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preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in fig1 through 3 , like numerals being used to refer to like and corresponding parts of various drawings . fig1 illustrates thermal imaging system 10 including housing 12 , thermal sensors or focal plane array ( fpa ) 14 , and ir window 16 . window 16 further includes a pair of faceplates , including exterior faceplate 18 and interior faceplate 20 , and support structure 22 interposed between faceplates 18 and 20 . in some embodiments of thermal imaging system 10 , optics and lenses may be included in housing 12 between fpa 10 and ir window 16 . support structure 22 may be any suitable metal , such as aluminum or copper , plastic , or formed from composite materials . in another embodiment , plastic is used for support structure 22 to reduce the weight and cost of ir window 16 . plastic used to form support structure 22 may or may not be transparent to ir energy . when non - ir transmissive material is used for support structure 22 , a material that will reflect ir energy should be used . dimensions for support structure 22 can vary depending on the strength desired for window 16 . depth 24 for ir window 16 is typically on the order of , for example , 1 / 10 &# 34 ; to 1 / 4 &# 34 ;. support structure 22 has voids 23 between exterior faceplate 18 and interior faceplate 20 . voids 23 may be evacuated as desired . voids 23 provide an optical path through ir window 16 that absorbs little or no ir energy . additional detail and embodiments for support structure 22 may be found in discussions relating to fig2 a through 2c below . faceplates 18 and 20 of ir window 16 may be made from an ir transparent polymer material as disclosed and described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 324 , 586 and u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 241 , 218 . these patent applications are incorporated herein by reference . when faceplates 18 and 20 are formed in accordance with u . s . pat . no . 5 , 324 , 586 , they are a polymeric infrared transmitting sheet . ir transparent polymers and copolymers include , for example , polyethylene , ethylene - octene copolymer , polyvinyl pyrrolidene , poly ( acenaphthylene ), styrene / ethylene - butylene copolymer , poly ( 1 - butene ), polybrene , poly ( acrylic acid , ammonium salt ), polyamide resin , ethylene / propylene copolymer , and ethylene / propylene / diene terpolymer . these ir transparent polymers possess low hardness , high strength and low elastic ( young &# 39 ; s ) modulus . the thickness of faceplates 18 and 20 may be on the order of , for example , 1 to 10 mils . in this first configuration for faceplates 18 and 20 , the polymers of choice are those that provide infrared transmissivity in the desired wavelength range , such as , for example , 8 to 12 micrometers , hardness less than about 50 kg / mm 2 , strength in the range of 10 , 000 - 100 , 000 psi , with a preferred value of greater than 20 , 000 psi , and an elastic ( young &# 39 ; s ) modulus in the range of 0 . 2 to 3 × 10 6 psi , and preferably less than 0 . 5 × 10 6 psi . additional copolymers or terpolymers may be desirable to optimize the optical transparency and mechanical and thermal properties of faceplates 18 and 20 . candidates include neoprene , polyurethane , fluorelastomer , polycarbonate , polyether sulfone , polyether ether - ketone , tetcel , and polyacrylate . in an alternate embodiment of this first configuration , polytetrafluoroethelene ( ptfe ) and other perfluoro - compounds can be used as the polymer of choice to form faceplates 18 and 20 . ptfe , commonly known as teflon ™, and perfluoro - compounds are generally ir transmissive in the 3 to 5 micrometer range . in an alternate configuration of the present invention , faceplates 18 and 20 may be formed from a polymeric fiber weave as disclosed and described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 241 , 218 . faceplates 18 and 20 in accordance with this application are a solid and continuous polymeric material in the form of a fabric of overlapping and underlapping sinusoidal woven fibers . the fibers are designed or derived from a high molecular weight polymer and consolidated to maintain the crystalline weave with a high degree of controlled orientation . the polymeric fibers are preferably , but not limited to , polyethylene . the fibers are woven and consolidated to maintain the orientation of the crystallites and / or molecules in the weave . the weave is preferably accomplished by using just the woven fiber , but can also involve dispersing the woven polymeric fabric or chopped fibers in a matrix . the matrix may be preferably formed of a polymeric material suitable for use as required in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 324 , 586 described above . the woven fiber or the woven fiber and matrix are consolidated in some manner , such as , for example , by hot pressing , calendaring , tentering . the woven fiber fabric is heated under a pressure of about 1 , 000 psi or more , and preferably from about 1 , 000 to about 2 , 000 psi , to a temperature at or slightly above its melting point . the heated fiber fabric is held at this temperature for a minimum period of time necessary to cause consolidation of the woven fibers and / or the woven fibers and matrix , this taking generally less than about 60 minutes . the consolidated fibers and matrix are then cooled rapidly , generally in 5 minutes or less , to below 100 ° c . the rapid cooling maintains the long molecule chains ( high molecular weight ) intact to the greatest extent possible . this results in a faceplate that is strong in the plane of the faceplate , yet compliant and elastically deformable in the direction normal to the faceplate . this makes the faceplate capable of absorbing and storing impact stresses . in an additional embodiment of faceplates 18 and 20 , the matrix may be omitted . the polymeric fiber fabric can be heated under pressure and temperature conditions similar to those described for the fiber and matrix combination to cause the material forming the fibers to flow into the interstices between the fibers . this results in a continuous sheet of the fibrous material with the interstices filled with the polymeric material that has flowed between the fibers . any polymeric material with high strength ( about 0 . 5 gpa or 70 , 000 psi ) and high elastic modules (˜ 25 gpa or greater or 3 . 6 × 10 6 psi or greater ) that is a thermoplastic that can be processed as described above may be used to form faceplates 18 and 20 . suitable polymers are generally linear polymer chains and generally have molecular weights on the order of about 1 , 000 , 000 or more . examples of materials that can be used are , but are not limited to , gel spun , high molecular weight polyethylene , polypropylene , nylon , polyvinyl alcohol , and polyethylene terephythalate . a polyethylene fabric sold commercially under the name &# 34 ; spectra &# 34 ; fiber by allied chemical company and having a molecular weight of approximately 1 , 000 , 000 has been found to be suitable for use in forming faceplates 18 and 20 . it is noted that faceplates 18 and 20 need not be formed of the same material nor be of the same configuration . for example , faceplate 18 may be formed in accordance with the first configuration described above -- a polymeric sheet , while faceplate 20 may be formed in accordance with the second configuration described above -- a polymeric fiber weave . adhesive layers 25 and 26 may be used to adhere faceplates 18 and 20 , respectively to support structure 22 . adhesive layers 25 and 26 may be a static or chemical bond , with or without an intermediate glue layer . an adhesive known as 3m 86 adhesive may be suitable to adhere faceplates 18 and 20 to support structure 22 . additionally , an o 2 plasma etching process may be used to form adhesive layers 25 and 26 between support structure 22 and faceplates 18 and 20 . adhesive layers 25 and 26 may also be formed from a combination of an adhesive and an o 2 plasma etching process . thermal imaging system 10 of fig1 is formed by placing fpa 14 in cavity 28 of housing 12 . window 16 is placed in cavity 28 of housing 12 and sits on seats 30 . a hermetic seal may be formed between window 16 and housing 12 as desired . in an alternate embodiment of ir window 16 , a single faceplate is used . by eliminating interior faceplate 20 , the optical path for ir energy through ir window 16 is minimized . eliminating interior faceplate 20 may , however , result in a reduction in strength for ir window 16 . in operation of thermal imaging system 10 of fig1 ir energy represented by arrows 32 enters thermal imaging system 10 through ir window 16 . ir energy 32 travels through exterior faceplate 18 , voids 26 , interior faceplate 20 , and on to fpa 14 . some ir energy may be absorbed by faceplates 18 and 20 , but , by using support structure 22 between faceplates 18 and 20 , the optical path and , therefore , absorption of ir energy in window 16 , is minimized . thermal imaging system 10 may be coupled to a display system for generating a display of the thermal image represented by ir energy 32 . thermal imaging system 10 may be mounted in a motor vehicle in order to provide a low cost infrared thermal imaging system . fig2 a through 2c depict top views of several embodiments for the support structure used with the present ir window . for the remaining discussions it will be assumed that the views of fig2 a through 2c are looking down onto exterior faceplate 18 . fig2 a depicts hexagonal support structure 34 below exterior faceplate 18 . hexagonal support structure 34 is commonly referred to as a honeycomb structure . any side 36 of a hexagon within honeycomb support structure 34 is approximately 1 / 10 &# 34 ; to 1 / 4 &# 34 ;. fig2 b shows honeycomb triangular support structure 38 under exterior faceplate 18 . the triangles within honeycomb triangular support structure 38 have sides on the order of 1 / 10 &# 34 ; to 1 / 4 &# 34 ;. fig2 c shows honeycomb rectangular support structure 42 through exterior faceplate 18 . any side 44 of rectangular faceplate 42 is on the order of 1 / 10 &# 34 ; to 1 / 4 &# 34 ;. it is noted that the rectangles of honeycomb rectangular support structure 42 may be squares . it is also noted that while three embodiments for the support structure used in accordance with the present ir window are depicted in fig2 a through 2c , that the present invention is not limited to these structures . many honeycomb structures , not explicitly identified , may be suitable for the shape of the support structure . fig3 illustrates in cross section and in elevation thermal imaging system 46 having housing 48 , fpa 14 , and ir window 50 . thermal imaging system 46 is similar to thermal imaging system 10 of fig1 with the noted exception that ir window 50 is curved . curved ir window 50 is placed in cavity 52 of housing 48 and is supported by seats 54 . the curvature of ir window 50 may be desirable for thermal imaging systems requiring , for example , a dome to protect the thermal detectors . the present invention provides a low cost , high strength , impact resistant ir window . the present ir window minimizes and achieves low cost by eliminating the need for the traditional ir window and uses in its place one or more polymeric ir transmissive faceplates with a support structure therebetween . the support structure is typically a honeycomb structure . the present invention provides technical advantages of low cost , high transmissivity , and is suitable for many applications of thermal imaging systems . although the present invention has been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions , and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
it will be appreciated that the following description is intended to refer to the specific embodiments of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings and is not intended to define or limit the invention , other than in the appended claims . turning now to the drawings in general and fig1 - 4b in particular , the number “ 10 ” designates an electric water heater of the invention . water heater 10 includes an outer jacket 12 which surrounds foam insulation 14 . foam insulation 14 surrounds water tank 16 . a top pan 18 caps jacket 12 on its upper end and bottom pan 20 caps jacket 12 on its lower end . an inlet 22 in the upper portion of tank 16 provides for cold water to enter the tank . similarly , outlet 24 allows for hot water to exit through the upper portion of tank 16 . a pair of heating elements 26 are mounted to the side of tank 16 . elements 26 are electrically connected to an electronic controller 28 located in a recessed portion 30 of top pan 18 . elements 26 are mounted to the side wall of tank 16 by means well known to those of ordinary skill in the art , such as threads 46 , and are covered by plastic caps 32 which snap into position through openings in jacket 12 . an upper foam dam 34 surrounds upper element 26 and extends between tank 16 and jacket 12 . similarly , lower foam dam 36 surrounds element 26 and spigot 38 . foam dam 36 also extends between jacket 12 and tank 16 . each heating element 26 includes a base 27 , a resistance heater 29 , a thermistor sensor 44 and a pair of thermistor connectors 45 . the thermistor 44 is embedded in base 27 between opposing legs of the resistance heater 29 . electronic controller 28 connects to elements 26 by way of wires 40 . wires 40 extend between electronic controller 28 and elements 26 through the space between jacket 12 and tank 16 . that space is otherwise filled with insulation 14 . it is possible for wires 40 to be located such that foam - forming liquids form directly around wires 40 during the foaming process . also , wires 40 can be located within a passageway created within the foam , if desired , such as with tubes , pipes and the like . electronic controller 28 is a user interface and includes a water temperature adjustment dial 42 which can be rotated to select a variety of water temperatures at which the water within tank 16 will be maintained . the specifics of the connections and operations of electronic controller 28 and heating elements 26 shown in fig5 and 6 . thermistor 44 is connected in a conventional manner through thermistor connectors 45 to electronic controller 28 . resistance heater 29 is also connected to heater control board 47 via relays 50 on heater control board 47 . electrical power is supplied to the system through power supply 48 , which include fuses 49 and 49 ′ for deenergizing the system in the event of an amperage surge . heater control board 47 preferably incorporates electronic control circuitry for controlling operation of the water heater , as described in more detail below . such control circuitry may incorporate a number of electronic components , known to those of ordinary skill in the art , such as solid state transistors and accompanying biasing components , or one or more equivalent , programmable logic chips . the electronic control circuitry may also incorporate a programmable read only memory ( prom ), random access memory ( ram ) and a microprocessor . the arrangement and / or programming of these components may take any number of forms well known to those of ordinary skill in the art to accomplish operation of the water heater as described below . for example , specific programming of the type described herein may be obtained from therm - o - disc , inc . and united technologies electronic controls . when there is a call for hot water , hot water exits through outlet 24 and cold water is introduced through inlet 22 . thermistor sensors 44 detect the temperature of water within tank 16 by way of their being embedded in bases 27 at positions interior of the water tank side wall . the temperatures of bases 27 reflect the temperature of water in tank 16 . thermistors 44 then send temperature information , typically in the form of an electrical signal , to controller 28 . controller 28 is programmed with predetermined set point temperatures to determine the temperature at which controller 28 energizes element 26 . the predetermined set point can be made to be variable if desired . when the temperature of the water within tank 16 decreases to that predetermined set point , controller 28 detects such temperature information received from thermistor sensor 44 and energizes element 26 . element 26 continues in the energized state to heat the water until temperature information received from sensor 44 indicates that the water temperature has reached a second predetermined set point . the second predetermined set point can be selected by adjustment dial 42 and is variable . when controller 28 detects that the second predetermined set point has been reached , controller 28 deenergizes element 26 . the second predetermined set point typically has five variable settings for deenergizing elements 26 . such selectable settings are preferably between about 90 ° f .- 180 ° f . the differential for energizing the elements can vary depending on the task to be performed . controller 28 also contains a lock - out set point which is preferably less than about 210 ° f . the control lock - out prevents elements 26 from energizing when the water temperature reaches an abnormal predetermined set point and the controller 28 will not permit energizing of elements 26 until controller 28 is reset by removing power and then subsequently reapplying power . this can be accomplished automatically by controller 28 , thereby reducing and possibly eliminating the need for a mechanical reset control . such a reset could be performed by a reset user interface 31 on controller 28 . the sensing capabilities of sensors 44 are such that elements 26 can be energized and deenergized after only approximately 1 . 5 gallons of water have been drawn from tank 16 . this compares to about 3 . 0 gallons of water removal in prior art constructions . one particular sequence of operational steps to achieve operation of the water heater in this matter is shown in more detail in fig7 and 8 . when the water heater control system is first started , the control electronic circuitry of heater control board 47 records the initial temperature at bottom element 26 and then turns on the bottom element 26 for ten seconds and then off for two minutes . heater control board 47 then records the file temperature of the bottom element 26 as measured through thermistor 44 and calculates the difference between the final temperature and initial temperature . if the difference between these temperatures is greater than five degrees , then heater control board 47 turns off both elements 26 through relays 50 . heater control board 47 then checks to see if system power has been turned off or reset through incoming power supply 48 . once the system has been reset , heater control board 47 then begins this process from start . if , however , the temperature differential is less than five degrees , then heater control board 47 energizes bottom element 26 to heat the water in tank 16 until it reaches the temperature set on temperature adjust dial 42 . if the temperature of temperature adjust dial 42 is less than 110 ° f ., then the top element 26 remains off . otherwise , heater control board 47 checks the temperature at thermistor 44 in upper element 26 . if the temperature of thermistor 44 in upper element 26 is equal to the temperature of dial 42 minus 5 ° f ., then heater control board 47 does not energize upper element 26 until the temperature at thermistor 44 in upper element 26 is less than the turn on temperature ( which is typically the temperature set on temperature adjust dial 42 minus some increment such as 5 °) minus 5 ° f . heater control board 47 then energizes top element 26 . heating of the water in tank 16 then continues in a conventional manner until the turn off temperature of temperature adjust dial 42 is achieved . by energizing upper and lower elements 26 in the manner described above , the significant advantages of the invention can be achieved . for example , energizing the element briefly ( e . g ., about 5 - 10 seconds ) and detecting temperature with a thermistor allows heater control board 47 to prevent elements 26 from being energized for long periods of time in a “ dry fire ” condition , thereby avoiding substantial degradation of the elements and significantly extending their life . thus , the terms “ substantially no degradation ” refers to little or no element degradation that occurs for an element energization period of about 5 seconds and up to about 10 seconds . energizing the element for longer than about 10 seconds can result in substantial degradation under dry fire conditions . use of thermistor 44 allows for a much more accurate and responsive detection of temperature than the use of more conventional temperature - sensing technology , such as bimetallic strip . this allows the significant temperature changes which occur in a short period of time under a dry fire condition to be detected with only a short ( e . g ., about 5 - 10 seconds ) energizing of the heating element 26 . in this way , a dry fire condition can be detected virtually immediately to prevent overheating of the element , which significantly reduces its useful life . also , use of thermistors 44 eliminates the electromechanical thermostats and their associated foaming aprons , fiberglass batts and the like . small doughnut - shaped foam dams surround the bases 27 and permit foam insulation to cover more surface area of the tank . an alternative set of operational steps in accordance with the invention is shown in fig8 . in this embodiment of the invention , during control power up of the water heater , heater control board 47 checks to see if there is a need for heating of the water at lower element 26 by measuring the temperature at thermistor 44 and comparing the measured temperature with that of temperature adjust dial 42 . if such a demand exists , heater control board 47 energizes lower element 26 and continuously checks to see if the water heating demand is satisfied . once this heating demand is satisfied , heater control board 47 then repeats this process for the upper element 26 . the improvements described above result in a highly energy efficient water heater . the result is that the thickness of the foam insulation positioned between tank 16 and jacket 12 can be reduced by up to 50 %. in other words , a 2 ″ foaming cavity can be reduced to a 1 ″ cavity , and still retain the same energy input . although this invention has been described in connection with specific forms thereof , it will be appreciated that a wide variety of equivalents may be substituted for the specific elements described herein without departing from the spirit of the scope of this invention as described in the appended claims . for example , water tank 16 may be made of a number of sizes and shapes and may be made from a wide variety of materials such as metals and / or plastics . foam insulation 14 may similarly be made from any number of high energy efficient foam insulations well known in the art . the bottom of the water tank 16 may have various shapes , either with lower flanges as shown or as a flat construction . other modifications may be made , including use of foam insulation between the bottom of tank 16 and bottom pan 20 . also , outer jacket 12 may be made from any number of materials such as rolled metals , preferably steel , or extruded vinyl materials and the like . also , top pan 18 and bottom pan 20 may be deep - drawn , stamped or the like , or be made from metal , plastic or other suitable materials . various types of heating elements may be utilized so long as they are used in conjunction with thermistor sensors 44 . | 5 |
