which had been complicated by post - surgical occlusion , which had required resection of the small bowel and right colon ( with jejuno - colonic anastomosis ). physical examination showed that general conditions were quite satisfactory ; the patient had no fever ; the entercutaneous fistulas on the abdominal wall were surrounded by areas of mild dermatitis . total output from the fistulas was about 600 ml per day . nothing was allowed via the oral route ; parenteral nutrition started according to the following schedule : 3000 ml daily of solutions containing amino acids , glucose and electrolyte , whose nitrogen / calories intake ratio was 1 : 140 ; 500 ml of 10 % lipid solution with 1 . 4 % carnitine was administered on alternate days . forty - five days later , while main haematological and biochemical parameters were still quite normal , the abdominal wall fistulas had closed spontaneously . the patient was discharged a few days later : oral feedings had been successfully reinstituted and nutritional function was regulard . a 55 year old male patient , was hospitalized because of symptoms of acute pancreatitis which appeared two days previously . upon physical examination , there was slight fever ( 37 . 8 c .°), epigastric tenderness and abdominal distention ; slight muscular resistance was appreciable over the upper abdomen . the patient appeared to be mildly dehydratated ; blood glucose was 208 mg % ml bun 50 mg % ml , serum creatinine 7 . 7 mg % ml , serum diastasis activity 530 u / ml ( normal range : 0 to 80 ). a naso - gastric tube was inserted , and a catheter was placed in right atrium , to monitor central venous pressure . parenteral nutrition was started via the peripheral route , according to the &# 34 ; protein sparing &# 34 ; schedule : 100 g of amino acids , elecrolytes , and a total amount of 5000 ml of daily fluids . a few days later , serum diastasis decreased to normal values , serum glucose was 90 to 130 mg % ml , bun 15 to 35 gm % ml , creatinnine 0 . 7 to 1 . 2 mg % ml , triglycerides 80 to 120 mg % ml , and ketone bodies were found in the urine ; nitrogen balance is quite near to 0 (- 6 , - 4 ). he had lost 10 kg during 15 days . parenteral treatment was now changed by adding a 20 % lipid solution with 2 . 1 % carnitine ( 500 ml on alternate days , by the peripheral route , for 15 days ). this treatment was continued until the patient had almost regained the body weight he had upon admission . during the second part of treatment , we observed a positive nitrogen balance and increasing values of serum triglycerides ; no other significant change was found in the main haematological and biochemical parameters . the patient recovered completly from pancreatitis and underwent cholecystectomy due to cholelithiasis . a 44 year old female patient , was hospitalized in a severe state of sepsis caused by suppuration of pancreatic pseudocyst , which had already been treated by surgical drainage ; 30 days before , in the immediate post partum period , the patient had had a sever episode of pancreatitis . upon phisical examination , patient was in a febrile state : shivering and daily elevations of temperature ( 40 ° c .) were observed . a radiographic study was performed , injecting contrast material using the drainage tube : a little abscess cavity was evident , with several minor irregular branches which stretch towards the upper left quadrant of the abdomen . another surgical operation was required , in order to obtain satisfactory drainage of the cavity . antibiotic therapy was started . the patient began total parenteral nutrition according to the following schedule : 40 % glucose solution , 5 % amino acid solution , electrolytes , 20 % lipid solution with 2 . 5 % carnitine . lipids were administered by the peripheral route , 500 ml on alternate days . the patient was digitalized , and cardiac output rose from 3 . 2 1 / min / mq to 3 . 8 1 / min / mq ; oxygen consumption was 150 - 170 ml / min / mq . on the following days , several episodes of haemodynamic failure were observed , and polyuria appeared ; episodes of shivering and fever were treated by antibiotic therapy . parenteral nutrition was adjusted so that nitrogen / caloric intake ration did not exceed 1 / 120 . fourteen days later , general conditions had improved , fever disappeared , and oral feeding was reinstituted , ( elementary diet ). | 0 |
the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents . it includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary . accordingly , those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure . in addition , descriptions of well - known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness . the terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings , but , are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure . accordingly , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . it is to be understood that the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . thus , for example , reference to “ a component surface ” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces . for the same reason , some components are exaggerated , omitted , or schematically illustrated in the accompanying drawings . further , the size of each component does not exactly reflect its real size . in each drawing , the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals . further , it may be understood that each block of processing flowcharts and combinations of flowcharts may be performed by computer program instructions . since these computer program instructions may be mounted in processors for a general computer , a special computer , or other programmable data processing apparatuses , these instructions executed by the processors for the computer or the other programmable data processing apparatuses create means performing functions described in block ( s ) of the flowcharts . since these computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer usable or computer readable memory of a computer or other programmable data processing apparatuses in order to implement the functions in a specific scheme , the computer program instructions stored in the computer usable or computer readable memory may also produce manufacturing articles including instruction means performing the functions described in block ( s ) of the flowcharts . since the computer program instructions may also be mounted on the computer or the other programmable data processing apparatuses , the instructions performing a series of operation operations on the computer or the other programmable data processing apparatuses to create processes executed by the computer to thereby execute the computer or the other programmable data processing apparatuses may also provide operations for performing the functions described in block ( s ) of the flowcharts . in addition , each block may indicate some of modules , segments , or codes including one or more executable instructions for executing a specific logical function ( s ). further , it is to be noted that functions mentioned in the blocks occur regardless of a sequence in some alternative embodiments . for example , two blocks that are consecutively illustrated may be simultaneously performed in fact or be performed in a reverse sequence depending on corresponding functions sometimes . herein , the term ‘˜ unit ’ used in the present embodiment means software or hardware components such as a field - programmable gate array ( fpga ) and an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ) and is responsible for any role . however , the meaning of the ‘˜ unit ’ is not limited to software or hardware . the ‘˜ unit ’ may be configured to be in a storage medium that may be addressed and may also be configured to reproduce one or more processor . accordingly , for example , the ‘˜ unit ’ includes components such as software components , object oriented software components , class components , and task components and processors , functions , attributes , procedures , subroutines , segments of program code , drivers , firmware , microcode , circuit , data , database , data structures , tables , arrays , and variables . the functions provided in the components and the ‘˜ units ’ may be combined with a smaller number of components and the ‘˜ units ’ or may further be separated into additional components and ‘˜ units ’. in addition , the components and the ‘˜ units ’ may also be implemented to reproduce one or more cpus within a device or a security multimedia card . in describing specific embodiments of the present disclosure in detail , a wireless communication system having a particular channel structure will be mainly described , but the subject matter to be claimed in the present specification may be also applied to other communication systems and service having the similar technical backgrounds as long as it does not depart from the scope and spirit of the present specification , which may be made by the determination of a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains . prior to a description of embodiments of the present disclosure , an example of an interpretable meaning for some terms used herein is provided . however , it should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the interpretation examples given below . a base station ( bs ) which is a subject communicating with a terminal may be referred to as a bs , a base transceiver station ( bts ), a node b ( nb ), an evolved nb ( enb , enodeb ), an access point ( ap ), a 5th - generation ( 5g ) nb ( gnb ), or the like . in particular , at least one of the following embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in a heterogeneous network ( hetnet ) made up of a primary base station and an auxiliary base station , in which the primary base station may be referred to as a macro bs , a primary bs , a primary cell ( pcell ), or the like and the auxiliary base station may be referred to as a small bs , a secondary bs , a secondary cell ( scell ), or the like . user equipment ( ue ) which is one subject communicating with a base station may be referred to as a ue , a device , a mobile station ( ms ), mobile equipment ( me ), a terminal , etc . in order to improve the speed and capacity of the long term evolution ( lte ) network with the development of the lte , improved technologies such as lte in unlicensed spectrum ( lte - u ) using a shared band are being studied . the lte - u or the licensed - assisted access ( laa ) means a technology of integrating not only licensed bands used for the existing lte communications but also licensed spectra or licensed bands and unlicensed spectra an unlicensed bands using carrier aggregation ( ca ). accordingly , it is possible to support quality of service ( qos ) and smooth mobility by using a more stable licensed band as an anchor to process all control signals and signaling . in addition , it is possible to give users with more improved mobile broadband experience by ensuring a boarder data pipe by extension to the unlicensed band . since the unlicensed band is a shared band that may be used by any technologies and devices , most countries specify transmission regulations to use the unlicensed band . in order to reduce device to device interference in the unlicensed band , transmit power of devices using the unlicensed band may be limited to a level lower than that of the licensed band . the transmission regulations for shared bands such as a license - exempt band or the unlicensed band provide various schemes for relieving the device to device signal interference . as an example , the schemes may include a scheme of limiting transmit power so that receive power at a certain distance is not equal to or greater than a predetermined value , a scheme of hopping locations on time or frequency resources , a scheme of using only a certain resource among the entire resources , a scheme of first hearing signals from other devices and then restrictively performing a transmission only when receive power of the signal is smaller than a predetermined value , or the like . the existing cellular communications such as the lte requires a channel measurement for adaptively determining transmission capacity of a transmitting / receiving link and a resource assignment procedure based on link adaptation . however , there may be problems in applying the existing resource assignment schemes in the shared bands such as the unlicensed band where rules for coexistence between different communication systems are established . therefore , there is a need for a new resource assignment scheme for communications using an unlicensed band . meanwhile , in a hetnet , the terminal may transmit and receive main system information ( si ) and a control signal and may communicate mobility - sensitive traffic like a sound with the pcell and communicate traffic like data , which makes much of instantaneous transmission amount , with the scell . here , the pcell may be set as the licensed band , and the scell may be set as the shared band , that is , the unlicensed band . an example of the type of cellular communication system may include the laa system . a terminal that additionally uses the shared band may be referred to as an laa terminal and a terminal that uses only the existing licensed band may be referred to as an lte terminal . a terminal in a base station area may be in a radio resource control ( rrc ) idle state or an rrc connected state . the two states will be described below . rrc idle : the rrc idle state is a state in which the terminal selects the base station ( or cell ), monitors a paging channel , and acquires si but does not communicate data with the base station . it is considered that the terminal is camped in the corresponding base station . rrc connected : the rrc connected state is a state in which the terminal monitors a control channel and communicates data with the base station through a data channel . it is a state in which the terminal reports various measurement results of the base station and neighbor base stations to help scheduling of the base station . the terminal is served with a service from the corresponding base station . further , the corresponding base station is referred to as a serving cell for a serving terminal . equipment using the unlicensed band is classified into frame based equipment ( fbe ) or load based equipment ( lbe ). hereinafter , a communication procedure by each equipment will be described . fig1 is a diagram showing an example of a communication procedure through an unlicensed band in the case of fbe according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , in the case of fbe , a transmitter needs to perform clear channel assessment ( cca ) 110 above at least 20 micro seconds ( μs ) prior to performing a transmission 120 over an unlicensed band . the cca 110 performs an operation of determining , by a transmitter , a magnitude of interference to determine whether another equipment currently uses an unlicensed band . the transmitter does not perform a transmission if it is determined as a result of the cca 110 that the measured magnitude of interference is equal to or greater than a predetermined value , but performs the transmission 120 if it is determined as a result of the cca 110 that the measured magnitude of interference is less than the predetermined value . at this point , the transmission 120 has a fixed frame period 140 and starts a start point of a frame immediately following a cca period . if the transmitter performs the cca 110 once , the transmitter may occupy an unlicensed band from at least 1 ms up to 10 ms and should be idle during an idle period 135 without performing the transmission for at least 5 % of channel occupancy time ( cot ) 130 . if it is determined as the performance result of the cca 110 of the transmitter that another equipment currently uses an unlicensed band , the transmitter may pass through the fixed frame period 140 and then perform the cca 115 again . fig2 is a diagram showing an example of a communication procedure through an unlicensed band in the case of lbe according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig2 , like the fbe , in the case of lbe , the transmitter performs the cca 110 for at least 20 μs prior to performing the transmission 120 through the unlicensed band . if it is determined as the performance result of the cca 110 that there is no equipment currently using the unlicensed band , the transmitter may perform the transmission 120 . however , if it is determined that another equipment is currently using the unlicensed band , unlike the fbe , the lbe may perform an additional cca that is referred to as extended cca ( ecca ) 150 . the ecca 150 consists of n ccas 111 , 112 , 113 , and 114 , in which n is a backoff counter value ( t ecca ) 160 arbitrarily selected between [ 1 , q ] and q represents a contention window size ( cws ). the cws q may be given by the base station or may be determined by the terminal . fig2 illustrates the case where n is 4 , in which n may be smaller or larger than 4 . an n cca counter is decremented each time one of the ccas 111 , 112 , 113 , and 114 succeeds . if the cca counter detects a band occupancy before it reaches 0 , a freezing operation waiting until the band occupancy is resolved while the cca counter is stored is performed . if it is detected that band use is possible again , an operation of decreasing the cca counter restarts again . when the cca counter reaches 0 , if it is determined that there is no equipment currently using an unlicensed band , the transmitter performs the transmission 120 after the last cca interval . that is , if it is determined as the performance result of the ecca 150 that there is no equipment currently using the unlicensed band , the transmitter may perform the transmission 120 . at this point , the time when the transmitter may occupy the unlicensed band , that is , the cot 130 , is up to ( 13 / 32 )* q ms and then the cca 115 may be performed again and the transmitter has the idle period 135 for the time when the ecca is performed . meanwhile , the fbe and the lbe each have advantages and disadvantages . first , the performance of the lbe will show better than that of the fbe , in view of the occupancy probability of the unlicensed band . this is because the fbe may not perform the cca again for a fixed frame period 140 if the cca 110 fails once but the lbe may take an operation to occupy the unlicensed band by performing the ecca 150 , that is , an additional cca ( 111 , 112 , 113 , and 114 ) n times after the cca 110 fails . next , there is an advantage that the fbe is simpler than the lbe in view of the scheduling , that is , the transmission of the control channel . the fbe may use the unlicensed band based on a subframe boundary , that is , control channel ( pdcch ) transmission time point . however , since the lbe arbitrarily selects n which is the cca performance frequency of the ecca 150 , the use start time point of the unlicensed band may not match the subframe boundary . therefore , the lbe reserves a part of a first subframe and performs a transmission of a control channel and a data channel from a second subframe . in addition , the fbe does less damage to neighboring wi - fi devices sharing an unlicensed band , compared to the lbe . generally , the lbe is more likely to occupy the unlicensed band than the fbe . this is because the wi - fi device is taking more chances to occupy the unlicensed band . in the 3gpp standard , the fbe scheme is referred to as cat2 lbt and the lbe scheme is referred to as cat4 lbt . meanwhile , in order to provide a reliable cellular communication service in the mobile environment even if an unlicensed band is used , the terminal needs a scheme for maintaining an access to a licensed band . therefore , delay - sensitive services such as voice may be transmitted in the licensed band , and data services may be transmitted using the licensed band and opportunistically , may be transmitted using the unlicensed band , thereby improving the data transmission rate as much as possible . fig3 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for determining transmission capacity of a transmitting / receiving link in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig3 , in a downlink , a terminal 310 measures a reference signal ( rs ) 332 of a base station 320 and carries a signal quality of the rs on a channel quality indicator ( cqi ) 334 and report it to the base station 320 . the rs 332 of the base station 320 may consist of a common / cell - specific reference signal ( crs ) or a channel state information - reference signal ( csi - rs ) commonly given to all terminals 310 within a service area of the base station 320 or a ue - specific rs given only to a specific terminal 310 . the terminal 310 may be controlled by the base station 320 to periodically or a periodically report the cqi 334 indicating channel quality to the base station 320 . the terminal 310 may use a physical uplink control channel ( pucch ) for the periodic report and a physical uplink shared channel ( pusch ) for the aperiodic report . according to an embodiment , the crs may be replaced with a synchronization signal ( ss ). the base station 320 may perform scheduling for determining to which one of the terminals 310 physical resource blocks are assigned based on the cqi 334 that the terminal 310 reports and notify ( 336 , 338 ) the scheduled terminals 310 of assignment information for each terminal as the scheduled result . resource assignment signals ( or referred to as uplink ( ul ) grant / downlink ( dl ) grant ) signal indicating an assigned downlink resource location and resource assignment information ( e . g ., physical channel parameters such as modulation and coding scheme ( mcs ) index and hybrid automatic repeat request ( harq ) related information ) may be scrambled with identification of the terminal 310 , for example , a cell radio network temporary identity ( c - rnti ) or an m - rnti ( mobile broadcast service ( mbms ) rnti ) and may be transmitted through a physical downlink control channel ( pdcch ). the terminal 310 receiving the resource assignment signal may receive ( downlink data 340 on a physical downlink shared channel ( pdsch ) through the physical resource blocks notified by the resource assignment signal . in case of the uplink , the base station 320 may measure the rs from the terminal 310 and know the quality of the uplink signal . the rs of the terminal 310 may use a sounding reference signal ( srs ) that the base station 320 periodically assigns ( about 2 to 320 ms ) to a specific ue . even if it differs from the current standard , a demodulation reference signal ( dmrs ) that the terminal 310 transmits together with the uplink data may be used for the uplink measurement of the unlicensed band for the operation in the shared band . the base station 320 performs the uplink scheduling for determining to which one of the terminals 310 the physical resource blocks are assigned based on the cqi obtained by measuring the rs that the terminal 310 transmits and notifies the scheduled terminals 310 of the assignment information for each terminal as the scheduling result . the resource assignment signal indicating the assigned uplink resource is scrambled with the identification of the terminal 310 and transmitted through the pdcch , and the terminal 310 receiving the resource assignment signal may transmit the uplink data on a pusch through the physical resource blocks notified by the resource assignment signal . for the base station 320 to complete the channel measurement and the link adaptation for the terminal 310 , a predetermined delay time is taken due to the transmission and reception and processing of required signals . for example , reviewing the operation of the downlink illustrated in fig3 , the terminal 310 measures the rs 332 ( e . g ., crs ) that the base station 320 transmits every downlink subframe , and two subframes are required to report the cqi 334 , by the terminal 310 , through the physical uplink control channels ( pucchs ) assigned to each uplink subframe . the base station 320 requires one subframe for channel estimation 336 , and requires one to k subframes 338 according to implementation of scheduling for determining the resource assignment and the mcs index . therefore , a minimum allowable cqi feedback delay 342 may be 4 ms . since the minimum period of the srs in the uplink is 2 subframes , the uplink more generates one subframe delay than the downlink , and thus the cqi feedback delay is at least 5 ms . the longer the srs period , the longer the overall cqi feedback delay . in the unlicensed band , since the terminal 310 performs the lbt prior to transmitting the uplink signal and performs the transmission when the result is successful ( i . e ., channel is empty ), the transmission failure probability is higher than the existing licensed band . to overcome the above problems , a scheme for assigning a redundant resource is required . also , there is a need to design an appropriate resource assignment scheme differently depending on data or a control signal . in the embodiments described below , a resource assignment scheme for minimizing a loss will be described in consideration of the three problems described above . that is , since it is difficult to perform the periodic channel measurement , the terminal 310 may perform the cqi report based on the channel measurement value after the base station 320 successfully performs the lbt and occupies the channel . for this , the base station 320 may assign to the terminal 310 resources of subframes that are temporally close to each other . a delay of at least 4 ms in the downlink and a delay of at least 5 ms in the downlink may occur even if the aperiodic channel measurement is assumed . for example , therefore , in the case of the downlink , the cqi measured in the first subframe may be reflected to the scheduling only when the cot is greater than at least 4 ms . as a result , since the base station 320 may not perform the correct cqi based mcs determination on four subframes for the first 4 ms , the base station may select a complementary mcs index for the subframes . in addition , if the terminal 310 fails to perform the lbt , that is , if a channel busy is detected , the terminal 310 needs to receive the resource assignment from the base station 320 again . at this time , a delay of 7 ms may occur in order of a scheduling request ( sr ), an interval of 3 ms , ul grant , an interval of 4 ms , and a data transmission . therefore , if it is determined that an lbt failure rate is high , the base station 320 may assign resources for consecutive subframes by one - time grant . fig4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a downlink scheduling procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig4 , in operation 410 , the base station ( enb ) 320 transmits the physical channel parameters ( e . g ., mcs index or the like ) assigned by the scheduling and the downlink resource information ( dl resource information ) indicating the assigned resources to the terminal ( ue ) through the pdcch . in operation 420 , the base station 320 may transmit user data to the terminal 310 through the pdsch on the physical resource blocks indicated by the downlink resource information . in operation 430 , the terminal 310 may transmit to the base station 320 acknowledgment ( ack )/ non - ack ( nack ) that is a harq response to the user data . at this point , a delay of 4 ms may occur between the user data of the downlink and the ack / nack . if the harq response in the operation 430 is the nack , in operation 440 , the base station 320 may retransmit the user data to the terminal 310 . fig5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink scheduling procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig5 , in operation 510 , the terminal 310 having the user data or the control information to be transmitted to the uplink may transmit the sr to the base station 320 through the pucch . the base station 320 performs the scheduling in response to the sr , and in operation 520 , may transmit the uplink grant according to the scheduling , that is the uplink resource information , to the terminal 310 through the pdcch . the scheduling may take , for example , 3 ms . in operation 530 , the terminal 310 may transmit the user data , a buffer status report ( bsr ), a power headroom report ( phr ) or the like through the pusch on the physical resource block indicated by the uplink resource information . in this case , it may take 4 ms to prepare the uplink transmission through the pusch . in operation 540 , the base station 320 may transmit the ack / nack for the uplink reception through the pusch to the terminal 310 through a physical harq indication channel ( phich ). at this point , a delay of 4 ms may occur between the uplink transmission through the pusch and the ack / nack of the base station . therefore , a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a method for assigning a resource in a cellular network using an unlicensed band . the method includes generating , by a base station , at least one resource assignment signal including information indicating a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes transmittable and receivable through an unlicensed band , transmitting the resource assignment signal to a terminal through the unlicensed band during at least one resource subframe , and receiving an uplink data from the terminal during the consecutive uplink subframes . further , a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a method for receiving resource assignment in a cellular network using an unlicensed band . the method includes receiving , by a terminal , at least one resource assignment signal including information indicating a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes transmittable and receivable through the unlicensed band from a base station during at least one downlink subframe , identifying the plurality of consecutive uplink subframes based on the resource assignment signal and other control signals , and transmitting uplink data to the base station during the consecutive uplink subframes . further , an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a base station for assigning a resource in a cellular network using an unlicensed band . the base station includes at least one processor generating at least one resource assignment signal including information indicating a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes transmittable and receivable through the unlicensed band , and a transceiver transmitting the resource assignment signal to a terminal through the unlicensed band during at least one resource subframe and receiving uplink data from the terminal during the consecutive uplink subframes . further , an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a terminal for receiving a resource assignment signal in a cellular network using an unlicensed band . the terminal includes a transceiver receiving at least one resource assignment signal including information indicating a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes transmittable and receivable through the unlicensed band from a base station during at least one downlink subframe and transmitting uplink data to the base station during the consecutive uplink subframes , and at least one processor identifying the plurality of consecutive uplink subframes based on the resource assignment signal and other control signals , and transmitting uplink data and notifying the transceiver of the identified subframes . further , an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a terminal for receiving a resource assignment signal for transmission of a control signal in a cellular network using an unlicensed band . the terminal includes a transceiver receiving at least one resource assignment signal including information indicating a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes transmittable and receivable through the unlicensed band from a base station during at least one downlink subframe and transmitting an uplink control signal to the base station during the consecutive uplink subframes and at least one processor identifying the plurality of uplink subframes based on the resource assignment signal and other control signals , and transmitting uplink data and notifying the transceiver of the identified subframes . meanwhile , although the procedures , methods , and apparatuses of the present disclosure are described below with respect to the unlicensed band , they may be applied in the licensed band , the shared band , and the like without any restrictions . the base station 320 may assign a control channel or data channel resource in order to allow the terminal 310 to transmit the uplink control information ( uci ). in case of the lte , the base station 320 may transmit uci to the terminal 310 through the pucch ( uplink control channel ) or may multiplex the uci with data through the pusch ( uplink shared channel ) and transmit it to the terminal 310 . as the method for assigning an uplink resource in the unlicensed band , there may be largely cross - carrier ( cc ) scheduling and self - carrier ( sc ) scheduling . according to the cc scheduling , the base station 320 may assign an uplink resource of an unlicensed band scell2 through a downlink control channel in the pcell or the scell1 . according to the sc scheduling , the base station 320 may assign an uplink resource of the same scell2 through a downlink control channel in the unlicensed scell2 . in this case , if the pcell or the scell1 is the licensed band , the cc scheduling is not affected by the lbt . however , if the pcell or the scell1 is the unlicensed band , even the cc scheduling is affected by the lbt for the downlink control channel transmission . the sc scheduling is naturally affected by the lbt for the downlink control channel transmission . therefore , if the downlink control channel is transmitted in the unlicensed band , the lbt having a high success rate needs to be applied to the uplink resource assigned to the terminal 310 . in this case , the lbt having a high success rate means a case where cat2 lbt ( fbe ) is used or a backoff counter or a contention window value of cat4 lbt ( lbe ) is small . meanwhile , a delay of 4 ms is typically required between the ul grant and the ul data . this occurs because the terminal 310 receives an instruction from the base station 320 , encodes a packet to be transmitted , or requires a calculation time to determine transmit power . several advantages may be obtained by reducing the delay time between the ul grant and the ul data in the unlicensed band . first , when the lbt fails , the total delay taken until the terminal 310 receives the ul grant again and transmits data may be reduced . further , the sc scheduling may reduce an empty period until the terminal 310 transmits resources after the base station 320 occupies the resources , thereby more efficiently using the resources . further , since the transmission period of various ul control information and ul data is set differently , there is a need to be able to support various resource assignment methods by a minimum possible ul grant overhead . meanwhile , in order to cope with the lbt failure in the unlicensed band , multi subframe scheduling capable of resource assignment for a plurality of ul subframes by one - time ul grant may be considered . this is mainly considered for the data transmission and may increase the success rate by assigning k consecutive ul subframes to allow the terminal 310 to perform the lbt on the k consecutive ul subframes . further , the uci information may be considered in a different scheme from data depending on its format . for a channel state indication ( csi ) report for the channel measurement result , a report period may be set in subframe units of { 2 , 5 , 10 , 20 , 40 , 80 , 160 , 32 , 64 , 128 }. if the report period has a relatively smaller value , like data , a csi report resource may be indicated by the ul grant but if the report period has a relatively larger value , it may exceed an area in which the ul grant may be indicated . further , if the report period has a larger value , a strict report period that needs to be notified by the ul grant is not required . therefore , if the report period is set by a higher layer message ( e . g ., rrc message ) for the csi report , it may be understood that the terminal 310 assigned at least one ul subframe by the ul grant in the set csi [ within the report period ], [ report period − delta , report period ], [ report period − delta , report period + delta ], or [ report period , report period + delta ] and the terminal 310 performs the csi report in the first ul subframe among them . the delta value may be set to a predetermined value or a preset ratio or may be set by the base station 320 . the reason of setting the delta value is to reduce a burden of the base station 320 that should perform a blind detection on whether the terminal 310 transmits the csi information or not at any location within the report period . in the case of the existing licensed band , the pucch locations are fixed on a terminal - by - terminal basis , such that the terminal 310 may adequately report the csi by the report period information . however , in the case of the unlicensed band , the terminal 310 may access resources at any time point and therefore to prevent report signals of different terminals from colliding with each other , an offset of the report period and a report resource period needs to be additionally set along with the report period . it is understood that the terminal 310 sets report resources at each report resource period from the set offset on , for example , sfn # 0 , and the terminal 310 may perform a one - time csi report in a period divided depending on the report period . the report resource period may be set to be , for example , 5 ms , and the report period may be set to be , for example , 20 ms . different terminals 310 may be assigned the report resources divided by the offset , the report resource period , and a resource block ( rb ). at this point , the rb may be set by the rrc message or dynamically by the ul grant . unlike the csi report , the resource for the harq - ack report is generally assigned to the pucch or the pusch of the ul subframe after 4 ms for dl data . by the way , since there is no guarantee that the lbt will succeed after 4 ms in the unlicensed band , redundant ul resources need to be assigned . at this point , the redundant ul resources may be further assigned to a time axis or a frequency ( component carrier ) axis . the base station 320 may assign resources for harq - ack report to consecutive ul subframes , like the multi subframe ul grant method . if there are ul data , the base station 320 may control a uci control signal including harq - ack to be multiplexed with the ul data and transmitted . further , if the harq - ack report resource is assigned to a plurality of ul subframes by the base station 320 , it is preferable that harq - ack report resource is assigned to all of the plurality of ul subframes indicated by the ul grant . if the harq - ack is reported in a first succeeding ul subframe among the plurality of ul subframes , the terminal 310 needs to simultaneously perform an operation of configuring a signal having only the ul data in the subsequent ul subframe according to whether the lbt of the current ul subframe succeeds and an operation of configuring a signal obtained by multiplexing the harq - ack with the ul data . however , if the harq - ack resource is assigned to all of the plurality of ul subframes , resources are used inefficiently . further , since a timing interval between the dl data and the harq - ack is not fixed , the reception complexity of the base station 320 may be increased . to avoid this , a method of assigning a redundant ul subframe to a component carrier axis may be considered . for example , if the base station 320 sets a uci cell group in the terminal 310 , the terminal 310 transmits harq - ack feedback from at least one of the scells , which successfully perform the lbt , among the ul subframes for each scell corresponding to harq - ack timing defined within the uci cell group . at this point , if the lbt succeeds in a plurality of scells , 1 ) the terminal 310 may report the harq - ack feedback in all the scells . further , 2 ) the terminal 310 may compress and report the harq - acks for a plurality of ccs in the scell having the lowest scell index . further , 3 ) if all lbts succeed at cc above the maximum concurrent transmission cc ( e . g ., three ( or two or four or more )), the terminal 310 may report the harq - ack only up to the maximum concurrent transmission cc while the scell index is increased from cc having the lowest scell index , for example . further , for the scell exceeding the maximum concurrent transmission cc , the transmission is not performed even if the lbt succeeds , it may be considered as discontinuous transmission ( dtx ) or lbt failure to be operated . meanwhile , if the terminal 310 reports the plurality of harq - acks at any one of the ccs , the same format as the existing uci format 3 accommodating the harq - ack for the dl data of other ccs may be used . as described above , the 4 ms delay between the ul grant and the ul data transmission may have a big effect on performance . therefore , a scheme for reducing 4 ms delay will be described . the largest operation required for the terminal to receive the ul grant and prepare the ul data is to encode information bits and to determine transmit power . therefore , if the base station 320 notifies the terminal 310 of the resource assignment information ( transport block ( tb ) size , mcs , rb assignment , hopping , etc .) in advance , the terminal 310 may configure the transmission data in advance and respond to the fast ul grant of the base station 320 to reduce the delay between the ul grant and the ul data transmission . a transmit power control command is to progressively change transmit power , and therefore needs to be transmitted like every ul grant but may be controlled to use the same transmit power for a plurality of assigned subframes . for setting the resource assignment information in the terminal 310 , the base station 320 may semi - statically transmit the rrc message including the resource assignment information to the terminal 310 or may dynamically transmit an uplink resource grant ( ul resource grant ) including the resource assignment information to the terminal 310 . if the data to be transmitted is prepared , the terminal 310 previously receiving the resource assignment information may transmit the ul data having a short delay time ( e . g ., about 1 ms or the like ) to a fast ul grant . meanwhile , if the base station 320 starts to occupy resources by the cat4 lbt , it may perform consecutive transmission and reception using a fast lbt within a maximum channel occupancy time ( mcot ) period that is defined depending on traffic priority . that is , if the number of dl subframes and the number of ul subframes is included in the mcot , the base station 320 or the terminal 310 may perform the fast lbt depending on the short cca ( e . g ., 25 μs ) or the small backoff ( bo ) counter value upon the transmission within the period . in the operation of the base station 320 and the terminal 310 based on the resource assignment information and the fast ul grant , the following operations may be made depending on when the terminal 310 prepares a transmission packet and when the terminal 310 transmits a packet . after receiving a message ( e . g ., rrc message or ul resource grant ) including resource assignment information , the terminal 310 may start to prepare a data packet to be transmitted to the base station 320 on the uplink . further , after a delay time of at least 3 ms , the base station 320 may transmit a fast ul grant to the terminal 310 . at this point , the base station 320 implicitly instructs the terminal 310 to use the fast ul grant to implicitly indicate a minimum delay ( e . g ., 1 ms ), or explicitly assigns delay information of m subframe intervals by including the delay information in the fast ul grant . in this case , the terminal 310 should be always prepared to transmit the next data packet immediately after completing a transmission of one data packet . accordingly , if the terminal 310 is not prepared , for the base station 320 to transmit the fast ul grant to the terminal 310 , the base station 320 may notify the terminal 310 of the number of tbs to be prepared in advance , in addition to the resource assignment information . in addition , the method controls the transmission time point of each terminal by the ul fast grant . for preventing the collision of the lbt with each terminal and for coexistence with other systems , a method of notifying the same transmission time point to the ue group may be considered additionally . the c - rnti may be shared or the n - rnti may be assigned to indicate the ue group . the method may be applied to both consecutive assignment and discontinuous assignment . for example , in the case of the consecutive assignment , [ 0 , 1 , 2 ] or [ 0 , 2 ] or [ 2 ] may be transmitted to indicate n + 1 , n + 2 , and n + 3 from an n subframe in which the fast grant is transmitted . in the case of the discontinuous assignment , [ 0 , 2 , 4 ] may be transmitted to indicate n + 1 , n + 3 , and n + 5 from the n subframe in which the fast ul grant is transmitted . as another method , [ 0 , 1 , 2 ], [ 0 , 2 ], or [ 2 ] may be transmitted , but an inter - subframe interval may be indicated by a separate individual / common control signal . for example , if the inter - subframe interval is indicated by 2 , [ 0 , 1 , 2 ] may be understood as n + 1 , n + 3 , and n + 5 . meanwhile , the terminal 310 may prepare an initial transmission packet in advance , but in the case of the uplink retransmission , the terminal may not prepare a retransmission packet in advance unless the base station 320 notifies the terminal 310 of the harq - ack / nack . in synchronous harq , the base station 320 may notify the terminal 310 of the harq - ack / nack through the physical hybrid - arq indicator channel ( phich ) after 4 ms after transmitting the ul data . however , if the base station 320 does not transmit the phich to the licensed band , it is difficult to accurately keep the interval of 4 ms . the reason is that a resource access is stochastically defined depending on the success or failure of the lbt of the base station 320 in the unlicensed band . further , the phich uses only a synchronous harq procedure in the uplink . in the unlicensed band , only the asynchronous harq procedure may be considered due to uncertainty of an uplink resource access . therefore , the following schemes may be considered . the base station 320 may transmit separate harq - ack information to the terminal 310 , in addition to the ul grant . for example , if the ul data is assigned at locations n , n + 1 , . . . , n + k in k multi subframes , the base station 320 may transmit the harq - ack to the terminal 310 at locations n + 4 , n + 5 , . . . , n + k + 4 if the downlink lbt succeeds . in addition , if the base station successfully performs the downlink lbt , the base station 320 may transmit the harq - ack even at locations n + k + 5 , n + k + 6 , . . . , n + 2k + 5 . this generally corresponds to the case where locations of resources having m values at locations m + 0 , m + 1 , . . . m + k are repeated every n + 4 , n + 4 + k , . . . n + 4 + p * k . the base station 320 may perform the uplink operation at the corresponding location or excludes the situation where it does not secure the resource due to the failure of the lbt , secure the downlink subframe if the lbt succeeds , and immediately transmit the harq - ack for the pusch transmission of the unlicensed band to the terminal 310 with the harq - ack before the subsequent ul grant is transmitted . if the harq - ack for the ul data is not fed back to the terminal 310 , the terminal 310 is applied with the fast ul grant of about 1 ms for the initial transmission , but cannot but suffer from a general delay of 4 ms for the retransmission . in order to reduce the delay , the terminal 310 should prepare both the initial transmission and the retransmission packet but the complexity of the terminal 310 may be increased . if the terminal 310 identifies and transmits any one the initial transmission and the retransmission , the base station 320 may transmit the ul grant including the ndi information . the ndi information is generally transmitted in a toggling manner , compared to the previous ndi information . that is , if the previous ndi is 0 , it is changed to 1 and if the previous ndi is 1 , it is changed to 0 to notify that it is a new packet . therefore , if the ndi is toggled for the same transmission time point information , for example , [ 0 , 1 , 2 ], that is , if the initial transmission is performed , the terminal 310 may transmit a packet that is being prepared in advance in n + 1 , n + 2 , and n + 3 subframes , compared to the n subframe that is the ul grant reception time point . conversely , if the ndi is not toggled , that is , if the retransmission is performed , the terminal 310 prepares a new retransmission packet and transmits it in n + 4 , n + 5 , and n + 6 subframes . on the other hand , due to the interference among the causes of the retransmission , there may be the case where the base station 320 fails to receive the pusch but there may be the case where the terminal fails to perform the lbt . if the terminal 310 fails to perform the lbt , exceptionally , the fast ul grant is possible again . in order for the terminal 310 to identify the ndi , the base station 320 may 1 ) toggle the ndi in the ul grant but change a redundancy version ( rv ) to a value different from an rv value transmitted at the time of the initial transmission and transmit it , 2 ) transmit the rv redundancy at the same rv value as the previous value without toggling the ndi , or 3 ) transmit the rv redundancy so that a transmit power change value is 0 in a ul tpc command . the base station 320 may indicate the initial transmission by [ 3 , 4 , 5 ] and the retransmission by [ 0 , 1 , 2 ] and indicate time point { n + 4 , n + 5 , n + 6 } and { n + 1 , n + 2 , n + 3 } compared to the ul grant time point ( n ). alternatively , the fast delay transmission is indicated by [ 0 , 1 , 2 ], 0 and the general delay transmission is indicated by [ 0 , 1 , 2 ], 1 and thus the ul grant - ul data delay is identified by a last bit , such that compared to the ul grant time point ( n ), the time point { n + 4 , n + 5 , n + 6 } and the time point { n + 1 , n + 2 , n + 3 } may be indicated . in case of the identification by the transmission time point information , the proper ul grant may be combined with the ndi information to control the retransmission due to the initial transmission and the reception error , and the retransmission due to the lbt failure . for example , if the ndi is toggled and the fast delay transmission is performed , it may correspond to the initial transmission . if the ndi is not toggled and is the general delay transmission , it is the retransmission due to the reception error . if the ndi is not toggled and the fast delay transmission is performed , it may be the retransmission due to the lbt . 2 ) if transmission time point is included in resource assignment information : if the terminal 310 receives the resource assignment information ( e . g ., rrc message or ul resource grant ) or a separate common control signal , the terminal 310 may additionally know the transmission time point ( e . g ., subframe timing , or the like ) in addition to the tb size , the mcs , the rb assignment , and hopping . further , the terminal 310 may start to prepare the data transmission 4 ms ahead of the scheduled nearest transmission time point . the advantage of the method is that if the transmission time point is set to be a long period , there is no need to perform the unnecessary processing and the use of the memory in advance . in addition , since periodically available resources are designated over a long period of time , there is no need to issue a separate ul grant for the retransmission . for example , if the scheduled transmission time point is set at an interval of 8 ms and the data generation delay of the terminal 310 is set to be 4 ms in the rrc configuration , the terminal 310 may be prepared to generate data in advance before 4 ms , compared to each transmission time point . if the fast ul grant of the base station 320 is received in 4 ms , the terminal 310 transmits the prepared data and if the fast ul grant is not received until the transmission time point , the terminal 310 may not perform the transmission at the transmission time point . further , if the terminal 310 does not receive the fast ul grant for the scheduled transmission time point , that is , the subframe , the terminal 310 may consider the subframe as a downlink subframe and perform a signal reception operation of the base station 320 . in the lbt method for the uci and the uplink data , intervals between a plurality of ul subframes may be set to be different from each other . for example , resources may be assigned in a t subframe period for the uci transmission . on the other hand , resources may be assigned in a t ′ subframe for the data transmission . at this point , t may use a value equal to or greater than t ′. for example , if t ′ is 1 , the success rate of the data transmission may be increased . meanwhile , in order to support both the uci and the data by the common ul grant signal , the base station 320 may include the t subframe period based on the ul grant transmission / reception time point in the ul grant or notify the terminal 310 of the t subframe period based on sfn # 0 by the rrc message in advance . alternatively , if there is no separate t subframe period information in the ul grant , the terminal 310 may be operated in the t ′ subframe period for the data transmission all the times and then may be operated by being reckoned as the t subframe period if the control information transmission is indicated by the ul grant or a higher layer control signal . if the control signal is instructed to be transmitted as the higher layer control signal in a specific period , the uplink resource may be assigned at a k subframe period based on a first ul subframe indicated in the ul grant or the subframe in which the ul grant is transmitted and received . if dl + ul mcot is notified by a dl control signal ( e . g ., common dci , etc . ), the terminal 310 is operated by cat2 lbt in the case where it is included in the dl + ul mcot and by cat4 lbt in the case where it is not included in the dl + ul mcot . the terminal that has not received the dl + ul mcot information is operated by a less aggressive cat4 lbt for coexistence with wifi . the terminal 310 may be operated by a cat2 lbt if it is assigned an ul grant for a short ul burst , for example , one ul subframe , and may be by the cat4 lbt if it is assigned an ul grant for a long ul burst , for example , two or more ul subframes . if the terminal 310 is set to try the transmission in two or more ul subframes in the ul burst and is set to try the transmission only in one of the two ul subframes , the terminal 310 may be operated by the cat2 lbt and if the terminal 310 is set to try the transmission in two or more ul subframes , the terminal 310 may be operated by the cat4 lbt . in the multi subframe scheduling , if the retransmission resource is assigned in advance , the terminal 310 may shorten the delay until it receives the ul grant for the lbt failure again and transmits it . describing in detail the conditions of defining the lbt failure , there may be 1 ) if the lbt fails in all of the n multi subframes indicated in the ul grant of the multi subframe scheduling , and 2 ) if the lbt fails in all the plurality of ul resources in one carrier in a particular timer , 3 ) if the lbt fails in all the plurality of ul resources in a plurality of carriers within the particular timer , or the like . ul subframe for retransmission only : the ndi is not indicated every ul subframe , and the base station 320 may set a location of ul subframe or ul burst for retransmission only by the higher layer control signal such as rrc at a specific time ( e . g ., offset , period , or the like ) and / or a specific cc . in this case , the ndi for identifying the retransmission in the multi subframe ul grant need not be included every subframe . the base station 320 instructs the terminal 310 to transmit the retransmission data at the specific time and / or the specific cc when instructing the retransmission of the ul data that has failed to receive and the terminal 310 may transmit the retransmission packet instead of a new transmission if the information thereon matches each other . since prach and other ul signals have different transmission timings , other ul signals may lose transmission opportunities due to the prach signal during the lbt operation . therefore , a method for transmitting prach immediately after drs transmission time point without data is possible . based on the setting of the base station 320 , the terminal 310 may use an lbt gap shorter than an lbt gap set for transmitting an harq initial transmission packet with respect to an harq retransmission packet . according to one embodiment , the length of the lbt gap may be set differently in inverse proportion to the number of retransmissions . in this case , the lbt gap may be set to be a length of one cca slot in the case of the cat2 lbt and may be set to be a size of the window that generates the backoff value in the case of the cat4 lbt . the terminal 310 may be set to use lbt gaps having different lengths depending on the distance from the base station 320 by the setting of the base station 320 . for example , the terminal 310 that is far away from the base station 320 may use a short lbt gap and the terminal 310 that is close to the base station 320 may use a long lbt gap . in this case , the lbt gap may be set to be a length of one cca slot in the case of the cat2 lbt and may be set to be a size of the window that generates the backoff value in the case of the cat4 lbt . based on the setting of the base station 320 , the terminal 310 may not transmit but skip one ul resource ( e . g ., k subframe ) due to the lbt failure among a plurality of ul subframes within ul burst assigned by the multi subframe scheduling and then may transmit the ul resource having the reduced size in the subsequent ul resource ( k + 1 subframe ) according to the predetermined rule . based on the setting of the base station 320 , the first terminal # 1 may apply a shorter lbt gap to transmit data delayed due to the lbt failure . at this time , the second terminal # 2 assigned to the next subframe ( i . e ., k + 1 subframe ) which the first terminal wants to transmit may detect the ul signal from the first terminal # 1 by the lbt and transmit data in the remaining ul resources having the reduced size according to the predetermined rule . for this operation , a tb assigned to the terminal 310 in one subframe may be made up of a plurality of partial coding blocks . if a base station 320 uses a physical layer transmission scheme capable of simultaneously receiving ul signals of a plurality of terminals 310 from the same resource , that is , a non - orthogonal multiple access scheme , it may be combined well with grant - free or sps transmission schemes that transmit resources without ul grant . the multi subframe scheduling scheme or the sps - multi subframe scheduling scheme of the present disclosure may also be operated together with the non - orthogonal multiple access scheme . however , if the terminal 310 is operated in the licensed band , instead of the lbt , the terminal 310 may select and transmit one ul resource among a plurality of ul resources in one ul burst or may determine whether to retransmit the subsequent ul resource by receiving ue group common ack / nack of the base station 320 directly responding to the ul transmission in the same subframe . the ue group common nack may be transmitted according to the following conditions in order for the base station 320 to instruct the terminal 310 to perform the retransmission . that is , if the ul signals of all the terminals 310 transmitted from the ul resource of the subframe are input having a predetermined value or greater and thus the reception of the base station 320 fails with respect to a predetermined number or more of terminals 310 , the base station 320 may transmit the ue group common nack signal . the terminal having the ue group common nack signal from the base station 320 , the terminal 310 may perform the retransmission in the next ul resource like the operation for the lbt failure . further , the terminal 310 that has received the ue group common ack signal or has received nothing from the base station 320 may consider that the transmission in the previous ul resource was successful . in the present disclosure , a multi subframe scheduling method for assigning a plurality of consecutive resources in the uplink is proposed . in this case , unlike the general multi subframe scheduling , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the multi subframe scheduling may be repeated at a fixed period in order to support a service characterized by periodic traffic patterns . semi - persistent scheduling ( sps ) was supported for fixed period traffic according to the related art . the terminal 310 may receive configuration information to generate a tb to transmit such as an sps resource period , rb assignment , and mcs as the rrc message from the network to an uplink shared channel ( ul - sch ) and may be prepared to transmit the sps . further , for the sps resource and the transmission information based on the sps setting , the terminal 310 may transmit data if the ul buffer is not empty . on the other hand , if the ul buffer is empty , the terminal 310 may not transmit data in the activated sps resource except for transmission of a phr if the uplink sps skip ( skipuplinktxsps ) is set . if the ul buffer is empty , the terminal 310 pads the assigned sps resource , that is , needs to transmit a zero medium access control ( mac ) protocol data unit ( pdu ) if skipuplinktxsps is not set . if the consecutive frequency of transmission of the implicitreleaseafter counter value set by the rrc and the zero mac pdu is equal , the terminal 310 may perform a release operation to clear the set an ul sps resource . the release operation is necessary to prevent waste of the sps resource . since the sps resource is periodically secured , waste occurs if the terminal 310 does not use the sps resource . in order to minimize the waste , the base station 320 may instruct the terminal 310 to perform activation or release by the pdcch . in the case of the release , an implicit or explicit method is possible . the case where the terminal 310 receives pdcch sps release is different from the case where the sps setting is released by the rrc message , and the sps setting still maintained . therefore , the base station 320 may reactive the sps setting of the terminal that has been released by the pdcch sps activation . according to one embodiment , the terminal 310 determines the sps release and then transmit an sps confirmation mac command element ( ce ) to the base station 320 by a first initial transmission packet assigned to check the release . the terminal 310 which transmits the sps confirmation mac ce may delete the assigned sps resource . meanwhile , the terminal 310 may perform one or a plurality of rrc configurations for the sps multi subframe ( ms ) scheduling in one cell / carrier and one setting may include at least one information of a logical channel , a data resource bearer , numerology , and service . the terminal can transmit the ul data to be transmitted in association with at least one of the logical channel , the data resource bearer , the numerology , and the service in the assigned sps - multi subframe resource based on the setting . the additional setting to be referred to by the terminal 310 in order to select what type of data the terminal 310 transmits in connection with the rrc configuration may be extended and applied to even the case where an additional dynamic ul grant is given together with the sps - multi subframe , for example , in the case where the retransmission of the resource within the ul burst is assigned to a dynamic ul grant . fig6 is a diagram showing an example of sps assignment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig6 , the sps in the case where an sps period 650 is 10 ms . further , the following drawing describes , by way of example , the case where the sps period 650 is 10 ms , but the present embodiment is not limited thereto . therefore , the sps period 650 may be shorter or longer than 10 ms . the terminal 310 may apply the activation 610 / release 630 from the earliest sps resources 620 and 640 after receiving pdcch sps activation 610 or sps release 630 message . the locations of the ul sps resources 620 , 625 and 640 are based on the following equation using a system frame number ( sfn ), a subframe index , a ul sps period ( semipersistschedintervalul ), and a subframe offset ( subframe_offset ) as an input . at this time , the subframe offset is provided in the specification only when two sps resources are assigned to one frame in the tdd frame structure , and is used to determine the sps resource location depending on the subframe offset value for each tdd frame structure . fig7 is a diagram showing an example of sps assignment in an unlicensed band according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig7 , the base station 320 may instruct the terminal 310 to perform the general sps setting and the transmission operation even in the unlicensed band . that is , the terminal 310 may apply activation 710 / release 730 from the earliest sps resources 720 and 740 after receiving pdcch sps activation 710 or sps release 730 message . however , as illustrated in fig7 , the terminal 310 performs listen - before - talks ( lbts ) 760 and 765 before each transmission in the sps resources 720 , 725 , and 740 assigned to the unlicensed band and perform the transmission in the corresponding sps resources 720 and 725 only when the lbts 760 and 765 succeed . if the lbts 760 and 765 fail , the terminal 310 waits until the next sps resource or performs the retransmission if the base station 320 dynamically grants retransmission resources . this may cause delay problems due to the characteristics of the service using sps . therefore , according to the present disclosure , when the consecutive sps resources are further assigned in one sps period , the terminal 310 tries to support a retry in other ul resources when the lbt fails in one ul resource . fig8 is a diagram illustrating an example of sps assignment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig8 , the base station 320 may add ul burst length information to the sps configuration information of the rrc message and transmit the ul burst length information to the terminal 310 by changing the existing sps setting scheme as small as possible . further , the terminal 310 may set ul resources to be assigned to the length of the ul burst continued in each sps period 850 based on the rrc sps setting . the consecutive ul burst length may be represented by at least one of , for example , a subframe unit , a slot unit , a mini slot unit , a symbol unit , and the like . for example , in the case of fig8 , the ul burst length may be given by 3 . therefore , resources of three sps ul subframes 820 , 821 , and 823 may be assigned . further , the terminal 310 may apply activation / release from the earliest sps resources 820 , 821 , 823 , 825 , and 840 after receiving pdcch sps activation 810 or sps release 830 message . in this case , if the terminal 310 receives the pdcch sps activation 810 , the terminal 310 performs the lbt before the first sps resource 860 of the ul burst assigned to the unlicensed band , and if the lbt 860 succeeds , may perform the transmission in the corresponding sps resource 820 . at this time , if the lbt 860 fails , the terminal 310 may try lbts 861 and 863 in the subframes 821 and 823 corresponding to the consecutive ul burst length , and if the lbts 861 and 863 succeed , may perform the transmission in the corresponding sps resources 821 and 823 . further , if all of the lbts 860 , 861 , and 863 in the first ul burst fail , the terminal 310 tries lbts 865 , 866 , and 867 in the next sps resources 825 , 826 , and 827 to perform the ul data transmission . fig8 illustrates that the lbt 860 succeeds in the first sps resource 860 of the first ul burst , and thus the terminal 310 transmits ul data , and the lbt 866 succeeds in the second sps resource 866 of the second ul burst and thus the terminal 310 transmits ul data . meanwhile , in the first resource 820 of the ul burst , the terminal 310 may fetch data to be transmitted from the determined harq process according to the harq process id determination method based on the existing sps setting . at this time , the harq process id to be used in the sps resource may be determined according to the following equation . further , unlike the harq process id to be used for the first sps resource 820 of the ul burst , the harq process id to be used for the other sps resources 821 and 823 in the ul burst may have different determination methods according to the condition . for example , if the terminal 310 retries an initial transmission packet that is not transmitted due to the lbt 860 failure in the ul burst to the succeeding sps resources 821 and 823 , the terminal 310 may use the same harq process id as the packet in which the previous lbt fails 1 ) all the times or 2 ) in accordance with the setting of the base station 320 . alternatively , the terminal 310 may use 3 ) the harq process id that is continued to the harq process id of the packet in which the previous lbt fails and is not used yet , based on the setting of the base station , may use 4 ) the smallest or largest id among the harq process ids not yet used depending on the setting of the base station 320 , or may use 5 ) an id obtained by the harq process id determination method for the initial transmission . according to one embodiment , the terminal 310 needs to transmit the sps confirmation mac ce to the base station 320 after the sps release . however , if the sps activation and sps release operations happen , it may be wasteful for the terminal 310 to use the sps resource to transmit the sps confirmation mac ce . alternatively , like streaming , a service whose period is constant but traffic size varies needs to be supported . alternatively , the ul burst length should be adaptively controlled according to the congestion of the surrounding channels . in order to satisfy the above requirements , a method for dynamically setting , by the base station 320 , sps resource assignment may be required . the base station signal for the dynamic additional setting may have an identifier or an expression format to be identified from a general dynamic ul grant signal . in addition , if there are a plurality of sps resource assignments , an additional dynamic ul grant signal may include the identifier for identifying the sps setting . the terminal 310 may identify whether the ul grant signal is different from the normal ul grant based on the identifier , or identify an additional ul grant for a certain sps setting . fig9 is a diagram illustrating an example of sps assignment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig9 , the base station 320 transmits downlink control indicators ( dci ) 910 and 915 to the terminal 310 on the pdcch to instruct the use of the earliest sps ul bust resources 920 , 921 , 923 , 925 , 926 , and 927 ). at this time , the base station 320 may identify a dci format indicating the use of the earliest sps ul burst resources 920 , 921 , 923 , 925 , 926 , and 927 or identifies the dci by a specific field and transmit it to the terminal 310 . according to one embodiment , the time point when the terminal 310 receives the dcis 910 and 915 and the start time point of the ul bursts 920 , 921 , 923 , 925 , 926 , and 927 may have an interval of x ms . in this case , if the start time point of the ul burst is not specified in the dcis 910 and 915 , the initial sps resources 920 and 925 of the earliest ul sps bursts 920 , 921 , 923 , 925 , 926 , and 927 may be assigned first . if the starting time of the ul burst is specified in the dci , 1 ) for example , if the terminal 310 receives the dci specified by x in the k subframe , the terminal 310 is set to be assigned the sps resources 920 , 921 , 923 , 925 , 926 , and 927 from the k + x subframe to the sps resources 920 , or 2 ) for example , if the terminal 310 receives the dci specified by y in the k subframe , the earliest ul burst start time point is k + x subframe and the terminal 310 may be set to be assigned the sps resources 920 , 921 , 923 , 925 , 926 , and 927 from the k + x + y subframe . according to an embodiment , the base station 320 may set the interval between the dci reception time point 910 and 915 and the first ul sps resource time points 920 and 925 to be at least 4 ms for the preparation time of the terminal 310 in the case of the sps activation and then may reduce the interval to 1 or 2 ms before the sps release . the terminal 310 generates packets to be transmitted in advance after the first sps bursts 920 and 925 depending on the sps activation so that the uplink data may be transmitted in the assigned sps resources 920 , 921 , 923 , and 925 , 926 , and 927 even if the interval is short as 1 or 2 ms . according to an embodiment , the base station 320 may indicate 4 ms for the initial transmission and may indicate 1 or 2 ms for retransmission in which the harq process id and rv are unchanged . meanwhile , the lbts 960 , 961 , 936 , 965 , 966 , and 967 have been described with reference to fig8 , and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted . fig1 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , and 15 are diagrams illustrating examples of sps consecutive subframe assignment method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure . meanwhile , the base station 320 may assign the plurality of subframes to the terminal 310 by one ul grant . the ul grant may be newly designed to reuse the existing ul grant ( for two tb assignments ) or to represent any k subframes . referring to fig1 , the base station 320 may indicate the number of consecutive subframes 1021 , 1022 , 1023 , 1031 , 1032 , 1033 , 1034 , 1041 , and 1042 constituting ul bursts 1020 , 1030 , and 1040 by ul grants 1010 , 1013 , and 1015 . in addition , the base station 320 may indicate various common or separate variables of the ul bursts 1020 , 1030 , and 1040 and the subframes 1021 , 1022 , 1023 , 1031 , 1032 , 1033 , 1034 , 1041 , and 1042 to the terminal 310 by the ul grants 1010 , 1013 , and 1015 . the variables used in the ul grants 1010 , 1013 , and 1015 includes harq process related information such as an harq process id , a new data indicator ( ndi ), and rv and additional information such as a ul transmit power control ( ul tpc ) command , an srs transmission command , and lbt information . according to the operation example , some variables are identified into variables common to the ul burst or for each subframe . according to the example illustrated in fig1 , the base station 320 may dynamically indicate the lengths of the ul bursts 1020 , 1030 , and 1040 , that is , the number of consecutive subframes by 3 , 4 , and 2 for every ul grant 1010 , 1013 , and 1015 . however , the locations of the first subframes 1021 , 1031 , and 1041 to which the ul bursts 1020 , 1030 , and 1040 are transmitted may be set periodically 1050 ( interval of 10 ms in the example of fig1 ) at a predetermined fixed location . the base station 320 may notify the terminal 310 of the configuration information of the fixed locations of the first subframes 1021 , 1031 and 1041 of the ul bursts 1020 , 1030 and 1040 by the rrc message , the pbch or the mac ce . since the locations of the first subframes 1021 , 1031 and 1041 of the ul bursts 1020 , 1030 and 1040 are fixed , the locations of the first subframes of the ul bursts 1020 , 1030 and 1040 from the ul grants 1010 , 1013 and 1015 may be different from each other as illustrated in fig1 . meanwhile , since the locations of the first subframes 1021 , 1031 and 1041 of the ul bursts 1020 , 1030 and 1040 are fixed , the base station 320 does not explicitly notify the delay time between the separate ul grants 1010 , 1013 , 1015 and the ul data and the terminal 310 may be operated to start the transmission at the start location of the earliest ul bursts 1020 , 1030 , and 1040 at the time point when it receives the ul grants 1010 , 1013 , and 1015 . therefore , if the base station 320 wishes to transmit the fast ul grant , the base station 320 may transmit the ul grants 1010 , 1013 , and 1015 in the previous subframe shorter than 4 ms at the start location of the ul bursts 1020 , 1030 , and 1040 . for example , the third ul grant 1015 may be transmitted in a subframe 2 ms ahead of the third ul burst 1040 . meanwhile , if the interval between ul bursts is less than 4 ms , the terminal may additionally transmit an indicator for the base 310 station 320 to identify whether the terminal 310 transmits the ul data at the earliest ul burst location or the second ul burst location . referring to fig1 , similar to the example of fig1 , the base station 320 may statically notify the terminal 310 of the lengths of the ul bursts 1120 , 1130 , and 1140 by the rrc message , the pbch , or the mac ce . that is , fig1 illustrates , by way of example , that the base station 320 dynamically indicates the number of subframes constituting ul burst by ul grant . by the way , referring to fig1 , the base station 320 statically notifies the terminal 310 of the lengths of the ul bursts 1120 , 1130 and 1140 by the rrc message , the pbch , or the mac ce and the information on the lengths of the ul bursts 1120 , 1130 , and 1140 may be included in the ul grants 1110 , 1113 and 1115 . fig1 illustrates , by way of example , that the lengths of the ul bursts 1120 , 1130 , and 1140 are 3 ms . referring to fig1 , the base station 320 may dynamically notify the terminal 310 of the repetition frequency of the ul bursts 1220 , 1230 , and 1240 by the common or dedicated dci within the pdcch by the ul grant 1210 . further , the base station 320 may statically notify the terminal 310 of the length of the ul bursts 1220 , 1230 and 1240 by the rrc message , the pbch , or the mac ce . according to the embodiment , the base station 320 may statically notify the terminal 310 of the interval between the bursts 1220 , 1230 and 1240 by the rrc message , the pbch , or the mac ce or may dynamically notify the terminal 310 of the interval by an l 1 signal . in the example of fig1 , the base station 320 may notify the terminal 310 that the repletion number of the ul bursts 1220 , 1230 and 1240 is three times by the ul grant 1210 message and that the length of the ul bursts 1220 , 1230 and 1240 is 3 ms by the rrc message , the pbch , or the mac ce . referring to fig1 , the base station 320 may dynamically notify the terminal 310 of the lengths and the repetition frequency of the ul bursts 1320 , 1330 , and 1340 by the common or dedicated dci within the pdcch by the ul grant 1310 . the example has the disadvantage of increasing the size of the ul grant . according to the embodiment , the base station 320 may statically notify the terminal 310 of the interval between the bursts 1320 , 1330 and 1340 by the rrc message , the pbch , or the mac ce or may dynamically notify the terminal 310 of the interval by an l1 signal . in the example of fig1 , the base station 320 may notify the terminal 310 that the repetition frequency of the ul bursts 1320 , 1330 , and 1340 are three times and the lengths of the ul bursts 1320 , 1330 and 1340 , respectively , are 3 ms , 4 ms , 2 ms by the ul grant 1310 message . differently from the example described above with reference to fig1 to 13 , referring to fig1 , the base station 320 may dynamically assign bundles 1460 and 1470 ( set of ul bursts ) of ul bursts 1420 , 1425 , 1427 , 1430 , 1435 , and 1437 to the terminal 310 by each ul grant 1410 and 1415 . the interval between the ul bursts in one of ul grant 1410 and 1415 may be explicitly set to be equal to the lengths of the ul bursts 1420 , 1425 , 1427 , 1430 , 1435 , and 1437 , or may be implicitly determined depending on the type ( e . g ., data and control signal ) of information to be transmitted to the assignment resource . in the case of the data , it is advantageous to continuously assign the ul bursts in the lbt performance and in the case of the control signal , it is advantageous to minimize the control load by the periodic resource assignment . further , the base station 320 may statically notify the terminal 310 of the length of the ul bursts 1420 , 1425 , 1427 , 1430 , 1435 , and 1437 by the rrc message , the pbch , or the mac ce . in the example of fig1 , the base station 320 may dynamically inform the terminal 310 that each of the bundles 1460 and 1470 of ul bursts includes three ul bursts 1420 , 1425 , 1427 , 1430 , 1435 , and 1437 by the ul grants 1410 and 1415 and can statically notify the terminal 310 of the lengths of the ul bursts 1420 , 1425 , 1427 , 1430 , 1435 , and 1437 by the rrc message , the pbch , or the mac ce . referring to fig1 , like the example of fig1 , the base station 320 may dynamically assign s ul bursts 1520 , 1525 , 1525 , 1530 , 1535 , and 1537 to the terminal 310 by the common dci or the dedicated dci along with ul grants 1510 and 1515 . in the example of fig1 , the base station 320 may dynamically notify the terminal 310 that each of the bundles 1560 and 1570 of the ul bursts include three ul bursts 1520 , 1525 , 1527 , 1530 , 1535 , and 1537 and the lengths of the ul bursts 1520 , 1525 , 1527 , 1530 , 1535 , and 1537 by the ul grants 1410 and 1415 . on the other hand , if the lbt fails for one ul resource , the terminal 310 may retry the next ul resource , but if the validity period of the data packet transmitted from the ul resource depending on the setting of the base station 320 expires , the terminal 310 may transmit a new packet without the retry . the base station 320 may set the valid period in the terminal 310 by the rrc message in consideration of the maximum delay depending on