the inventor has discovered that the difficulty experienced with marine riser disconnect operations when the riser 1 contains substantially gas can be reduced by equalizing the pressure ps acting on the internal shoulder 2 of the wellhead connector 6 and the the seawater pressure po acting external to the wellhead connector 6 . this can be accomplished by either of two manners . the first manner is to equalize the internal riser pressure pi and the hydrostatic head of the seawater po acting eternal to the wellhead connector 6 . this is an indirect way of equalizing ps and po because pi will stay equal to ps when the wellhead connector 6 is lifted to a position sufficient to establish fluid communication between the wellhead connector internal shoulder 2 and the inside of the riser 1 . the second manner is to equalize the pressure ps acting on the wellhead internal shoulder 2 and the seawater pressure po acting on external to the wellhead connector 6 . this a direct manner of equalizing ps and po because pi is not involved . in regards to the first manner , one embodiment for equalizing pi and po is to route seawater through at least one of the ports 15 located in the marine riser 1 to provide unimpaired fluid communication between inside of the riser 1 and the seawater on the outside of the riser 1 . the ports 15 , as shown in fig3 can be in the form of a riser fill - up valve as shown in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 621 , 655 . this valve responds to the large pressure differential that occurs across the riser 1 when the riser 1 contains gas , and opens to permit seawater to enter the riser 1 and equalize pi and po . before encountering the gas kick , ps is approximately equal to po , and pi is slightly larger than po , since the riser contains drilling mud which is normally heavier than seawater . after the gas kick enters the marine riser , pi drops drastically . however , ps remains equal to po until the wellhead connector 6 is lifted to a position sufficient to establish fluid between the internal wellhead connector shoulder 2 and the inside of the riser 1 . when this occurs , ps drops drastically resulting in a pressure imbalance across the wellhead connector 6 and creating a suction - like effect on the marine riser 1 . if at this time the wellhead connector 6 is disengaged from the subsea wellhead 4 larger than normal tension must be applied to disengaged the wellhead connector 6 from the subsea wellhead 4 . this increased tension coupled with the large pressure differential occurring across the marine riser 1 significantly increases the chance of riser collapse . this imbalance continues until the ports 15 are opened allowing seawater to enter the marine riser 1 and wellhead connector 6 and equalize the pi and po , thereby increasing ps . by balancing all the forces acting on the wellhead connector 6 , the suction - like effect is eliminated . as a result less tension is required to lift the marine riser 1 away from the subsea wellhead 4 , thereby reducing the chance of riser collapse during disconnect operations . the opening of the ports 15 can be wired parallel with the wellhead connector disconnect function so that the port will open when the connector dogs 10 are released , keeping the pressures po , pi , and ps close to each other during the disconnect operation . another embodiment for equalizing pi and po is to route seawater through the wellhead connector 6 . this can be done by providing at least one opening 12 , as shown in fig4 in the wellhead connector 6 such that the seawater enters through the wellhead connector 6 . the opening mechanism of the port 12 can be wired such that it opens when the connector dogs are released . the ports 12 in the wellhead connector 6 serve the same purpose as the ports 15 in the marine riser i . e ., to eliminate the pressure imbalance occurring across the wellhead connector 6 and marine riser 1 by increasing pi and ps to the point where they are the same as po . pi can also be equalized to po by closing a diverter or blowout preventer positioned above the riser connector 6 to allow the internal gas pressure to build prior to disengaging he wellhead connector 6 from the subsea wellhead 4 . however , allowing the pressure to build up in this manner could present a safety hazard . in regards to the second manner of equalizing ps and po , a choke is positioned downstream of the wellhead connector internal shoulder 2 so that such shoulder is on the high pressure side of the choke rather than the low pressure side . choke is defined as the smallest orifice the seawater flows through on its path from the outside of the wellhead connector 6 around the locking dogs 10 into the marine riser 1 . the pressure upstream of the choke is substantially higher than the pressure downstream of the choke due to the the large pressure drop across a relatively small area . the inventor has discovered that by moving the position of the choke relative to the position of wellhead connector shoulder 2 ps can be maintained about equal to po while the wellhead connector 6 and the subsea wellhead 4 are still engaged . in a conventional wellhead connector design , as shown in fig5 the choke is the orifice 8 between the released wellhead connector dogs 10 and the external diameter of the subsea wellhead 4 . with the choke in this position , the internal wellhead shoulder 2 is downstream of the choke ; consequently , it is on the low pressure side of the choke . as a result , ps is small in comparison to po . although there is another orifice 5 , the gap between the shoulder 2 and the top of the wellhead 4 , it is larger than orifice 8 . therefore , it is not the choke . the problem with the conventional design is the wellhead connector internal shoulder 2 is downstream of the choke . the solution to this problem is to move the position of the choke , relative to the position of the shoulder 2 , so that the wellhead connector shoulder 2 is upstream of the choke and is on the high pressure side of the choke . an equivalent statement of the solution to the problem is to position the choke so that it is downstream of the wellhead connector internal shoulder 2 . if this is done , the pressure acting on the shoulder 2 is closer to po because the choke applies a substantial back pressure to the surface of the shoulder 2 . one method for moving the location of the choke so that the shoulder 2 is upstream of the choke is to extend the length of the sealing element 7 , as shown in fig6 such that it remains alongside the internal diameter of the subsea wellhead 4 while the wellhead connector 6 is engaged with the subsea wellhead 4 . thus , the smallest orifice the seawater must travel through on its path around the wellhead connector 6 to inside of the marine riser 1 is now the opening 11 between the extended sealing element 7 and the internal diameter of the wellhead 4 . with this extended seal , the choke is orifice 11 and not orifice 8 ; consequently , the wellhead internal shoulder 2 is on the high side of the choke . as a result , ps is maintained at approximately the same po . in other words , ps , which initially is equal to po , is prevented from effectively communicating with the inside of the riser 1 ( where pi is relatively small in comparison to po ) while the wellhead connector 6 and the subsea wellhead 4 are engaged , thereby maintaining ps at a relatively high pressure . the length of tee sealing element 7 required for each wellhead connector 6 will vary . the sealing element 7 should be designed against collapse under outside hydrostatic pressure and also against mechanical jamming during connect or disconnect operations . another embodiment for ensuring that the choke is downstream of the shoulder 2 is the positioning of a wear bushing 13 , as shown in fig7 a and 7b , between the wellhead connector 6 and the subsea wellhead 4 . the bushing 13 serves the same purpose as the elongated sealing element 7 shown in fig6 . the purpose being to shift the position of the choke from orifice 8 to orifice 11 . the length of the bushing 13 should be such that it remains alongside the internal diameter of the wellhead 4 for as long as the wellhead connector 6 remains engaged with the wellhead 4 . the method disclosed herein is also applicable to facilitate the disconnect operation of a marine riser and a subsea wellhead when a reverse wellhead connector is used to connect them . in this type of wellhead , the wellhead connector is a male fitting with the locking dogs attached to its pin end and the subsea wellhead is a female fitting with grooves incorporated into the box end . various modifications and alterations in the described methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art of the foregoing description which does not depart from the spirit of the invention . | 4 |
embodiments of the liquid crystal display apparatus of the present invention will now be explained . the arrangement of the ips liquid crystal display apparatus according to the present embodiment will first be explained . the ips liquid crystal display apparatus according to the present embodiment is mainly comprised of , similarly to conventional ones , a tft array substrate , a counter substrate , a sealing agent , spacers ( secondary spacers ) and a liquid crystal layer . spacers will be discussed in details later . the tft array substrate is a substrate made , for instance , of glass provided with scanning signal lines , image signal lines , tfts and liquid crystal driving electrodes which are arranged in a form of an , and there are further arranged common electrodes and common signal lines . the scanning signal lines are arranged in that a plurality thereof are arranged at equal intervals and in a parallel manner , and the image signal lines in that a plurality thereof are arranged at equal intervals and in a parallel manner and further as to be orthogonal to the scanning signal lines via an insulating film . tfts are respectively arranged at each intersection at which the scanning signal lines and image signal lines intersect , to each of which a liquid crystal driving electrode is connected . the common electrodes are arranged in that at least a part thereof are formed to oppose and to be parallel with respect to the liquid crystal driving electrodes , and common signal lines for writing in signals to the common electrodes are disposed vertical with respect to the common electrodes . it should be noted that at least a part of the common electrodes and common signal lines intersect , and are arranged in that signals may be written in through these intersections . the counter substrate is disposed as to oppose the tft array substrate , and the counter substrate is formed with coloring layers of red , green and blue as well as a protecting film for preventing these coloring layers from melting to the liquid crystal layer . for maintaining a predetermined gap between the tft array substrate and the counter substrate in regions formed with liquid crystal driving electrodes constant , there are interposed primary spacers in these regions between the tft array substrate and the counter substrate . the primary spacers are of spherical shape having a diameter of approximately 5 μm , and a plurality of these are used which are made of synthetic resin . the reason for using those made of plastic is that spacers of plastic are comparatively soft and do not damage the tft elements . alternatively , materials of the silica ( sio 2 ) may be selected dimensional variations are approximately 0 . 3 μm ( average deviation ), whereby the gap between the tft array substrate and opposing substrate can be maintained constant . the amount of primary spacers that is to be dispersed into the gap between the tft array substrate and counter substrate is suitably selected for achieving a desired uniformity for the gap . such spherical spacers are easily available and are effective in achieving a desired dimensional accuracy . a plurality of secondary spacers are employed which may be of columnar , strip - like or spherical shape . in view of costs thereof , it is often the case that spacers of glass are employed . in any case , they are easily available and are effective in achieving a desired dimensional accuracy . while materials for the primary spacers are selected from materials which are soft and do not damage the tft elements , those for the secondary spacers are selected from hard ones . the sealing agent is for adhering the tft array substrate and counter substrate together at their peripheral portions while maintaining a predetermined gap therebetween , and secondary spacers are interposed in the seal member for maintaining a predetermined gap between the tft array substrate and counter substrate at their peripheral portions constant , and the tft array substrate and counter substrate are adhered together . in this gap of a predetermined interval , a liquid crystal layer characteristics of liquid crystal having bifringence is interposed and held . polarizers are arranged in the upper side of the tft array substrate and in the lower side of the counter substrate . considerations of a relationship between visual recognition of irregularities in colors and transmittance of light corresponding to each color will now be explained which is a technical background which has enabled the ips liquid crystal display apparatus of the present invention . fig1 is a graph according to embodiment 1 of the present invention showing dependency of transmittance on wavelength in ips modes which have been confirmed through simulations performed by the inventors of the present invention . the vertical axis represents wavelength λ ( nm ), and the lateral axis transmittance (%). here , dependence of transmittancy on wavelength are shown in case values for retardation ( δn )· d are 200 , 275 , and 300 nm , respectively . in case ( δn )· d differed by 100 nm , a difference δ t 1 in transmittance by approximately 18 % was generated in case of wavelength of green light ( 544 nm ). a difference by 25 nm caused a difference δ t 2 in transmittance by approximately 8 %. wavelength of high luminosity to the human eye range in the proximity of 550 nm . thus , it is important in general displays that few variations occur in the transmittance of green light . our . inventors have found out that irregularities of colors on the display were recognized in case the transmittance of green light differs by 5 % or more . in order to keep such differences in transmittance of light of colors within 5 %, variations in retardation values generated in the panel surface are required be not more than 20 nm ( δn )·( d max − d min ) ≦ 20 nm , wherein dmax is the thickness of the liquid crystal layer governed by the primary spacers 8 in convex portions of uneveness on tft portions 3 , and dmin is the thickness of the liquid crystal layer which is dependent on the spherical sizes of the primary spacers 8 in concave portions of uneveness on pixel electrodes 2 ). the δn of liquid crystal materials employed in the ips mode is in the range of 0 . 05 to 0 . 15 . therefore , ( d max − d min )≦ 0 . 4 μm needs to be satisfied . from the above facts , it can be understood that the retardation of the ips panel needs to satisfy 0 ≦( δn )·( d max − d min )≦ 20 nm , that is , variations in gaps within the panel surface needs to satisfy d max − d min ≦ 0 . 4 μm in order to manufacture an ips panel without irregularities in colors . next , an example of an ips panel for realizing embodiment 1 will be shown . fig2 is a sectional explanatory view of the ips panel according to embodiment 1 of the present invention . in fig2 reference numerals 1 to 10 , 17 and 18 are identical with those as shown in fig1 to 14 which show arrangements of the prior art , and reference numeral 100 denotes an ips panel according to the present embodiment . further , numeral 16 denotes a flatting film for eliminating concave portions / convex portions on the tft array substrate 1 . in the drawings , the liquid crystal driving electrodes and the common electrodes and image signal lines are formed to be opposing each other on the tft array substrate 1 , and the region on which the liquid crystal driving electrodes and the common electrodes and image signal lines are formed to be opposing each other is called a display region . fig3 ( a ), 3 ( b ), 4 ( a ) and 4 ( b ) are sectional explanatory views showing , as a flowchart , manufacturing processes of a tft array substrate employed in the ips panel as shown in fig2 . further , fig5 ( a ), 5 ( b ) and 5 ( c ) are sectional explanatory views showing , as a flowchart , manufacturing processes of the ips panel as shown in fig2 . in step 1 , a tft array substrate 1 for a known ips panel was prepared as shown in fig3 ( a ). then , in step 2 , a flatting film 16 was applied on the surface of the tft array substrate 1 through spin coat method to assume a thickness of not less than 3 μm and not more than 10 μm . the flatting film 16 is of an organic film of , for instance , photosensitive acrylic resin or of acrylic resin . it has been found that a desired thickness can be obtained in case application is performed by using a spinner wherein the viscosity is not less than 15 cp and not more than 50 cp , preferably around 30 cp , and the rotational speed is not less than 500 rpm and not more than 2 , 000 rpm , and preferably 800 rpm . the reason for setting the viscosity to not less than 15 cp is that a viscosity smaller than this can not present sufficient viscosity whereby the thickness after application is too thin and the variation in thickness becomes large , and for setting the viscosity to not more than 50 cp that in case the viscosity is larger than this , the viscosity becomes too large and uniformity in film decreases . further , the reason for setting the revolution speed to not less than 500 rpm and not more than 2 , 000 rpm is that a desired thickness and variation in film thickness can be realized when in this range . the inventors have confirmed that application can be performed while the difference between the maximum in - plane film thickness tmax and the minimum in - plane film thickness tmin is not more than 0 . 4 μm under such conditions for application . in other words , the inventors have confirmed that application which satisfies t max − t min ≦ 0 . 4 μm can not be realized unless thickness of the planation film 16 is not less than 3 μm . after applying the flatting film 16 , resist 26 was applied . this resist 26 may be any resist as employed in general photolithography techniques . in the following step 3 , the electrodes 17 were exposed through exposure and developing as shown in fig4 ( a ), and in step 4 , the tft array substrate having a shape as shown in fig4 ( b ) was obtained . the ips panel was manufactured through steps as shown in fig5 ( a ) to 5 ( c ) by using the tft array substrate 1 and counter substrate 4 as formed in the above processes . in step 1 , alignment layer 23 were formed on the tft array substrate 1 and the counter substrate 4 for aligning liquid crystal 7 on the substrate surfaces as shown in fig5 ( a ). generally , transferring methods are taken for such applications . the thickness is preferably in the range of 500 to 1 , 500 å . polyimide is favorably used as a material thereof , and any alignment layer for tn ( twisted nematic ) liquid crystal may be used . the alignment process can be easily performed through known rubbing methods . the rubbing direction is set to be the aligning direction as explained in the theory of conventional ips modes ( see fig1 ). then , in step 2 , primary spacers 8 were dispersed on the tft array substrate 1 as shown in fig5 ( b ), and a sealing agent 9 mixed with secondary spacers was applied onto the counter substrate 4 as shown in fig5 ( b ) ( note that spacers 10 have been omitted in the drawings , and reference should be made to the arrangement of fig2 ). for the application , methods such as screen printing , dispensing or transferring are generally employed . as for the material for the seal member 9 , thermosetting epoxy resin or uv curing resin is generally used . lastly , in step 3 as shown in fig5 ( c ), overlapping was performed by opposing the alignment layers of the tft array substrate 1 and counter substrate 4 which have been treated in the above processes , and compression through heat or ultraviolet light was performed to form a panel . by performing enclosing of liquid crystal , the ips panel was obtained . it should be noted that for detailed arrangements of the ips panel after completion , one should refer to fig2 . in the arrangement of the ips panel according to this embodiment and as shown in fig2 a flatting film 16 was applied on a conventional tft array substrate 1 to assume a thickness of not less than 3 μm and to satisfy t max − t min ≦ 0 . 4 μm , whereby in - plane uniformity of liquid crystal 7 could be achieved . in this manner , the retardation of the panel in - plane ( δn )·( d max − d min ) could be made to be not more than 20 nm . with this arrangement , irregularities in color which occurred on conventional ips panels could be eliminated and an ips panel of high display quality as a display could be manufactured . fig6 is a sectional explanatory view of an ips panel according to embodiment 2 of the present invention . fig7 is a plan explanatory view of a single pixel of the ips panel for explaining the second embodiment of the present invention . in fig6 and 7 , reference numeral 200 denotes an ips panel according to this embodiment , and reference numerals 1 to 14 , 17 and 18 are identical with those as shown in explanatory views related to embodiment 1 as well as the prior art . 16 denotes a flatting film as explained in embodiment 1 . further , 19 denotes contact holes for providing contact between drain portions of tfts 14 and the liquid crystal driving electrodes 21 or between the common signal lines 13 and the common electrodes 22 . manufacturing methods for the liquid crystal panel as shown in fig6 will be explained based on fig8 ( a ), 8 ( b ) and 9 . fig8 ( a ), 8 ( b ) and 9 are sectional explanatory views showing , as a flowchart , manufacturing processes of an ips panel according to embodiment 2 . the reference numerals used herein are identical with those as used in explanatory views related to embodiment 1 and the prior art . this embodiment differs from the former only in that the shape of the tft array substrate 1 is different , and all other arrangements are identical to those of embodiment 1 , so than only the manufacturing method for the tft array substrate 1 will be explained in here , and other factors of manufacturing are identical to those as described in embodiment 1 . in step 1 as shown in fig8 ( a ), scanning signal lines 11 , image signal lines 12 , common signal lines 13 , tfts 14 , and electrodes 17 were formed on a glass substrate , similarly to conventional manufacturing methods of tft array substrates . that is , the difference between embodiment 1 and the present one lies in the point that no pixel electrodes 2 are formed in step 1 . then , in step 2 , a flatting film 16 was formed on the substrate surface through spin coat method to assume a thickness of approximately 3 μm , as shown in fig8 ( b ). forming methods of the flatting film 16 were identical with those of embodiment 1 . thereafter , etching of the flatting film 16 on the electrodes 17 was performed through photolithography , and contact holes 19 were formed . then , in step 3 , pixel electrodes 2 were formed on the flatting film 16 as shown in fig9 . materials suitably used for the pixel electrodes 2 are electric conductors such as chrome , aluminum or ito in a form of a thin film . it is preferable that the forming method be spattering or evaporation . after forming the thin film of electric conductors , electrodes of shapes as shown in fig7 were formed through photolithography method . at this time , the liquid crystal driving electrodes 21 and the tfts 14 as well as the common electrodes 22 and the common signal lines 13 were respectively connected through the contact holes 19 as shown in fig7 and 9 related to step 3 . by adhering the tft array substrate 1 thus obtained to the counter substrate 4 as shown in embodiment 1 , an ips panel was obtained . since pixel electrodes 2 were formed in lower portions of the flatting film 16 in embodiment 1 , losses in effective voltage applied to the liquid crystal were generated . therefore , the voltage for driving the liquid crystal 7 was required to be high , whereby electricity consumption of the ips panel was made large . in the arrangement of the ips panel as shown in fig6 and 7 , the pixel electrodes 2 are disposed at portions at which they contact the liquid crystal 7 , whereby more voltage can be applied to the liquid crystal 7 than compared to the arrangement of the ips panel of embodiment 1 . further , the provision of a planation film 16 makes it possible to present similar effects as presented by the ips panel of embodiment 1 . with this arrangement , irregularities in color which occurred on conventional ips panels could be eliminated and an ips panel of high display quality as a display could be manufactured . fig1 is a sectional explanatory view of an ips panel according to embodiment 3 of the present invention . in the drawings , reference numeral 300 denotes an ips panel according to this embodiment , and all other reference numerals are identical with those as shown in explanatory views related to embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 . composing materials for the ips panel are identical with those as described in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 ( in fig1 , materials as used in fig6 of embodiment 2 were employed ). here , spherical diameters of primary spacers 8 dispersed in the display region and secondary spacers 10 mixed with the sealing agent 9 will be explained . the diameter of the primary spacers 8 was defined as d 1 , and the diameter of the secondary spacers 10 as d 2 . the thickness of the coloring layer 18 of the counter substrate was defined as a . in the arrangement of ips panels 100 or 200 as shown in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 , planation of the tft array substrate 1 was achieved through the flatting film 16 , so that the diameter of the spacers 10 in the sealing agent could be set by the following equation . in arrangements of conventional tft array substrates 1 , uneveness in which difference in height of the tft array substrate and depth of the pixel electrodes is approximately 1 μm were generated on the tft array substrate 1 due to arrangements of the tft portions 3 or pixel electrodes 2 , and display deficiencies owing to the uneveness were generated . in the present embodiment , a diameter for the secondary spacers 10 contained in the sealing agent 9 and a diameter for the primary spacers 1 that are dispersed in the display in - plane can be precisely set . conventionally , uneveness in which difference in height of the tft array substrate and depth of the pixel electrodes is approximately 1 μm were generated in the display region of the tft array substrate 1 , and the uneveness also existed in a region on which the sealing agent was formed which are due to scanning signal lines or image signal lines . as shown in fig1 , flatting of the tft array substrate is performed in the present embodiment through the flatting film , and the diameter of spacers can be determined by the above mentioned equation . in manufacturing processes , it may happen that the compressing pressure controlling the gap between the substrates may vary , or that processes for dispersing the primary spacers vary . the ips panel according to the present embodiment can be manufacturing by assembling the tft array substrate and counter substrate at high accuracy regardless of variations in uneveness on the tft array substrate or in changes processing conditions occurring in assembling processes to complete the same as a liquid crystal panel . with this arrangement , no variation in the thickness of liquid crystal 7 in the proximity of the sealing agent 9 and the thickness d of liquid crystal 7 in the central portion of the display surface were caused anymore . by determining the diameters for the secondary spacers 10 contained in the sealing agent as described in this embodiment 3 , no differences were generated in the gap of the panel in the proximity of the sealing agent and in the gap of the in - plane panel . with this arrangement , irregularities in color which occurred on conventional ips panels could be eliminated and an ips panel of high display quality as a display could be manufactured . in the liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention , the in - plane retardation of the display apparatus ( δn )·( d max − d min ) is not less than 0 nm and not more than 20 nm in case the largest gap of gaps between the liquid crystal driving electrodes and counter substrates within the display surface of the liquid crystal display is denoted d max , and the smallest gap within the display surface of the liquid crystal display dmin . with this arrangement , irregularities in color can be eliminated , and an ips panel of high display quality can be manufactured . in the liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention , the primary spacers are of spherical shape , and the secondary spacers are of columnar shape , whereby they are easily available and present desired dimensional accuracy . in the liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention , an organic film is provided on the tft array substrate having a thickness of not less than 3 μm and not more than 10 μm , whereby uneveness on the tft array substrate can be eliminated . in the liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 4 of the present invention , the liquid crystal driving electrodes and common electrodes are formed on the organic film , whereby driving voltages for the liquid crystal panel can be made low and an ips panel of low electricity consuming can be obtained . in the liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention , uneveness in the organic film are not more than 0 . 4 μm , whereby the retardation can be set to be not less than 0 nm and not more than 20 nm . in the liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 6 of the present invention , the primary spacers are of spherical shape , and the secondary spacers are of columnar shape , whereby they are easily available and present desired dimensional accuracy . in the liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 7 of the present invention , a diameter of the primary spacers is a sum of a thickness of a coloring layer provided on the opposing substrate and of a diameter of the secondary spacers , whereby differences in the gap of the panel in the proximity of the seal member and the gap of the in - plane panel can be eliminated and thus make the gap between the substrates constant , whereby irregularities in color can be eliminated . in manufacturing the tft array substrate as employed in the liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 8 of the present invention , the organic film is formed as a flatting film by applying organic resin having a viscosity of not less than 15 cp and not more than 50 cp onto the surface of the tft array substrate by spin coat method at a rotational speed of not less than 500 rpm and not more than 2 , 000 rpm . with this arrangement , the film thickness of the flatting film can be easily set to be not less than 3 μm and not more than 10 μm , the retardation can be set to be not less than 0 nm and not more than 20 nm , and irregularities in color can be eliminated . in manufacturing the tft array substrate as employed in the liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 9 of the present invention , the organic resin is one selected from photosensitive acrylic resin and acrylic resin , whereby film forming can be performed when the tft is manufactured . in manufacturing the tft array substrate as employed in the liquid crystal display apparatus according to claim 10 of the present invention , the thickness of the flatting film is set to be not less than 3 μm and not more than 10 μm , whereby variations in film thickness of the planation film can be easily made to be not more than 0 . 4 μm . | 6 |
fig1 is a schematic view of an inventive device for optically measuring distance , including the most important components , whose function will be described . inventive device 10 includes a housing 11 , in which a transmission device 12 for generating a measurement signal 13 , and a reception device 14 for detecting measurement signal 16 returning from a target object 15 are located . transmission device 12 includes a light source 17 , which is realized as a semiconductor laser diode 18 in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig1 . it is also possible to use other light sources in the inventive device . laser diode 18 emits a laser beam 20 in the form of a light bundle 22 that is visible to the human eye . laser diode 18 is operated via a control device 24 , which generates a modulation of electrical input signal 19 of diode 18 via appropriate electronics . via a modulation of the diode current that is carried out in the manner , it is ensured that optical measurement signal 13 — which is used to measure distance — is also modulated in a desired manner . laser beam bundle 20 then passes through collimation optics 26 designed as a lens 28 , which is depicted simply as a single lens 30 in fig1 . in this exemplary embodiment , lens 28 is optionally located on an adjustment device 32 , which serves basically to change the position of the lens in all three spacial directions , e . g ., for adjustment purposes . as an alternative , collimation optics 26 may be a component of laser diode 18 , or it may be fixedly connected therewith . after passing through lens 28 , an , e . g ., amplitude - modulated signal 13 results in the form of a parallel light bundle 37 , which propagates along optical axis 38 of transmission unit 12 , as depicted schematically in fig1 . a preferably switchable beam deflector 40 is also located in transmission branch 12 of the inventive device that makes it possible to redirect measurement signal 13 to reception unit 14 of device 10 directly , i . e ., inside the device , and to avoid a target object . in this manner , a reference path 42 inside the device is created , which may be used to calibrate or compensate for the measurement system . when a distance measurement is carried out using the inventive device , measurement beam 13 leaves housing 11 of the inventive device via an optical window 44 in front wall 45 of device 10 . the opening of the optical window may be secured , e . g ., with a shutter 46 . to perform the measurement , measuring device 10 is pointed at a target object 15 , whose distance 48 from the measuring device is to be determined . signal 16 , which is reflected or scattered on target object 15 , forms a returning ray bundle 49 or 50 , a certain portion of which returns to measuring device 10 . returning measurement radiation 16 is coupled into the measuring device through an entrance window 47 in front side 45 of device 10 . in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig1 , measurement radiation 16 is deflected to reception optics 52 . two returning measurement beam bundles 49 and 50 for two different target object distances 48 are sketched in fig1 , as an example and for purposes of illustration . for large object distances — with “ large ” in this case meaning large compared with the focal distance of reception optics 52 — signal 16 that is returning from the target object enters parallel to optical axis 51 of reception device 14 . in the exemplary embodiment depicted in fig1 , this case is represented by measurement beam bundle 49 . as the object distance decreases , returning signal 16 that enters the measuring device becomes increasingly slanted relative to axis 51 of reception unit 14 , due to a parallax . beam bundle 50 is drawn in fig1 as an example of a returning measurement beam bundle of this type located within close range of the distance - measuring device . reception optics 52 , which are also depicted only schematically as a single lens in the exemplary embodiment in fig1 , collimates returning measurement signal 16 and focuses its beam bundle on photosensitive surface 66 of a reception detector 54 . detector 54 includes — in order to detect the optical measurement radiation — at least one photodiode , e . g ., a pin diode , an apd ( avalanche photo diode ), or at least one ccd chip , as the photosensitive element 66 . of course , other surface detectors known to one skilled in the technical art may also be used as reception detectors . the surface detector is typically oriented such that its active photosensitive surface 66 is perpendicular to the optical axis of the reception branch . the incident optical signal is converted by reception detector 54 into an electrical signal 55 , and it is sent to the inventive device for further evaluation in an evaluation unit 36 . reception optics 52 — which are also mounted on adjustment device 53 in the exemplary embodiment in fig1 , but is not limited thereto — are located approximately at the distance of their focal width away from active surface 66 of the detector , so that incident radiation arriving from a target object located far away from the measuring device is focused exactly on the detector or the active photosensitive surfaces . when the distances from the target object are small , it should be noted , however , that the image position of the measurement spot that is reflected or scattered on the target object is located increasingly further away from the focal point of the reception lens . for example , as the distance between the target object and the measuring device decreases , the returning measurement beam travels increasingly further away from the optical axis of the reception device , thereby deviating more and more from the optical axis of the transmission device . in addition , the returning measurement beam bundle is no longer focused exactly on the detector surface , due to the changed imaging conditions on the reception lens . as the target object distance decreases , the size of the measurement spot on the detector surface increases . additional components located in the measuring device that are not related to what is required to understand the inventive device will not be discussed further in this context . it should merely be noted that the measuring device also includes a control and evaluation unit 36 , of course . the relationships between the distance of the target object from the measuring device and the position and size of the measurement spot on the detector surface are depicted schematically in fig2 as an overview . fig2 shows a top view of a detector surface 64 per the related art in the direction of view of measurement signal 16 , which is returning from the measurement object . reference numeral 56 labels the common plane of optical axis 38 of transmission unit 12 and optical axis 51 of reception unit 14 . measurement spot 58 of returning radiation 16 for very large object distances 48 is located on optical axis 51 of reception unit 14 and is focused on surface 64 of the detector , forming a small spot . since detector 54 is located approximately at the distance of the focal width of reception optics 52 , light that comes from infinity , optically speaking , is focused directly on the detector surface , due to the principles of optical imagery . to illustrate the relationships , a “ classical ” detector surface 64 of a detector per the related art is shown as a dashed line in fig2 . as distance 48 of measuring device 10 from target object 15 decreases , returning signal 16 strikes reception lens 52 at an increasing slant , so that the measurement spot on the detector surface also travels in the direction of arrow 61 in fig2 . measurement spot 60 for a short object distance 48 of target object 15 from measuring device 10 , which is also sketched in fig2 , has therefore traveled away from optical axis 51 of the reception device , and it is greatly enlarged in terms of its expansion , in particular its lateral expansion . when measurement distance 48 of measurement object 15 from the measuring device is very short , a measurement spot 62 of returning measurement signal 16 appears in the detector plane , which is also markedly increased in size and also appears further away from optical axis 51 of reception unit 14 . a displacement of this type of the measurement spot to be detected with relative distance 48 of a measurement object 15 from measuring device 10 may result — for very short object distances — in returning signal 16 no longer striking the active surface of measurement receiver 54 , as indicated by dashed surface 64 of a “ classical ” measurement receiver shown in fig2 . to account for the variation in size and position of the measurement spot in the detection plane of reception unit 14 , active photosensitive surface 66 of inventive detector 54 is designed accordingly and will be described in greater detail below . fig3 shows a first exemplary embodiment of photosensitive surface 66 of a detector of the inventive device . in this case , detector 54 of reception unit 14 includes a plurality of photosensitive surfaces 70 , 72 , and 74 , which are separated from each other and , in entirety , form photosensitive surface 66 of the detector . in particular , the photosensitive surfaces of the detector are electrically separated from each other , thereby making it possible to actively switch only one of the photosensitive surfaces 70 through 74 at a time , that is , e . g ., to apply a voltage signal to it , thereby enabling the incident light to be converted to an electrical signal . subregions 70 , 72 , and 74 of the detector may all have the same size , i . e ., surface area , in particular , or they may be designed with different sizes . to activate a photosensitive subregion of the detector , a connection for each surface may be guided out of the diode housing , for example , thereby making it possible to trigger and selectively use the particular photosensitive subelement via a contacting or triggering of a connection of this type . this is indicated via electrical connection lines 57 depicted symbolically in fig3 through 8 . to this end , appropriate switching means are provided that make it possible to activate the preferred subregion or subregions of detector 54 depending on the control signal . as an alternative , when several surfaces are involved , a multiplexer could also be integrated directly in detector 54 , e . g ., in a photodiode . for very large object distances 48 between target object 15 and measuring device 10 , measuring spot 58 comes to rest entirely on photosensitive subregion 70 . in this case , i . e ., for large measurement distances , only photosensitive surface 70 would be activated using appropriate switching means , thereby enabling it to function as a detector surface and convert the optical measurement signal into an electrical measurement signal . subregions 72 and 74 of the detector , which are also present , are not activated . no voltage is applied to these photosensitive surfaces , for example . light that strikes these surfaces therefore does not cause an electrical signal to be generated . if extraneous light from other objects that are located closer to the measuring device than object 15 to be measured at this time would enter the measuring device , this extraneous light would not be detected , because photosensitive surfaces 72 and 74 are not activated , i . e ., they are not switched on . this extraneous light would therefore not contribute to increased background noise relative to the measurement signal from active surface 70 generated by measurement bundle 58 . active surface 70 , which has been activated in particular for very large measurement distances , advantageously has a lateral expansion in the detection plane such that it ensures that measurement spot 58 of measurement radiation 16 or 49 returning from a remote target object of this type is detected in entirety . a direction that is perpendicular to the measurement signal direction is the lateral direction in this case . the dimensions of photosensitive surfaces 70 should therefore be essentially the same or slightly larger than the dimensions of a measurement spot 58 for very large object distances . if — as object distance 48 decreases — the measurement spot now travels away from original reception axis 51 , in the direction of arrow 61 , then the diameter and / or the lateral expansion of the measurement spot increases , as illustrated in fig2 . the lateral direction is the direction perpendicular to direction 61 , in which the measurement beam bundle travels . the surface detector has an elongated shape overall in direction 61 of a beam displacement , as target object distances 48 decrease . the expansion in the direction of travel of the measurement signal is greater — and is much greater , in particular — than it is in the orthogonal , i . e ., lateral direction . when the returning measurement beam bundle travels , a situation arises in which the measurement beam bundle passes at least partially over , e . g ., parts of both photosensitive surface 70 and 72 , as indicated in fig3 using measurement spot 63 , which is shown as a dashed line . in a situation such as this , an appropriate measurement technique is used to detect which photosensitive surface 70 or 72 receives the larger portion of the reflected measurement beam bundle ( bundle 63 in this case ), so that , when a distance measurement is carried out in this configuration , only that photosensitive surface ( 70 or 72 in this case ) may be activated that receives the largest portion of returning radiation . by switching off photodiode surfaces that are not used or are used only partially , the noise that is produced due to extraneous light may therefore be markedly reduced , since only those subregions of the detector are used that receive the useful light in an optimal manner . those surfaces of the detector that have a relatively large portion of extraneous light are therefore switched off . in determining a distance from a target object 15 , only one photosensitive surface of the detector is therefore active , in this embodiment in particular . in alternative embodiments , several subregions may also be activated , in particular when the measurement signal strikes several subregions simultaneously and , e . g ., the sum signal of two subregions contains less noise than the signal of the particular subregions that are considered individually . in this case , several subregions of the detector may also be activated , according to the present invention . to determine that surface or subregion that has the highest portion of useful light and , therefore , the highest signal - to - noise ratio , a short test measurement may be carried out before the actual distance measurement is performed , which serves merely to determine the signal components on the individual photosensitive surfaces of the detector of the reception unit . while this test measurement is being carried out , it is possible to activate all or a majority of the photosensitive subregions of the optical detector , and to read them out individually , in particular , using switching means provided for this purpose . in this manner , it may be determined which photosensitive subregion is receiving the strongest light signal , in order to decide whether only a single surface should be activated , or whether several surfaces — which represent a true partial quantity of all available photosensitive surfaces — yield a better measurement signal , in particular a better signal - to - noise ratio . when measurement distance 48 of a measurement object 48 from measuring device 10 is very short , and the measurement spot will therefore travel further in the direction of arrow 61 in fig3 , it is possible , e . g ., according to the present invention , to only activate photosensitive surface 74 , and to switch off photosensitive surface 70 — which receives no light or only partial light — and to switch off photosensitive surface 72 , which receives only partial light . fig4 shows an alternative embodiment of inventive detector 54 , with which an envelope 165 , which may be placed or drawn around the photosensitive surfaces of the detector , tapers in direction 61 , i . e ., in the direction of travel of the returning measurement beam bundle for a decreasing measurement object distance . the expansion of photosensitive surfaces 170 , 172 or 174 of the detector in the direction perpendicular to optical axis 51 of reception unit 14 is advantageously at least so great that the measurement beam returning from a target object 15 at close range still strikes photosensitive surface 174 at least partially . this means , in particular , that , when distances 48 to a target object 15 are short , photosensitive surface 174 used with distances of this type may also selected to be much smaller , given that the light intensity will be much greater , due to the inverse square law . this advantageously results in a reduction in the electrical capacitance of the detector , so that the response characteristic over time and / or , analogously , the frequency response of the measurement system may be markedly increased . envelope 165 , which may be placed or drawn around the photosensitive surfaces of the detector in the detector plane , therefore advantageously tapers in direction 61 of a beam displacement for decreasing target object distances 48 . an envelope 165 of this type is also shown in fig4 . the envelope basically follows the boundary of the photosensitive subregions , and the course of the envelopes in the direction of arrow 61 , i . e ., in the direction of a beam displacement for decreasing object distances , is interpolated between two subregions . the shapes of the photosensitive surfaces and their number within a detector may vary according to the embodiment . for instance , fig5 shows a detector with a plurality of rectangular photosensitive surfaces 270 , 272 , 274 of different sizes , whose envelope 265 tapers in direction 61 of a beam displacement for decreasing target object distances 48 . according to the present invention , photosensitive surfaces 270 , 272 , 274 may be activated — i . e ., switched on or off — individually when a distance measurement is performed . fig6 shows a further embodiment with only two separate , photosensitive surfaces 370 , 372 , which may also be activated individually using the principle described above . basically , the envelope , which may also be placed around the photosensitive surfaces of the detector , may also expand in the direction of decreasing object distances . an embodiment of this type with an envelope that expands in direction 61 — as shown , e . g ., in fig7 and 8 — has the advantage that it accounts for the reduced energy density of the returning measurement signal for short measurement object distances . due to a short measurement object distance , the returning measurement beam bundle is no longer optimally focused in the detection plane , since collimation optics 52 of a measuring device of this type are typically optimized for very large measurement object distances . since the measurement spot increases rapidly in the detection plane for decreasing measurement object distances — refer to the illustration in fig2 — a reduced energy surface density and / or intensity of the measurement signal results on the detector surface . a measurement spot 462 for short measurement object distances is shown in fig7 as an example . in particular when an envelope of detector subregions tapers ( see fig4 through 6 ), this behavior may result in only a small portion of the measurement spot striking the detector surface , and the detected measurement signal would therefore be relatively small . this effect of reduced energy density of the measurement signal on the detector surface may be offset by the fact that the detector surface expands in direction 61 as object distances decrease , or they expand after having been constricted , as depicted in the exemplary embodiment of an inventive detector shown in fig7 . envelope 465 of photosensitive detector surfaces 470 and 472 and 474 widens in direction 61 as object distances decrease , after it has constricted in the region of the transition from subelement 470 to subelement 472 . within the framework of the disclosure of the present invention , a shape of this type should also meet the criterium that the photosensitive surfaces of the detector are designed and located such that an envelope of these areas expands in the direction of a beam displacement as target object distances decrease . with specific embodiments of an inventive device , the number and / or shape of the individual photosensitive surfaces that a detector may have may deviate from the exemplary embodiment depicted in fig7 , of course . for instance , subelement 472 could also be rectangular in design , while other subelements 470 and 474 of the photosensitive surface have the shape shown in fig7 . depending on the design of the measuring device , the effect of the inverse square law and the effect of a more or less poor focusing — which occur as measurement object distances decrease , and which have an opposing effect on the intensity of the measurement signal — should be weighed against each other , and the optimized shape of the photosensitive surfaces should be found , in particular for the envelope of the photosensitive surfaces . fig8 shows another possible embodiment of the inventive idea , with only two photosensitive detector subregions 570 and 572 , whose envelope 565 expands continually in direction 61 , however , as object distances decrease . independently of the shape of the envelopes of the photosensitive surfaces , they may be activated individually , so that the inventive detector may be operated with only one or more subregions . the inventive device is not limited to the embodiments presented in the description . in particular , the inventive device is not limited to the shapes and numbers of individual photosensitive subregions of the detector . | 6 |