the service / traffic requirements of the terminal 310 . the validity period may be represented by absolute time and subframe / slot / symbol unit , or may be replaced with a certain number of times . the specific number of times may be , for example , the frequency of sps bursts that has failed or the sps resource that has failed . if the ul data is not present in the buffer , for the sps resource assigned to the terminal 310 set to skip the ul grant , the base station 320 may not identify whether the terminal 310 skips the sps resource or the lbt fails in the srs resource if the base station 320 fails to receive the pusch to which the terminal 310 is transmitted . since the base station 320 may not identify the above two situations and therefore may not perform the operation of explicitly transmitting the sps release , the terminal 310 needs to compare an implicitreleaseafter counter value , which is an implicit method , with a preset maximum value . however , since the terminal 310 does not actually transmit the zero mac sdu , it does not increase the implicitreleaseafter counter value for the sps resource in which the lbt fails . on the other hand , since the base station 320 increases the implicitreleaseafter counter value for the sps resource reception failure , if the increased implicitreleaseafter counter value reaches the preset maximum value , the base station 320 determines that the terminal 310 is in the sps release . accordingly , the base station 320 releases the sps resource set to the terminal 310 but the terminal 310 still understands that the sps resource is set , such that the terminal 310 transmits an ul to the ul resource that is not assigned . in order to address the problem , the terminal 310 transmits a signal for determining an accurate situation to the base station 320 before the base station 320 determines that the terminal 310 is in the sps release or may transmit a signal for obtaining the sps activation again after the base station 320 determines that the terminal is in the sps release . the terminal 310 may transmit 1 ) information ( e . g ., sps keep alive mac ce ) requesting to maintain the sps in the active state to the base station 320 through the pusch if there is the ul grant assigned to the pcell or another scell before the sps release . at this time , the terminal 310 may transmit the sps keep alive mac ce together with a carrier indicator field ( cif ). alternatively , 2 ) the terminal 310 may request the ul grant to the sr or the bsr assigned to the pcell or another scell and then transmit the information ( e . g ., sps keep alive mac ce ) requesting to maintain the sps in the active state to the base station 320 through the pusch , for the ul grant assigned before the sps release . at this time , the terminal 310 may transmit the sps keep alive mac ce together with the cif or a small cell group ( scg ). alternatively , 3 ) the terminal 310 may request the ul grant to the sr or the bsr assigned to the pcell and then transmit an rrc connection request message or an rrc connection re - establishment request message to the base station 320 to the base station 320 , for the ul grant assigned after the sps release . further , in order to prevent the implicitreleaseafter counter value from rapidly increasing , the base station 320 may perform counting every sps resource to prevent the implicitreleaseafter counter value from increasing and perform counting once every sps resource if all the sps resources of each ul burst fail to increase the implicitreleaseafter counter value . in order to use the method , both the base station 320 and the terminal 310 may be configured to count the implicitreleaseafter counter value in the same manner , or the base station 320 may set the counting method in the terminal 310 . the sps - multi subframe setting proposed in the present disclosure is used to reduce the delay until the message 3 is transmitted to the ul grant of the random access response ( rar ) at the time of handover ( ho ) and the base station 320 may include the sps assignment in the ho command or prach configuration . fig1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a multi - subframe setting operation of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , in operation 1610 , the base station 320 may transmit an rrc configuration message including the configuration information for an sps ms to the terminal 310 . further , in operation 1620 , the base station 320 may transmit a dynamic sps ms grant signal to the terminal 310 . this has been described with reference to fig6 to 15 , and a detailed description thereof will be omitted . the base station 320 may receive the ul resource in the ul burst in operation 1630 and may determine whether the ( uplink ) packet reception transmitted from the terminal 310 through the ul resource succeeds in operation 1640 . if the packet reception succeeds , the base station 320 may transmit harq feedback ( ack ) to the terminal 310 in operation 1645 . further , in operation 1630 , the base station 320 may try to receive uplink data of the terminal 310 from another ul resource in the ul burst . on the other hand , if the packet reception fails , the base station 320 may increase the implicitreleaseafter counter value in operation 1650 . further , in operation 1660 , the base station 320 may determine whether the implicitreleaseafter counter value has reached the preset maximum value . if the implicitreleaseafter counter value does not reach the preset maximum value , in operation 1630 , the base station 320 may try to receive uplink data of the terminal 310 from another ul resource in the ul burst . on the other hand , if the implicitreleaseafter counter value reaches the predetermined maximum value , in operation 1670 , the base station 320 may determine whether the keep alive signal ( sps keep alive mac ce ) transmitted from the terminal 310 is received . that is , the base station 320 may determine whether the information requesting to maintain the sps in the active state is received from the terminal 310 . if the base station 320 receives the keep alive signal , the base station 320 initializes the implicitreleaseafter counter value in operation 1675 , and may proceed to operation 1630 . if the implicitreleaseafter counter value reaches the preset maximum value , the base station 320 determines that the terminal 310 is in the sps release . however , as in the above case , the terminal 310 does not increase the implicitreleaseafter counter value for the sps resource in which the lbt fails . in this case , the base station 320 releases the sps resource set in the terminal 310 , and the terminal 310 determines that the sps resource is still set and thus may transmit the keep alive signal to the base station 320 to prevent the ul transmission to the ul resource that is not assigned . if the terminal 310 transmits the keep alive signal to the base station 320 , the base station 320 is maintained in the sps active state and may try to receive the ul data from the terminal 310 even if the implicitreleaseafter counter value reaches the predetermined maximum value . further , if the base station 320 does not receive the keep alive signal in operation 1670 , the base station 320 may terminate the sps ms resource in operation 1680 . the keep alive signal may be replaced with another type of ul signal of the terminal 310 , for example , sr , bsr , srs , mac ce , or the like . at this time , in order to be identified from the existing ul signal , at least one of a new bit , a field , and a sequence is added to transmit the assigned information for the keep alive signal or reuse the existing ul signal but may consider the ul signal as the keep alive signal as long as the base station 320 and the terminal 310 satisfy a specific condition . for example , if the terminal 310 transmits the ul signal before the implicitreleaseafter counter value reaches the maximum value ( i . e ., preset maximum value ) after the timer set after the last transmission in the sps ul burst expires , the base station 320 receiving the ul signal may regard the ul signal as the keep alive signal . as another example , after the implicitreleaseafter counter value reaches a first threshold value , if the terminal 310 transmits the ul signal before the implicitreleaseafter counter value reaches a second threshold value , the base station 320 receiving the ul signal may regard the ul signal as the keep alive signal . further , in operation 1690 , the base station 320 may determine whether the rrc connection reestablishment message is received . if the base station 320 receives the rrc connection reestablishment message , the base station 320 returns to operation 1610 , and if not , the base station 320 may terminate the procedure . fig1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a multi - subframe setting operation of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig1 , in operation 1710 , the terminal 310 may receive the rrc configuration message including the configuration information for the sps ms from the base station 320 . further , in operation 1720 , the terminal 310 may receive the dynamic sps ms grant signal from the base station 320 . this has been described with reference to fig6 to 15 , and a detailed description thereof will be omitted . hereinafter , in operation 1730 , the terminal 310 may determine whether there is data to be transmitted in the ul buffer of the terminal 310 at the ul resource time point assigned to the terminal 310 in operation 1730 . if there is no data to be transmitted in the ul buffer of the terminal 310 , the terminal 310 may increase the implicitreleaseafter counter value in operation 1760 . on the other hand , if there is no data to be transmitted in the ul buffer of the terminal 310 , the terminal 310 may perform the lbt on the ul resource in the ul burst in operation 1740 . further , in operation 1750 , the terminal 310 may determine whether the lbt succeeds . if the lbt succeeds , the terminal 310 may transmit the ul data ( ul packet ) from the ul resource corresponding to the succeeding lbt in the ul burst to the base station 320 in operation 1755 . on the other hand , if the lbt fails , in operation 1770 , the terminal 310 may determine in operation 1770 whether the lbt fails for all the ul resources in the ul burst . if the lbt does not fail for all the ul resources in the ul burst , the terminal 310 returns to operation 1740 and may perform the lbt on the next ul resource in the ul burst . at this time , the terminal 310 may transmit the keep alive signal ( sps keep alive mac ) for requesting the base station 320 to maintain the sps active state to the base station 320 in operation 1775 . further , in operation 1740 , the terminal 310 may perform the lbt on the next ul resource in the ul burst if the lbt fails for all ul resources in the ul burst . if the lbt fails for all the ul resources in the ul burst , the terminal 310 may increase the implicitreleaseafter counter value in operation 1760 . after increasing the implicitreleaseafter counter value in operation 1760 , the terminal 310 may determine whether the implicitreleaseafter counter value reaches the preset maximum value in operation 1780 . if the implicitreleaseafter counter value reaches the preset maximum value , the terminal 310 may release the sps ms resource in operation 1790 . on the other hand , if the implicitreleaseafter counter value does not reach the preset maximum value , the terminal 310 may wait to receive the dynamic sps ms grant signal from the base station 320 in operation 1720 . meanwhile , in the example of the consecutive subframe ( multi subframe ) and ul burst assignment , the location where the terminal 310 performs the lbt may be set by a method of combining ( union of cca gap locations ) at least one of the followings . a ) perform the lbt in the cca gap configured for transmission in the first ul subframe assigned to the ul grant . b ) perform the lbt in the cca gap configured for the transmission in the ul burst start subframe . c ) perform the lbt in the cca gap configured for the transmission every ul subframe assigned to the ul grant . d ) perform the lbt in the cca gap configured for the transmission in the corresponding subframe if the terminal 310 sets the cca gap location ( e . g ., offset , period , or the like ) is set by the separate common dci and thus the ul burst is located at the location . e ) perform the lbt in the cca gap configured for the transmission in the corresponding subframe if the terminal 310 sets the cca gap location ( e . g ., offset , period , or the like ) by the higher layer control signal like to the rrc message and thus the ul burst is located at the location . meanwhile , if the base station 320 dynamically notifies the terminal 310 of the cca gap location by the pdcch , the base station 320 is based on the subframe for transmitting the ul grant or if the base station 320 statically notifies the terminal 310 of the cca gap location by the rac message , the base station 320 may be based on the reference time of the pcell or the reference time of the dl burst . meanwhile , for the cca gap setting , a method for setting lbt types ( e . g ., fbe - cat2 lbt , lbe - cat4 lbt , or the like ) may be operated according to at least of the following methods . a ) the terminal 310 uses lbe - cat4 lbt for transmission in the ul burst start subframe . b ) the terminal 310 uses fbe - cat2 lbt for transmission in the ul burst start subframe . c ) the terminal 310 uses fbe - cat2 lbt for transmission in the subframe in the bundle of ul bursts . d ) the terminal 310 uses the fbe - cat2 lbt in the cca gap indicated by the common dci . e ) the terminal 310 uses the fbe - cat2 lbt except the final gap of the cca gaps indicated by the common dci and uses the lbe - cat4 lbt in the final gap . f ) the terminal 310 uses the lbe - cat4 lbt in the cca gap indicated by the rrc . g ) the terminal 310 uses the lbe - cat4 lbt if the resource is not assigned by the ul grant in the cca gap indicated by the rrc . h ) the terminal 310 uses the fbe - cat2 lbt if the resource is not assigned by the ul grant in the cca gap indicated by the rrc . i ) the terminal 310 uses the fbe - cat2 lbt if the resource is not assigned by the ul grant in the cca gap indicated by the rrc and is in the ul burst . j ) when the terminal 310 receives the mcot ( dl + ul ) length information by the pdcch common dci , if the ul signal within the mcot is transmitted , the terminal 310 uses the fbe - cat2 lbt and if the ul signal outside the mcot is transmitted , the terminal 310 uses the lbe - cat4 lbt . k ) when the terminal 310 receives the offset information up to the final subframe of the mcot by the pdcch common dci , if the ul signal within the mcot is transmitted , the terminal 310 uses the fbe - cat2 lbt and if the ul signal outside the mcot is transmitted , the terminal 310 uses the lbe - cat4 lbt . in the multi - subframe scheduling , if the ul grant is duplicated in one terminal 310 , at least one of the following overwriting rules may be applied . a new ul grant may remove the existing ul grant except in the following cases : ( new ul grant remove all existing ul grant except ); 2 ) existing ul grant within mcot of enb w . r . t previous ul grant 3 ) existing ul grant within mcot of enb w . r . t new ul grant 4 ) existing ul grant within n subframes of enb ( dl ) indicated by enb 5 ) existing ul grant within n subframes of terminal ( ul ) indicated by enb according to one embodiment , the base station 320 may update the common dci notifying the terminal 310 of the end of the mcot and notify the terminal 310 of the updated common dci . the base station may not receive 1 ) the transmission of all terminals 310 in the scheduled ul subframe , or 2 ) may further extend the end of the mcot and notify it to the terminal if all terminals receive the lbt failure by the lbt result report . the terminal within the extended mcot , the terminal may retransmit the ul data transmissions that have failed in the lbt according to a predetermined rule . it is difficult for the base station 320 to determine the ul lbt result of the terminal 310 without any report . the base station 320 should determine the reliability of the received pusch signal as the detection result of the dmrs multiplexed with the pusch and transmitted by the terminal 310 . however , it is difficult for the base station 320 to determine whether the dmrs is not received due to high interference or whether the terminal 310 does not transmit the dmrs due to the lbt failure . therefore , if the terminal 310 reports to the base station 320 whether the lbt succeeds or fails , the base station 320 may take the operation utilizing the lbt success / failure . as described above , the base station 320 may indicate the fast ul grant to the terminal 310 in which the lbt fails . to support the operation , the format and procedure for reporting the lbt results need to be defined as follows . the signal of the lbt result report may be referred to by various names such as an lbt result report , an lbt result indication , and a dtx indication . for one scell ( or component carrier ( cc )): the terminal 310 uses at least one of the format 0 , format 1a , and format 1b ( fdd 1cc ) including the sr among the existing uci formats not to transmit 1 bit information notifying the lbt result instead of the sr to the base station sr through the unlicensed scell . alternatively , according to the existing method , a method for transmitting uci information ( cqi , ri , harq - ack / nack , ndi ) to a pusch by multiplexing the uci with a ul shared channel ( ul - sch ) is reused , and thus the lbt result indication may be transmitted using the harq - ack / nack , other cyclic time shift values , and a spread code in a 1 - bit resource that transmits the harq - ack / nack . since the unlicensed band operates with the ca , it is sufficient to transmit the actual sr to the pcell ( or licensed band s cell ). i ) the base station 320 may consider the sr received in the scell of a particular unlicensed band as the lbt result in that scell . alternatively , ii ) the base station 320 may regard it as the lbt result for the ul data transmission assigned at the most recent time point . alternatively , iii ) when the base station 320 may not identify the band format , if the sr is received in a manner specified in the following lbt result report procedure , the base station 320 may be operated by considering it as the lbt result . alternatively , the method of notifying , by a terminal 310 , harq dtx to a base station 320 may be applied to the lbt result indication method as it is . for plurality of scells or ccs : the terminal 310 uses the format 3 including the sr among the existing uci formats to transmit 11 bits ( fdd )/ 21 bits ( tdd ) information for five ccs notifying the lbt result instead of the sr to the base station 320 through the unlicensed scell . alternatively , according to the existing method , a method for transmitting uci information ( cqi , ri , harq - ack / nack , ndi , or the like ) by multiplexing the uci with the ul - sch is reused , and thus the lbt result indication for two ccs may be transmitted using the harq - ack / nack , other cyclic time shift values , and a spread code in a 2 - bit resource that transmits the harq - ack / nack . if the number of uci cell groups set in the terminal 310 is equal to or smaller than 5 or 2 at which the number of ccs that may report the lbt result may be represented at one time , they are mapped in order from the lowest scell index to identify the lbt result for the specific scell . if the uci cell group number is equal to or greater than the 5 or 2 , it may be additionally identified according to the time point at which the uci information is transmitted . for example , the uci cell group number may be identified as when the uci information is transmitted in odd subframes , it indicates a 1 - 5 scell index , and if the uci information is transmitted in even subframes , it indicates a 6 - 10 scell index . meanwhile , if the report information of the lbt result is insufficient for only 1 bit , the subframe index , the report may be made in at least one of the four schemes of the bitmap in the ul burst , the harq process id tried to perform the transmission in the subframe in which the lbt fails to transmit in the failed subframe , and the interval between the subframe in which the lbt fails . if the terminal 310 intends to transmit the lbt result report to the base station 320 , the method for reporting the lbt result to the pcell or the licensed band scell may be considered first , but there may be a burden to assign a lot of uci resources to a rare licensed band . therefore , according to the present disclosure , the lbt result may be reported in the unlicensed band scell . the basic lbt result report procedure is relatively simple under the assumption of the ul grants for one ul subframe . that is , the terminal 310 may transmit the lbt result for the previous ul data to the base station 320 by multiplexing the lbt result with the ul - sch if the ul data is transmitted in the next assigned resource . however , the method is not easy to identify the case in which the lbt fails consecutively and notify it . if necessary , the method for reusing an sr field for five ccs of uci format 3 and reporting lbt results for the previous 5 subframes may be addressed . however , the procedure has a disadvantage in that a long delay time is required until a new ul grant and lbt therefor succeed to allow the base station 320 to confirm the lbt results . if the base station 320 assigns the ul resource to the terminal 310 by the ul grants for the plurality of ul subframes , it is possible to reduce the delay of the lbt result report compared to the case where a ul grant for a single ul subframe is used . this is because the base station 320 assigns the ul subframe having an appropriate number at a time based on the interference of the unlicensed band or the lbt success rate . for example , if four subframes are assigned by one ul grant , the terminal 310 may fail to perform the lbt in a first or second subframe and may successfully perform the lbt in third / fourth subframes . the terminal 310 transmits i ) the lbt result report to the base station 320 in the succeeding first subframe ( third subframe in the example ) to the base station 320 or ii ) the lbt result report to the base station 320 in all the succeeding subframes ( third and fourth subframes in the above example ), among the k assigned subframes . various examples that may be generated when assigning three subframes in n subframes and when operated according to i ) are described below . if the base station 320 receives the lbt result report from the terminal 310 , the base station 320 may instruct the terminal 310 to retransmit the subframe from [ the reception failure subframe just next to the reception success subframe ] to the [ subframe - 1 in which the lbt result report is received ]. at this time , the base station 320 may transmit a normal ul grant or the fast ul grant proposed in the present disclosure to the terminal 310 to instruct the retransmission . this may be the following table 1 . various examples that may be generated when assigning three subframes in n subframes and when operated according to ii ) are described below . if the base station 320 receives the lbt result report from the terminal 310 , the base station 320 may instruct the terminal 310 to retransmit the subframe from [ reception failure subframe just next to the subframe receiving the lbt success report ] to the [ subframe in which the lbt failure report is received — 1 ]. at this time , the base station 320 may transmit a normal ul grant or the fast ul grant proposed in the present disclosure to the terminal 310 to instruct the retransmission . this may be the following table 2 . fig1 is a diagram illustrating an example of ul multi subframe assignment and a transmission thereof according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , fig1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a ul multi subframe assignment and a transmission and a retransmission thereof according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , and fig2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a ul multi subframe assignment and a transmission and a retransmission thereof according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . by using the lbt result report described with reference to fig1 to 20 , any advantages in the retransmission delay will be described . referring first to fig1 , the terminal 310 may receive the ul grant of the base station 320 and may successfully transmit harq process # 0 1811 under the situation in which three consecutive multi - sub - frames ( harq processes # 0 , # 1 , # 2 ) 1811 , 1813 and 1815 are assigned at an interval of 4 ms at reference numeral 1810 . further , the terminal 310 receives the ul grant for the multi - subframe starting from subframe n + 8 from the base station 320 in the next multi - subframe n + 4 at reference numeral 1820 and may prepare the initial transmission packet to be transmitted in the subframe n + 8 at reference numeral 1825 . thus , the terminal 310 may perform initial transmission in the multi - subframe starting from the subframe n + 8 at reference numeral 1830 . referring to fig1 , among harq processes # 0 , # 1 , and # 2 transmission resources 1911 , 1913 , and 1915 that are assigned from the base station 320 to the terminal 310 by the first multi - frame ul grant , the lbt before the data transmission for subframe n 1911 and subframe n + 1 1913 , that is , harq process # 0 1911 and harq process # 1 1913 may fail . accordingly , the terminal 310 may fail to perform the initial transmission in the subframe n at reference numeral 1910 . by the way , the base station 320 may not know whether the failure cause of the reception of the ul pusch in the subframe n 1911 and the subframe n + 1 1913 is the high interference or the failure of the lbt by the terminal 310 . accordingly , the base station 320 may complementarily instruct the terminal 310 to perform the assignment for the retransmission in subframe n + 4 ( e . g ., to pcell ) at reference numeral 1920 . the terminal 310 may prepare the ul data to be retransmitted in the subframe n + 8 according to the instruction at reference numeral 1925 and transmit the retransmission packet in the subframe n + 8 at reference numeral 1930 . therefore , a delay of 8 ms may be required up to retransmit the ul data in which the lbt fails in subframe n in subframe n + 8 . referring to fig2 , among harq processes # 0 , # 1 , and # 2 , subframes 2011 , 2013 , and 2015 that are assigned from the base station 320 to the terminal 310 by the first multi - frame ul grant , the lbt before the data transmission for subframe n 2011 and subframe n + 1 2013 , that is , harq process # 0 and harq process # 1 may fail . accordingly , the terminal 310 may fail to perform the initial transmission in the subframe n and store the packet whose transmission fails in the buffer ( 2010 ). at this time , the base station 320 may not know in subframe n 2011 and subframe n + 1 2013 whether the failure cause of the reception of the ul pusch in the subframe n 2011 and the subframe n + 1 2013 is the high interference or the failure of the lbt by the terminal 310 . however , if the terminal 310 succeeds to perform the lbt in the subframe n + 2 2015 and transmits the lbt result report to the base station 320 at reference numeral 2020 and the base station 320 receives the lbt result report at reference numeral 2025 , the base station 320 may transmit the fast ul grant command for the ul data that is not be transmitted due to the lbt failure in the subframe n + 3 to the terminal 310 at reference numeral 2030 . if the terminal 310 receives the fast grant command in the subframe n + 3 at reference numeral 2035 , the stored ul data to be transmitted depending on the lbt failure may be transmitted in the immediately next subframe n + 4 at reference numeral 2040 . therefore , it is possible to improve the delay time by 4 ms from the existing 8 ms for the retransmission of the packet in which the lbt fails . further , the base station 320 transmits the ul grant for the initial transmission of the multi - subframe starting from the subframe n + 8 to the terminal 310 in the subframe n + 4 at reference numeral 2050 . accordingly , the terminal 310 may perform the initial transmission in a multi - subframe starting from subframe n + 8 at reference numeral 2060 . the base station 320 may instruct the fast ul grant to the terminal 310 by the cc scheduling in the pcell or the licensed band scell or by the self - carrier scheduling in the unlicensed band scell . the base station 320 may instruct the terminal 310 to perform a random access ( ra ) access procedure in the unlicensed band scell . according to the general ra procedure , the base station 320 and the terminal 310 may perform and complete a contention - based ra procedure through the following procedure . previous procedure : the terminal 310 confirms variables ( e . g ., rar window , cr timer , backoff index , maximum retry count , variables for power control , etc .) that are related to the location of the rach resource for ra and the terminal operation required for the rach procedure through the process of synchronization and si acquisition . operation 1 : the terminal 310 may transmit a random access preamble ( rap ) sequence ( msg1 ) to the base station 320 . it is possible to select the preamble id of one of the selected preamble id sets . operation 2 : the base station 320 may transmit a rar message ( msg2 ) to the terminal 310 . the terminal 310 may receive the msg2 identified based on the ra - rnti determined in operation 1 . operation 3 : the terminal 310 may transmit a specific message ( msg3 ) to the base station 320 by the resource assigned in the msg2 . the base station 320 may identify the msg3 of the terminal by the temporary c - rnti transmitted to the terminal 310 in operation 2 . operation 4 : the base station 320 may transmit a specific message ( message 4 ) to the terminal 310 . the terminal 310 may receive the msg4 identified based on the temporary c - rnti received in operation 2 . the terminal 310 may receive the si block 2 ( sib2 ) to determine the initial transmit power of the terminal , and may perform the rap transmission of operation 1 with a predetermined initial transmit power . if the terminal 310 does not receive the rap message from the base station 320 within a specific period ( rar window ) after the terminal 310 transmits the rap , the terminal 310 determines that the ra fails and the terminal 310 retransmits the rap message . generally , the terminal 310 may retransmit the rap message to the base station 320 as many as the set maximum retry number . if the terminal 310 does not receive the rar message even after retransmission of the rap message by the maximum retry number , the terminal 310 increases the transmit power by the power ramping up value set to the transmit power and may start the ra procedure again by resetting the retry number to 0 . in the above description , the variables such as the initial transmit power , the rar window , and the maximum retry number are included in the sib message of the base station . in the case of the contention - free ra procedure , the base station 320 starts the ra of the specific terminal 310 by a physical dl control channel ( pdcch ) order or the rrc message of the higher layer . at this time , the signal for each instruction includes a mask index as to which resource of the preamble id to be used by the terminal 310 and the rach resource is to be allowed to use . the terminal 310 may perform the rap transmission based on the location of the prach resource acquired through the rrc message for sib2 or mobility / scell addition with respect to the existing licensed band , the timing notified by the pdcch order , and the mask index notifying where the prach resource is transmitted . meanwhile , the terminal 310 needs to assign a redundant resource that may perform the rap try several times to overcome the lbt failure in the unlicensed band . the location of the prach resource may notify a prach configuration ( setting ) index set in frame units by including the prach configuration index in the pdcch order or rrc message . the prach configuration and its reference time may be defined as shown in the following example by a semi - static or dynamic method . the terminal 310 may determine to which subframe and / or which frequency resource block the rach resource is assigned depending on the prach configuration index . a - 1 ) the terminal 310 may apply the fdd / tdd configuration for the licensed band in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the pcell subframe index , or a - 2 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the fdd / tdd configuration having the different licensed band but the same format and apply the fdd / tdd configuration in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the pcell subframe index , or a - 3 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the prach configuration for the unlicensed band only and apply the prach configuration in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the pcell subframe index . alternatively , b - 1 ) the terminal 310 may apply the fdd / tdd configuration for the licensed band on the basis of the first dl subframe index acquired by the base station 320 in the scell , or b - 2 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the fdd / tdd configuration having the licensed band but the same format and apply the fdd / tdd configuration on the basis of the first dl subframe index acquired by the base station 320 in the scell , or b - 3 ) the terminal 310 additionally receive the prach configuration for the unlicensed band only and apply the prach configuration on the basis of the first dl subframe index acquired by the base station 320 in the scell . alternatively , c - 1 ) the terminal 310 may apply the fdd / tdd configuration for the licensed band on the basis of the first ul subframe after the final dl subframe index acquired by the base station 320 in the scell , or c - 2 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the fdd / tdd configuration having the licensed band but the same format and apply the fdd / tdd configuration on the basis of the first ul subframe after the final dl subframe index acquired by the base station 320 in the scell , or c - 3 ) the terminal 310 additionally receive the prach configuration for the unlicensed band only and apply the prach configuration on the basis of the first ul subframe after the final dl subframe index acquired by the base station 320 in the scell . alternatively , d - 1 ) the terminal 310 may apply the fdd / tdd configuration for the licensed band in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the first prach subframe intended by the pddch order , d - 2 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the fdd / tdd configuration having the different licensed band but the same format and apply the fdd / tdd configuration in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the first prach subframe intended by the pddch order , or a - 3 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the prach configuration for the unlicensed band only and apply the prach configuration in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the first prach subframe intended by the pddch order . alternatively , e - 1 ) the terminal 310 may apply the fdd / tdd configuration for the licensed band in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the first ul lbt subframe indicated by the common dci , e - 2 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the fdd / tdd configuration having the different licensed band but the same format and apply the fdd / tdd configuration in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the first ul lbt subframe indicated by the common dci , or e - 3 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the prach configuration for the unlicensed band only and apply the prach configuration in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the first ul lbt subframe indicated by the common dci . alternatively , f - 1 ) the terminal 310 may apply the fdd / tdd configuration for the licensed band in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the final ul lbt subframe within the mcot indicated by the common dci , f - 2 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the fdd / tdd configuration having the different licensed band but the same format and apply the fdd / tdd configuration in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the final ul lbt subframe within the mcot indicated by the common dci , or f - 3 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the prach configuration for the unlicensed band only and apply the prach configuration in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the final ul lbt subframe within the mcot indicated by the common dci . alternatively , g - 1 ) the terminal 310 may apply the fdd / tdd configuration for the licensed band in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the final subframe within the mcot indicated by the common dci , g - 2 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the fdd / tdd configuration having the different licensed band but the same format and apply the fdd / tdd configuration in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the final subframe within the mcot indicated by the common dci , or g - 3 ) the terminal 310 may additionally receive the prach configuration for the unlicensed band only and apply the prach configuration in the same manner even in the unlicensed band scell on the basis of the final subframe within the mcot indicated by the common dci . among the above - mentioned embodiments , the prach configuration for the unlicensed band may be at least one of the following options . i ) get the prach configuration for pcell , which is the licensed band , but ignore the configuration for the subframe . ii ) set n consecutive subframes as the prach subframe . iii ) set n consecutive subframes having m intervals notified by the pdcch order as the prach subframe . iv ) set as all ul subframes indicated by the ul grant of the multi - subframe scheduling . iv ) set as a first subframe of all ul subframes indicated by the ul grant of the multi - subframe scheduling . iv ) set as a final subframe of all ul subframes indicated by the ul grant of the multi - subframe scheduling . vii ) identify and set the prach subframe among the n subframes by bitmap information included in the pdcch order . viii ) set according to an instruction for one of the prach subframe information continuously or periodically composed of bitmap indicated by the sib2 or the rrc message . the terminal 310 receives the drs based on the drs configuration in the activated scell and may consider the next subframe as the ul subframe as long as the pdcch is not received . further , the location of the prach resource intended by the pdcch order is at that of the confirmed ul subframe or is not ahead of at least 6 subframes and if the terminal 310 is not assigned the dl or ul resource and may transmit the rap in the ul subframe before the rar timer has not expired . rar timer alignment : the base station 320 and the terminal 310 should have the same perception of the rar timer . if the base station 320 instructs the terminal 310 to instruct the rap transmission for the plurality of unlicensed band scells by the pdcch order , a plurality of rar timers are operated . to address the problem , the following method is possible . a ) when the rar timer is operated by one pdcch order , if the rap transmission is instructed by the new pdcch order , the terminal 310 terminates the previous rar timer and operates a new rar timer . b ) when the rar timer is operated by one pdcch order , even if the rap transmission is instructed by the new pdcch order , the terminal 310 keeps and operates the previous rar timer . c ) when the rar timer is operated by one pdcch order , if the rap transmission is instructed by the new pdcch order , the terminal 310 adds the new rar timer value to the residual value of the previous rar timer and is operated . d ) when the rar timer is operated by one pdcch order , if the rap transmission is instructed by the new pdcch order , the terminal 310 calculates the area corresponding to the union of the section indicated by the residual value of the previous rar timer and the section indicated by the new rar timer value and updates the rar timer value to the value and is operated . e ) when the rar timer is operating by one pdcch order , if the rap transmission is indicated by a new pdcch order , the timer 310 is extended up to the first prach subframe indicated by the new pdcch order and the new rar timer is operated from the prach subframe . this is the same as operating the rar timer updated immediately in the subframe receiving the pdcch order by adding the remaining time up to the first prach subframe indicated by the new pdcch order to the new rar timer value . operation related to a delay of 6 ms when the terminal 310 receives the instruction of the plurality of pdcch orders : according to the existing operation , the delay of 6 ms is minimally required until the rap is transmitted at the time point when the pdcch order is received . however , this takes into account the time when the terminal 310 is required to receive the pdcch order , to understand the received information ( about 3 - 4 ms ), and to transmit the preamble to the indicated mask index . therefore , if the same preamble is used , only a delay time ( i . e ., time when the terminal 310 receives the pdcch order and checks the received information ) of at least 3 to 4 ms may be considered . however , if different preambles are used every pdcch order , a delay of 6 ms will be required as well . if the pdcch order is transmitted every different ccs , the following operations of the terminal 310 may be defined . a ) if before one rar timer expires in the cell belonging to the same timing advance group ( tag ) or the same random access group ( rag ), a new pdcch order is indicated for the cell and is the same as the preamble id indicated by the previous pdcch order , the terminal 310 may transmit the rap to the base station 320 after a reduced delay time ( e . g ., 3 ms ). b ) if before one rar timer expires in the cell belonging to the same tag or the same rag , the new pdcch order is indicated for the cell and is different from the preamble id indicated by the previous pdcch order , the terminal 310 may transmit the rap to the base station 320 after a normal delay time ( e . g ., 6 ms ). c ) when the ra procedure is in progress by pdcch order in tag 1 or rag 1 , if a new pdcch order is indicated for a cell belonging to another tag 2 or rag 2 and is the same as the preamble id indicated by the previous pdcch order , the terminal 310 may transmit the rap to the base station 320 after the normal delay time ( e . g ., 6 ms ). at this time , the previous ra procedure is maintained in tag1 or rag1 . d ) when the ra procedure is in progress by pdcch order in tag 1 or rag 1 , if a new pdcch order is indicated for a cell belonging to another tag 2 or rag 2 and is different from the preamble id indicated by the previous pdcch order , the terminal 310 may transmit the rap to the base station 320 after the normal delay time ( e . g ., 6 ms ). at this time , the previous ra procedure ends . operation related to a delay of 6 ms when the terminal 310 receives the instruction of one pdcch order : a method of transmitting , by a terminal 310 , rap to a plurality of ccs by one pdcch order may be considered in order to reduce a delay . according to the existing method , one pdcch order may instruct the terminal 310 to provide cc intended by the base station by a cif . if the new pdcch order format is used , the base station 320 may directly instruct the plurality of ccs and their order to transmit the rap to the terminal 310 in parallel . if the existing pdcch order format is reused , the terminal 310 may perform the parallel rap transmission in order for the activated cc within the tag or rag according to a predefined or rrc configurable rule . if the prach configuration for each cc is possible , the terminal 310 may selectively perform the rap transmission only for the cc for which the prach configuration is completed . meanwhile , it should be defined whether the terminal 310 performing the rap transmission in one cc starts the rap transmission in the next cc . the options for the procedure may include at least one of the following . a ) the terminal 310 tries to transmit the rap transmission for the fastest prach resource set in one cc and moves to the cc of the just next order to prepare the rap transmission . b ) if the lbt for the rap transmission fails in one cc , the terminal 310 moves to the cc in the just next order and prepares for rap transmission . c ) if the rap transmission starts in one cc and the set timer expires , the terminal 310 moves to the cc in the next order and prepares for the rap transmission . d ) if the rap transmission starts in one cc and the lbt try fails k times , the terminal 310 moves to the cc in the next order and prepares for rap transmission . e ) if the rap transmission starts in one cc and all the possible prach resources instructed by one prach configuration fails , the terminal 310 moves to the cc in the next order and prepares for the rap transmission . e ) if the terminal 310 tries to transmit the rap transmission in the earliest next prach resource among the plurality of ccs and is assigned the prach resource in the same subframe in the plurality of ccs , it tries the rap transmission in the cc having the lowest scell index . if there is one mac instance for the plurality of pdcch orders : a ) only the preamble id and the mask index indicated by the pdcch order among the previous rap transmission variables ( e . g ., preamble id , mask index , rar window , backoff index , maximum retry number , etc .) are updated to the contents of the new pdcch order , and other variables may be maintained . b ) the preamble id and the mask index indicated by the pdcch order among the previous rap transmission variables ( e . g ., preamble id , mask index , rar window , backoff index , maximum retry number , etc .) are updated to the contents of the new pdcch order , and the rar window may also start newly . the backoff index and the maximum retry number may be maintained . c ) the preamble id and the mask index instructed by the pdcch order among the previous rap transmission variables ( e . g ., preamble id , mask index , rar window , backoff index , the maximum retry number , etc .) are updated to the contents of the new pdcch order , and the rar window and the maximum retry number may start newly . the backoff index may be maintained . d ) the preamble id and the mask index indicated by the pdcch order among the previous rap transmission variables ( e . g ., preamble id , mask index , rar window , backoff index , maximum retry number , etc .) are updated to the contents of the new pdcch order , and all the remaining variables may also be updated and initialized . if there are a plurality of mac instances for the plurality of pdcch orders : if the new pdcch order is received , a ) copy and operate the remaining parameters except the preamble id , the mask index among the rap transmission parameters of the previous pdcch order . b ) copy and operate the remaining parameters except the preamble id , the mask index , and the rar window among the rap transmission parameters of the previous pdcch order . c ) copy and operate the remaining parameters except the preamble id , the mask index , the rar window , and the maximum retry number among the rap transmission parameters of the previous pdcch order . d ) operate depending on all parameters of the new pdcch order without copying the rap transmission parameter of the previous pdcch order . meanwhile , when the ra process including rap and rar is performed in parallel on the plurality of pdcch orders , if the terminal 310 succeeds in receiving any one of the rars , the remaining ra process may be terminated . in order to overcome the failure due to the lbt operation in the unlicensed band and successfully transmit the harq - ack / nack signal , there is a need to increase the success probability by trying the lbt several times to assign a plurality of redundant resources and to perform the harq - ack / nack signal . to this end , the base station 320 may assign 1 ) the harq - ack resource to the terminal 310 in a plurality of ccs or 2 ) the harq - ack resource to the plurality of subframes . in the case of 1 ) the method for assigning the harq - ack resource in the plurality of ccs , according to the embodiment , a fixed delay of 4 ms between the dl data and the harq - ack may be maintained . however , 1 - a ) the terminal 310 may try the lbt in the plurality of ccs and transmit all the harq - ack in the succeeding cc , but in this case , if all succeed in the ccs larger than 3 , it may not be transmitted simultaneously due to the implementation limitation of the terminal 310 . therefore , the harq - ack is transmitted only from cc having the lowest index to the maximum possible number of ccs , among the succeeding ccs and the harq - ack signal may not be deliberately transmitted in the exceeding cc . in this case , the cc that does not deliberately transmit a signal may be considered as if the lbt fails . that is , if the terminal 310 performs the lbt result report operation , it may report the data assigned to the subframe that does not transmit the signal on purpose , including information on the lbt failure . according to another embodiment , 1 - b ) the terminal 310 may try the lbt in the plurality of ccs and may transmit the harq - ack only in one of the succeeding ccs . in this case , in order for the base station 320 to identify the harq - ack for the dl data in a certain cc , the terminal 310 may transmit the harq - ack signal using the uci format 3 which may express harq - ack for up to five ccs . the five ccs of the format 3 represent the scells sequentially increasing from the scell index having a lower order within one uci cell group . according to one embodiment , one of the five harq - acks of the format 3 is assigned for the lbt result report and the remaining may be assigned to the harq - ack for four ccs . in the case of the 2 ) method for assigning harq - ack resources to a plurality of subframes , the case where the harq - ack resources are assigned to a plurality of subframes that are consecutive in time for minimizing the delay may be considered first . according to one embodiment , when the lbt fails in the first two subframes when four consecutive ul subframes corresponding to four dl subframes are assigned to maintain a delay of 4 ms from each dl subframe , if the lbt fails in the first two subframes , the terminal 310 may collect and transmit the harq - acks , that have to be transmitted in the first and second subframes , in the third subframe . to this end , in order for the base station 320 to identify the harq - ack for the dl data in a certain subframe , the terminal 310 may transmit the harq - ack signal using the uci format 3 which may express the harq - ack for up to five ccs . the five harq - acks of the format 3 may sequentially correspond to the consecutive ul subframes assigned as the multi - subframes . according to one embodiment , one of the five harq - acks of the format 3 is assigned for the lbt result report and the remaining may be assigned as the harq - ack for four subframes . unlike the harq - ack , the channel state information ( csi ) report is somewhat free from the limitations of performing the report after a fixed time interval compared to the subframe receiving the dl data . thus , as if the csi resource is periodically assigned to the existing pucch , the csi resource may be assigned to potential periodical location in the unlicensed band scell . the existing csi report period may be set depending on cqi / precoding matrix indicator ( pmi ), and rank indication ( ri ), and according to fdd and tdd . in the same way , the base station 320 may set the report location to the terminal 310 , but may not set the lbt . the terminal 310 may transmit the csi report to the base station 320 in the resource only when the resource is made by the ul grant and the allocated resource matches the periodic report location . the location of the frequency resource block in the subframe may be indicated in advance according to the csi report setting . the terminal 310 may transmit the csi report information to the base station 320 in the uci multiplexing scheme if data are transmitted from the pusch resource to the ul - shared channel ( ul - sch ) notwithstanding that the uci report transmission is not specified in the ul grant separately . meanwhile , since the report fails depending on the lbt result , in order to overcome the problem , a ) the terminal 310 may report the csi in all assigned subframes , or b ) the terminal 310 may also perform the csi report in the subframe of the report location and in the multi - subframe assigned thereafter . meanwhile , according to the embodiment , the terminal 310 may also determine the potential lbt location depending on the configuration by the rrc message for the csi report . if the terminal 310 determines various lbt locations depending on the cqi / pmi and ri report period settings to assign the multi - subframe by the ul grant , the terminal 310 may know in which subframe in the multi - subframe the lbt needs to be performed . fig2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig2 , the terminal 310 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a transceiver 310 and a controller 2120 controlling the overall operation of the terminal 310 . further , the transceiver 2110 may include a transmitter 2115 and a receiver 2117 . the transceiver 2110 may transmit and receive a signal to and from other network entities . the controller 2120 may control the terminal 310 to perform any one operation of the above - described embodiments . for example , the controller 2120 may perform a control to receive from the base station 320 the resource assignment information including the information indicating at least two consecutive uplink subframes that may communicate through the unlicensed band , check whether at least one of the at least two consecutive uplink subframes is occupied , and if it is determined that the at least one uplink subframe is occupied , transmit the uplink data to the base station 320 during the at least uplink subframe . meanwhile , the controller 2120 and the transceiver 2110 are not necessarily implemented as a separate module but may be implemented as one component in a form like a single chip . further , the controller 2120 and the transceiver 2110 may be electrically connected to each other . further , for example , the controller 2120 may be a circuit , an application - specific circuit , or at least one processor . in addition , the operations of the terminal 310 may be realized by including a memory device storing the corresponding program code in any component of the terminal . that is , the controller 2120 may execute the above - described operations by reading and executing the program code stored in the memory device by a processor , a central processing unit ( cpu ) or the like . fig2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . referring to fig2 , the base station 320 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a transceiver 2210 and a controller 2220 controlling the overall operation of the terminal 310 . further , the transceiver 2210 may include a transmitter 2215 and a receiver 2217 . the transceiver 2210 may transmit and receive a signal to and from other network entities . the controller 2220 may control the base station 320 to perform any one operation of the above - described embodiments . for example , the controller 2220 may perform a control to generate resource assignment information including information of an uplink burst including at least two consecutive uplink subframes that may communicate through the unlicensed band , transmit the resource assignment information to the terminal 310 , and receive the uplink data from the terminal 310 during the at least two consecutive ul subframes . meanwhile , the controller 2220 and the transceiver 2210 are not necessarily implemented as a separate module but may be implemented as one component in a form like a single chip . further , the controller 2220 and the transceiver 2210 may be electrically connected to each other . further , for example , the controller 2220 may be a circuit , an application - specific circuit , or at least one processor . in addition , the operations of the base station 320 may be realized by including a memory device storing the corresponding program code in any component of the ue . that is , the controller 2220 may execute the above - described operations by reading and executing the program code stored in the memory device by a processor , a cpu or the like . it should be noted that the examples of the methods and apparatuses illustrated by fig1 to 22 are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure . that is , it should not be construed that all the components , entities , or operations described in fig1 to 22 described above are indispensable elements for carrying out the disclosure , but they may be implemented within a range departing from the subject of the present disclosure even when the present disclosure includes only some components . the operations of the base station 320 and the terminal 310 described above may be realized by including the memory device storing the corresponding program code in any component in the base station 320 or the terminal 310 . that is , the controller 2120 of the base station 320 or the controller 2220 of the terminal 310 may execute the above - described operations by reading and executing the program code stored in the memory device by the processor and the cpu . various components , modules , etc ., of the entity , the base station 320 , or the terminal 310 described herein may also be operated using hardware circuits , for example , a complementary metal oxide semiconductor ( cmos ) based logic circuit , hardware circuits such as firmware , software , and / or a combination of the hardware and the firmware and / or software embedded in a machine - readable medium . for example , various electrical structures and methods may be performed using electrical circuits such as transistors , logic gates , and an application - specific integrated circuit . while the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . | 7 |
reference is now made to fig1 which shows a preferred embodiment of the invention . an apparatus 10 is shown for determining the content and distribution of a thermal neutron absorbing material within an object 11 , having a first end 12 and a second end 14 , and which is sufficiently thin that an adequate neutron count rate can be obtained . the object 11 can be cylindrical as shown , but its particular shape is not essential to the invention and it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a sufficiently thin object 11 of any shape can be used . thermal neutron absorbing materials include at least the following elements listed in the table . the table is based on data given in u . s . atomic energy commission regulatory guide 5 . 11 , october 1973 . table______________________________________ absorption cross sectionnaturally naturally in barns foroccurring absorption occurring thermalelement cross section element neutrons______________________________________gadolinium 46 , 000 terbium 46samarium 5 , 600 cobalt 38europium 4 , 300 ytterbium 37cadmium 2 , 450 chlorine 34dysprosium 950 cesium 28boron 755 scandium 24actinium 510 tantalum 21iridium 440 radium 20mercury 380 tungsten 19protactinium 200 osmium 15indium 191 manganese 13erbium 173 selenium 12rhodium 149 promethium 11thulium 127 lanthanum 9lutetium 112 thorium 8hafnium 105 iodine 7rhenium 86 antimony 6lithium 71 vanadium 5holmium 65 tellurium 5neodymium 46 nickel 5______________________________________ the apparatus may include a platform 16 having portions defining a cylindrical platform cavity 18 . the platform 16 may be made of aluminum . a neutron generating source 20 , shown in fig7 is located in the cavity 18 . the source 20 generates neutrons having an energy higher than that of thermal neutrons . preferably the neutron generating source 20 comprises a 252 cf neutron source , which consists of a sub - microgram quantity of 252 cf contained in a stainless steel capsule . the higher energy neutrons are thermalized by a neutron thermalizing material 22 which is located between the neutron generating source 20 and the object 11 . preferably the neutron thermalizing material 22 comprises polyethylene . the optimum thickness of the polyethylene is about 3 . 8 cm , but thickness of about 1 cm to about 15 cm will also effectively thermalize neutrons . a neutron detector 24 for counting thermal neutrons is positioned above the object 11 . preferably the neutron detector 24 is a 3 he neutron detector . there is provided an active portion 26 which is centrally disposed within the neutron detector 24 and is substantially aligned over the neutron generating source 20 . a shield 28 is provided between the object 11 and the neutron detector 24 . the shield 28 comprises an effective thermal neutron absorbing material such as cadmium or boron . an effective thermal neutron absorbing material has a high absorption cross section for thermal neutrons . the shield 28 has portions defining an orifice 30 which is disposed in substantial alignment between the neutron generating source 20 and the active portion 26 . the orifice 30 can be substantially coextensive with the active portion 26 . as shown in fig3 the shield 28 can include slots 32 . the orifice 30 is more clearly shown in fig3 . referring again to fig1 bolts 34 or any conventional attachment devices can be used to secure coupling members 36 to the shield 28 . the coupling members 36 hold the neutron detector 24 in place over the orifice 30 . the shield 28 can include portions 38 covering all but the active portion 26 of the neutron detector 24 . in operation , higher energy neutrons are generated by the neutron generating source 20 . the higher energy neutrons are thermalized by the neutron thermalizing material 22 . some of the thermal neutrons are absorbed by the thermal neutron absorbing material in the object 11 . the thermal neutrons which pass through the object 11 during a first time period are detected and counted by neutron detector 24 . during a second time period when the object 11 is absent from the path of the thermal neutrons , the number of thermal neutrons is detected and counted . by comparing the neutron flux during the first and second time periods , the number of thermal neutrons absorbed per unit time by the object 11 can be calculated . this number indicates the amount of the thermal neutron absorbing material present in the segment of the object 11 which is under the active portion 26 . the object 11 is then advanced and the neutron flux during a first time period is measured . this procedure is repeated for each segment of the object 11 from its first end 12 to its second end 14 . the object 11 is preferably a space reactor heat pipe and the thermal neutron absorbing material therein is preferably lithium . where the object 11 is a space reactor heat pipe , the neutron thermalizing material preferably comprises a layer of polyethylene having portions defining a longitudinal groove 40 in which the space reactor heat pipe is disposed . fig2 illustrates another embodiment of the invention . the difference between the fig2 embodiment and that of fig1 is that in fig2 the neutron detector 42 is parallel to and substantially coextensive with the object 44 . the neutron detector 42 is position - sensitive . consequently , the object does not have to be moved to determine the distribution of the thermal neutron absorbing material therein . the position sensitive neutron detector 42 has better resolution and makes more efficient use of the source neutrons . preferably there will be a plurality of sources disposed under the object 44 and in substantial alignment with the neutron detector 42 . another difference is that the shield 46 can comprise two separate portions so that the orifice 48 defined thereby and neutron detector 42 are substantially coextensive . fig4 graphically illustrates the varying neutron count rates detected at different positions along a space reactor heat pipe 50 using the apparatus depicted in fig1 . the space reactor heat pipe 50 was loaded with lithium . the neutron generating source 20 used was a 252 cf source . it was an isotope products laboratory cr - 6 source . the source was from the savannah river plant and was designated sr - cf - 100 . the neutron detector 24 used was a 3 he detector from reuter stokes with model number rs - p4 - 0804 - 225 . the space reactor heat pipe 50 was advanced one centimeter every one hundred seconds . as can be seen in fig4 the neutron count rate along the length of the pipe varied from about 620 counts per second to about 760 counts per second . outside of the space reactor heat pipe 50 , where there was no lithium to absorb thermal neutrons , the count rate was about 780 to 790 . the decrease in the neutron count rate provides the basis for calculating the amount of lithium in each segment of the space reactor heat pipe 50 . the neutron count rate can be calibrated in terms of a known lithium thickness . a sub - microgram 252 cf source was used , but a larger source could have been used . using a larger source involves greater potential radiation hazards . neutrons could have been detected and counted for a longer or shorter time than one hundred seconds . decreasing the count time by a factor of ten would result in an approximate three - fold decrease in precision . a significantly thicker layer of lithium would require a longer count time to provide the same precision . fig5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention having a support structure 52 , a source housing 54 , a neutron thermalizing material 56 and a detector housing 58 . the source housing 54 has portions defining a cylindrical source cavity 60 in which a neutron generating source ( not shown in this figure ) is disposed . the neutron thermalizing material 56 has portions defining a thermalizing cavity 64 in which a space reactor heat pipe 66 is disposed . the space reactor heat pipe contains lithium . the detector housing 58 has portions defining a detector cavity 68 in which a neutron detector 70 is disposed . a drive apron 72 is provided which has a main portion 74 positioned above the source housing 54 and the detector housing 58 . the drive apron 72 is shown in fragmentary view and includes a first side portion 76 connected to the source housing 54 and a second side portion 78 connected to the detector housing 58 . a drive mechanism 80 such as a drive motor is operably connected to the drive apron 72 for moving the drive apron 72 , source housing 54 and detector housing 58 a preselected distance along the length of the space reactor heat pipe 66 . a control device 82 is operably connected to the drive mechanism 80 to control its movement . the neutron thermalizing material 56 preferably comprises a hydrogenous liquid such as water for cooling the neutron detector 70 . a heat shield 84 can be disposed about the neutron thermalizing material 56 . a base 86 can be positioned above the neutron thermalizing material 56 . a gear rack 88 can be located on the base 86 and beneath the main portion 74 of the drive apron 72 . preferably the base 86 and gear rack 88 are substantially longitudinally coextensive with the neutron thermalizing material 56 . fig6 shows the drive apron 72 separate from the apparatus of fig5 . the main portion 74 of the drive apron 72 has portions defining a drive orifice 90 which , as shown in fig5 is in substantial alignment over the gear rack 88 . referring again to fig6 the drive apron 72 can include glide members 92 which , as shown in fig5 contact the base 86 . the drive mechanism 80 preferably includes an engaging structure 92 such as a gear wheel for advancing the drive apron 72 along the gear rack 88 . the foregoing description of several embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed . they were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto . | 6 |
a typical nuclear - powered steam generating system generally includes a reator vessel serving each of four steam generating loops , respectively . reactor cooling water , which has been heated to approximately 550 ° f . within the reactor , is circulated through the inverted u - tube bundle provided in each steam generator . each steam generator has a feed water inlet and a steam outlet at its top . the respective steam generators receive primary coolant water from the reactor via reactor coolant water outlet conduits , which conduits also serve as the primary water inlet conduits to each of these respective steam generators . as will be appreciated , the superheated primary water enters the steam generator via the channel head at its lower end and passes upwardly through all of the u - tubes in the tube bundle , entering and leaving via the downwardly facing open ends of the tubes which are respectively attached and pass through a tubesheet . a vertical divider wall within the channel head ensures that the flow of water is into one end of each tube and out from the other . the steam generator inlet conduits are sometimes referred to as the &# 34 ; hot legs &# 34 ; of the steam generation loops . after the primary water heats the steam generator feed water ( secondary water ) which surrounds the tube bundle , thus generating superheated water for the later production of steam , the now cooler primary water leaves the steam generator via the steam generator outlet conduit or cold leg , which is also connected to the channel head . the water is conducted to the pump bowl or impeller casing of a main circulation pump , by which it is pumped back into the nuclear reactor . thus , the steam generator outlet conduit may also be referred to as the inlet conduit to the pump . such conduits are sometimes referred to as the &# 34 ; intermediate legs &# 34 ; of the steam generation loops , and the respective pump outlet conduits , which also serve as the reactor inlet conduits , are sometimes referred to as the &# 34 ; cold legs &# 34 ; of the loops . the diameters of these respective conduits are relatively large , being on the order of about 32 inches . for purposes of describing the present invention , it will also be understood that the nuclear - powered steam generation system includes a pressurizer for maintaining the pressure of the primary coolant water within the system in excess of about 2000 psig , the lower end of the pressurizer tank being connected to the hot leg of one of the steam generation loops by a pressurizer line . the pressurizer is maintained about half - full of water , the remaining volume of the pressurizer tank being normally filled with saturated water vapor . for the normal drain - down procedure , the pressurizer tank has a nitrogen inlet at its top . the common elevation of the hot legs of the steam generation loops is substantially the same as that of the respective cold legs . the intermediate legs include respective horizontally disposed portions at a common elevation , which is usually some several feet below the elevation just mentioned above , i . e ., that of the hot and the cold legs . the horizontally disposed portions extend from 90 - degree elbow portions which redirect the downwardly flowing water within the downwardly directed leg portions from the generators . the nuclear - powered steam generation system also includes a chemical volume control system by which chemical additives are introduced for various purposes . it is through this system that the draining down of the entire reactor primary coolant water is conventionally conducted . water drawn from the system via the drain line and level control line ordinarily passes through heat exchangers , flow orifices , and a volume control tank before it is returned via a charging pump to the system which connects to the cold leg of the loop . the chemical volume control system serves the entire reactor coolant system . such a steam generation system further includes a residual heat removal system . the residual heat removal system is operated only when the main circulation pumps are shut down , and when the reactant coolant water is being drained down from within the system . the residual heat removal system draws water from a hot leg of one of the steam generation loops via a suitable line . the water is pumped by residual heat removal pump ( s ) through heat exchangers , after which the cooled water is returned to the system via the cold legs of all four loops , the returning water entering these legs via the respective return lines . a portion of the water being removed during a drain - down initially leaves the system via the residual heat removal system . when the reactor coolant water is to be drained down to or below the elevation of the hot - cold legs , steam is discharged via the steam outlets from all of the steam generators , and the respective loop circulating pumps are stopped . the residual heat removal pumps are started , and respective valves within the residual heat removal system are opened or closed , as the case may be , to divert the water , taken from the hot legs , into the chemical volume control system rather than to the return lines . similarly , respective valves are either opened or closed , as the case may be , within the chemical volume control system to divert the water being taken from the system , as well as the water received from the system as aforesaid , to several holdup tanks , rather than to the volume control tank as would return the water to the system . thus , all of the water draining from the system will be stored in the holdup tanks until it is to be returned to the system . during this conventional drain - down , the system is depressurized and the water draining from within the pressurizer is replaced by nitrogen gas entering the pressurizer via the gas line at the top thereof . the level of the draining water is constantly monitored during the drain - down procedure , at first by the water level indicator on the pressurizer until the water has been almost emptied therefrom , and thereafter using the low - level monitoring system . for a still more detailed description of such a typical nuclear - powered steam generating system see , for instance , fig1 and attendant teachings in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 649 , 019 , jawor , mar . 