the example of a stringed instrument shown in fig1 is an electric guitar g carrying an embodiment of the invention . the guitar includes a neck n and a body b . a head h is provided at the front end of the neck n . one terminal end region of each string s is securely held at the head h guitar by a respective string key nb . a tremolo 1 which provides a guitar bridge is installed on the body b as a tuning device and an interval changing device . the end of each string s opposite the head h is held and fixed by the tremolo 1 . a nut na supports the head side terminal region of each string as the nut is positioned at the front edge of the neck n . a bobbin nc for tuning as is linked to each string key nb . referring to fig2 through 6 , the tremolo 1 is comprised of an arm 50 for swinging the tremolo body 10 . the arm 50 is installed on the tremolo body 10 to be movable freely along with tremolo body 10 . a bottom side or reverse side restoring mechanism 60 restores the tremolo body 10 to an equilibrium state position , which is a neutral position in a balanced state subsequent to the swinging of the tremolo body 10 . in this example , the reverse side mechanism 60 is arranged inside a concave bb that is formed in the reverse or bottom side of the body b . the tremolo body 10 in this example comprises a base plate 11 that is installed to swing freely with respect to the surface ba of the body b . a string support , here a bridge saddle 20 , supports the string s . a tremolo block 40 protrudes below the reverse side or bottom of the base plate 11 . in this example , a plurality , here six , of string supports 20 are arranged on the base plate 11 , each for a respective strings s , for enabling tone color adjustment for each string s . fig3 is a cross section that shows the tremolo device 1 when the tremolo body is in a state of equilibrium as it is not being used and also shows its surrounding elements . fig4 is a bottom view showing the bottom side mechanism during the equilibrium state . in fig3 the first spring 90 , described below , is omitted for convenience of explanation . that same drawing modification is also made in fig7 and 9 . the base plate 11 in this embodiment is supported to swing around stud bolts bs and bs at the knife edges 12 at both lateral sides of the front ( on the neck n side ) of the base plate . a plurality of opening grooves 13 are formed in the base plate aligned with the positions of the various string supports 20 approximately at the center of the base plate 11 . referring to fig2 and 3 , each string support 20 has a saddle holder 21 , a main saddle body 25 and a rotation adjusting rod 31 . the saddle holder 21 is fixed on the base plate 11 to be adjustable back and forth ( left and right in fig3 ) along the body b . the main saddle body 25 is supported to be rotatably adjusted back and forth on the saddle holder 21 through an axle 26 that extends across the stretching direction of the string at a right angle . the main saddle body 25 has a string receiver 27 formed like a curved surface on its front part . a concave 28 for fixing the strings is formed at the rear of the body 25 . each string s is fixed by holding the terminal region of the string s against the inner wall of the string fixing concave 28 by the string fixing block 29 . in addition , the string fixing block 29 is fixed by the tip of a rotation adjusting rod 31 that is screwed into the concave 28 for fixing the string . to the rear of each main saddle body 25 , there is a rotation adjusting rod 31 for freely manipulating the rotation adjustment of the main saddle body 25 back and forth . the bar 31 protrudes rearward and is inserted into the respective opening groove 13 in the base plate 11 . a plate spring 35 on the underside of the base plate 11 continuously urges each rotation adjustment bar 31 in the direction of forward rotation of the main saddle body 25 . an adjusting , fine tuning bolt 36 adjusts string stretching through rotation of each saddle body 25 by the forward and backward movement ( or the vertical movement in the drawing ) by contacting each rotation adjusting bar 31 against the urging of its plate spring 35 . if the adjusting screw 36 is rotated clock - wise , the rotation adjustment bar 31 is moved down ( in the rotation direction to the rear ). as the main saddle body 25 is rotated backward together with the bar 31 , the tensile force ( the musical interval ) rises . contrarily , if the adjustment screw 36 is rotated counter clock - wise , the rotation adjusting bar 31 rises ( in the rotation direction to the front ). this rotates the main saddle body 25 to the front , reducing the tensile force of the string ( or the interval ). each string support 20 is of the rocking type including a saddle holder member 21 and a main saddle body 25 . however , the invention is not limited to this and each string support may be of the non - rocking type which is more general . in this example , there are a plurality of independent string supports 20 each for a string s , thereby enabling tone color adjustment for each string s . however , it is possible to provide a string support member of the one - piece type on the base plate . referring to fig3 and 4 , tremolo block 40 protrudes below the reverse side of the base plate 11 and is inside the opening bc that links the front and rear of the body b . at both sides of the tip or free end of the tremolo block 40 , there are link installation journals 41 , globular shaped in the drawing , that engage respective links 85 , described below , in a freely rotatable fashion . the bottom side mechanism 60 comprises a bottom side base 61 , a first bearing block 62 and a second bearing block 63 , an axial slide 70 , positioning stoppers 71 , a slide block 75 , a movable stopper 80 , links 85 , first springs 90 and a second spring 95 . the bottom side base 61 serves as the installation part for the bottom side mechanism 60 and it is fixed to the bottom side of the body b in the concave bb 610 by a screw , etc . in fig6 an opening 61 o that corresponds in location to the opening bc in the body b is formed slightly to the front at the center of the base 61 . the tip of the tremolo block 40 is positioned in the opening 61 o . a first bearing 62 is provided approximately at the center ( the periphery on the rear side of the opening 61 o ) of the base 61 . a second bearing 63 is provided at the rear . an axial slide 70 is disposed between the first bearing 62 and the second bearing 63 . first spring front side installation blocks 64 support the front end of each first spring 90 . the blocks 64 are installed such that their positions may be adjusted relative to the bottom side base 61 . the blocks 64 are screw threaded on the adjustment screw 66 which is screwed into a screw hole of a bracket 65 that protrudes at the front of the bottom side base 61 . the blocks 64 are adjustable in position by operating the adjusting screw 66 . the foregoing enables the forces exerted by the first springs 90 to match the tension of the respective strings s at various string gauges that are used , by positional adjustment of the blocks 64 . in addition , positioning stoppers 71 regulate the progress or movement of a movable stopper 80 between the first bearing 62 and the second bearing 63 at the side base 61 . a slide block 75 is provided on the front of the axial slide 70 , and a movable stopper 80 is mounted on the rear of the axial slide 70 in such a manner and the block 75 and stopper 80 can be freely moved back and forth along the axial slide 70 . [ 0063 ] fig5 shows an axial hole 76 for the slide block 75 and an axial hole 83 for the movable stopper 80 . the slide block 75 includes the first spring rear installation blocks 77 for supporting the rear ends of the first springs 90 . there are also link installation parts 78 ( globular in the drawing ) that engage with the links 85 , as explained below . the movable stopper 80 has a front part 81 that can either touch or be separated from the rear surface of the slide block 75 , through a buffer m 1 , on the rear surface of the slide block 75 . the moveable stopper 80 has two rear parts 82 that can touch the rear surface of the positioning stoppers 71 , through the buffers m 2 . the rear parts 82 that may protrude parallel to the positioning stoppers 71 at both ends of the front part 81 which is approximately u - shaped in fig5 . the number of positioning stoppers 71 that correspond to the shape of the movable stopper 80 and the shape of the movable stopper itself 80 are not limited by those mentioned above . the buffer m 1 is comprised of rubber , etc . and is interposed between the slide block 75 and the movable stopper 80 . the buffer can absorb the impact of the slide block 75 and the front 81 of the movable stopper 80 contacting each other , thereby reducing the generation of strange noise , such as contact noise , etc . the buffer m 1 is fixed to the surface of the front portion 81 of the movable stopper 80 , although the buffer m 1 can be fixed to the rear surface of the slide block 75 . buffers m 2 are comprised of rubber , etc . and are interposed between the rear parts 82 of the movable stopper 80 and the positioning stoppers 71 , enabling the buffers m 2 to absorb the impact of contact between the rear parts 82 of the movable stopper 80 and the positioning stoppers 71 and thus reducing generation of strange noise , such as contact noise , etc . the buffers m 2 are fixed to the rear surfaces of the positioning stoppers 71 , but the buffers m 2 may be fixed to the rear surfaces 82 of the movable stopper 80 . in addition , contact between the slide block 75 and the front part 81 of the movable stopper 80 and contact between the rear parts 82 of the movable stopper 80 and the positioning stoppers 71 are surface contacts , over comparatively large areas , making it difficult for such deformation of the buffers m 1 and m 2 as will have some effect on tuning . the links 85 link the tip of the tremolo block 40 and the slide block 75 , converting the rotary or swinging movement of the tremolo block 40 into straight - line sliding of the slide block 75 . the links 85 are engaged , in a freely rotatable fashion , on the link installation parts 41 on both sides of the tip of the tremolo block 40 through the tremolo block side engaging holes 86 in the links 85 . linkage between the links 85 and the tremolo block 40 and the slide block 75 is through a ball - joint system . this makes it easy to cope with the incline of the tremolo body 10 , back and forth and right and left , etc . in connection with the adjustment of the tilting of the tremolo body 10 by the stud bolts bs . preferably , the rotation fulcrums of the links 85 and the tremolo block 40 at the link installation parts 41 of the tremolo block 40 are preferably positioned immediately below the swinging axis of the tremolo body 10 ( the line linking two stud bolts bs for fixing the base plate 11 in a freely swinging fashion ). this has an advantage of being able to convert swinging of the tremolo body 10 effectively into the sliding movement of the slide block 75 and the movable stopper 80 . the links 85 are designed to permit both their expansion and contraction . this makes it possible to adjust the initially set angle ( the angle at the time when the tremolo is not in use ) of the tremolo body 10 ( base plate 11 ) by expansion or contraction of the links 85 . an additional advantage is that this can cope with tilting of the stud bolts bs . an example of a freely expandable and contractable link 85 uses a turn - buckle construction of each link 85 . the link 85 comprises a main link body 85 a with outer screw threads provided on its outside periphery , a tremolo block side engagement part 85 b with internal screw threads that fit the outer screw threads of the main link body 85 a as it has the tremolo block side engagement hole 86 , and a slide block side engagement part 85 c with inner screw threads that fit the outer screw threads of the main link body 85 a as the part 85 c has a slide block side engagement hole 87 . when the main link body 85 a is rotated or moved back and forth with respect to the tremolo side engagement part 85 c , the link 85 is either expanded or contracted in length . the structure for making each link 85 expandable or contractable freely is not limited to the example shown above . the first springs 90 and the second spring 95 maintain a state of equilibrium ( a balanced state ) of the tremolo body 10 ( base plate 11 ) by their own spring forces which counters the tensile forces of the strings s installed on the ba side on the surface of the body . together , these elements restore the slide block 75 and the movable stopper 80 , whether they have been moved by the swinging of the tremolo body 10 , to their original positions prior to the shift . the first springs 90 are interposed between the first spring front - side installation blocks 64 toward the front of the bottom side base 61 and the first spring rear - side installation blocks 77 provided on the slide block 75 . the first springs 90 are elongated from their natural length when the tremolo body 10 assumes a state of equilibrium and urges the slide block 75 in the forward direction , the direction of the first spring front - side installation block . the second spring 95 extends between the front 81 of the movable stopper 80 and the second bearing 63 . moreover , the second spring 95 is externally installed on the axial slide 70 . meanwhile , the second spring 95 between the front 81 of the movable stopper 80 and the second bearing 63 is contracted , as compared with its natural length when the tremolo body 10 assumes a state of equilibrium , and this urges the movable stopper 80 in a forward direction , in the direction of the slide block . therefore , the forces of the first springs 90 and the second spring 95 work in the same direction in the tremolo device 1 . the second bearing 63 may be installed so that its position is adjustable with respect to the bottom side mechanism base 61 , and the force of the first springs 90 may be adjusted by adjusting the position of the second bearing 63 . the slide block 75 is positioned at its first slide block position p 1 by the tensile force of the string s and the forces of the first springs 90 and the second spring 95 when the tremolo arm 50 is not in operation . the movable stopper 80 is then positioned at the first movable stopper position q 1 , and the slide block 75 and the front part 81 of the movable stopper 80 , plus the rear parts 82 of the movable stopper 80 and the positioning stoppers 71 touch each other , causing the tremolo body 10 to assume a state of equilibrium . if there were no strings s , the slide block 75 would remain positioned to the front of the first slide block position p 1 due to the force of the first springs 90 and , at the time of tuning by fixing each string s to the string support member 20 , the slide block 75 is caused to gradually move backward ( to the movable stopper side 80 ) due to balancing between the tensile force of the string s and the force of the first springs 90 . in an example of a six - string guitar , the total force of the first springs 90 can be set at [ ⅚ × to −( alpha )] equivalent value where to indicates the total string tensile force after tuning . at the same time , the force of the second spring 95 can be set at [ ⅙ × to +( beta )] equivalent value . the ( alpha ) and ( beta ) are values such that no difference stemming from the change in spring chord is produced , no change is produced in the string tensile force at the time when the hand is placed on the arm or at the time of choking and no fluttering takes place . moreover , ( alpha ) and ( beta ) are set such that ( beta ) is larger than ( alpha ) which is larger than zero . the slide block 75 is positioned at the first slide block position p 1 so as to touch the front part 81 of the movable stopper 80 when the total string tensile force has reached said [ ⅚ × to −( alpha )] equivalent value during the course of tuning . the sum of the force of the first springs 90 and the force of the second spring 95 becomes [ ⅚ × to −( alpha )]+[ ⅙ × to +( beta )]= to +( beta )−( alpha ). as this is greater than the total string tensile force to subsequent to tuning , the slide block 75 and the movable stopper 80 do not move even if the tensile force of the string is increased from the time when the slide block 75 has touched the front part 81 of the movable stopper 80 to the completion of tuning . if the tensile forces of the first springs 90 and the force of the second spring 95 are set as described above , mutilation of one of the six strings would produce a remaining tensile force of approximately 5 / 6 × to . in view of the fact that the force of the first spring 90 is [ ⅚ × to −( alpha )] and that the remaining string tensile force is greater than that force , the slide block 75 does not move , as it stays at the first slide block p 1 where it touches the front 81 of the movable stopper 80 . even if one of the six strings has been mutilated , the equilibrium state of the tremolo body 10 can be maintained , thereby keeping the remaining strings in their tuned states . thus , any change in the musical intervals of the remaining strings can be prevented . in the tremolo 1 , if the arm 50 is brought into an “ arm down ” state or if it is held in the direction of the body surface ba , the tremolo body 10 ( base plate 11 ) swings to tilt to the front ( neck n direction ) with the stud bolts bs as the fulcrum . the tensile force of each string s is reduced and the musical interval of each string comes down ( flat ). the tremolo block 40 that protrudes down from the base plate 11 rotates to the rear , counter clock - wise in the drawing . this moves the slide block 75 and slides the movable stopper 80 rearward along the axial slide 70 through the links 85 , which separates the rear parts 82 of the movable stopper 80 away from the positioning stoppers 71 . subsequent to the arm - down position , if the force on the arm 50 is removed or if operation of the arm 50 is stopped , the slide block 75 and the movable stopper 80 slide forward , while touching each other . when the rear parts 82 of the movable stopper 80 have touched the positioning stoppers 71 , that movement stops restoring the slide block 75 and the movable stopper 80 to their original positions ( the first slide block position and the first stopper position ), and restores the tremolo body 10 to a state of equilibrium . on the other hand , when the arm 50 is pulled in the direction away from the body surface ba , the tremolo body 10 and the base plate 11 swing to tilt backward in the direction opposite to the neck n , around the stud bolts bs and bs as the fulcrum . this increases the tensile force of each string s and the intervals of each string rise ( become sharp ). this rotates the downwardly protruding tremolo block 40 to the front ( clockwise in the drawing ). as a result , only the slide block 75 slides to the front along the axial slide 70 through the links 85 . thus , the slide block 75 separates from the front part 81 of the movable stopper 80 . if the total string tension when the tremolo body 10 is in a state of equilibrium is expressed by to and the force of the first springs 90 ( initially set value ) is expressed by u 1 , the force required for the arm - up operation will become [ to − u 1 ]. a tremolo device having this construction enables raising the arm ( elevation of the musical intervals ) with a force which is smaller by the force u 1 of the first springs 90 , as compared with the tremolo device which is described in toku kai hei 1 - 93793 . if , subsequent to the arm - up operation , the force applied on the arm 50 is removed or if operation of the arm 50 is stopped , the slide block 75 is slid rearward by the tensile force of each string s and the block 75 stops when the slide block 75 has touched the front part 81 of the movable stopper 80 , followed by the restoration to the original position . this restores the tremolo body 10 to a state of equilibrium . the rearward slide or return movement of the slide block 75 after stopping of operation of the arm 50 can be made smooth by setting the force of the first springs 90 smaller than the total string tensile force . because the tremolo body 10 always returns to its original equilibrium state after a tremolo operation , in a stringed instrument equipped with the tremolo device 1 ( a six - string guitar in this case ), this enables eliminating inconvenience such as tuning failure which was experienced in the past . in addition , generation of noise stemming from contacts among the members of the restoration mechanism for restoring the tremolo body , when the tremolo body 10 returns to its original equilibrium state , can be prevented by action of the buffers m 1 and m 2 . in the tremolo device 1 , the tremolo body 10 is maintained in the state of equilibrium at all times by the restoring action of the restoration mechanism 80 comprised of axial slide 70 , positioning stoppers 71 , a slide block 75 , a movable stopper 80 , links 85 , the first springs 90 , and the second spring 95 when the tremolo is not in operation . as a consequence , failures in tuning stemming from choking , fluttering or string mutilation , etc . can be prevented to a maximum degree . a tremolo device 1 a according to another example of the invention is explained , with reference to fig1 . as tremolo device 1 a has approximately the same construction as the tremolo device 1 , the same elements as in the tremolo device 1 have the same numbers and their explanations are omitted . the characteristic feature of the tremolo device 1 a is described . the tremolo device 1 a includes an engagement mechanism 100 which is capable of engagement or disengagement and is provided between the slide block 75 of the bottom side mechanism 60 a and the movable stopper 80 . the slide block 75 and the movable stopper 80 are engaged by the engagement mechanism 100 , for regulating the forward movement of the slide block 75 . in this example , the engagement mechanism 100 is comprised of a rotatable member 101 which is approximately l - shaped including a bent piece 102 on the tip side ( free terminal side ). it is installed freely rotatably on the slide block 75 and is also located at a protrusion 110 which protrudes to the back side ( side which is opposite to the bottom side base 61 ) which protrusion is at the front of the movable stopper 80 . as the bending piece 102 on the tip side of the rotary member 101 is positioned behind the protrusion 110 and both are engaged as shown in solid lines in fig1 , forward movement of the slide block 75 is regulated . on the other hand , the slide block 75 is enabled to move to the front as the rotary member 101 is rotated to the front ( counter clock - wise in the drawing ) and as the engagement between the rotary member 101 and the protrusion 110 is released , as shown by the broken or chain line of fig1 a . an axle 103 installs the rotary member 101 freely rotatably on the slide block 75 . a rotary upward member 104 of rubber , etc . is disposed for making the rotation of the rotary member 101 smooth . a concave 105 is provided on the tip of the rotary member 101 for facilitating its rotation . the rotary member 101 is installed on the slide block 75 while the protruding part 110 is provided on the movable stopper 80 . however , it is possible to reverse that and provide the rotary member on the movable stopper and the protruding part on the slide block . moreover , the engagement mechanism is not restricted to the construction shown . an engagement mechanism 100 that regulates the forward movement of the slide block 75 makes it possible to regulate the forward movement of the slide block 75 by the engagement mechanism 100 and to effect the arrangement and tuning of each string in the state where the slide block 75 has been put to the first slide block position or in the state where the tremolo body 10 has been brought into a state of equilibrium from the standpoint of initial setting . when a string is to be tuned , therefore , it becomes possible to prevent the intervals of other strings which have been tuned from moving up or down thereby facilitating the placement of the string or its tuning . further , the force required at the time of placing the string or its tuning can be reduced and , removal of the string becomes simpler . another tremolo device embodiment 1 b of the invention is explained with reference to fig1 and 13 . the tremolo device 1 b has approximately the same construction as the tremolo devices 1 and 1 a in the previous examples . those elements which are the same as in the tremolo devices 1 and 1 a are identified by the same reference numbers . for convenience , the first spring and the second spring , which are described later , are omitted from fig1 . characteristic features of the tremolo device 1 b are described . the bottom side mechanism 60 b of this tremolo device 1 b comprises a bottom side mechanism base 61 b arranged on the bottom side of the body b , the positioning stoppers 71 b at the rear of the base 61 b , a slide block 75 b that moves freely back and forth , a movable stopper 80 b which is positioned on the rear side of said slide block 75 b and moves freely back and forth , and which is capable of touching or getting away from the slide block 75 b and the positioning stoppers 71 b , and the links 85 b that link the tremolo block 40 and the slide block 75 b . the first springs 90 b that urge the slide block 75 b to the front are arranged between the first spring front - side installation blocks 64 that are on the front part of the bottom side mechanism base 61 b and the first spring rear side installation blocks 77 b on the front part of the reverse side mechanism base 61 b . the second springs 95 b which urge the movable stopper sob to the front are provided between the second spring front side installation blocks 68 b that are erected approximately at the center of the bottom side base 61 b and the second spring rear side installation blocks 80 a on the movable stopper 80 b . in this example , the positioning stoppers 71 b are erected on the rear part of the bottom side base 61 b such that they are in parallel and face each other . moreover , the front - side windows 71 x permit insertion of the first spring rear - side installation blocks 77 b of the slide block 75 b . the windows are formed on the front part of the positioning stoppers 71 b . the rear - side windows 71 y that permit the insertion of the second spring rear - side installation blocks 80 a of the movable stopper 80 b are formed on the rear part . as the first spring rear - side installation blocks 77 b on the slide block 75 b or the second spring rear - side installation blocks 80 a on the movable stopper 80 b touch the periphery of the front end and the periphery of the rear end of the front - side windows 71 x or the rear - side windows 71 y , movement of the slide block 75 b or of the movable stopper 80 b either to the front or to the rear is regulated . the first spring rear - side installation blocks 77 b of the slide block 75 b play the role of the link installation part that engages with the links 85 b . moreover , an axial part 79 b for the movable stoppers protrudes from the rear of the slide block 75 b . the movable stopper 80 b can freely move back and forth along the axial part 79 b for the movable stopper . a buffer m 3 made of rubber , etc . is interposed between the rear face of the slide block 75 b and the front face of the movable stopper 80 b for reducing the generation of strange sounds like contact noise , etc . by absorbing the impact produced at contact . the buffer m 3 is fixed to the rear surface of the slide block 75 b . however , it is possible to fix the buffer m 3 on the front of the movable stopper 80 b . like the tremolo devices 1 and 1 a , the tremolo device 1 b is constructed such that the slide block 75 b , the movable stoppers 80 b , but specifically the second spring rear - side installation blocks 80 a , and the positioning stoppers 71 b but specifically the front end peripheries of the rear side windows 71 y , touch each other because of the tensile force of the string s that has been stretched on the body surface ba side and the forces exerted by the first springs 90 b and the second springs 95 b , thereby causing the tremolo body 10 to stay in a state of equilibrium . when the tremolo body 10 is swung to tilt it to the front through operation of the arm . 50 , moreover , the tremolo block 40 rotates rearward . this slides the slide block 75 b and the movable stopper 80 b rearward , via the links 85 b and the movable stopper 80 b , but particularly the second spring rear - side installation blocks 80 a . the slide block moves away from the positioning stoppers 71 b , particularly the front end peripheries of the rear - side windows 71 y . when operation of the arm 50 has stopped , the slide block 75 b and the movable stopper 80 b are returned to their original positions where the movable stopper 80 b touches the positioning stoppers 71 b under the forces of the first springs 90 b and the second springs 95 b , thereby restoring the tremolo body 10 to the equilibrium state . when the tremolo body 10 is swung to tilt it rearward by operation of the arm 50 , further , the tremolo block 40 rotates to the front . this slides the slide block 75 b to the front through the links 85 b and the slide block 75 b moves away from the movable stopper 80 b . when operation of the arm 50 stops , the slide block 75 b is restored to its original position where it is urged to touch the movable stopper 80 b by the tensile force of the string s , thereby restoring the tremolo body 10 into the state of equilibrium . as explained above , the tremolo 1 b functions approximately in the same manner as the tremolos 1 and 1 a producing a similar effect to the tremolo devices 1 and 1 a . this invention is not limited by the examples described above , but can be changed in construction within the invention . in each of the examples , for instance , two first springs and two links are provided . their number , however , is not limited and one of each or three of each can be suitably used . in each example , one or two second springs are used . however , three or more second springs may also be used . in each of the examples , the positioning stopper that regulates the back and forth movement of the movable stopper is provided on the bottom side mechanism base . however , it is not limited to this , and the positioning stopper may be directly provided on the bottom side of the body . each of the examples shows a tremolo that is to be installed on a six - string guitar . however , the invention can be used for other stringed instruments , such as a bass guitar , etc . the tremolo for stringed instruments of this invention includes a tremolo body that is restored to its original state of equilibrium subsequent to operation of the tremolo by a restoration mechanism which is comprised of the positioning stopper , slide block , movable stopper , links , first springs , second spring , etc . as a result , any failure in tuning after operation of the tremolo can be limited to a minimum . as the tremolo body is maintained in an equilibrium state at all times , further , it becomes possible to prevent possible failures in tuning stemming from choking , fluttering or string mutilation , etc . at the normal time when the tremolo is not being operated . in this tremolo device , moreover , the number of locations requiring adjustment is comparatively small , so that both the locations requiring adjustment and the method for such adjustment are easily understandable to the user , and the tuning becomes easier . in addition , in the restoration mechanism of the tremolo , the rotary movement of the tremolo block at the time when the tremolo body is swinging is converted into straight - line movement through the link , thereby sliding the slide block and the movable stopper . this makes it possible to prevent possible tilting of the first spring or the second spring or possible deformation in a direction other than the direction of expansion and contraction , which eliminates such inconvenience as the effect upon the restoration force of these springs . accordingly , it is possible to expect a stable restoration action of the tremolo body . if the axial slide is installed between the first bearing and the second bearing on the bottom mechanism base , and if the slide block and the movable stopper are constructed in a manner to be freely movable back and forth , in particular , the back and forth movement of the slide block and the movable stopper becomes smooth , smoothing the swinging and restoration of the tremolo body . if the positioning stopper is provided between the first bearing and the second bearing of the bottom mechanism base , further , the bottom side mechanism can be made compact which is advantageous in terms of design work . if , on the other hand , the movable stopper is constructed such that a front part is capable of touching and moving away from the slide block and a rear part is capable of touching and moving away from the positioning stopper , this makes it possible to cause the movable stopper to touch and move away from the slide block and the positioning stopper using a simple and compact structure . if the second spring is provided between the front portion of the movable stopper and the second bearing , or if the first spring is provided between the first spring front side installation block that is provided on the front portion of the bottom side mechanism base and the first spring rear - side installation block that has been provided on the slide block , this has an advantage that the installation structure of each spring can be made simple and compact . moreover , if the rotation fulcrum for the tremolo block and the link is positioned approximately right under the swing axis of the tremolo body , it is possible to easily convert the rotation of the tremolo block effectively into sliding movement of the slide block and the movable stopper , thereby making it possible to stabilize the recovery action of the tremolo body to a greater degree . if the first spring front - side installation block for the installation of the front - end side of the first spring is installed so that its position may be adjusted , with respect to the bottom side mechanism base , this makes it possible to cause the force of the first spring to agree with the tensile force of the string on string gauges that are to be used , thereby making it possible to accommodate various tastes of performers . if a buffer is interposed between the slide block and the movable stopper or between the movable stopper and the positioning stopper , this makes it possible to absorb the impact at the time of a contact among the members by the buffer when the tremolo body is restored to the state of equilibrium , thereby reducing generation of the contact noise . in the tremolo , moreover , the contact between the slide block and the movable stopper and the contact between the movable stopper and the positioning stopper becomes a surface contact and the contact area becomes comparatively large . as a result , their surface pressure becomes lower making it difficult to cause such deformation of the buffer that may produce some effect upon tuning . if the link between the tremolo block and the slide block is capable of expansion and contraction , this enables adjusting the initial setting angle of the tremolo body while the tremolo is not in operation , thereby accommodating various tastes of performers . if the forces of the first spring and the second spring are directed opposite the direction of the tensile force of the string , if the force of the first spring is made smaller than the total string tension and if , the sum of the forces of the first spring and the second spring is made larger than the total string tension , the slide block and the movable stopper do not move and the tremolo body maintains the state of equilibrium even when the tensile force of the string may be increased from the time when the slide block touches the front portion of the movable stopper to the time when tuning is completed , thereby making it possible to tune in a concise and accurate manner . because the force of the first spring is smaller than the total string tension , moreover , the return of the slide block after tremolo operation and , accordingly , the restoration of the tremolo body to the state of equilibrium can be carried out smoothly . if the engagement mechanism that regulates the forward movement of the slide block is interposed between the slide block and the movable stopper , it becomes possible to regulate the forward movement of the slide block by the engagement mechanism and to carry out the tuning of each string in the state where the state of equilibrium in design is being maintained , thereby making it possible to effect tuning in a more simple and accurate manner . although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof , many other variations and modifications and other uses will become 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 appended claims . | 6 |
the foundation or backbone of the vehicle 20 is the chassis or center beam 22 . center beam 22 runs from the tip of the vehicle 20 to the back excluding the compressible bumpers . beam 22 can be any shape , an i - beam , a square tube , a circle , triangle or u channel . in these figures center beam 22 is a u channel placed upside down . on the guide way the only likely accident would involve vehicle 20 running into a fixed object or into the back of another vehicle . beam 22 is strong enough that it will not collapse at any impact speed . there is a front bumper assembly 46 and rear bumper assembly 48 . in the preferred embodiment , each bumper assembly ( 46 and 48 ) allows up to two feet of movement during a collision . every vehicle 20 has the same hard rubber bumper nose 76 that lines up with and fits into the bumper socket 78 at the rear of vehicle 20 . a skirt beam 24 surrounds the entire vehicle floor and base perimeter in the same plane as the chassis . skirt beam 24 is a continuous solid rim . body side braces 26 provide support and bracing from the skirt 24 to the center beam 22 . brace 26 stops at center beam 22 because that is what brace 26 is being braced off of . a wheel well strut 42 completes the wheel well space 28 . vehicle 20 has air bags 63 stored in front air bag storage area 62 . if vehicle 20 has a minor collision ( such as a 20 mph impact , or a force that moves the front bumper 46 in maybe 6 inches ) the bumper 46 springs back out via front shock absorber 56 and no airbag has released . in the event of a higher impact collision air bags 63 are activated and inflate . the harder the impact , the more the air bags 63 are compressed and the faster and stronger they will deploy . the axle assembly 34 is comprised of an axle pocket 92 attached to the center beam 22 on one end and the wheel well strut 42 on the other end . axle arm and wheel mount 94 support the wheel assembly 38 . one end is pinned into the axle pocket 92 , with axle mounting pin 96 . the axle arm 94 can swivel down around pin 96 . the other end of the axle arm 94 is mounted in a shock absorber 36 shock absorber 36 is mounted to the skirt beam 24 . axle arm 94 preferably does not rotate . wheel assembly 38 comprises an in - wheel motor 98 that fits on over axle arm 94 and is secured in place and is able to pivot in a horizontal plane around the steering pin 102 the wheel 38 rotates around an in - wheel motor hub . one embodiment of the vehicle steering mechanism is shown in fig6 and 7 . as illustrated , a steering rod 122 is connected on each end to a steering rod wheel bracket 124 which is attached to the inside surface of the in - wheel motor 98 . steering rod 122 has a precision steering worm gear 132 in its center . a screw gear and motor 144 rotates against the worm gear 132 to move the steering rod 122 either direction to move the front wheels 38 based on instructions from the computer 146 which receives electronic input from saddle sensors 110 when vehicle 20 is operating on the guide way . screw gear and motor 144 are mounted on the precision steering worm mounting rod 134 which is attached by the hinge bracket for fine steering worm 136 to the steering yolk 126 . steering yolk 126 is made up of three rods connected on their ends with steering yolk hinge brackets 128 . the center rod of the steering yolk 126 supports a corrective steering cog 138 . cog 138 can be moved quickly in either direction by the corrective steering cog gear and motor 142 based on instructions from the computer 146 which receives electronic input from saddle sensors 110 if vehicle 20 is operating on a guide way . in normal driving conditions the rods of the steering yolk 126 would be all squared up . precision steering worm gear 132 would be centered up and the front wheels 38 would be perfectly lined up for straight ahead movement . as vehicle saddle 104 tracked the direction of the guide way guide beam it would send electronic data to computer 146 which would operate the precision screw gear and motor 144 . this operates vehicle 20 smoothly . in the event something requires rapid adjustment such as vehicle 20 losing traction due to something slippery on the guide way then the first precision steering assembly is disengaged and the second corrective steering cog gear and motor 142 are activated . this dual - mechanism configuration allows vehicle 20 to make steering corrections more rapidly . if vehicle 20 is operating on a conventional street and bumper sensors 152 can detect an approaching vehicle on a collision path . if this occurs , then the corrective steering cog gear and motor 142 may be activated along with acceleration of the in - wheel motors 38 so as to avoid collision or move the impact away from vehicle occupants . continuing now with the vehicle descriptions . the reason the axle assembly 34 is fastened on its ends into the skirt beam 24 without a disruption is for maintaining the integrity of skirt beam 24 . another objective is to support the axle arm 94 on both sides of vehicle 20 . in current vehicles 20 the wheels are mounted on the very end of a rotating axle . there is no support for the axle at the end . this places more bending moment on the axle . by placing skirt beam 24 on one end and the axle pocket 92 on the other , wheel 38 is supported on both ends of the axle arm 94 . wheel well 72 provides adequate clearance for the wheels 38 to turn in either direction . if vehicle 20 is a heavier vehicle , such as a mass transit vehicle or a heavy freight vehicle , then this support of the end of the axle with the skirt beam 24 could make a big difference and allow the vehicle 20 to be much lighter . the in - wheel motor 38 rotates about the axle arm 94 . for further protection of vehicle occupants a shoulder height skirt beam 82 creates a cage at the upper level of a person &# 39 ; s body and head . it is interrupted by the gull wing door 86 but is reinforced by a door mounted shoulder height skirt beam 88 . the gull wing door 86 is hinged from the center head beam 84 . the figures illustrate how the vehicle can have a lot of head room for getting in and out of vehicle 20 . vehicle 20 would automatically open and close the doors . the vehicle occupant doesn &# 39 ; t have to touch a thing . the center head beam 84 is another significant structural frame member . additional protection is provided by front roll guard ( or bar ) 120 and rear roll guard ( or bar ) 122 . together the chassis center beam 22 , skirt beam 24 , axle assembly ( 92 , 94 , 96 , and 36 ), body side braces 26 , shoulder height skirt beam 82 , center head beam 84 and roll bars ( 120 and 122 ) provide occupant protection and can create a faraday cage effect to protect against lightning . the bottom or floor of vehicle 20 is a floor deck 32 that fills in between all these horizontal chassis and axle structures . floor deck 32 must provide thermal insulation , road noise insulation , and especially electromagnetic field and electric radiation insulation . the transfer of electric through the saddle 104 into capacitors 114 will create strong fields beneath vehicle 20 . saddle 104 will provide a significant shield . floor deck 32 also serves as a reinforcement plate to stiffen skirt beam 24 . floor deck 32 will be made of layers of honeycomb structures filled with urethane and diaelectric compounds . wheel well 72 covers the upper half of the tire to complete the sound , thermal , field and radiation protective insulation . a single passenger seat 66 is also shown , but there could be any number of passengers . passenger seat 66 rests on shock absorbers 68 that further isolate the occupant from roadway bumps or potholes . on the guide way vehicle 20 is guided by the saddle 104 . saddle 104 is supported by a saddle piston 106 that is moved down for switching purposes by a solenoid 112 sliding in piston bearings 108 . the saddle 104 sees the guide way beam with sensors 110 . fig8 illustrates a stand up / sit down handicap assist seat to help passengers who have weak knee muscles , back problems , shoulder , arm joint or muscle problems who have difficulty maneuvering into and out of a vehicle or any kind of chair . passengers who need access and egress assistance is not limited to older people or to people in wheel chairs . there are many people who have old injuries or have various joint problems and arthritis . some people are overweight . some have weak knees . in fig8 the stand up / sit down handicap assist seat is fastened to the vehicle handicap platform 178 . vehicle 20 has appropriate mechanical levers and mechanisms for lifting platform 178 slowly and safely into and out of vehicle 20 . when vehicle 20 arrives at a destination , the gull wing doors 86 open , platform 178 slides out of vehicle 20 and flat on the outside landing surface . upon command the seat cushion rotator 168 rotates the seat cushion 172 forward around the rotator 168 . seat cushion rotator 168 itself is moved up by the leg rest 166 so as the passenger stands up the leg room is being increased . simultaneously , as the seat cushion rotator 168 rotates forward , the back support rotator 174 is rotating backward . as such , the back support 176 remains upright and vertical . when the passenger is standing steady the waist seat belt 184 and chest strap 186 can be released . chest strap ( or belt ) 186 keeps the passenger from pulling forward . the passenger controls the seat with controls built into a armrest 188 . when a passenger wants to get into a vehicle the process is reversed . obviously , passengers must request a vehicle equipped with the stand up / sit down handicap assist seat . for a passenger to use the seat it is outside the vehicle and standing extended upright . the passenger stands with their back to the chair 66 . thereafter , they fasten the seat and chest belts ( 184 and 186 ). seat cushion rotator 168 rotates back while the back support rotator 174 rotates forward . finally the passenger adjusts the leg support 166 up or down to get comfortable leg room . when vehicle 20 is being driven on conventional streets it will be vulnerable to collisions that can not occur on an elevated guideway . the most frequent and fatal type of collision is caused at intersections when vehicles might run a light and hit another vehicle broadside . since vehicle 20 is likely to be a lightweight vehicle , this kind of collision could be much worse than in traditional automobiles . in order to give the vehicle 20 some resistance and to equalize the momentum it is equipped with crash guards . fig4 a shows four crash guards 116 on the right sides of the vehicle and mounted on or near the perimeter skirt beam 24 when vehicle 20 is not in motion these would be locked in a resting position to avoid accidental release . if the traveling vehicle is struck on the driver side by another vehicle , all eight crash guards 116 are released with great force . fig4 c is a detailed view of a crash guard 116 . the crash guards 116 have sharp prongs ( 116 ( a )-( b )) that dig into the asphalt . prong 116 ( a ) is nearest the outer edge of vehicle 20 and 116 ( b ) prong is toward the inside . they rotate about a hinge bracket 116 ( c ). as the eaev is pushed sideways by a colliding vehicle the crash guards are released and offer resistance . this creates the effect of a much heavier vehicle . if the colliding vehicle strikes on the driver side and is going fast enough then the crash guards 116 on the passenger side dig in on prong 116 ( b ) and on the driver side they dig in on prong 116 ( a ). this causes the driver side to lift and flip the vehicle into a roll . this is the preferred result . instead of vehicle 20 and the left side of the driver &# 39 ; s head having to absorb the momentum of the other vehicle on the side window the energy is converted into lifting vehicle 20 and rolling it over . the goal is to absorb the energy over a longer distance . in fig5 a roll guard 118 is shown . if it is preferred the vehicle roll over on its side and slide then that is what the roll guard 118 does . when the crash guards 116 are deployed the roll guard 118 pops up to stop the vehicle 20 on its side . the second object is to change the angle of attack of the impact on the vehicle occupants . if vehicle 20 is turned on its side and the occupants are strapped in their seats the impact is coming from the bottom of the seat and not from the side of the head . this situation is not ideal , but could be effective enough to save some lives in many accidents . these are all physical characteristics . what kind of controls does the vehicle have ? how does a customer communicate with and operate the vehicle ? vehicle customers will come in contact with many vehicle variations , different instrument panels , different looking gauges and controls , different sizes , and different types . it could be very confusing to someone who does not own their own vehicle . first of all , the vehicle 20 would have few instruments if any at all . there may be a touch screen , a panic button , emergency button , and a joystick 190 ( fig4 b ). there is no need for controls . the customer communicates with vehicle 20 through the system master scheduling operation center . before a customer can use the system they must open an account