10 , 1987 , the disclosures and teachings of which are hereby incorporated herein by means of reference thereto . from a consideration of the above - described nuclear - powered steam generation system , it will be appreciated that oftentimes during a drain - down procedure of such a system it is necessary to secure the apertures comprising the steam generator inlet and outlet conduits . accordingly , the presently commercial viable approach to effecting this procedure is to pass a folded nozzle dam through the manway formed in each half of the steam generator channel head , i . e ., on each side of the vertical divider wall into the confines of each such half of the channel head followed by the ingress thereinto of a succession of human operators for man handling such inserted nozzle dam by the opening or unfolding thereof and the translocation onto the nozzle holddown ring comprising a terminus of such inlet or outlet steam generator conduit . the nozzle holddown ring is provided with bolt holes or other means for effecting the securing of the nozzle dam which has been moved thereover and properly orientated thereupon , it being understood that such nozzle dam is oftentimes provided with gasket means on the underside thereof to be sandwiched between the nozzle holddown ring and the nozzle dam . it is also understood that such nozzle dams are often constructed in a manner such that a substantial portion , usually in the form of a rectangle , thereof is &# 34 ; cut away &# 34 ; and machined in a manner so as to receive a solid center section . this manner of construction of the nozzle dam and said center section provides a more easily handled and manipulated configuration due principally to the lightening of the weight thereof by such cut - away section , but more importantly provides a convenient means for ensuring a more effective and positive seal than might be attained if such center section of said nozzle dam had not been cut away , which in such a configuration would present a discontinuity through the diameter thereof , it being further understood that both said nozzle holddown ring and said nozzle dam are in the preferred embodiments thereof in the form of circles . since the handling of the nozzle dam and center section , together with the orientation of the nozzle dam onto the nozzle holddown ring for proper alignment of the bolt holes between the nozzle dam and the nozzle holddown ring , and also between such center section and such nozzle holddown ring , requires considerable time in terms of efforts of the human operator effecting same and further since the relatively high degree of radiation and radioactive contamination in such channel head presents both an adverse and hazardous environment , it is necessary that the time of stay within the channel head , the &# 34 ; jump time ,&# 34 ; by an operator be limited to no more than two to three minutes , and usually only about 30 seconds , since even such a relatively short time can effect a radiation dose equivalent to the standard three - month dose limit . accordingly , after ingress of such an operator and set - up time by same together with his orientation relative to the tasks to be accomplished and further in consideration of the time which must be allotted for his discontinuing such tasks and effecting egress from such environment through the small manway , it will be appreciated that only a portion of the permissible jump time within such an environment is realized in relation to the performance of required tasks therein . consequently , a substantial crew of operators may be required on stand - by basis for the introduction , translocation , orientation , and affixing of but a single nozzle dam . since a single nuclear reactor , in such a system , usually serves four such steam generators and further since there is both an inlet and an outlet conduit in operative association with each such steam generator it is oftentimes necessary during such a drain - down procedure to install no less than eight nozzle dams . in addition , after the requirement for such drain - down procedure is satisfied such as , for example , by refueling the reactor and / or performances of maintenance on the system , the reverse procedure of removing each of the eight nozzle dams and the center sections in companion relationship therewith , must be effected before the system can be put back into operation . therefore , there may be as many as 16 occurrences of crews entering through or jumping such manways and either placing and securing the respective nozzle dams or unsecuring and removing same . note : as described herein , the nozzle dams are designed for use with companion relationship of center sections . it is to be understood , however , that the instant invention can be practiced with and on nozzle dams which are otherwise designed with no separable center sections and / or more than one break line . from a review of these considerations , it should be abundantly clear that the instant invention and the practice thereof which for the most part completely eliminates the heretofore necessary entering of the confines of such channel heads by human operators for performing the tasks , supra , effects a new , novel , and substantially improvement over the state of the art together with the attainment of significant health and safety advantages . in the practice of the instant invention , specially designed tooling is utilized in the succession or sequence of steps which allows for the insertion of both the folded nozzle dam and its center section through the open manway and into each respective half of a typical steam generator in operative association with a nuclear reactor . the system of the instant invention provides for proper location and marking of a situs on the tubesheet for attachment thereto of means to which a winch rope or other lifting device may be secured and operatively connected to a situs located outside said channel head , but normally disposed within a few feet of an open manway . as perfected during the development of the instant invention , such lifting device may be associated with both the folded nozzle dam and , subsequently , the center section therefore , by means of suitable nozzle dam strapping means , whereby the insertion and passing of both the nozzle dam and center section is more easily facilitated through the manway and up into the confines of the channel head . among the special tooling developed for practice of the instant invention is a tube marking pole for location of a situs on the tubesheet , and a tackle insertion tool adapted for inserting the tubesheet tackle through the manway for the affixing of same onto the tubesheet at such situs or for the removal therefrom . other special designed tooling includes hook poles and mirror poles . there are also tools designed and used for coupling such tubesheet tackle means with the strapping means which in turn is attached to specific locations onto the folded nozzle dam , which dam has been placed on the inside bottom of said channel head . subsequently , a number of steps are performed including either removing the tubesheet tackle means from the said situs on said tubesheet , and after marking another situs thereon , relocating and reattaching same to the tubesheet . alternately , said first fixed tubesheet tackle means may be left in place and a second such tackle means may be introduced through the manway to said another situs for attachment to the tubesheet . in the later evolution of the practice found to be most desirable and efficient for effecting the present invention , it has been determined that instead of utilizing a tubesheet tackle at a situs first located above the manway in operative association with the rope lifting means and thereafter using the rope lifting means in conjunction with the tubesheet tackle mounted at a situs located generally above the nozzle holddown ring , it is now the recommended procedure to simply utilize one tubesheet tackle attached to the situs generally vertically above the center line of the nozzle holddown ring during movement of the various materials and tools into the channel head together with the subsequent translocation and securing thereof . it is noted , however , that in the reverse procedure of removing the nozzle dam and the center section from the channel head , said tubesheet tackle is predisposed in operative engagement with the tubesheet at a position generally above the center line of the manway . the tubesheet tackle means generally comprises a plate usually about 3 / 4 - inch thick and in the form of a square or rectangle some four to six inches on the edge . two tubesheet insertion pins are lined up and secured to the plate with a line through the center points thereof being parallel to an edge of said plate . a modified rapid installation tube gripper is also secured to or through said plate . the center points of said pins and gripper , in a planer view thereof , generally define a triangle with the center line or axis of said modified rapid insertion tube gripper being at an apex thereof . on the side of said plate opposite from which the insertion pins protrude is fixed an attachment means such as , for example , a ring which in turn supports a pulley mechanism . in the embodiment of the tubesheet tackle means employed in the full scale mockup for practice of the instant invention , a portion of said rapid insertion tube gripper extends through the plate and beyond the surface from which said attachment means extends . the modified rapid insertion tube gripper generally comprises a stem portion extending perpendicular to a major plane of the plate surface and in the same direction as the insertion pins and has a reverse tapered portion near the end thereof . a movable sleeve is provided over said stem portion , to extend over a substantial portion of the stem , and is provided with two apertures in the side wall thereof through which small steel balls such as , for example , ball bearings , protrude with that surface of said ball bearings generally located opposite from the portion protruding through said aperture generally riding on the upper reverse tapered portion of said stem . said movable sleeve is provided with resilient means such as , for example , a spring near the top inner portion thereof for engagement with the end of the stem , which end extends slightly beyond said tapered portion . said movable sleeve is also provided , juxtaposed its outer surface , with , at or near the end away from said resilient means , engagement means such as , for example , a flange and ring attached thereto . a plane through either edge of said ring is generally perpendicular to a major plane of said plate and also generally perpendicular to a plane through the center lines of said insertion pins . the terminus of said insertion pins and said movable sleeve which are located remote from said plate are tapered to facilitate entry thereto into tubes in said tubesheet . in addition , the outer diameter of said insertion pins as well as said movable sleeve are predetermined to be slightly less than the inner diameter of said tubes to which they are to be inserted . thusly , upward pressure on the bottom side of said plate , i . e ., that surface from which the attachment means protrudes vertically downward , causes insertion of the assembly into the appropriate tubes of the tubesheet . when the balls protruding from the movable sleeve engage the respective inner surface of the tube , into which the modified rapid insertion tube gripper is urged , they are caused to rotate and ride down the tapered portion of the stem , i . e ., the taper thereof is such that the diameter of the stem is greater at the top than at the bottom , thereby allowing passage of said gripper into the tube . in a manner analogous to that set forth in the operation of a somewhat like device in schukei , &# 39 ; 472 , supra , subsequent downward pressure on the plate such as , for example , a force vector applied to the attachment means on the bottom side thereof , causes said balls , in cooperation with said tapered portion of said stem , to be wedged against the inside surface of the respective tube . it has been determined that the device of the type just described can support upwards of about 250 pounds , which is more than adequate for the practice of the instant invention since the heaviest object to be supported thereby , to wit , the folded nozzle dam , weighs approximately 70 pounds . it should be appreciated that because of the alignment of such assembly and attachment of same to the tubesheet in relation to the action of the lifting device , later coupled thereto , that a horizontal force vector can be a viable consideration . accordingly , said horizontal vector is balanced by means of the two insertion pins which are engaged within two other tubes on the tubesheet . this design has proved to be much more stable for the application of the various lifting and moving operations than the device described in schukei , &# 39 ; 472 , supra . it will also be appreciated that this device must be positioned onto the tubesheet and into the respective tubes remotely from the second situs and through the open manway . accordingly , a tubesheet tackle means insertion tool has now been devised for operative association therewith and generally comprises at the end or terminus thereof intended for coupling with such device , a u - shaped member having one leg of the u substantially longer than the other , each of said legs of said u comprising a plate , the major planes of which are generally horizontal in the intended mode of operation , with the bottomost plate being the substantially longer leg of said u and having a generally triangular - shaped opening therein with the base of such triangle or opening juxtaposed that edge of said lower plate which is most remote from the u - portion thereof . the apex of the triangle generally terminates at a distance away from said u - portion approximately equal to the length of the shorter leg . this cut - away portion is provided in said lower plate to allow the lower surface of the plate of said tubesheet tackle means to be born thereupon and the attachment means protruding therebeneath as well as the portion of the stem of said rapid insertion tube gripper to be received . the inner width of said u - portion is slightly larger than the thickness of the plate of said tubesheet tackle means for receiving at least a portion of the edge of said plate , which edge is that which is closest to said stem and parallel to a plane drawn through the center lines of said insertion pins . fixed upon , or near , the upper surface of the plate defining said shorter leg of the u - assembly is ring engaging / disengaging means generally in the form of a movable pin which is operatively connected usually by wire or cable , to cable actuating means , usually a lever , located near the opposite end of said pole , whereby actuating of said lever causes extension or retraction , respectively , of a pin assembly or the like through the ring assembly which is attached near the lower region of said movable sleeve . when it is desired to disengage the tubesheet tackle means from the tubesheet , downward pressure exerted by the pin onto said ring means and thence through said movable sleeve causes said steel balls to begin travel down the reverse tapered portion of said stem and to be thereby retracted from engagement with the inside surface of the tube into which they are wedged . as described , supra , the situs outside the channel head generally comprises a location to which the rope is attached to the winch . the winch stand in turn is affixed to the grating outside said channel head and at a convenient elevation therebelow . after operatively associating the lifting means with the mounted tubesheet tackle means , it is coupled with the still folded nozzle dam by means of the strapping means , which strapping means generally comprise a ring for attachment to both said lifting device and , usually three sets of two straps each , said sets being of different length , four of which straps in turn are normally coupled at specific locations on the nozzle dam by means of , preferably , scissor hooks operated with appropriate tooling , including a tackle hook pole . the subsequently actuating of such lifting device causes said nozzle dam to begin to be elevated whereupon the orientation thereon and the relationship thereto of the two , of the three utilized sets of straps , causes the unfolding of said nozzle dam . the continuing actuation of said lifting device and resulting further continued elevation of the nozzle dam effects the full opening thereof and the translocation of same from its inserted portion on the bottom wall of the channel head upwardly on such wall , it being understood that said wall comprises the inner surface of a portion of a sphere , until said nozzle dam is juxtaposed said nozzle holddown ring with the center points thereof being in about vertical alignment . in actuality , it will be appreciated that the horizontal displacement of the point comprising the intersection of the center line of the nozzle dam , and a plane across the top surface thereof ; and the point comprising the intersection of the center line of the nozzle holddown ring , and a plane across the top of said ring are a function of both the angular displacement of said nozzle holddown ring from vertical and the thickness thereof . accordingly , the positioning of the tubesheet tackle means at a situs thereabove is predetermined , with this consideration taken into account . provisions are made in the retrofitting of the nozzle dam for a plurality of relatively short lip sections to extend downwardly beyond the bottom plane of said nozzle dam so as to ride over the outside of said nozzle holddown ring to further ensure that after the placement of said nozzle dam onto said nozzle holddown ring , the orientation thereof , which is effected by means of turning said nozzle dam angularly relative to said nozzle holddown ring , does not upset the necessary juxtapositioning therebetween . there are also provided on the upper surface of said nozzle dam a plurality of bolt holders each of which is adapted with threaded apertures such that each bolt associated with said nozzle dam and having a smooth section thereof , disposed between the head and the threaded section , can be backed out through the respective bolt holes into said threaded aperture in a manner such that the bottom end of each bolt , i . e ., the end thereof opposite the bolt head , does not protrude beyond the bottom plane of said nozzle dam , thereby ensuring that said nozzle dam can be freely turned on said nozzle holddown ring . the turning or rotation of said nozzle dam in relationship to said nozzle holddown ring is accomplished by still further specially designed tooling which in one form thereof is in the form of a modified socket wrench with the socket portion , preferably 11 / 8 inch , permanently secured to the drive stem thereof and with the handle portion of said socket wrench provided with suitable extension handle means and configuration so as to provide for the insertion thereof through the open manway . this nozzle dam rotation tool means is operatively associated with said nozzle dam and attached transversely to the line of the nozzle dam fold and bridging between the two nozzle dam handle means , which handle means extend vertically upward from the top surface on each half of the nozzle dam and run generally parallel to said fold line . the nozzle dam rotation tool means is provided with engagement means normally in the general form of one or more hooks which extends over the outer edge of the nozzle dam handles and which are urged into engaging relationship therewith with modified pins or retaining clips which extend over the inside portions of said handles . the center section of said nozzle dam rotation tool means has accommodation therein of a square or hexagonally cross - sectioned aperture for engagement with the handle portion of said nozzle dam rotation tool . in addition , for ease in positioning and manipulation of such nozzle dam rotation tool , attachment thereof with said lifting means is preferred . manipulation of the nozzle dam rotation tool , after removal of the ratchet selector from the null position , through the handle thereof by the operator standing at the open manway causes the ratcheting and turning of said nozzle dam until the proper orientation thereof is achieved relative to the nozzle holddown ring . it is important to note that this generally 90 - degree rotation of the dam is inherently mandated in the operations of some of the systems comprising the instant invention , since it is necessary to first orientate the nozzle dam within the confines of the channel head in a manner such that attachment of the four straps thereto , comprising a portion of the nozzle dam lifting and / or support means , i . e ., the strapping means , causes the two short straps in the one set thereof to first become taunt , i . e ., the two long straps in the other set thereof are still slack , as the lifting means is first put into actuated mode . as noted , supra , the third set of straps comprising said strapping means , i . e ., those of intermediate length , are used primarily for lifting and removing the nozzle dam off of the nozzle holddown ring during removal of the dam from the channel head . as the lifting means continue to be actuated , these two short straps exert a generally upward vertical force vector and a relatively small horizontal force vector in the direction towards the nozzle holddown ring . as will be appreciated , the resultant force vector causes that half of the folded nozzle dam , attached to said short straps and on the side of the fold line in the direction of the nozzle holddown ring , to pull away from the other half of said nozzle dam and thusly begin the unfolding of this assembly . it will be further appreciated that the relationship between the relative connecting links of the set of short straps and the set of long straps , as well as the diameter of the nozzle dam , are critical to effecting a smooth and continuous unfolding of the nozzle dam assembly and thence the resulting translocation thereof , as said lifting means further continues in the actuating mode , up and over the curvilinear inside surface of the channel head and onto the nozzle holddown ring . since the side of the nozzle holddown ring presents a slight discontinuity within said channel head , it will be further appreciated that the translocation of the dam assembly may need to be assisted with the prodding of hook pole means to cause it to ride up and over said discontinuity . after the full translocation of said nozzle dam onto said nozzle holddown ring it is thereafter necessary to employ the use of the nozzle dam rotation tool as described , supra , since the orientation of the nozzle dam is generally 90 degrees off from that required for proper alignment and subsequent securing to the nozzle holddown ring . before so utilizing such nozzle dam rotation tool , it has been found expedient to first remove the strapping means from operative association with the nozzle dam means and the rope or first lifting means . it should be noted that this requirement for generally rotating the nozzle dam , after it is placed in companion relationship with the nozzle holddown ring , approximately 90 degrees , is a requirement for the installations found at tva &# 39 ; s sequoyah nuclear plant . at the installations found at tva &# 39 ; s watts bar nuclear plant , the prearrangement of the nozzle holddown ring in the bottom side wall of the respective channel heads and other design criteria only require that the nozzle dam be placed thereupon and perhaps angularly orientated just slightly to line up the apertures in the periphery in the nozzle dam with the companion bolt receiving holes in the nozzle holddown ring . alignment of said nozzle dam in relation to said nozzle holddown ring may be determined by use of a video camera . in the early development of this invention , still another specially designed tool , in the form of a pole was used by inserting same through the open manway and manipulated by an operator outside thereof , and which had on the end thereof extending into the channel head a specially designed three - stage alignment pin orientated for insertion into the pin alignment aperture extending through the nozzle dam near the peripheral thereof and into the nozzle holddown ring . after said alignment pin is seated by means of said alignment pin tool or a video camera , and thusly the proper orientation between the nozzle dam and nozzle holddown ring is established , still another special piece of apparatus , known as the bolt starting tool , is inserted by an operator through the open manway and into engagement with a preselected bolt on said nozzle dam , it being understood , of course , that all the bolts thereon at this stage of sequencing are in a retracted position by means of their threads at or near the generally smooth or shank portion of said bolts being in operative engagement with each bolt holding means associated with each nozzle dam bolt hole . the bolt starting tool is generally configured as an open u - configuration , albeit , in one form thereof it is comprised of some four leg segments of generally unequal length but with the total of the angles between the first and second leg segment , the second and third leg segment , and the third and fourth leg segment ranging from about 90 degrees , more or less to about 120 degrees in the aggregate . a drive means extends throughout the length of said bolt starting tool and preferably through the tubular leg segments thereof , with universal type joining means between each of the respective sections and with said drive means terminating on that end of said bolt starting tool , adapted for coupling with the nozzle dam retracted bolts , being in the general form of a socket for engagement with such bolt heads . the other end of said drive means , i . e ., that which terminates at or near the end of the bolt starting tool means manipulated by the operator , is preferably adapted for coupling with motorized drive means which drive means in one embodiment employed in the full scale mockup of the instant invention comprised a heavy duty 3 / 8 - inch electric drill . after the at least temporary securing of the nozzle dam means to the nozzle holddown ring by means of engagement of the bolt starting tool with one or more preselected and retracted bolts on such dam , the nozzle dam rotation tool must be disengaged or unlatched from its operative association with the handles thereon and removed from juxtaposition therewith in order to provide for the subsequent installation of the nozzle dam center section . said center section is passed by one or more operators into the channel head through the open manway , with or without the aid of the lifting device . in any event , after said center section is inside the channel head , the lifting device is operatively connected between tubesheet tackle means and the two shorter straps of the strapping means , which are in turn operatively connected to the two handles on said center section by means of scissor hooks located at the bottom ends of said straps . these two handles on said center section extend vertically upward from the top surface thereof and generally run parallel to the nozzle dam fold line when said center section is in proper orientation with said nozzle dam . after actuation of the lifting means for a short time , the nozzle dam center section , now in operative copulation therewith , is caused to translocate to the previously properly positioned , and at least temporarily secured nozzle dam , whereupon insertion into the channel head of bolt starting tool means is utilized to engage one or more preselected and retracted bolts for at least a temporary securing of said center section to said nozzle holddown ring . because of the limited angle of attack available through the manway and the prerequisite for orientation of the bolt engagement means with one end of the bolt starting tool and the respective bold heads , i . e ., the center lines through such bolt engaging means and such bolts should be parallel and most preferably coincident with one another , it has been found that the instant invention can be more effectively practiced and the objectives of the system thereof attained by the use of two different size bolt starting tool means with the smaller one thereof being generally used for starting bolts closest to the manway and , of course , the larger thereof being used for starting bolts located furthest from the manway . subsequent to the at least temporary securing of the center section to the nozzle holddown ring , the various special tooling and apparatus is disengaged from the nozzle dam , the tubesheet , etc ., and removed from the channel head . subsequently , means are employed for the proper torquing of all of the bolts attendant the center section and the nozzle dam for securing closure of the aperture provided by the nozzle holddown ring . said means for such proper torquing can be provided , in the preferred embodiment , by the use of robotistic torquing tool means which torquing means is also introduced into the channel head through the open manway , usually with the aid of the lifting means , supra . one such torquing means , which is available for commercial applications , is known as a framatome torquing machine , which after introduction into the channel head is properly orientated and translocated onto the center section of the nozzle dam means and upon activation such torquing means is preprogramed to locate , engage , and properly torque each bolt predisposed for affixing both the nozzle dam means and the center section thereto to the nozzle holddown ring means . of course , after such torquing means has effected its intended predetermined pattern for securing all of the bolts , it is removed from the channel head , with the aid of the lifting means , by first removing it from juxtaposition with the nozzle dam center section and by proper manipulation of said lifting means in combination with a suitable grappling device such as a hook pole to move it across the floor of the channel head in the direction of the open manway from whence it is extracted . subsequent to removal of the torquing means , the normal channel head work begins including eddy current determinations and tube plugging with the conduct of such work being independent of the raising of the system water level , i . e ., the nozzle dam keeps water out of or prevents flooding of the channel head . of course , after all test and / or maintenance work is performed in the channel head , the torquing means is reintroduced for unsecuring of the nozzle dam and it together with the nozzle dam and center section thereof is moved back across the confines of the channel head and removed through the open manway . any other attendant equipment such as , for instance , the lifting device , is also removed . subsequently , the tackle insertion tool is engaged with one or more of the tubesheet tackle means attached to the tubesheet for the removal of same from engagement with the tubesheet . when the channel head is finally cleared , the manway is closed and that particular channel head is ready for return to operation in the steam generation loop . in order that those skilled in the art may better understand how the present invention can be practiced , the following examples are given by way of illustration only . in the early development of the instant invention , a tubesheet tackle device was employed which generally comprised a rapid installation tube gripper in a form modified from that shown in schukei , et al ., &# 39 ; 472 , supra , and was somewhat similar to the tubesheet tackle eventually utilized in the instant invention and shown in fig3 and 4 ; however , this earlier version , which incidentally was supplied by the assignee of schukei , et al ., utilized only one insertion pin in combination with the rapid installation tube gripper , both of which were mounted on a bearing plate . in addition , in this earlier employed device the pulley means was located in a position along the line between the insertion pin and the rapid installation tube gripper almost three - fourths of the distance therebetween . the holding power of this earlier device simply was not adequate to support either the weight of the folded nozzle dam alone , or the impulse vertical force vectors imparted thereto by the manipulation of the nozzle dam across the floor of the channel head . as it turned out , this earlier device was supplied by the manufacturer for purposes of supporting substantially lighter weight objects such as , for example , a nozzle holddown ring cover installation comprising a lightweight folding cover designed and intended for keeping objects from falling into the reactor cooling system via the 32 - inch opening defined by the nozzle holddown ring . also supplied by the manufacturer , along with this earlier version of a tubesheet mechanism , was an apparatus adapted for inserting the tackle through the manway and into operative engagement with the tubesheet , which apparatus comprised generally a pole with an angled member at the end thereof and having receptical means adapted for receiving the lowermost portion of the shaft member of the rapid installation tube gripper which protruded below the bottom surface of the bearing plate . in this manner , the tube gripper was to be inserted into the respective tube of the tubesheet in the manner taught by schukei , et al . although the insertion tool provided by the manufacturer may have been adequate for positioning , holding , and inserting a single rapid installation tube gripper , it proved to be less than adequate when attempts were made to use it for placing the first version of the tackle comprising such a tube gripper and a single insertion pin mounted on a bearing plate . the resulting assembly was not horizontally stable in the sense that the shaft member was free to rotate in said receptical means thereby making alignment of the insertion pins with its intended target tube very difficult . also , the weight of the plate , the single insertion pin , and the moment arm induced by the weight thereof further tended to result in a combination which was unstable and difficult to manipulate for finding and inserting both the rapid installation tube gripper and the single insertion pin into the two respective target tubes of the tubesheet . adding a second insertion pin and locating both of said insertion pins at generally the base of a triangle , defined by said two pins , and the rapid installation tube gripper and also the relocating of the pulley mechanism from a position close to the tube gripper to the present position shown in fig4 to wit , below or near the line defined by a plane through both insertion pins , resulted in a substantial improvement thereover . at this point , it was realized that a tackle insertion tool would have to be developed which would handle the modified tubesheet tackle and which would provide a combination therewith which could be relatively easily manipulated for positively locating and inserting into the three respective tubes of the tubesheet . the end result of solving this problem is the apparatus shown in fig5 and 6 , supra . a principal factor contributing to the success of this new and improved tackle insertion tool is the feature of the engagement ring on the lower end of the movable sleeve for actuation of the wedging balls , rather than the use of the bottom flange as per the prior - art device . once the problems of providing a suitable tubesheet tackle and a tackle insertion tool were overcome vis - a - vis the mechanism designed and utilized as described in example i , above , it was necessary to design an assembly which could interact and couple with such tubesheet tackle and the folded nozzle dam so as to effectively unfold same , translocate the resulting unfolded dam across the bottom and lower side wall of the channel head , and at the same time hold the opened nozzle dam in an alignment and orientation approximating that presented by the nozzle holddown ring . this was accomplished by using the angle of the nozzle holddown ring and the height from the center of same to the tubesheet . the strapping lines were then extrapolated from the tubesheet focal point , i . e ., generally the pulley attached to the bearing plate of the tubesheet tackle to the respective nozzle dam lugs , to find the lengths which were necessary to result in the proper angle for the suspended nozzle dam . at about this time , it was also determined that when the nozzle dam is to be installed that if the shorter straps are placed on the side toward the channel head peripheral and the longer straps on the opposite side thereof , i . e ., the side toward the channel head vertical divider wall , that the resulting vertical force exerted upon such an assembly by the lifting device when the nozzle dam was to be lifted would effectively open the folded nozzle dam as described , supra . in the first embodiment of this strapping means only three straps , i . e ., one long strap and two short straps , were utilized . this approach was found to be unsuitable since it did not provide enough stability to the resulting assembly . since a commercially - available nozzle dam had only three provisions for hooking three such straps , it was decided that lifting lugs would have to be designed to fit onto the nozzle dam without effecting the structural integrity of the nozzle dam . the resulting modification was accomplished by adding a third and fourth alignment lug to the nozzle dam and mounting a lifting lug onto each of these added alignment lugs . as described , supra , the strapping means is comprised of six straps . for purposes of opening and moving the nozzle dam a set of two short straps , i . e ., the 19 - inch lengths and a set of two long straps , i . e ., the 43 - inch lengths , are utilized , the third set of straps , to wit , the two 25 - inch lengths are normally not employed when opening , translocating , and placing the nozzle dam onto the nozzle holddown ring . this set of intermediate length 25 - inch straps is employed , rather , in the lifting , translocating , and removing of the nozzle dam since the lengths of either the long straps or the short straps do not lend themselves to performing this function . the straps as presently utilized , are fabricated out of one - inch nylon strapping with a clevis hook , having a safety snap at one end thereof and a scissor hook at the other end thereof . in the early development of the strapping means , several different types of hooks were utilized , but all of those available were wrought with the difficulty of not allowing or providing for the remote removal or installation of the hooks onto the lifting lugs . accordingly , the scissor hooks utilized in the present invention , as well as the clevis hooks , have been modified to provide for such removal and installation by means of adding to the scissor hooks a second opening ring located on the jaw opposite the jaw normally provided with a ring . in this manner , the proper manipulation of ends of certain of the hook poles can be used to wedge open the scissor hook . in the apparatus comprising the clevis hooks , this modification included the use of a tie wrap to hold the snap thereof in an open position such that when the clevis hook is urged into engagement with a lifting lug , or the like , the mechanism easily rides thereinto after which time the tie wrap is snagged and moved out of the way or removed therefrom , thereby providing for closure of this modified clevis hook apparatus by movement of the safety snap . in the first attempts to move the folded nozzle dam through the open manway into the channel head and thence across and onto the nozzle holddown ring , a first scheme employed a tubesheet tackle located vertically above the nozzle holddown ring . a rope , which passed through the manway and over a pulley on such tubesheet tackle , was passed back through the manway and connected to the folded nozzle dam . it was quickly found that pulling on the rope by hand required the use of considerable strength and ; further , that the dam once inside the channel head could not be properly suspended , but rather precariously swung over and against the bottom of the channel head with the result of striking same with considerable force . accordingly , the lifting device was first modified to include the use of a portable winch , which winch , in turn is fastened to the steam generator grating . this arrangement overcame the requirement of employing excessive physical strength for hoisting and lifting the nozzle dam , but still resulted in the banging around of the nozzle dam inside the channel head unless the nozzle dam was temporarily secured by means of hook poles manipulated while the lifting device was being actuated , a most untenable situation . accordingly , a second scheme of first utilizing a tubesheet tackle mounted at a situs in the general area vertically above the open manway , but slightly removed therefrom in a direction towards the nozzle holddown ring , was employed so as to ensure easy lifting and moving of the folded nozzle dam into the channel head and placement thereof onto the inner floor of the channel head in a gentle manner . in the later evolution of the practice found to be most desirable and efficient for the present invention , a third scheme wad devised in which the folded nozzle dam is simply inserted through the open manway . in this way , after the nozzle dam is placed within the channel head , the strapping means can be affixed and the lifting device attached to the situs which is generally located vertically above the nozzle holddown ring . the rope lifting means is in operative association with the tubesheet tackle mounted at a situs located generally above the nozzle holddown ring . it is noted , however , that in the reverse procedure for removing material such as the nozzle dam and the center section thereof , said tubesheet tackle is predisposed in operative engagement with the tubesheet at a position generally above the center line of the manway for the folding of the nozzle dam and translocation thereof away from the nozzle holddown ring and to the manway for subsequent removal through the manway . of course , the center section of said nozzle dam has already been loosened from the nozzle dam and swung via the rope lifting means over to and out through the manway via the tubesheet tackle located thereover . the situs located outside the channel head comprises the general location of the winch and stand attached to the steam generator grating below and to one side of the open manway . in the design of some steam generator channel head configurations , once the nozzle dam has been properly juxtaposed the nozzle holddown ring it needs to be rotated approximately 90 degrees , since it is originally in an orientation predetermined to effect the opening thereof from the folded position . it was therefore determined that a ratchet tool with a suitable moment arm could be utilized to turn the dam ; however , since the nozzle dam weighs approximately 70 pounds , the weight thereof presented a substantial difficulty when it is realized that the operator must effect the movement of the other end of the ratchet tool or handle through the open manway . in addition , a bolt hole alignment problem was also encountered which was taken care of partially by the lips later provided on the periphery of the nozzle dam which have been referred to , supra , and which extend down over the periphery of the nozzle dam and ride over the periphery surface of at least a portion of the nozzle holddown ring . since the juxtaposition of the nozzle dam with the nozzle holddown ring dictates an angular inclination of approximately 40 degrees , it will be appreciated that even with the use of the riding lips , supra , there may be a slight bolt hole misalignment . accordingly , to solve this problem completely , the nozzle dam rotation tool which is referred to , supra , and which bridges the gap across the open cut of the nozzle dam for engagement with the handles on each side thereof , was modified by adding thereto a locking hook on the inside for engagement with the nozzle dam handles . it was found that once the nozzle dam rotation tool means was so modified , a slight upward urging of the nozzle dam by operative engagement of the lifting mechanism allowed the lifting of the nozzle dam off of the nozzle holddown ring just slightly , but sufficiently , to make rotation of the nozzle dam in relationship to the nozzle holddown ring considerably easier and also to ensure that the heretofore slight incremental sliding down of the nozzle dam relative to the nozzle holddown ring was substantially eliminated to thereby ensure proper alignment of the bolt holes . after the nozzle dam was properly orientated relative to a position on the nozzle holddown ring by means of the modified nozzle dam rotation tool means , supra , it was first found necessary to redesign a bolt alignment tool intended for use in aligning the nozzle dam bolt holes with their respective apertures in the nozzle holddown ring . in the first design thereof , the pin was of a diameter which would fit into the apertures comprising the nozzle holddown ring bolt holes , but it was found that its diameter was too small to align the nozzle dam properly therewith . in other words , if the diameter of the bolt alignment pin was sufficiently small to fit within the apertures comprising the threaded holes of the nozzle holddown ring , it was too small to provide proper bushing in the slightly larger holes of the nozzle dam which were to be in companion relationship therewith . accordingly , the alignment pin tool was redesigned such that the alignment pin comprised an apparatus of three different diameters in stepped relationship with the smallest thereof engaging the threaded receiving holes of the nozzle holddown ring , the second of which was slightly larger and closely fitted to the inside smooth bore of the nozzle dam holes which would be in companion relationship therewith , and the third and largest diameter being provided so that there would be square stock juxtaposed the nozzle dam center section alignment lip to interfere therewith . it was later determined that in operation of the instant invention , it was far more expeditious to use a mirror pole for determining the approximate alignment of the respective nozzle dam and holddown ring holes prior to final checking of same with the alignment pin tool ; however , it should be appreciated that working with this type equipment requires constant compensation for the desired movement against the displayed mirror image . accordingly , in the most recent embodiment for the practice of the instant invention , use of the alignment pin tool has been discarded with or without the attendant use of a mirror pole and an inspection procedure has been adapted utilizing a video camera which may be conveniently mounted on the tubesheet by means of a pneumatic - activated gripper which is provided by the camera supplier . once the nozzle dam is properly juxtaposed and orientated relative to the nozzle holddown ring and checked by means of employment of both the mirror pole and the alignment pin tool or more preferably with a video camera , it is necessary to begin engagement of the bolts which are provided in retracted position on the nozzle dam such that they may lock the nozzle dam to the nozzle holddown ring . accordingly , it was necessary to devise and design a bolt starting tool for this purpose . in the first conception thereof , the bolt starting tool was constructed of one four - foot section and two two - foot sections that snapped together to form a socket extension which could be driven by means of a drill motor at the end thereof protruding through the open manway . this design provided that the end of the four - foot section which was furtherest removed from the drill motor would be further provided with a flexible shaft in operative engagement with a 11 / 8 - inch socket , which socket would ultimately engage the bolt heads . accordingly , as the distance to be spanned from the manway to the various bolt heads above the nozzle holddown ring varied one or both of the two - foot sections could be removed or added thereto . this embodiment did not prove to be successful and in fact before a full prototype thereof was fabricated it was discarded . the final design of the present tool described generally , supra , and which comprises that shown in fig1 and 14 , supra , employs two separate bolt starting tools which are referred to as the long tool and the short tool , both of which comprise straight sections of hollow tubing having fixed and / or movable joints at the intersections thereof and through which is passed a rotatable shaft such that actuation of the drill motor or other drive means , at the end protruding out through the manway causes rotation of the socket at the other end thereof . the junctures of the various sections comprising either fixed joints or movable joints are bridged by means of universal joints which connect the lengths of shafts moving within each of the hollow sections comprising such tool . once the nozzle dam bolt starting tool has effected at least a temporary securing of the nozzle dam through the nozzle holddown ring by means of actuating and placing the holddown bolts , the center section of the nozzle dam as described , supra , is placed in juxtaposition and proper alignment with the nozzle dam assembly . the commercially - available nozzle dam center section is provided with handles as also described , supra , which did not lend themselves to presenting the proper angle of attack when installing it remotely according to the practice and teachings of the instant invention . accordingly , a spacer tab was located at about the center section of each handle of the two comprising the nozzle dam center section to ensure that each of the scissor hooks engage these handles and do not slide along the length of the handle to thereby cause the shifting of the angle of inclination thereof from that predetermined to be optimum . in the pursuit of further information gathered for the purpose of more clearly defining the parameters affecting the practice of the instant invention , the investigations herein were made to determine certain parameters and limits thereof for establishing proper guidelines for the practice of the instant invention . accordingly , in this example there is set forth most of such parameters in the form of operating procedures . note : this procedure was developed using the scheme wherein the tube sheet tackle is first mounted above the open manway , it being understood that , as noted above , the preferred and latest embodiment of the instant invention comprises a procedure wherein the nozzle dam and center section are moved into the channel head for securing to the nozzle holddown ring with the aid of a single tubesheet tackle located generally above the center section of said nozzle holddown ring , whereas the subsequent removal of the nozzle dam and its center section from the channel head and out through the manway is more effectively accomplished by the use of a single tubesheet tackle secured generally over the center line of the manway . this procedure details requirements for installation and removal of nozzle dams in the steam generator primary coolant nozzles . personnel shall receive documented training and mockup practice before performing nozzle dam installation or removal . the steam generator technical advisor is responsible for ensuring only trained personnel are utilized and for ensuring training adequacy . h . drill , 3 / 8 inch with 3 / 8 - inch socket adapter , for bolt starting tool . 1 . 1 / 2 inch by 25 feet ( min .) air hose with perfecting 3d fittings . 2 . 1 / 2 inch by 25 feet ( min .) air hose with perfecting 4d fittings . hydrotest nozzle dams prior to each usage , using test fixture provided by the steam generator technical advisor . starting test pressure shall be 26 to 28 psig . dams shall be installed with a minimum of every other bolt fastened to 150 to 200 ft - lbs . acceptance criteria : pressure loss of no more than two psig in five minutes ( seepage is allowable ). notes : checkoff blocks are provided for hot ( h ) and cold ( c ) leg dams as indicated . steps may be worked out of the sequence suggested at discretion of the steam generator technical advisor and provided that intent of the instruction is not changed . remote and manual steps may be cross - utilized if certain steps are more easily performed with another method and as low as reasonably achievable ( alara ) considerations dictate . when specific tools are called out , equivalent tools or means may be employed provided the intended function is performed . steps not required may be marked &# 34 ; n / a &# 34 ; ( not applicable ). tubesheet tackle locations , when specified , are optional . note : lights and cameras may be removed and reinstalled during work performance . note : steps 2 and 3 below only apply for the first installation of nozzle dams for each unit and should be performed by the steam generator technical advisor ( or his designee ). 2 . perform a visual inspection of holddown ring to check for ring orientation , weld buildup , open vent holes , or other abnormal conditions as follows : a . determine ring orientation . [ a normal ring will have 12 : 00 at the top . a rotated ring should have 12 : 00 to the left ( as viewed from divider plate )]; and record results . b . check for open vent holes ( a vent hole is considered open if an open hole extends from ring i . d . to o . d . ); and record results . c . record other conditions which could impair installation or sealing capabilities ( such as excessive weld buildup ). notes : steps 3 and 4 below may be worked together if necessary . open vent holes discovered after dam installation may be plugged even when leaking , without draining down or removing dam . a . install nozzle covers , and tap vent hole ( 1 / 8 - inch pipe thread ) if required . b . install vent hole plug by threading into hole ; and tighten until the plug shears . 4 . clean ( as necessary ) holddown ring and bolt holes as follows : b . holddown bolts are lubricated ( as required ) and thread freely through retaining blocks ( chase threads as required ). c . holddown bolts are threaded back into retaining blocks ( except numbers 6 and 16 ) or as otherwise directed by the steam generator technical advisor . d . retaining blocks move freely on cover surface but without excessive vertical movement while held in place with shoulder bolts . e . belleville washers intact and positioned two per bolt with convex sides facing . f . all handles are firmly attached with slotted brackets firmly attached to center section handles . h . alignment lugs are intact ( 4 ) and adjusted to the position specified by the steam generator technical advisor . l . gasket is firmly bonded to dam except within one to five inches of each inside straight edge and within hinge area ( stretched cement is considered unbonded ). gasket separation is permitted within 1 / 2 inch of outside diameter . m . gasket is free of large cuts , cracks , and ply separations , particularly at fold lines and around bolt holes . 6 . perform a preinstallation functional test of tools and equipment to verify operability , correct rotation direction , condition of parts , and / or other critical parameters . 7 . obtain the following approvals prior to hot leg nozzle dam installation to ensure adequate reactor coolant system ( rcs ) hot leg ventilation will still exist after installing the hot leg dam to prevent pressurization of the reactor vessel ( r . v .) upper plenum , and verify administrative controls exist to prevent closure of vent path without providing an alternate vent path . 8 . ensure all nozzle dam materials that contact reactor coolant are approved . 1 . setup winch stand and fasten to grating in a location such that manway is not obstructed by rope . 2 . locate correct tubes for marking ( r24c31 , and r20c68 , or as directed by the steam generator technical advisor ), and mark with approved marker ( preferably pink ). 3 . mark on clad or side of nozzle holddown ring adjacent to a known bolt hole to aid in nozzle dam alignment ( this mark should be visible from the manway ), and mark corresponding nozzle dam bolt . 6 . position nozzle dam on platform so that red arrows point away from manway . a . hook long straps to side of dam that will be next to the divider plate . c . secure remaining ends of straps to d - ring on winch rope . warning : if not installed securely , tackle may fall and cause personnel injury . 8 . install tubesheet tackle into tubesheet above manway ( if desired ) using appropriate tackle tool . 9 . hoist nozzle dam through steam generator manway ( use winch as necessary ). 10 . back bolts 6 and 16 into retaining clips if necessary . 11 . move tubesheet tackle to premarked tube location over nozzle , ( or other location if directed by the steam generator technical advisor ) using appropriate tackle tool . 13 . hoist nozzle dam over nozzle holddown ring using winch , and rest on ring , then ensure nozzle dam is seated properly on ring . 14 . remove scissor hooks from lifting lugs using hooked pole , and pull straps out of manway , then remove d - ring and strapping means from winch rope . 15 . snap winch rope hook to eye on nozzle dam rotation tool , and install nozzle dam rotation tool between the two nozzle dam handles . 16 . manipulate latch on nozzle dam rotation tool over nozzle dam handle ( to lock nozzle dam rotation tool to handle ) using hook pole . 17 . apply slight upward pressure to nozzle dam rotation tool using winch , and hold pressure until alignment pin is installed . note : if divider plate is to the left when viewing from manway , nozzle dam should be rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise . if divider plate is to the right when viewing from manway , nozzle dam should be rotated approximately 90 degrees clockwise . 18 . rotate nozzle dam until premarked bolt hole is lined up with corresponding nozzle dam bolt , and adjust dam until proper alignment is obtained . 19 . install alignment pin tool in lower center portion of nozzle dam caution : bolt starting tool must be set for proper rotational direction . 20 . start bolts 13 , 9 , 3 , and 19 in any sequence using bolt starting tool ( other bolts may be substituted with permission of the steam generator technical advisor ), and record . 22 . snap straps ( 19 or 25 inch ) to winch rope hook . 23 . install nozzle dam center section approximately halfway through manway with red arrow pointed inward toward nozzle . 24 . attach strap scissor hooks to nozzle dam center section handles . 26 . guide center section into place using appropriate hook pole . it is preferable to align arrows on center section with arrows on folding section . caution : bolt starting tool must be set for proper rotational direction . 27 . start bolt no . 1 ( or other bolt at steam generator technical advisors discretion ) using large bolt starting tool , and record . 28 . remove scissor hooks from center section handles , and pull straps out of manway . caution : only trained operators should be allowed to operate torquing machine . note : &# 34 ; impulse &# 34 ; torque readings during torquing machine adjustment , characterized by a jump in torque at the high end , are a phenomenon associated with the torque analyzer and do not happen in the steam generator . impulse readings may be discarded at the discretion of the trained torquing machine operator . 29 . setup torquing machine on torque analyzer , then adjust pressure until three consecutive torque readings are between 150 and 200 ft - lbs , and record . 31 . place a scissor hook on the winch rope hook , and fasten scissor hook to foremost lifting lug on head of torquing machine . caution : pulling on torquing machine umbilical cable can damage cables and connectors . 33 . move tubesheet tackle to position over nozzle ( if previously moved ), then guide torquing machine carefully in place on center section of nozzle dam ( use hook pole if necessary ). 34 . activate pneumatic lock at console once torquing machine is in place , and remove scissor hook from lifting lug , then secure winch rope so torquing machine can rotate freely . note : if a bolt cannot be fully inserted , threaded , or torqued for any reason , notify the steam generator technical advisor and continue with the next one . although the nozzle dam is typically installed with all twenty bolts torqued , only every other one is needed for proper installation . any nonadjacent bolts may be left untorqued at the discretion of the steam generator technical advisor . any such bolts should be recorded . 35 . start remaining holddown bolts using torquing machine ( or bolt starting tool if necessary ), and record . ( no sequence specified .) 36 . torque holddown bolts to 150 to 200 ft - lbs in the sequence shown ; and record . 38 . fasten winch rope hook to foremost lifting lug on torquing machine using hook pole . 39 . deactivate pneumatic lock at console ( if lock fails to operate , it can be manually unlocked using a hook pole ). caution : pulling on torquing machine umbilical cable can damage cables and connectors . note : if desired , the tubesheet tackle may be moved to facilitate torquing machine removal . 40 . lift the torquing machine using the winch and guide out of manway ( use hook pole if necessary ). 41 . setup torquing machine on torque analyzer , and ensure torquing machine is still functional , and record . note : the next step must be coordinated with radiological control group ( rad - con ). 43 . insert drain plug in drain hole in bottom of channel head , and tighten , then pull to verify tightness , and retighten if necessary . note : only trained nutsetter system operators should perform steps 1 and 2 below . warning : stall bar on nutsetter can inflict serious damage by crushing hands . keep clear of bar when operating nutsetter . 2 . setup nutsetter on torque fixture , then adjust air supply pressure until three consecutive torque readings are obtained between 150 and 200 ft - lbs , then record . 3 . insert nozzle dam folding section through manway , and install dam onto nozzle holddown ring ( preferably with arrows pointing up or to left if ring is rotated ). 4 . adjust dam until visible holes line up with ring holes , and loosen retaining clips , if necessary , to allow dam to align . note : if a bolt cannot be fully inserted , threaded , or torqued for any reason , notify the steam generator technical advisor and continue with next one . although nozzle dam is typically installed with all twenty bolts torqued , only every other one is needed for proper installation . any nonadjacent bolts may be left untorqued at discretion of the steam generator technical advisor . any such bolts should be recorded . 5 . start but do not tighten as many bolts as possible using a speed wrench or air operated screwdriver ( it is recommended that four corner bolts ( 3 , 9 , 13 and 19 ) be started first ), and record . 6 . install center section of dam ( preferably with arrow in same direction as arrows on folding section ), and align holes . 7 . start but do not tighten as many center section bolts as possible using a speed wrench or air operated screwdriver , and record . 8 . tighten all bolts with nutsetter , preferably starting with bolt no . 1 and proceeding clockwise , and allow nutsetter to stall to obtain proper torque , and record . 9 . insert drain plug in drain hole in bottom of channel head , and tighten , then pull to verify tightness , and retighten if necessary . 10 . setup nutsetter on torque fixture , and ensure nutsetter is still functional , and record . note : step 1 below should be performed without connecting power to the system and without inserting the probe / suction header into steam generator . 1 . connect leak detection system as directed by the steam generator technical advisor , then secure cables to suction hose , and secure hose connectors with tape , tiewraps , or equivalent . 2 . ensure all switches on console box are off , and ensure toggle switches in sump pump box are down . note : siren may trigger if probe / suction header is laid on its side . 3 . ensure probe / suction headers are in the upright position ( not in steam generator ), then plug console box power cord to 110 vac . 4 . turn main power switch on , then ensure pump power light comes on . 5 . turn console power switch on , then ensure console power light comes on . 6 . depress pump reset button , then ensure pumps are not running . b . verify hot leg pump alert light ( yellow ) and ammeter ( should read approximately four amps ). b . verify cold leg pump alert light ( yellow ) and ammeter ( should read approximately four amps ). a . trip hot leg level switch by tilting probe / suction header until contact opens . b . verify the green level switch light goes out , the yellow hot leg pump alert light comes on , and the ammeter indicates approximately 4 amps . c . verify hot leg pump is activated and pump alert siren sounds . d . leave probe tilted for approximately five minutes , and verify flood alert siren sounds and red flood alert light comes on . e . set probe back into upright position , and ensure flood alert siren and light go off . f . ensure hot leg pump continues to run for approximately 30 - 45 seconds and then shuts off . g . ensure hot leg pump alert light goes off , green level switch light comes on , and ammeter returns to zero . a . trip cold leg level switch by tilting probe / suction header until contact opens . b . verify the green level switch light goes out , the yellow cold leg pump alert light comes on , and the ammeter indicates approximately 4 amps . c . verify cold leg pump is activated and pump alert siren sounds . d . leave probe tilted for approximately five minutes and , verify flood alert siren sounds and red flood alert light comes on . e . set probe back into upright position , and ensure flood alert siren and light go off . f . ensure cold leg pump continues to run for approximately 30 - 45 seconds and then shuts off . g . ensure cold leg pump alert light goes off , green level switch light comes on , and ammeter returns to zero . a . switch pump alert switch to test , and verify high pitch whistle . c . switch flood alert switch to test , and verify 120 db siren . notes : hose / cable should be secured to provide support but sufficient slack should be maintained to allow for movement . the suction header may be removed temporarily during other steam generator work activities provided the probe / suction header is placed upright to prevent a false alarm . 14 . install probe / suction header assembly into steam generator with probe in bottom of bowl . 16 . verify dams are properly installed and leak detection system is operational , then notes : leakage is indicated by operation of the pump . leakage is acceptable provided the pump can keep up with the leakage . if the pump can not keep up as indicated by the pump running for five minutes continuously , the flood alert siren will sound . the second pump may be utilized if necessary but personnel should be evacuated from channel head and unit operator notified . notify steam generator technical advisor of leakage . 17 . monitor leak detection system during and immediately following reactor cavity flooding to determine if any nozzle dam or drain plug leakage has occurred , and notify asos / sro of status . 18 . monitor leak detection system whenever water is behind dams at least once per 12 - hour shift ( or as directed by the steam generator technical advisor ) by verifying switch and light positions or by visual inspection of the steam generator channel head if probes are removed , and record . notes : nozzle dams are removed after the rcs has been drained to mid loop . it is preferable to remove the hot leg dam prior to the cold leg dam . 2 . turn console box main power switch off , then remove suction headers from steam generator . if no water leaks in through drain hole , then loop is adequately drained and nozzle dam may be removed , otherwise reinstall drain plug and suction header , and notify assistant shift operations supervisor / senior reactor operator ( asos / sro ) to drain loop further . notes : it is useful to allow several minutes to elapse between removal of the drain plug and attempting removal of the folding cover when working in the cold leg . this allows any low pressure caused by draining the loop to dissipate . a pry bar may be necessary to break the cover loose from the ring . recommended prying spots are the four retaining clips and the two hinge support plate extensions . do not pry on the hinges themselves or the hinge hardware . 1 . install tubesheet tackle over nozzle in previously marked holes ( or other location if directed by the steam generator technical advisor ) using appropriate tackle tool . 3 . loosen all nozzle dam holddown bolts , ensuring ( to the best of the operators ability ) that all bolts are out of holddown ring . 5 . remove tubesheet tackle , and reinstall over manway using appropriate tackle tool . 6 . thread rope through closest nozzle dam center section handle using suitable hook poles , and snap hook onto rope . 7 . hoist center section of nozzle dam to manway , using winch and suitable hook pole , and remove center section from steam generator . 9 . pull tie wrap ( or equivalent ) over safety latch on one of the hooks . 10 . attach hooks to nozzle dam removal lugs using hook pole , then move tie wrap until safety latch engages . 12 . secure folded section of nozzle dam together ( if desired ) using tie down strap . 15 . verify nozzle dam assembly is complete and seal adhesive is removed from the steam generator . 4 . verify nozzle dam assembly is complete and seal adhesive is removed from the steam generator . while we have shown and described particular embodiments of our invention , modifications and variations thereof will occur to those skilled in the art . we wish it to be understood , therefore , that the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and variations which are within the true spirit and scope of our invention . | 5 |
referring to fig1 - 5 , a self - adhesive grip sheath in accordance with the present invention is shown . the self - adhesive grip sheath comprises a grip sheath body ( 10 ). the grip sheath body ( 10 ) is formed of one single piece of sheet material . this sheet material can be , for example , rubber or leather or polyethylene sheet . alternatively , this sheet material can be composed of a felt layer and a polyurethane layer . the grip sheath body ( 10 ) is shaped to fit the shape of the grip to be set in . in this embodiment , the grip sheath body is configured to fit the grip of a golf club . however , this application example is not a limitation . the grip sheath body ( 10 ) can also be configured for application to tennis racket , badminton racket , or the grip of any other sports equipment . the grip sheath body ( 10 ) comprises a top edge ( 11 ) located at a top side thereof , a bottom edge ( 12 ) located at an opposing bottom side thereof , and two side edges ( 13 ) respectively located at two opposite lateral sides thereof . the width of the top edge ( 11 ) can be smaller than or equal to the width of the bottom edge ( 12 ). the grip sheath body ( 10 ) further comprises a bonding surface ( 14 ) and an opposing gripping surface ( 15 ). the bonding surface ( 14 ) is provided with a double - sided adhesive . further , a hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) is located at the bonding surface near and extending along one side edge ( 13 ). the amounting area of the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) has a width w 2 about 1 / 20 ˜ ¼ of the width w 1 of the bottom edge ( 12 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ). the hot melt adhesive used herein is not limited to any specific species , however , hot melt adhesives based on the resin of polyurethane ( pu ), ethylene or ethylene vinyl acetate are preferred . further , another hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) is located at the gripping surface ( 15 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ) near and extending along the other side edge ( 13 ). the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) and the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) are respectively extended along the two opposite side edges ( 13 ). in this embodiment , as illustrated in fig2 , the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) extends along the side edge ( 13 ) at the right side of the grip sheath body ( 10 ); the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) extends along the left side edge ( 13 ) at the left side of the grip sheath body ( 10 ). the amounting area of the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) has a width w 3 about 1 / 20 ˜ ¼ of the width w 1 of the bottom edge ( 12 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ). the width w 2 of the amounting area of the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) can be wider than or equal to the width w 3 of the amounting area of the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ). in accordance with the structure described above , the self - adhesive grip sheath of the present invention is installed subject to the following steps : at first , remove the release paper from the double - sided adhesive at the bonding surface ( 14 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ), and then adhere the bonding surface ( 14 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ) to the periphery of a grip of the club or racket or any other sports equipment . in this embodiment , adhere the bonding surface ( 14 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ) to the periphery of the grip of a racket . thereafter , wrap the side edge ( 13 ) of the gripping surface ( 15 ) that carries the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) about the periphery of the grip of the racket , as shown in fig3 . thereafter , wrap the other side edge ( 13 ) of the gripping surface ( 15 ) that carries the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) about the periphery of the grip of the racket and overlap the area of the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) at the bonding surface ( 14 ) on the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) at the gripping surface ( 15 ), as shown in fig4 . at this time , the width of the overlapped part of the grip sheath body ( 10 ) is larger than or equal to the width of the mounting area of the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) at the bonding surface ( 14 ) or the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) at the gripping surface ( 15 ). thereafter , use a heating device , for example , a hot air blower or electric iron to heat the overlapped hot melt adhesives ( 16 )( 17 ) and to give a pressure to them , causing the hot melt adhesives ( 16 )( 17 ) to be bonded together , and thus , one lateral side of the bonding surface ( 14 ) is bonded to the mating lateral side of the gripping surface ( 15 ), as shown in fig5 . after installation , the bonding strength of the grip sheath body ( 10 ) to the grip of the racket is greatly enhanced , avoiding disconnection of the self - adhesive grip sheath from the grip of the racket accidentally . this installation method is so simple that any consumer can easily replace an existing grip sheath or a damaged grip sheath with the desired self - adhesive grip sheath or a new self - adhesive grip sheath . in the aforesaid preferred embodiment of the present invention , two hot melt adhesives are respectively provided at the gripping surface and the bonding surface , however , this arrangement is not a limitation . it is workable to provide one single hot melt adhesive at the gripping surface or bonding surface for enabling the two opposite lateral edges of the grip sheath body to be overlapped and sealed by heat after the grip sheath body is wrapped around the periphery of the grip of the sports equipment , achieving the same effect . | 0 |
the initial layer , described as element a above , is applied to facilitate adhesion of the matrix to the substrate while minimally contributing to the stiffness of the final composite . layer a may comprise one or more components so long as the resulting intermediate remains flexible and bondable to element b . in some embodiments , openings may remain in the substrate to enhance flexibility after application of the overcoat layer or layers . fluoroploymers suitable for the initial layer are characterized by relatively low modulus and are preferably fluoroplastics , such as ptfe , or fluoroelastomers , such as viton or kalrez ( dupont ), aflas ( asahi ), kel - f ( 3m ), or any blend thereof . the initial coating is then covered with a layer or layers of a blend of a hard polymer and a fluoropolymer , such as fluoroplastic , fluoroelastomer , or any blend or combination thereof . preferably , this portion of the matrix includes a layer or layers of a blend containing the hard polymer and the fluoropolymer in such proportions so as to impart any desired balance of known fluoropolymer properties and hard polymer characteristics , particularly wear resistance , to the composite . where the element b layer is to be applied as a separate film laminated to the substrate , the initial layer is any adhesion promoting polymer , such as intially uncured rubbers , silicones , urethanes , soft acrylics or chemicals , such as silane or titanate coupling agents , or any composition compatible with the substrate and capable of effecting a bond between the most proximate components of the element b layer and itself . it has been found that through the selection of the layer a and the layer b , particularly employing the hard polymer / fluoropolymer blends according to the invention , adequate cohesion within the matrix itself and adhesion of the matrix to the substrate may be achieved by thermal means alone , if so desired , without any physical or chemical treatment of the substrate or individual matrix layers and without the use of adhesion promoters . through the use of the invention matrix and the particular deployment of the layers thereof vis - a - vis each other and the substrate in accordance with the invention method , the ability to maintain an excellent degree of adhesion is achieved , while maintaining flexibility and the desired properties of the different fluoropolymer and hard polymer components of the matrix . the overcoat layer , element b , comprises a wear resistant fluoropolymer composition , preferably containing a perfluoropolymer , modified with hard polymeric fillers to improve wear characteristics . examples of such hard polymers include , polyphenylene sulfide , polyimide , epoxy , polyamide imide , polyether sulfone , polyether ketone , polyether imide , polyesters and any other known hard polymers suitable for improving wear characteristics of a coating . the coating layers of the invention matrix may be applied by dip coating from an aqueous dispersion . any conventional method , such as spraying , dipping , and flow coating , from aqueous or solvent dispersion , calendering , laminating and the like , followed by drying and baking , may be employed to form the coating , as is well - known in the art . as previously disclosed , the coating layers may be separately formed as films of one or more layers for subsequent combination with the substrate . the term &# 34 ; fluoroplastic &# 34 ; as used herein shall encompass both hydrogen - containing fluoroplastics and hydrogen - free perfluoroplastics , unless otherwise indicated . fluoroplastic means polymers of general paraffinic structure which have some or all of the hydrogen replaced by fluorine , including inter alia polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), fluorinated ethylene propylene ( fep ) copolymer , perfluoroalkoxy ( pfa ) resin , homopolymers of polychlorotrifluoroethylene ( pctfe ) and its copolvmers with tfe or vf 2 , ethylene - chlorotrifluoroethylene ( ectfe ) copolymer and its modifications , ethylene - tetrafluoroethylene ( etfe ) copolymer and its modifications , polyvinylidene fluoride ( pvdf ), and polyvinylfluoride ( pvf ). similarly , the term &# 34 ; fluoroelastomer &# 34 ; as used herein shall encompass both hydrogen - containing fluoroelastomers as well as hydrogen - free perfluoroelastomers , unless otherwise indicared . fluoroelastomer means any polymer with elastomeric behavior or a high degree of compliance , and containing one or more fluorinated monomers having ethylenic unsaturation , such as vinylidene fluoride , and one or more comonomers containing ethylenic unsaturation . the fluorinated monomer may be a perfluorinated mono - olefin , for example hexafluoropropylene , penta - fluoropropylene , tetrafluoroethylene , and perfluoroalkyl vinyl ethers , e . g . perfluoro ( methyl vinyl ether ) or ( propyl vinyl ether ). the fluorinated monomer may be a partially fluorinated mono - olefin which may contain non - fluorine substituents , e . g . chlorine or hydrogen . the mono - olefin is preferably a straight or branched chain compound having a terminal ethylenic double bond . the elastomer preferably consists of units selected from the previously mentioned fluorine - containing monomers and may include other non - fluorinated monomers , such as olefins having a terminal ethylenic double bond , especially ethylene and propylene . the elastomer will normally consist of carbon , hydrogen , oxygen and fluorine atoms . any fluoropolymer component may contain a functional group such as carboxylic and sulfonic acid and salts thereof , halogen , as well as a reactive hydrogen on a side chain . preferred elastomers are copolymers of vinylidene fluoride and at least one other fluorinated monomer , especially one or more of hexafluoropropylene , pentafluoropropylene , tetrafluoroethylene and chlorotrifluoroethylene . available fluoroelastomers include copolymers of vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropylene , and terpolymers of vinylidene fluoride , hexafluoropropylene and tetrafluoroethylene , sold by dupont as viton and by 3m as fluorel and by daiken as daiel . additionally , elastomeric copolymers of vinylidene fluoride and chlorotrifluoroethylene are available from 3m as kel - f . the use of aflas , which is a copolymer of tfe and propylene , as manufactured by asahi , is also contemplated . preferred perfluoroelastomers include elastomeric copolymers of tetrafluoroethylene with perfluoro alkyl comonomers , such as hexafluoropropylene or perfluoro ( alkyl vinyl ether ) comonomers represented by ## str1 ## in which r f is a perfluoroalkyl or perfluoro ( cyclo - oxa alkyl ) moiety . particularly preferred are the perfluorovinyl ethers in which r f is selected from the groups -- cf 3 , -- c 3 f 7 , ## str2 ## where n = 1 - 4 and x = h , na , k or f . particularly contemplated is kalrez which is a copolymer including tfe and perfluoromethylvinyl ether ( pmve ). the term polyamidimide as used herein encompasses ## str3 ## wherein r 1 and r 2 have the same meaning as above . if desired , and as is well - known in the art , fillers or additives such as pigments , plasticizers , stabilizers , softeners , extenders , and the like , can be present in the matrix composition . for example , there can be present substances such as graphite , carbon black , titanium dioxide , alumina , alumina trihydrate , glass fibers , beads or microballoons , carbon fibers , magnesia , silica , asbestos , wollastonite , mica , and the like . in a preferred embodiment , the formation of the coated matrix layers upon the substrate is essentially accomplished in accordance with the invention by a method which comprises the steps of : 1 . if necessary or desired , removing the sizes or finishes from the textile substrate material , for example , in the instance of woven fiberglass , by heat cleaning the substrate or scouring a woven synthetic fabric ; 2 . initially coating the substrate with a low modulus polymer layer , particularly , a fluoropolymer , which may be applied to one or both faces of the substrate . the low modulus fluropolymer is preferably a perfluoropolymer , including a perfluoroplastic , such as ptfe or low cyrstallinity copolymers thereof , or a fluoroelastomer , such as kalrez , viton , aflas , or blends of such fluoropolymers . as hereinbefore discussed , a suitable saturant or lubricating agent , preferably methylphenyl silicone oil may also be applied to the substrate either initially or simultaneously with the initial polymer layer . in instances where sufficient flexibility otherwise exists , a coupling agent may be used to enhance the adhesion of the matrix to the substrate , as desired . as previously set forth , the initial coating is applied so as to minimize the stiffness of the composite and may be a relatively light application depending upon the weight and openness of the substrate . as indicated above , where the substrate is coated on only one face , the other face of the substrate may be adhered to a different coating material ; 3 . applying as an overcoat layer or layers , either directly upon the intial layer or upon any desired intermediate layer , a blend of ( 1 ) a hard polymer and ( 2 ) a fluoroplastic , a fluoroelastomer , or any blend or combination thereof ; and 4 . further applying , as desired , any optional topcoat layer or layers which do not substantially diminish the flexible or wear resistance features of the composite , such as a thin top coating of ptfe or a selected fluoroelastomer . the composites of the present invention may be produced , if so desired , by aqueous dispersion techniques . the process may be carried out under the conditions by which the cohesiveness of the matrix and adhesion to the substrate is thermally achieved . a preferred process for the manufacture of invention composites comprises an initial application of a low modulus fluoropolymer from a latex or dispersion to a suitably prepared substrate at temperatures leading to fusing or consolidation of the applied polymer . following this initial coat , any optional intermediate layer and the overcoat layer comprising a blend of hard polymer and perfluoropolymer derived from a latex or dispersion , is applied in such a manner as to dry the coating , but not to exceed the upper temperature limits of its most thermally labile resinous component . the resulting , partially consolidated coating layers may then be subjected to more modest heat under pressure to further consolidate or strengthen the applied coating . calendering is a convenient process to achieve this result . any desired topcoat may then be applied . thereafter , the composite is subjected to a temperature consistent with that required for fusion of the matrix component with the highest melting point to complete consolidation with minimal heat exposure . the following additives may be included in the process for formulating the composition of the outermost coating layer : a surface active agent such as an anionic active agent or a non - ionic active agent ; a creaming agent such as sodium or ammonium alginate ; a viscosity - controlling agent or a thickener such as methyl cellulose or ethyl cellulose ; a wetting agent such as a fluorinated alkyl - carboxylic acid , an organic solvent , or sulfonic acid ; or a film former . the invention and its advantages are illustrated , but are not intended to be limited , by the following examples . the examples illustrate composites employing a variety of substrates and coating matrices contemplated by the invention . the test procedures used for the chemical and physical testing and property determinations for the composites prepared according to the invention and the controls are identified below : ______________________________________property test procedure______________________________________weight ( oz / sq yd ) fed std 191 - 5041thickness ( ins ) fed std 191 - 5030tensile strength ( lbs / in ) warp fed std 191 - 5102 filltensile strength after warp * fold ( lbs / in ) ( or flex fillfold ) trapezoidal tear ( lbs ) warp fed std 191 - 5136strength fillcoating adhesion ( lbs / in ) dry ** wetdielectric strength ( volts ) astm d - 902wear rate astdm d - 3702 ( rotating ring wear test ) ______________________________________ * this is a comparative flexfold test whereby a rectangular test specimen ( long dimension parallel to warp yarns in the &# 34 ; warp test &# 34 ; and parallel to filling yarns in &# 34 ; fill test &# 34 ;) is folded at its center , rolled with a weighted roller , ten times , and tested as per g . s . a . 171 # 5102 . the test values are compared with tensile values for an unfolded specimen . fold resistance is reported as percent of strength retained after the fold . ( i the examples which follow , the results are expressed in actual tensile strength after folding , and the percent retention is not calculated .) ** this test measures the adherance of the coating matrix to a substance b subjecting a specimen ( prepared from two pieces of the sample composite joined face to face as in making a production type joint or seam ) to an instron tester , model 1130 , whereby the pieces forming the specimen are separated for a specified length ( 3 &# 34 ;) at a specified rate of strain ( 2 &# 34 ;/ min .). the average reading during separation is deemed the adhesion value in lbs ./ in . this invention applies to a variety of hard polymers , fluoropolymer and perfluoropolymer combinations coated onto a variety of textile substrates . the following examples describe in detail experiments run and results observed with some of the contemplated composites according to the invention and are not meant to limit the scope of this invention in any way . although glass fabrics were used for experimentation , it should be understood that the invention applies to any textile substrate capable of being coated via conventional dip coat processing or the method set forth in the copending application of effenberger and ribbans , ser . no . 599 , 766 , filed apr . 13 , 1984 . style 2113 glass fabric ( greige weight 2 . 38 oz / sq yd ) was treated with an aqueous dispersion based on xylan 8330 / i ( whitford corp ., west chester , pa .). it is a product containing particles up to 10 microns in size of ptfe and polyphenylene sulfide ( pps ) dispersed in water and containing a small amount of black pigment . the coating was dried at ca . 200 ° f . and cured at ca . 700 ° f . the resulting coated fabric weighed 2 . 6 oz / sq yd and even at this low weight it fractured when creased . it also exhibited very poor tear strength . style 2113 glass fabric ( greige weight 2 . 38 oz / sq yd ) was given two coats of a 60 % solids ptfe dispersion ( designated te - 3313 and available from dupont ). it was then coated three times with a 50 : 50 ( by volume ) blend of te - 3313 and xylan 8330 / i . a final coat of ptfe derived from te - 3313 was then applied over the xylan / ptfe coatings . upon each coating the fabric was dried and fused at temperatures up to ca . 700 ° f . the resulting coated fabric weighed 5 . 6 oz / sq yd . it was quite flexible and could be repeatedly creased without breaking . the trapezoidal tear strength was measured at 8 . 5 × 1 . 1 lbs ( warp x fill ) and the coating adhesion was measured at 9 . 9 lbs / inch . the composite exhibited good tear strength and the coating was well adhered to the substrate . three composites based upon style 128 glass fabric ( 6 . 0 oz / sq yd greige weight ) were prepared for wear testing . one was coated only with ptfe dispersion . the other two were first coated with two layers of ptfe dispersion . one of them was subsequently coated with a blend of te - 3313 and xylan 8330 / i comprising a 75 . 3 % ptfe / 24 . 7 % pps ( polyphenylene sulfide ) mixture , by weight . the other was coated with a 55 . 3 % ptfe / 44 . 7 % pps weight blend of a te - 3313 / xylan 8330 i . all coatings were applied and cured using a coating tower . all three fabric samples were tough and flexible and could be creased repeatedly without breaking . they were subjected to the rotating ring wear test which generated relative wear values . the values obtained showed that the ptfe / pps based composites exhibited significantly less wear than the 100 % ptfe based composite . ______________________________________sample wear value______________________________________100 % ptfe 230075 . 3 % ptfe / 24 . 7 % pps 28055 . 3 % ptfe / 44 . 7 % pps 1500______________________________________ two composites based upon style 128 glass fabric ( 6 . 0 oz / sq yd greige weight ) were prepared for testing . one was prepared by four applications of a mixture of xylan 3200 and teflon te - 3313 with fusion of the resins at 700 ° f . after the final application . xylan 3200 is a water compatible formulation of a polyester polymer . the blend contained 60 . 9 % ptfe and 39 . 1 % polyester , by weight . the other composite sample was prepared by two applications of te - 3313 followed by four applications of the xylan / te - 3313 blend . both composite samples were dried and cured at ca . 700 ° f . the composite sample prepared with two initial applications of ptfe was tough and flexible , while the composite prepared using only the 60 . 9 % ptfe / 39 . 1 % polyester blend , by weight , and lacking the initial ptfe coatings was brittle and broke upon repeated creasing . the tensile strength of the ptfe precoated composite was initially 350 lbs / in . a 40 % drop in tensile strength occurred after folding in accordance with the flex fold test . the tensile strength of the composite sample lacking the initial ptfe application was initially 560 lbs / in . after folding in accordance with the flex fold test , it experienced a 73 % drop in tensile strength . both composites were tested in an mit folding endurance tester . the fabric without the initial ptfe application tested to 4100 × 7700 folds to failure ( warp x fill ), while the composite with the ptfe pre - coats tested to 76000 × 61000 folds to failure ( warp x fill ). a flexible composite based upon style 128 fabric was prepared by an initial apblication of two coats of ptfe dispersion followed by five applications of a blend of xylan 3400 and te - 3313 to one side only . this blend contained 50 % by weight ptfe and 50 % by weight of a polyamide - imide based upon solids . the initial application of ptfe was conducted at temperatures up to 590 ° f . the subsequent coats containing the ptfe / polyamide - imide blend were each fused at 700 ° f . the resulting flexible composite was more abrasion resistant than a similar composite containing only ptfe . it was subjected to 10 , 000 cycles on a model 503 tabor abrader , using a 250 gm wt . and cf - 10 abrasion wheels . samples were weighed before and after abrasion . three determinations of weight gain for the wear resistant composite indicated an average gain of 0 . 7 milligrams . samples of an otherwise similar composite based upon ptfe alone were also tested . they lost an average of 6 . 9 milligrams . these data show substantial improvement in wear resistance for a flexible ptfe / polyamide - imide composite . style 2113 fiberglass fabric was treated with an aqueous emulsion of methyl phenyl silicone oil derived from et - 4327 ( dow corning ) by dilution of 1 . 5 grams of et - 4327 with 20 grams of water . the fabric so treated was then flexibilized by coating it with ptfe derived from an aqueous dispersion of te - 3313 ( dupont ) with a specific gravity of 1 . 35 . this flexible fabric was then overcoated with a blend of ptfe and pps derived from te - 3313 and xylan 8330 / i ( whitford ) respectively , applied in two identical steps . the final product had a thickness of 4 . 4 mils and a weight of 4 . 25 oz / yd 2 . it was characterized by good tear strength ( 10 . 1 lbs . warp , 3 . 6 lbs . fill ) and a wear resistance about 5 times better than a dip - coated ptfe control . a composite was prepared from style 2116 fabric by heat - cleaning and coating with an aqueous mixture of ptfe dispersion and phenylmethylsilicone oil in aqueous emulsion such that the oil represents 8 % by weight of the combined weight of ptfe solids and the oil at an overall specific gravity of 1 . 32 . this intermediate was then coated with a highly fluorinated elastoplastic blend of ptfe and vf 2 / hfp / tfe terpolymer , followed by six coats of a blend containing 100 pbw te - 3313 , 100 pbw xylan - 3400 ( containing an aromatic polyamide - imide ), 100 pbw h 2 o and 3 pbw l - 77 silicone surfactant obtained from union carbide . the composite was top - coated with ptfe derived from teflon - 30 b . the properties of example vii are listed below : ______________________________________property units values______________________________________weight oz ./ yd .. sup . 2 7 . 67thickness mil . 5 . 5dielectric strength volts1 / 4 in . electrode 22002 in . electrode 1500trapezoidal tear strength lbs . warp 10fill 14tensile strength lbs ./ in . warp 200fill 180coating adhesion lbs ./ in . 3 . 0______________________________________ flexible belts prepared from this composite and used on a high speed packaging machine requiring durable release characteristics outlasted conventional belts based upon composites containing ptfe alone by a factor of at least three . while representative applications and embodiments of the invention have been described , those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations and modifications of such embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention , and it is intended to claim all such variations and modifications as fall within the true scope of the invention . | 8 |