for billing , identification , and to receive system software onto any personal device they will be using when they travel whether cellphone , ipod , palm pilot , blackberry , lap top or whatever . the customer is known only by the communication device . the actual name of the traveler does not matter , this protects privacy . the customer may text or the customer may use verbal communication . for verbal communication the customer uses voice recognition software on their own phone or equipment and not voice recognition software at a call center of the master scheduling operations center . this way it does not matter what language is used or how heavy an accent may be . the communications are simple . text or say the destination and desired arrival time . the system comes back with questions such as how do you wish to travel and provides choices . the customer may ask for a cost and travel time estimate . the customer does not need to know anything about the vehicle . the operations center knows all about the vehicle and can explain anything the customer needs to know to travel in that vehicle . the eaev is an environmentally adaptive vehicle . this means a single physical embodiment equipped with some basic equipment for receiving and sending data from devices such as : gps receiver and transmitter , sensors , video cameras , radar , wireless receiver , transmitter , odometer , equipped with some sort of information processing ; a computer , and basic control output devices ; steering , throttle and braking can use that same input , process it or interpret it in different ways and provide different output to controls based upon the kind of surface transportation infrastructure it is on . when vehicle 20 is on an elevated guideway infrastructure it sets its speed at 120 mph . when it gets off on a public street with manually powered cars vehicle 20 monitors its speed according to speed limits provided by the gps . when vehicle 20 gets off of the guideway into a single family subdivision it sets its speed at 10 , 12 , 15 , or 17 mph just depending on what it is told by the local wireless information . observe that in all three instances the velocity information originates from the same device , but the information is applied differently depending on the system it is on . on the elevated guideway vehicle 20 receives directional information from sensors 110 in the saddle 104 . on a highway with manually operated vehicles , vehicle 20 receives directional control from a joystick 190 operated by a vehicle occupant . on a local single family paved street perhaps only six feet wide vehicle 20 receives its directional control from gps input or instructions from land based devices . in this instance the instructional message is received from three different sources , but execution on the information is performed by the same steering device . there is another way the vehicle 20 could be controlled in a single family residential subdivision which is by memorizing the plat or road layout . as a vehicle exited the elevated guideway into a subdivision a device at the entrance could transmit all the local subdivision information . that information could come from a scheduling operations center just as well . vehicle 20 is notified whenever it moves onto a different surface transportation infrastructure and makes the appropriate adjustments . the scheduling operations control center is also gate keeper . let &# 39 ; s say someone gives an address into an exclusive community . unless the gate keeper has authorization for that vehicle to enter that community it will not allow the access . the gatekeeper also decides access based on the type of vehicle , the width , or height of the vehicle . in a town center shopping mall the freight delivery guideways are restricted to use by delivery vehicles and no private vehicles would be allowed . there is no need for a physical gate . weight restrictions are also enforced by the gatekeeper . an overweight vehicle will not be allowed to move onto the system . although this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments and generally associated methods , alterations and permutations of these embodiments and methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , the above description of example embodiments does not define or constrain this disclosure . other changes , substitutions , and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure . | 1 |
when referring to the preferred embodiments , certain terminology will be utilized for the sake of clarity . use of such terminology is intended to encompass not only the described embodiment , but also technical equivalents which operate and function in substantially the same way to bring about the same result . referring now more particularly to fig1 and 3 of the drawings , one embodiment of the christmas tree stand 10 is therein illustrated . the stand 10 includes a base 11 of cylindrical configuration having a wall 11a , which stand is hollow and includes an integral reservoir base 12 , which base 12 includes a rim or top wall 15 , side walls 16 , and a front wall 17 . the top wall 15 has a semi - circular opening 18 therein , and a rectangular opening 19 is provided in wall 11a . a water pan 20 is provided , of circular configuration , with a bottom wall 21 , side wall 22 and flat top wall 23 . the top wall 23 is provided with an extension 25 which upon assembly to the base 11 extends into the reservoir base 12 to be described . the water pan top wall 23 has a plurality of threaded fasteners 26 ( three shown ) which are engaged in bosses 27 , part of ribs 28 , which are integral with the wall 11a of stand 10 . referring to fig2 an alternate structure for fastening the water pan 20 to the wall 11a is provided , which includes a plurality of integral tongues 30 , mounted on bosses 31 , which extend downwardly from the base wall 11a , which have a tapered front wall 32 , and a hook 33 , which snaps over the flat top wall 23 of water pan 20 to retain it in stand 10 . the water pan 20 has a circular raised rim 35 on extension 25 , with a slot 36 which extends across the rim 35 towards the center of pan 20 to permit the flow of water therethrough onto bottom wall 21 , and side wall 22 to be described . a water reservoir tank 40 is provided , which is constructed of clear plastic , and includes a flat bottom wall 41 , with front wall 42 , side walls 43 , and top wall 44 . a rear wall 45 connects the top wall 44 , bottom wall 41 and side walls 43 , and which is contoured to fit around the cylindrical wall 11a . a recess 46 is provided in front wall 42 of reservoir tank 40 , with a transverse handle 47 for carrying the reservoir tank . the bottom wall 41 has an opening 48 with a threaded hollow extension 49 extending downwardly therefrom , which has a reservoir cap 50 engaged therewith , of well known type , with a poppet valve 52 therein of well known type , which is actuated when the cap 50 is engaged with the raised rim 35 , by an upstanding pin 51 in the center of extension 25 , allowing water ( not shown ) to flow out of the valve 52 in cap 50 and down slot 36 into pan 20 . the stand 10 has a circular opening 55 in a top wall 56 , which is intended to receive a bucket 57 , which has a top rim 58 , and a cup 59 extending downwardly therefrom , with a plurality of slots 60 therethrough spaced therearound . the cup 59 of bucket 57 has a plurality of bosses 61 spaced therearound , four being preferred , with threaded fasteners 62 extending therethrough to engage the trunk 63 of a tree 64 in conventional manner . a top cover 65 is provided which has an opening 66 to receive the tree trunk 63 , engages the top rim 58 of bucket 57 and retains the bucket rim 58 on the top wall 56 , by engagement of a plurality of hold down latches 67 of well known type , with a rim 68 on cover 65 , three being shown which are mounted on base wall 11a . the base 11 , water pan 20 , bucket 57 , and top cover 65 may be constructed of polypropylene or other suitable moldable plastic as desired . referring now more particularly to fig4 and 5 of the drawings , another embodiment of christmas tree stand 100 is therein illustrated . the stand 100 includes a base 101 of cylindrical configuration , which stand is hollow and includes an integral reservoir base 112 , which base 101 includes a cylindrical portion 115 , and a saucer like bottom portion 117 . the bottom portion 117 has a semi - circular opening 118 therein , and a top wall 119 . a water pan 120 is provided similar to water pan 20 , of circular configuration , with a bottom wall 121 , side wall 122 and flat top wall 123 . the top wall 123 is provided with an extension 125 which upon assembly to the base 101 extends into the reservoir base 112 to be described . the water pan top wall 123 may have a plurality of threaded fasteners 126 ( four shown ) which are engaged in bosses ( not shown ), part of ribs ( not shown ) which are integral with the wall bottom portion 117 of stand 110 . the water pan 120 may also be secured by an alternate structure as described for fig2 above . the water pan 120 has a circular raised rim 135 on extension 125 , with a slot 136 which extends across the rim 135 towards the center of pan 120 to permit the flow of water therethrough to be described . a water reservoir tank 140 is provided , which is constructed of a clear plastic , and includes a flat bottom wall 141 , with front wall 142 , side walls 143 , and top wall 144 . a rear wall 145 connects the top wall 144 , bottom wall 141 and side walls 143 . a recess 146 is provided in top wall 144 of reservoir 140 , with a transverse handle 147 for carrying the reservoir . the bottom wall 141 has an opening 148 with a threaded hollow extension 149 extending downwardly therefrom , which has a reservoir cap 50 engaged therewith , as previously described , with a poppet valve 52 therein , which is actuated when the cap 50 is engaged with the raised rim 135 , and by an upstanding pin 151 in the center of extension 125 , allowing water ( not shown ) to flow out of the valve 52 in the cap 50 and down slot 136 into pan 120 . the stand 100 has a circular opening 155 in the cylindrical portion 115 , which is intended to receive a trunk 63 of a tree 64 . the cylindrical portion 115 has a plurality of threaded openings 161 spaced therearound , four being preferred , with threaded fasteners 162 extending therethrough to engage the trunk 63 of the tree 64 in conventional manner . the base 101 and water pan 120 , may be constructed of polypropylene or other suitable moldable plastic as desired . the mode of operation and use will now be pointed out . the water pan 20 or 120 are assembled to base 11 or 101 by fasteners 26 , 126 , or by tongues 30 . for base 11 , the tree trunk 63 is prepared and the top cover 65 is placed on the trunk 63 , which is inserted into bucket 57 , and the fasteners 62 turned in to engage the trunk 63 , and adjusted for the straightness of the trunk 63 . the bucket 57 is inserted into opening 66 and the rim 68 of top cover 65 is engaged by the hold down latches 67 . the cap 50 is removed from the water reservoir tank 40 which is filled with water and the cap replaced . the reservoir tank 40 is placed on top wall 15 of reservoir base 12 , with the pin 51 engaging the valve 52 in cap 50 permitting water to flow thereout , down slot 36 and into the pan 20 , as required . the water level in the reservoir tank 40 can be easily observed , and the tank removed to add water , as required . for base 101 the tree trunk 63 is prepared and inserted into opening 155 and the fasteners 162 turned in to contact the tree trunk 63 and adjusted as required . the water reservoir 140 is filled with water and placed on top wall 119 with valve 52 engaged with pin 151 allowing water to flow thereout and into pan 120 . it will thus be seen that structure has been provided with which the objects of the invention are attained . | 0 |
an embodiment of the present disclosure is a sensor with a reusable component and a disposable component . the reusable component generally includes reusable expensive electronic components of a sensor , including , for example , the emitters and detector . in an embodiment , the emitters and the detector are located in respective casings connected by a short flexible circuit . in an embodiment , a disposable component includes mechanically matable portions adapted to mechanically mate with the casings of the reusable component . in an embodiment , the casings of the reusable component mate with the disposable component in a manner that provides an assembly / disassembly state , and an attached state . during the assembly / disassembly state , a caregiver can readily and straightforwardly assemble the sensor by aligning the casings on the reusable component and the mechanical housings of the disposable component and snapping them together . in an embodiment , the alignment is generally vertical in nature and the snapping occurs by lightly pressing on the components while on a flat surface or supported from underneath by , for example , the hand of the assembler . each detector housing generally vertically accepts the casings ; however , one of the casings , such as , for example , the forward housing or clip accepts the casing in such a way as to keep the forward casing generally immobile . disassembly is equally as straightforward , as the caregiver may advantageously lift on the reusable component wire , and the rearward casing extracts from the mechanically mated housing of the disposable element . continual lifting then similarly extracts the forward casing from the mechanically mated housing of the disposable element . in an embodiment , the flexible circuit between the forward and rearward casing may be reinforced in order to withstand multiple disassembly stresses or forces occurring from the lifting of the reusable wire . in an embodiment , pressing the disposable portion onto a flat surface while lifting the reusable portion aids in the disassembly process . the disposable portion includes structures designed to attach the sensor to a measurement site . in an embodiment , the disposable portion comprises a flexible tape having an adhesive side capable of removably adhering to the measurement site . in an embodiment where the disposable portion wraps around a measurement site , the act of bending the flexible circuit advantageously causes the assembly / disassembly clip to recess into the mechanically mated portion of the disposable housing , thereby reducing the likelihood of disassembly during application to a measurement site . in an embodiment , the sensor components are locked together through the longitudinal displacement of the clip with respect to the disposable housing . in such an embodiment , a stop diminishes the capacity of the clip to move vertically , thereby locking it into place . in this embodiment , removing the adhesive from the measurement site and straightening the sensor components unlocks the reusable and disposable components . in an embodiment , assembly also necessarily electrically connects electronic components of the disposable portion with those of the reusable portion . in an embodiment , then disposable portion includes an information element or memory device , such as , for example , a resistor , a single wire addressable memory device , such as those eproms or eeproms commercially available from dallas semiconductor , other memory or processing devices , combinations of the same , or the like . the information element may include data accessibly by an attached patient monitor to accomplish quality control , monitor configuration , sensor use monitoring , combinations of the same , or the like . still other advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure include proportionally positioning of the mechanically mating housings to provide for optical alignment between the emitters and detector . moreover , in embodiments including the disposable tape , the tape may advantageously be scored to assist the caregiver in proper alignment with the body tissue at the measurement site . to facilitate a complete understanding of the disclosure , the remainder of the detailed description describes the disclosure with reference to the drawings . corresponding parts refer to corresponding elements and the leading digit indicates the figure in which that element first appears . fig1 presents an exemplary block diagram of the components generally found in an oximeter sensor , according to an embodiment of the invention . for example , fig1 shows as oximeter system including sensor 102 , cable 170 , and monitor 172 . the sensor 102 includes one or more emitters 174 for irradiating body tissue with light , and one or more detectors 176 capable of detecting the light after attenuation by the tissue . the sensor 102 also includes an information element 136 such as an eprom . the sensor 102 also includes a plurality of conductors communicating signals ; including emitter drive signal conductors 180 , detector composite signal conductors 182 , and eprom conductors 184 . according to an embodiment , the sensor conductors 180 , 182 , 184 communicate their signals to and from the monitor 172 through cable 170 . although disclosed with reference to the cable 170 , a skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein that the communication to and from the sensor 102 may advantageously include a wide variety of cables , cable designs , public or private communication networks or computing systems , wired or wireless communications , combinations of the same , or the like . the information element 136 may comprise an eprom , an eeprom , combinations of the same , or the like . in general , the information element 136 may include a read - only device or a read and write device . the information element may advantageously also comprise a resistor , an active network , or any combination of the foregoing . the remainder of the present disclosure will refer to such possibilities as simply an information element for ease of disclosure . the information element 136 may advantageously store some or all of a wide variety of data and information , including , for example , information on the type or operation of the sensor 102 , type of patient or body tissue , buyer or manufacturer information , sensor characteristics including the number of wavelengths capable of being emitted , emitter specifications , emitter drive requirements , demodulation data , calculation mode data , calibration data , software such as scripts , executable code , or the like , sensor electronic elements , sensor life data indicating whether some or all sensor components have expired and should be replaced , encryption information , or monitor or algorithm upgrade instructions or data . the information element 136 may advantageously configure or activate the monitor , monitor algorithms , monitor functionality , or the like based on some or all of the foregoing information . for example , without authorized data accessibly on the information element 136 , quality control functions may inhibit functionality of the monitor . likewise , particular data may activate certain functions while keeping others inactive . for example , the data may indicate a number of emitter wavelengths available , which in turn may dictate the number and / or type of physiological parameters that can be monitored or calculated . fig1 also shows the monitor 172 comprising one or more processing boards 186 communicating with one or more host instruments 188 . according to an embodiment , the board 186 comprises processing circuitry arranged on one or more printed circuit boards capable of being installed in specialized monitoring equipment or distributed as an oem component for a wide variety of patient monitoring equipment . as shown in fig1 , the board 186 includes a front end signal conditioner 190 , a sensor controller 194 , a digital signal processor or microcontroller 192 , and a memory reader 1102 . in an embodiment , the processor 192 instructs the sensor controller 194 to output one or more drive signals capable of causing the emitters 174 to activate . the front end 190 receives detector output indicating detection of light from the emitters 174 attenuated by body tissue of the measurement site . the front end 190 conditions the signal and outputs the signal and / or signal data to the processor 192 . the processor 192 executes calculations adapted to determine values and / or indications or physiological parameters , trends of the parameters , alarms based on the parameters or the trends or combinations of trends and / or parameters , or the like . in addition , the reader 1102 is capable of retrieving information stored on information element 136 . the reader 1102 or the processor 192 may advantageously decrypt such information to the extent desired . in an embodiment , the host instrument 188 , communicates with the processor 192 to receive signals indicative of the physiological parameter information calculated by the processor 192 . the host instrument preferably includes one or more display devices 196 capable of providing indicia representative of the calculated physiological parameters of the tissue at the measurement site . such display devices 196 may be controlled by a monitor controller 198 that accepts signals from processor 192 . in an embodiment , monitor controller 198 may also accept signals from user interface 1100 . such signals may be indicative of various display options for configuring the output to display 196 . in an embodiment , the host instrument 188 may advantageously be capable of displaying one or more of a pulse rate , plethysmograph data , perfusion quality , signal or measurement quality , values of blood constituents in body tissue , including for example , spco , functional or fractional spo 2 , or the like . in other embodiments , the host instrument 188 is capable of displaying values for one or more of spmet , hbo 2 , hb , hbco , hbmet , hct , blood glucose , bilirubin , or the like . in still additional embodiments , the host instrument 188 is capable of displaying trending data for one or more of the foregoing measured or determined data . moreover an artisan will realize from the disclosure herein many display options for the data are available . in an embodiment , the host instrument 188 includes audio or visual alarms that alert caregivers that one or more physiological parameters are falling below predetermined safe thresholds , and may include indications of the confidence a caregiver should have in the displayed data . in further embodiment , the host instrument 188 may advantageously include circuitry capable of determining the expiration or overuse of components of the sensor 102 , including for example , reusable elements , disposable elements , or combinations of the same . although disclosed with reference to particular embodiment , an artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein many variations of the instrument 172 . for example , in a broad sense , the instrument 172 accepts data from the sensor 102 , determines values for one or more parameters , trends , alarms or the like , and outputs them to an interface such as a display . fig2 illustrates an embodiment of sensor 102 , having reusable component 204 and disposable component 206 . the components are shown detached . fig3 shows a very similar perspective drawing , but with reusable component 204 and disposable component 206 in their attached , in their assembled state . returning to fig2 , the reusable component 204 comprises an emitter casing 208 , a detector casing 210 , and a flexible circuit 212 . the emitter casing 208 comprises one or more emission devices operable to emit light at multiple wavelengths , such as red and infrared . detector casing 210 houses one or more detectors , such as a photodiode detector . in an embodiment , a flexible circuit connects the emitter casing 208 and detector casing 210 . in a preferred embodiment , the flexible circuit is housed in a protective cover and extends beyond the emitter casing 208 . an artisan will understand from the disclosure herein that the emitter and detector electrical components may advantageously be housed in the casings disclosed or simply reversed from the foregoing disclosure . in an embodiment , the flexible circuit 212 and / or cabling extends significantly beyond the casings to advantageously remove any cable attachment mechanisms from the proximity of the tissue site . fig2 also shows the disposable component 206 including a base 214 , an assembly / disassembly clip 216 and a front holding clip 218 , the clips each adapted to accept the emitter casing 208 and detector casing 210 , respectively . in the preferred embodiment , front holding clip 218 includes a front stop 220 . front stop 220 is advantageous for a number of reasons . it helps reduce the likelihood that the reusable component 102 , and in particular detector casing 210 , will slide forward in the front holding clip 218 during assembly or use . in addition , in an embodiment where the stop 220 comprises rubber or other liquid resistant material , the stop 220 provides a liquid resistant connection between the detector casing 210 and front holding clip 218 , reducing the likelihood of sensor contamination and electrical shorts . rubber or a similar material may be used in an embodiment to compose such a front stop 220 . fig3 a shows detector casing 210 clipped or snapped into front holding clip 218 with a tip of the casing slid below a portion of the front stop 220 . this allows the front stop 220 to reduce not only horizontal movement of the detector casing 210 , but also helps reduce vertical release of the detector casing unless pulled from , for example , the cable . fig3 also shows the front stop 220 with a generally rounded shape providing a relatively soft material with few , if any , sharp edges . such an embodiment advantageously reduces damage to a patient or the sensor if the patient tries to scratch body tissue using the edges of the assembled sensor , or if the sensor is dropped , banged against something while worn , or the like . this is particularly useful when used with burn victims or other patients whose skin may damage easily . fig3 b highlights the ease of assembly . the disposable portion 206 is set on a surface or held in the one hand . the caregiver then aligns a front tip of casing 210 and guides it into front holding clip 218 . this is more a vertical alignment with the front tip snapping below stop 220 . the casing 210 including rounded wings 531 ( fig5 ) that mechanically associate with rounded side walls 739 ( fig7 ). these mechanical structures allow the tip of casing 210 to slide below stop 220 , and snap down into place . once casing 210 is in place , casing 208 aligns vertically and simply slides down , with tabs 262 ( fig6 ) located sliding into slots 222 ( fig8 ) on either side of assembly / disassembly clip 216 . in an embodiment , the flexible circuit portion 212 between the casings 208 and 210 may bulge slightly . fig3 b shows the emitter casing 208 after it has been slid onto assembly / disassembly clip 216 . with the reusable sensor component 204 and the disposable sensor component 206 in a generally flat position , the emitter casing 208 remains vertically mobile in slots 222 of assembly / disassembly clip 216 . when the sensor 102 is wrapped around a measurement site 426 , such as a finger , as shown in fig4 , emitter casing 208 slides forward in assembly / disassembly clip 216 due to the tension from flexible circuit 212 and detector casing 210 being substantially immobile in front holding clip 218 . tabs 262 ( fig6 ) slide away from slots 222 ( fig8 ) and under holding elements 224 ( fig8 ). holding elements 224 prevent emitter casing 208 from moving vertically or further forward by restricting tabs 262 . as stated before , the tension from flexible circuit 212 when it is wrapped around a measurement site 426 prevents the emitter casing 208 from moving horizontally backwards . the immobility of casing 210 , combined with the tabs 262 sliding out of alignment with slots 222 , effectively secure the reusable sensor component 204 with respect to disposable component 206 , with the emitters appropriately position with respect to the detector . thus , realignment through release of tension , i . e ., removing the sensor from an attachment site and straightening it out , ensure straightforward disassembly of the sensor components . although shown using tabs 262 and slots 222 , a skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein a wide variety of mechanical mechanisms that ensure reliable attachability when the sensor is applied to the tissue site and straightforward assembly / disassembly when the sensor is removed . for example , one or more detents that snap closed beyond a catch and are released through pinching could be used to secure the reusable portion 204 to the disposable portion 206 . as alluded to previously , fig4 depicts sensor 102 as would be seen when in use on a measurement site 426 . in this case , the measurement site is a finger , but other sites such as a toe , ear , wrist or ankle may also work . disposable component 206 and reusable component 204 are attached , and reusable component 204 is in the assembled and attached position . longitudinal tension on the flexible circuit 212 from the differing radius between the tape and the circuit has pulled the emitter casing 208 forward , placing tabs 262 under holding elements 224 . fig4 shows that , in an embodiment , emitter casing 208 is rearward with respect to assembly / disassembly clip 216 when in the unattached position ( fig3 b ), but the front of emitter casing 208 is forward and in an embodiment , generally flush with assembly / disassembly clip 216 when in the attached position ( fig4 ). fig5 a - 5b show close up top and bottom perspective views of an embodiment of the detector casing 210 . electrical contact acceptors 528 are shown as insets on the sides of detector casing 210 . in an embodiment , electrical contact acceptors 528 are located on either side of the detector casing 210 and include conductive material that would be connected to a wire in flexible circuit 212 . buttons 530 found on either side of the detector casing 210 are , in the preferred embodiment , generally hemispherical protrusions adapted to sit in depressions 738 found on front holding clip 218 ( see fig7 ). fig7 shows a close up perspective view of an embodiment of the front holding clip 218 , again to show detail less easily seen in smaller figures . while most of the front sensor clip 218 may be made of plastic or some other rigid material , the preferred embodiment has front stop 220 made of rubber as has been discussed . opening 732 is also shown here and may be a hole through front holding clip 218 or may just be of a generally transparent material that will allow light from the leds to enter the tissue at the measurement site and allow light energy to be read by the photodiode . having window 732 be transparent material will allow the sensor to obtain readings while keeping the leds and photodiode from becoming contaminated . other optical filters or the like could also be housed in window 732 . located inside front stop 220 are conducting prongs 734 . conducting prongs 734 are adapted to fit into electrical contact acceptors 528 . in an embodiment , the conducting prongs 734 close the circuit with the information element 136 . when the detector casing 210 clips into front holding clip 218 , the conducting prongs 734 slide into electrical contact with acceptors 528 . the completed circuit allows the sensor 102 , and in turn an oximeter , to communicate with information element 136 . depressions 738 are located on the interior of front holding clip 218 . they are preferably generally hemispherical depressions similar in size to buttons 530 , so as to accept buttons 530 , and hold detector casing 210 in a substantially immobile position relative to front holding clip 218 . thus , a straightforward snap - in snap - out friction fit is accomplished using buttons 520 and depressions 738 . fig6 a - 6b show close up top and bottom perspective views of emitter casing 208 . rear pegs 660 are located on either side of emitter casing 208 . when tabs 262 slide down slots 222 of assembly / disassembly clip 216 , rear alignment pegs 660 slide down behind assembly / disassembly clip 216 . rear pegs 660 provide further restriction from forward movement , and structural support integrity , once emitter casing 208 has slid into a locking position by hitting rear stops 840 in assembly / disassembly clip 216 ( see fig8 ). fig8 illustrates a close - up perspective view of a assembly / disassembly clip 216 according to the preferred embodiment . as discussed emitter casing 208 , slides down into assembly / disassembly clip 216 with tabs 262 passing through slots 222 and rear pegs 660 passing behind assembly / disassembly clip 216 . as emitter casing 208 slides forward due to pull from application to a user , tabs 262 generally restrict over - forward movement or any vertical movement by abutting holding elements 224 . rear pegs 660 also generally abut rear stops 840 . assembly / disassembly clip 216 also has a window 842 that is substantially similar to window 732 on the front holding clip 218 . fig9 shows a top down view of the disposable sensor element . as shown in fig9 , the assembly / disassembly clip 216 and the slots 222 that allow vertical entry of the tabs 262 and the emitter casing 208 . moreover , fig9 shows windows 842 and 732 in assembly / disassembly clip 216 and front holding clip 218 , respectively . fig9 also shows windows 944 and 946 . windows 944 , 946 are included in the base 214 . like the openings 732 , 842 , windows 944 , 946 may either be holes through base 214 , or they may be of a material allowing free light transmission . windows 944 , 946 generally align with openings 732 and 842 to provide optical access to the measurement site for the emitters and detectors of the sensor . fig9 also shows the contact prongs 734 on the insides of front holding clip 218 . the contact prongs 734 connect the reusable sensor component 204 to information element 136 , which may be variously utilized such as for storing information relating to the sensor &# 39 ; s manufacturer or the like . fig1 illustrates an exploded view of an embodiment of disposable sensor component 206 . as shown in fig1 , disposable sensor component 206 comprises a plurality of layers . for example , disposable sensor component 206 includes a base tape 1038 . this base tape 1038 is preferably transparent polyethylene approximately 0 . 001 inches thick . such material can be purchased from various sources , such as product number 3044 from avery dennison medical of 7100 lindsey dr ., mentor , ohio , 44060 . as with all dimension recitations herein , an artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein that the dimensions of a particular layer may advantageously be redesigned according to various design desires or needs , and layers may be added or combined without departing from the scope of the present disclosure . a second layer comprises a tape or web layer 1040 . this layer is preferably white polypropylene also approximately 0 . 001 inches thick . one potential source for this material is scapa north america , 540 north oak street , inglewood , calif ., 90302 , specifically product number p - 341 . tape layer 1040 also has windows 1054 that allow light energy emanating from the sensor emitters to pass through this layer to the measurement site 426 and also allows the light to pass through to the detector . the windows 1054 may be holes , transparent material , optical filters , or the like . in the preferred embodiment , base tape 1038 does not have windows 1054 . base tape 1038 is preferably generally clear as discussed above . this allows light to pass through the tape from the sensor , while also generally reducing contamination of the sensor components . disposable component 206 also includes clip 218 and assembly / disassembly clip 216 . in an embodiment , information element 136 resides in a depression or slot within clip 218 , preferably affixed in place by adhesives and / or mechanical structure . in an embodiment , a polyester film layer 1042 sandwiches the clips 216 , 218 in place . in an embodiment the polyester film layer 1042 is generally clear and approximately 0 . 003 inches thick . polyester film layer 1042 also includes slots 1044 to allow the vertical elements of assembly / disassembly clip 216 and front holding clip 218 to protrude therefrom and to allow polyester film layer 1042 to sit relatively flatly against the bases of assembly / disassembly clip 216 and front holding clip 218 . front stop 220 may be connected to the vertical elements of front holding clip 218 with polyester film layer 1042 therebetween . the disposable portion 204 also includes light - blocking layer 1046 , preferably made of metalized polypropylene approximately 0 . 002 inches thick . this is a commercially available product available , for example , as bioflex ™ rx48p . light - blocking layer 1046 has cut - outs 1048 adapted to accept assembly / disassembly clip 216 and front holding clip 218 . light - blocking layer 1046 increases the likelihood of accurate readings by preventing the penetration to the measurement site of any ambient light energy ( light blocking ) and the acquisition of nonattenuated light from the emitters ( light piping ). above light blocking layer 1046 is an opaque branding layer 1047 also having cut - outs 1048 . this branding layer may advantageously comprise manufacturer &# 39 ; s logos , instructions or other markings . disposable sensor component 206 also comprises face tape 1050 . this face tape 1050 is preferably a clear film approximately 0 . 003 inches thick and may be obtained commercially through companies such as 3m ( product number 1527enp ), located in st . paul , minn ., 55144 . face tape 1050 has cut - outs 1052 adapted to accept assembly / disassembly clip 216 and front holding clip 218 . fig1 illustrates a disposable sensor highlighting issues relating to sensor positioning . generally , when applying the sensor of fig1 , a caregivers will split the center portion between the emitter and detector around , for example , a finger or toe . this may not be ideal , because as shown , it places the emitter 174 and detector 176 in a position where the optical alignment may be slightly or significantly off . fig1 illustrates an embodiment of the disposable component 206 including scoring line 1258 . scoring line 1258 is particularly advantageous , because it aids in quick and proper placement of the sensor on a measurement site 426 . scoring line 1258 lines up with the tip of a fingernail or toenail in at least some embodiments using those body parts as the measurement site . fig1 also illustrates the disposable component 206 where the distance between the windows 944 , 946 is purposefully off center . for example , in an embodiment , the clips 216 and 218 will position the sensor components off center by an approximate 40 %- 60 % split . a scoring line 1258 preferably marks this split , having about 40 % of the distance from window 946 to window 944 as the distance between window 946 and the scoring line 1258 . this leaves the remaining approximately 60 % of the distance between the two windows 944 , 946 as the distance between scoring line 1258 and window 944 . scoring line 1258 preferably lines up with the tip of the nail . the approximately 40 % distance sits atop a measurement site 426 , such as the figure shown in a generally flat configuration . the remaining approximately 60 % of the distance , that from the scoring line 1258 to window 944 , curves around the tip of the measurement site 426 and rests on the underside of the measurement site . this allows windows 944 , 946 — and thus in turn detector 176 and emitter 174 — to optically align across measurement site 426 . scoring line 1258 aids in providing a quick and yet typically more precise guide in placing a sensor on a measurement site 426 than previously disclosed sensors . while disclosed with reference to a 40 %- 60 % split , the off center positioning may advantageously comprise a range from an about 35 %— about 65 % split to an about 45 %— about 55 % split . in a more preferred embodiment , window 944 to scoring line 1258 would comprise a distance of between about 37 . 5 % and about 42 . 5 % of the total distance between window 944 and 946 . in the most preferred embodiment , the distance between window 944 and scoring line 1258 would be approximately 40 % of the total distance between window 944 and window 946 , as is illustrated in fig1 . with a general 40 %- 60 % split in this manner , the emitter and detector should generally align for optimal emission and detection of energy through the measurement site . fig1 illustrates a disposable sensor containing many of the features discussed in this disclosure . based on the disclosure herein , one of ordinary skill in the art may advantageously fix the components discussed herein to form a disposable sensor without moving beyond the scope of the present disclosure . although the sensor disclosed herein with reference to preferred embodiments , the disclosure is not intended to be limited thereby . rather , a skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein a wide number of alternatives for the sensor . for example , the emitter and detector locations may be in the opposite housings from what was discussed here . it is also possible that the assembly / disassembly clip and sensor clip would be reversed in relation to the casings into which they clip . additionally , other combinations , omissions , substitutions and modifications will be apparent to the skilled artisan in view of the disclosure herein . accordingly , the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the reaction of the preferred embodiments , but is to be defined by reference to the appended claims . additionally , all publications , patents , and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication , patent , or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference . | 8 |
referring now to fig1 there is shown a harvester that is realized in the form of a self - propelled forage harvester 110 . the forage harvester 110 is composed of a frame 112 that is carried by front and rear wheels 114 and 116 . the forage harvester 110 is operated from an operator &# 39 ; s cab 118 from which a crop gathering device 120 is visible . the harvest picked up from the ground by means of the crop gathering device 120 , e . g ., hay , grass or the like , is transported to a chopping drum 122 by feed rollers 130 arranged within an infeed housing 132 . the chopping drum 122 chops the harvest into small pieces and deposits them on a conveyor 124 . the harvest is transported from the forage harvester 110 to a trailer which travels alongside said forage harvester , through a discharge chute that is pivotable about an upright axis . a re - crushing device 128 that tangentially feeds the harvest to be transported to the conveyor 124 extends between the chopping drum 122 and the conveyor 124 . the crop gathering device 120 is realized in the form of a so - called pick - up in this embodiment . the crop gathering device 120 is supported on the ground by wheels 140 . the crop gathering device 120 is designed for picking up the harvest that is deposited on the field in the form of swaths and to feed the harvest to the forage harvester 110 for additional processing . during this process , the crop gathering device 120 is moved over the field a short distance above the ground during harvesting , with the crop gathering device being raised in order to be transported on a road or the like . the crop gathering device 120 contains a conveyor 134 in the form of a crew conveyor that transports the picked - up harvest from the sides of the crop gathering device 120 to a not - shown delivery opening situated in the center , with the feed rollers 130 being arranged behind the delivery opening . a pick - up 136 that is driven in rotation , analogously to the conveyor 134 , is arranged underneath the conveyor 134 and lifts the harvest off the ground with its conveyor prongs in order to transfer the harvest onto the conveyor 134 . a holding - down device 138 in the form of a plate is arranged above the pick - up 136 . a flexible shield or protective element 144 extends between the lower front edge of the operator &# 39 ; s cab 118 and the front edge of the upper side of a rear frame element 135 of the crop gathering device 120 . this shield 144 is preferably constructed of a flexible material such as cloth , rubber blanket , plastic or an industrial woven fabric , with those of such materials that have a noise - absorbing characteristic being particularly preferred . the shield 144 extends over the entire width of the cab 118 and covers the entire infeed housing 132 . consequently , the shield 144 also covers the functional elements of the forage harvester 110 that are arranged downstream of the infeed housing , e . g ., the drives of the harvest conveying and processing elements . it would also be conceivable to make the shield 144 identical in width to that of the forage harvester 110 . the shield 144 is more or less tightly stretched independently of the position of the vertically adjustable crop gathering device 120 . the shield 144 prevents crop particles whirled up by the crop gathering device 120 from accumulating on the infeed housing 132 and the subsequent subassemblies or functional groups including the respective drives . the crop particles slide down on the shield 144 , which is sloped downward and toward the front , and are incorporated into the material flow processed by the forage harvester 110 . in addition , the shield 144 absorbs the noises produced by , in particular , the feed rollers 130 , the chopping drum 122 , the grain processor 124 , and if applicable , a so - called power chute or paddle blower arranged between the chopping drum 122 and the blower 124 . this means that the operating noise of the forage harvester 110 is reduced . the lateral regions of the flexible shield 144 hang downward and extend toward the rear beside the cab 118 so as to prevent the admission of dust and / or small crop particles from the side . it would also be conceivable to mount the flexible shield 144 on the frame 112 beneath the cab 118 in order to shield all functional subassemblies from crop particles that become airborne due to operation of the crop gathering arrangement 120 . it would also be possible to arrange an upper crossbeam on the front side of the infeed housing 132 in order to attach the front side of a shield thereon . in this case , it is not necessary to remove the shield before the crop gathering device is detached , and to replace the shield once the crop gathering device is reattached . this means that the shield does not necessarily have to extend up to the crop gathering device 120 . in this respect , it suffices if the shield covers a significant area of the functional elements on the front side of the harvester 110 . referring now to fig2 there is shown the flexible shield 144 . it covers the entire width of the infeed housing 132 , which is illustrated with broken lines , and consequently the functional elements located underneath the infeed housing . at its upper edge , the flexible shield 144 is mounted on the front side of the operator &# 39 ; s cab by means of three t - shaped latches 148 that extend through corresponding holes 146 in the shield 144 . the t - shaped latches , which are connected to the operator &# 39 ; s cab 118 , can be turned between the holding position , that is shown in the drawings , wherein they hold the shield 144 in place , and a release position in which they are turned by 90 ° relative to the holding position and allow the removal of the shield from the cab 118 . at its lower edge , the shield 144 is also mounted on the frame element 135 of the crop gathering device 120 in a releasable fashion by means of three rotatable t - shaped latches 148 . in order to rapidly gain access to elements of the forage harvester 110 that are situated within the infeed housing 132 , or to the chopping drum 122 or devices assigned thereto , e . g ., the sharpening or grinding device or the kernel processor , without having to remove the entire shield 144 , the shield is provided with an access element that is realized in the form of a zipper 150 with an opening slide or element 152 . the zipper 150 has the shape of a u and extends from a first end near the right lower edge of the flexible shield 144 upward and toward the rear , parallel to its lateral edge , into the vicinity of the cab 118 . from near the cab 118 , the zipper 150 extends toward the left , as far as the left edge of the shield 144 , and then down again toward the lower edge of the shield 144 on the frame element 135 . this means that a tongue - shaped section 162 of the shield 144 can be swung downward after the zipper 150 is opened in order to simplify access to the parts of the forage harvester located underneath the shield . it would also be conceivable to utilize several zippers such that several smaller sections of the shield 144 could swing downward . identical access elements may be provided on the right side and the left side . the second embodiment of the invention , which is illustrated in fig3 is essentially realized identically to the embodiment shown in fig2 . however , in this case , a zipper 150 ′ extends across a width of a shield 144 ′. this means that the shield 144 ′ can be divided into two halves of approximately identical size once the zipper 150 ′ is opened in order to gain access to the parts of the forage harvester 110 located underneath the shield 144 ′. the zipper 150 ′ could also be arranged in the vicinity of the cab 118 such that the majority of the shield 144 ′ could be swung or rolled downward and would not interfere with the maintenance procedures . this shield 144 ′ ( which does not include side hanging areas ) could be made as wide as the forage harvester 110 . in the third embodiment , which is illustrated in fig4 a flexible shield 144 ″ is utilized that is designed similarly to a window shade . at its lower end , the shield 144 ″ is releasably mounted on the frame element 135 by the rotatable t - shaped latches 148 that are arranged on the frame element 135 and extend through corresponding holes in the flexible protective shield 144 ″. at its opposite end , the shield 144 ″ is attached to a wind - up shaft 154 that is provided with a rotary drive 160 . the rotary drive 160 applies a torque to the wind - up shaft 154 . once the flexible shield 144 ″ is released from the frame element 135 , the rotary drive 160 causes the shield 144 ″ to be rolled up on the wind - up shaft 154 . thus , it is easily possible to gain access to the parts of the forage harvester 110 that are located underneath the flexible protective shield 144 ″. in addition , the flexible protective shield 144 ″ is always held so tightly stretched that crop particles that engage it slide downward . it should be noted that it is practical to remove crop particles that might lie on the flexible protective shield 144 or 144 ′ before opening the zipper 150 or 150 ′, or before the shield 144 ″ is wound up , so as to prevent the crop particles from falling onto the drive subassemblies and functional subassemblies located underneath the shield 144 , 144 ′ or 144 ″. having described the preferred embodiment , it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims . | 0 |