in the drawings , a small , lightweight battery operated syringe infusion pump 10 of this invention is adapted to be hung or suspended from an iv pole or similar conveniently located support by means of attachment loop 12 pivotal between a retracted position and an extended position as shown in fig1 . a front cover 14 and a rear cover 16 advantageously houses the internal componentry and defines compartment 18 that conveniently receives the batteries 20 for energizing the fixed and single or multiple speed motor 22 . the drive of motor 22 is coupled with gear network 24 which in turn drives the leadscrew 26 as shown in fig4 and 5 . a pusher block assembly 28 is provided with a floating drive halfnut 30 which advantageously engages with the leadscrew 26 . the assembly also selectively engages with the rear end of the syringe plunger for expelling and discharge of the syringe contents . towards this end , the pusher block assembly includes a block 32 that has a bottom end 34 provided with a pair of channels 36 , 38 that receive guide rods 40 , 42 which cooperate in causing the pusher block assembly 28 to move forwardly upon turning of the leadscrew 26 as a result of the meshing therewith by the floating drive halfnut 30 . a lever 44 slides and is captured in the block 32 . the spring 46 is secured at one end to the lower surface of leg 58 and fits around the head 57 of the shaft or actuator 59 . at its other end , spring 46 is fixed to the inner peripheral flange 61 of lever 44 . it is thus seen that by lifting lever 44 upwardly the shaft 59 will move upwardly in bore or opening 41 in block bottom end 34 ; and , consequently , the halfnut 30 will be moved upwardly into the bottom end 34 at the bottom of the pusher block 32 . spring 48 which is contained in housing block bottom end 34 continuously biases the floating halfnut 30 against the leadscrew 26 . the upper spring 46 which surrounds the head 57 of the halfnut shaft or actuator 59 provides the force to keep the lever 44 and antisiphon catch 50 engaged with flange 52 of plunger 54 of syringe 56 shown in fig2 . in this manner , escape of plunger 54 is prevented which otherwise could result in a siphoning action . spring 46 is biased between leg 58 and flange 61 . flange 61 also acts to engage head 57 to cause disengagement of the halfnut 30 and leadscrew 26 . fig6 shows a simplified , two - dimensional force balance diagram which describes the floating halfnut of the invention . while the disclosed halfnut has three dimensional loading characteristics , these characteristics are not essential for a basic understanding of the invention . in the diagram f a refers to the axial force exerted by the pusher block 32 on halfnut 30 as a result of the driven load . f s refers to the force exerted by spring 48 on halfnut 32 . f pf refers to the frictional force existing between the pusher block 32 and the halfnut 30 . f lf refers to the frictional force between the halfnut 30 and the leadscrew 26 . f l refers to the force in the axial direction exerted by the leadscrew 26 on the halfnut 30 , and f r represents the total reaction attempting to separate the halfnut 30 from the leadscrew 26 . experience with the disclosed invention has shown that the spring force f s required to maintain engagement is relatively small . a successful embodiment has a spring force of approximately 2 lbs . a detailed engineering analysis has shown that placing the axial support force f a at or near the axis of the leadscrew ( as two dimensionally represented in fig6 ) results in a great reduction of f r . this results correspondingly in a reduction of the spring force , f s , required to maintain engagement . frictional forces between the halfnut 30 and pusherblock 32 , specifically and primarily f pf , and frictional forces between the halfnut 30 and leadscrew 26 , specifically f lf , are essential to prevent separation of the halfnut 30 from the leadscrew 26 . the theoretical analysis has shown that an advantageous balance of these forces exists which results in desirable engagement forces . reference is now made to the three dimensional characteristics of the leadscrew / halfnut combination . leadscrew rotation will result in frictional forces normal to the corresponding contacting surfaces . however , halfnut 30 is free to float because neither the shaft 59 and head 57 nor the pusher block 32 are tightly guided or restrain the halfnut in directions normal to the separation direction . because the halfnut of the present invention is allowed to float within the pusher block , symmetry of the aforementioned frictional forces is improved . theoretically this results in lowering of the net force tending to separate the halfnut from the leadscrew . that is , f r has a minimal component due to leadscrew rotation and the associated surface friction the current embodiment has been estimated by the theoretical analysis to provide stable engagement regardless of the axial force f a and , further , requires no spring force f s to assure this engagement . that is , f pf plus f lf is estimated to be larger than f r for all f a &# 39 ; s . the floating halfnut of the present invention will develop forces due to the system friction and drive load which are greater than the separation forces that exist . the engagement forces are due to friction between the halfnut and leadscrew , and between the halfnut and pusher block . further , a floating halfnut is so constructed that essentially no externally applied load is required to maintain engagement . this balance of forces is accomplished by properly choosing the supporting contact points among the halfnut , leadscrew , and pusher block , and by allowing the halfnut to float so that the leadscrew rotation does not add frictional separation forces . several features of the commercialized assembly help to improve the life of the halfnut . these self protecting features help to maintain the above described balance of forces throughout the product life . these features include , but are not limited to , a relatively long thread engagement length in the axial direction , thread engagement around fully one half of the leadscrew , a low wear carbon steel halfnut material , and a low friction , low wear plating on the halfnut . the position of the pusher block 32 can be advantageously and quickly readjusted by disengaging the halfnut 30 with a minimum of manual effort because the spring force of spring 48 is at a minimum . in this respect the pusher block lever 44 is grasped and pulled . squeezing lever 44 towards the upper laterally extending leg 58 of block 32 will permit the syringe plunger flange 52 to be immediately released or permit the flange of a fresh syringe 56 to be engaged by the pusher block 28 . the pusher block assembly 28 may then be freely moved along the guide rails 40 , 42 for removal of a spent or emptied syringe 56 or reengagement by catch 50 of another flange 52 of a fresh filled syringe 56 . release of the lever 44 will pressure the antisiphon catch 50 to engage with the syringe plunger flange 52 . accordingly with the same action , coupling of the drive nut and antisiphoning is accomplished to thereby facilitate proper positioning of the syringe , pusher block and antisiphon mechanism one with the other . furthermore , the antisiphon mechanism is designed to accept and capture a variety of syringe plunger flange sizes by allowing it to move to a capturing position independent of the drive nut engagement position . the syringe holder 60 advantageously permits the utilization of a wide variety of disposable syringes from various syringe manufacturers . an end of syringe and an overpressure sensing assembly 80 which optionally may be combined with the drive of this invention permits the generation of a suitable signal when the contents of the syringe 56 has been fully discharged or an occlusion or other situation that would cause overpressure in the discharge line has occurred . in use , a filled syringe with the selected drug or medicament is placed in the syringe holder 60 . the pusher block assembly 28 is moved forwardly upon lifting of the lever 44 fully towards the leg 58 of the block 32 . when the flange 52 of the plunger 54 is encountered the lever 44 is released to cause the halfnut 30 to reengage with the leadscrew 26 and the catch 50 captures the flange 52 . the infusion pump 10 may be suspended from an iv pole and tubing from the syringe can be connected to the appropriate infusion site . to summarize , the novel features of this invention include the method of floating the halfnut , and loading the halfnut 30 by the pusherblock 32 and the leadscrew 26 which provide an optimal force distribution and balance . also of importance are the self - protection characteristics of the halfnut that prevent the load transmitting capabilities of the halfnut from being significantly impaired when misused . advantageously , the present assembly provides lower engagement forces , increased safety , and / or simpler construction than the prior art halfnuts thus the several aforenoted objects and advantages are most effectively attained although a single somewhat preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed and described in detail herein , it should be understood that this invention is in no sense limited thereby and its scope is to be determined by that of the appended claims . | 8 |
a method of making a see - through laminated image bearing window / door screen shade according to the present invention will now be delineated in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . referring now to drawings , there will now be described a method of making a laminated decorative image bearing window / door screen panel 10 which can be used as a shade to protect against the elements of nature as well as offering an aesthetically pleasing appearance . fig1 a describes the steps to be followed to make such decorative laminated panel 10 in accordance with the present invention . the laminated composite decorative shade or panel is designated generally by reference 10 in fig5 . according to fig1 a , the first step is to select two sheets of similar sized light colored window / door screen material 12 and position one of two same sized sheets of commercially available light colored window / door screen material 12 on any convenient horizontal flat surface 15 ( not shown ). thereafter , select decorative stencil images are cut out of a piece of cardboard 20 ( not shown ) to obtain the geometric design of the same images in cardboard format 25 ( not shown ). the cardboard images are used as a template to cut out identical decorative images 27 from a piece of dark colored commercially available window / door screen material 32 . a layer of removable waterproof adhesive ( not shown ) is then applied to one side of the decorative images 27 of the dark colored window / screen material 32 . alternatively , the adhesive maybe sprayed , brushed or rolled onto the dark colored image 27 , preferably an adhesive spray krylon , an all - purpose no . 7011 is used . next , each image 27 is selectively placed , with the adhesive facing down , onto the light colored window / door screen sheet 12 lying on the flat surface and light pressure is applied so that the image 27 adheres to the substrate 40 . next , the same adhesive is applied to the exposed or upper surface 45 of each image 27 before a second sheet of light colored see - through door / window screen 12 is placed and pressed against the first screen 12 to form the laminated composite panel 10 sandwiching the images 27 therebetween 50 . the panel 10 thus constructed may then be mounted in a frame for a window or door opening so that the aesthetic decorative laminate composite 10 is visible to enjoy . since the decorative images 27 are incorporated between two layers of light colored screen sheets 12 with removable waterproof adhesive ; the present invention is capable of offering the option to construct new and different decorative laminated composite panels 10 . the new composite panels 10 are constructed by removing and replacing the embedded decorative images 27 with variable decorative images 27 of different pattern / design by repeating steps 27 through 50 and using the same two sheets of light colored screens 12 . in order to construct a different and new decorative laminated panel 10 , first , the already embedded images 27 are easily removable from between the layers of light colored screen sheets 12 of the panel 10 . fig1 b illustrates the steps to be followed to remove embedded decorative images 27 from the laminated composite panel 10 in accordance with the present invention . according to fig1 b , the first step is to dismount 55 the decorative panel 10 from the respective door / window opening . next , the light colored screens 12 are separated 60 , by peeling each one off from the other , to release the embedded images 27 from therebetween 50 . carefully , each decorative image 27 is then peeled off 65 from the surface of corresponding light colored screen 12 . both light colored screens 12 are then cleaned and inspected 70 to ascertain the suitability for further use to construct a new decorative laminated composite panel 10 . a new set of decorative images 27 are then selected and prepared from dark colored window / door screen material 32 for a new laminated panel 10 following the steps 27 through 50 of fig1 a . such a new panel 10 is then constructed by following the steps in accordance with fig1 a . again , the panel 10 thus constructed may then be mounted in a frame for a window or door opening so that the aesthetic decorative laminated composite 10 is visible to enjoy . the lamination of the decorative images 27 to the light colored outer sheets of screen 12 have no effect on the function of the screen since the images 27 are also constructed of a screen material 32 and therefore pose no obstruction to the air flow through the assembled composite panel 10 . | 1 |
fig1 , illustrates one embodiment of a system 100 for sharing data from electronic medical records ( emrs ), and more particularly for sharing emr data among family members using known or derived familial relationships . in some embodiments , the system 100 may be practiced using a computer or processing system that may include one or more general purpose computing or processing devices , i . e ., client device 10 , including a processing unit 14 , a system memory 13 , a data storage medium 17 , and a system bus 19 that couples the various system components including the system memory 13 to the processing unit 14 . a user may enter commands and information into the client device 10 through a user interface 11 that includes input devices such as a keyboard and pointing device , commonly referred to as a mouse , trackball or touch pad . other input devices 11 may include a microphone , joystick , game pad , satellite dish , scanner , voice recognition device , keyboard , touch screen , toggle switch , pushbutton , or the like . these and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 14 through a user input interface 11 that is coupled to the system bus 19 , but may be connected by other interface and bus structures , such as a parallel port , game port or a universal serial bus ( usb ). the processing units 14 that execute commands and instructions may be general purpose computers , but may utilize any of a wide variety of other technologies including a special purpose computer , a microcomputer , mini - computer , mainframe computer , programmed micro - processor , micro - controller , peripheral integrated circuit element , a csic ( customer specific integrated circuit ), asic ( application specific integrated circuit ), a logic circuit , a digital signal processor , a programmable logic device such as an fpga ( field programmable gate array ), pld ( programmable logic device ), pla ( programmable logic array ), rfid integrated circuits , smart chip , or any other device or arrangement of devices that is capable of implementing the steps of the processes of the invention . one or more monitors or display devices may also be connected to the system bus 19 , e . g ., via an interface 11 . in addition to display devices , the client device 10 may also include other peripheral output devices , which may be connected through an output peripheral interface . the client device 10 implementing the invention may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers . the remote computers typically including many or all of the elements described above . the client device 10 may include a plurality of software processing modules stored in the memory 13 and executed on the processing unit 14 in the manner described herein . the program modules may be in the form of any suitable programming language , which is converted to machine language or object code to allow the processing unit 14 to read the instructions . that is , written lines of programming code or source code , in a particular programming language , may be converted to machine language using a compiler , assembler , or interpreter . the machine language may be binary coded machine instructions specific to a particular computer . any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with the various embodiments of the invention . illustratively , the programming language used may include assembly language , basic , c , c ++, css , html , java , sql , perl , python , ruby and / or javascript , for example . further , it is not necessary that a single type of instruction or programming language be utilized in conjunction with the operation of the system and method of the invention . rather , any number of different programming languages may be utilized as is necessary or desirable . the instructions and / or data used in the practice of the invention may also utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm , as desired . an encryption module might be used to encrypt data . further , files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module . a data store 17 may be embodied using any computer data store , including but not limited to relational databases , non - relational databases ( nosql , etc . ), flat files , in memory databases , and / or key value stores . examples of such data stores include the mysql database server or oracle database server offered by oracle corp . of redwood shores , calif ., the postgresql database server by the postgresql global development group of berkeley , calif ., the db2 database server offered by ibm , mongo db , cassandra , and redis . the computing environment may also include other removable / non - removable , volatile / nonvolatile computer storage media 17 . for example , a hard disk drive may read or write to non - removable , nonvolatile magnetic media . a magnetic disk drive may read from or writes to a removable , nonvolatile magnetic disk , and an optical disk drive may read from or write to a removable , nonvolatile optical disk such as a cd - rom or other optical media . other removable / non - removable , volatile / nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include , but are not limited to , magnetic tape cassettes , flash memory cards , digital versatile disks , digital video tape , solid state ram , solid state rom , storage area networking devices , solid state drives , and the like . the storage media 17 are typically connected to the system bus 19 through a removable or non - removable memory interface . client devices 10 typically include a variety of computer readable media that can form part of the system memory 13 and be read by the computing or processing unit 14 . by way of example , and not limitation , computer readable media may include computer storage media and / or communication media . the system memory 13 may include computer storage media in the form of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory , such as read only memory ( rom ) and random access memory ( ram ). a basic input / output system ( bios ), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between components , such as during start - up , is typically stored in rom . ram typically contains data and / or program modules that are immediately accessible to and / or presently being operated on by processing unit 14 . the data or program modules may include an operating system , application programs , other program modules , and program data . the operating system may be or include a variety of operating systems such as microsoft windows ® operating system , the unix operating system , the linux operating system , the mac os operating system , google android operating system , apple ios operating system , or another operating system or platform . at a minimum , the memory 13 may include at least one set of instructions that is either permanently ( non - volatile ) or temporarily ( volatile ) stored . the processing unit 14 executes the instructions that are stored in order to process data . the set of instructions may include various instructions that perform a particular task or tasks . such a set of instructions for performing a particular task may be characterized as a program , software program , software , engine , module , component , mechanism or tool . it should be appreciated that the processing units 14 and / or memories 13 need not be physically in the same location . for example , in some implementations , the system 100 may also include a general purpose computing or processing device , i . e ., server device , including a processing unit , a system memory , a data storage medium , and a system bus . hence , each of the processing units and each of the memories used by the system may be in geographically distinct locations and be connected so as to communicate with each other in any suitable manner . additionally , it is appreciated that each of the processing units and / or memories may be composed of different physical pieces of equipment . the devices that embody the invention may communicate with the user via notifications sent over any protocol that can be transmitted over a packet - switched network or telecommunications (“ communication ”) network 16 . by way of example , and not limitation , these may include sms messages , email ( smtp ) messages , instant messages ( gchat , aim , jabber , etc . ), social platform messages ( facebook posts and messages , twitter direct messages , tweets , retweets , etc . ), and mobile push notifications ( ios , android ). it is understood that the methods and systems described may contain software , middleware , hardware , and any combination thereof connected to , coupled with , and / or in communication with a communication network , e . g ., the world wide web , the internet , a local area network ( lan ), a wide area network ( wan ), and so forth . computing / processing devices are capable of communicating with each other via the communication network , and it should be appreciated that the various functionalities of the components may be implemented on any number of devices . the invention may be practiced using any communications network 16 capable of transmitting internet protocols . a communications network 16 generally connects a client device 10 with a server device , and in the case of peer - to - peer communications , connects two peers . the communication may take place via any media such as standard telephone lines , lan or wan links ( e . g ., t1 , t3 , 56 kb , x . 25 ), broadband connections ( isdn , frame relay , atm ), wireless links ( 802 . 11 , bluetooth , 3g , cdma , etc . ), and so on . the communications network 16 may take any form , including but not limited to lan , wan , wireless ( wifi , wimax ), or near field ( rfid , bluetooth ). the communications network 16 may use any underlying protocols that can transmit internet protocols , including but not limited to ethernet , atm , vpns ( pppoe , l2tp , etc . ), and encryption ( ssl , ipsec , etc .). although fig1 shows the processing device 10 and the emr database 12 in communication via the communication network 15 , this is done for illustrative purposes only . in some implementations , the processing device 10 and emr database 12 are hard - wired or wirelessly in communication without the need for an external network 16 . patients may also practice the invention remotely using any computer system configuration 18 including hand - held wireless devices such as mobile or cellular telephones , personal digital assistants ( pdas ), tablet computers , smartphones , smartpads , smartwatches , google ® glasses , tablet computers , laptop computers , personal computers , gaming systems , multiprocessor systems , microprocessor - based or programmable consumer electronics , minicomputers , mainframe computers , computers running under virtualization , and / or any other computing device that is capable of capturing audio and / or video data . in a second embodiment of the system 100 , there may be multiple emr databases 12 , e . g ., individual medical service providers such as clinics , hospitals , and / or emr clearinghouse services , which may each have separate emr databases 12 . in this instance , the various databases may be connected , e . g ., via a communication network 16 , and , as a result , may query each other according to the above procedure . in configurations where multiple databases 12 are to be queried , the system 10 may include a central linkage server 15 that is configured to act as a go - between to connect the various provider emr databases 12 . for example , the user interface 11 , 18 may be adapted to enable a patient , a medical or healthcare provider , a medical service provider or a staff member of a medical service provider to input family history linkage information to be associated with the patient &# 39 ; s emr . in one variation of the embodiment , family history linkage information may include identifying information of the patient , e . g ., name , address , social security number , medical id number , medical insurance id number , and the like ; and , optionally , identifying information of the patient &# 39 ; s family relations , which may include the same fields as previous described plus a relationship field to specify the relationship , e . g ., ‘ brother ,’ ‘ sister ,’ ‘ mother ,’ and so forth . in some instances , the familial information may be provided by the patient . in other cases , the system may derive the information from public databases based on the identifying information of the patient or a subset of the familial information . family history may also specify the nature of the personal medical history information from the familial member &# 39 ; s emr that may be shared , any information that may not be shared , with whom the information may be shared , and any conditions under which the information may be shared . providing permission information , settings , and restrictions allows a familial member to control how and with whom her emr information may be shared . in some implementations , the settings are implemented as an ‘ opt - in ’ system in which explicit permission must be provided by the familial member patient before information may be shared with others . in other words , until a familial member provides the requisite permission , no information may be shared . in another embodiment , emr information of a familial member may be automatically shared with specified relatives on the occurrence of a specified event , e . g ., at the death or physical incapacity of the familial member . “ permission information ” may include various categories of information . for example , identification of specific types or elements of data within the emr may be tagged as permitted to be shared with others , or , in some cases , remain private . the identification can be far - reaching and extend to all information or it may be limited to specific classes of illnesses or medical conditions , e . g ., genetic diseases , chronic conditions , cardiopulmonary conditions , and so forth ; and / or it may be limited to specific illnesses , e . g ., diabetes , lung cancer , gout , and so forth . permission information also may designate with whom such information may or may not be shared . for example , recipients may include all blood relatives , pre - defined classes of relatives ( e . g ., siblings , children , grandchildren , descendants , and so forth ), pre - defined genders ( e . g ., male or female ), discrete , specific relatives ( e . g ., my son john , my sister joanna , and the like ), and / or relatives whom the familial relation has identified . permission information may also define the conditions under which the information may be shared . for example , permission information may be unconditional , made conditional upon the occurrence of an event having to do with the granting familial relation ( e . g ., upon the death of the familial relation ), made perpetual to include generations unborn , limited to relatives born or in esse during the familial relation &# 39 ; s lifetime , triggered by specific symptoms of the receiving patient ( e . g ., if a descendent reports symptom x , then it is okay to share information about the familial relation &# 39 ; s related condition y , but , otherwise y remains undisclosed ), and / or conditioned on the age of the receiving family member ( e . g ., share information about condition x with the familial relation &# 39 ; s children once they have turned 40 years old ). in practice , the system described above implements one or more methods for mining electronic medical records ( emrs ) familial relations . in this instance , there may be a single database , e . g ., the emr database of a large government health program or the emr records of a large medical or healthcare provider . moreover , it is assumed that each emr record in the database contains identifying information for the patient and also contains information regarding the patient &# 39 ; s familial relations . referring to the flowchart in fig2 , initially , a first processing unit within the system , which , for example , may be executed by a device or software algorithm , receives input from a user , who may be a medical or healthcare provider , a patient , and the like . the first processing unit accesses the emr of a specified patient ( step 1 a ) contained in the emr database , accesses and reads the patient &# 39 ; s identifying information as well as any information regarding the patient &# 39 ; s familial relations from the emr ( step 1 b ), and queries the emr database ( s ) ( step 1 c ) using the identifying information of the patient as well as any information regarding the patient &# 39 ; s familial relations ( step 1 a ), to locate other emr records ( step 1 d ) that contain , for example , identifying information on one or more familial relations . for example , the method may include accessing an emr in an emr database for ‘ john doe ’ ( step 1 a ) having a social security number or health care identification number : 555 - 12 - 1212 . using this information , the system may query the database ( step 1 c ) or another database ( s ), for example , to locate matches in which john doe and / or the identification number 555 - 12 - 1212 are listed in connection with an identified family relation ( step 1 d ). the results returned ( step 2 ) may include that jane doe ( ssn # 123 - 45 - 6789 ) lists john doe ( ssn # 555 - 12 - 1212 ) as son and another result may provide that becky martin ( ssn # 987 - 65 - 4321 ) lists john doe ( ssn # 555 - 12 - 1212 ) as brother . thus , the method identifies the patient &# 39 ; s mother as ‘ jane doe ’ and the patient &# 39 ; s sister as ‘ becky martin .’ advantageously , in each instance , the returned results ( step 2 ) provide further identifiers and relationships of the patient &# 39 ; s family . alternatively , when there are multiple emr databases and a central linkage server , the method may include accessing multiple emr databases for ‘ john doe ’ having a social security number or health care identification number : 555 - 12 - 1212 . in an initial query , the system may request the central linkage server to find matches in which others list john doe and / or 555 - 12 - 1212 as a family relation . the system may send an individual query to the central linkage server or , alternatively , it may aggregate a plurality of queries , which the system otherwise would send to process multiple emr databases , and transmit the aggregate collection of queries to the central linkage server at once , i . e ., in a single message . the central linkage server may be adapted to advertise ( pull ) or broadcast ( push ) the query to at least one provider database that is known to and in communication with the central linkage server . this may be accomplished efficiently by aggregating multiple queries over a pre - defined period of time , e . g ., all queries received by the central linkage server during a one minute span , a one hour span , and the like , or may be sent as a single composite query to all the other provider emr databases . each provider emr database has a corresponding processing device that responds to the query and / or to the composite query ( step 2 ). those of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that a single processing device may be associated with more than one database . the database response ( step 2 ) may identify family relations for the original patient , john doe , and / or for the 555 - 12 - 1212 identification number , as in the preceding example . in addition , the responses may identify which provider database holds the emr for the identified family relation . the responses from a provider emr database may be individual or may be aggregate responses , which respond to multiple queries that have been aggregated and sent from the central linkage server to individual provider emr databases . when aggregated responses are sent and received , the central linkage server may sort out the responses to identify which original provider database sent the corresponding original query that generated the response . the central linkage server may then return responses to the processing device of the original provider emr database ( step 2 ) that sent the original query ( step 1 c ). the response may be aggregated , i . e ., covering multiple queries sent by the same provider emr database and collecting responses to those multiple queries from multiple remote provider emr databases . in this instance , upon receiving the aggregated response ( step 2 ), the processing device of the original provider emr database determines which of the responses correspond to each of the original queries previously sent out by the processing device of the original provider database ( step 1 c ). in this way , using the central linkage server as a single point of contact , a processing device associated with the original provider database may efficiently query many remote emr provider databases ( step 1 c ) to obtain information on familial relations ( step 2 ) corresponding to the emrs of the original provider database . aggregation of queries and responses may be used at each step to make the query process efficient , i . e ., to reduce the number of messages and the overall network traffic ; to reduce overhead between the central linkage server and the provider databases , and the like . whether a single database or multiple databases are used , the processing device associated with the provider database that made the original query ( step 1 c ) receives responses identifying familial relations of one or multiple original patients ( step 2 ). advantageously , the processing device associated with the original provider database may perform either a single or a multiple databases search , e . g ., to identify family relations internal to the original provider database ( e . g ., if a mother and daughter share the same medical provider ) and / or to identify family relations that are likely external to the original provider database . the original provider may then combine the results from the internal and external procedures . responses from processing devise associated with remote provider databases ( step 2 ) may include the identification of the remote provider along with the identification of the family relation . this facilitates subsequent requests for information from the emr of the family relation . it is important to note that at this point , none of the emrs of the identified family relation has been provided to the processing device associated with the original provider database . as will be described in greater detail below , such information is not transmitted until permission information guidelines established by the owners of each emr have been verified . optionally , the system may also use proprietary or “ free ” ancestry search databases and / or other family record databases to identify and / or locate familial relations . as previously mentioned , even though a user interface may allow a patient , medical or healthcare provider or staff member to enter into the system identifying information of a patient &# 39 ; s relatives , e . g ., for association with that patient &# 39 ; s emr , some information may not be present in the system , the information may be incomplete , and the like . in this instance , the system , e . g . a device or software , may be configured to query one or more ancestry databases to obtain the family relation information corresponding to a patient . such ancestry databases may include , without limitation , proprietary databases , e . g ., “ ancestry . com ,” as well as public record databases , e . g ., government records , birth records , tax records that list dependents , marriage records , and so forth . by querying such sources and databases , family relation identifiers that correspond to a patient may be discovered , and such identifiers may then be used as input to the query process listed above in connection with a single or multiple database query . these databases may , for example , provide open api access to the data , in which case the system may use the appropriate api to access the data . in other instances , a custom data feed or port may be needed to access third party data . once the database locations of emrs for a patient &# 39 ; s familial relations have been identified , the original provider , which is to say , the provider that manages the original patient &# 39 ; s emr , may send information requests to the remote ( external ) providers and / or to an internal agent in order to request family medical history information to be linked to the original patient &# 39 ; s emr ( step 3 ). the receiving provider or internal agent may respond to these information requests ( step 3 ) based on the permission information guidelines established by the owners of each requested emr ( step 4 ). for example , the transfer or exchange of requests and responses for information about a relative previously identified at provider b &# 39 ; s database may occur as follows : from provider a to provider b : send updated information from joe hansen ( ssn # 444 - 44 - 1111 ), to son jimmy hansen ( ssn # 111 - 11 - 4444 ) response from provider b to provider a : no data , e . g ., because permission not granted by emr owner . if , on the other hand , the emr owner had granted permission , the specific information identified as sharable , e . g ., according to the permission information guidelines , may be returned in the response ( step 5 a ) for inclusion in the original patient &# 39 ; s emr ( step 6 ). alternately , a placeholder link or bookmark may be returned ( step 5 b ) in order to allow the provider that manages the original patient &# 39 ; s emr to request updated information on demand ( step 7 ), but only when needed for diagnosis . in this way , information about family medical history is not copied into the original patient &# 39 ; s emr record itself ; but , rather , a virtual link ( s ), e . g ., a hyperlink , to the latest family medical information may be built into the original patient &# 39 ; s emr , so that the latest family medical information may be retrieved and provided on an as - needed basis ( step 8 ). in this way , the original provider system may build a structure of links to known information stored in the emrs of family relations ( step 8 ), regardless of where such emrs are stored or of which remote provider may store and / or manage the emrs of the family relations . various aspects of the present invention may be used alone , in combination , or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing and is therefore not limited in its application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings . for example , aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments . those of ordinary skill in the art may realize that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the foregoing embodiments , together with the attached drawings , are , therefore , to be considered in all respects illustrative rather than limiting of the invention described herein . | 6 |
a detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention is provided with reference to the figures , in which fig1 provides an illustration of the basic concept . in particular , a position sensor according to the present invention includes a transmitter 10 which is mounted on an object 11 , the position of which is to be sensed . the transmitter 10 generates a sequence of rf pulses 12 in response to a transmit timing signal supplied across a timing cable 13 from a control circuit 14 . the receiver 15 coupled to the control circuit 14 includes a sample circuit which samples the rf pulse with controlled timing in response to a receive timing signal . the sensor control circuit 14 supplies the receive timing signal through a controlled delay circuit 16 to the receiver 15 so that the sequence of electromagnetic pulses are sampled with a time between transmitting of pulses from the transmitter 10 and sampling by the receiver 15 precisely controlled and swept over a range of delays . the receiver generates a sample signal on line 17 , which is supplied to the sensor control circuit 14 which detects a characteristic of the sample signal to indicate a time - of - flight of the rf pulses 12 from the transmitter 10 to the receiver 15 . in the system illustrated in fig1 a first additional receiver 18 and a second additional receiver 19 are included in the system . the receivers 18 and 19 are connected to the control circuit 14 by timing cables 20 and 21 , respectively , and also sample the rf pulses 12 with controlled timing . the time - of - flight detected in response to the receivers 15 , 18 and 19 can be processed to indicate the position of the object 11 with a number of degrees of freedom and with excellent resolution according to the present invention . also the range indicated by bracket 22 between the transmitter 10 and the receivers 15 , 18 , 19 may be less than 10 feet . the operation of the sensor according to the present invention can be better understood with respect to the block diagram in fig2 . the system is based on a pulse timing oscillator 50 which generates a clock at a pulse repetition rate of about two megahertz in the example to be illustrated with respect to fig2 . the pulse rate clock generated by the pulse timing oscillator is supplied across a cable 51 to a pulse generator 52 in the transmitter . the pulse generator generates an rf pulse , such as centered at nominally 2 . 0 gigahertz , which is transmitted by the transmitter 53 through antenna 54 with the pulse repetition rate of about two megahertz . the pulse timing oscillator 50 is also coupled to a controlled delay circuit 55 . the controlled delay circuit 55 supplies a receive timing signal on line 56 to a receive strobe generator 57 . the receive strobe generator 57 strobes a sample gate in the receiver 58 at the pulse repetition rate , but at times which are delayed relative to the time that the transmitter emits the rf pulse . the controlled delay circuit 55 is controlled by a start / stop circuit 59 which includes a sweep oscillator which oscillates at about 70 hertz in the example described . thus , the sweep oscillator is designed to oscillate at less than 100 hertz . an alternative system may be implemented which sweeps at about 16 kilohertz to be compatible with ntsc video . this oscillator supplies a ramp signal on line 60 to the swept delay circuit 55 to control the timing of the strobes generated by the strobe generator 57 . the start / stop circuit 59 generates a start signal at the beginning of each sweep , and a stop signal in response to a pulse detect signal on line 61 . the pulse detect signal on line 61 is generated by the receiver 58 in response to the samples of the sequence of rf pulses . when the receiver 58 detects the rf pulse , the pulse detect signal on line 61 causes the start / stop circuit 59 to issue a stop signal . the start signal is used to initiate counter 62 and the stop signal is used to stop the counter 62 . the counter begins counting at a count rate of about 10 megahertz in the example illustrated at the beginning of each sweep , and stops counting upon receiving the stop signal . thus , the value in the counter 62 upon receiving the stop signal indicates the time - of - flight of an rf pulse from the transmitter to the receiver ( the difference between the delay of a strobe pulse at the beginning of a sweep and the delay of a strobe pulse when the pulse detect signal is generated ). this value is supplied to processor 63 which uses the information to determine the position of the transmitter 53 . thus , in the example illustrated , with a 70 hertz start / stop circuit , a ramp which lasts about 14 milliseconds is produced . the delay between the transmission of an rf pulse by the transmitter , and strobing of the receiver by the receive strobe generator , sweeps over a range in response to the ramp . with a two megahertz pulse repetition rate , the time between pulses is about 500 nanoseconds . the delay between transmission by the transmitter and reception by the receiver for a 10 - foot propagation would be about 10 nanoseconds . thus , the timing of the receive strobe generated by the receive strobe generator can be swept over a range of delays which begin at a time compensating for cable delay to the transmitter and varies by about 10 nanoseconds in order to precisely detect the position of the transmitter . with a ramp lasting 14 milliseconds , and a pulse repetition rate of two megahertz , the receiver will sample about 28 , 600 pulses per sweep of the delay circuit 55 . as illustrated in fig2 the rf pulses at the receiver may have an amplitude which varies as illustrated by trace 70 . the 2 . 0 gigahertz pulse generator will have a cycle time of about 500 picoseconds , with a rise time on the leading edge of less than 100 picoseconds . the leading edge of the pulse will appear as a strong pulse as indicated at point 71 . the strong pulse will be followed by a noise region , generally 72 , which is based on reflections and other effects of the transmitted pulse . by the time the second pulse is generated , the noise will have died to a low level as indicated by the region 73 at the beginning of a real - time pulse cycle . this real - time pulse will be sampled over a range of delay times , such that an equivalent time signal , as illustrated at trace 80 , is produced . this trace will assume the shape of the average pulse , however , with a repetition cycle of 70 hertz for an equivalent time sample width of 14 milliseconds . the equivalent cycle time of the pulse will be about 700 microseconds , for an equivalent time pulse frequency of about 1 . 4 kilohertz . thus , the receiver includes an audio - frequency amplifier with automatic gain control , and a threshold detector . upon detection of the threshold , such as indicated at point 81 , the pulse detection signal is generated on line 61 . also as illustrated in fig2 the pulse timing oscillator 50 can be connected to other transmitters , such as across cables 85 and other receivers , such as across cables 86 to produce a sophisticated position - detecting system . the pulse timing oscillator 50 can be frequency modulated , or dithered , for the purpose of reducing interference from similar systems , or other rf devices . fig3 provides a more detailed schematic diagram of a time - of - flight sensor according to the present invention . in the embodiment of fig3 the pulse repetition frequency of about 2 . 5 megahertz is shown , which is generated by a 10 megahertz clock 100 connected to a divide - by - four circuit 101 . the output of the divide - by - four circuit 101 provides a pulse rate clock on line 102 . this signal is supplied to a driver 103 coupled to a timing cable 104 . the timing cable is connected to the transmit unit , which includes a driver 105 , a pulse - forming network 106 which is responsive to the driver 105 , and a microwave oscillator 107 which generates , for example , a two gigahertz , gated rf pulse on line 108 . line 108 is coupled to a transmit antenna 109 which transmits the rf pulse 110 to a receive antenna 111 . the pulse timing signal on line 102 , is supplied as a trigger signal to a voltage controlled delay circuit 112 . the output of the voltage controlled delay circuit on line 113 drives a pulse - forming network 114 which is used to strobe a sample - and - hold gate 115 , which is connected to receive antenna 111 and supplies a sample of the transmitted pulse to a holding capacitance 116 . the holding capacitance drives an amplifier 117 to produce a sample signal on line 118 . the sample signal is supplied to a comparator 119 which compares the sample signal against a threshold 120 . also , the sample signal line 118 drives a peak - detect circuit 139 which is based on a diode 120 and capacitor 121 . the output of the peak - detect circuit is supplied to an amplifier 122 which provides automatic gain control to the amplifier 117 . the automatic gain control amp includes an input resistor 123 which is connected to the first input of a differential amplifier 124 . the second input of differential amplifier 124 is connected to a reference voltage 125 . capacitor 126 is connected in feedback across the amp 124 . the voltage controlled delay circuit is controlled in response to a ramp signal on line 127 , which is supplied by ramp generator 128 . the ramp signal on line 127 causes the voltage controlled delay to sweep over a range of delays which corresponds to the delay of the timing cable 104 plus a range of expected time - of - flights from the transmit unit to the receiver . this ramp generator 128 is driven by a ramp clock 130 . the ramp clock in the example illustrated is generated by dividing the pulse repetition frequency on line 102 by 2 16 to produce a 40 hertz signal on line 131 . the 40 - hertz signal is coupled to a binary storage element 132 . on the leading edge of the ramp clock , the output of the binary 132 is set high , enabling the and gate 133 to supply the 10 megahertz clock to a range counter 134 . the range counter counts up at the 10 megahertz rate until the comparator 119 detects that the sample signal on line 118 exceeds the threshold . at that point , the binary storage element 132 is reset , disabling the and gate 133 and turning off the range counter 134 . the data in the range counter can then be supplied out across bus 135 to the signal processor . also , on the leading edge of each 40 hertz ramp , a reset signal is supplied to control circuit 136 which resets the counter 134 for a subsequent sweep . thus , in fig3 a 2 . 5 megahertz repetition frequency is derived from the 10 megahertz clock . the pulse repetition frequency drives the transmit unit through the timing cable , which may be implemented with low - cost phonocables that carry dc power as well as the clock . the transmitter comprises a pulse forming network ( pfn ) that modulates a gated rf oscillator to generate one cycle of rf as shown at , for example , two gigahertz center frequency . the rf monocycle propagates from the transmit antenna to the receive antenna . a sample hold circuit in the receive unit samples the receive signal when driven with a gate pulse derived from the voltage controlled delay circuit and a pulse - forming network . the hold circuit output is amplified by an automatic gain controlled amplifier and applied to a threshold comparator . the output of the amplifier 117 is an equivalent time replica of the rf pulse that repeats at a 40 hertz rate , the sweep rate of the ramp generator . a peak detector detects the maximum pulse amplitude in the equivalent time sample signal and drives an automatic gain control amplifier to maintain the peak amplitude of the equivalent time pulse at a controlled level , typically - 1 peak volts in this example . the comparator is typically set to - 0 . 5 volts to detect the equivalent time pulse at a precise , constant percentage with a maximum level regardless of fluctuation caused by time - of - flight range or antenna orientation . the equivalent time signal represents a range sweep from one to ten feet as defined by the ramp circuit and the voltage controlled delay circuit . when the ramp starts its sweep , a binary is toggled to start the range counter by gating the 10 megahertz clock into the range counter . at the point in the sweep where the equivalent time pulse is precisely detected , the range counter is stopped , leaving the exact range count for readout . this cycle is repeated at a 25 millisecond rate . with a 10 megahertz count rate , 250 , 000 counts represent full scale , or ten feet , so the digital resolution is in the neighborhood of 0 . 0006 inches . however , present systems are analog - noise limited to about 0 . 01 inches at the 25 millisecond update rate . digital averaging may be employed to decrease jitter . the voltage controlled delay circuit 112 generates a linear - range sweep over time by employing a primitive exponential , high - speed voltage ramp with the time constant of about 10 nanoseconds . this ramp is combined with a primitive exponential ramp in the ramp circuit . both the real - time ramp and the equivalent - time ramp operate over the same portions of their curves to jointly provide a linear sweep . a representative electrical schematic diagram of another example of a receiver , transmitter and timing circuit are illustrated in fig4 through 6 . fig4 illustrates the timing circuit for the system according to the present invention . the timing circuit includes a 70 hertz oscillator , which is formed using nand gates 200 and 201 which have their inputs connected together to operate as inverters . the first nand gate 200 has its output connected to the input of the second nand gate 201 . the second nand gate 201 is connected through a capacitor 202 in feedback to the input of the first nand gate 200 . also , the output of nand gate 200 is connected through resistor 203 to its input . this 70 hertz clock is connected to a flip - flop through the rc differentiator composed of capacitor 204 and resistor 205 , which is connected to the positive five - volt supply . the flip - flop is based on nand gate 206 and nand gate 207 . the output nand gate 206 is connected to one input of nand gate 207 . the output of nand gate 207 is connected to one input of nand gate 206 . the first input of nand gate 206 is the output of the rc circuit based on capacitor 204 and resistor 205 . the second input to nand gate 207 is the output of a threshold detection circuit at node 208 . the threshold detection circuit at node 208 is composed of resistor 209 , which is connected to receive the sample signal , rx , generated by the receiver described in fig6 and resistor 210 , which is connected to the positive five - volt supply . the output of the flip - flop composed of nand gates 206 and 207 is supplied through resistor 211 to connector 212 . the connector 212 drives the signal processor , which is composed of counter 213 and memory 214 . a 10 megahertz clock 215 drives a nand gate 216 . the second input to the nand gate 216 is the signal from connector 212 , which enables and disables the output of the nand gate 216 to drive the counter 213 . also , the signal from connector 212 is used as a read strobe for the memory on line 215 , and a reset signal on line 216 for resetting the counter by appropriate control circuitry . thus , the counter is enabled at the beginning of each cycle of the oscillator composed of nand gates 200 and 201 , and turned off when the received sample signal rx falls below a negative threshold . the system in fig4 also shows the pulse clock composed of inverter 220 and inverter 221 . the output of inverter 220 is connected through resistor 222 to its input . the output of inverter 221 is connected through capacitor 223 to the input of inverter 220 . the output of inverter 221 is a2 megahertz clock on line 224 . this signal is supplied through inverter 225 to node 226 . capacitor 227 is connected between node 226 and ground . capacitor 228 is connected between node 226 and a transmit cable 229 such as an rca phono plug coupled to a 12 - foot coaxial audiocable . also , inductor 230 is coupled from cable 229 to the positive five - volt supply in order to supply power to the transmitter across the cable 229 superimposed with the transmit clock . the pulse clock on line 224 is also supplied to a delay circuit which is connected to line 224 through resistor 231 . resistor 231 is connected to the input of inverter 232 and through variable capacitor 233 to ground . the variable capacitor 233 . provides a coarse delay for the pulse clock . the output of inverter 232 is supplied through resistor 234 to the input of inverter 235 . the input of inverter 235 is also driven by the ramp generator , generally 246 . the output of inverter 235 is supplied through inverter 236 to the receive strobe generator through capacitor 237 . capacitor 237 is connected between the output of inverter 236 and node 238 . diode 239 has its anode connected to node 238 and its cathode connected to ground . resistor 240 is connected between node 238 and the five - volt supply . node 238 is also connected to the emitter of high - speed transistor 241 . the base of transistor 241 is coupled to ground . the collector of transistor 241 supplies the strobe signal stb on line 242 . also , the collector of transistor 241 is connected through resistor 243 to the positive five - volt supply . the ramp generator 246 is basically an analog exponential ramp generator . this ramp generator may be replaced by a digital - to - analog converter which digitally supplies a sequence of analog values to the input of inverter 235 to control the delay using synchronous oscillators . in the analog version illustrated , the 70 hertz clock at the output of the nand gate 200 is supplied on line 250 through resistor 251 and the capacitor 252 to the base of transistor 253 . also resistor 254 is connected from the base of transistor 253 to ground . emitter of transistor 253 is coupled to ground . the collector of transistor 253 is connected through resistor 255 to the positive five - volt supply . also the collector is coupled through capacitor 256 to ground . resistor 257 is connected from the positive five - volt supply to the input of inverter 235 . resistor 258 is connected from the collector of transistor 253 to the input of inverter 235 . also , controllable capacitor 259 is connected from the input of inverter 235 to ground . this circuit serves to bias the input of inverter 235 to a region in which it has an exponential transfer function . the ramp generator 246 generates a complimentary exponential transfer function to provide overall a linear ramp in delay at the output of inverter 235 . fine control over the span of the range of delays produced is provided by the adjustable capacitor 259 . also illustrated in fig4 is a battery - based power supply . the power supply includes a battery 270 . the battery is connected to a switch 271 which drives level translators 272 and 273 to provide isolated five - volt supplies for the circuit . although the transmit timing signal and the receive timing signal are produced using a single clock in the embodiment described , alternative systems may employ timing circuits which have separate synchronized clocks located at the receiver and transmitter , respectively , without a cable tether . fig5 illustrates the implementation of a transmitter according to the present invention . this transmitter includes a connector 300 which can be connected to the cable 229 illustrated in fig4 . this cable supplies dc power and the transmit clock to a pulse - forming network in the transmitter . thus , connector 300 is coupled through inductor 301 to line 302 . also , the connector 300 is connected through capacitor 303 to node 304 . resistor 305 is connected from node 304 to line 302 . diode 306 has its cathode coupled to node 304 and its anode coupled to ground . diode 307 has its anode coupled to node 304 and its cathode coupled to line 302 . line 302 is coupled through capacitor 308 to ground . node 304 is coupled through inverters 309 and 310 in series which shape the incoming signal . the output of inverter 310 is supplied through capacitor 311 to node 312 . the anode of diode 313 is coupled to node 312 . the cathode of diode 313 is coupled to ground . node 312 is connected through resistor 314 to line 302 . also , node 312 is connected through resistor 315 to the emitter of a high - speed transistor 316 . the base of high - speed transistor 316 is connected through inductor 317 to ground . collector of transistor 316 is connected to the transmit antenna . 318 . also , the collector is coupled through inductor 319 to node 320 . node 320 is coupled through resistor 321 to line 302 and across capacitor 322 to ground . the transmit antenna 318 is connected through resistor 323 and capacitor 324 to ground . thus , the transmitter generates a short burst of radio frequency energy at the transmit antenna 318 . the antenna may be a vertically polarized antenna , a circularly polarized antenna , antennae based on cross - dipoles or other implementations known in the arts . also , the antenna may be dithered or otherwise maneuvered to improve sensitivity of the receiver . the use of the pulsed rf system has a very low average power , complying with fcc part 15 regulations . fig6 illustrates a receiver for use with the system of the present invention . the receiver includes a receive antenna 350 and a single diode sample gate based on diode 351 . the cathode of diode 351 is connected to the receive antenna 350 . also , the strobe signal from line 242 of fig4 is supplied through capacitor 352 to the cathode 353 diode 351 . resistor 353 is coupled from the cathode of diode 351 to ground . the anode of diode 351 is coupled to node 354 . capacitor 355 holds the sampled voltage between node 354 and ground . a resistor 356 is coupled from node 354 to the positive five - volt supply . node 354 is connected through capacitor 397 to the base of transistor 357 . the emitter of transistor 357 is connected to ground . a resistor 358 is connected in feedback from the collector of transistor 357 to its base . the collector of transistor 357 is connected through capacitor 398 to a sequence of audio amplifiers beginning with inverter 359 , having resistor 360 in feedback . the output of inverter 359 is connected through capacitor 361 and resistor 362 to the input of inverter 363 . inverter 363 has resistor 364 and capacitor 365 connected in parallel in feedback from the output to the input . also , the output of inverter 363 is connected through capacitor 366 and resistor 367 of the input of inverter 368 . inverter 368 has resistor 369 and capacitor 370 connected in feedback in parallel . the output of inverter 368 is an equivalent time sample signal on line 371 . this signal is supplied across resistor 372 to the input of inverter 373 . the output of inverter 373 is supplied to the anode of diode 374 . the cathode of diode 374 is connected to node 375 , which is connected across capacitor 376 to ground . also , a resistor 377 is connected from node 375 to the input of inverter 373 . node 375 is connected through resistor 378 to the input of inverter 379 . inverter 379 has capacitor 380 in feedback and its input is connected across resistor 381 to ground . the output of inverter 379 is connected through resistor 382 to the collector of transistor 357 and provides automatic gain control for the amplifier sequence in response to the voltage generated on capacitor 376 . the equivalent time signal on line 371 is also connected through capacitor 383 and resistor 384 to node 385 . node 385 is connected across capacitor 386 to ground and resistor 387 to ground . it is also connected to a video output connector 388 for connection to an analyzing circuit . the signal on line 371 is supplied as the equivalent time signal rx to the threshold detector shown in fig4 . the values of the resistors and capacitors are illustrated in fig4 through 6 for the example circuit shown . the nand gates are 74hc00 and the inverters are 74ac04 , except in the receiver in which the inverters are implemented using mc14069ub inverters . the sample circuit uses a single - ended , single diode sample gate , which operates with low power and high efficiency for sampling the small signals at the fast rate required by the present invention . other receiver topologies might be used , such as those described in my co - pending u . s . patent application entitled ultra - wide band receiver , application ser . no . 08 / 044 , 745 , filed apr . 12 , 1993 , now u . s . pat . no . 5 , 345 . 471 , issued sep . 6 , 1994 , owned at the time of invention and currently by the same assignee as the present invention . such application is incorporated by reference in order to teach alternative receiver topologies . fig7 illustrates a simple head position sensing system implemented according to the present invention . in this system , a transmitter 500 is mounted on a user &# 39 ; s headset 501 , worn by a user of a computer system 502 . the receiver box 503 is mounted on the computer system 502 and connected across cable 504 to a standard mouse interface . the receiver box 503 includes a first receiver 505 , a second receiver 506 and a third receiver 507 each generating a time - of - flight measurement for pulses generated by the transmitter 501 . the receiver box 503 produces data indicating the time - of - flight from the transmitter 500 to each of the three receivers 505 , 506 , 507 can be used for precise position detection of the transmitter 500 mounted on the headset 501 . the user is tethered by a small diameter coaxial cable 508 to the receiver box 503 to provide timing in the embodiments described . computer system 502 includes the standard monitor 510 and keyboard 511 and may be used for executing interactive computer programming based on the position data produced according to the present invention . various arrangements of the transmitters and receivers may be used to triangulate , providing six axis information : x , y , z in translation and 3 axes of rotation for the transmitter 500 . accordingly , a very high resolution position sensing system has been provided based on direct time - of - flight measurement of radio frequency pulses . the system is simple and highly accurate , greatly improving over prior systems for providing this type of information . the system is capable of providing submillimeter resolution made with components costing less than about $ 10 . 00 . the invention can be applied to interactive media systems , robotics , automotive occupant position sensing , digital surgery , and a wide variety of other applications where high resolution position sensing is desired . referring to fig3 an envelope detector 140 can be added to the baseband analog output appearing on line 118 between amplifier 117 and comparator 119 to eliminate a problem that occurs when the orientation of the receive and transmit antennas 111 , 109 are not matched , e . g ., one is upright and one is inverted . without the envelope detector 140 , the waveform appearing on line 118 becomes inverted when either the transmitter or the receiver antenna becomes inverted relative to the other . this can happen during routine installation or during activities related to position sensing using the device , such as robotics control . when the waveform is inverted , leading edge triggering of comparator 119 occurs on the second receive lobe 142 appearing on line 118 instead of the first receive lobe 141 , as shown in fig8 resulting in an error in position determination amounting to 1 / 2 an rf cycle , typically about 3 inches . the envelope detector 140 added between amplifier 117 and comparator 119 on line 118 comprises an absolute value circuit 143 followed by a low pass filter 144 , as shown in fig8 . envelope detector 140 resolves this problem by taking the absolute value of the equivalent time signal to make it polarity insensitive . thus the leading lobe 145 of the absolute value signal is always of the correct polarity . further , a low pass filter 144 is added to smooth the absolute - value / rectified signal into a clean pulse 146 prior to threshold detection by comparator 119 . this process allows for smooth degradation in accuracy should the leading lobe in the received pulse become degraded due to multipath rf propagation or antenna sidelobe nulls . ideally , low pass filter 144 has a linear phase characteristic in its passband , such as a bessel characteristic , and a stop band null located at the periodicity of the input signal , such as a chebychev stop band characteristic . antennas ( t ) 109 and ( r ) 111 are generally linearly polarized monopoles , dipoles , or horns . however rotational independence can be achieved with circularly polarized antennas , such as cavity - backed spirals or turnstile antennas . even with these antennas , nulls in the leading edge can occur due to multipath or antenna sidelobe nulls , so the envelope detector 140 can be used for increased positional accuracy . changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope of the invention which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the claims . | 6 |
[ 0035 ] fig1 is a schematic drawing in section of an optical fiber being drawn from a powder - in - tube ( pit ) preform according to a first embodiment of the invention to make the preform 40 shown in fig1 a glass tube 20 is filled with a glass powder 22 . the tube is usually closed ( not shown ) at least one end to retain the glass powder . in the preform , the glass of the tube will ultimately form the cladding of the optical fiber , whereas the glass of the powder will ultimately form the core of the optical fiber . the glass of the tube 20 is thus referred to as the cladding glass in the following . similarly , the glass of the powder 22 is referred to as the core glass . to fabricate an optical fiber , the preform 40 is placed in a furnace and heated by a heat source ( not shown ) as schematically indicated by the arrows 24 . on heating , the powder 22 forms a liquid 28 , an air gap 30 being left between the liquid 28 and the as - yet unmelted powder 22 situated thereabove . a pulling tension 26 is applied to the preform 40 that causes the preform 40 to be drawn into an optical fiber under the heating action , as schematically shown in the figure . the dimensions of the cladding tube 20 , specifically its inner diameter ( id ) and outer diameter ( od ), and the pulling tension 26 are selected taking account of the characteristics of the particular combination of cladding glass and core glass . a specific example of optical fiber fabrication according to the pit technique of the first embodiment is now given . the example is of a lead - oxide based optical fiber . the tube 20 has an inside diameter ( id ) of approximately 8 mm and an outside diameter ( od ) of approximately 24 mm . the tube 20 is made by sleeving three tubes over a fourth , smaller tube . the cladding glass tube 20 is pyrex ( trade mark ). the core glass powder 22 is obtained by fragmenting schott sf59 glass ( trade name ) into particles of variable dimension , varying between about 1 and 500 microns . during fragmentation , and also subsequent filling of the cladding tube with the fragments , care needs to be taken to avoid contamination . more generally , it is preferred that the dimensions of the powder particles are as large as possible . the upper limit for the dimensions of the powder particles being only dictated by the inner diameter of the cladding tube into which they must fit . schott sf59 glass has a glass transition temperature t g ˜ 362 ° c . and a thermal expansion coefficient α ˜ 103 × 10 − 7 ° c . − 1 . the composition of schott sf59 is 83 % w / w pbo and 17 % w / w sio 2 . pyrex is substantially free of lead oxide , has a glass transition temperature t g ˜ 500 ° c . and a thermal expansion coefficient α ˜ 32 . 5 × 10 − 7 ° c . 1 . the composition of pyrex is 81 % w / w sio 2 , 13 % b 2 o 3 , 4 % w / w na 2 o and 2 % al 2 o 3 . the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between the core and cladding glass δα ˜ 70 × 10 − 7 ° c . − 1 . in the finished optical fiber , the expected difference in the refractive index δn between core and cladding in this example is approximately 0 . 43 . as required by the present fabrication method , the working temperature of the cladding glass ( pyrex ( registered trade mark ) working temperature is 1252 ° c .) is higher than the working temperature of the core glass ( schott sf59 working temperature is no more than its glass temperature of 362 ° c .) to ensure that , during fiber drawing , the powder melts while the cladding glass is solid , but deformable . a soft glass is deformable , while more cohesive than a liquid . a quantitative definition of a range of temperatures over which a glass is soft ( applicable to the cladding glass in the present case ) is the range of temperatures between the softening temperature ( 10 7 . 6 pa · s viscosity point ) and the working temperature ( 10 4 pa · s viscosity point ). moreover , a glass is usually considered to be liquid when at a temperature above its working point , i . e . when its viscosity is less than 10 4 pa · s [ 17 ]. to draw the fiber , the preform 40 is held at a temperature of 1100 ° c . for 5 minutes to melt the powder 22 . the temperature is then elevated to 1175 ° c . and the fiber is drawn . the drawing temperature ( 1175 ° c .) thus lies between the softening and working temperatures ( 821 and 1252 ° c . respectively ) of the pyrex cladding glass . moreover , the schott sf59 core glass is melted at the drawing temperature , having a glass temperature of only 362 ° c . during drawing the outside of the fiber is coated with an acrylate coating ( not shown ) having a typical thickness of approximately 100 μm . optical microscope analysis of the fiber showed that the core is circular . moreover , no bubbles were observed at the core - cladding interface , attributable to the low viscosity of the melted core glass . when the preform remnant was removed from the furnace at the end of drawing , all the powder 22 had melted and a solid core was present at the bottom of the remnant of tube 20 . some hours after its removal from the furnace , the preform remnant shattered into many pieces . this is attributable to the large thermal stress frozen into the preform remnant as a result of the core consolidation . the drawn fiber on the other hand was stable and remained intact , which is attributed to the smaller size of the drawn fiber ( typical od ˜ 125 μm ), which is orders of magnitude smaller than the preform ( od ˜ 24 mm ). the present example thus demonstrates that optical fiber can be successfully fabricated from core and cladding glasses that are severely thermally mismatched ( δα ˜ 70 × 10 − 7 ° c . − 1 in the example ). this feature of the method has the advantage that it allows the core glass and the cladding glass to be chosen principally in relation to their optical or other properties in the finished fiber . by contrast , with prior art fabrication methods , the choice of core and cladding glasses is often dictated by the fabrication method itself through the requirement for a good thermal match between these glasses ( see reference [ 14 ] for example ). in the example of an optical fiber being prepared for uv writing of a refractive index modulation structure in the core , it is generally beneficial not to include the ( uv opaque ) photosensitive dopant in the cladding . however , if the photosensitive dopant affects the thermal expansivity of its host glass , then using prior art methods , the worker may be forced to include the photosensitive dopant in the cladding glass simply to provide an adequate thermal match with the core glass . this design constraint is relaxed by the present embodiment . attempts to produce a similar optical fiber using conventional mcvd and rit techniques were unsuccessful . in addition to the specific example of incorporation of lead oxide , the optical fiber fabrication method of the first embodiment is applicable to incorporation of a variety of volatile constituents , as now quantified . [ 0047 ] fig2 is a graph plotting the gibbs free energy δg of vaporization via disassociation ( in kilocalories per mole ) as a function of temperature t in degrees celsius for four different oxide compounds . the reactions are from the solid dioxide , trioxide and pentoxide compounds pbo 2 , sno 2 , p 2 o 5 and la 2 o 3 into their respective monoxide gas phases ( i . e . pbo , sno , po and lao ) plus gaseous oxygen ( o 2 ). the data are taken from references [ 11 ], [ 11 a ], [ 12 ] and [ 13 ]. the solid lines reflect measured data and the dashed lines are extrapolations from the measured data . a disassociation reaction is energetically favorable when the gibbs free energy for that reaction is negative . accordingly , as can be seen from the graph , pbo 2 is the most volatile of the compounds shown , its gibbs free energy becoming negative at around 700 ° c . for sno 2 the gibbs free energy becomes negative at around 1100 ° c . ( pbo 2 and sno 2 have respective boiling points of ˜ 1470 ° c . and 1800 - 1900 ° c .). p 2 o 5 is considerably less volatile , having a gibbs free energy of disassociation into the monoxide that becomes negative at around 2400 ° c . this temperature is only slightly higher than typical drawing temperatures for silica fiber which are 2000 - 2300 ° c ., so that some reduction of the p 2 o 5 into po may take place during drawing . here it is relevant to note that the data of fig2 is based on the assumption that the chemical reaction takes place at equilibrium . in other words , the assumption is that the concentration of products ( in the present case mono - oxides and oxygen ) is balanced with that of the reagents ( in the present case more complex oxides ). thus , even when the disassociation gibbs energy is slightly positive , disassociation may still take place when the concentration of products is lower than reagents . this means that p 2 o 5 may disassociate even at temperatures slightly lower than the zero disassociation gibbs energy point plotted in the figure . further , the data is also based on consideration of the oxides alone , as indicated by the reactions drawn in fig2 . the data may vary if the glass , e . g . silica , is taken into account . because of these factors , the data shown should be regarded as indicative of , rather than definitive of , quantitative values which can be determined by experiment for individual compounds if required . returning to the figure , the gibbs free energy of disassociation of the rare earth compound la 2 o 3 is still positive at 2500 ° c . so that it will be non - volatile at any drawing temperatures used for fabricating silica or related optical fibers . the properties of other rare earth compounds are believed to be similar , in that there will be no significant disassociation at any drawing temperatures used for silica - based optical fiber . in other words , the rare earth oxide compounds can be defined as non - volatile for the purposes of drawing silica - based fibers . the boiling points of rare earth &# 39 ; s are quoted to be between 3600 ° c . and 4200 ° c . [ 11 - 13 ]. it is also noted that al 2 o 3 has a boiling point of about 3000 ° c . and is classified as non - volatile for the present purposes . for the present purposes a volatile compound is thus defined as a dioxide or higher oxide compound that can disassociate into its monoxide at the fiber drawing temperature , preform collapse temperature or other relevant temperature . in other words , a volatile compound is a compound for which the relevant gibbs free energy of disassociation into the monoxide form of the compound is negative at the drawing temperature of the fiber . correspondingly , a non - volatile compound is defined for the present purposes as one for which the relevant gibbs free energy of disassociation is positive at the fiber drawing temperature , preform collapse temperature or other temperature . typically for silica - based optical fiber the drawing temperature will be in the range 2000 - 2300 ° c . it will be appreciated that the present method may be used for drawing optical fibers that are not silica based , in which case other ranges of drawing temperatures may apply . [ 0055 ] fig3 is a schematic drawing in section of an optical fiber being drawn from a rod - in - tube ( rit ) preform according to a second embodiment of the invention . the preform 40 comprises a glass tube 20 arranged around a solid rod 32 . in analogy to the terminology used for describing the first embodiment , the glass of the tube 20 is referred to as cladding glass and the glass of the rod 32 as core glass . the drawing technique is generally as described in relation to the first embodiment in that heating 24 from a heat source ( not shown ) is applied to melt the core glass as the fiber is drawn under a tension 26 in a furnace . a dashed line 34 is used in the figure to illustrate schematically the boundary between solid core glass rod 32 and the molten core glass 36 . the method of the second embodiment is thus similar to the first embodiment in that the core glass is melted during drawing while the cladding glass remains solid in a glassy , and thus extrudable , state . this state is sometimes referred to as soft in the art , and the comments made above on the definition of softening temperature in relation to the first embodiment also apply to the second embodiment . the method of the second embodiment is thus similar to references [ 15 - 17 ] but different from conventional prior art rit methods [ 2 ] in that the core glass is melted during drawing . the rit method of the second embodiment thus shares the advantage of the pit method of the first embodiment in that stress between the core and cladding glass is relieved during drawing by the melting of the core glass . after drawing , the core glass solidifies in the drawn fiber and stresses are induced . however , as in the first embodiment , the reduced dimensions of the drawn fiber are able to accommodate stresses that would be too large to be accommodated in the larger preform . a particular feature of the rit method of the second embodiment is that , since the method involves melting the core rod , there is no requirement that the core rod is a tight fit in the cladding tube , as in conventional prior art rit methods . consequently , the core rod diameter can be chosen to be significantly lower than the inner diameter of the cladding tube so that no thermal stresses will occur between core and cladding glasses prior to melting , since there is no intimate interface between them . a specific example of the second embodiment is now given and relates to rit fabrication of a fiber with a sn : na : si core and silica cladding . the cladding tube of od = 34 mm and id = 1 . 6 mm was provided . the cladding glass was the glass suprasil ( trade mark ) which is synthetic silica . suprasil has a softening temperature of 1600 ° c . and a working temperature of about 2400 ° c . a core glass rod of dimensions 1 . 5 mm diameter and 50 mm long was produced initially by melting powders of na 2 o , sio 2 and sno 2 in a pt crucible at 1500 ° c . for 60 minutes . the core glass rod was then consolidated at 1750 ° c . for 60 minutes into the desired rod . the molar composition of the powder used to produce the core glass was : [ sio 2 ]= 75 %, [ sno 2 ]= 5 %, [ na 2 o ]= 20 %. a core glass having this composition has a working temperature of about 1700 ° c . the rit method of this example proceeded by collapsing the suprasil cladding glass tube onto the core glass rod at 2000 ° c . while drawing the fiber . the drawing temperature ( 2000 ° c .) thus lies between the suprasil cladding glass softening and working temperatures ( 1600 - 2400 ° c .) and above the working temperature of the na 2 o : sio 2 : sno 2 core glass ( 1700 ° c .). the drawn fiber had od = 74 μm . comparing the pit method of the first embodiment with the rit method of the second embodiment , it is considered that the pit method of the first embodiment has some advantages over the rit method of the second embodiment . for example , the use of powder for the core allows the preform to have a smaller diameter than is possible with the rit method , since for rit the core needs to be large enough not to break when being handled , typically at least about 1 mm in diameter for convenient handling . specifically , with the pit method of the first embodiment , the internal diameter of the cladding tube can be made much smaller than the corresponding outer diameter of the core glass rod in the rit method of the second embodiment . this has the advantage that , the smaller the starting preform , the less sensitive the fabrication method is to stresses caused by thermal mismatch between the core and cladding glasses . [ 0064 ] 1 . s nagel et al , “ an overview of the mcvd process and performance ”, ieee journal of quantum electronics qe18 , pages 459 - 475 ( 1982 ) [ 0065 ] 2 . e snitzer and r tumminelli , “ sio2 - clad fibers with selectively volatilised soft - glass cores ”, optics letters vol . 14 , pages 757 - 759 ( 1989 ) [ 0066 ] 3 . j ballato and e snitzer , “ fabrication of fibers with high rare - earth concentrations for faraday isolator applications ”, applied optics vol . 34 , pages 6848 - 6854 ( 1995 ) [ 0072 ] 9 . j e townsend et al ., “ solution doping technique for fabrication of rare earth doped optical fibers ”, electronics letters vol . 23 , pages 329 - 330 ( 1989 ) [ 0073 ] 10 . b j ainslie , j r armitage , sp craig and b wakefield , “ fabrication and optimisation of the erbium distribution in silica based doped fibers ”, european conference on optical communication ( ecoc ), brighton , 1988 , pages 62 - 65 [ 0074 ] 11 . handbook on the physics and chemistry of rare earths , vol . 3 , edited by k a gschneidner and l r evring , north - holland , 1979 [ 0075 ] 11 a . r j ackermann and e g rauh : journal of chemical thermodynamics , vol . 3 , pages 445 - 460 ( 1971 ) [ 0076 ] 12 . crc handbook of chemistry and physics , 76th edition , edited by d r lide and hpr frederikse , crc press inc ., 1995 - 1996 [ 0077 ] 13 . alfa aesar catalogue , research chemicals , metals and materials , 1999 - 2000 [ 0078 ] 14 . m a newhouse , d l weidman , and d w hall , “ enhanced - nonlinearity single - mode lead silicate optical fiber ”, optics letters vol . 15 , pages 1185 - 1187 ( 1990 ) | 2 |
preferable embodiments of an endoscope according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings . fig1 is a system block diagram showing an example of an endoscope apparatus to which the endoscope which relates to the present invention is applied . as shown in fig1 , an endoscope apparatus mainly includes an endoscope 10 and a balloon controller 100 . the endoscope 10 includes a hand operation unit 14 and an insertion unit 12 which is installed in connection with this hand operation unit 14 and is inserted inside a living body . a universal cable 16 is connected to the hand operation unit 14 , and an lg connector 18 is provided at a tip of this universal cable 16 . the lg connector 18 is detachably connected to a light source apparatus 20 , and thereby illumination light is transmitted to an illumination light optical system ( not shown ) provided at a tip of the insertion unit 12 . in addition , an electric connector 24 is connected to the lg connector 18 through a cable 22 , and this electric connector 24 is detachably connected to a processor 26 . in the hand operation unit 14 , an air supply / water supply button 28 , a suction button 30 , a shutter release 32 , and a function switching button 34 are juxtaposed , while a pair of angle knobs 36 and 36 are provided . a balloon air supply opening 38 is formed by an l - shaped bent pipe in a base end portion of the hand operation unit 14 . a below - mentioned balloon 60 can be expanded or shrunk by supplying or sucking a fluid , such as air , to / from this balloon air supply opening 38 . the insertion unit 12 includes an elastic portion 40 , a bending portion 42 , and a tip portion 44 sequentially from a hand operation unit 14 side . the elastic portion 40 is a portion which has sufficient flexibility , and is installed in connection with a base end side of the bending portion 42 . the bending portion 42 is constructed so as to be bent remotely by rotating the angle knobs 36 and 36 of the hand operation unit 14 . for example , the bending portion 42 is constructed so that the bending portion 42 may be given a bending operation by a plurality of cylindrical joint rings being coupled rotatably by a guide pin , a plurality of operation wires being made to be inserted inside the joint rings and being guided by the guide pin , and the operation wires being pushed and pulled . it is possible to orient the tip portion 44 in a desired direction by giving the bending operation to this bending portion 42 . the tip portion 44 is a hard portion provided at a tip of the insertion unit 12 , and as shown in fig2 , an observation optical system 52 , illumination light optical systems 54 and 54 , an air supply / water supply nozzle 56 , and a forceps opening 58 are provided in its tip surface 45 . a ccd ( not shown ) is arranged behind the observation optical system 52 , and a signal cable ( not shown ) is connected to a substrate which supports that ccd . the signal cable is inserted into the insertion unit 12 , the hand operation unit 14 , a universal cable 16 , and the like , and is extended to an electric connector 24 to be connected to a processor 26 . therefore , an observation image taken in by the observation optical system 52 is imaged on a light - receiving surface of the ccd to be converted into an electric signal , and this electric signal is output to the processor 26 in fig1 through the signal cable to be converted into a video signal . thereby , the observation image is displayed on a monitor 50 connected to the processor 26 . an emission end of a light guide ( not shown ) is arranged behind the illumination light optical systems 54 and 54 in fig2 , the light guide is inserted into the insertion unit 12 , hand operation unit 14 , and universal cable 16 in fig1 , and its incident end is arranged inside the lg connector 18 . hence , by connecting the lg connector 18 to the light source apparatus 20 , illumination light radiated from the light source apparatus 20 is transmitted to the illumination light optical systems 54 and 54 in fig2 through the light guide , and is radiated forward from the illumination light optical systems 54 and 54 . the air supply / water supply nozzle 56 communicates with a valve ( not shown ) operated with the air supply / water supply button 28 in fig1 , and this valve communicates with an air supply / water supply connector 48 provided in the lg connector 18 . an air supply / water supply device not shown is connected to the air supply / water supply connector 48 , and air and water are supplied . hence , it is possible to inject air or water from the air supply / water supply nozzle 56 to the observation optical system by operating the air supply / water supply button 28 . the forceps opening 58 in fig2 communicates with a forceps insertion portion 46 in fig1 . therefore , it is possible to draw a treatment tool from the forceps opening 58 by inserting the treatment tool , such as a forceps , from the forceps insertion portion 46 . in addition , the forceps opening 58 communicates with a valve operated with the suction button 30 , and this valve is connected to a suction connector 49 of the lg connector 18 . hence , it is possible to suck a pathological change portion or the like from the forceps opening 58 by connecting a not - shown suction device to the suction connector 49 , and manipulating the valve with the suction button 30 . fig3 is a diagram showing a pipeline in the insertion unit 12 schematically . as shown in this diagram , a pipeline 66 is provided inside the insertion unit 12 , this pipeline 66 is branched on the way , and two openings are provided in an outer peripheral surface of the insertion unit 12 . that is , two openings 64 and 65 are provided in the outer peripheral surface of the insertion unit 12 . the opening 64 is provided in a concave groove 67 formed in a base end portion of the tip portion 44 . the concave groove 67 is formed in an outer peripheral surface of the tip portion 44 over a round , and is formed in width of a rubber ring 69 shown in fig5 . hence , when the rubber ring 69 is fit outside the concave groove 67 , the rubber ring 69 is housed inside the concave groove 67 . the opening 65 is provided in a concave groove 68 formed in a base end portion of a connection ring 41 which connects the bending portion 42 and / with the elastic portion 40 . the concave groove 68 is formed in an outer peripheral surface of the connection ring 41 over a round , and is formed in the same width as the above - mentioned concave groove 67 , that is , in the width of the rubber ring 69 shown in fig4 . hence , when the rubber ring 69 is fit outside the concave groove 68 , the rubber ring 69 is contained inside the concave groove 68 . the rubber ring 69 is formed in a ring shape of an elasticity material such as rubber , and its inner diameter before outside fitting is formed a little smaller than outer diameters in locations of the concave grooves 67 and 68 . hence , by making the rubber ring 69 fit outside the concave groove 67 or 68 , the rubber ring 69 sticks to a peripheral surface of the concave groove 67 or 68 by its own elastic force , and the opening 64 or 65 is sealed . in addition , although it is made to make the common rubber ring 69 fit outside the concave grooves 67 and 68 in this embodiment , it is not limited to this , but different rubber rings may be made to fit outside . as shown in fig4 or 5 , the balloon 60 is mounted in a location of the opening 64 or 65 . the balloon 60 is formed of an elastic material , such as rubber , in substantially cylindrical shape whose end portion is shrunk , and includes a tip portion 60 a and a base end portion 60 b with a smaller diameter , and a swelling portion 60 c which is a central portion . after inserting the insertion unit 12 and arranging it in a predetermined location of the insertion unit 12 , this balloon 60 is fixed to the insertion unit 12 by putting rings 61 and 62 ( referring to fig2 ), made of rubber , in the tip portion 60 a and base end portion 60 b . in addition , a fixing method of the tip portion 60 a and base end portion 60 b is not limited particularly , it is also sufficient to wind a string to fix them . in addition , the balloon 60 is constructed expandably , and it is made to be substantially spherical when it expands , and it sticks to an outer surface of the insertion unit 12 when it shrinks . the above - mentioned pipeline 66 in fig3 includes a tube , a pipe , a hole , and the like , and a base end side ( left side in fig3 ) of the pipeline 66 communicates with the balloon air supply opening 38 of the hand operation unit 14 in fig1 . the below - mentioned balloon controller 100 is connected to the balloon air supply opening 38 through a tube 110 . therefore , it is possible to supply and suck a fluid to / from the openings 64 and 65 by supplying and sucking a fluid , such as air , from the balloon controller 100 . the balloon controller 100 is an apparatus which not only supplies and sucks a fluid to the balloon 60 ( refer to fig4 and 5 ) to expand and shrink the balloon 60 , but also controls internal pressure of the balloon 60 at that time , and is mainly constructed by an apparatus main body 102 and a hand switch 104 for remote control . a power switch sw 1 , a stop switch sw 2 , and a pressure display unit 106 are provided in a front face of the apparatus main body 102 . the pressure display unit 106 is a panel which displays a pressure value of the balloon 60 , and displays an error code at the time of occurrence of an abnormality such as a burst of a balloon . the tube 110 which performs air supply and suction to / from the balloon 60 is connected to the front face of the apparatus main body 102 . a backflow preventing unit 112 for preventing a backflow of humors when the balloon 60 is burst is provided in a junction between the tube 110 and apparatus main body 102 . the backflow preventing unit 112 is constructed by incorporating a filter for gas - liquid separation into an inside of a hollow disk - like case ( not shown ) which is mounted detachably in the apparatus main body 102 , and prevents a liquid with the filter from flowing into the apparatus main body 102 . on the other hand , various kinds of switches are provided in the hand switch 104 . for example , a stop switch which is the same as the stop switch sw 2 of the apparatus main body 102 side , an on / off switch which indicates pressurization or depressurization of the balloon 60 , a pause switch for holding pressure of the balloon 60 , and the like are provided . this hand switch 104 is electrically connected to the apparatus main body 102 through a cord 130 . in addition , although not shown in fig1 , a display unit which shows an air supply state or an exhaust state of the balloon 60 is provided in the hand switch 104 . the balloon controller 100 constructed as described above not only supplies air to the balloon 60 to expand it , but also to control the air pressure to a constant value to keep the balloon 60 in an expanding state . in addition , the balloon controller 100 not only sucks air from the balloon 60 to shrink it , but also to control the air pressure to a steady value to keep the balloon 60 in a shrinking state . the balloon controller 100 is connected to a balloon - dedicated monitor 82 , and makes a pressure value , and expansion and shrinkage states of the balloon 60 displayed on the balloon - dedicated monitor 82 when expanding and shrinking the balloon 60 . in addition , the pressure value , and expansion and shrinkage states of the balloon 60 may be superimposed on an observation image of the endoscope 10 to be displayed on the monitor 50 . as an example of an operation method of the endoscope apparatus constructed as described above , the insertion unit 12 is inserted in a push mode , and a balloon 60 is expanded if necessary , and is fixed inside a living body ( for example , large intestine ). then , after drawing the insertion unit 12 to simplify a pipe shape of the living body ( for example , large intestine ), the balloon 60 is shrunk and the insertion unit 12 is further inserted in the depth of an intestinal tract . for example , the insertion unit 12 is inserted from an anus of a subject , the insertion unit 12 is fixed to the intestinal tract by the balloon 60 being expanded when the tip of the insertion unit 12 passes over a sigmoid colon , and the insertion unit 12 is pulled for the sigmoid colon to be made substantially linear . then , the balloon 60 is shrunk and the tip of the insertion unit 12 is being inserted in the depth of the intestinal tract . thereby , it is possible to insert the insertion unit 12 into the depth of the intestinal tract . next , an operation of the endoscope 10 constructed as described above will be explained . the endoscope 10 includes two openings 64 and 65 in the insertion unit 12 , and a surgeon selects one of the two openings 64 and 65 to mount the balloon 60 according to an application . fig2 and 4 show examples of the balloon 60 being mounted in location of the opening 64 , and fig5 shows an example of the balloon 60 being mounted in a location of the opening 65 . as shown in fig2 and 4 , when the balloon 60 is mounted in the location of the opening 64 , the tip portion 60 a of the balloon 60 is fixed on an outer peripheral surface of the tip portion 44 which is nearer to the tip than the opening 64 , and the base end portion 60 b of the balloon 60 is fixed on an outer peripheral surface of the bending portion 42 . thereby , since the opening 64 is arranged inside the swelling portion 60 c of the balloon 60 , it is possible to expand and shrink the balloon 60 by supplying and sucking a fluid , such as air , to / from the opening 64 . in this case , the rubber ring 69 is made to fit outside the concave groove 68 , and the opening 65 which is not selected is sealed with the rubber ring 69 . thereby , when a fluid is supplied and sucked by the balloon controller 100 , the fluid is supplied and sucked to / from the opening 64 . when the balloon 60 is mounted in the location of the opening 64 as described above , the balloon 60 is mounted near the tip of the insertion unit 12 . hence , since the observation optical system 52 of the tip portion 44 is fixed to the inside of the living body when the balloon 60 is expanded and the insertion unit 12 is fixed to the inside of the living body ( large intestine or the like ), it is possible to obtain an observation image with a small blur . in addition , since the balloon 60 is near the tip of the insertion unit 12 , the insertion unit 12 can be fixed to the further depth of the living body when the balloon 60 is expanded and fixed to the inside of the living body . hence , it is possible to enlarge a stroke in one insertion operation . as shown in fig5 , when mounting the balloon 60 in a location of the opening 65 , the tip portion 60 a of the balloon 60 is fixed on an outer peripheral surface of the connection ring 41 which is nearer to the tip than the opening 65 , and the base end portion 60 b of the balloon 60 is fixed on an outer peripheral surface of the elastic portion 40 . thereby , since the opening 65 is arranged inside the swelling portion 60 c of the balloon 60 , it is possible to expand and shrink the balloon 60 by supplying and sucking a fluid , such as air , to / from the opening 65 . in this case , the rubber ring 69 is made to fit outside the concave groove 67 , and the opening 65 which is not selected is sealed with the rubber ring 69 . thereby , when the fluid is supplied and sucked by the balloon controller 100 , the fluid is supplied and sucked to and from the opening 65 . when the balloon 60 is mounted in the location of the opening 65 as described above , the balloon 60 is mounted in a base end side further than the bending portion 42 . hence , it is possible to perform a bending operation of the bending portion 42 freely in a state that the balloon 60 is expanded and the insertion unit 12 is fixed to the inside of the living body ( large intestine or the like ). therefore , since it is possible to orient the tip portion 44 to a pathological change portion or the like in a state that the insertion unit 12 is fixed to the inside of the living body , this is suitable for making an endoscope treatment tool , such as a forceps , inserted into a forceps channel of the endoscope 10 to treat the pathological change portion or the like . in this way , according to this embodiment , it is possible to select a mounting position of the balloon 60 according to an application of a balloon type endoscope . in addition , in the above - mentioned endoscope 10 , since the pipeline 66 is provided in the insertion unit 12 , differently from a case that the pipeline 66 is arranged outside the insertion unit 12 , it is possible to mount the balloon 60 easily , and to secure airtightness between the balloon 60 and insertion unit 12 . in addition , in the endoscope 10 of this embodiment , since the openings 64 and 65 are provided in the concave grooves 67 and 68 , when the rubber ring 69 is made to fit outside and seal the opening 64 or 65 , it is possible to prevent the rubber ring 69 from projecting from an outer peripheral surface of the insertion unit 12 . furthermore , in this embodiment , since the openings 64 and 65 are provided in the concave grooves 67 and 68 , it becomes hard for the opening 64 or 65 to be sealed by the balloon 60 when a fluid is sucked from the opening 64 or 65 , and hence , it is possible to shrink the balloon 60 securely . furthermore , although the rubber ring 69 is used in the embodiment mentioned above as a sealing device which seals the opening 64 or 65 which is not selected , the sealing device is not limit to this , and may be just a device which seals the opening 64 or 65 , or a branching portion of the pipeline 66 . for example , it is also sufficient to press fit a rubber plug into the opening 64 or 65 , or to seal the opening 64 or 65 by fitting or screwing a plug member into the opening 64 or 65 . in addition , as mentioned later , it is also sufficient to seal the opening 64 or 65 using the tip portion 60 a or base end portion 60 b of the balloon 60 . furthermore , a pipeline - sealing device such as a solenoid valve may be provided in the branching portion of the pipeline 66 . in addition , although the example of providing the two openings 64 and 65 is explained in the embodiment mentioned above , the number of the openings is not limited to this , but three or more openings may be provided in an axial direction of the insertion unit 12 . for example , an opening may be provided in an outer peripheral surface of the elastic portion 40 in addition to the openings 64 and 65 mentioned above . furthermore , although the opening 64 is provided in the tip portion 44 of the insertion unit 12 and the opening 65 is provided in the connection ring 41 in the embodiment mentioned above , locations of the openings are not limited to this , but what is necessary is just to be formed in different locations in the axial direction of the insertion unit 12 . for example , as shown in fig6 and 7 , openings 70 and 71 may be provided in the tip portion and base end portion of the connection ring 41 , respectively . the openings 70 and 71 are provided in concave grooves 72 and 73 formed in the outer peripheral surface of the connection ring 41 over a round in a circumferential direction , respectively . widths of the concave grooves 72 and 73 are formed in widths of the tip portion 60 a and base end portion 60 b of the balloon 60 , respectively . when the opening 70 is selected in the endoscope constructed as described above , as shown in fig6 , the tip portion 60 a of the balloon 60 is fixed on the bending portion 42 , and the base end portion 60 b of the balloon 60 is fixed in a location of the concave groove 73 . hence , the opening 71 which is not selected is sealed by the base end portion 60 b of the balloon 60 . in addition , when the opening 71 is selected , as shown in fig7 , the tip portion 60 a of the balloon 60 is fixed by the concave groove 72 , and the base end portion 60 b of the balloon 60 is fixed by the elastic portion 40 . hence , the opening 70 which is not selected is sealed by the tip portion 60 a of the balloon 60 . according to the endoscope constructed as described above , it is possible to select a mounting position of the balloon 60 from a tip portion side and a base end side of the connection ring 41 . in addition , according to this embodiment , since the opening 70 or 71 which is not selected is sealed using the tip portion 60 a or base end portion 60 b of the balloon 60 , it is not necessary to provide a sealing device separately . in addition , according to this embodiment , since the tip portion 60 a or base end portion 60 b of the balloon 60 after mounting are arranged inside the concave groove 72 or 73 by providing the openings 70 and 71 in the concave grooves 72 and 73 , it is possible to prevent the tip portion 60 a or base end portion 60 b from projecting from an outer peripheral surface of the insertion unit 12 . moreover , in the case of the above - mentioned endoscope , the balloon 60 may be mounted as shown in fig8 . that is , the tip portion 60 a of the balloon 60 may be fixed in the tip side further than the concave groove 72 , and the base end portion 60 b may be fixed in the base end side further than the concave groove 73 . thereby , the two openings 70 and 71 are arranged inside the balloon 60 , and supply and suction of a fluid are performed through the two openings 70 and 71 . hence , it is possible to prevent the balloon from expanding and shrinking with partially uneven . in addition , although the pipeline 66 is branched and is made to communicate with the openings 64 and 65 , or 70 and 71 in the embodiment mentioned above , the present invention is not limited to this , but an independent pipeline for each of the openings 64 , 65 , 70 and 71 may be provided , and may be connected to the balloon controller 100 . | 0 |
a colorimeter , comprising three sensors for sensing incident intensity and a single sensor for sensing the frequency or occurrence of a flash , utilizing a light to frequency conversion process is used for the measurement of temporally active sources . when measuring a crt , the colorimeter is physically attached using an integrated suction cup that surrounds the sensing elements to shield the sensors from ambient illumination . when used in remote sensing or for industrial applications , the colorimeter can be used in conjunction with an imaging lens assembly to provide for variable area viewing . the frequency sensor may be used to trigger a measurement upon sensing a flash , or to determine the frequency of a continuously flashing source , such as a crt . the intensity sensors convert light intensity to an electrical current that is then converted by a current to frequency sensor to a stream of electronic pulses whose frequency is proportional to the intensity striking the detector . the stream of electronic pulses is accumulated in a digital counter over a predetermined period of time that is based upon the detected frequency of the time variant light intensity . this integrated count , from each of the three filtered light intensity sensors represents a raw , un - calibrated estimate of the colorimetric signal . the count values derived from each of the three sensors are multiplied by an integration time calibration constant . these time corrected values are then multiplied by a correction matrix to yield values that are representative of the human visual process as specified by the c . i . e . the calibration process is accomplished on a calibration station that uses a crt as a temporally variant light source . when calibrating the device as a colorimeter , the crt source is characterized using a spectrophotometer . an attached computer then displays colors on the crt . the device under test is then used to measure these colors . the integration time for measurement at calibration is based on the frequency of the refresh of the crt . a calibration matrix is derived to map the raw count information to a useful cie colorimetric value . this calibration matrix , the frequency of the monitor , and length of time that was used for the measurement are stored in the colorimeter device . when calibrating a device as a luminance measurement device , a similar method is used , but the calibration values are based only on the number of sensors used in the device . the invention is susceptible of many variations . accordingly , the drawings and following description of the preferred embodiment are to be regarded as illustrative in nature , and not as restrictive . fig1 a and 1b are a representation of the approximate physical size of the colorimeter ( 8 ) when attached to crt monitor ( 9 ). fig2 is a representation of the field of view of the face of the monitor ( 9 ) when the calibrator ( 8 ) is attached . fig2 illustrates that the field of view is circular and that the the total area of a line observed at the top of the field ( 10 ) is less than the area of the line in the center of the field ( 11 ). fig3 is a representation of a physical measurement of the relative intensity of the recorded signal as a function of time for a single period of the display vertical refresh time . the leading edge of the response ( 12 ) is characterized by a constant increase in signal level that is proportional to the length of a given scan line ( 10 , or 11 ). the periodic nonuniformity on the leading edge of the signal ( 12 ) is due to the vertical refresh of the monitor . the trailing edge of the waveform ( 13 ) is due to the decay of the combined images of the lines within the aperture of the measurement ( 3 , fig1 ). the integrated area under the curve , over time , ( 14 ) represents the signal that is proportional to the response that the human eye can respond to . fig4 is a representation of the periodic nature of of the curve represented by fig3 . the time between vertical refresh rates is represented by t0 ( 15 ). for the purposes of measurement , an integer number of refresh rates t1 ( 16 ) must be used for purposes of integration of the signal . fig5 a is a representation of the unique dual mode amplitude integrator used in the present invention . this consists of a pin photodiode ( 17 ) whose output photoelectronic current is integrated over time in a charge integrator ( 18 ). the output of said charge integrator is converted to a current and then a frequency using the current to frequency stage ( 19 ). the output of the current to frequency converter can be analyzed either via an accumulating counter ( 20 ) which is gated on and off via host command ( 21 ) and / or through an edge detector ( 22 ) which is used to gate another counter ( 23 ) that is accumulating the output of a constant frequency counter ( 24 ). fig5 b is an electronic schematic representation of the frequency detect sensor used in the colorimeter . the output of the pin photodiode ( 25 ) is amplified ( 26 ) and ac coupled through capacitor ( 27 ), the result of which is again amplified by amplifier ( 28 ) producing a pulse output ( 29 ). fig5 c is a representation of the pulse output of the circuit represented in fig5 b . the time between pulses tv ( 30 ) represents the vertical refresh time of the display system and is directly used to determine the time t0 ( 15 ), fig4 . fig6 is a block diagram representation of the electronics of the colorimeter . element 34 is a combination of sections 31 thru 33 that each represent the dual mode amplitude integrator described in fig5 a . element ( 35 ) is a frequency detection circuit that is represented by fig5 b . these circuits are analyzed by microprocessor ( 36 ) and communicate the results via host interface ( 37 ) to any host computer ( 38 ). fig7 a is a block representation of the construction of the filter assembly housing . a common sensor filter ( 39 ) is used to act as a primary filter in conjunction with combinations of filter material ( 40 ) ( 41 ) and detector ( 42 ). the filter housing ( 43 ), shields the detector from all extraneous radiation that has not been directly transmitted through the filters . the sensor that is used to detect the frequency of the source is located in the same plane as the filtered sensors . in this embodiment , this sensor is unfiltered and has a spectral response defined , by the native response of the silicon sensor . the layout of all the sensors in the current embodiment is shown in fig7 b . in this best mode form , there are four sensors : three to detect amplitude and one to detect the frequency of the source . when this embodiment of the invention is used to measure color , the filter material is chosen to have the desired response to achieve the required spectral sensitivity to reduce the difference between the two phosphor sets . if the invention is used to measure only the luminance of the display , three filter packs are used that have equal relative spectral distributions , but have different levels of absolute transmittance . doing this allows the detector system to measure a very large dynamic range display without loss of precision or accuracy . fig8 is a representation of the spectral emission characteristics of the two prevelant phosphor family sets ( red green and blue ) found in commercial displays , ebu and p22 . some areas of significant physical differences , ( 44 ), and ( 45 ) are highlighted in this figure . fig9 a is a plot of the two red phosphors and the detector sensitivity . the areas of significant difference ( 45 ) are shown to have minimal response when compared to the detector sensitivity function ( 47 ) for the red phosphor . fig9 b is a plot of the two green phosphor sets and the corresponding spectral sensitivity curve which is used to exaime these sets . it is noted that the difference areas in the green ( 46 ) are not part of green sensitvity function ( 48 ). the significant difference between this new invention and earlier designs is that the filters are designed to minimize the differences between the signal received from either phosphor set . earlier designs emphasized the development of filters that when combined with a known detector sensitivity function , could be used to derive a response that closely matched the cie color matching functions . this invention uses the apriori knowledge of the intended source distributions to mask differences between the sources . a single calibration matrix may then be used to map the measured signal to a calibrated cie color space description . fig1 is a mathematical representation of the matrix solution used to derive the calibration matrix ( 49 ), from a corresponding set of calibration values ( 51 ) and a set of measured values ( 50 ). fig1 is a representation of the calibration station used to calibrate the colorimeter consisting of computer components ( 51 ), mounted colorimeter ( 52 ), color crt source ( 53 ) and color crt source stabilization board ( 54 ). fig1 is a physical representation of the best mode device . fig1 shows a cover ( 0 ), above a circuit board ( 1 ) containing the detectors and filter assembly ( 2 ) which captures illumination through diffuser whose field of view is limited by aperture ( 3 ), that is a molded element of base unit ( 4 ) that is attached to suction cup ( 5 ). data is transmitted through cable ( 6 ) and connected to a host computer via connector 7 . fig1 illustrates the entire block diagram of the invention . the time variant light source ( 9 ) is incident upon the colorimeter ( 8 ) attached to the screen of the light source . the frequency detector system ( 60 ) receives the unfiltered incident illumination . the filter pack ( 62 ) filters the incident illumination before it is received by the amplitude detection system ( 64 ) and the frequency conversion system ( 66 ). the gated digital counting system ( 68 ) determines the appropriate counting method and the resulting output goes through a scaling ( 70 ) process using the calibration stored constants ( 72 ). the correction matrix ( 74 ) uses the calibration data to correct for system inaccuracies , and the output is the scaled corrected data ( 76 ). fig1 is a method flow chart showing the steps in the calibration process . the source frequency is measured ( 80 ) by the system . then the integration time is calculated ( 82 ). the system measures the incident source signal ( 84 ), and the pulses are counted . if the number of counted pulses ( nc ) is less than the source frequency period count , the system measures the period of pulses from the frequency converter system ( 88 ), and the number is converted ( 90 ) to an equivalent count . if nc is greater than or equal to the source frequency period count the counted pulse number is used ( 86 ). this value is then scaled ( 92 ) and corrected by multiplication with the correction matrix ( 94 ). the present invention is primarily designed to attach to the face of a color crt display . referring now to fig1 a and 1b we see the colorimeter ( 8 ) attached to the nominal center of the crt ( 9 ). the field of view of the colorimeter is such that it does not subtend the entire display surface . the crt sweeps a predetermined number of lines horizonitally . after completing all the horizonal lines , the beam is turned off and returned to the top of the field to retrace the display once again . the time between two successive retraces is called the vertical refresh rate . fig2 is a representation of the circular field of view of the sensor system . this circular field of view contains a number of video raster lines . because the field of view is circular , all raster lines do not have equal weight in the measurement . it is shown in fig2 that the upper most raster line ( 10 ) is much shorter than the raster line in the center of the field ( 11 ). fig3 is a representation of the instantaneous illumination falling on the sensor with respect to time of the image in the field of view . as the raster lines accumulate within the field , one notes that there is an overall increase in signal with a period variation within the increasing edge ( 12 ). this periodic pattern is the result of the horizontal retrace of the video display . each local peak represents a new raster line being exposed to the sensor through the circular aperture . the crt generates light by causing a phosphor to emit light of a given color . the phosphor has a characteristic fall time or persistence . the persistence of the phosphor causes the raster line to glow longer than the time it takes to generate so the amount of light detected by the sensor increases overtime because multiple lines are glowing simultaneously . after the rasters have been painted , the light signal decays ( 13 ). in order to correlate this signal with the human visual process , it is essential to integrate this signal and find the area under the curve ( 14 ). this must be done because the angular subtense of the eye and the response time of the eye are both greater than that of the measurement instrument . the crt display is refreshed at a periodic rate that is faster than the response time of the eye . this rate is typically from 50 hz to 85 hz . when the response given in fig . ( 3 ) is analyzed over longer periods , a periodic function is derived . fig4 is a representation of this function . the time of integration may exceed a single vertical period of the monitor . an examination of fig4 shows that the vertical retrace time may be deduced by measuring the time between two falling edges ( 15 ). knowledge of this time is critical because it is necessary to set the measurement integration time to be an integer multiple of the vertical retrace period . for purposes of definition , we term the system that does this , the source frequency detection system . fig5 b is a block diagram of the source frequency detection system . the system consists of a photodiode ( 25 ) and amplifier ( 26 ). the output of this stage is ac coupled ( 27 ) into a comparator ( 28 ). the output of this comparator is used to detect the frequency of the source being measured ( fig5 c , 30 ). another use of this sensor is to detect the occurrence of a random source for triggering a measurement . the sensor for the frequency detection system is in the same plane as the sensors used to detect color or luminance . this sensor is unfiltered as it is only used to check for source frequency . if the measurement period is not set properly there is a potential loss of accuracy due to missing a refresh . this is because the monitor source emits no light during this period , hence missing one pulse can have a large effect on the measurement . for example if roughly 20 integration periods were measured , different parts of the last pulse may be captured . in this example , the errors can be as large as 5 % ( 1 part in 20 ). a block diagram representation of the integration system is depicted in fig5 a . a photo diode ( 17 ) generates charge that is integrated by a charge integrator ( 18 ) and that is linearly related to the incident energy on the sensor . for purposes of definition we call this stage the amplitude detection system . the charge integrator then generates a current that is then converted to a frequency that is proportional to the current input to a current to current frequency converter ( 19 ). for purposes of definition , we term this section the frequency conversion system . in the current invention , the pulses generated by the current frequency converter are analyzed in one of two manners , based upon the level of integrated incident energy striking the detector . for purposes of definition , we term this section the gated digital counter system . if the integrated incident energyas measured by the device produces a total count that is greater than the number of refresh fields that are being measured , the output frequency pulses are counted by a digital counter ( 20 ) over the integration time period that was determined by the measurement of the frequency of the monitor . for example , if the integration time was set to be 100 fields , and the resultant totalized count out of the frequency conversion section was 1000 , then the digital counter ( 20 ) is used as the basis of the measurement . if the the integrated incident energy level is low , there will be very few pulses counted and the totalized count realized in digital counter ( 20 ) will be less than the total number of fields . when this condition is detected , an edge detector ( 22 ) is used to gate a counter that is counting a free - running crystal clock ( 24 ), or other clock of fixed and known frequency . this edge detector is triggred by a pulse from the frequency converter section . after triggering , the counter is now accumulating pulses at a precisely fixed interval . the edge detector gates this counter off when on the alternate transition of the clock pulse . the contents of this counter now contain be related to the time between pulses generated by the frequency conversion section . fig1 is a block diagram representation of the colorimeter that illustrates the realtionship between the physical systems , i . e . : frequency detection system , filter pack , amplitude detection system , frequency conversion system , gated digital counter system and the computational elements of the process . the crt display system is a time variant light source . the frequency detection system determines the frequency of refresh of the crt display , the combination of the filter pack , amplitude detection system and frequency conversion system generates output pulses whose frequency is linearly related to the incident filtered energy striking the sensor in the amplitude detection system . an integration time , based upon an integer multiple of the refresh period ( 1 /( refresh frequency ), as determined by the frequency detection system , is used to gate the period of accumulating counters in the gated digital counter system . based upon the accumulated count in these counters , a decision is made to either pass the count on for scaling and calibration or to re - examine the pulse train using a method to determine the precise period of the pulse . fig1 is a flow chart that illustrates the steps in the process of deriving a calibrated value from the measurement : the first step is to determine the frequency of the source using the source frequency detector . the next step is to determine the integration time . the integration time is based upon an arbitrarily selected number of periods of display refresh over which the display is to be measured . in the current embodiment , this number varies from 12 to 100 periods . this value is constant for a given display system , so it need be determined only once . the source is measured for this period and the number of counts accumulated by the counter ( nc ), is compared to the number of periods that the measurement has occured over ( np ). if nc is greater than or equal to np , the count is used . if nc is less than np , the measurement is made using the period measurement mode of the gated digital counter system . this number is then passed to the scaling and matrix multiplication algorithms . the integration in the present invention is accomplished in either light region , by simple accumulation or summing of pulses . the current invention eliminates mathematical accumulation and division operations that are required to analyze the complex waveform of the incomming signal . calibration of this system of integration can be descibed as follows : the colorimeter system is illuminated by a known and calibrated temporally varying light source . for each of the color channels , a total count is accumulated for this source over a time interval that has been determined to be an integer multiple of the refresh rate of the source . the length of time that the accumulation is allowed to occur is also recorded . therefore we have a measure of a conversion factor which allows one to calculate the physical luminance measured as a function of the known integration time such that : where luminance is the value of the known and calibrated source , n is the number of counts that the system accumulated over an interval of i secs . the constant &# 34 ; k &# 34 ; is the calibration constant . it is often necessary to modify the intergration time based upon requirements of the measurement senario . if the integration interval is different than the original calibration interval , it is necessary to modify eq . 1 ): where i is the original integration time and &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; is the new integration interval . in this embodiment of the invention , we term this corrected calibration value the &# 34 ; time corrected calibration constant &# 34 ; in the current embodiment , a texas instrument tls 235 light to frequency converter sensor is used to form the diode / charge - integrator , and current to frequency converter function . a microchip pic17c42 processor is used to implement the 16 bit dual mode counter system . fig6 is a representation of the complete colorimeter system . the light to frequency sensors ( 34 ) are connected to counter inputs which can also be used for edge detection the frequency detect sensor is input to another port . the data is collected and analyzed by the microprocessor ( 36 ) and then sent to the host computer ( 38 ). the calibration data is stored in an eeprom ( 39 ). in practice , the colorimeter can be used to measure the monitor that is connected to the computer , or it can be used to measure alternate sources . as stated earlier , the integration process can occur either by accumulation of pulses , or by detecting the average period of the pulse . the total number of pulses accumulated over time is given by eq . 3 . where τ represents the time of integration , f ( t ) is the time variant frequency proportional to the intensity of illumination striking the sensor . as the intensity of the time variant illumination striking the sensor diminishes , the frequency produced by the sensor gets proportionately lower . referring now to fig4 the time between vertical refresh is tr ( labled 15 ) on the graph . when the light to frequency converter produces a frequency that is longer than this period , the value f ( t ) can be considered a constant . under these conditions , eq . 3 can be rewritten as : where α is a conversion constant and f c is the constant frequency at the current illumination level . at this lower light level , it is now possible to measure the period of the signal rather than the frequency . in this current embodiment , the switch to measuring period rather than frequency has the property of increasing resolution as the signal gets lower . when the illumination level is low enough to be in the constant frequency region , the frequency can be calculated as the inverse of the period . under these circumstances equation 4 becomes : in this mode , a free runing clock is runing at a high frequency ( f fr ) and is accumulated by a counter that is gated on and off by the pulse that is output from the photosensitive system . the total number of counts , n fr , can be used to calculate the period as shown in equation 6 . when the counter gates only 1 period , the constant , α , has a value of 1 . if the counter is gated for n periods , the value of α is 1 / n periods . the number derived in equation 7 can be used interchangebly with the number derived from equation 1 . hence the same calibration data can be used for either case of the dual mode integration . fig7 is a representation of the construction of the filters which cover the sensor sets . the filters are constructed and of stacks of different colored material . all filter stacks share a common glass filter ( 39 ) which is used to limit the sensitivities in the near ultraviolet and in the red and neat infrared . this filter stack ( 40 , 41 ) is surrounded by a plastic shroud ( 43 ) which shields the sensor from illumination that hasn &# 39 ; t passed through the filter stack . the selection of filter material is critical to the response of the instrument . in prior art , much work was applied to the design of filters which are representative of the human visual response . such designs have been shown to be expensive and complex to manufacture . fig8 is a representation of the spectrum of the emission of two common phosphors . unlike the methods described in the prior art , the filters in this embodiment have been designed to minimize the difference between the phosphor sets . these differences occur in both the visible and non - visible regions of the spectrum . fig8 shows the result of scaling the red , green and blue phosphors to their respective maxima . fig9 a , and 9b show the areas of maximum differenceces between the two phosphor families . fig9 b shows the an expanded plot of the two green phosphors and the spectral response of the best mode colorimeter . note that the sensor sensitvity does not respond in the regions of greatest difference fig9 a is an expanded view of the red emission characteristics ( 45 ) and the red sensitvity function ( 47 ). the dominant region of difference is shown to be excluded by the detector sensitivity function . the methodology used to design the filters may be described by the following steps : 1 . select the constituent phosphor families that are to be measured by the system under design . 2 . measure the spectrum of each phosphor contained in the family of phosphors . 3 . scale the measured spectra such that each phosphor is normalized by the maximum value . 5 . use the minima of the autocorrelation function to determine the location of the cutoffs for the filter . 6 . use the maxima of the autocorrelation functions to determine the center wavelength of the filter design . 7 . select appropriate filter media to achieve the bandpass and centerwavelength requirements . the signals produced by sensor system are correlated with a spectrophotometer and then related to the human response system . using the matrix solution presented in fig1 , a correction matrix can be calculated which allows the conversion the red , green , and blue signals to cie xyz system of measurement . in the current embodiment , a calibration station is to calibrate the instruments in production . the correction matrix ( 50 ) is determined by mounting the colorimeter on a servoed display system ( 53 ) ( 54 ) which has been calibrated using a spectrophotometer as a primary means of determining the colors presented by the crt in terms of the cie xyz system of measurement . the servo system attached to the display system ensures that a reliable , calibrated set of colors will be displayed on the screen . the display crt component of the calibration station ( 54 ) then presents the calibrated colors to the device under test under the control of the computer ( 51 ) . the display stabilization processor ( 54 ) monitors the realtime output of the display system and corrects for variations over time . the device under test measures the output of the stabilized and calibrated crt and returns this data to the calibration station . the calibration station then computes a correction matrix by solving for the equation shown in fig1 . the goal of the equation described by fig1 is to determine a matrix a ( 49 ) knowing the data as measured by a spectrophotmeter ( 51 ) and the data as measured by the colorimeter under test ( 50 ). the solution to solve for matrix a ( 49 ) knowing the calibration data c ( 51 ) and the measured data b ( 50 ) follows in the following set of equations : c != a ! * b ! where ! indicate a matrix . eq . 8 ) both sides of equation 8 are multiplied by the transpose of matrix b the expression b ! * b ! t is by definition a square matrix and therefore invertable . multiplying both sides of eq . 9 by the inverse of this matrix and collecting terms yields the following : the calibration station then programs the device under test with a serial number , a correction matrix , the frequency of the station and integration time of the measurements . this data is then used by the application software to scale measurements made on unknown devices to a calibrated state . the calibration station records the raw data measurements and measurement results in a data base that is used for statistical tracking of the manufacturing process . a complete colorimeter is represented in fig1 . fig1 is a physical representation of the best mode device . fig1 shows a cover ( 0 ), above a circuit board ( 1 ) containing the detectors and filter assembly ( 2 ) which captures illumination through diffuser whose field of view is limited by aperture ( 3 ), that is a molded element of base unit ( 4 ) that is attached to suction cup ( 5 ). data is transmitted through cable ( 6 ) and connected to a host computer via connector ( 7 ). as will be realized , the invention is capable of other and different embodiments , and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects , all without departing from the essence of the invention . | 6 |
a method for producing a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a semiconductor device obtained by the method will now be described with reference to drawings . a production method that includes forming a fin - shaped silicon layer on a silicon substrate , forming a first insulating film around the fin - shaped silicon layer , and forming a pillar - shaped silicon layer in an upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer is described below . first , as shown in fig2 a - 2c , a first resist 102 for forming a fin - shaped silicon layer is formed on a silicon substrate 101 . next , as shown in fig3 a - 3c , the silicon substrate 101 is etched to form a fin - shaped silicon layer 103 . although a fin - shaped silicon layer is formed by using a resist as a mask here , a hard mask such as an oxide film or a nitride film may be used instead of the resist . next , as shown in fig4 a - 4c , the first resist 102 is removed . then , as shown in fig5 a - 5c , a first insulating film 104 composed of an oxide is formed around the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 by deposition . the first insulating film may be an oxide film formed by a high - density plasma process or an oxide film formed by a low - pressure chemical vapor deposition process instead of one made by such a deposition method . as shown in fig6 a - 6c , the first insulating film 104 is etched back to expose an upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 . the process up to here is the same as the process of making a fin - shaped silicon layer in ptl 2 . as shown in fig7 a - 7c , a second resist 105 is formed to perpendicularly intersect the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 . the part where the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 and the second resist 105 intersect forms a pillar - shaped silicon layer . since a line - shaped resist can be used as such , the possibility of the break of the resist after formation of a pattern is low and the process becomes stable . then , as shown in fig8 a - 8c , the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 is shaped by etching . as a result , the part where the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 and the second resist 105 intersect forms a pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 . accordingly , the width of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 is equal to the width of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 . as a result , a structure in which the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 is formed in the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 and the first insulating film 104 is formed around the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 is formed . as shown in fig9 a - 9c , the second resist 105 is removed . a method for forming diffusion layers by implanting an impurity into an upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer , an upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer , and a lower portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer is described below . that is , as shown in fig1 a - 10c , a second oxide film 107 is formed by deposition and a first nitride film 108 is formed . in order to prevent the impurity from being implanted into the sidewall of the pillar - shaped silicon layer , the first nitride film 108 need be formed only on the sidewall of the pillar - shaped silicon layer so as to have a sidewall shape . since the upper part of the pillar - shaped silicon layer will be covered with a gate insulating film and a polysilicon gate electrode in the subsequent steps , it is desirable to form a diffusion layer in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer before the pillar - shaped silicon layer is covered as such . then , as shown in fig1 a - 11c , the first nitride film 108 is etched so as to be left as a sidewall . next , as shown in fig1 a - 12c , an impurity such as arsenic , phosphorus , or boron is implanted to form a diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer and diffusion layers 109 and 111 in the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 . then , as shown in fig1 a - 13c , the first nitride film 108 and the second oxide film 107 are removed . referring now to fig1 a - 14c , a heat - treatment is performed . the diffusion layers 109 and 111 in the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 come into contact with each other so as to form a diffusion layer 112 . as a result of the above - described steps , an impurity is implanted into the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 , the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 , and the lower portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 so as to form the diffusion layers 110 and 112 . a method for preparing a polysilicon gate electrode , a polysilicon gate line , and a polysilicon gate pad by using polysilicon will now be described . according to this method , an interlayer insulating film is first deposited and then a polysilicon gate electrode , a polysilicon gate line , and a polysilicon gate pad are exposed by chemical mechanical polishing ( cmp ). thus , it is essential that the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer remain unexposed despite cmp . in other words , as shown in fig1 a - 15c , a gate insulating film 113 is formed , a polysilicon 114 is deposited , and the surface thereof is planarized . the upper surface of the polysilicon 114 after planarization is to come at a position higher than the gate insulating film 113 on the diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 . in this manner , the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer can remain unexposed despite cmp , during which a polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , a polysilicon gate line 114 b , and a polysilicon gate pad 114 c become exposed and which is performed after deposition of the interlayer insulating film . next , a second nitride film 115 is deposited . the second nitride film 115 prevents formation of a silicide in the upper portions of the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , polysilicon gate line 114 b , and polysilicon gate pad 114 c during the process of forming a silicide in the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 . next , as shown in fig1 a - 16c , a third resist 116 for forming the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , the polysilicon gate line 114 b , and the polysilicon gate pad 114 c is formed . the polysilicon gate pad 114 c is preferably arranged so that the part that forms a gate line perpendicularly intersects the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 in order to decrease the parasitic capacitance between the gate line and the substrate . the width of the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a and the width of the polysilicon gate pad 114 c are preferably larger than the width of the polysilicon gate line 114 b . then , as shown in fig1 a - 17c , the second nitride film 115 is formed by etching . then , as shown in fig1 a - 18c , the polysilicon 114 is etched to form the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , the polysilicon gate line 114 b , and the polysilicon gate pad 114 c . then , as shown in fig1 a - 19c , the gate insulating film 113 is etched so as to remove the bottom portion of the gate insulating film 113 . then , as shown in fig2 a - 20c , the third resist 116 is removed . the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , the polysilicon gate line 114 b , and the polysilicon gate pad 114 c are thus formed through the steps described above . the upper surface of the polysilicon after forming the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , the polysilicon gate line 114 b , and the polysilicon gate pad 114 c is located at a position higher than the gate insulating film 113 on the diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 . a method for forming a silicide in the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer will now be described . this method is characterized in that no silicide is formed in the upper portions of the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , the polysilicon gate line 114 b , and the polysilicon gate pad 114 c , and the diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 . it is not preferable to form a silicide in the diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 since the number of steps in the method will increase . first , as shown in fig2 a - 21c , a third nitride film 117 is deposited . next , as shown in fig2 a - 22c , the third nitride film 117 is etched to be left as a sidewall . then , as shown in fig2 a - 23c , a metal such as nickel or cobalt is deposited to form a silicide 118 in the upper portion of the diffusion layer 112 in the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 . since the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , the polysilicon gate line 114 b , and the polysilicon gate pad 114 c are covered with the third nitride film 117 and the second nitride film 115 and the diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 is covered with the gate insulating film 113 , the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , and the polysilicon gate line 114 b , no silicide is formed in these parts . through the steps described above , a silicide is formed in the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 . next , a gate - last production process in which , after an interlayer insulating film is deposited on the structure obtained through the steps described above , the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , the polysilicon gate line 114 b , and the polysilicon gate pad 114 c are exposed by cmp and removed by etching and then a metal is deposited is described . first , as shown in fig2 a - 24c , a fourth nitride film 119 is deposited to protect the silicide 118 . next , as shown in fig2 a - 25c , an interlayer insulating film 120 is deposited and the surface thereof is planarized by cmp . then , as shown in fig2 a - 26c , the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , the polysilicon gate line 114 b , and the polysilicon gate pad 114 c are exposed by cmp . then , as shown in fig2 a - 27c , the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , the polysilicon gate line 114 b , and the polysilicon gate pad 114 c are etched . they are preferably wet - etched . then , as shown in fig2 a - 28c , a metal 121 is deposited and the surface thereof is planarized so as to fill the spaces where the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a , the polysilicon gate line 114 b , and the polysilicon gate pad 114 c had existed with the metal 121 . atomic layer deposition is preferably employed to fill the spaces . then , as shown in fig2 a - 29c , the metal 121 is etched to expose the gate insulating film 113 on the diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 . as a result , a metal gate electrode 121 a , a metal gate line 121 b , and a metal gate pad 121 c are formed . the steps described above constitute the method for producing a semiconductor device by a gate - last technique of depositing metal layers after etching the polysilicon gate exposed by cmp after deposition of the interlayer insulating film . a method for forming contacts will now be described . here , since no silicide is formed in the diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 , the contact is directly connected to the diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 . that is , first , as shown in fig3 a - 30c , a fifth nitride film 122 is deposited so that the fifth nitride film 122 is thicker than a half of the width of the polysilicon gate line 114 b and thinner than a half of the width of the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a and a half of the width of the polysilicon gate pad 114 c . as a result , contact holes 123 and 124 are formed on the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 and the metal gate pad 121 c . the fifth nitride film 122 and the gate insulating film 113 at the bottom portions of the contact holes 123 and 124 will be removed by a subsequent step of etching the nitride film . accordingly , a mask for forming the contact hole 123 on the pillar - shaped silicon layer and the contact hole 124 on the metal gate pad 121 c is not needed . next , as shown in fig3 a - 31c , a fourth resist 125 for forming a contact hole 126 on the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 is formed . then , as shown in fig3 a - 32c , the fifth nitride film 122 and the interlayer insulating film 120 are etched to form the contact hole 126 . then , as shown in fig3 a - 33c , the fourth resist 125 is removed . then , as shown in fig3 a - 34c , the fifth nitride film 122 , the fourth nitride film 119 , and the gate insulating film 113 are etched to expose the silicide 118 and the diffusion layer 110 . then , as shown in fig3 a - 35c , a metal is deposited to form contacts 127 , 128 , and 129 . through the steps described above , the contacts 127 , 128 , and 129 can be formed in the semiconductor device . according to this production method , no silicide is formed in the diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 and thus the contact 128 is directly connected to the diffusion layer 110 in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 . the method for forming metal wiring layers will now be described . first , as shown in fig3 a - 36c , a metal 130 is deposited . next , as shown in fig3 a - 37c , fifth resists 131 , 132 , and 133 for forming metal wirings are formed . then , as shown in fig3 a - 38c , the metal 130 is etched to form metal wirings 134 , 135 , and 136 . then , as shown in fig3 a - 39c , the fifth resists 131 , 132 , and 133 are removed . through the steps described above , the metal wirings 134 , 135 , and 136 which constitute metal wiring layers are formed . a semiconductor device produced by the production method described above is shown in fig1 a - 1c . the semiconductor device shown in fig1 a - 1c includes the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 formed on the silicon substrate 101 , the first insulating film 104 formed around the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 , the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 formed on the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 , the width of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 being equal to the width of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 , and the diffusion layer 112 formed in the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 and in the lower portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 . the semiconductor device shown in fig1 a - 1c further includes the diffusion layer 110 formed in the upper portion of the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 , the silicide 118 formed in the upper portion of the diffusion layer 112 in the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 , the gate insulating film 113 formed around the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 , the metal gate electrode 121 a formed around the gate insulating film , the metal gate line 121 b extending in a direction perpendicular to the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 and being connected to the metal gate electrode 121 a , and the metal gate pad 121 c connected to the metal gate line 121 b . the width of the metal gate electrode 121 a and the width of the metal gate pad 121 c are larger than the width of the metal gate line 121 b . the semiconductor device shown in fig1 a - 1c has a structure in which the contact 128 is formed on the diffusion layer 110 and the diffusion layer 110 is directly connected to the contact 128 . in sum , according to this embodiment of the present invention , a method for producing a sgt , which is a gate - last process capable of decreasing the parasitic capacitance between the gate line and the substrate and which uses only one mask for forming contacts is provided . a sgt structure obtained by this method is also provided . since the method for producing a semiconductor device of the embodiment is based on a known method for producing finfet , the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 , the first insulating film 104 , and the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 can be easily formed . according to a known method , a silicide is formed in the upper portion of a pillar - shaped silicon layer . since the polysilicon deposition temperature is higher than the temperature for forming the silicide , the silicide needs to be formed after forming the polysilicon gate . thus , in the case where a silicide is to be formed in the upper portion of a silicon pillar , the steps of forming a polysilicon gate , forming a hole in the upper portion of the polysilicon gate electrode , forming a sidewall with an insulating film on the sidewall of that hole , forming a silicide , and filling the hole with an insulating film are needed . thus , there is a problem in that the number of steps in the method will increase . in contrast , according to the embodiment described above , diffusion layers are formed before forming the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a and the polysilicon gate line 114 b and the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 is covered with the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a so that the silicide is formed in the upper portion of the fin - shaped silicon layer 103 only . then a gate is formed with a polysilicon , the interlayer insulating film 120 is deposited , the polysilicon gate is exposed by chemical mechanical polishing ( cmp ), and then the polysilicon gate is etched , followed by deposition of a metal . such a metal - gate - last production method can be used in this embodiment . thus , according to this method for producing a semiconductor device , a sgt having a metal gate can be easily produced . the width of the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a and the width of the polysilicon gate pad 114 c are larger than the width of the polysilicon gate line 114 b . furthermore , the fifth nitride film 122 thicker than a half of the width of the polysilicon gate line 114 b and thinner than a half of the width of the polysilicon gate electrode 114 a and a half of the width of the polysilicon gate pad 114 c are deposited in a hole formed by etching the polysilicon gate after forming the metal gate . thus , the contact holes 123 and 124 can be formed on the pillar - shaped silicon layer 106 and the metal gate pad 121 c , and thus a conventionally required etching step that forms a contact hole in the pillar - shaped silicon layer through a mask is no longer needed . in other words , only one mask is needed to form contacts . it should be understood that various other embodiments and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention in a broad sense . the embodiment described above is merely illustrative and does not limit the scope of the present invention . | 7 |
fig1 shows a portion of a production line including a cigarette making machine 1 and a filter tipping machine 2 which is directly coupled to the machine 1 . the machine 1 is of the type known as &# 34 ; garant &# 34 ; ( trademark ) produced by hauni - werke korber & amp ; co . kg ., of hamburg , federal republic germany , and the machine 2 is of the type known as &# 34 ; max &# 34 ;, also produced by hauni - werke . for the sake of clarity , fig1 merely shows those component parts of the two machines which are important for full understanding of the invention . the cigarette making machine 1 comprises a distributor 3 ( e . g ., a distributor of the type disclosed in commonly owned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 996 , 944 granted december 14 , 1976 to alfred hinzmann ). the distributor 3 comprises a conveyor 3a ( e . g ., a carded drum ) for drawing elastically deformable particles of smokable material ( assumed to be tobacco shreds ) from a suitable source of supply 4 , e . g ., a magazine or a duct whose discharge end is disposed above the apex of the carded drum 3a . the distributor 3 comprises means , e . g ., a customary endless apron conveyor at a converting station 6 , for converting the withdrawn tobacco particles into a relatively thin and wide carpet or sliver which is thereupon converted into a continuous stream 7 containing a surplus of tobacco particles . the stream 7 is narrow and its cross - sectional area exceeds the cross - sectional area of the filler of a finished cigarette . the means for transporting the stream 7 in the direction of arrow 7a comprises an endless belt conveyor 7b which advances the stream 7 past a material removing station accommodating a regulating unit here shown as a trimming or equalizing device 12 . the device 12 comprises one or more rotary knives 10 which are movable at right angles to the direction of transport of the stream 7 to remove the surplus and to convert the stream 7 into a trimmed stream of filler 7a ready to be wrapped into a web 11 of cigarette paper or the like . the device wherein the trimmed stream or filler 7a is confined in the web 11 is shown at 8 ; this device comprises means for compacting or condensing the filler 7a so that it constitutes a rod which tends to expand and thereby exerts a force against the internal surface of the tubular wrapper *. in a manner known per se , the web 11 is drawn off a bobbin 9 and one of its marginal portions is coated with adhesive which is supplied by a conventional paster . the wrapping device 8 comprises a customary garniture which folds the marginal portions of the web over each other so that the marginal portions adhere to each other and form an elongated seam extending lengthwise of the resulting continuous cigarette rod 16 ( wrapped stream 7a ). the wrapping device 8 may further comprise or may be associated with a conventional sealer which promotes the setting of adhesive in the seam by cooling the seam if the adhesive is a hotmelt and by heating the seam if the adhesive is a wet adhesive which sets in response to the application of heat . the aforementioned belt conveyor 7b is preferably made of foraminous material and travels along a suction chamber which causes the particles of the streams 7 and 7a to adhere to the respective surface of the conveyor 7b during transport to the wrapping device 8 . the equalizing device 12 further comprises a reversible motor 13 which can move the knife or knives 10 toward or away from the conveyor 7b to thereby change the quantity of tobacco particles per unit length of the stream 7a . the removed surplus is preferably returned to the source of supply 4 in a manner not specifically shown in fig1 . the reference character 14 denotes a control circuit which transmits appropriate signals to the motor 13 in order to move the knife or knives 10 toward or away from the path of movement of the stream 7 . a trimming or equalizing device which can be used in the cigarette making machine 1 is disclosed , for example , in commonly owned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 261 , 366 granted july 19 , 1966 to willy richter et al . the means for monitoring the quantity of tobacco per unit length of the stream 7a upstream of the wrapping device 8 comprises a detector 17 including a source 18 of corpuscular radiation ( e . g ., beta rays ) and an ionization chamber 19 . the parts 18 and 19 are disposed opposite each other at the opposite sides of the path for the stream 7a , and the ionization chamber 19 transmits signals whose intensity or another characteristic is proportional to the intensity of corpuscular radiation which penetrates through successive increments or unit lengths of the continuously moving stream 7a . the signals at the output of the ionization chamber 19 are transmitted to the corresponding input of an integrating circuit 21 whose output transmits a signal ( denoting the actual quantity of tobacco per given length of the stream 7a ) to the input a of a signal comparing stage 22 . the input b of the signal comparing stage 22 receives a reference signal which is transmitted by a preferably adjustable source 23 of reference signals ( e . g ., a potentiometer ). the reference signal which is applied to the input b of the signal comparing stage 22 denotes the desired ( optimum ) quantity of tobacco particles per given length of the stream 7a . the connection between the output of the source 23 and the input b of the signal comparing stage 22 comprises a signal modifying circuit 92 ( preferably a subtracting circuit ) which can modify the reference signal in dependency on the monitored filling force of finished rod - shaped articles . the output c of the signal stage 22 transmits a signal which represents the difference between the intensities of signals transmitted to the inputs a and b of the stage 22 , and such output signal is transmitted to the control circuit 14 for the motor 13 to effect appropriate adjustment of the knife or knives 10 in dependency on the monitored quantity of tobacco in the stream 7a . the adjustment is such that the knife or knives 10 are moved upwardly ( as viewed in fig1 ) when the monitored quantity of tobacco particles in the stream 7a is less than the desired quantity , and vice versa . in other words , the control unit 14 insures that the quantity of tobacco in the stream 7a matches or closely approximates the quantity which is denoted by the reference signal furnished to the input b of the signal comparing stage 22 . the cigarette making machine 1 further comprises a device 24 ( commonly known as cutoff ) which severs the continuous cigarette rod 16 at regular intervals so that the rod 16 yields a file of discrete plain cigarettes 20 of unit length or multiple unit length . it is assumed that each cigarette 20 is of unit length . the cutoff 24 comprises one or more orbiting knives which move forwardly ( arrow 7a ) at the speed of the rod 16 during severing and thereupon move backwards on their way into renewed severing engagement with the rod 16 . a suitable cutoff is disclosed in commonly owned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 518 , 911 granted july 7 , 1970 to helmut niemann et al . successive plain cigarettes 20 are propelled into successive flutes of a rotary drum - shaped row forming conveyor which forms part of the filter tipping machine 2 and is mounted at a row forming station 26 . the conveyor converts the single file of plain cigarettes 20 into two rows a and b wherein the cigarettes move sideways and wherein each cigarette 20 of the row a is in axial alignment with but is spaced from a cigarette 20 of the row b . the gaps between pairs of coaxial cigarettes 20 of the rows a and b are shown at 25 ; the width of such gaps at least equals but preferably at least slightly exceeds the length of a filter mouthpiece or plug 27 of double unit length . these filter plugs are supplied by a filter making machine 28 which includes means for supplying a single row of registering filter plugs 27 to an inserting station 29 where each plug enters the gap 25 between two aligned cigarettes 20 of the rows a and b so that each plug 27 constitutes one component of a group of three coaxial rod - like components including two plain cigarettes 20 and a plug 27 therebetween . the filter tipping machine 2 further comprises or is associated with a device 31 which supplies a single file of adhesive - coated uniting bands 32 serving to connect each filter plug 27 with the adjacent end portions of the respective plain cigarettes 20 so as to convert the respective group into a filter cigarette 20a of double unit length . the attachment of uniting bands 32 to the respective groups takes place at a station 33 downstream of the inserting station 29 ( as considered in the direction of movement of cigarettes 20 forming the rows a and b ). the manner in which the uniting bands 32 are formed by coating a continuous web of artificial cork or the like with adhesive and by severing the web to yield discrete uniting bands is well known in the art . reference may be had to commonly owned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 962 , 957 granted june 15 , 1976 to alfred hinzmann . the means for convoluting each uniting band 32 about the respective filter plug 27 and the inner end portions of the corresponding plain cigarettes 20 is installed at a rolling station 35 which is located downstream of the station 33 and may accommodate an apparatus of the type disclosed in the commonly owned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 527 , 234 granted sept . 8 , 1970 to alfred hinzmann . for example , the rolling station 35 may accommodate a rotary drum - shaped conveyor which advances the groups ( each of which carries a uniting band ) past a stationary or mobile rolling surface which defines with the drum a gap having a width less than the diameter of a filter plug 27 . this causes the groups to rotate about their respective axes whereby the uniting bands 32 are convoluted around the filter plugs 25 and the inner end portions of the associated plain cigarettes 20 . the thus obtained filter cigarettes 20a of double unit length are severed seriatim by a rotary disk - shaped knife 37 so that each cigarette 20a yields two coaxial filter cigarettes 20b of unit length . the knife 37 is installed at a severing station 36 . the filter cigarettes 20b of the row a are thereupon inverted end - for - end by a turn around device 38 , e . g ., a device of the type disclosed in commonly owned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 583 , 546 granted june 8 , 1971 to gerhard koop . the device 38 places the inverted cigarettes 20b of the row a between the non - inverted cigarettes 20b of the row b so that the filter plugs 220b of all cigarettes 20b face in the same direction and the inverted and non - inverted cigarettes 20b form a single row c which advances downwardly , as viewed in fig1 i . e ., all cigarettes 20b move sideways and are in accurate register with each other . the cigarettes 20b which form the row c are transported on to a packing machine pm ( e . g ., a machine of the type disclosed in commonly owned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 805 , 477 granted apr . 23 , 1974 to friedel kruse et al . ), or to another processing station . in accordance with a feature of the invention , there is further provided a withdrawing or transferring device 41 which can remove selected ( n - th ) cigarettes 20b from the row c at a withdrawing station or transfer station 41 at which the row c advances in the flutes of a rotary drum - shaped conveyor 53 . the withdrawing or transferring device 42 comprises a timer 43 which effects the withdrawal of each nth ( e . g ., each 1000th or 5000th ) cigarette 20b from the path for the row c . the signal at the output of the timer 43 is transmitted to a solenoid - operated valve 46 which directs a jet of compressed air against the end face of the adjacent cigarette 20b in the row c to thereby transfer such cigarette onto the upper reach of a belt conveyor 54 serving to deliver the thus withdrawn cigarette to the testing station . the valve 46 is installed in a conduit 52a which communicates with a suitable source 52 of compressed air , and the orifice of the nozzle of the valve 46 faces the adjacent end faces of cigarettes 20b in the row c , i . e ., of cigarettes in the flutes of the conveyor 53 . the timer 43 comprises a disk 47 which is driven in synchronism with moving parts of the filter tipping machine 2 and has an annulus of pulse generating pins 48 travelling past a proximity switch 49 which transmits signals to a control circuit 44 via amplifier 51 . the step - down ratio between the prime mover ( not shown ) of the filter tipping machine 2 and the shaft 47a of the disk 47 is selected in such a way that the valve 46 expels from the row c each nth cigarette 20b , e . g ., each 1000th or 5000th cigarette of the row c . the belt conveyor 54 derives motion from the prime mover of the filter tipping machine 2 and is sufficiently long to insure that the cigarettes 20b which have been chosen for testing remain on its upper reach for a selected interval of time so that the length of the interval which elapses between the compacting of the filler of such cigarette in the wrapping device 8 ( or between the separation of the respective cigarette from the rod 16 by a knife of the cutoff 24 ) exceeds a predetermined minimum interval , e . g ., at least one second but preferably three or more seconds . the testing or measuring device 56 receives selected cigarettes 20b from the discharge end 58 of the belt conveyor 54 and is designed to ascertain the filling force of the fillers of cigarettes 20b which are delivered thereto by the conveyor 54 . the purpose of the delay which is achieved by causing the selected cigarettes 20b to travel with the upper reach of the belt conveyor 54 is to insure that the filling force of tobacco which is confined in such cigarettes increases sufficiently to reach , during testing , a value which is identical with or close to the final value . at any rate , the aforementioned interval should be long enough to enable the measuring or testing device 56 to ascertain the momentary filling force of the filler of the tested cigarette at a time when the measured value of the filling force is sufficiently close to the final value so that one can ascertain the final value of the filling force or that one can estimate such final value with a degree of certainty which is sufficient to allow for appropriate automatic adjustment of the quantity of tobacco in the stream 7a as a function of deviations of the final filling force from a desired or predetermined optimum value . the filling force at one end of each cigarette 20b is also reduced as a result of severing by the knife 37 ; therefore , the distance between the station 36 and the testing device 56 should be sufficient to enable the filling force to increase to the aforediscussed value which is identical with or at least close to the final value . the testing or measuring device 56 has a funnel - shaped inlet 57 wherein an oncoming filter cigarette 20b descends in such a way that the filter mouthpiece 220b is located at the lower end . the inlet 57 is located at a level above a ring - shaped testing nozzle 63 the details of which are shown in fig1 a . the nozzle 63 defines a vertical passage 63a wherein the cigarette 20b descends and the nozzle is further formed with a narrow annular clearance 64 which communicates with the passage 63a and receives a compressed gaseous testing fluid ( preferably air ) from a source 59 by way of a conduit 59a containing an electrically controllable shutoff valve 61 and a preferably adjustable flow restrictor 62 . compressed air which flows from the annular clearance 64 into the passage 63a deforms the tubular wrapper 320b of the cigarette 20b while the cigarette descends in the passage 63a , and the extent of deformation of the wrapper 320b ( against the opposition of the confined compacted tobacco filler ) is indicative of the filling force of the filler , i . e ., of the force with which the compacted and confined filler bears against the internal surface of the wrapper 320b . the diameter of the passage 63a ( and hence the inner diameter of the annular clearance 64 ) slightly exceeds the diameter of the wrapper 320b in undeformed condition of the cigarette . it can be said that , as the cigarette 20b descends in the passage 63a , successive increments of its wrapper 320b are formed with ring - shaped constrictions ( not specifically shown in fig1 a ) which are identical if the filling force of the entire tobacco filler is constant or whose diameters vary in dependency on variations of the filling force of the filler in a direction from the lower toward the upper end of the tobacco - containing portion of the cigarette 20b in the passage 63a . the flow restrictor 62 is adjusted in such a way that the extent of deformation of the wrapper 320b in the nozzle 63 is within the elastic range of the material of the filler , i . e ., that the filler expands ( the constriction disappears ) immediately or shortly after the cigarette leaves the nozzle 63 . thus , the tested cigarette again constitutes or resembles an elongated rod of constant diameter . such selection of pressure of the testing fluid is particularly desirable if the tested cigarettes 20b are to be further processed , e . g ., by admitting them into the magazine of the packing machine pm for introduction into soft or flip - top packs . as mentioned above , the extent of deformation of a portion of the wrapper 320b under the action of compressed testing fluid flowing from the annular clearance 64 into the passage 63a is indicative of the filling force of the corresponding portion of the filler . therefore , by ascertaining the degree or extent of deformation , one can ascertain the filling force of the filler at the time the respective cigarette 20b descends in the nozzle 63 . in order to ascertain the extent to which the wrapper 320b is deformed , one can monitor the pressure of testing fluid immediately downstream of the clearance 64 or in the clearance proper because such pressure varies with the extent to which the wrapper is deformed and allows testing fluid to flow from the clearance 64 into and from the passage 63a . another mode of ascertaining the extent of deformation of the wrapper 320b is shown in fig1 a . thus , the nozzle 63 is formed with an annular groove 66 which communicates with the passage 63a immediately downstream of the locus of communication between the passage 63a and the clearance 64 . the pressure of fluid which flows into the groove 66 is a reliable indicator of the extent of deformation of the corresponding portion of the wrapper 320b . thus , the filling force is more pronounced when the pressure in the groove 66 is higher , and vice versa . the valve 61 can be opened , via amplifier 67 , by the output signal which is transmitted by a reflection type photoelectronic cell 68 installed in a conical portion 65 of the nozzle 63 at a level below the groove 66 . the photodiode 69 of the cell 68 transmits a signal when the light beam issuing from the light source 71 of the cell 68 impinges upon white cigarette paper ( i . e ., the valve 61 can remain closed to prevent testing when the filter mouthpiece 220b of a cigarette 20b advances past the cell 68 provided , of course , that the convoluted uniting band 32 does not reflect a sufficient amount of light onto the photosensitive surface of the diode 69 ). the cell 68 insures that the valve 61 is open only during that interval when a selected cigarette 20b descends in the passage 63a of the nozzle 63 . a conduit 72 connects the annular groove 66 with a transducer 73 ( e . g ., a diaphragm transducer of the type disclosed in commonly owned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 412 , 856 granted nov . 26 , 1968 to albert esenwein ). the transducer transmits electric signals to a summing amplifier 81 shown in fig1 . the filter plug 220b of a selected cigarette 20b which advances beyond the discharge end 58 of the belt conveyor 54 and descends in the inlet 57 and thereupon advances through the passage 63a descends onto the upper side or surface of a mobile stop 74 here shown as an arm which is attached to a vertically reciprocable toothed rack 76 . the rack 76 is reciprocable in suitable bearings 76a , 76b and meshes with a pinion 77 which is driven by a reversible electric motor 78 by way of a belt transmission or the like . the motor 78 is mounted in or on the frame of the machine 2 or 1 and receives start , stop and reverse signals from an amplifier 79 of conventional design . the arrangement is such that the motor 78 is started in a direction to move the rack 76 and the arm 74 downwardly , as viewed in fig1 when the input a of the amplifier 79 receives a signal from the output of the photodiode 69 of the cell 68 . as mentioned above , the diode 69 transmits such signal when the cell 68 detects the presence of white wrapping material in the nozzle 63 , i . e ., when the testing operation is to begin . the motor 78 then drives the pinion 77 at a constant speed so that the cigarette 20b whose filter mouthpiece 220b rests on the arm 74 descends at a preselected speed and the testing fluid which issues from the clearance 64 deforms successive increments of the tubular wrapper 320b . the fluid which flows along the wrapper 320b enters the groove 66 and flows through the conduit 72 to effect the generation of a corresponding electric signal at the output of the transducer 73 , i . e ., such signal is indicative of the measured filling force of successive increments of the filler in the tubular wrapper 320b . the summing amplifier 81 totalizes the signals which are transmitted by the transducer 73 in the course of a testing operation , i . e ., the signal at the output of the amplifier 81 denotes the integrated value of the filling force of an entire filler . a limit switch 82 which is installed in the path of movement of the arm 74 transmits a signal when the testing operation is to be completed . such signal is transmitted to the corresponding input of the amplifier 67 which erases the signal at the amplifier input which is connected with the photodiode 69 so that the valve 61 is closed as soon as the upper end of the cigarette 20b descends below the clearance 64 and groove 66 . at the same time , the limit switch 82 transmits a signal to the amplifier 81 which transmits the integrated signal to an averaging circuit 83 whose output is connected with the aforementioned signal modifying or subtracting circuit 92 in the connection between the source 23 of reference signals and the input b of the signal comparing stage 22 . the amplifier 81 is reset to zero as soon as the information which is stored therein is transmitted to the averaging circuit 83 . thus , the apparatus is ready for testing of the next selected cigarette 20b immediately after the arm 74 actuates the detector or limit switch 82 . the motor 78 continues to move the arm 74 downwardly after actuation of the limit switch 82 whereby the arm 74 engages and actuates a further limit switch 84 which transmits a signal to the input b of the amplifier 79 . this causes the amplifier 79 to supply the motor 78 with voltage of opposite polarity so that the motor 78 rotates the pinion 77 in a clockwise direction , as viewed in fig1 and causes the rack 76 to return the arm 74 to the upper end position or starting position in which the arm is ready to intercept the next cigarette 20b which advances beyond the discharge end 58 of the belt conveyor 54 . the upward movement of the arm 74 back to the starting position of fig1 is preceeded by expulsion of the freshly tested cigarette 20b into an intercepting container 89 , e . g ., a chute which can direct freshly tested articles onto a conveyor for transport into the magazine of the packing machine pm . the transfer of freshly tested cigarettes 20b from the arm 74 into the container 89 is initiated by the signal which is generated by the limit switch 84 on actuation by the arm 74 . such signal is transmitted to the input b of the amplifier 79 ( as described above ) as well as to an amplifier 86 which causes a solenoid - operated valve 87 to open . the valve 87 is installed in a conduit 87a which connects the source 59 or another source of compressed air with a nozzle 88 . the nozzle then discharges a blast of compressed air which propels the freshly tested cigarette 20b from the arm 74 into the container 89 before the arm 74 begins to move back toward the illustrated starting position . when the arm 74 reaches such starting position , it actuates a limit switch 91 which transmits a signal to the input c of the amplifier 79 to thereby arrest the motor 78 . the output signal of the averaging circuit 83 is transmitted to the subtracting circuit 92 wherein it is deducted from the reference signal which is transmitted by the source 23 of reference signals . the output signal of the subtracting circuit 92 constitutes the corrected reference signal and is transmitted to the input b of the signal comparing stage 22 . thus , the knife or knives of the equalizing device 12 are moved toward the conveyor 7b for the tobacco stream 7 when the filling force increases so that more tobacco is removed and , consequently , the finished cigarettes contain less tobacco . when the measured value of the filling force decreases , the knife or knives 10 of the equalizing device 12 are moved in the opposite direction , namely , away from the conveyor 7b , so that more tobacco remains in the stream 7a and the quantity of tobacco in the cigarettes 20 is increased . the subtracting circuit 29 has a lower threshold value for its output signal , i . e ., the intensity of the output signal cannot decrease below such threshold value . this insures that the weight of the filler in each cigarette at least equals the prescribed minimum permissible weight . the averaging circuit 83 insures that the position of the knife or knives 10 is not changed in response to excessive deviation of filling force of a portion of the filler in a cigarette 20b from the desired value . in place of the illustrated ring - shaped testing nozzle 63 , the filling force can also be measured in a different way . for example , it may be advantageous to ascertain the elastic deformation of a wrapped portion of the rod 16 by photoelectronic means in a manner as disclosed in british pat . no . 1 , 422 , 991 . another mode of regulating the quantity of material in the stream 7a includes adjustment of the mass of tobacco in the carpet or sliver which is formed by the distributor 3 of the cigarette making machine 1 . the control connection between the signal comparing stage 22 and an adjustable variable - speed transmission 93 for the tobacco supplying conveyor 3a or another conveyor of the distributor 3 is indicated by a broken line 94 . the details of such controls are adequately shown in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 729 , 213 granted jan . 3 , 1956 to william c . broekhuysen et al . so that a detailed description of such mode of regulating the quantity of tobacco in the stream 7a is not necessary . fig2 shows a modified apparatus which differs from the embodiments of fig1 and 1a essentially in that , instead of testing discrete cigarettes for determination of the filling force of tobacco which is contained therein , the testing device 156 of the modified apparatus can simultaneously test a predetermined number of cigarettes which are confined in a container , a so - called charger or tray . this mode of testing can be resorted to for ascertainment of the filling force of tobacco in all cigarettes which issue from the filter tipping machine . those components of the production line of fig2 which are identical with or analogous to corresponding components of the production line of fig1 are denoted by similar reference characters plus 100 . a comparison with fig1 shows that the cigarette making machines 1 , 101 and the filter tipping machines 2 , 102 are of identical construction all the way to the respective turn - around devices 38 and 138 . the turn - around device 138 of fig2 deviates from the turn - around device 38 in that it tip - turns the cigarettes 120b of the row b and places the inverted cigarettes between the non - inverted cigarettes 120b of the row a . the cigarettes 120b of the row c which are transported from the filter tipping machine 102 on a conveyor belt 153 are delivered to a charger filling machine 201 which is shown schematically in plan view . a charger filling machine which is especially suited for use in the production line of fig2 is known in the cigarette industry under the name &# 34 ; cascade &# 34 ; ( produced by hauni - werke ) and is described in detail in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 308 , 600 granted mar . 14 , 1967 to otto erdmann et al . the reason that the machine 201 is especially suited for determination of filling force in a manner to be described below is that its suction head which is indicated at 202 invariably removes from the conveyor belt 153 a predetermined number of filter cigarettes 120b and sucks them upwardly into flutes which are adjacent to each other . thus , during each filling stroke of a transfer member or pusher 203 , a full row which contains a fixed number of filter cigarettes 120b is introduced into a charger 204 so that , when filled and transferred from the filling station 206 onto a belt conveyor 208 which advances in the direction indicated by arrow 207 , the charger 204 invariably contains a block or stack consisting of a predetermined number of arrayed filter cigarettes 120b ( e . g ., 6000 or 8000 cigarettes ). since the individual rows are placed on top of each other while laterally offset by one - half of a cigarette diameter so that the individual cigarettes of one row are always deposited in the gaps between the cigarettes of the row therebelow , the filled charger 204 contains a highly homogenous block or stack which , therefore , is suited for simultaneous determination of the filling force of tobacco in all cigarettes therein . for the sake of clearer illustration of the testing device , the charger 204 downstream of the arrow 209 is turned through 180 degrees so that is can be seen in front elevation as viewed in the direction of arrow 207 . the testing device 156 of fig2 comprises a plate - like weight 211 whose width corresponds to the width of the cigarette stack in the filled charger 204 . the weight 211 can be moved up and down by a toothed rack 212 and a pinion 213 which latter can be driven by an electric motor 216 by way of an electrically controllable clutch 214 . when the filled charger 204 reaches the illustrated testing position , the input a of a control circuit 217 for the motor 216 receives a signal from a limit switch 218 which simultaneously arrests the drive for the conveyor belt 208 . the control circuit 217 then supplies to the motor 216 voltage which initiates rotary movement in a direction to lower the weight 211 . as soon as the weight 211 descends onto the cigarette stack in the filled charger 204 , a plate - like sensor 219 ( recessed into the underside of the weight 211 ) is displaced against the opposition of a spring 221 and thereby actuates a switch 222 . this switch 222 transmits a signal to the input a of the clutch 214 whereby the power flow between the motor 216 and the pinion 213 is interrupted so that the weight 211 is released and its mass can apply a deforming stress to the cigarette stack therebelow . the distance which the weight 211 thereupon covers depends on the filling force of tobacco which is contained in the cigarettes of the stack so that one can ascertain the filling force on the basis of measurement of such distance . for the purpose of measuring the distance , the signal which is transmitted in response to closing of the switch 222 is further transmitted to the input a of a counter 223 to prepare the counter for reception of distance denoting signals at its input b . the distance denoting signals are transmitted by a stationary reflection type photoelectronic cell 224 which monitors a graduated raster 226 connected to the rack 212 and moving along the cell 224 . the cell transmits a signal on detection of each graduation of the raster 226 , and such signals are transmited to and counted by the counter 223 . rasters with strip - shaped graduations and associated monitoring means for measuring the distances covered by mobile parts are well known , especially in machine tools . the number of counted signals , i . e ., the condition of the counter 223 after elapse of the measuring interval , is indicative of the distance covered by the weight 211 which thereby slightly reduces the height of the stack in the filled charger 204 . since this distance is a function of the filling force , it is indicative of the filling force proper . actually , the distance is indicative of the average value of filling force of the fillers of all tested articles 20b in a charger 204 . the means for terminating the measuring interval comprises a time - delay device 227 which delays the signal supplied thereto on actuation of the switch 222 and thereupon transmits the signal to the input c of the counter 223 whereby the information which is stored in the counter is transmitted to a storage 229 and the counter is simultaneously restored to its initial condition . the output signal of the time - delay device 227 is further transmitted to the input b of the control circuit 217 which thereupon supplies to the electric motor 216 voltage of opposite polarity so that the motor is started and rotates in the opposite direction . since the output signal of the time - delay device 227 is also transmitted to the input b of the clutch 214 and has caused engagement of the clutch , the rack 212 is moved upwardly until a limit switch 228 transmits a signal to the input c of the circuit 217 to terminate the supply of energy so that the motor 216 comes to a halt . a brake , not shown , which is actuated at the same time prevents unintentional lowering of the weight 211 . furthermore , and since the signal which has been generated as a result of closing of the switch 222 disappears , further counting by the counter 223 of signals which are transmitted by the cell 224 is impossible . the limit switch 228 thereupon starts the drive means for the transporting belt 208 so that the charger 204 which contains tested articles is removed from the range of the testing device 156 and the latter is available for the next - following charger . the testing device 156 can test the contents of each and every filled charger or the contents of each n - th charger . the signal which is stored in the storage 229 and denotes the measured filling force , and which corresponds to the integrated value ( comparable to average value signal furnished by the circuit 83 of fig1 ), is again transmitted to a subtracting or modifying circuit 192 wherein it is deducted from the reference signal supplied by the source 123 of reference signals . in a manner as shown in fig1 the quantity of tobacco in the stream 107a is regulated via signal comparing stage 122 in dependency on the measured filling force , namely , either by adjustment of the regulating means including the equalizing device 112 or by adjustment of the distributor 103 in the cigarette making machine 101 . the integrated measured values of filling force for tobacco in cigarettes 120b which are confined in a charger 204 can be used , as in fig1 for calculation of average values by means of an averaging circuit ( not shown ) which average values serve to influence the quantity of material in the stream 107a . if the ultimate products are plain cigarettes , the testing device 56 or 156 receives some or all of the articles which issue from the cigarette making machine 1 or 101 . it is further clear that the device 56 or 156 can test the plain cigarettes 20 or 120 prior to introduction of such cigarettes into the filter tipping machine 2 or 102 . the aforementioned interval of at least one second and preferably more than three seconds can be greatly exceeded . this further insures that the measured filling force is close to or matches the final filling force , namely , the filling force which is ascertained by the purchaser prior to or during smoking . an important advantage of the improved method and apparatus is that the manufacture of cigarettes can be regulated not only in dependency on the mass of tobacco ( which is not a satisfactory indicator of the quality of cigarettes ) but also that the regulation is influenced , in a fully automatic way , by measured values of the filling force and that the measured values denote the actually achieved filling force , i . e ., the measured values at least approximate the final value of the filling force . without further analysis , the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that , from the standpoint of prior art , fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of my contribution to the art and , therefore , such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims . | 0 |
fig1 is a simplified schematic diagram of an example circuit 100 for providing adaptive phase - lead compensation with miller effect . circuit 100 can be used to compensate a variety of circuit designs , such as an ldo design . circuit 100 can include current sensor 101 and compensation circuit 102 . current sensor 101 can include transistors 103 , 104 , 105 and 106 coupled in series . in fig1 , “ s ” means source terminal and “ d ” means drain terminal . transistor 103 operates as a current mirror ( current sense ) whose gate can be coupled to the gate of a larger pmos transistor . transistors 104 , 105 are a cascaded current source , which operates as a mirroring branch of reference current . transistor 106 is an enable device , which powers down the current sensor 101 when not used . in some implementations , transistor 103 can be p - type metal - oxide - semiconductor ( pmos ) field - effect transistor and transistors 104 - 106 can be nmos field - effect transistors . compensation circuit 102 can include voltage controlled resistor ( vcr ) 107 ( mnvcr ), compensation capacitor 108 , transistor 109 and resistor 110 ( rgm ). in the example circuit shown , mnvcr 107 is a gate - biased transistor , which operates as a vcr . in some implementations , mnvcr 107 can be an n - type metal - oxide - semiconductor field - effect ( nmos ) transistor having a gate terminal coupled between transistors 103 , 104 and to resistor 110 . a source terminal of mnvcr 107 can be coupled to compensation capacitor 108 and a drain terminal of mnvcr 107 can be coupled to a drain terminal of transistor 109 . transistor 109 can be a nmos transistor with its source coupled to ground . it is a common - source ( cs ) stage , which is required to provide a high negative gain so that miller effect can be in place . transistor 109 can be part of gain stages in any analog applications . the gate terminal of mnvcr 107 ( node a ) is configured to track the load current through current sensor 101 , so that a resistance that is linearly proportional to the load current is created by mnvcr 107 . resistor 110 converts ( isense - iref ) to a control voltage on the gate of mnvcr 107 . resistor 110 also sets the voltage range over which the gate of mnvcr 107 can vary . when load current is high , isense is higher than iref and the voltage of node a becomes higher . when the voltage of node a becomes higher the resistance of mnvcr 107 is reduced , resulting in the zero ( in the frequency domain ) provided by mnvcr 107 being pushed to a higher frequency . this higher frequency is needed for high current load conditions . when load current is low , isense is lower than iref and the voltage of node a becomes lower , which increases the resistance of mnvcr 107 . this results in the zero provided by mnvcr 107 being pushed to a lower frequency . this lower frequency is needed for low current load conditions . with this “ adaptive zero ” provided by the varying resistance of mnvcr 107 , a wide load current range can be accommodated . fig2 is a flow diagram of an example process 200 for providing adaptive phase - lead compensation with miller effect . in some implementations , process 200 can begin by sensing load current proportional to load current ( 202 ). this can be done with a current sensor , such as current sensor 101 shown in fig1 . process 200 can continue by generating a bias voltage in response to the sensed current ( 204 ). this can be done using a current sensor , such as the current sensor 101 shown in fig1 . process 200 can continue by adjusting resistance in an adaptive phase - lead compensation circuit based on the bias voltage ( 206 ), such as the compensation circuit 102 shown in fig1 . for example , a bias voltage can be applied to the gate of a transistor coupled to a miller capacitor to adjust its resistance as the load current changes . in some implementations , the transistor can be an nmos transistor . an additional resistor can be coupled to the gate of the transistor to set the voltage range over which the gate of the transistor can vary . fig3 is a simplified schematic diagram of an ldo circuit 300 with adaptive phase - lead compensation , as described in reference to fig1 and 2 . in some implementations , ldo circuit 300 can include error amplifier 301 ( ea ), amplifier 302 , feedback network 304 , transistor 303 , resistor 305 ( esr ), capacitor 306 ( cl ), compensation capacitor 108 ( cm ) and mnvcr 107 . node “ a ” ( the gate of mnvcr 107 ) is coupled to the current sensor 101 , described in reference to fig1 . the drain of mnvcr 107 is coupled to the gate of transistor 103 of current sensor 101 . the gate of transistor 303 ( node “ b ”) is biased such that the voltage of inverting input ( node “ c ”) of error amplifier 301 equals to vref voltage . the voltage at node “ c ” is a voltage coupled from vout through feedback network 304 , which can be a resistive network . mnvcr 107 and compensation capacitor 108 provide adaptive phase - lead compensation by adjusting the resistance of mnvcr 107 based on a bias voltage provided to node “ a ” by current sensor 101 of fig1 . while this document contains many specific implementation details , these should not be construed as limitations on the scope what may be claimed , but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments . certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment . conversely , various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub combination . moreover , although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such , one or more features from a claimed combination can , in some cases , be excised from the combination , and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub combination or variation of a sub combination . | 6 |
turning to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements , the invention is illustrated as being implemented in a suitable computing environment . although not required , the invention will be described in the general context of computer - executable instructions , such as programs , being executed by a computing device . generally , programs include routines , other programs , objects , components , data structures , dynamic - linked libraries ( dlls ), executable code , etc . that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types . moreover , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations , including hand - held devices , multi - processor systems , microprocessor based or programmable consumer electronics , network pcs , minicomputers , mainframe computers , and the like . the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network . in a distributed computing environment , parts of a program may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices . with reference to fig1 , an exemplary system for implementing the invention is shown . the system includes a general purpose - computing device 20 , including a processing unit 21 , a system memory 22 , and a system bus 23 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 21 . the system bus 23 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller , a peripheral bus , and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures . the system memory includes read only memory ( rom ) 24 and random access memory ( ram ) 25 . a basic input / output system ( bios ) 26 , containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computing device 20 , such as during start - up , is stored in the rom 24 . the computing device 20 further includes a hard disk drive 27 for reading from and writing to a hard disk 60 , a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk 29 , and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk 31 such as a cd rom or other optical media . the hard disk drive 27 , magnetic disk drive 28 , and optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus 23 by a hard disk drive interface 32 , a magnetic disk drive interface 33 , and an optical disk drive interface 34 , respectively . the drives and their associated computer - readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions , data structures , programs and other data for the computing device 20 . although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk 60 , a removable magnetic disk 29 , and a removable optical disk 31 , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer , such as magnetic cassettes , flash memory cards , digital video disks , bernoulli cartridges , random access memories , read only memories , and the like may also be used in the exemplary operating environment . a number of programs may be stored on the hard disk 60 , magnetic disk 29 , optical disk 31 , rom 24 or ram 25 , including an operating system 35 , one or more application programs 36 , other programs 37 , and program data 38 . a user may enter commands and information into the computing device 20 through input devices such as a keyboard 40 , which is typically connected to the computing device 20 via a keyboard controller 62 , and a pointing device , such as a mouse 42 . other input devices ( not shown ) may include a microphone , joystick , game pad , wireless antenna , scanner , or the like . these and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 21 through a serial port interface 46 that is coupled to the system bus , but may be connected by other interfaces , such as a parallel port , game port , a universal serial bus ( usb ), or a 1394 bus . a monitor 47 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 23 via an interface , such as a video adapter 48 . in addition to the monitor , computing devices typically include other peripheral output devices , not shown , such as speakers and printers . the computing device 20 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more devices within a network 63 , including another computing device , a server , a network pc , a peer device or other network node . these devices typically include many or all of the elements described above relative to the computing device 20 . the logical connections depicted in fig1 include a land - based network link 51 , for which there are many possible implementations , including a local area network ( lan ) link and a wide area network ( wan ) link . land - based network links are commonplace in offices , enterprise - wide computer networks , intranets and the internet and include such physical implementations as coaxial cable , twisted copper pairs , fiber optics , and the like . data may transmitted over the network links 51 according to a variety of well - known transport standards , including ethernet , sonet , dsl , t - 1 , and the like . when used in a lan , the computing device 20 is connected to the network 51 through a network interface card or adapter 53 . when used in a wan , the computing device 20 typically includes a modem 54 or other means for establishing communications over the network link 51 , as shown by the dashed line . the modem 54 , which may be internal or external , is connected to the system bus 23 via the serial port interface 46 . in a networked environment , programs depicted relative to the computing device 20 , or portions thereof , may be stored on other devices within the network 63 . in the description that follows , the invention will be described with reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations that are performed by one or more computing devices , unless indicated otherwise . as such , it will be understood that such acts and operations , which are at times referred to as being computer - executed , include the manipulation by the processing unit of the computer of electrical signals representing data in a structured form . this manipulation transforms the data or maintains it at locations in the memory system of the computer , which reconfigures or otherwise alters the operation of the computer in a manner well understood by those skilled in the art . the data structures where data is maintained are physical locations of the memory that have particular properties defined by the format of the data . however , while the invention is being described in the foregoing context , it is not meant to be limiting as those of skill in the art will appreciate that various of the acts and operation described hereinafter may also be implemented in hardware . referring to fig2 and 3 , a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown as being implemented on an exemplary computer network 63 . as best shown in fig2 , the exemplary computer network 63 includes a plurality of nodes 64 and may be linked to one or more other networks 90 . each of the nodes 64 is a personal computer , server , workstation , or other computing device , and includes many or all of the components shown in fig1 with respect to the computing device 20 . the nodes 64 are linked for network communication with one another through a series of conventional network links 51 . as best shown in fig3 , each node 64 has a processing unit 21 , a system memory 22 , a network interface card 53 linked to one another by a system bus 23 , and may also have several components in addition to those described in fig1 , including a network interface driver 74 , and a wireless interface 79 comprising a wireless interface driver 78 and a wireless interface card 76 . the node 64 is communicatively linked to at least one of the network links 51 . the wireless interface 79 is communicatively linked to an antenna 80 and a transceiver 82 over a network link 51 . a communications program 84 is executable by the processing unit 21 to cooperate with the wireless driver 78 in order to send and receive data over the wireless medium 66 via the wireless interface 79 . specifically , the wireless interface driver 78 converts messages from the communication program 84 into a transmissible format required by the wireless interface card 76 . the wireless interface card 76 , in turn , converts the message into a physical transport format in order to transmit the messages through the wireless medium 66 . the transceiver 82 receives the physical message from the wireless interface card 76 , creates the actual signals required for transmission over the wireless medium 66 and sends those signals to the antenna 80 for transmission . the wireless interface driver 78 also converts signals received through the wireless medium into messages that the communication program 84 can relay to the appropriate part of the node 64 . referring again to fig2 , each node 64 is capable of communicating with a wireless medium 66 in order to send and receive messages in parallel to and from a plurality of other nodes . the wireless medium 66 may include one or more wireless networks , low - earth orbiting satellites , geosynchronous orbiting satellites , cellular transmission sites , microwave relays , and the like , which communicate over one or more portions of the light spectrum . it is contemplated that the network 63 may cover a geographic area of any size . for example , the network 63 may encompass an entire county and require only one transmission tower in the wireless medium 66 , or it may be worldwide , and require multiple satellites . it is also contemplated that the networks 90 may also implement the invention , thereby allowing them to achieve parallel communication internally , while communicating with the network 63 in a conventional manner . to send a message from one of the nodes 64 to a group of other nodes , and to process the message once received , the communication program 84 ( fig3 ) may execute the procedure of fig4 a . at step 98 , the communication program 84 remains in a wait state until a predetermined event , such as a multicast message becoming available to send , or until a predetermined interval of time passes . at step 100 , the communications program 84 attaches a multicast group identifier to the message . the multicast group identifier represents the group of nodes to which the message is intended , and may also represent the entire set of nodes on the network 63 . the communications program 84 then broadcasts the message to the nodes 64 of the network 63 via the wireless medium 66 at step 102 . it then returns to a wait state at step 98 . to handle an incoming multicast message , the communication program 84 may execute the steps of the flowchart of fig4 b . at step 104 , the communication program 84 remains in a wait state until it receives a multicast message . when the multicast message arrives , the communication program 84 proceeds to step 106 , during which the communication program 84 reads the group identifier of the message to determine whether the receiving node is a member of the multicast group . if the receiving node is not a member , the communication program 84 running on that node ignores the message at step 108 . if the receiving node is a member , then the communication program 84 processes the message at step 110 . steps 104 - 108 may also be performed by the wireless card 76 using hardware or software logic on the card the communication program 84 on the sending node may also send the broadcast or multicast message over a wireless channel that is dedicated to a particular multicast group of nodes . similarly , the communication program 84 running on a receiving node in that group may monitor the dedicated multicast channel and treat any message received over that channel as a message that needs to be processed . if a dedicated channel is used in this manner , it would not be necessary for the communication program 84 of the sending node to add a multicast group identifier to the message . having a dedicated multicast channel may be especially useful when the multicast group is relatively stable and well - defined , or when only a small number of multicast groups is required . referring to fig5 , an example of how the invention may be used to maintain a network cache is shown . the illustrated network 63 has a plurality of nodes , but only the nodes 99 , hereinafter referred to as “ cache nodes ,” are used to maintain copies 92 of the network cache . to maintain the coherency of the network cache , each of the cache nodes 99 sends conventional cache updates to the other nodes by multicasting the updates over the wireless medium 66 as described above and shown in fig4 a . since this multicast group is well - defined , it may be preferable to have a dedicated wireless channel over which the updates can be sent and received . each copy 92 of the network cache is typically maintained on a separate computer ( not shown ) coupled to , but not necessarily co - located with the node 99 . the network cache may contain web pages , audio and video files and other information to make it available when needed for speed and consistency . although the logic for actually updating a network cache is well - known , the invention allows the copies 92 of the cache to be updated throughout the network in parallel using a single transmission this results in a very large savings of network bandwidth and processing overhead when , for example , updating large web sites and / or video sites that may consist of hundreds of megabytes of data . it is contemplated that the cache node 99 may be a router or similar device , and that the functions of sending and receiving routing updates as well as sending and receiving broadcast cache updates may be performed by the communication program 84 and wireless interface 79 on the cache node 99 . it is also contemplated that the cache updates may be performed by using the land - based links 51 in the event the wireless link fails . referring to fig6 - 8 , an embodiment of the described method is used to maintain routing information and qos in a network 63 . as best shown in fig6 and 7 , each node 64 of the illustrated network is implemented as a router , gateway , or similar device and communicates via the wireless medium in the same manner as the exemplary node 64 of fig3 . the node 64 also includes a local routing program 71 to conventionally collect local routing data and transmit the local routing data via the communication program 84 and over the wireless medium 66 to a central server 68 . the node 64 may also include a qos program 85 for requesting resources , such as a network route having the needed performance characteristics for a communication session , from the central server 68 in order to maintain the appropriate qos . as shown in fig6 , the maintenance of the routing information is centralized at the central server 68 , and thus it is feasible to implement the central server 68 as a powerful computing device that is optimized to process large quantities of routing data and to make decisions regarding the assignment of network buffers , links , routes , and the like to specific communication sessions based on their qos needs also , each of the nodes 64 in this embodiment would not need to have the ability to make routing decisions although it may be desirable that they retain this ability in case they lose contact with the central server 68 . as best shown in fig8 , the central server 68 includes many or all of the components of the computing device 20 shown in fig1 . like the nodes 64 , the central server 68 includes a wireless interface 79 comprising a wireless interface driver 78 and wireless interface card 76 . the wireless interface 79 is communicatively linked to a wireless antenna 80 via a transceiver 82 . a global routing program 96 sends and receives routing data via the communication program 84 as previously described . while not shown in fig6 , the central server 68 may also be linked to the nodes 64 via land connection in case the wireless communication fails . the central server 68 executes a global routing program 94 and a global qos program 95 . the global routing program 94 uses the local routing data received from the nodes 64 to update a routing database 70 . the routing database 70 represents the current routing topology of the network , including the availability of the routes and the traffic along the routes . the global qos program 95 receives requests for resources from the nodes 64 and , when the resources are available , allocates those resources by communicating with the appropriate nodes 64 in parallel via the wireless link . for example , a node 64 needing to transfer a large file may request that a high - bandwidth data path through the network 63 be reserved . the qos program may then respond by choosing the best available route through the network for the transfer and attempting to allocate the cpu time and buffers needed in the various routers along the route using a standard qos protocol . in order to provide the local routing data to the central server 68 so that the routing database 70 can be maintained , the local routing program 71 ( fig7 ) executes on the node 64 according to the flowchart of fig9 . at step 150 , the local routing program 71 waits for an interval of time to elapse before proceeding to the next step . this interval may correspond to predefined update interval . alternatively , the local routing program 71 may wait for an event , such as a significant change in the data traffic at the node 64 , before proceeding . at step 152 , the local routing program 71 conventionally collects the local routing data , which may include the status of communication between that node and any adjacent nodes , the volume of the data traffic at the node and the latency and error rate being experienced on each link attached to the node . at step 154 , the local routing program 71 creates a message containing the local routing data , and attaches an origin identifier to identify the node from which the message is being sent . at step 156 , the local routing program 71 transmits the message to the central server 68 via the wireless medium 66 , using a broadcast or multicast . to maintain the routing information in the network and to provide the latest version of the routing database 70 to the nodes 64 , the global routing program 96 executes on the central server 68 according to the flowchart of fig1 . it is assumed that the central server 68 starts the procedure with an initial version of the routing database 70 . this initial version may be determined dynamically by the server and represent the current state of the network upon entry into the procedure of fig1 or it may be one that is automatically loaded by the central server 68 at initialization . at step 160 , the global routing program 96 waits for the receipt of local routing data from the nodes 64 . it is contemplated that the global routing program 96 may wait for a predetermined number of updates to be received before continuing to the next step . for example , the global routing program 96 may wait until at least 50 % of the nodes have reported their local routing data . alternatively , the global routing program 96 may wait for a predetermined interval and then proceed with the remaining steps , regardless of how many updates have been received from the nodes 64 . at step 162 , the global routing program 96 updates the routing database 70 with the local routing data received from the nodes 64 . at step 164 , the global routing program 96 creates a routing update message representing the update made to the routing database at step 162 . alternatively , the routing update message may include the updated routing database itself . at step 166 , the global routing program broadcasts the routing update message to the nodes 64 . the program then returns to a wait state at step 160 . to allocate network resources in order to maintain the proper qos on the network 63 , the central server 68 and one or more of the nodes 64 can perform the procedure of fig1 . at step 200 , the qos program 85 on a node 64 forms a request for a resource based on a request received from a personal computer , server , or other client of the network . at step 202 , the qos program 85 transmits the request for a network resource to the central server 68 via the communication program 84 and the wireless medium 66 using a standard qos protocol . the central server 68 receives the request and executes the global qos program 95 to process the request . the global qos program 95 may then wait for a certain interval in order to give other nodes the opportunity to submit requests . at step 206 , the global qos program 95 attempts to allocate the requested resources over the wireless medium 66 using a qos protocol . such an attempt may involve repeatedly contacting the various nodes from which the resources will be required , looking for alternative resources , waiting for acknowledgments from the nodes , and the like . if the attempt is successful , then the global qos program 95 sends a message to the requesting node indicating that the request has been granted at step 212 . if the attempt is unsuccessful , then the global qos program 95 transmits a denial to the requesting node at step 210 . in another embodiment , the nodes 64 of the network depicted in fig6 may transmit and receive local routing data to and from one another without the use of the central reservation server 68 . to maintain the routing database 70 according to this embodiment , the local routing program 71 may execute event loops 182 and 184 asynchronously on a node 64 as shown in fig1 . at step 170 of event loop 182 , the local routing program 71 may be in a wait state until a predetermined event occurs , similar to the wait state described in step 160 of fig1 . at step 172 , the local routing program 71 collects the local routing data in a well known manner . at step 174 , the local routing program 71 creates a local routing message containing the local routing data , and attaches an origin identifier representing the node from which the - message is being sent . if there are other , non - router nodes in the network , the local routing message may also have a multicast group identifier that corresponds to the group of router nodes . the receiving nodes may use the multicast group identifier to determine whether to process or ignore the local routing message . alternatively , the local routing program 71 may select a channel that is dedicated to the router nodes . at step 176 , the local routing program 71 broadcasts the message to each of the other nodes 64 of the network via the wireless medium 66 . the process then returns to step 170 . in event loop 184 , the local routing program waits until it receives local routing messages containing local routing data and having origin identifiers from the other nodes 64 via the wireless medium 66 at step 178 . the local routing program 71 then updates the routing database 70 using the local routing data received from the other nodes 64 at step 180 . the process then returns to step 178 . to maintain the proper qos on the network 63 , the nodes 64 of fig6 may perform the procedure of the flowchart of fig1 . at step 250 , the qos program 85 of a node forms a message that includes a request for a network resource based on the qos needs for the data traffic it is currently handling . the request identifies the nodes from whom the resource is being requested as well as the nature of the resource being requested . at step 252 , the qos program 85 broadcasts the request via the communication program 84 and the wireless medium 66 to the other nodes 64 using a qos protocol . at step 254 , the qos program 85 on each node receiving the request processes the request by referring to the routing database 70 and determining whether the resource is available . at step 256 , each receiving node allocates the requested resource using a standard protocol , such as a two - phase commit protocol . the process then returns to step 250 . in view of the many possible embodiments to which the principals of this invention may be applied , it should be recognized that the embodiment described herein with respect to the drawing figures is meant to be illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention . for example , a qos resource request and new routing data as described above may be sent in a single message or as separate messages . also , the invention may be used for other broadcasting or multicasting data other than the types of data described herein . it should also be recognized that the ordering and the specific implementation of the program steps described above and depicted in the flowcharts of fig4 , 10 - 13 is may be altered in obvious ways . those of skill in the art will recognize that the elements of the illustrated embodiment shown in software may be implemented in hardware and vice versa or that the illustrated embodiment can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from the spirit of the invention . therefore , the invention as described herein contemplates all such embodiments as may come within the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof . | 7 |
embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a block diagram of a power quality monitoring apparatus for a railway power system according to an embodiment of the present invention and fig2 shows a photograph of the power quality monitoring apparatus for the railway power system according to the embodiment of the present invention . as the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 for the railway power system according to an embodiment of the present invention , a monitoring device for collecting data in real time was manufactured and tested by woojin industrial systems co ., ltd . here , tsm320c32 was used as a digital signal processor that performs main calculations and data values was collected at 5 ms sampling . sampled data was recorded on a compact flash ( cf ) card and the recorded data was analyzed through a pc analysis program and is then output as graphical data . table 1 shows details of main components of the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 for the railway power system according to an embodiment of the present invention . the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 for the railway power system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes voltage detectors 6 and 12 and current detectors 8 and 14 , a signal input unit 16 , a signal converter 18 , a converter 20 , a memory 22 , a communication module 28 , a display driver 30 , and a display unit 32 . the voltage detectors 6 and 12 and the current detectors 8 and 14 are provided in a power supply portion 4 and a load 10 , respectively , to detect voltage and current levels . the signal input unit 16 receives signals from the voltage detectors 6 and 12 and the current detectors 8 and 14 . the signal converter 18 converts analog signals received from the signal input unit 16 into digital signals . the memory 22 includes a data storage unit 26 that stores received data in real time and a data recording unit 24 that records collected data . the display unit 32 displays monitored data . the display driver 30 drives the display unit 32 . the converter 20 receives detected current and voltage values in real time from the power supply portion 4 and the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 , monitors changes in the detected current and voltage values , stores power flow and the amount of supplied power , and transmits corresponding information to a remote location through the communication module 28 . more specifically , the converter 20 includes an arithmetic unit of a tms320c32 - 60 dsp , which is a digital signal processor that performs analog - to - digital conversion , card recording , and data operation and processing and is capable of 32 - bit floating - point calculations and is suitable for precise data processing . table 2 shows functionality and characteristics of the dsp . the display unit 32 and the display driver 30 are provided in a modular form . for example , the display unit 32 and the display driver 30 are designed as a graphic lcd module which generally includes an interface unit , a controller , a display unit , and a backlight unit . an lsi including a character generator ( cg ) rom , a cg ram , and a display data ram , which correspond to main elements of the graphic lcd module , was first developed in japan and thus the character cg rom has a function to display japanese characters . signal or power units for connecting the lcd module to the cpu include 14 - pin terminals , where 15th and 16th pins are added to perform backlight functions . the signal converter 18 uses an ad7891as - 1 a / d converter and is used to receive and convert analog signals such as current , voltage , or variable load signals into digital values . fig3 is a circuit diagram of the signal converter 18 . the following are characteristics of the ad7891as - 1 a / d converter . the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 for the railway power system further includes a tlp620 - 4 photocoupler which is used to isolate input and output signals . for example , the tlp620 - 4 photocoupler is used to input a dc100v level signal such as a p ( 11 ), b 0 ( 27 ), b 1 ( 28 ), b 2 ( 29 ), or door ( 145 ) signal . fig4 is a circuit diagram of the tlp620 - 4 photocoupler . the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 for the railway power system further includes an ad202jy isolation amplifier which is used to isolate input and output signals including variable load and notch input signals to minimize the influence of the monitor apparatus upon the signals when interfacing with main elements used for control of a vvvf controller . fig5 shows a circuit diagram of the ad202jy isolation amplifier . the following are characteristics of the ad202jy isolation amplifier . the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 for the railway power system further includes a ds12c887 timer ic which is used to set a time to be stored in a recording device ( cf card ). even when control power is turned off , the time of the ds12c887 timer ic continues to advance since a battery is included . the following are characteristics of the ds12c887 timer ic . totally nonvolatile with over 10 years of operation in the absence of power counts seconds , minutes , hours , days , day of the week , date , month , and year with leap year compensation valid up to 2100 the voltage detectors 6 and 12 included in the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 for the railway power system use a voltage sensor ( dcpt 2516 ). the following are characteristics of the voltage sensor ( dcpt 2516 ). the voltage detectors 8 and 14 included in the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 for the railway power system use a current sensor ( kll3 . 0k - 10vd ). the following are characteristics of the current sensor ( kll3 . 0k - 10vd ). specifically , the converter 20 included in the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 for the railway power system is provided with a tms320c32 - 60 dsp from texas instruments co ., ltd ., which is capable of real - time floating point calculations . the converter 20 includes a main controller , a dc power source that supplies control power , and an a / d board for analog input / output isolation . fig6 is a block diagram of the control board of the converter 20 . for example , the converter 20 performs status data monitoring , data collection and recording , time setting through rs232c communication with a pc , and the like . more specifically , the converter 20 includes a tms320c32 circuit and a power source monitoring circuit ( reset circuit ). fig7 is a circuit diagram of the power source monitoring circuit . the power source monitoring circuit of fig7 is used to generate a reset signal for other circuits . the power source monitoring circuit of fig7 includes a ds1232 unit . the ds1232 unit outputs a reset signal when power is equal to or less than 4 . 5v when a 3rd pin ( tol ) of the ds1232 unit has been connected to vcc and outputs a reset signal when power is equal to or less than 4 . 75v when the 3rd pin has been connected to gnd , which corresponds to a power source monitoring operation . the ds1232 unit also has a watch dog function to monitor whether or not a program of the cpu is properly running . to accomplish this , the watch dog function outputs a reset signal when no pulse is input to a 7th pin ( st ) of the ds1232 unit . the watch dog function outputs a reset signal if no pulse is input for 1 . 2 seconds when a 2nd pin ( td ) of the ds1232 unit has been connected to vcc , outputs a reset signal if no pulse is input for 150 msec when the 2nd pin ( td ) has been connected to gnd , and outputs a reset signal if no pulse is input for 500 msec when the 2nd pin ( td ) has been opened . a 1st pin ( pbrst ) of the ds1232 unit is connected to a push button to allow manual reset . the following is a more detailed description of the dsp described above . the tms320c32 circuit basically includes 24 - bit address and 32 - bit data buses . one serial port of the tms320c32 circuit may be connected to a pc through a connector for program data downloading and program monitoring and a 32 - bit and 2 - channel timer thereof allows periodic data processing . dc 5v is used as a power source voltage of the dsp and a 60 mhz crystal oscillator is used as an operation clock of the dsp . the memory 22 basically needs to include a rom and a ram . here , an 8 - bit rom and a 16 - bit ram are used for the memory 22 . fig9 is a circuit diagram of the memory . a flash rom which allows repetitive recording is basically used as the rom of the memory and an sram for program operations / calculations and a non - volatile sram ( nvsram ) for storing malfunction data are used as rams of the memory . such memory chips include an address bus input portion and a data input portion . each memory chip also includes pins ( cs or ce pins ) for receiving a chip selection signal to allow selection of the chip and input pins such as rd and wr pins . the chip selection signal is used to select each chip and is generated from logic circuits of an fpga through address decoding . fig1 shows the fpga which is programmable through logic circuits and which constitutes logic circuits for allowing the monitor pcb to control address decoding and digital input and output of each chip . since the fpga performs address decoding , an address bus signal needs to be input to the fpga . in addition , since the fpga needs to perform sequence control or malfunction processing , a digital input and a digital output need to be connected to pins of the fpga . chip selection signals of the chips and a data bus of the cpu are also connected to the fpga . the following is a description of the communication module 28 . the communication module 28 is designed such that the main control board has two communication channels . one of the two channels is designed to exchange data with a pc through rs232 communication and a serial communication controller , which is referred to as “ z85c30 ” is used for the channel . fig1 and 12 are circuit diagrams of a z85c30 circuit and an rs232 driver circuit . the other channel is designed to support additional rs485 communication . a communication port of a second channel of the z85c30 is used as a communication port of the channel for rs485 communication . fig1 shows a circuit for converting a z85c30 signal into an rs485 signal . the signal input unit 16 is used to input analog and digital signals and the main control board has current and voltage inputs as analog inputs . since variable load and notch values are used for control signals , corresponding signals need to be electrically isolated from the main control board to guarantee stability ( or reliability ). accordingly , there is a need to design and add an additional analog isolation board . fig1 shows the analog isolation circuit . as shown in fig1 , an input voltage of this circuit is divided through a resistor and is then input to an input terminal of an ad202 unit , which is an isolation amplifier , via a filter . here , the voltage division resistor needs to be highly precise and to have a capacity high enough to receive high voltage . a signal output from an output terminal of the ad202 unit is input to the cpu via a filter and a buffer . in addition , as shown in fig1 , the main control board includes 12 digital input signal channels for receiving signals at a level of dc 100v through the photocoupler . currently used channels of the 12 channels receive a powering signal ( p ), regenerative braking signals ( b 0 , b 1 , b 2 ), a notch input signal , and a door signal . the main control board included in the power quality monitoring apparatus 2 for the railway power system according to the present invention has a pcmcia connector ( see fig1 ) for inserting a compact flash ( cf ) card , which is designed to store up to 2 gigabytes . since the pins are connected to address and data buses , a control pin for controlling the cf card interfaces with the dsp through the fpga . the minimum recording unit of the cf card is 512 bytes per sector so as to simultaneously store 512 bytes . analog and digital input values are first stored in a temporary memory and then , when the stored memory size reaches a memory size corresponding to the minimum recording unit , the values are recorded in the cf card . data recorded in the cf card is divided into a header , a body , and measured data that is calculated as a power value . 64 × 1 , 024 bytes are recorded as one block and the maximum number of blocks is 30 , 720 such that the total capacity is 2 gigabytes . when blocks are recorded , each block includes 1 header and 1820 bodies . tables 5 and 6 show configurations of header and body memory maps . the time required to record one memory block is the time required to record a sampling period of 5 ms 1 , 820 times such that the required time is a total of 9 . 1 seconds . accordingly , the time required to record the total memory size of 2 gigabytes is 279 , 552 seconds (= 30 , 720 blocks × 9 . 1 seconds ) which is 77 . 65 hours . when the recorded time exceeds this time , data is again recorded in initial - state blocks , overwriting previous data . as is apparent from the above description , the power quality monitoring apparatus for the railway power system according to the present invention has a variety of advantages . for example , it is possible to monitor changes in voltage and current values of trains , which are loads , and ac lines to output the changes in the voltage and current values , power consumption , and power flow in a graphical or text format , thereby making it possible to easily determine overall overhead line environments . the power quality monitoring apparatus for the railway power system according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention . | 8 |
in the detailed description of the various embodiments , elements or components , which are substantially similar or identical , are designated with the same reference numerals . referring to the embodiment of the metal - on - elastomer lga interposer array 10 , as illustrated in fig1 of the drawings , there are shown a plurality of the interposers 12 in the form of hemi - toroidally shaped elements or so called buttons ( generally simulating the shape of a transversely sliced donut ). each of the lga interposer buttons 12 includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced flexible strip - like metal elements 14 forming electrical contacts which reach from the topmost surface 16 of each respective lga button 12 to the via 18 which extends through an insulating carrier pad 20 on which the lga interposer buttons are mounted , and down through the center of the lga buttons so as to connect to a conductive pad 22 which surrounds through the through via on both sides of the carrier 20 , and extends out along the insulating carrier surface beneath the lga so as to make electrical contact at the other side or the lowermost end surface 24 of the inversely positioned lower lga interposer buttons 26 . the electrically - conductive flexible metal elements are primarily strips 14 which extend from the uppermost end of the respective upper lga interposer buttons 12 inwardly into an essentially cup shaped portion extending to the hole or via 18 formed in the pad 22 . consequently , by means of the pads 22 , which are constituted of electrically conductive material or metal and which surround each of the through vias 18 formed in the dielectric material insulating carrier plane 20 , these contact the ends of each of the metal strips 14 , which extend along the external elastomeric material surface of each respective lga hemi - toroidally shaped interposer structure or button 12 . accordingly , electrical contact is made from the uppermost or top end of each respective lga interposer button to the lowermost end 24 of each of the opposite sided lga interposer buttons 26 at the opposite or lower side of the insulating carrier plane 20 . with regard to the embodiment illustrated in fig2 a of the drawings , wherein the electrical elements 30 consisting of the strips positioned on the top surface 16 of the respective lga interposer buttons 12 extend towards the through via 18 , in this instance , there is no electrically conductive pad present as in fig1 , but rather the metallic or electrically conductive strips 30 forming the flexible metal contacts extend from the uppermost end 16 of the upper lga interposer buttons 12 down through the via 18 , the insulating carrier plane 20 to the lowermost ends or apices 24 of the lower inverted lga buttons 26 on the opposite or bottom side of the structure 10 . in essence , in both embodiments , in fig1 and 2a , both the upper and lower lga interposer buttons 12 , 26 are mirror images and are symmetrical relative to each other on opposite sides of the insulating carrier plane 20 . with regard to fig2 b of the drawings , this illustrates primarily a perspective representation of the array of the upper lga interposer buttons 12 positioned on the insulating carrier plane 20 . reverting to the embodiment of fig3 of the drawings , in this instance , the flexible metal electrical contacts 34 , which are positioned so as to extend from the upper ends 16 of each of the respective lga interposer buttons 12 through the via 18 in the insulating carrier plane 20 , as also represented in the cross - sectional view of fig4 , are designed to have the electrical metal contacts forming a plurality of flexible strips 34 , which extend each unitarily from the upper ends 16 to the lower ends 24 of the hemi - torus shaped buttons 12 , 26 from above and below the insulating carrier plane 20 in a mirror - image arrangement . hereby , the multiple , circumferentially spaced metal electrical contact strips 34 extend from the uppermost point on one side of the insulating plane to the lowermost point on the opposite side so as to form electrical through - connections at both upper and lower ends and , in effect , forming a reversible structure 10 . as shown in fig5 of the drawings , in that instance , each of the hemi - toroidally shaped interposer buttons 12 , 26 , which are essentially identical in construction with those shown in fig3 and 4 of the drawings , have the metal contacts 40 formed so that they extend in a common annular conductive sleeve structure 42 prior to continuing through the via 18 , which is formed in the insulating carrier plane 20 to the upper and lower ends 16 , 26 of the lga interposer buttons 24 . in fig6 of the drawings , these contacts 40 separate only into separated strip - like portions 42 at the extreme uppermost and lowermost ends of the lga interposer buttons 12 , 26 and then join together into the essentially annular structure 44 extending through the via 18 formed in the insulating carrier plane 20 . referring to the embodiment of fig7 and 8 of the drawings , these illustrate essentially a structure 50 wherein lga interposer buttons 12 are arranged only on the upper surface 52 of the insulating carrier plane 20 in a manner similar to fig1 of the drawings , and wherein the conductive strips 14 contact metallic or electrically - conductive pads 54 extending respectively through each of the through vias 18 formed in the insulating carrier plane 20 . the lower surface of each metal pad 54 , in turn , may have a solder ball 56 attached thereto in preparation for a subsequent joining , as is known in the technology . as shown in the perspective representation of fig9 of the drawings , in that instance , the lga interposer array structure 60 , which is mounted on the insulating carrier plane 20 , is similar to that shown in fig7 and 8 of the drawings ; however , a slit 62 is formed in the elastomeric material of each lga interposer button 12 , communicating with the interior 64 thereof , and with the through via 18 , which is formed in the insulating carrier plane 20 , so as to enable any gasses or pressure generated to vent from the interior thereof to the surroundings . fig1 of the drawings is also similar to the structure shown in fig7 , however , in this instance , each elastomeric interposer button 12 has a plurality of slits 62 or discontinuities formed in the annular toroidally - shaped walls thereof , preferably intermediate respective flexible metal strips 14 , which are located on the upper and inward downwardly extending surface of each elastomer buttons , so as to enable each separate segment 68 to be able to resiliently or flexibly respond to changes or irregularities in the topography of elements contacting the lga interposer buttons 12 . also , each segment 68 between each of respective metal contact strips 14 may respond mechanically or independently , so as not to only accommodate differences in topography with a mating surface or differences in the shape of mating solder balls , but in cases where a solder ball will be pressed against the toroidal contacts to produce an electrical connection . in effect , this will enable a mechanical or physical compensation for encountered differences in contact surfaces . with regard to the embodiment of fig1 of the drawings , which is somewhat similar to fig1 , in that instance , at least one or more of the segments 68 , which are separated by the intermediate slits extending through the lga interposer buttons are different in height , so as to have some of the segments 70 higher than others in a z - or vertical direction relative to the plane of the insulating carrier plane 20 . in this instance , two segments 68 of the four independent segments of each respective lga interposer button 12 are shown to be lower in height than the other segments 70 . with regard to fig1 of the drawings , in this instance , the array structure 74 of the hemi - toroidal lga interposer buttons 76 , which are mounted on the insulating carrier plane 20 , the opposite or lower side 78 of which has solder balls 80 connected to electrically - conductive pads 82 extending through the vias 18 , has the centers 84 of the respective lga interposer buttons 76 , which have electrical strip - like contacts 88 extending downwardly , as shown in fig1 , have a contoured inner wall configuration 90 , which allows for nesting or a snap - fit with a solder ball ( not shown ), which may be brought into engagement therewith . in this instance , fig1 showing the cross - sectional representation of fig1 , illustrates the knob - shaped interior sidewall profile 90 of the compliant interposer button with the separate metal contact strips 88 extending upwardly along the interior of wall 90 to the topmost end 92 of each respective lga interposer button 76 . as illustrated in the embodiment of fig1 of the drawings , in this instance , as also shown in cross - section in fig1 ; multiple metal strip contacts 88 extend from the top surfaces of the compliant lga button structure 100 , passing over the top surfaces 102 and extending down into the center part of the hole 104 provided in each interposer button 106 , and meeting with a common pad - shaped metal conductor 108 , which extends along the upper surface 110 of the insulating carrier plane 20 under the button in contact with strips 88 and outwardly until reaching a via 112 , which extends the metal pad downwardly through the insulating carrier plane 20 and along the lower surface 114 thereof , so as to contact solder balls 116 . this is illustrated in the cross - sectional representation of fig1 of the drawings , which also shows a filled injection tube 120 extending through the insulating carrier plane 20 and a residue break off point 122 , where an elastomer portion was separated from an injection port on a mold forming the entire lga button structure . this embodiment , showing the filled injection tube for the plastic material , is adapted for the method in which the injection molding of elastomeric material is implemented from the bottom side of the insulating carrier plane 20 . as shown in fig1 of the drawings , which is essentially similar to the embodiment of fig1 , in that instance , this illustrates a filler injection tube , the mold ( not shown ) forming the lga button structure is implemented by injection molding from the top side of the mold , and a residual mass of elastomer 132 can be ascertained extending from the side 134 of the elastic lga button structure 100 from which it was separated at the injection port of a mold . also indicated in fig1 are two types of anchoring holes in the insulating carrier plane 20 , wherein one hole 136 extends all the way through to the other side thereof , and wherein a blob 138 of residual excess molding material penetrates slightly beyond the bottom surface of the insulating carrier plane 20 . another type of anchoring hole or cavity 140 does not extend fully through the insulating carrier plane 20 , but is formed as a depression in the top surface of the latter , so as to mechanically anchor the elastomeric material of each lga interposer button to the structure or plane 20 . reverting to the embodiment of fig1 and 18 of the drawings , these show another aspect of providing an lga interposer array 150 on an insulating carrier plane 20 , wherein a multiple of lga interposer buttons 152 of essentially conical configurations and their electrical metallic strip contacts 154 , which extend over the topmost ends 156 thereof , service a common i / o electrical contact 158 in the form of a pad on the upper surface of plane 20 . in this instance , the structure incorporates an electrically conductive via 160 extending through the insulating carrier plane 20 , shown in a center of a group of four lga interposer buttons 102 , as a common meeting point of the metal contact strips 154 on pad 158 , which extend from respectively one each of the top of each lga button down the side thereof and into the via metallurgy of the structure , towards the bottom of plane 20 , as shown in cross - section in fig1 of the drawings . reverting to the embodiment of fig1 and 20 of the drawings , which is quite similar to the embodiment of fig1 and 18 , in that instance , the primary distinction resides in that at least one or two of the lga interposer buttons 152 of a respective group thereof has or have a height which differs from the remaining interposer buttons of that group . for example , two or more buttons 152 of each group may be taller than the remaining buttons 164 of that group ( of four buttons ) in order to essentially create a lateral stop mechanism for a side loading of a module , through such groupings of lga interposer buttons in respective arrays . in essence , the different heights in the lga interposer button groups enable a module with an associated solder ball to be brought into contact and aligned by means of lateral insertion , rather than only vertical insertion , wherein the higher lga interposer buttons provide stops for the solder balls in order to register with the essentially hemi - toroidally shaped elastomeric contacts . reverting to the embodiment of fig2 and 22 of the drawings , in this instance , there is provided an lga interposer array 170 arranged on an insulating carrier plane 20 , wherein multiple points of contact for each i / o are provided by means of linear bars of elastomeric lga interposers 172 . this provides a compliant structure on which a plurality of spaced metallic electrical contact strip elements 174 may be positioned so as to extend from the top 176 of each respective interposer bar 172 both above and below the insulating carrier plane 20 , as shown in fig2 , into electrically sleeve - like conductive vias 178 formed extending through the insulating carrier plane 20 in contact with respective metal strip contacts 180 above and below the insulating carrier plane 20 . in that instance , the metal contact strips 180 may be formed with different shapes , such as one typical contact joining from two separate ships 182 into a single common strip 184 near the top , as clearly illustrated in fig2 , or joining further down near the via extending through the carrier plane to the other side . furthermore , three or more contact points for each i / o may be provided and different types of contact elements may be utilized along the bar whereby some types may be more suitable for conduction of signals and others for high amperage power feeds . as illustrated in fig2 - 25 , there are shown alternate process flows for a balled module , wherein a balled module zoo , as shown in fig2 , can be directed either towards a solder reflow line for normal bga connection to a pwb , as illustrated in fig2 , or alternatively , to an lga interposer assembly 210 where it is assembled by means of a hemi - toroidal lga and pwb ( wiring board ) under pressure to make a field replaceable unit , as shown in fig2 of the drawings . with regard to the configurations of the lga interposer buttons , these may be of elastic structural members , which are conical , dome - shaped conic sections or other positive release shapes , such as roughly cylindrical or hemispherical , hemi - toroids , and wherein the metal coating forming the electrically conductive contact members or strips terminate at the apices of each of the multiple buttons . moreover , the elastomeric material , which is utilized for each of the lga interposer buttons or for the linear shaped elastic structural member ( as shown in fig2 and 22 ) may be constituted of any suitable molded polymer from any rubber - like moldable composition , which , for example , among others , may consist of silicon rubber , also known as siloxane or pdms , polyurethane , polybutadiene and its copolymers , polystyrene and its copolymers , acrylonitrile and its copolymers and epoxides and its copolymers . the connectors of the inventive lga structure may be injection molded or transfer molded onto an insulating carrier plane 20 , and may serve the purpose of mechanically anchoring the contact to the insulating carrier plane and in instances can provide a conduit for the electrical connections which pass from the top surface of the connector to the bottom surface thereof . in addition to connecting chip modules to printed circuit boards , the arrays of the lga interposer buttons or linear structure may be employed for chip - to - chip connection in chip stacking or for board to board connections , the contacts may be of any shape and produced by injecting the elastomer in the same side as where the elastomer contact will be anchored to the insulating carrier by a hole or holes or vias , which extend through the insulating carrier or by any cavity edge formed into the surface of the insulating carrier . in essence , the molding of the elastomeric material component or components , such as the hemi - toroidal interposer or interposers may be implemented in that the elastomeric polymer material is ejected from the same side at which the interposer will be positioned on the insulating carrier plane , and will be anchored to the insulating carrier plane by means of a hole or holes , as illustrated in the drawings , which either extend completely through to the opposite side of the insulating carrier plane , or through the intermediary of a cavity which is etched or formed into the surface of the insulting carrier plane , which does not extend all the way through the thickness thereof , and wherein any cavity may have flared undercut sidewalls from maximum anchoring ability or by simple surface roughening of the insulating carrier plane . this is clearly illustrated in the embodiments represented in fig1 and 16 of the drawings . while the present invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in forms and details may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention . it is therefore intended that the present invention not be limited to the exact forms and details described and illustrated , but fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , which is a simplified view of terrain wherein several vehicles are traveling and are being monitored by aircraft 10 and 12 . because the vehicle position as well as its velocity and direction of travel are estimates , they are generally defined as “ tracks ”, thus vehicle and track are used interchangeably hereinafter . the terrain includes hills 16 , with several structures 18 nearby . vehicles 20 a , and 20 b are traveling on road 21 in the direction indicated by arrow 22 toward the hills 16 . vehicles 24 a , and 24 b are traveling on road 25 , which intersects road 21 at point 26 , while vehicle 27 and 28 are traveling toward each other on road 29 some distance away . the situation illustrated in fig1 is for purposes of illustration , for any real situation in the battlefield will be far more complex . furthermore , while two aircraft are shown , there may be only one or more than two aircraft involved in the tracking . in addition , while aircraft are used , the system could be ground based or on ships . thus the use of aircraft is for purposes of illustration only . the long - term track maintenance architecture map for the sensor management system design is illustrated in fig2 . there are three stages : target tracking 30 , situation assessment and priority calculation 32 , and sensor resource management ( srm ) 33 . target tracking 30 involves the use of a kinematic tracker program 34 , which receives input from the sensor in the moving target indicator ( mti ) mode . kinematic tracking programs are available from such companies as orincon corporation , san diego , calif . and northrop grumman corporation , melbourne , fla . tracking a vehicle that is isolated from other vehicles is easy ; however , when the vehicles are in close proximity and traveling at the same or nearly the same speed , it becomes difficult ( see fig1 ). thus the second level is the use of a feature aided tracking stitcher ( fats ) system 36 to refine the data provided by the kinematic tracking program 34 . the data from the fats 36 is stored in an on - the - fly database 38 . the output from the kinematic tracker 34 is provided to the srm 33 , which is a process that provides the analysis of tracking information from radar systems and makes the decision as to which of three radar modes ( herein after referred to as sensor modes ) is necessary to ensure that the vehicle remains tracked . note that the sensors by use of the kinematic tracker 34 and fats 36 can determine the radar cross - section ( rcs ), speed , direction of travel and distance to the vehicle as well as the distance between vehicles . fig3 presents a summary of the data provided by the kinematic tracking program 34 . 1 . moving target indicator ( mti ) mode . in this mode , the radar system can provide good kinematic tracking data . 2 . high range resolution ( hrr ) mode . in this mode , the radar system is capable of providing target profiles . 3 . high update rate ( hur ) mode . in this mode , the target is tracked at very high rate , such that the position is accurately determined . tracking performance is enhanced if the radar is operated in the mode best suited to the type of information required . fig4 is chart of sensor modes versus to be monitored and track status . the srm uses a two - stage process to aggregate hundreds of variables and constraints into two sensor cue decisions . first , it accepts input data from the sensors and maps this to fuzzy set conditions . the system uses thirty - seven defined membership functions ( msf ). a membership function is a fuzzy set concept for assigning a quantitative score to a characteristic . the score is determined by the degree to which that characteristic is met . the membership functions are as follows : msf 1 closeness to nominated track ( m 1 closeness )— how far away is a track that may be confused with the nominated track . msf 2 same heading as nominated track ( m 2 same heading )— if the confuser track is heading in the same direction as the nominated track . msf 3 similar speed as nominated track ( m 3 similar speed )— how close is the speed of a confuser track to the nominated track . msf 4 small time - to - go to common intersection of nominated track ( m 4 small ttg to common intersection )— is the time that a confuser track is from an intersection to which a nominated track is heading small . msf 5 similar time - to - go to common intersection as nominated track ( m 5 similar ttg to common intersection )— confuser track has about the same time - to - go to the same intersection as the nominated track is heading towards . msf 6 passing scenario confuser track to nominated track ( m 6 passing scenario )— it is the minimum of msf 1 , 2 , and 3 . msf 7 common intersection factor to nominated track ( m 7 intersection scenario )— it is the maximum of msf 4 and 5 . msf 8 confuser factor ( m 8 confuser status )— it is the maximum of msf 6 and 7 . msf 9 nominated status ( m 9 nomination status )— the track is nominated by the operator or is ambiguous with a nominated track . msf 10 uniqueness of available aspect of vehicle to fill hole ( m 10 unique aspect )— has the fats system provided a new aspect of the vehicle at an angle not already in the data base . msf 11 holes in “ on - the - fly ” database ( m 11 holes in db )— does this track have big gaps of missing aspect angle coverage in the “ on - the - fly ” database . msf 12 helpfulness of aspect angle to disambiguate ( m 12 helpful aspect )— will a profile at this predicted aspect angle help to disambiguate the track . are there similar aspects already in the “ on - the - fly ” database . msf 13 poor kinematic quality ( m 13 poor kin . qual . )— minimum of msf 18 , 19 , and 20 msf 14 track not screened ( m 14 )— is track screened by terrain or trees , etc . msf 15 track is not kinematically ambiguous ( m 15 not kin ambig . )— is track not close to other tracks . msf 16 track not in limbo ( m 16 not limbo )— is track identified by fats as ambiguous ( 0 or 1 ). msf 17 track in limbo ( m 17 limbo or ambiguous ) track marked by fats as ambiguous ( 0 or 1 ). msf 18 time since last measurement ( m 18 long time since last measurement ) how long has track gone without an updating measurement . msf 19 position uncertainty big ( m 19 position uncertainty )— does the track &# 39 ; s covariance matrix reflect that the track &# 39 ; s position estimate is of a low quality . msf 20 heading uncertainty big ( m 20 heading uncertainty )— does the track &# 39 ; s covariance matrix reflect that the track &# 39 ; s heading estimate is of a low quality . msf 31 helpful multi - lateral angle ( m 31 good multi - lat angle )— is the current line - of - sight angle from the sensor to the track a good angle to reduce position error covariance ? msf 32 not a bad pose or low minimum detectable velocity ( m 32 not bad pose )— is the current aspect angle to the track not a good pose for use of profiles ( side poses do not work as well ) msf 33 in field of view ( m 33 fov )— is track in field of view of sensor . msf 34 small distance of closest separation ( m 34 small distance of closest separation )— will this confuser track be close to the nominated track at the predicted closest point of spearation . msf 35 small time - to - go to closest separation ( m 35 small ttg to closest separation )— is the time - to - go until the predicted point of closest separation small ? msf 36 off - road scenario ( m 36 off - road scenario )— minimum of m 34 and m 35 . msf 37 good sigma range rate estimate ( m 37 good σ r )— does the current track &# 39 ; s covariance matrix reflect that the track has a good quality range rate estimate ?. msf 38 clearness of track m 38 clearness )— how far away is track from other tracks . fuzzy logic gates are used to generate ten sensor mode control rules , shown in fig5 a and 5b , which are multiplied by weighing factors ( to be subsequently discussed ) to determine a rule score . it does this for every track and each sensor . the rule with the best score becomes a sensor cue . the second sensor cue , if there is a second sensor , is the next best score . in this way , the fuzzy network decides which of three modes to request and where to point each sensor . again note that while two sensors will be discussed , a single sensor or more than two could be used . referring to fig3 - 5 and additionally to fig6 , rule number 1 ( indicated by numeral 40 ), is illustrated in detail . rule number 1 is the only hard or non - fuzzy logic rule . rule 1 provides a hur burst data when a key track ( nominated ) is near an intersection or near other vehicles . this is to maintain track continuity when a nominated track is predicted to be taking a maneuver or predicted to be close to other tracks ( confusers ). 1 . it is first necessary to determine the nomination status of the track ( m 9 ). nomination status is assigned a one if it is a nominated track or track is ambiguous with a nominated track ( determined by either the kinematic tracker 34 or “ fats ” system 36 to be subsequently discussed ) and is kinematically ambiguous ( m 1 ) and 2 . track is in field of view ( m 32 ) and not terrain screened ( m 14 ) and not near an intersection ( m 4 ). the resulting score is multiplied by weighing factor w 1 to provide the rule number one score . the track is nominated ( m 9 ) by the operator as one of importance and kinematically ambiguous ( m 17 ) status is determined by the kinematic tracker 34 or fats 36 , to be subsequently discussed . the calculation of the clearness m 38 score is as follows : r 1 =√{ square root over ((( xp − xt 1 ) 2 +( yp − yt 1 ) 2 ))} r 2 =√{ square root over ((( xp − xt 2 ) 2 +( yp − yt 2 ) 2 ))} δxr = √{ square root over ( d 2 − δ r 2 )} score = ( δ r - d 1 ) * ( δ xr - d 2 ) d 1 * d 2 where d 1 , = minimum distance threshold , d 2 = maximum distance threshold . the clearness score typically must be greater than 0 . 2 for the sensors presently being used ; they may vary from sensor to sensor . as to the time - to - go to the nearest intersection ( m 4 ), the vehicle speed and position are known , as well as the distance to the nearest intersection . thus the time can be easily computed . for the sensors presently used , the time must be less than five seconds still referring to fig3 - 5 and additionally to fig7 , the second rule , designated by numeral 42 . provides standard mti data for nominated track who currently have marginal kinematic estimation accuracy for estimation improvement and includes the following steps : 1 . if nominated track ( m 9 ) or track ambiguous with nominated track ( m 9 ) and poor kinematic quality ( m 13 ), which comprises time since last measurement is long ( m 18 ), or position uncertainty ( m 19 ), and helpful multi - lateral angle ( m 31 ) or heading uncertain ( m 20 ). and 2 . track is not terrain screened and track is in fov ( m 33 ) and not in discrete area ( m 38 ). the result of rule 2 is multiplied by weighting factor w 2 , which provides rule 2 score ( m 22 ). the membership function m 13 poor kinematic quality is a function of m 19 position uncertainty , m 31 good multi - lateral angle , m 18 time since last measurement and m 20 heading uncertainty . following are the calculations for m 18 long time since last measurement m 18 . the heading uncertainty function ( m 20 ) is calculated using the following formula . the heading σ h is first calculated using location values from the kinematic tracker . σ h ≅ ( y * p xx - 2 * x * y * p xx + x * p yy x 2 + y 2 ) * 180 π the value of a 1 and a 2 of course will depend upon the sensor system . note that uncertainty varies as the square of the time elapsed from the last measurement because of the possibility of acceleration of he vehicle . the formula for determining the good multi - lateral angle m 31 is provided in fig1 b and is discussed below . the first calculations require the determination of the angular relationships between the aircraft 10 and track 50 indicated ( fig1 a ). the xt , xp , yt , pxy , pyy and pxx values are all obtained from the kinematic tracker system 34 ( fig . az = tan - 1 ( x t - x p y t - y p ) θ o = tan - 1 ( 2 p xy p yy - p xx ) 2 score = da * ( a 1 - 1 . 0 ) 90 + 1 . 0 the position uncertainty ( m 19 ) is determined by calculating the area of an ellipse 56 , as illustrated in fig1 a , in which it is estimated that the vehicle being tracked resides . major axis = p xy + p xx + p yy 2 + p xx 2 + 4 p xy 2 - 2 p xx * p yy 2 minor axis = p yy + p xx - p yy 2 + p xx 2 + 4 p xy 2 - 2 p xx * p yy 2 pxx , pyy , pxx 2 , pxy 2 , pyy 2 are measurements provided by the kinematic tracker system 34 ( fig2 ). the value of a 1 and a 2 are determined by the capability of the sensor system . still referring to fig4 - 6 , and additionally to fig1 , rule 3 , and indicated by numeral 59 , requests hrr on nominated tracks to get profiles to try to disambiguate tracks that are now in the open but in the past where ambiguous with other tracks . rule 3 is follows : 1 . if nominated track ( m 9 ) or track ambiguous with nominated track is in limbo ( m 17 ) and 2 . a helpful aspect is available ( m 12 ) and not bad side pose ( m 32 ) and not in discrete area ( m 38 ) and the result is multiplied by weighting factor w 3 to provide rule 3 score ( m 23 ). referring to fig1 , the good track σ r ′ , standard deviation of range rate ( m 37 ) is easily determined by the kinematic tracker program 34 . r = √{ square root over ( n 2 − e 2 )} h11 = e * ( n ′ * e - n * e ′ ) r 3 h14 = n * ( n * e ′ - n ′ * e ) r 3 σ r ′ = h11 2 * p yy + 2 * h11 * h12 * p yy ′ + 2 * h11 * h14 * p yx + 2 * h11 * h15 * p yx ′ + h12 * p yy ′ + 2 * h12 * h14 * p y ′ x + 2 * h12 * h15 * p y ′ x ′ + h14 2 * p xx + 2 * h14 * h15 * p xx ′ + h15 2 * p x ′ x ′ score = v 1 - σ r ′ v 2 - v 1 + 1 and as illustrated in the graph 60 in fig1 . where the value of v 1 is the minimum valve and v 2 is the maximum value in meters per second . referring to fig1 a and 14b , it can be seen that the not bad side pose ( m 32 ) is also easily calculated and depends on the viewing angle of he vehicle shown in fig1 a . the availability of a helpful aspect function ( m 12 ) is also easily determined using the following equations : given | δ heading |= absolute value of difference in heading between two vehicles . score = a 1 - δ heading a 2 - a 1 + 1 , in order to disambiguate using profile matching , the profiles matched must be at nearly the same aspect angle . the helpful aspect membership functions quantifies the fuzzy membership ( 0 . 0 to 1 . 0 ) of the “ helpfulness ” of a collected new profile based upon how far away it is from the existing profiles in the track &# 39 ; s ‘ on - the - fly ’ profile database . if the collection aspect angle is close to the closest stored profile , it will be completely helpful , ( score = 1 . 0 ). if the aspect angle is different , say over over 15 degrees away from the nearest stored profile , it will be completely useless ( score = zero ). in between , the usefulness will vary . referring to fig1 , rule 4 , indicated by numeral 64 , provides standard mti data for tracks deemed to be potential confuser tracks with a nominated track , which currently have marginal kinematic estimation accuracy for estimation improvement . rule 4 is as follows : 1 . if a track is a confuser status ( m 8 ) to a ( nominated track or track is ambiguous with nominated track ) and 2 . has poor kinematic quality ( m 13 ) and track is not terrain screened ( m 38 ) and track is in field of view ( m 33 ) and not in discrete area , the resulting score multiplied by w 4 provides the rule 4 score m 24 . 1 . if a track ( is close to nominated track ( m 1 ) and at the same heading ( m 2 ) and at a similar speed ( m 3 )), which is the passing scenario ( m 6 ) or 2 . has a small time - to - go to a common intersection with a nominated track ( m 4 ) and a similar time - to - go to a common intersection ( m 5 ) or 3 . has a small - predicted distance of closest separation to a nominated track m 34 ) and a small time - to - go to predicted time of closest separation m 35 . the closeness to nominated track membership function m 1 is also easily determined . d 1 is the minimum distance threshold and d 2 is the maximum distance threashold . the formulas for calculating the same heading membership m 2 are as follows . score = a 1 - δ . heading a 2 - a 1 + 1 , the formulas for calculating the similar speed membership function m 3 are as follows : where v 1 and v 2 are minimum and maximum thresholds in speed . the formulas for the calculation of off road scenario - closest separation m 34 are as follows : following is calculation for closest separation distance of the nominated track and a track of interest and the calculation of the time - to - go ( ttg ) to closest separation . if ttg is positive the vehicles are approaching other , calculations proceed . calculate closest separation distance d . with this information , the ttg small function ( m 4 ) and ttg similar ( m 5 ) function and m 7 function can be determined . the t 1 and t 2 , values are minimum and maximums . note that given the above , a determination whether the track is considered a confuser track ( m 7 ) can be determined ( see fig2 b ) fig2 illustrates rule 5 ( m 25 ), indicated by numeral 72 , requests hrr on confuser tracks to get profiles to try to disambiguate tracks that are now in the open but in the past where ambiguous with other tracks . rule 5 is as follows : 1 . if a track is a confuser to a ( nominated track or track ambiguous with nominated track ( m 8 ) and is in limbo ( m 17 ) and 2 . a helpful aspect ( m 12 ) is available and not side pose ( m 32 ) and 3 . track is not terrain screened ( m 14 ) and track is in field of view ( m 33 ) and not in discrete area ( m 38 ) and the score multiplied by w 5 provides the rule 5 score m 25 . fig2 illustrates rule 6 , and indicated by numeral 74 , hrr on unambiguous nominated tracks to get profiles to fill - up the on - the - fly data base for fingerprinting of the important track for possible disambiguation , if required , at a later time . rule 6 is as follows : 1 . if nominated track ( m 9 ) or track ambiguous with nominated track is not in limbo ( m 16 ) and 2 . track has holes in “ on the fly ” data base ( m 11 ), 3 . a unique / helpful aspect is available ( m 10 ) and track not bad pose ( m 32 ) and 4 . track is not terrain screened ( m 14 ) and track is in field of view (( m 33 ) and not in discrete area ( m 38 ) and the score multiplied by w 6 provides the rule 6 score m 26 following is the calculation of holes in on the fly database ( m 11 ): score = 1 - number . of . profiles . in . regular . database . 360 / δ θ , following is the calculation of the uniqueness of available aspect m 10 . score = d θ - a 1 a 2 - a 1 , where a 1 is minimum angle threshold and a 2 is maximum angle threshold . fig2 presents rule 7 , indicated by numeral 78 , requests hrr on unambiguous nominated tracks to get profiles to fill - up the on - the - fly data base for fingerprinting of the important track for possible disambiguation , if required , at a later time . rule 7 is as follows : 1 . if track is a confuser to ( a nominated track or track ambiguous with nominated track ( m 8 ) and is not in limbo . ( m 16 ) and 2 . track has holes in “ on the fly ” data base ( m 11 ), 3 . a unique / helpful aspect is available ( m 10 ) and track not bad pose ( m 32 ) and 4 . track is not terrain screened ( m 14 ) and track is in field of view (( m 33 ) and not in discrete area ( m 38 ) and the score multiplied by w 7 provides the rule 7 score m 27 . fig2 presents rule 8 , indicated by numeral 80 , standard mti data for background surveillance track who currently have marginal kinematic estimation accuracy for estimation improvement . rule 8 is as folllows : 1 . if track has poor kinematic quality ( m 13 ) and not nominated ( m 9 ) and not terrain screened ( m 14 ) and not in discrete area ( m 38 ) and in field of view ( m 33 ). the score multiplied by w 8 provides the rule 8 score m 28 . fig2 presents rule 9 ( m 29 ), indicated by numeral 82 , requests hrr on confuser tracks to get profiles to try to disambiguate background surveillance tracks that are now in the open but in the past where ambiguous with other tracks . rule 9 is as follows : 1 . if regular surveillance track is ( not nominated or a confuser ) in limbo , and 2 . a unique / helpful aspect is available ( m 12 ) and not bad pose ( m 32 ), and 3 . track is not terrain screened ( m 14 ) and track is in field of view ( m 33 ) and not in discrete area ( m 38 ), and the score multiplied by w 9 provides the rule 0 score m 29 . fig2 presents rule 10 , indicated by numeral 84 , requests hrr on unambiguous background surveillance tracks to get profiles to populate the on - the - fly data base for fingerprinting of the track for possible disambiguation at a later time . rule 10 is as follows : 1 . if a regular surveillance track ( not nominated or a confuser ) not in limbo ( m 16 ) 2 . has holes in “ on the fly ” data base ( m 11 ), and 3 . a unique / helpful aspect is available ( m 10 ) and not bad pose ( m 32 ), and 4 . track is not terrain screened ( m 14 ) and track in field of view ( m 33 ) and not in discrete area ( m 38 ), and the score multiplied by w 10 provides the rule 10 score m 30 . the weights w 2 to w 10 proved the system the ability to “ tune ” the process to place more or less emphasis on each individual rule &# 39 ; s degree of influence , or weight , on the overall radar mode selection . thus it can be seen that rules 1 , 2 , 4 and 8 are attempts to improve kinematic quality by calculating position , heading , and speed uncertainty of the tracked vehicles and providing a first set of scores therefore . rules 6 , 7 and 10 attempt to collect required data needed for future required disambiguations by calculating the usefulness and neediness of identification measurements of all tracked vehicles and providing a second set of scores therefore . rules 3 , 5 and 9 are attempts to collect required data needed for immediate disambiguation by calculating the usefulness and neediness of identification measurements of all ambiguous tracked vehicles and providing a third set of scores therefore . the highest score of all the rules determines which mode the radar operates in . with the above process , the effectiveness of the radar system is is greatly improved over traditional techniques . the subject of this invention is the fats program , which helps resolve kinematically ambiguous tracks . referring to fig3 , the first typical problem occurs when two vehicles 85 and 85 b approach and disappear behind foliage or terrain such as a mountain 86 , and then reemerges into view . the question is have the the two vehicles swapped their extrapolated tracks . referring to fig3 , a more common problem is when the two vehicles , 85 a and 85 b , approach an intersection 87 . at the intersection 87 , the two vehicles are so close that it is impossible to distinguish between the two . if both vehicles turn , the problem again becomes identifying which vehicle is which . the fats program reduces the possibility of the two vehicles remaining ambiguous by learning the radar signatures of the two vehicles at various angles to the aircraft prior to the point where they are so close that they become ambiguous . thus referring to fig3 , when the two vehicles approach each other , the radar profiles or signatures are obtained and stored in the “ on the fly ” data base ; in this case at time equals t 3 . thus vehicle 1 is at 210 degrees and vehicle 2 is at 30 degrees . referring to fig3 , at t 5 the vehicles have become ambiguous . in fig3 , the vehicles have now separated , but the track segments are ambiguous . however , at t 7 radar profiles are again recorded . referring to fig3 , the vehicles have now turned again and at t 11 profile matches can be made with profiles collected at t 7 as shown in fig3 and the vehicles identified . the profile matching is accomplished by the root mean square test , however other techniques can be used . fig3 , the fats continues to record radar profiles . referring to fig3 , is an actual test scenario ( case 1 ) wherein 2 vehicles 89 a and 89 b approach each other on tracks 90 a and 90 b , respectfully . the fats builds a database on both vehicles 89 a and 89 b as they approach the ambiguous area 92 . both vehicles 89 a and 89 b enter the ambiguous area 92 and travel on segments 93 a and 93 b and then turn on to segments 94 a and 94 b . while on segments 93 a and 93 b they are in limbo , because no profile exits for the vehicles in this position . however , a match is made when vehicle 98 a travels over segment 94 a . the match verified that there is no kinematic miss - association back at the intersection , no track tag change ( the fats system miss - identifies the vehicle tracks ), there is a positive match , and all “ on the fly ” databases are converted to unambiguous . referring to fig3 , is second actual test scenario ( case 2 ) wherein 2 vehicles 96 a and 86 b approach each other on tracks 97 a and 97 b , respectfully . the fats system builds a database on both vehicles 96 a and 96 b as they approach the ambiguous area 98 . both vehicles 96 a and 96 b enter the ambiguous area 98 and travel on segments 99 a and 99 b and then turn on to segments 100 a and 100 b . while on segments 100 a and 100 b they are in limbo , because no profile exits for the vehicles in this position . when vehicle 96 a turns on segment 102 a a no match is made because vehicle 96 a is moving toward the sensor . however , vehicle 96 b turns on to segment 102 b , an attempted comparison of vehicle &# 39 ; s 96 b profile will fail . this of course will indicate that vehicle 96 a is on segment 102 a . here there is no kinematic miss - association back at the intersection , no track tag change is needed ( the fats system did not mis - identify the vehicle tracks ), there is a positive match , and all “ on the fly ” data bases are converted to unambiguous fig3 is third actual test scenario ( case 3 ) wherein 2 vehicles 106 a and 106 b approach each other on segments 107 a and 107 b , respectfully . the fats system builds a database on both vehicles 106 a and 106 b as they approach the ambiguous area 108 . thereafter vehicle 106 a turns on to segment 110 a and then on to segment 112 a . however , the fats system has assumed that vehicle 106 a has turned on to segment 110 b and then on to segment 112 b indicated by track 113 . on the other hand , vehicle 106 b travels down segment 110 b and onto segment 112 b . however , the fats system has assumed that vehicle 106 b is on track 114 . when the fats system compares the profile of vehicle 106 b on segment 112 b to the profile taken of vehicle 106 a on segment 107 a , it will determine that the tracks of vehicle 106 a and 106 b must be exchanged . here there is a kinematic miss - association back at the intersection , and a track tag change is required ( the fats system miss - identifies the vehicle tracks ), there is a negative profile match , and all “ on the fly ” data bases are converted . fig4 , is fourth actual test scenario ( case 4 ) wherein 2 vehicles 116 a and 116 b approach each other on segments 117 a and 117 b , respectfully . the fats system builds a database on both vehicles 116 a and 116 b as they approach the ambiguous area 118 . thereafter vehicle 116 a turns on to segment 120 a and then on to segment 122 a . however , the fats system has assumed that vehicle 116 a has turned on to segment 120 b and then on to segment 112 b indicated by track 123 . on the other hand , vehicle 116 b travels down segment 120 b and onto segment 122 b . however , the fats system has assumed that vehicle 116 b is on track 124 . when the fats system compares the profile of vehicle 116 b on segment 122 a to the profile taken of vehicle 110 a on segment 117 a , it will determine that the tracks of vehicle 116 a and 116 b must exchanged . here there was a kinematic miss - association back at the intersection , and therefor a track tag change is required ( the fats system miss - identifies the vehicle tracks ), there is a positive profile match , and all “ on - the - fly ” databases are converted . fig4 presents a chart summarizing the results of the four cases . the fig4 , 43 and 44 present a summary of the fats system logic . the functional architecture for fats is shown in fig4 . descriptions of the individually numbered elements are as follows : step 130 new track “ on the fly ” data initiation — updates the tracks in the fats database with new measurements received . step 132 fats measurement up dates - declares tracks &# 39 ; ambiguous after coasting ( with no updates ) for a specified time period . step 134 timeout ambiguous — modifies the database for a track that has been dropped ( removes associations with other tracks within the database ). step 136 determines when tracks become ambiguous with each other in confusing kinematic situations step 138 ambiguous correlation test - updates the “ on - the - fly ” database with a measurement profile if the track is unambiguously correlated to the measurement it is paired with . step 140 update “ on the fly ” data structures — the process of disambiguating tracks that have interacted with other confuser tracks . the process determines whether the current profile collected within the current measurement shows that it came from the same vehicle or a different one . action is taken if a same or different declaration is found . step 142 disambiguates — initializes fats data for a newly established track . step 144 find ambiguous combinations — finds potential combinations of ambiguous tracks for possible association . step 146 probability of feature match — determines the probability of a match using feature matching . step 148 retrieve closest feature — retrieves the closest hrr profiles within the database that matches the aspect of the track step 150 compute feature match score - probability of feature match - computes the mean square error score for the profile extracted from the tracks &# 39 ; database and the profile within the current measurement step 152 range extent estimation evidence accumulation — estimates the range extent of the signature within the hrr profile . this is used to validate whether the hrr profile matches an estimate of the targets length based on the tracks &# 39 ; pose . step 154 evidence accumulation — accumulates same / difference evidence for each track pairing combinations as hrr profile features are collected for that track . step 156 perform the dempster — shaeffer combine . this function uses the correlation probabilities returned when comparing profiles and updates the combined evidence state . the combined evidence state is then used to determine whether the vehicle is the same or different during the disambiguation process . step 158 dempster retract — the dempster retract un - does a previous combine if necessary . step 160 track stitcher —“ stitches ”, or pieces together tracks and determines whether an “ id ” swap is necessary between two tracks . step 162 combine “ on the fly ” databases — combines the profiles collected in the tracks &# 39 ; “ limbo ” database with the tracks &# 39 ; “ on - the - fly ” database . step 164 ambiguity resolution — resolves ambiguities between tracks using the process of elimination . operates on the track &# 39 ; s ambiguity matrix . thus it can be seen that the fats system , by means of storing vehicle profiles in a “ on the fly ” data base can be used to can greatly reduce ambiguities in tracking vehicles and the like , when such vehicles come in close contact with others . while invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment , it should be understood that the embodiment is merely illustrative , as there are numerous variations and modifications , which may be made by those skilled in the art . thus , the invention is to be construed as being limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
with reference to the attached drawings , an embodiment of the present invention will be explained below . fig1 is a block diagram of a printer 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the printer 10 comprises a medium slot 102 into which a recording medium 50 such as smartmedia , memorystick , compactflach ( registered trademark ), etc ., a medium interface 104 , a monitor 106 with a touch panel , and a communication line interface 108 capable of transmitting and receiving necessary information over a network such as the internet , etc . the monitor 106 with a touch panel displays a list of images recorded on the recording medium 50 inserted into the medium slot 102 or the images transmitted through the communication line interface 108 , and various operation buttons . the printer 10 is also provided with a usb interface 206 for data communication with equipment such as a scanner , a digital camera , etc . the printer 10 comprises a central processing unit ( cpu ) 110 for controlling the entire printer 10 , system memory 112 configured by rom on which a program , etc . for operating the cpu 110 is written and ram as a work area used when the cpu 110 performs a process , a display controller 114 for outputting information displayed on the monitor 106 with a touch panel , and an input controller 116 for receiving input of various types of information with a pressure applied to the monitor 106 with a touch panel . a print unit 18 is connected to the cpu 110 through a scsi controller 17 , and performs a printing operation at an instruction of the cpu 110 . the printer 10 comprises a hard disk unit ( hdd ) 118 for temporarily storing an image , print job data , etc . fetched from the recording medium 50 inserted into the medium slot 102 , and an hdd controller 119 for controlling storage of information on the hdd 118 or a read of information from the hdd 118 . a bar code reader 121 , a coin machine 122 , and an ic tag sensor 123 are connected to a serial controller 120 . the ic tag sensor 123 receives a radio signal transmitted from the ic tag attached to an article such as the recording medium 50 , etc ., reads the information recorded on the ic tag , and outputs it to the cpu 110 . the bar code reader 121 reads the bar code information added to an article such as the recording medium 50 , etc ., and outputs it to the cpu 110 . when a bar code and an ic tag into which the type of recording medium can be embedded can be applied to the recording medium 50 , the type of the recording medium 50 can be read from the bar code and the ic tag , and output to the cpu 110 . as shown in fig2 , the medium slot 102 is separately provided for each type of recording medium 50 . in fig2 , for example , a slot 102 a for xd - picture card ( xd ), a slot 102 b for smartmedia ( sm ), and a slot 102 c for memorystick ( ms ) are provided . leds 101 a to 101 c for guiding the recording medium 50 to the respective slots are provided near the slots 102 a to 102 c respectively . a shutter 103 can be provided for each of the slots 102 a to 102 c . a user inserts the recording medium 50 into the medium slot 102 corresponding to the type of the recording medium 50 , deposits coin into the coin machine 122 , and prints the digital image stored in the recording medium 50 on the print unit 18 . by referring to fig1 , an image obtaining device 200 is configured by various scanners such as a ccd scanner , etc ., and is connected to the cpu 110 through a usb interface 206 . the image obtaining device 200 scans the recording medium 50 set on the mount ( to be entirely white if it is possible ) not shown in fig1 , reads the planar shape of the recording medium 50 , and converts it to an image . the image is output to the cpu 110 . fig3 shows an example of the image showing the planar shape of the recording medium 50 ( hereinafter referred to as an image for the recognizing process ). as shown in fig3 , an image for the recognizing process shows the state in which the planar shape m of the recording medium 50 is arranged in the background f obtained by reading the mount portion . the image obtaining device 200 can be configured by various imaging devices such as a digital camera , a video camera , etc . that is , the planar shape of the recording medium 50 can be captured by any of various imaging devices , and an image obtained in the capturing process can be output as an image for the recognizing process to the cpu 110 . described below is the process performed by the cpu 110 . the cpu 110 performs the recording medium recognizing process of determining the type of the recording medium 50 from the image for the recognizing process . the process is a subroutine process in the printing process described later . fig4 is a flowchart of the recording medium recognizing process . in s 1 , the image obtaining device 200 scans the shape of the recording medium 50 set on the mount when the read button of the image obtaining device 200 not shown in the attached drawings is pressed . in s 2 , the image obtaining device 200 outputs to the cpu 110 the image for the recognizing process obtained by performing image processing such as various amendments , etc . on the image obtained by the scanning process . in s 3 , the cpu 110 determines a boundary value for determination of the boundary between an image m and a background f based on the image for the recognizing process output from the image obtaining device 200 . a boundary value is determined as follows . that is , as shown in fig3 , on the xy plane formed by the x coordinates axis parallel to the primary scanning direction of the recording medium 50 and the y coordinates axis orthogonal to the x coordinates axis , the rgb values of two adjacent pixels of the image for the recognizing process are sequentially obtained along the positive direction d 1 and the negative direction d 2 of the x coordinates , and the positive direction d 3 and the negative direction d 4 of the y coordinates , the adjacent pixels are compared to detect a change in color or brightness , the coordinates position of the pixel detected as a change is stored as a boundary value in the system memory 112 . if the mount is entirely white , the condition of obtaining an image is set in the image obtaining device 200 such that the rgb value the background f can be almost ( 230 , 230 , 230 ). assuming that the color or brightness of a pixel is changed if the rgb value of one pixel in comparison is smaller than ( 230 , 230 , 230 ), it is easy to detect a change in color or brightness . in s 4 , the cpu 110 calculates the number of pixels in the image m enclosed by the pixels positioned at the coordinates of the boundary values . then , the cpu 110 identifies the type of the recording medium 50 based on the calculated number of pixels in the image m . for example , as shown in fig5 , the type table defining the correspondence between the number of pixels and the type of the recording medium 50 is stored in the system memory 112 , and the type of the recording medium 50 corresponding to the number of pixels calculated in s 4 is identified from the type table . the type of the recording medium 50 is stored in the system memory 112 . the cpu 110 identifies the type of the recording medium 50 as described above , guides the recording medium 50 to an appropriate medium slot 102 , and performs an image printing process . in s 11 , the display controller 114 allows the selection button of the print type to be displayed on the monitor 106 with a touch panel , and the input controller 116 accepts the selection . the print type can be selected from between the “ digital camera print ” for printing one image on one print medium and the “ divisional print ” for printing an image on a print medium of the same size as the digital camera print by reducing in predetermined number of images ( for example , in four image units ) ( refer to fig7 a ). in s 12 , the display controller 114 displays the selection button of the print size on the monitor 106 with a touch panel , and the input controller 116 accepts the selection . for example , relating to the print size , an l size or a 2l size can be selected ( refer to fig7 b ). in s 13 , the display controller 114 displays the selection button of the medium type on the monitor 106 with a touch panel , and the input controller 116 accepts the selection . the medium type refers to the type of the recording medium 50 to be inserted into the medium slot 102 , and for example , xd - picture card ( xd ), smartmedia ( sm ), and memorystick ( ms ) ( refer to fig7 c ). when the type of the recording medium 50 is uncertain , the “ automatic ” button is selected . in s 14 , it is determined whether the “ automatic ” button has been selected , or a button for any other medium type has been selected . if the “ automatic ” button is selected , control is passed to step s 15 . if the selection button of any other type of medium is pressed , control is passed to step s 16 . when the “ automatic ” button is selected , the recording medium 50 is placed on the mount of the image obtaining device 200 , and is displayed on the monitor 106 with a touch panel , and an instruction is issued to a user . in s 15 , the above - mentioned recording medium recognizing process is performed , and the type of the recording medium 50 is identified based on the image for the recognizing process . instead of scanning of the recording medium 50 using the image obtaining device 200 , the type of the recording medium 50 can be identified according to the information read from a bar code or an ic tag applied to the recording medium 50 . in s 16 , the type of the recording medium 50 identified by a press of the selection button of the medium type in s 13 or in the process in s 15 , and the information for guide to the medium slot 102 corresponding to the type are displayed on the monitor 106 with a touch panel . that is , if the selection button of the xd - picture card ( xd ) is pressed or if the type of the recording medium 50 is identified as an xd - picture card in s 15 , then a guide for insertion of the recording medium 50 into the slot 102 a of the xd picture card is displayed ( refer to fig8 a ). otherwise , if the selection button of the smartmedia ( sm ) is pressed or the type of the recording medium 50 is identified as smartmedia , a guide for insertion of the recording medium 50 into the slot 102 b of the smartmedia is displayed ( refer to fig8 b ). otherwise , if the selection button for the memorystick ( ms ) is pressed or the type of the recording medium 50 is identified as memerystick in s 15 , a guide for insertion of the recording medium 50 into the slot 102 c for memorystick is displayed ( refer to fig8 c ). with the above - mentioned display of the guide , a lighting device such as the led 101 provided near the medium slot 102 corresponding to the identified or selected type can blink or be lighted . also , the shutter 103 of the medium slot 102 corresponding to the identified or selected type can be opened . in s 17 , the cpu 110 reads a sample image ( thumbnail image ) of the image from the recording medium 50 inserted into the medium slot 102 , and stores it in the system memory 112 . the display controller 114 lists the sample image stored on the system memory 112 on the monitor 106 with a touch panel and the input controller 116 accepts the selection . the input controller 116 can accept the operation of enlarging , reducing and rotating the selected image . the display controller 114 displays the button (“ ok ” button , etc .) for issue of an instruction to print a selected image on the monitor 106 with a touch panel , and the input controller 116 accepts the instruction to print the selected image . in s 18 , upon receipt of the instruction to print the image , the display controller 114 displays a prompt for input of the fee for a print image to the coin machine 122 on the monitor 106 with a touch panel . when the amount input to the coin machine 122 exceeds the fee for the print image , the coin machine 122 settles the fee , and control is passed to s 19 . in s 19 , the cpu 110 generates print data based on the print size indicated by the original image of the sample image selected in s 17 , and stores it in the hdd 118 . the print unit 18 performs an image printing process according to the print data stored in the hdd 118 . in s 20 , the display controller 114 displays the notification that the printing process has been completed on the monitor 106 with a touch panel , thereby terminating the process . the cpu 110 can output the original image of the sample image selected in s 17 to the cd - r medium inserted into a cd - r drive 60 , and record it . the cpu 110 can also transmit the original image of the sample image selected in s 17 from the monitor 106 with a touch panel to a specified network address through the communication line interface 108 . as described above , the printer 10 identifies the type of the recording medium 50 based on the image for the recognizing process showing the shape of the recording medium 50 taken from the image obtaining device 200 , and guides and displays the recording medium 50 to be inserted into the medium slot 102 corresponding to the type . since it is not necessary as in the conventional method for a user to determine the type of the recording medium 50 , a user can be prevented from mistakenly inserting the recording medium 50 into the medium slot 102 inappropriate for the type of the user presented recording medium 50 . | 7 |
in fig1 through 3 are shown a first embodiment of a relay including a base body comprising a coil member 1 having a winding 2 applied between first and second flanges 3 and 4 . the coil member 1 includes an axial cavity 5 for accepting an elongated , rigid armature 6 having a first end 6a seated in a region of the first coil flange 3 and a second end 6b forming a working air gap with a pole plate 7 . during excitation of the relay , by application of electrical current to the winding 2 , a web - shaped or calotte - shaped bellied portion 6c strikes the surface of the pole plate 7 and establishes contact therewith . the armature 6 is carried by a frame - shaped armature restoring spring in the shape of a spring frame 8 , which is shown , for example , in perspective view in fig4 . the spring frame 8 in the illustrated example extends essentially over the entire length of the axial cavity 5 . the spring frame 8 is composed of two long legs 8a and 8b lying perpendicularly relative to the plane of the armature 6 . the spring frame 8 also includes two cross legs 8c and 8d that lie substantially parallel to the plane of the armature 6 . as a result of the lateral angling of the long legs 8a and 8b , the spring frame 8 is lent adequate stability in order to hold the armature 6 in the prescribed position even given a certain deformation of the coil member 1 . a spring tongue 8e that extends up to the proximity of the second cross leg 8d is connected to the first cross leg 8c between the two long legs 8a and 8b . at a free end 8f , the spring tongue 8e is connected to the armature such as by , for example , spot welding . the armature 6 is pre - stressed in an upward direction by the spring tongue 8e . the second end or free end 6b of the armature 6 is supported against the second cross leg 8d . a terminal pin 8g also extends from one of the long legs 8b . in the present example , the seated end 6a of the armature 6 is applied to a section 9a of a u - shaped yoke 9 that is plugged over the coil member 1 from the outside . a second leg 9b of the u - shaped yoke 9 lies against the second coil flange 4 and is coupled to this coil flange in order to guarantee a good flux transition to a perpendicular leg 7a of the pole plate 7 to which , in addition , a terminal pin 7b is applied . during assembly , the pole plate 7 is plugged into the coil member 1 from the right hand side with reference to fig1 . the armature 6 together with the spring frame 8 are plugged into the axial cavity 5 through an opening 10 . the yoke 9 is thrust over the wound coil member 1 from above so that the leg 9a of the yoke is plugged into a plug - in channel 12 in the coil flange 3 . the leg 9a thereby forms a knife - edge seat 9c for the armature end 6a . after the individual parts have been joined , the pre - assembly stress of the spring frame can be set to the correct value with the yoke leg 8a which serves as an adjustment tab in the present embodiment . to this end , the yoke leg 9a is pressed in the direction of arrow 13 until the desired value is achieved . as can be seen in fig5 the yoke leg 9a has barbs 9d which dig into the material of the coil member 1 and fix the yoke leg 9a in place once the proper adjustment has been achieved . a cap 14 is then plugged over the relay with an insulating foil 15 in place between the cap 14 and the coil flange 3 , as well as between the yoke leg 9b and the pole plate 7 . the relay can be cast in the cap 14 as needed . a further embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig6 through 10 is particularly suited for automated production . this relay includes a coil member which is composed of first and second parts 20 and 21 formed as half - shell shaped parts toward the inside . these two parts 20 and 21 are provided with inter - engaging channels 20a and cooperating webs 21a so that an axial cavity is closed when the parts 20 and 21 are joined . a winding 22 is applied over the coil member between flanges 23 and 24 . an armature 26 interacts with two pole plates 17 and 27 that , in the second embodiment , are embedded in or plugged into the lower coil member part 20 . for contact with the pole plates 17 and 27 , the armature has calottes 26c and 26d at each of the first and second ends 26a and 26b . the armature 26 is carried by a restoring spring in the form of a spring frame 28 that biases the armature in an upward direction so that the ends 26a and 26b are supported against the spring frame 28 . the spring frame 28 is formed similar to the spring frame 8 of the first embodiment . it includes long legs 28a and 28b as well as cross legs 28c and 28d . however , the cross leg 28c is reduced in cross section in regions adjacent the long legs 28a and 28b so that torsion webs 28g are formed . moreover , a spring tongue 28e has a free end thereof connected to the armature 26 by a spot weld 28f . the spring tongue 28e also extends beyond the first cross leg 28c to form an adjustments tab 28h . when the two coil member parts 20 and 21 are pressed together , the spring frame 28 is clamped between the two parts , and the cross legs 28c and 28d are each fixed between rib - shaped projections 20b and 20c and 21b and 21c , respectively . provided with the two pole plates 17 and 27 that are bridged by the armature 26 and that are provided with terminal elements 17a and 27a , the relay of fig6 through 8 is formed as a bridge contact relay . a yoke 29 closes the magnetic circuit between the two pole plates 17 and 27 . moreover , a getter body 30 of any suitable shape that is retained by the spring frame 28 is arranged in the contact space . by influencing the adjustment tab 28h from outside the relay , the relay can be adjusted after assembly . to this end , the coil flange 23 includes a recess 31 having a relatively thin wall 32 toward the axial cavity . further , the thin wall 32 has a projection 33 against which the adjustment tab 28h lies . the partition or thin wall 32 can be inwardly deformed with a coining die or plunger 36 so that the adjustment tab 28h is pressed down and the pre - assembly tension of the spring tongue 28e is increased . instead of deforming the partition 32 , some other adjustment element can also be used . for example , in fig1 is shown a portion of a relay similar to that of fig7 . in this case , however , the coil flange 23 has a through guide channel 34 opening into the axial cavity . a ball 35 of metal , glass or of some other relatively hard material has been pressed into the guide channel 34 . the diameter of the ball 35 is somewhat greater than the diameter of the channel 34 , so that the plastic material of the coil flange 23 is easily deformed and the ball 35 is retained in position after it has been pressed into the channel 34 . the ball 35 presses on the adjustment tab 28h of the spring frame 28 , so that the pre - assembly tension of the spring is adjusted by pressing the ball 35 into the channel 34 to a lesser or greater extent . at the same time , the ball 35 also closes the axial cavity 34 of the coil member to the outside . instead of the ball 35 , of course , a pin or some other differently shaped adjustment element can also be used . the coil member formed by plugging the two parts 20 and 21 into one another can also be sealed to the outside with known measures such as the afore - mentioned casted cap . although other modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art , it is the intention of the inventor to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come with the scope of his contribution to the art . with respect to fig1 to 3 , it should be noted that the pole plate 7 is a generally flat plate disposed horizontally within the coil member 1 and parallel to the coil axis . at one end of the pole plate 7 , adjacent to the second flange 4 , the leg 7a is bent upwardly in a generally vertical direction . from one side of the leg 7a , a terminal leg 7c is bent so as to extend perpendicularly to both the plate 7 and the leg 7a . the terminal pin 7b extends downwardly from said terminal leg 7c . in a similar way , in the embodiment of fig6 to 10 , the pole plates 17 and 27 are generally flat and extend parallel to the coil axis . they have each a leg 17b and 27b , respectively , bent downwardly and extending in a vertical direction . the terminal pins 17a and 27a extend from the pole plates 17 and 27 , respectively , at the sections 17c and 27c , and are bent downwardly to form the terminals 7a and 27a as indicated by broken lines in fig8 . when the relay is embedded in a casted covering 114 as indicated in fig8 the terminals 17a and 27a may also be embedded partly . coil terminal 115 may be bent to the opposite side in a similar way . | 7 |
in the description that follows , the invention will be set forth in more detail . the constituent ( a ) of the silane cross - linked polyolefin tube according to the invention is contained at 100 weight parts in the recipe and is either a low - pressure polyethylene ( hdpe ) made according to the ziegler process or the phillips process and having a degree of chrystallinity between 60 and 80 % and a density of from 0 . 942 to 0 . 965 g / cm 3 or a polyethylene of medium density ( mdpe ; 0 . 930 to 0 . 942 g / cm 3 ). the constituent ( b ) is a mixture of an organic silane of the general formula rsix 3 ( b1 ), a radical - generating constituent ( b2 ) and a catalyst ( b3 ). the organic silane rsix 3 ( b1 ) may be a vinyltrimethoxysilane , vinyltriethoxysilane or 3 -( methacryloxy ) propyltrimethoxysilane . the radical - generating constituent ( b2 ) may be an alkylperoxide , acylperoxide , ketoneperoxide , hydroperoxide , peroxocarbonate , perester , peroxoketal , peroxooligomer or an azo compound . particularly preferred are organic alkylperoxides having half - value times of 0 . 1 hour at temperatures & gt ; 80 ° c ., such as 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 , 5 - di ( tertiary - butylperoxy ) hexane and / or 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 , 5 - di ( tertiary - butylperoxy ) 3 - hexine and / or di ( tertiarybutyl ) peroxide and / or 1 , 3 - di ( tertiary - butyl - peroxyiso - propyl ) benzol and / or dicumylperoxide and / or tertiary - butylcumylperoxide . the catalyst ( b3 ) may be dibutyltindilaurate , dibutyltinoxide , tinoctoate , dibutyltinmaleate or titanylacetonate . the weight part of the constituent ( b ), related to constituent ( a ), may be between 0 . 1 and 5 parts ; particularly preferred are weight parts between 1 and 3 . constituent ( c ) is a stabilizer mixture of a high - molecular phenolic constituent ( c1 ) having a high melting point , a sulfur - containing constituent ( c2 ), a phosphorus - containing processing stabilizer ( c3 ) and a metal deactivator ( c4 ). the high - molecular phenolic stabilizer ( c1 ) having a high melting point is selected from the group of 2 , 2 ′- methylene - bis ( 6 - tertiary - butyl - 4 - methylphenol ), 1 , 3 , 5 - trimethyl - 2 , 4 , 6 - tris ( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxybenzyl ) benzol , octadecyl 3 -( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propionate , 1 , 1 , 3 - tris ( 2 - methyl - 4 - hydroxy - 5 - tertiary - butylphenyl ) butane , tris ( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxybenzyl ) isocyanurate , tris ( 4 - tertiary - butyl - 3 - hdroxy - 2 , 6 - dimethylbenzyl ) isocyanurate , pentaerythritol tetrakis ( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxyhydrocinnamate ) or 1 , 3 , 5 - tris ( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxybenzyl ) triazine . the sulfur - containing constituent ( c2 ) may be a 5 - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxy - 2 - methylphenyl sulfide , 3 - tertiary - butyl - 2 - hydroxy - 5 - methylphenyl sulfide , dioctadecyl - 3 , 3 ′- thiodipropionate , dilauryl 3 , 3 ′- thiodipropionate or ditetradecyl - 3 , 3 ′- thiodipropionate . the phosphorus - containing processing stabilizer ( c3 ) may be a tris ( nonylphenyl ) phosphite , tris ( 2 , 4 - di - tertiary - butylphenyl ) phosphite , tetrakis ( 2 , 4 - di - tertiary - butylphenyl )- 4 , 4 ′- biphenyldiphosphonite , 3 , 9 - bis ( octadecyloxy )- 2 , 4 , 8 , 10 - tetraoxa - 3 , 9 - diphosphaspiro [ 5 . 5 ] undecan or 3 , 9 - bis ( 2 , 4 - dicumylphenoxy )- 2 , 4 , 8 , 10 - tetraoxa - 3 , 9 - diphosphaspiro [ 5 . 5 ] undecan . the metal deactivator ( c4 ) is selected from the group of 1 , 2 - bis ( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxyhydrocinnamoyl ) hydrazide or 2 , 2 ′- oxalyldiamidobis -( ethyl - 3 -( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propinate ) or oxalic bis ( benzylidenehydrazide ). very particularly preferred constituents ( c ) are 1 , 3 , 5 - trimethyl - 2 , 4 , 6 - tris ( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxybenzyl ) benzol ( c1 ), dioctadecyl - 3 , 3 ′- thiodipropionate ( c2 ), tris ( 2 , 4 - di - tertiary - butylphenyl ) phosphite ( c3 ) and 1 , 2 - bis ( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxyhydrocinnamoyl ) hydrazide ( c4 ). the weight part of the constituent ( c ) related to the constituent ( a ) may be between 0 . 1 and 5 parts . to the chlorine - resistant tubes according to the invention there may be added up to 20 weight parts additives , related to constituent ( a ), in the form of up to 5 weight parts lubricant or processing agents , up to 5 weight parts nucleation agents , up to 5 weight parts antistatic agents , up to 10 weight parts process oils , up to 10 weight parts pigments , up to 5 weight parts expanding agents or up to 5 weight parts ultraviolet stabilizers . by virtue of these particularities , the making of silane cross - linked , chlorine - resistant tubes according to the single - stage process is not obvious . only the deliberate selection of the type and quantity of special stabilizers and the recipe adapted thereto as well as the process technique permit not only the manufacture of tubes having the usual property image , but also lead in a surprising manner to an advantageous property image , as set forth in the formulation of the object of the invention , particularly as concerns the resistance against a chlorine content between 0 . 1 and 5 ppm . the chlorine - resistant , silane cross - linked polyolefin tubes are made according to the single - stage silane process , that is , the graft reaction of the silane of the constituent ( b1 ) on the polyolefin of the constituent ( a ) and the shaping proceed simultaneously in one process step . additionally to the monosil process described in the state of the art , a barrier screw is utilized for an effective distribution of the liquid constituents prior to the grafting step and for avoiding a preliminary cross - linking . a fusion pump may additionally also be utilized . after processing , the tubes are cross - linked in a cross - linking chamber in a water vapor atmosphere at temperatures between 80 and 100 ° c . until a cross - linking degree of more than 60 % is obtained . thereafter occasionally a tempering step at 70 - 95 ° c . follows , until the desired , application - dependent degree of chrystallinity is obtained . tests on service life durability after a tempering step show , because of the increased degree of chrystallinity , an increased service life of the chlorine - resistant tubes according to the invention . the application of the cross - linked tubes according to the invention is preferably in the field of tubes for drinking water and / or water for industrial use with and without a diffusion blocking layer . the invention will be further explained by way of exemplary embodiments whose description follows . the compositions are given in weight parts related to 100 weight parts of constituent ( a ) and are present in the examples as follows : explanations [ 1 ] to [ 10 ] for constituents ( a ), ( b ), ( c1 ) to ( c4 ) for the examples : polyethylene having a density [ g / cm 3 ] of 0 . 952 and mfi [ g / 10 min ] of 5 - 7 ( 190 ° c ./ 2 . 16 kg ) [ 2 ] polyethylene having a density [ g / cm 3 ] of 0 . 944 and mfi [ g / 10 min ] of 4 ( 190 ° c ./ 2 . 16 kg ) [ 3 ] silane / peroxide / catalyst mixture : viscosity [ mpasec ]= 2 . 5 ( at 23 ° c . ); density [ g / cm 3 ]= 0 . 969 , colorless liquid [ 4 ] 1 , 3 , 5 - trimethyl - 2 , 4 , 6 - tris ( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxybenzyl ) benzol ; molecular weight [ g / mol ]= 775 [ 5 ] pentaerythritol tetrakis ( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxyhydrocinnamat ); molecular weight [ g / mol ]= 1178 [ 6 ] dioctadecyl - 3 , 3 ′- thiodipropionate ; molecular weight [ g / mol ]= 683 [ 7 ] 3 - tertiary - butyl - 2 - hydroxy - 5 - methylphenyl sulfide ; molecular weight [ g / mol ]= 358 . 5 [ 8 ] tris ( 2 , 4 - di - tertiary - butylphenyl ) phosphite ; molecular weight [ g / mol ]= 647 [ 9 ] 1 , 2 - bis ( 3 , 5 - di - tertiary - butyl - 4 - hydroxyhydrocinnamoyl ) hydrazide ; molecular weight [ g / mol ]= 552 [ 10 ] stabilizer - mb : vibatan pex antiox 02012 , added quantity 5 parts . in a single - screw extruder which is provided with a barrier screw and a metering device and which is intended for the liquid silane / peroxide / catalyst mixture , the polyolefin ( a ) and the stabilizer mixture ( c ) are dosed by means of a metering scale . the mixture is melted and the liquid silane / peroxide / catalyst mixture ( b ) is dosed in and shaped to form a tube . the requirements concerning a chlorine - resistant drinking - water tube in the usa are listed in the nsf protocol p171 ( 1999 edition ). a combination of a “ differential scanning calometry ” ( dsc ) experiment with a modified test for service life durability has been found suitable for a practical determination of the chlorine resistance . with the dsc experiment , oxidation reactions of synthetic materials may be generally determined . the oit ( oxidizing induction time ) represents a process with which information may be obtained concerning the stability of polyolefin tubes against oxidizing attacks . in the static process ( astm norm d3895 ) utilized here , the specimen is heated to a temperature of 210 ° c . in an inert atmosphere . the temperature is maintained . after equilibrium sets in , the scavenging gas is switched from an inert atmosphere to an oxidizing atmosphere . the exothermal oxidizing reaction then starts after a certain delay . by means of the dsc experiments fine nuances in the critical residual stabilizer content may be detected in the chlorine - resistant , silane cross - linked polyolefin tubes of the invention . further , a modified test for service life durability has been performed as a pre - test . in this test the tube sections having a length greater than 30 cm are exposed under pressure to chlorinated tap water at a ph - value of 7 and submitted to a test of service life durability at temperatures of 20 ° c ., 95 ° c . and 110 ° c . and subjected to different pressures p [ nmm - 2 ]. every 8 days the tube sections are taken out and examined concerning the chlorine concentration and ph - value . the table below shows the properties of the tubes according to the invention . | 8 |
fig1 a is a side view of an embodiment of a flow tube 2 in which a flow channel 4 according to the invention is provided . fluids , that is to say liquids or gases , can flow through the tube 2 or the flow channel 4 . this can also involve multi - phase flows with different liquid components and with solid bodies such as particles or the like . in addition for example a three - phase flow with liquid , gaseous and solid components can also flow through the flow channel 4 . the tube 2 can be made of plastic material or metal . the tube 2 is preferably of such a configuration that the flow cross - section is substantially oval , as is shown in the diagrammatic views of fig2 a ) and 2 b ). as fig1 a diagrammatically shows , the tube 2 is wound or twisted in itself in the axial direction , that is to say in the direction of the longitudinal axis 3 . in the portion of the tube 2 shown in fig1 a , the extent of the twist is illustrated by the line 5 which , over the illustrated length of the tube portion , performs a complete revolution through 360 degrees ; that length of a single complete twist is also referred to herein as the wavelength λ . a further view of the twists in tube 2 is shown in fig1 b , which illustrates the wavelength λ as the tube twists 360 ° and continues to twist . in the side view of fig1 a , tube portions of greater width and smaller width are afforded by virtue of the oval cross - section ( fig2 a and 2 b ) and the twist . the lengths of the shorter and longer axes of the substantially oval flow cross - section are entered in fig2 a and 2 b . by means of experimental investigations it was found out that the ratio of the length of the longer axis a to the shorter axis b should preferably be greater than or equal to √ 2 . the configuration of the wall of the tube 2 shown in fig2 a is curved somewhat less in comparison with the configuration of the walls of the embodiment shown in fig2 b . when a liquid flows through the flow channel 4 according to the invention , a flow is produced in the flow channel 4 , which not only has a flow component in the axial direction , that is to say in the direction of the axis 3 , but also a flow component in a tangential direction with respect to the axis 3 . that arises out of the twisted configuration of the flow channel 4 or the tube 2 . that is diagrammatically illustrated in fig1 and 2 a by arrows 7 . accordingly that produces in the flow channel 4 substantially a circulating , spiral - shaped flow through the tube 2 . the alternative flow cross - sections shown in fig2 c - f equally result in a flow according to the invention with an axial flow component and a tangential flow component and accordingly a kind of spiral flow in the flow channel 4 . fig2 c shows a rectangular flow cross - section , fig2 d shows a square flow cross - section , fig2 e shows a triangular flow cross - section and fig2 f shows an octagonal flow cross - section . a hexagonal configuration for the flow cross - section or a corresponding flow tube 2 is also possible in accordance with the invention . these embodiments by way of example are also preferably of such a configuration that the flow cross - section is twisted in itself in the axial direction ( axis 3 ). the ratio of the wavelength to the length of the smallest bisector of the cross - sectional area of the flow cross - section 4 is in a given ratio which is in the region of 6 to 7 . viewing fig2 a in which the smallest cross - section is denoted with a and the longest with b , the tube undergoes a 360 ° twist along its length within the distance of 10 times the value of a . in one embodiment , the value of λ is between 2 and 10 , and in a preferred embodiment the value of λ is between 6 and 7 , preferably about 6 . 5 . results of experimental investigations with flow channels according to the invention are illustrated in fig3 . measurements of the output of a pump with conventional cylindrical tubes and with oval tubes twisted in themselves in accordance with the invention were taken , using water as the liquid . in the illustration the recorded pump output is represented on the vertical y - axis and the quantitative flow of the water through the respective tubes is shown on the horizontal x - axis . the curve 8 shows the recorded pump output for different volume flows for conventional cylindrical tubes and the curve 10 shows in comparison the pump output for different volume flows for oval tubes according to the invention . the cross - sectional areas of the cylindrical and oval tubes respectively have remained constant . it can be seen that the recorded pump output in accordance with curve 10 for tubes according to the invention , with the same volume flow , is less than in the case of conventional tubes . fig4 and 5 show diagrammatic views of further flow channels according to the invention and flows which are produced therein in some embodiments . with a twist in respect of a flow channel in relation to the diagrammatically indicated longitudinal axis 3 of a flow channel , when a liquid flows therethrough , firstly substantially two larger flow regions 12 , 14 are produced , which in the course of the flow are wrapped around in the manner of a double helix . the degree of intermingling of the regions 12 , 14 is slight . within each flow region 12 , 14 , sub - flow regions 16 , 18 and 20 , 22 respectively are formed , which in turn are again wrapped around in the manner of a double helix . once again in those sub - flow regions 16 - 20 , mutually twisted sub - flow regions can in turn be formed there . as the figures show the two main flow regions or core flow channels 12 , 14 are of a substantially round cross - sectional configuration . adjacent to the core flow channels 12 , 14 , secondary flows or secondary flow regions 24 , 26 can be produced , in which possibly certain components , for example solid constituents , can collect . separation of constituent parts of the liquid is possible in that way . all of the above u . s . patents , u . s . patent application publications , u . s . patent applications , foreign patents , foreign patent applications and non - patent publications referred to in this specification and / or listed in the application data sheet , are incorporated herein by reference , in their entirety . from the foregoing it will be appreciated that , although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration , various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims . | 5 |
fig1 describes the basic software architecture of the preferred embodiment . a database server like mysql will store all the data while the application server will perform the business logic . a web server will allow members to connect to the system over the internet using a client software like a web browser . all these elements are part of a standard three - tier software architecture , which is common in modern web applications . fig2 represents the opening page or “ home page ” of the preferred embodiment , which will be a website with a standard http address . from this homepage , one can submit a web form to become a member or if he is already a member , can login to the system using his username and password . henceforth , the current logged in member is referred as the “ user ”. fig3 represents the first web page that the user will see after he logs in to the system . it lists the messages that have been forwarded by other members to the user and messages that have been forwarded by the user to other members . it is arranged in reverse chronological order of the time that the message was forwarded . fig4 represents a message that has been forwarded by another member to the user or a message that the user forwarded to other members . it also includes all the comments on that message that were forwarded by other members to the user and all the comments on that message that the user forwarded to other members . all the comments are arranged in reverse chronological order . the system shows who sent each comment and to whom it was sent to . fig5 and fig6 represent the page in which the user can compose a new message and forward it . fig5 shows an user composing his own message while fig6 . shows an user forwarding a link to an external content . in both figures , the comments are specified separately from the message . in the ‘ to ’ field , the user can specify one or more member &# 39 ; s username or email addresses separated by a comma . fig7 represents the page that allows the user to forward a message that he received from another member with his own comments . in the ‘ to ’ field , the user can specify one or more member &# 39 ; s username or email addresses separated by a comma . the user can only forward his own comments with the message . the user cannot forward the comments of another member . this means that the system , in its normal use , will not allow the user to forward the comments of other people . normal use of the system is defined as clicking on any button or link provided by the system . it is not considered normal use of the system if the user cuts and pastes or manually copies another member &# 39 ; s comment into his own comment box . the user can forward messages to other members using their unique username or their registered email address with the system . each member can register any number of email addresses with the system . when a member registers an email address with the system , the system will send an email to that address with a unique url . the member has to click on that url to complete the registration of that email . this process is widely used in online systems to confirm that an user owns the email address that he is trying to register . once a member registers an email address , other members can forward a message to that member using his registered email address . the system will map the email address to the member account and forward the message to the member that registered that email address . if a member forwards a message to an email address that is not registered in the system , then the system can send an email to that address inviting that person to join the system . when the user receives a message from another member that member gets added to the user &# 39 ; s contacts list . also , when the user forwards a message to another member , that member gets added to the user &# 39 ; s contacts list . the user can also manually add or remove other member &# 39 ; s username in his contacts list . when the user forwards a message to a group of other members , the system automatically includes that group as a distribution list , if that group is not already present in the list . the user can give a unique name to each group in the distribution list . when the member subsequently includes one of the members in that list in the ‘ to :’ box , the system can show an auto - completion list of all the distribution lists that have that member . this allows the user to quickly pick frequently used groups of friends that he forwards messages regularly . fig8 shows the user &# 39 ; s contacts list . it includes the last date and time a message was forwarded from the member and to the member . this page helps the user to stay in touch with friends by forwarding messages of mutual interest . this page could be enhanced to include several other statistics related to each contact including : a ) total messages and comments forwarded and received to the friend b ) total days since forwarding / receiving the first message to / from the friend . c ) average number of messages and comments from / to the friend per day / week / month . since this system allows the user to send a message to any other member using their id or email address , it creates a situation in which a member receives unwanted messages . the user can block another member from forwarding messages to him by explicitly blocking his username . if more than a few members block an user , then the system can mark that user as a spammer and prevent that user from forwarding any more messages . as soon as the system decides that a message is spam , it can remove that message from all members &# 39 ; message list . this is not possible in a regular email , as messages are sent to another email server as soon as the sender sends them . this system maintains a single copy of the message in one central place . this allows the system to block a spam message early and prevent its propagation . spam setting can be specific to each member . each member can specify how many other members have to mark a message as spam before it disappears from his inbox . further , the system can have an overall limit at which the message disappears from everyone &# 39 ; s inbox . the system need not remove a spam message from a member &# 39 ; s inbox if he has already read the message and forwarded it . also , spamming exists because it is easy to send an email to a large number of people from any computer on the internet . since this is a central system that manages all message flow , it can restrict the number of forwards from the user . typically , this restriction will not be imposed on forwarding messages to members who have already forwarded a message to the user . members that view the message can mark the message to say that they are interested in additional content . the author can see how many members expressed interest in additional content to his message . the author can add additional content to the message after he forwards it . if the author adds new content , each viewer that expressed interest in additional content will see the message as if it was forwarded to them again . the author can also version control the message and the system can show either all the versions of the message or just the latest version to other members . the system can provide message templates to create messages for a particular purpose . these messages will typically embed web forms in the message . when the message viewers submit an embedded web form , the system will execute an online transaction or send an online communication or save the web form values for further processing . such message templates can be created to : a ) buy a product or a service b ) become a member of an organization c ) participate in a survey d ) grassroots advocacy — send a message to a legislator e ) fundraising — contribute money to a cause or an organization typically , the system would use an ad server to manage all the advertisements that are shown to the members . additionally , the system can allow the author to control the advertisements shown to the message viewers . as an example , an author that represents a company that sells certain consumer products , can send a funny story to a list of members while showing an advertisement for the company &# 39 ; s products on the side . when the story gets forwarded to other members , those other members also see the same advertisements . the system can maintain and display several metrics related to the spread and popularity of messages . some of the possible metrics are : a ) how many members read a message b ) how many members forwarded a message c ) how many times a message was forwarded . d ) how many members expressed interest in seeing updates to the message . the user can create a new empty message but write some comments and forward them to another member . since the other member cannot forward the comment , this usage allows the user to send a ‘ non - forwardable ’ note to another member . such a feature does not exist in regular email . | 6 |
as shown in fig1 , a wellbore has been cased with steel tubing 10 with cement 11 filling the space between the tubing 10 and the surrounding geological formation . in order to apply a polymer lining to the interior surface of the tubing 10 , a tool having upper and lower parts 16 , 26 is lowered into the wellbore by means of wireline 14 . this wireline provides ( as is normal for wireline operations ) an electrical power supply from the surface to the tool and data and control communication between the tool and the surface . the tool &# 39 ; s upper body part 16 is centred within the tubing 10 and constrained against rotation by centering devices 18 pressed outwardly against the tubing 10 . below this upper part 16 is a lower body part 26 which can rotate around the longitudinal axis of the tool . the upper part 16 of the tool accommodates a reservoir 24 of polymerisable liquid composition and a drive motor 22 to rotate the lower part 26 of the tool . the lower part 26 of the tool is fitted with two applicator pads 28 at diametrically opposite positions , each pad is pivotally mounted at 30 to the main body of the lower part 26 of the tool , so that it can be moved between a retracted position ( not shown ) in which the pad does not project beyond the periphery of the lower body part 26 and an extended position , shown in fig4 , in which the pad is swung outwardly so that its face 31 slides over the inner surface of the tubing 10 . each pad is extended and retracted by a drive mechanism 32 trailing behind the face 31 of each pad 28 is a portion whose outer face 33 lies close to the surface of tubing 10 , but does not touch it . this part of the pad has a pair of holes 34 one above the other for the delivery of liquid polymerisable composition onto the tubing 10 . these holes 34 are connected by flexible pipes 38 to a manifold 40 at the centre of the body 24 . this manifold is connected , through a rotatable coupling , to a metering pump 42 controlling delivery of composition from reservoir 24 . each pad 28 also has three outlets 36 through which actinic radiation is directed towards the interior face of the tubing . the radiation comes from a source 44 emitting either visible light or ultraviolet radiation with a wavelength of at least 250 nm . light or ultraviolet from the source is carried to each outlet 36 by means of a light guide 46 , consisting of a bundle of optical fibres , for conveying the light or ultraviolet from the source 44 to the outlet 36 . in order to apply a lining to the interior of a length of tubing 10 , the tool 12 , with the pads 28 retracted , is lowered into the wellbore by means of the wireline 14 until the relevant section of tubing is reached . the pads 28 are then swung outwardly by their respective drive mechanisms 32 and the lower part 26 of the tool is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 48 . the metering pump 42 is operated to dispense the liquid composition through the pipes 38 and holes 34 into the narrow gap between the face 33 of the pad and the tubing 10 . the face 33 of the pad serves as a spreader to spread the composition into a continuous layer 50 on the interior of the tubing 10 . the composition which has been applied is then exposed to light or ultra - violet radiation emitted through the outlets 36 , thereby initiating polymerization of the composition which has just been spread onto the wall of the tubing 10 . while the lower part 26 of the tool is rotated and the liquid composition is being delivered from the reservoir 24 , the wireline 14 is slowly pulled upwardly , so that the liquid composition is applied to the interior of the tubing 10 in a helical pattern , more specifically a double helix because there are two pads 28 . it will be appreciated that , relative to the direction of rotation indicated by arrow 48 , holes 34 through which the composition emerges are just upstream of the point where the distance between the face 33 of the pad and the tubing 10 is smallest . this assists in spreading the liquid composition into a continuous layer . the outlets 36 for the actinic radiation are slightly downstream of this narrowest point so that the outlets are close to the surface of the layer of composition which has just been applied , but do not touch it . fig3 shows a modified form of pad 28 with three holes 34 and an array of radiation outlets 36 in a staggered pattern so as more effectively to expose the entire width of the layer of applied composition to actinic radiation . fig5 illustrates an equivalent tool mounted on coiled tubing 64 . the coiled tubing is continued through the upper body part 16 of the tool to the metering pump 42 and delivers the polymerisable composition to the metering pump 42 . the drive motor 22 which rotates the lower part 26 of the tool is powered by battery packs 62 within the upper part 16 of the tool . alternatively , the coiled tubing could include an integral power cable , so that the battery packs would not be required . fig5 also illustrates the possibility that an expandable reinforcing mesh sleeve 65 is placed over the tool and the coiled tubing 64 above it before this is inserted into the wellbore . when the tool is at the required place within the tubing 10 , it is operated as already described . the applicator pads 28 apply the coating of polymerisable composition to the inside of the tubing 10 through the sleeve 65 , expanding the sleeve against the tubing and embedding it within the polymer lining as that lining is formed on the tubing . fig6 to 10 show a different embodiment of this invention . this embodiment uses some features described in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 044 , 906 and 5 , 695 , 008 but polymerisation is brought about by photo initiation in accordance with this invention . as shown , a wellbore has been cased with steel tubing 10 with cement 11 filling the space between the tubing 10 and the surrounding geological formation . in this illustration it is assumed that the wellbore has perforations 70 which are no longer required . it is desired to seal over them with a polymer lining to the tubing 10 . however , the system described here as could be used for other purposes , including sealing over a leak in the tubing , or to strengthen corroded tubing before it begins to leak . the first stage , as shown in fig6 , is that wireline 14 is used to lower a tool assembly into the wellbore and position the assembly at the point where a polymer lining is to be applied . at the top of this assembly , a drive unit 72 is connected to the wireline 14 . it has a body ( shown in section ) inside which there is a reversible pump 74 and a source 76 of actinic radiation . an inflatable vessel 80 is attached to unit 72 and is connected inside that unit to the pump 74 which can be operated to draw wellbore fluid in through port 88 and pump that fluid into the vessel 80 , thereby inflating it . the pump 74 can also run in reverse to pump fluid out of the inflatable vessel and back into the wellbore , so as to deflate the vessel 80 . surrounding this vessel 80 is a hollow sleeve 81 containing a quantity of polymerisable liquid composition . this hollow sleeve is attached to drive unit 72 by cords 82 . the sleeve has an inner wall 84 and an outer wall 86 joined at each end of the sleeve , with the space between these walls filled with viscous liquid polymerisable composition . both the inner wall 84 and the outer wall 86 are formed of woven fabric which can expand radially whilst contracting axially , as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 695 , 008 . the weave of this fabric is sufficiently close that the walls can retain the polymerisable composition within the sleeve , although some of the composition can pass through the woven fabric when placed under pressure . once the assembly has been placed at the correct position in the tubing 10 , the pump 74 is operated to inflate the vessel 80 with fluid from wellbore , drawn in through port 88 . as taught by u . s . pat . no . 6 , 044 , 906 the vessel 88 is encircled by a number of breakable bands 90 . in consequence it expands first at the bottom , anchoring the assembly within the tubing 10 and then progressively expands upwardly along its length , breaking the bands 90 in sequence . fig8 shows a partially inflated condition and fig9 shows the assembly when the vessel 80 has been fully inflated . constraining inflation to progress from one end of the assembly towards the other avoids the possibility of trapping pockets of wellbore fluid between the outer wall 86 and the tubing 10 . as the vessel 80 inflates , the sleeve containing the polymerisable composition is pressed against the tubing 10 and some of the polymerisable composition is forced through the outer wall 86 into direct contact with the tubing . where there is a perforation 70 through the tubing 10 , some of the polymerisable composition is forced into the perforation , as indicated at 92 . after the vessel 80 has been fully inflated so that the entire sleeve has been pressed against the tubing 10 , polymerisation is initiated with a light transmitting system shown by a fig1 . inside the unit 72 , there is a light source 76 connected to a bundle of light guides 96 which extend from the light source into the interior of the sleeve 81 . these light guides enter the sleeve at positions distributed around its top and extend down into it . each of these light guides is of the type which emits light laterally from its whole length . consequently , when the light source is turned on , light is emitted throughout the polymerisable material . when this polymerisation takes place , the liquid composition which has been placed against the interior of the tubing 10 by expansion of the vessel 80 and sleeve 81 becomes a polymer lining of the tubing 10 . the outer wall 86 of the sleeve , and possibly also the inner wall 84 , becomes embedded within this polymer lining as do the light guides 96 . the light source is kept on for a period of time so that light reaches all parts of the polymerisable composition . after sufficient time for polymerisation to be completed , the pump 74 is operated in reverse to expel wellbore fluid from the vessel 80 back into the wellbore through the port 88 , and thus deflate the vessel 80 . the wireline 14 is then pulled upwards to retrieve the drive unit 72 and the vessel 80 . this breaks the cords 82 and also breaks one by one the portions of the light guides between the unit 72 and the polymer lining on the tubing . fig1 shows an alternative lighting system . in place of the light source and light guides there is a power supply 97 connected to pairs of wires with light emitting diodes ( leds ) 98 connected between the wires at spaced intervals . as before , after the vessel 80 has been fully inflated electric current is supplied to these leds 98 so that they emit light at a multiplicity of positions within the polymerisable composition . the leds themselves become embedded within the composition as it becomes a polymer lining on the inside of the tubing 10 and are thus used one time only . variations to the lighting system are possible . for example , light guides 96 or wires with leds 98 between them might not extend straight up and down within the sleeve 81 but could have some other configuration , for example wound as a helical coil within the sleeve . rather than locating a main light source within the drive unit 72 , one or more light sources could be located at the top of the sleeve 81 and configured to direct light into light guides 96 extending from there . although a light source has been mentioned here , it could of course be a source of ultraviolet with wavelength above 250 nm . other materials could be used to fabricate the walls of the sleeve . the inner wall might be formed from an elastomeric sheet , impervious to the polymerisable liquid . the outer wall might be woven so as to be expandable radially without axial contraction , for example woven from glass fibres in the warp of the weave with elastomeric fibres in the weft . alternatively the outer wall 86 might be formed from an elastomeric sheet material but with a multiplicity of small perforations through which some of the polymerisable composition can be extruded when the sleeve is pressed against the tubing by the vessel 80 . one or both walls might be formed from two layers of material , one layer being expandable and permeable to the polymerisable liquid while the other layer is impermeable to the polymerisable liquid but weaker and not expandable . then when sleeve 81 is expanded by inflation of the vessel 80 , the weaker impervious layer bursts . for convenience in handling the entire sleeve might be enclosed within a bag of thin , inextensible material which bursts when the sleeve is expanded . fig1 illustrates a further modification which provides a metal surface to the lining in order to protect it against abrasion or damage by tools employed in the well for other purposes at some later time . the inner and outer walls 84 , 86 are formed of material which is radially expandable . in addition , a plurality of overlapping metal sheets 100 ( four are shown but more could be used ) are attached to the inside of the inner wall . when the vessel 80 is inflated to inflate the sleeve 81 , these sheets slide over each other and then become pressed against the inside wall 84 of the sleeve . the pressure exerted on the sleeve when it is expanded causes some of the polymerisable liquid to be extruded through the inner wall 84 of the sleeve into contact with these metal sheets 100 which thus become adhered to the inside face of the polymer lining . a metal inner surface might also be achieved with some other geometry which is radially expandable , such as a helical metal coil with overlapping turns , or with corrugated metal as the material of the inner wall 84 of the sleeve . as the sleeve is expanded , the corrugations open out . some laboratory experiments were carried out to demonstrate features of embodiments of the present invention . samples of polymerisable liquid composition were placed in an i - shaped plastic mould and polymerization was initiated by exposure to the radiation from a 6 w uv lamp ( manufactured by uv products , and purchased from fisher scientic uk ). the lamp was dual wavelength , emitting at wavelengths of 254 nm or 365 nm . curing kinetics were followed using a nicolet ftir ( fourier transform infra - red ) spectrometer with a znse atr ( attenuated total reflection ) plate . the uv lamp was placed in the access port on the spectrometer , and the plate was irradiated during spectral acquisition . changes in the height of the 1634 cm peaks was followed , this being the c ═ c stretch of the acrylate group . as the , polymerization reaction proceeded the c ═ c bonds were eliminated and the peak height dropped . it was observed that the polymerization reaction took place over a period of ten minutes or less . i . poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate ( pegd ) molecular weight 260 ; ii . poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate ( pegd ) molecular weight 700 ; iii . poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate ( pegd ) molecular weight 575 ; iv . 1 , 6 - hexanedioldiacrylate ( hdd ); v . poly ( ethylene glycol ) dimethacrylate m wt . 330 ( pegdm ) the cast resin samples , approximately 1 mm thick , were tested for tensile strength using a txat texture analyzer ( stable microsystems inc .) in extension mode . coarse abrasive paper was glued to the face of the sample grips to prevent slippage of the smooth resins . all five of these compositions polymerized to produce hard , strong , quite brittle polymers . bentopharm , a natural montmorillonite from wilfred smith ltd . using up to 20 % clay in the compositions enhanced the strength of the polymer samples obtained . a laboratory experiment was carried out to examine the effect of radiation intensity on speed of reaction . bis phenol a ethoxylate diacrylate containing 0 . 2 % ( bis ( eta 5 - 2 , 4 - cyclopentadien - 1 - yl ) bis [ 2 , 6 - difluoro - 3 -( 1h - pyrrol - 1 - yl ) phenyl ] titanium as photoinitiator was irradiated with white light having a peak wavelength of 555 nm . the rate of reaction was followed using the fourier transform infra - red spectrometer mentioned in example 1 to monitor the decrease of the vinyl ( 1 , 400 cm − 1 ) peak area , relative to the carbonyl ( 1 , 700 cm − 1 ) peak area . irradiation was at either 1 , 200 klux or 120 klux ( equivalent to 190 or 19 mw / cm − 2 , respectively ). a plot of the extent of reaction against time is shown as fig1 . not all acrylate groups react because the polymer chains cease to grow when the reaction mixture becomes solid , but it can be seen that the higher intensity of illumination leads more rapidly to a similar level of completion , with the reaction being largely complete in less than 30 seconds . laboratory apparatus for applying polymerisable composition to the interior of a cylinder was constructed to have a dispensing outlet for liquid composition , followed by an outlet for ultraviolet radiation , similarly to the arrangement shown in fig1 to 4 . this apparatus was used to apply a polymerisable liquid composition as shown in the following table to the interior of a clear acrylic cylinder and direct ultraviolet radiation onto the composition as it was applied . during application of the composition there was rotation and axial movement of the apparatus relative to the cylinder ( for convenience in construction the cylinder was move and the apparatus was fixed ). the cylinder was then inspected and found to have a band of rigid polymer extending as a helix adhered to its interior surface . a laboratory experiment was carried out to test adhesion of the polymer to steel . the composition used was the same as that in example 3 . the strength of the bond to steel was tested using a known test : the “ pull - off ” test which has been reported as a measure of coating adhesion . the procedure for that use of the test is to apply measured tensile force to a loading fixture , commonly called a dolly or stub , affixed by an adhesive to a coating . the force required to pull the dolly off , or the force the dolly withstood , is the measured tensile strength . failure occurs along the weakest plane within the system comprised of the dolly , adhesive , coating , and substrate see mittal k . l ., electrocomponent sci . and tech ., 3 , 21 - 42 ( 1976 ). in this example , acrylic cylinders 20 mm diameter , 40 mm long were used as dollies . this material has the required light and uv transmissivity and is compatible with acrylic resins thereby maximising bonding between the dolly and the polymer . to prepare the test samples 2 - 3 drops of a polymerisable liquid composition were placed on the test substrate , and the dolly ( cleaned in iso - propanol ) was placed on top — this amount of polymerisable composition was sufficient to just spread to the diameter of dolly . the composition was is then cured , by exposing the free end of the cylinder to a high intensity 150 w uva / vis light source at a standoff of about 10 cm for 5 - 10 seconds . the cylinder acts as a light guide , conveying the uv / visible radiation along its length to the polymerisable liquid . after polymerisation had taken place , a load frame the txat texture analyser was used in its compression mode to measure bond strength . the test substrate was mounted on its side in a clamp so that the acrylic cylinder lies horizontally and the plane of the polymer layer was vertical . a standard test probe was brought into contact with the top edge of the cylinder parallel to the plane of the resin layer . the test probe was moved downwards and load on the cylinder was increased until the bond failed . with both mild steel and stainless steel plates as test pieces , bond strengths in the range 50 - 100 n were measured indicating that the dolly was strongly bonded to the steel plate . in the majority of cases the bond failed at the acrylic - resin interface in preference to the steel - resin interface . | 4 |
the present invention discloses a novel vld that has a memory unit which is smaller in size than in conventional vlds . illustratively , the memory unit is a pla , rom or other suitable memory . for the sake of convenience , the description of the present invention will focus on the use of a pla . the invention , however , is equally applicable to a rom architecture or other types of memories . fig5 schematically illustrates a parallel vld ( variable length decoder ) 300 . the vld 300 comprises a barrel shifter 310 which receives incoming compressed data on line 315 . the incoming compressed data includes variable length codewords which are concatenated together . the barrel shifter 310 outputs a p bit window f y ... f 2 sg w ... g y - z , on line 325 to a mask circuit 330 . the barrel shifter 310 also outputs the p bit window f y ... f 2 sg w ... g y - z on line 335 to a vld decoding table 340 . illustratively , p is 17 bits . according to one embodiment , the vld decoding table 340 does not distinguish between the positive and negative versions of each vlcw . that is , the vld decoding table 340 is triggered by the subsequence of bits of each vlcw that does not include its least significant bit , the sign bit . therefore , upon receipt of the p bit window f y ... f 2 sg w ... g y - z by the vld decoding table 340 , the bits f y ... f 2 of the first vlcw are decoded on the first cycle . the remaining bits , i . e ., sg w ... g y - z are ignored in the first cycle . for the sake of convenience , the ignored bits of the vlcw p bit window f y ... f 2 sg w ... g y - z are shown as &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; in fig5 and 7 , since they are not used in the first cycle . after the bits f y ... f 2 trigger the pla 340 , a length - out signal 345 is outputted from the vld table to the mask circuit 330 . the length - out signal 345 is also fed back to the barrel shifter 310 . the barrel shifter 310 uses the length - out signal 345 to shifts its p bit long window so that the window is aligned with the most significant bit of the next vlcw , i . e ., aligned with g w . note the length - out signal 345 denotes the length of the vlcw just decoded including its sign bit s . furthermore , the length - out signal 345 is p bits long . illustratively , the length - out signal 345 is a sequence of bits which are all zeros except for one bit , which is aligned with the location of the sign bit ( i . e ., the least significant bit ) of the vlcw just decoded . in the above example , the sequence is y - 1 &# 34 ; zeros &# 34 ; followed by &# 34 ; one &# 34 ;, followed by z + 1 &# 34 ; zeros &# 34 ;. in comparison with the conventional vld 200 shown in fig4 instead of using two vld tables , ( positive and negative vld tables 240 , 250 of fig4 ) the inventive vld 300 uses a single vld table 340 that does not have the sign bit s . this reduces the area or the number of coefficients in the vld table 340 by on half . the decoded output from the pla 340 on line 350 is always the absolute value of the level . thus , it is necessary to determine the polarity , i . e ., the sign of the decoded level . this is achieved outside of pla 340 , using the mask circuit 330 as explained below . from the p bit window f y ... f 2 sg w ... g y - z received on line 325 and the length - out signal 345 , the mask circuit 330 determines the sign bit s and outputs the determined sign bit on line 360 . the positive decoded output from the pla 340 on line 350 and the sign bit s on line 360 ( from the mask circuit 330 ) are inputted to a run length decoder ( rld ) 370 . the rld 370 outputs a reconstructed data on line 380 . the reconstructed data is the originally encoded sequence of values , namely , the level as determined from the sign bit s on line 360 , proceeded by a run of zeros ( the number of which is specified by the decoded run value received on line 350 ). fig6 shows the mask circuit 330 in greater detail . the mask circuit 330 comprises p number of 2 - input and gates 410 . each and gate receives as a first input a respective bit of the p bit window f y ... f 2 sg w ... g y - z outputted from the barrel shifter 310 on line 325 . the other input 430 is the length - out signal 345 from the pla 340 . using the length - out signal 345 , the mask circuit 330 extracts the sign bit s as follows . the length - out signal 345 has p - 1 bits having a value of &# 34 ; zero &# 34 ; and one bit having a value of &# 34 ; one &# 34 ;. the &# 34 ; zero &# 34 ; valued bits of the length - out signal 345 , at the and gate inputs 430 , when anded with the respective bits of the p bit window f y ... f 2 sg w ... g y - z , at the and gate inputs 420 , will produce zeros at the respective outputs 440 of the and gate 410 . the single &# 34 ; one &# 34 ; valued bit of the length - out signal 345 is aligned with the location of the sign bit ( i . e ., at the location of the least significant bit of the vlcw just decoded ) in the p bit window f y ... f 2 sg w ... g y - z . the and gates 410 mask out every bit of the p bit window f y ... f 2 sg w ... g y - z except the &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; bit . thus , the and gates 410 produce all zeros except the sign bit &# 34 ; s &# 34 ;. all the outputs 440 of the and gate are zero except for one output , which is the sign bit s . these zero bits and the sign bit s are inputted into a single or gate 450 having p number of inputs which are connected to the p number of outputs 440 of the and gate 410 . because one of the inputs of the or gate 440 is the sign bit s and the rest are zero , the output 360 ( also shown in fig7 ) of the or gate 440 is the sign bit s . as shown in fig7 the output 360 of the mask circuit 330 is one of the inputs to the rld 370 . the operation of the vld 300 will now be described using fig7 . suppose the next vlcw to be decoded in the p bit window f y ... f 2 sg w ... g y - z outputted from the barrel shifter 310 is 0111 , wherein , the least significant bit ( the sign bit s ) is equal to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the barrel shifter 310 outputs the p bit window 0111xx .. x into the mask circuit 330 , where &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; are the remaining bits of p bit grouped vlcws which are not decoded in the present cycle . the barrel shifter also 310 also outputs the p bit window 0111xx .. x 325 into the mask circuit 330 . the pla 340 , which only decodes the bits of the vlcws other than the sign bit , is triggered by the first three bits 011 received ( on line 335 ) from the barrel shifter 310 . the pla decodes the vlcw 011 and outputs its corresponding run , e . g ., run = 1 and an unsigned level , i . e . absolute value of level = 1 . the pla also outputs the length - out signal 345 to the mask circuit 330 and to the barrel shifter 310 . illustratively , the length - out signal 345 corresponds to the total length of the variable length code word 0111 , including the sign bit . thus , the length - out signal 345 indicates a length of 4 , i . e ., the length - out signal 345 is 000100 ... 0 . the mask circuit 330 masks the p bit window 0111 x ... x with the length - out signal 345 000100 ... 0 received from the pla 340 . from the p bit window 0111 xx .. x on line 325 and the length - out signal 345 , the mask circuit 330 masks out each bit other than the 4th bit of the p bit window 0111x ... x ( i . e ., the least significant bit , which is the sign bit s ). the masked signal thus produced , i . e ., the s bit where s = 1 , is outputted on line 360 to the rld 370 . the rld 370 combines the s = 1 received from the mask circuit 330 ( on line 360 ), with the level = 1 received from the vld decoding table 340 ( on line 350 ). because the sign bit s is 1 , the level is - 1 . the rld outputs on line 380 the sequence 0 ,- 1 . on the other hand , if the variable length code is 0110 , then the masked result from the mask circuit 330 will be equal to 0 and the level will be 1 . the outputted sequence is thus 0 ,- 1 . unlike the conventional vld design , which uses separate vld tables for positive and negative polarities of each vlcw , in the present invention , the vld table decodes , the positive and negative polarities of each vlcw the same way , i . e ., into an absolute value of the fixed length code word . this reduces the storage requirement of the variable length decoding table by half . in addition , the variable length decoding table , according to the invention , decodes slightly shorter vlcws , i . e ., which are one bit shorter by virtue of not decoding the sign bit . in short , a new variable length decoding apparatus and technique are disclosed . the inventive vld uses a single vld table which is triggered by the vlcw other than the sign bit . thus , the area of the memory unit of the inventive vld is reduced by more than half as compared to conventional vlds . this increases speed of decoding and reduces the implementation cost of a parallel variable length decoder . finally , the above - described embodiments of the invention are intended to be illustrative only . numerous alternative embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
surprisingly , the present inventors have found that mixtures of dtea and tpc are especially efficacious in controlling the growth of bacterial microbes , specifically the klebsiella pneumoniae species . this particular species is a member of the capsulated , facultative class of bacteria and is generally present in air , water and soil . these bacteria continually contaminate open cooling systems and pulping and papermaking systems and are among the most common slime formers . the slime may be viewed as being a mass of agglomerated cells stuck together by the cementing action of the gelatinous polysaccharide or proteinaceous secretions around each cell . the slimy mass entraps other debris , restricts water flow and heat transfer , and may serve as a site for corrosion . the fact that the klebsiella species used in the tests is a facultative species is important as , by definition , such bacteria may thrive under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions . accordingly , by reason of demonstrated efficacy in the growth inhibition of this particular species , one can expect similar growth inhibition attributes when other aerobic or anaerobic bacterial species are encountered . it is also expected that these compositions will exhibit similar growth inhibition attributes when fungi and algae species are encountered . as noted above , dtea is available from dow chemical company and is sold under the name dtea or xu 40304 . 01l . dtea is a 35 % active water / glycol , clear to off white in color solution which is readily miscible in water . it has a specific gravity of 1 . 02 and a flash point in excess of 215 ° f . as noted above , tpc is available from ciba - geigy and is sold under the trademark &# 34 ; belclene 350 &# 34 ;. the physical properties of &# 34 ; belclene 350 &# 34 ; are reported as being : ______________________________________appearance clear , colorless liquidspecific gravity at 20 ° c . 0 . 96ph 7 . 0 - 8 . 0boiling point 100 ° c . freezing point - 8 to - 10 ° c . viscosity 50 - 80 cpodor slightsolubility water completely miscible in all proportionsmethanol greater than 50 % isopropanol greater than 50 % ethylene glycol greater than 50 % ______________________________________ in accordance with the present invention , the combined dtea and tpc treatment may be added to the desired aqueous system in need of biocidal treatment , in an amount of from about 0 . 1 to about 200 parts of the combined treatment to one million parts ( by weight ) of the aqueous medium . preferably , about 5 to about 50 parts of the combined treatment per one million parts ( by weight ) of the aqueous medium is added . the combined treatment is added , for example , to cooling water systems , paper and pulp mill systems , pools , ponds , lagoons , lakes , etc ., to control the formation of bacterial microorganisms , which may be contained by , or which may become entrained in , the system to be treated . it has been found that the dtea and tpc compositions and methods of utilization of the treatment are efficacious in controlling the facultative bacterium , klebsiella pneumoniae , which my populate these systems . it is thought that the combined treatment composition and method of the present invention will also be efficacious in inhibiting and controlling all types of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria . surprisingly , it has been found that when the dtea and tpc ingredients are mixed , in certain instances , the resulting mixtures possess a higher degree of bactericidal activity than that of the individual ingredients comprising the mixture . accordingly , it is possible to produce a highly efficacious bactericide . because of the enhanced activity of the mixture , the total quantity of the bacterial treatment may be reduced . in addition , the high degree of bactericidal effectiveness which is provided by each of the ingredients may be exploited without use of higher concentrations of each . the following experimental data were developed . it is to be remembered that the following examples are to be regarded solely as being illustrative , and not as restricting the scope of the invention . dtea and tpc were added in varying ratios and over a wide range of concentrations to a liquid nutrient medium which was subsequently inoculated with a standard volume of a suspension of the facultative bacterium klebsiella pneumoniae . growth was measured by determining the amount of radioactivity accumulated by the cells when 14 c - glucose was added as the sole source of carbon in the nutrient medium . the effect of the biocide chemicals , alone and in combination , is to reduce the rate and amount of 14 c incorporation into the cells during incubation , as compared to controls not treated with the chemicals . additions of the biocides , alone and in varying combinations and concentrations , were made according to the accepted &# 34 ; checkerboard &# 34 ; technique described by m . t . kelley and j . m . matsen , antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy . 9 : 440 ( 1976 ). following a two hour incubation , the amount of radioactivity incorporated in the cells was determined by counting ( 14 c liquid scintillation procedures ) for all treated and untreated samples . the percent reduction of each treated sample was calculated from the relationship : ## equ1 ## plotting the % reduction of 14 c level against the concentration of each biocide acting alone results in a dose - response curve , from which the biocide dose necessary to achieve any given % reduction can be interpolated . synergism was determined by the method of calculation described by f . c . kull , p . c . eisman , h . d . sylwestrowicz and r . l . mayer , applied microbiology 9 , 538 ( 1961 ) using the relationship . ## equ2 ## where : q a = quantity of compound a , acting alone , producing an end point q b = quantity of compound b , acting alone , producing an end point q a = quantity of compound a in mixture , producing an end point q b = quantity of compound b in mixture , producing an end point the end point used in the calculations is the % reduction caused by each mixture of a and b . q a and q b are the individual concentrations in the a / b mixture causing a given % reduction . q a and q b are determined by interpolation from the respective dose - response curves of a and b as those concentrations of a and b acting alone which produce the same % reduction as each specific mixture produced . dose - response curves for each active acting alone were determined by linear regression analysis of the dose - response data . data were fitted to a curve represented by the equation shown with each data set . after linearizing the data , the contributions of each biocide component in the biocide mixtures to the inhibition of radioisotape uptake were determined by interpolation with the dose - response curve of the respective biocide . if , for example , quantities of q a plus q b are sufficient to give a 50 % reduction in 14 c content , q a and q b are those quantities of a or b acting alone , respectively , found to give 50 % reduction in 14 c content . a synergism index ( si ) is calculated for each combination of a and b . the data in the following tables come from treating klebsiella pneumoniae , a common nuisance bacterial type found in industrial cooling waters and in pulping and paper making systems , with varying ratios and concentrations of dtea and tpc . shown for each combination is the % reduction of 14 c content (% 1 ), the calculated si , and the weight ratio of dtea and tpc . table i______________________________________dtea vs . tpcppm ppm ratiodtea . sup . 1 tpc . sup . 2 dtea : tpc % i si______________________________________0 100 0 : 100 970 80 0 : 100 920 50 0 : 100 560 40 0 : 100 340 25 0 : 100 270 20 0 : 100 26100 0 100 : 0 8150 0 100 : 0 5625 0 100 : 0 4012 . 5 0 100 : 0 76 . 25 0 100 : 0 03 . 125 0 100 : 0 1100 100 1 : 1 100 1 . 50100 80 1 . 25 : 1 100 1 . 28100 40 2 : 1 100 0 . 97100 50 2 . 5 : 1 100 0 . 86 * 100 25 4 : 1 100 0 . 71 * 100 20 5 : 1 99 0 . 67 * 50 100 1 : 2 99 1 . 2950 80 1 : 1 . 6 100 1 . 0650 50 1 : 1 100 0 . 75 * 50 40 1 : 1 . 25 99 0 . 65 * 50 25 2 : 1 98 0 . 51 * 50 20 2 . 5 : 1 97 0 . 46 * 25 100 1 : 4 100 1 . 1625 80 1 : 3 . 2 99 0 . 9725 50 1 : 2 97 0 . 67 * 25 40 1 : 1 . 6 95 0 . 58 * 25 25 1 : 1 87 0 . 48 * 25 20 1 : 1 . 25 84 0 . 45 * 12 . 5 100 1 : 8 98 1 . 1312 . 5 80 1 : 6 . 4 97 0 . 93 * 12 . 5 50 1 : 4 84 0 . 72 * 12 . 5 40 1 : 3 . 2 70 0 . 77 * 12 . 5 25 1 : 2 50 0 . 88 * 12 . 5 20 1 : 1 . 6 46 0 . 87 * 6 . 25 100 1 : 16 98 1 . 116 . 25 80 1 : 12 . 8 95 0 . 92 * 6 . 25 50 1 : 8 68 0 . 86 * 6 . 25 40 1 : 6 . 4 57 0 . 88 * 6 . 25 25 1 : 4 34 1 . 096 . 25 20 1 : 3 . 2 34 0 . 94 * 3 . 125 100 1 : 32 98 1 . 093 . 125 80 1 : 25 . 6 93 0 . 92 * 3 . 125 50 1 : 16 57 0 . 993 . 125 40 1 : 12 . 8 39 1 . 213 . 125 25 1 : 8 29 1 . 113 . 125 20 1 : 6 . 4 32 0 . 84 * ______________________________________ . sup . 1 dtea product contains 35 % active dtea . sup . 2 tpc product contains 50 % active tpc table ii______________________________________dtea vs . tpcppm ppm ratiodtea . sup . 1 tpc . sup . 2 dtea : tpc % i si______________________________________0 100 0 : 100 980 80 0 : 100 780 50 0 : 100 560 40 0 : 100 360 25 0 : 100 280 20 0 : 100 28100 0 100 : 0 8750 0 100 : 0 5825 0 100 : 0 4512 . 5 0 100 : 0 206 . 25 0 100 : 0 03 . 125 0 100 : 0 0100 100 1 : 1 100 1 . 51100 80 1 . 25 : 1 100 1 . 31100 40 2 : 1 100 1 . 02100 50 2 . 5 : 1 100 0 . 92 * 100 25 4 : 1 99 0 . 79 * 100 20 5 : 1 99 0 . 74 * 50 100 1 : 2 100 1 . 2450 80 1 : 1 . 6 100 1 . 0550 50 1 : 1 100 0 . 75 * 50 40 1 : 1 . 25 99 0 . 67 * 50 25 2 : 1 99 0 . 52 * 50 20 2 . 5 : 1 98 0 . 48 * 25 100 1 : 4 100 1 . 1125 80 1 : 3 . 2 99 0 . 93 * 25 50 1 : 2 98 0 . 64 * 25 40 1 : 1 . 6 97 0 . 61 * 25 25 1 : 1 93 0 . 43 * 25 20 1 : 1 . 25 88 0 . 43 * 12 . 5 100 1 : 8 99 1 . 0612 . 5 80 1 : 6 . 4 96 0 . 89 * 12 . 5 50 1 : 4 84 0 . 71 * 12 . 5 40 1 : 3 . 2 68 0 . 80 * 12 . 5 25 1 : 2 58 0 . 75 * 12 . 5 20 1 : 1 . 6 48 0 . 81 * 6 . 25 100 1 : 16 99 1 . 026 . 25 80 1 : 12 . 8 89 0 . 94 * 6 . 25 50 1 : 8 67 0 . 88 * 6 . 25 40 1 : 6 . 4 49 1 . 066 . 25 25 1 : 4 46 0 . 80 * 6 . 25 20 1 : 3 . 2 37 0 . 92 * 3 . 125 100 1 : 32 99 1 . 013 . 125 80 1 : 25 . 6 80 1 . 023 . 125 50 1 : 16 60 0 . 90 * 3 . 125 40 1 : 12 . 8 42 1 . 143 . 125 25 1 : 8 30 1 . 133 . 125 20 1 : 6 . 4 31 0 . 92 * ______________________________________ . sup . 1 dtea product contains 35 % active dtea . sup . 2 tpc product contains 50 % active tpc asterisks in the si column indicate synergistic combinations in accordance with the kull method supra . in tables i and ii , differences seen between the replicates are due to normal experimental variance . in accordance with tables i - ii supra ., unexpected results occurred more frequently within the product ratios of dtea to tpc of from about 5 : 1 to 1 : 12 . 8 . since the tested dtea was about 35 % active biocidal ingredient , and the tested tpc was about 50 % active biocidal ingredient , this range translates to a weight ratio of dtea : tpc ( 100 % actives basis ) of about 3 . 5 : 1 to 1 : 18 . 3 . at present , it is preferred that the commercial product embodying the invention comprise a weight ratio of about 1 : 1 dtea to tpc on a 100 % actives basis . while this invention has been dscribed with respect to particular embodiments thereof , it is apparent that numerous other forms and modifications of this invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art . the appended claims and this invention generally should be construed to cover all such obvious forms and modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of the present invention . | 2 |
fig1 admittedly clearly shows the cutting head in its overall structure , as is generally indicated by reference numeral 1 , but the cutting blade , its control devices and pneumatic drives have been omitted for the sake of clarity of the drawing . the cutting head 1 substantially comprises a centrally arranged stator 2 and a rotor 3 which surrounds it and on which a neck 4 and a dome 5 of a plastic bottle ( not shown ) are held at the bottom . in the embodiment illustrated here the plastic bottle ( not shown ) is vertical so that its longitudinal central axis coincides with the longitudinal axis 6 of the passage 7 , with the longitudinal axis 6 also being disposed vertically . the clean room 8 of the entire machine is disposed beneath the stationary sealing plate 9 which is shown broken - away and in section and above which normal atmosphere prevails . the toothed ring 10 which is fixedly carried on the rotor 3 and provides for the rotary drive thereof is therefore disposed above the sealing plate 9 , that is to say not in the clean room in which the sterile plastic bottles are moved by way of conveyors ( not shown ). disposed between the neck 4 which is disposed further downwardly and the dome 5 , arranged thereabove , of the plastic bottle , in the overall construction with a fixed structure , is a groove 11 , at the bottom of which is the location for the actual cut line 12 . the closure screwthread of the neck 4 is denoted by reference numeral 13 . a ring seal 9 ′ is disposed between the sealing plate 9 and the rotor 3 . the surface of the bottle dome 5 has a strong predetermined structure with a holding groove 14 into which engage holding means which are to be described hereinafter . for example the holding means have three arresting pins 15 , the fixing 16 of which for example to a plate ( see fig3 ) is shown in fig1 and 3 . fig3 also shows the resiliently loaded arresting pin 15 , as it engages into the holding groove of the dome 5 . when viewing from below into the passage 7 from the bottle end of the stator which is shown in fig5 and which is generally denoted by reference numeral 17 , all three arresting pins 15 can be clearly seen . their function is such that the dome 5 can be pushed upwardly into the passage 7 in the direction of the longitudinal axis 6 of the passage 7 , so that the arresting pins 15 come into snapping engagement in the holding groove 14 and ensure that the dome 5 cannot be pulled downwardly again out of that position . besides the arresting pins 15 however the holding means also have three centering fingers 18 . the centering fingers 18 each involve a respective arm which is mounted pivotably at the lower bottle end of the centering finger shaft 19 and on the inside of which is fixed a bead - shaped projection 20 . it is at the same height as the arresting pins 15 and is therefore in a position to engage into the holding groove 14 of the dome 5 and , in the event of moderate clamping , it can provide for precisely holding the entire plastic bottle , by way of the dome s . the centering fingers 18 which have a stronger clamping action carry a torque which is applied to the bottle , so that the holding action for the dome and thus the neck 4 and therewith the entire plastic bottle is afforded in a precise , well - defined and reliable fashion . in fig2 a further ring seal 23 is also arranged between the rotor 3 and the stator 2 . the centering fingers 18 are opened , that is to say they are each pivoted outwardly radially with respect to the dome 5 , by the drive lever 21 pivoting the centering finger shaft 19 in the clockwise direction as viewed from above , by way of the drive shaft 22 . clamping of the centering finger mechanism , when the bead - shaped projections 20 move radially into the holding groove 14 in the dome 5 , then takes place in a correspondingly reversed fashion . while the centering finger shaft 19 is mounted in the fixed stator 2 , a blade shaft 24 is mounted without play in the rotatable rotor 3 . the blade shaft 24 is connected by way of the quadrangular end 25 of the blade shaft 24 to the control arm 26 , a controller roller 27 being rotatably mounted to the end of the control arm 26 , which is in opposite relationship to the quadrangular end 25 . the view illustrated in fig4 shows an adjusting screw 28 in the control arm 26 , by means of which it is possible to adjust the cutting depth and the radial engagement of the blade ( radially with respect to the longitudinal axis 6 of the passage 7 ). mounted at the lower end of the blade shaft 24 is a blade holder 29 which is of an angular configuration and on which a cutting blade 32 can be fixed by way of screws 31 ( see fig5 ) which are fitted into the holes 30 in the blade holder . the cutting height as measured in the direction of the longitudinal axis 6 is fixed . fig3 and 4 show a toothed belt 33 which extends around the stator and which drives the centering finger shaft 19 by way of a tensioning roller 34 and at the end 35 of the centering finger shaft by way of the pinion which is in engagement with the teeth . it will be appreciated that toothed belt 33 drives all three centering finger shafts 19 . this involves pivotal movements of the order of magnitude of 20 °. the cutting blade 32 is shown separately in fig6 and 7 . also shown here are the holes 30 for passing the screws 31 therethrough . the cutting blade 32 is formed by three straight edges 36 , 37 and 38 . the central edge 37 is the cutting edge . it is intersected at an angle α of 55 ° by the adjacent edges 36 and 38 which are blunt . when looking along section line vii — vii in fig6 , it is then possible to see the cross - sectional view of the cutting blade 32 in fig7 . the second acute angle β shown there is 80 and is produced by virtue of the fact that the inclined cutting plane 39 which is the upper plane in fig7 intersects the inclined lower cutting plane 40 at the above - mentioned second acute angle β . the thickness of the blade d is defined as shown in fig7 by the spacing of the upper plane 41 from the lower plane 42 of the cutting blade 32 . the actual cutting edge 37 lies in a plane between those two planes 41 and 42 . the stator 2 is mounted to a holding plate ( not shown ) by way of the fixing block 43 which is shown at the top in fig3 and 4 and the bores 44 which are provided in the block 43 . the blade shaft 24 with the control roller 27 mounted to the top thereof and the blade holder 29 mounted to the bottom thereof has already been described . the control arm 26 with the control roller 27 is urged by means of the tension spring 45 to bear against a control cam 46 non - rotatably mounted to the stator 2 . it is circular over the major part of its periphery , but in the radial direction it has an opening 47 which will be described hereinafter with reference to fig8 . so that the cutting blade 32 is not in the way for loading and unloading the plastic bottle with the neck 4 and the dome 5 in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 6 of the passage 7 , the device has the opening or recess 47 which allows the control roller 27 to be moved radially somewhat closer to the central longitudinal axis 6 and held there , in other words , the cutting blade 32 can come out of engagement and also be held there . when viewing fig8 , it can be envisaged that the control roller 27 is continuously in contact ( pulled by the spring 45 ) with the control cam 46 ( outside periphery ). from the position i at the end of the opening 47 the control cam 46 extends in the counter - clockwise direction on a circular path of an outside diameter as indicated at dk ( diameter curve ) to the position 11 at which the opening 47 begins , upon further rotary movement . the blade holder 29 is now so adjusted relative to the control roller 27 that the cutting blade 32 is in engagement with the plastic material to be cut , over the entire partly circular path between positions i and ii ( in the counterclockwise direction ). as a cut must correspond to at least 360 °, the shorter distance on the control cam 46 between positions 1 and 11 is to be bridged over in such a way that there too the control roller 27 rolls on an outer surface which corresponds to the diameter dk . provided for that purpose is a control ring 48 which can be clearly seen in fig2 and 3 . it can be drawn upwardly in a vertical direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 6 out of the lower position shown in fig2 and 3 , by means of the pneumatic drives 49 , to such a distance that the control roller 27 would follow the opening 47 if it were further moved from the position ii in the counter - clockwise direction to the position i . that opening 47 is so - to - speak switched off for the control roller 27 when the control ring 48 is lowered into the position shown in fig2 and 3 . more specifically , in that case , the control roller 27 rolls against the surface of the control ring 48 , which surface is in the form of a circular ring , the diameter of the control ring 48 on the major part of the control cam 46 ( at the top in fig1 ) being equal to the outside diameter dk ( diameter curve ) of the control cam 46 . if it is therefore intended that the cut is to be implemented along the groove 11 , then the control roller 27 is rotated as shown in fig8 starting from position i ( 0 °) and the rotor 3 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction , so that the control roller 27 correspondingly rolls against the part - annular surface of the control cam 46 towards the left until reaching the position ii . during that entire travel movement the cutting operation is carried out , and at the same time the control ring 48 is moved downwardly into the position shown in fig2 and 3 by means of the pneumatic drives 49 . the control roller 27 rolls against the outer circular periphery of the control ring 48 over the region of the short distance between positions ii and i , whereafter the cut is completed . nonetheless the rotor 3 continues to rotate , the control roller 47 continues to run over the control cam 46 in the counter - clockwise direction , in which case now the control ring 48 is drawn axially upwardly . when the control roller 27 passes into the region of the position ii again , then from then on it rolls downwardly into the opening 47 , where the cutting function is concluded . the cutting blade 32 has moved out of cutting engagement . the dome 5 has been cut away from the neck 4 , and the bottle can be removed downwardly or the cutting head 1 can be withdrawn upwardly , in order thereafter to introduce a new bottle so that the operation is repeated . | 8 |
transceiver 1 includes a transceiver core 2 , a filter 3 , a supporting network 4 and a terminating network 5 . terminating network 5 includes two first terminating resistors rt 1 , rt 2 connected in series between two terminals bus high , bus low , terminals bus high , bus low forming the interface to the bus lines . two other terminating resistors rt 3 , rt 4 and two third terminating resistors rt 5 , rt 6 are provided in parallel with the first series connection of rt 1 , rt 2 , all the center taps of the series connection being interconnected via a common line v cm . in addition , a switch is associated with each terminating resistor rt 3 - rt 6 of the second and third series connections . as indicated by the dashed line between the switches of terminating resistors rt 3 and rt 4 and / or rt 5 and rt 6 , the switches of a series connection are always switched in the same sense , i . e ., both switches are open or both are closed . supporting network 4 includes two resistors rmc 1 and rmc 2 , which are connected in series and are situated between power supply voltage v cc and ground gnd . the center tap of the series connection of rmc 1 and rmc 2 is connected to line v cm . in addition to the resistors described here , supporting network 4 may also include capacitors , although they need not be described in greater detail . the main function of supporting network 4 is to support the recessive voltage level on the bus line . filter 3 increases the interference resistance in the range of , e . g ., 15 to 25 mhz . the function of terminating network 5 is to adjust the suitable terminating resistance value , depending on the wiring of the transceiver , if necessary . the following cases are to be differentiated , either transceiver 1 is not involved in the adjusted termination of the bus line , or transceiver 1 is part of the decentralized termination or terminates the bus line centrally . in the first case , the four switches are opened so that terminating resistors rt 3 - rt 6 are uncoupled from terminals bus high , bus low . in this case , only two terminating resistors rt 1 , rt 2 which terminate the transceiver with a relatively high resistance with respect to the bus line are active . in the second case of decentralized termination , the transceiver should terminate the bus with the characteristic impedance . to do so , the switches were closed by terminating resistors rt 3 , rt 4 . if the resistance values are rt 3 = rt 4 = z l , the resulting resistance value is approximately equal to characteristic impedance z l of the line ( disregarding high - resistance voltage divider rt 1 , rt 2 ). in the third case , the switches of terminating resistors rt 5 , rt 6 , which may also correspond approximately to the characteristic impedance , are also closed . therefore , half the characteristic impedance is approximately established as the terminating resistance . the information about which resistance value is to be set may be reported to the transceiver via a switch , for example . alternatively , the information may also be transmitted to transceiver 1 by the controller module . this information may be reported to the controller module via a switch or a programmable interface . filter 3 may include inductances , so that it may be omitted in the integration for reasons of space and manufacturing . under some circumstances , supporting network 4 need not be integrated into transceiver 1 but instead may be implemented externally by discrete resistances or by hybrid technology . fig2 shows an alternative embodiment of a transceiver 1 without a filter , the switches on terminating resistors rt 3 - rt 6 being replaced by fuses s 3 - s 6 . fuses s 5 and s 6 are dimensioned such that they burn through at even lower current surges than fuses s 3 and s 4 . depending on the desired application , either all four fuses are triggered ( unterminated ) or only fuses s 5 and s 6 are triggered ( decentralized termination ) or no fuses are triggered ( centralized termination ). the current surge may be triggered via transceiver core 2 or via the controller module , the particular height or duration being adjusted by a switch . as an alternative it is also possible for the terminating network to be designed as a separate circuit . in this case , the terminating network may be designed together with the supporting network and / or the filter as a separate module , for example , with the integration , e . g ., being accomplished by hybrid technology . | 7 |
fig1 shows a first embodiment of a method of flip - chip mounting according to the present invention . in the present embodiment , the resin material 12 is applied in advance onto a chip mounting surface of the mounting substrate 10 and the semiconductor chip 14 is positioned relative to and mounted upon the mounting substrate 10 while being held by suction on the pressure / heat applying head 20 . in the present embodiment , a concave part 24 a is formed on a support surface of a stage 24 that supports the mounting substrate 10 , a suction hole 25 that is in communication with an inner base surface of the concave part 24 a is provided in the stage 24 , and the suction hole 25 is connected to a vacuum suction apparatus ( not shown ). the concave part 24 a is formed in a region that is within a region where the bumps 14 a are formed on the semiconductor chip 14 . in the present embodiment , after the mounting substrate 10 has been set on the stage 24 and the resin material 12 has been supplied onto the chip mounting surface of the mounting substrate 10 , the vacuum suction apparatus is operated to pull the mounting substrate 10 by suction via the suction hole 25 and the semiconductor chip 14 held by suction on the pressure / heat applying head 20 is flip - chip mounted in a state where the mounting substrate 10 is downwardly convex , i . e ., a state where a central part of the mounting substrate 10 is bent downward away from the semiconductor chip 14 . the pressure / heat applying head 20 is heated to around 200 ° c . the semiconductor chip 14 is held by suction on the pressure / heat applying head 20 and is pressed toward the mounting substrate 10 so that the bumps 14 a of the semiconductor chip 14 are bonded to connection terminals provided on the mounting substrate 10 by soldering or the like . the resin material 12 held between the semiconductor chip 14 and the mounting substrate 10 fills the gap between the semiconductor chip 14 and the mounting substrate 10 and is thermally hardened . since the stage 24 is formed as a flat surface at positions where the bumps 14 a of the semiconductor chip 14 are formed , the pressing force acts reliably on the mounting substrate 10 and the semiconductor chip 14 so that electrical connections can be reliably produced between the bumps 14 a and the connection terminals of the mounting substrate 10 . the resin material 12 seals and protects the bonded parts of the semiconductor chip 14 and the mounting substrate 10 from the outside . when the semiconductor chip 14 heats up and thermal stress acts between the semiconductor chip 14 and the mounting substrate 10 , the resin material 12 also acts so as to firmly hold the semiconductor chip 14 and the mounting substrate 10 together so that the electrical connections between the bumps 14 a and the connection terminals do not become unreliable . in the method of flip - chip mounting according to the present embodiment , when the mounting substrate 10 is supported on the stage 22 , mounting is carried out with the mounting substrate 10 forcibly bent so as to be downwardly convex . by doing so , after mounting , even if the mounting substrate 10 deforms so as to become bent toward the semiconductor chip 14 , the gap between the mounting substrate 10 and the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip 14 is prevented from becoming excessively narrow . by keeping the gap between the semiconductor chip 14 and the chip mounting surface of the mounting substrate 10 at a predetermined distance or above , it is possible to avoid the problem of the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip 14 being damaged by the filler included in the resin material 12 after mounting . in a method of flip - chip mounting that forcibly bends the mounting substrate 10 by pulling the mounting substrate 10 by suction from the concave part 24 a side of the stage 24 , by controlling the vacuum suction force , the amount by which the mounting substrate 10 bends can be adjusted , and therefore it is possible to control the gap between the mounting substrate 10 and the semiconductor chip 14 after mounting in accordance with the product . it is effective to adjust the amount by which the mounting substrate 10 bends since the size , thickness , and material of the mounting substrate 10 differ from product to product . note that in the method of flip - chip mounting where the concave part 24 a is provided in the stage 24 , it is also possible to mount the semiconductor chip 14 as a flip - chip with the mounting substrate 10 set on the stage 24 but without pulling the mounting substrate 10 by suction from the suction hole 25 to forcibly bend the mounting substrate 10 . that is , after the resin material 12 has been supplied onto the mounting substrate 10 , when the semiconductor chip 14 held by suction on the pressure / heat applying head 20 is pressed toward the mounting substrate 10 , the mounting substrate 10 bends toward the concave part 24 a via the resin material 12 . this method is effective in cases where the semiconductor chip 14 will not be damaged by the filler included in the resin material 12 even if the mounting substrate 10 is not greatly bent during flip - chip mounting , since the construction of the apparatus can be simplified . fig2 shows a second embodiment of a method of flip - chip mounting according to the present invention . the method of flip - chip mounting according to the present embodiment is characterized by using a stage 22 where the support surface that supports the mounting substrate 10 is formed as a flat surface and using a pressure / heat applying head 26 where a concave surface 26 a that allows the semiconductor chip 14 to bend away from the chip mounting surface of the mounting substrate 10 is provided on a surface on which the semiconductor chip 14 is held and a suction hole 27 is provided so as to be in communication with a center position of the concave surface 26 a . the suction hole 27 is also in communication with a vacuum suction apparatus ( not shown ). fig2 shows a state where , after the mounting substrate 10 has been set on the stage 22 and the resin material 12 has been supplied onto the chip mounting surface of the mounting substrate 10 , the semiconductor chip 14 is held by suction on the pressure / heat applying head 26 , and the semiconductor chip 14 is heated while being pressed onto the mounting substrate 10 so as to be flip - chip mounted . by pulling the semiconductor chip 14 by suction from the suction hole 27 provided in the pressure / heat applying head 26 , the semiconductor chip 14 is flip - chip mounted in a state where the semiconductor chip 14 is upwardly convex as shown in fig2 , i . e ., where a central part of the semiconductor chip 14 is bent in a direction away from the mounting substrate 10 . the resin material 12 held between the mounting substrate 10 and the semiconductor chip 14 is heated by the pressure / heat applying head 26 , fills the gap between the semiconductor chip 14 and the mounting substrate 10 , and thermally hardens . in the method of flip - chip mounting according to the present embodiment , since the semiconductor chip 14 is mounted in a state where the semiconductor chip 14 is bent so as to be upwardly convex , it is possible to mount the semiconductor chip 14 while preventing the gap between the semiconductor chip 14 and the mounting substrate 10 from becoming excessively narrow after mounting . by doing so , it is possible to avoid the problem of the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip 14 becoming damaged by the filler included in the resin material 12 . note that the filler included in the resin material 12 is mixed in so as to constitute around 30 to 40 % by weight , and therefore is a large proportion of the resin material 12 . when air is evacuated to pull the semiconductor chip 14 from the suction hole 27 provided in the pressure / heat applying head 26 , by controlling the vacuum suction force of the vacuum suction apparatus , mounting can be carried out with the amount of bending of the semiconductor chip 14 being suitably controlled . in the same way as when mounting is carried out with the mounting substrate 10 in a bent state in the first embodiment , when mounting is carried out with the semiconductor chip 14 in a bent state , by slightly bending the semiconductor chip 14 by only a slight amount , it is possible to control the gap between the semiconductor chip 14 and the chip mounting surface of the mounting substrate 10 to an extent where the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip 14 is not damaged . fig3 shows a third embodiment of a method of flip - chip mounting according to the present invention . the method of flip - chip mounting according to the present embodiment is characterized by providing a spacer 11 , which supports the semiconductor chip 14 at a distance from the mounting substrate 10 , in advance on a chip mounting surface of the mounting substrate 10 and mounting the semiconductor chip 14 with the spacer 11 between the mounting substrate 10 and the semiconductor chip 14 . as shown in fig3 , a spacer 11 is formed using a resist in advance on the chip mounting surface of the mounting substrate 10 and after the resin material 12 has been supplied onto the chip mounting surface of the mounting substrate 10 , the semiconductor chip 14 is mounted on the mounting substrate 10 using the pressure / heat applying head 20 . by setting the thickness of the spacer 11 at a thickness where the semiconductor chip 14 is supported at a distance from the mounting substrate 10 without bonding of the connected parts of the semiconductor chip 14 and the mounting substrate 10 being obstructed and without the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip 14 being damaged , when the semiconductor chip 14 is flip - chip mounted on the mounting substrate 10 , mounting can be carried out without the filler included in the resin material 12 damaging the semiconductor chip 14 . the spacer 11 is formed in a predetermined pattern by applying a resist or using a resist material formed as a film . when forming the spacer 11 , it is possible to form the spacer 11 at a position that does not adversely affect the semiconductor chip 14 during mounting . by using a photosensitive resist material , the spacer 11 can be formed in a desired pattern . fig4 shows a fourth embodiment of a method of flip - chip mounting according to the present invention . the method of flip - chip mounting according to the present embodiment is characterized by forming a spacer 13 on the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip 14 , that is , a surface that faces the mounting substrate 10 when mounting is carried out , instead of forming the spacer 11 on the mounting substrate 10 . as the method of forming the spacer 13 on the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip 14 , it is possible to use a method that applies a resin ( an adhesive ) on the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip 14 and then hardens the resin to produce the spacer 13 . in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor chip 14 , it is judged whether the characteristics of individually formed semiconductor chips are defective or non - defective at the semiconductor wafer - stage and marking is carried out to indicate whether the individual semiconductor chips are defective or non - defective . when marking is carried out to indicate whether the individual semiconductor chips are defective or non - defective , instead of marking , it is possible to apply the resin that forms the spacer 13 described above , with the actual spacer 13 being formed in a later process . this method is efficient in that the marking of the semiconductor chips and the formation of the spacers 13 can be carried out simultaneously . in the same way as the spacer 11 of the third embodiment , the protruding height of the spacer 13 is set so that a predetermined gap is kept between the semiconductor chip 14 and the mounting substrate 10 without obstructing the operation that electrically connects the semiconductor chip 14 to the mounting substrate 10 . in the present embodiment also , the spacer 13 is formed at a position on the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip 14 that does not adversely affect the semiconductor chip 14 after mounting . in this way , by flip - chip mounting with a spacer 13 provided on the surface of the semiconductor chip 14 that faces the mounting substrate 10 , it is possible to reliably mount the semiconductor chip 14 on the mounting substrate 10 without damaging the semiconductor chip 14 . | 7 |
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