the invention is hereinafter described in connection with the preferred embodiments , in which the transfer mechanism that catches and transfers slide - like test elements is disposed outside of an incubator particularly positioned in an analyzer , to transfer the test element to a wash station and back to the incubator , and in which the test elements are of a type similar to those obtained from eastman kodak company under the trademark &# 34 ; ektachem &# 34 ; slides , or from fuji photo under the tradename &# 34 ; drychem &# 34 ;. in addition , such a transfer mechanism is useful adjacent any processing station of an analyzer , whether or not it is the incubator and regardless of the position of that station , to take the slide - like test element to any other processing station and back to the first processing station from which the test element is received . still further , such a transfer mechanism is useful regardless of the construction of the test element , although generally planar elements are preferred since the transfer mechanism is shaped preferably to handle such planar elements . an analyzer 10 in which this shuttle invention is useful comprises , fig1 preferably a station 20 for loading a slide - like test element e into a sample dispensing station 30 , and for loading such an element , along path 32 , now bearing patient sample , into an incubator 40 . preferably , loading station 20 includes a pusher blade 22 that pushes an element e along path 29 so as to be injected into station 30 . the loading station includes tip locator 34 , fig2 with two apertures 36 , 37 as is conventional for patient sample metering , and an aperture 38 for reference liquid metering , as is also conventional . also preferably , the incubator is the rotating type , arrow 42 and includes a reflectometer 50 , fig1 for scanning colorimetric test elements while they are held at a plurality of stations 44 , etc ., fig2 as defined by a rotor 46 . such an analyzer includes an electrometer 52 , fig1 for reading potentiometric test elements after they are removed from the incubator by , e . g ., a pusher blade 48 , fig2 . a wide variety of incubators is useful for this purpose , for example , that shown in , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 935 , 374 . similar to the construction of the analyzer in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 857 , 471 , a wash station 70 is disposed outside of incubator 40 , displaced circumferentially from station 30 . the wash station comprises a boss 72 and aperture 74 that serve to hold a dispensing tip in proper orientation with respect to a test element to be washed . in between stations 30 and 70 is an eject station 80 , including a discharge path defined by aperture 82 , fig1 into which a test element is ejected , arrow 84 , when its readings are completed . shuttle apparatus is then provided to allow test elements to be intercepted at station 80 , taken to wash station 70 , and reinserted into the incubator , as in the &# 39 ; 471 patent . in accord with one aspect of the invention , it is the improvement of this apparatus to which the invention is addressed . more specifically , the shuttle apparatus 100 , fig2 comprises a catcher plate 110 , means 160 for supporting plate 110 for movement along a path 112 , fig1 that is preferably curvilinear , and means 140 , fig2 for driving plate 110 along path 112 , fig1 . importantly , path 112 is constructed to extend back to station 30 to intersect path 32 , so that a test element washed at station 70 can be reinserted into the loading path 32 . referring now to fig4 - 6 , catcher plate 110 comprises a frame 120 shaped to hold a test element e , shown in phantom . accordingly , frame 120 is generally rectangular , and is provided with two opposed shoulders 122 , 124 shaped and positioned , fig6 to restrain element e from moving off plate 110 as the latter moves on path 112 , fig4 . shoulder 122 is the leading shoulder and is preferably beveled , to allow shoulder 122 to cam under element e when the latter is returned to and retained at path 32 , fig1 as described hereinafter . a central support member 128 is flexibly connected to frame 120 , fig4 to do the principal carrying of element e . the flexibility is achieved by reason of the cantilever connection of support member 128 at one side 130 of frame 120 . as a result , member 128 is able to flex relative to frame 120 , in and out of the plane defined by frame 120 . plate 110 is preferably integrally connected to a drive tongue 132 that extends along a curvilinear arc that matches the curve of means 160 and path 112 . the outside edge of tongue 132 has a raised ridge 134 provided with means , such as slots 136 , to cooperate with a sensor . the inside edge 138 of tongue 132 comprises a raised ridge that is provided with a rack 139 . rack 139 is driven by gear 142 of drive means 140 , fig2 . support means 160 for plate 110 and its tongue 132 comprises two opposed track members 162 and 164 , fig7 - 9 , between which plate 110 and tongue 132 reciprocate . members 162 and 164 preferably have the same arcuate curvature as tongue 132 . most preferably , member 162 is generally flat , fig8 and is apertured at 82 for element discharge , and at 166 to receive drive gear 142 , fig7 . opposed track member 164 is rail - shaped at 170 , 172 to accommodate ridge 134 , and rack 139 of tongue 132 , fig8 . member 164 is secured to lower member 162 at bottom portions 174 and 176 . member 164 is apertured to accommodate gear 142 , and further at 74 , fig1 and 2 , to provide for wash station 70 . in another aspect of the invention , there is provided stop means 180 that allow a washed test element to be returned and retained at station 30 , fig7 . for this purpose , stop means 180 is disposed adjacent the injection path 29 , 32 , at the intersection location of that path with path 112 . most preferably , stop means 180 comprise a flexure plate 182 , fig2 and 7 , that is cantilevered by arm 184 from the rest of upper member 164 . the outer edge 186 of plate 182 provides a shoulder against which a test element abuts , when it moves along path 29 , 32 . in addition , flexure plate 182 includes on its undersurface 189 , fig9 one and preferably two camming feet 190 , 192 , fig7 and 9 , which allow plate 182 to ride up over a test element , fig1 , being moved by plate 110 on path 112 to path 29 , 32 . optionally , a viewing port 196 can be provided , fig4 adjacent station 30 , to allow a wetness detector to scan a slide element as liquid is dispensed thereon . the apparatus of the invention further includes bias means 200 at station 30 , fig3 and locating surfaces 210 , 212 , fig1 , at wash station 70 . in station 30 , the bias means 200 acts to bias a test element up against the tip locator 34 at station 30 . means 200 comprise a platen 202 that is beveled at 203 , fig1 , and a spring 204 exerting an upward force f , arrow 206 , fig3 . entrance slot 208 allows a test element to be inserted into station 30 and onto either platen 202 or shuttle plate 110 , as shown in fig3 . at station 70 , fig1 , stop surface 210 is provided to stop the movement of a test element e &# 39 ; even as plate 110 continues to advance slightly further , arrow 112 . undersurface 212 at station 70 is the ceiling against which element e &# 39 ; is pushed by flexible support member 128 . an opposite depression 220 is formed in lower track member 162 to receive frame 120 of plate 110 , that is cammed downwardly due to camming surface 122 of frame 120 pressing against element e &# 39 ;. in addition , a camming surface , not shown , extending diagonally from surface 210 ensures proper location of element e &# 39 ; in the direction out of the plane of fig1 . the wash method will be readily apparent from the previous description . in brief , plate 110 is moved by drive means 140 into position so as to intercept an ejected test element e &# 39 ;, fig1 , thus preventing element e &# 39 ; from falling out discharge aperture 82 . next , plate 110 moves along path 112 due to the action of drive means 140 , until element e &# 39 ; is at wash station 70 , fig1 . a suitable pipette , not shown , is inserted into aperture 74 , and boss 72 serves to hold the pipette the proper distance within station 70 . at the same time , plate 110 pulls element e &# 39 ; up against stop shoulder 210 and the flexure of support member 128 is such as to push element e &# 39 ; up against undersurface 212 of station 70 . the proper spacing of the pipette and element e &# 39 ; is now defined , which can be , e . g ., about 1 . 3 mm . about 10 μl of wash liquid is preferably ejected onto the element e &# 39 ;, preferably at a rate of about 0 . 5 μl per second , for 20 seconds . however , other rates can also be used , depending on the hydrophilicity of the element being washed . after washing , plate 110 is now returned towards station 30 and away from station 70 , by reversing the direction of rotation of gear 142 . in accord with another aspect of the invention , the wash method differs from that previously used in that the washed element is returned to the station from which elements that have just received sample are loaded into the incubator . this allows the analyzer to be simplified in that the same pusher blade used to initially load the element into the analyzer , is reused to re - load the element . more specifically , as plate 110 and element e &# 39 ; move from the vicinity of discharge path 82 into station 30 where path 112 intersects path 29 , 32 , fig1 , camming surfaces 190 and 192 allow stop means flexure plate 182 to ride up over element e &# 39 ;. at the same time , platen 202 is cammed downwardly , due to the camming action caused by surface 203 . once element e &# 39 ; is returned to station 30 , fig1 a - 13c , stop means 180 is effective to restrain element e &# 39 ; from leaving station 30 with plate 110 . that is , shoulder 186 slips behind element e &# 39 ;, fig1 a , and cam surface 193 allows plate 110 to slip under element e &# 39 ;, so that as plate 110 starts moving out of station 30 along the path of arrow 112 , fig1 b , shoulder 186 holds element e &# 39 ; from following plate 110 . plate 110 is carefully advanced into the position shown in fig1 a , by drive means 140 , to ensure element e &# 39 ; is advanced past shoulder 186 . the steps of travel of means 140 can be adjusted to ensure that this advance occurs . meanwhile , platen 202 is pushed up by its spring 204 , to further hold element e &# 39 ;. that is , plate 110 pushes element e &# 39 ; up due to the upward force of the platen . when plate 110 is completely withdrawn , fig1 c , element e &# 39 ; is positioned for reloading into incubator 40 , using pusher blade 22 . ( the positioning of the parts in fig1 c is also their position when an element is first loaded into station 30 for dispensing patient sample and / or reference liquid via apertures 36 , 37 and 38 , of which 38 is not shown .) a bumper spring 300 is preferably included , fig1 a , against which plate 110 pushes when element e &# 39 ; is being returned to station 30 . this spring prevents over - travel of plate 110 , but primarily it assists in holding test elements against stop shoulder 186 , fig1 b . following reloading of the washed slide into the incubator , which occurs after the events illustrated in fig1 c , further incubation and a reading of the element occur . when a read element is ready for disposal , ejection occurs using pusher blade 48 , arrow 310 , fig2 except this time , plate 110 is not in position at station 80 to catch the element . instead , it falls through aperture 82 , fig1 into a suitable disposal container . the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof , but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention . | 8 |
although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention , the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structure . the scope of the invention is defined in the claims appended hereto . fig1 discloses a wrench 10 which has a handle 12 and a neck portion 14 . a wrench head 16 is integrally joined with the neck portion 14 . the wrench head has wall means 17 defining a cylindrical opening 18 with a distal slot 20 intended to be insertable over a line or conduit to enable access to an inline nut . the head portion also has wall means defining cavities or recesses 22 which are sized to receive pawls 24 which are pivotally supported by pins 26 secured to the wrench head 16 . the pawls constitute the drive means . as illustrated in fig5 the pawls 24 are spring biased by springs 28 to position pawl tips 27 in an engagement position with a socket as hereinafter described . the pawls have a projecting head 30 beyond the outline of the wrench head to facilitate manual manipulation thereof for insertion and release of the sockets . the sockets which cooperate with the wrench illustration in fig1 are disclosed in fig3 . the socket 40 is provided with a cylindrical wall portion 42 with internal flats 44 arranged in appropriate geometric relationship to engage a hex nut or the like . the flats 44 are arranged around a central aperture 46 which communicates with an elongated slot 48 defined by socket walls 50 and 52 . the socket 40 has a head portion 54 which can be enlarged with respect to the part 40 and provided with circumferentially arranged teeth 56 which are arranged at a radius adapted to interfit into the opening 18 in the wrench head 16 and cooperate with and be engaged with the pawls 24 as illustrated in fig5 . the surface 19 provides for rotatable support of the socket 40 . fig6 shows a modified embodiment in which gears 60 and 62 are employed to engage the teeth 56 of the socket . a driving member 58 is employed which can be coupled to an air motor or other motor or device for rotating the socket . in use the socket is inserted in the wrench head by manually pivoting the pawls from the cylindrical plane defined by the surface 19 . the pawls are then released and the wrench can be ratcheted in either direction . the wrench is placed in operative position on an inline nut by aligning the slot 48 in the socket head with the slot 20 in the wrench head and slipping the wrench over the line and moving the wrench axially into position over the line onto the nut . when the tightening of the nut or loosening thereof is accomplished , the socket can be easily released by manually releasing the pawls and the socket pulled axially from the wrench head no matter what position the socket is in . the wrench can then be withdrawn from the conduit . | 1 |
now referring to fig1 , a preferred method of making a laminate of the present invention is illustrated and indicated generally by the numeral 10 . method 10 illustrates use of a conveyor belt 12 , which is shown as moving in the direction indicated by arrow 14 , i . e ., from left to right as viewed in the figure . as sheets of glass 16 pass under sandblasting apparatus 18 the upwardly facing surface 20 thereof is roughened by a conventional sandblasting step . then a layer of monomeric adhesive 22 is coated onto surface 20 of glass sheet 16 by extruder 24 . next a second sheet of glass 26 is moved downwardly as indicated by arrow 28 and brought into contact with surface 20 of glass sheet 16 and bonded thereto to form laminate 30 . it is contemplated that monomeric adhesive layer 22 will comprise an effective amount of a photochromic moiety . furthermore , it is preferred that monomeric adhesive 22 is selected to have substantially the same refractive index as glass sheets 22 so that the laminate 30 will appear to be a single homogeneous sheet of glass . as the glass is suitable for its intended end use . automotive glasses are especially contemplated for use herein . suitable adhesives for use herein are optical adhesives with a refractive index substantially the same as the sheets of glass bonded thereby . preferably the adhesive is a monomeric adhesive which class of adhesives have been found preferable as carriers for the photochromic moiety . an example of an adhesive which is suitable for use herein is norland adhesive nao 76 uv cured optical monomer adhesive . suitable photochromic moieties are well - known in the art and include those selected from the group consisting of anthraquinones , naphtopyrans , phhalocyanines , spiro - oxazines , chromenes , pyrans including spiro - pyrans and fulgides . suitable photochromic molecules include but are not limited to those disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 882 , 556 mar . 16 , 1999 to perrott et al . which is specifically incorporated by reference herein . reversacl photochromic dyes commercially available from james robinson are particularly suitable for use herein . in addition to photochromic molecules , the photochromic composition may include a non - photochromic dye if it is desired to provide a tint to the lens even when the photochromic molecules are not activated . it has been found that a limited amount of ultraviolet ( uv ) absorbers , light stabilizers such as hindered amine light stablilizers , antioxidants , and or free radical inhibitors may also be included in the adhesive layer . the use of uv absorbers should be limited to some extent because they tend to have a detrimental effect on the life of the photochromic moiety . on the other hand , free radical inhibitors have a beneficial effect on the life of the photochromic moiety . 3052 , 3055 , 3056 from sandoz / clariant , tinuvin 770 , 765 , 144 , 622 from ciba geigy , cyasorb 3346 from american cyanamid . examples of antioxidants include irganox 3114 from ciba geigy . suitable uv absorbers work by absorbing ultraviolet radiation and converting the radiation into thermal energy through tautomerism . of course , the selected uv absorber must not substantially absorb the range of uv light required to activate the photochromic moiety . examples of suitable uv absorbers include cyasorb vv - 9 and uv 531 , cyaguard uv 1164 and 1084 from american cyanamid , sanduvor vsu from sandoz / clariant , uvinul 3035 from basf , tinuvin 328 and p and irgastab 2002 from ciba geigy , rylex nbc from dupont , uv chek am 101 , 105 , 126 , and 205 from ferro corp and carstab 700 from morton international . further understanding of the present invention will be had from the following example . 10 g of norland adhesive nao 76 uv cured optical monomer adhesive is mixed with a mixture of 2 % acetone , a photochromic dye ( keystone plum red ), and 0 . 1 % of irganox 1076 . the mixture is then used to bond two sheets of tempered glass to form a laminate . the laminate is then exposed to uv light to cure the adhesive . then the laminate is a shatter proof laminate that turns a brilliant purple color when exposed to uv light . | 1 |
before going into the details of specific embodiments , it will be helpful to understand from a more general perspective the various elements and methods which may be related to the present invention . since a major aspect of the present invention is directed to documents such as web pages transmitted over networks , an understanding of networks and their operating principles would be helpful . we will not go into great detail in describing the networks to which the present invention is applicable . reference has also been made to the applicability of the present invention to a global network such as the internet . for details on internet nodes , objects and links , reference is made to the text , mastering the internet , g . h . cady et al ., published by sybex inc ., alameda , calif ., 1996 . any data communication system which interconnects or links computer controlled systems with various sites defines a communications network . a network may be as simple as two linked computers or it may be any combination of lans ( local area networks ) or wans ( wide area networks ). of course , the internet or world wide web is a global network of a heterogeneous mix of computer technologies and operating systems . higher level objects are linked to the lower level objects in the hierarchy through a variety of network server computers . these network servers are the key to network distribution , such as the distribution of web pages and related documentation . the html language is described in detail in “ just java ”, 2nd edition , peter van der linden , sun microsystems , 1997 , particularly chapter 7 , pp . 249 - 268 , dealing with the handling of web pages with embedded hotspot activated linkages and also in the text , “ mastering the internet ”, cady et al ., published by sybex , san francisco , 1996 , particularly pp . 637 - 642 on html in the formation of web pages . in addition , significant aspects of this invention will involve web browsers . a general and comprehensive description of browsers may be found in the aforementioned cady et al . text , pp . 291 - 313 . referring to fig1 a typical data processing system is shown which may be used in conjunction with html in implementing the present invention on the receiving interactive workstation . a central processing unit ( cpu ), such as one of the powerpc microprocessors available from international business machines corporation ( powerpc is a trademark of international business machines corporation ) is provided and interconnected to various other components by system bus 12 . an operating system 41 runs on cpu 10 and provides control and is used to coordinate the function of the various components of fig1 . operating system 41 may be one of the commercially available operating systems such as the os / 2 operating system available from international business machines corporation ( os / 2 is a trademark of international business machines corporation ) or the windows 95 system ( a trademark of and available from microsoft corporation ). any conventional network browser system involving html language with embedded hotspots or links forms part of application 40 , runs in conjunction with operating system 41 and provides output calls to the operating system 41 which implements the various functions to be performed by the html application 40 . also included in the application software 40 will be the application modifications of this invention for providing the hotspots only alternate version of web pages . the browser program operates in combination with the program of the present invention , or the program of this invention could desirably be incorporated into the browser program . the browser program , in combination with the operating system , provides the basic receiving workstation on which the web pages are received and on which the program of the present invention may be implemented . a read only memory ( rom ) 16 is connected to cpu 10 , via bus 12 and includes the basic input / output system ( bios ) that controls the basic computer functions . random access memory ( ram ) 14 , i / o adapter 18 and communications adapter 34 are also interconnected to system bus 12 . it should be noted that software components , i . e . the operating system 41 and applications 40 including the html and browser modified to provide the alternate web pages , are loaded into ram 14 , which is the computer system &# 39 ; s main memory . i / o adapter 18 may be a small computer system interface ( scsi ) adapter that communicates with the disk storage device 20 , i . e . a hard drive . communications adapter 34 interconnects bus 12 with an outside network enabling the workstation to communicate with web servers to receive document pages over a local area network ( lan ) or wide area network ( wan ) which includes , of course , the internet or world wide web . i / o devices are also connected to system bus 12 via user interface adapter 22 and display adapter 36 . keyboard 24 , trackball 32 and mouse 26 are all interconnected to bus 12 through user interface adapter 22 . display adapter 36 includes a frame buffer 39 which is a storage device that holds a representation of each pixel on the display screen 38 . images may be stored in frame buffer 39 for display on monitor 38 through various components such as a digital to analog converter ( not shown ) and the like . by using the aforementioned i / o devices , a user is capable of inputting data and other information to the system through the trackball 32 or mouse 26 to make his selection of the alternate page version containing hotspots only via display 38 . a generalized diagram of a portion of an internet which the computer 56 controlled display terminal 57 used for web page or other document display of the present invention is connected as shown in fig2 . computer 56 and display terminal 57 are the computer system shown in fig1 and connection 58 ( fig2 ) is the network connection shown in fig1 . reference may be made to the above - mentioned cady et al . text , particularly pp . 136 - 147 , for typical connections between local display workstations to the internet via network servers , any of which may be used to implement the system on which this invention is used . the system embodiment of fig2 is one known as a host - dial connection . such host - dial connections have been in use for over 30 years through network access servers 53 which are linked 51 to the net 50 . the servers 53 are maintained by a service provider to the client &# 39 ; s display terminal 57 . the host &# 39 ; s server 53 is accessed by the client terminal 57 through a normal dial - up telephone linkage 58 via modem 54 , telephone line 55 and modem 52 . the html files representative of the web pages are downloaded to display terminal 57 through controlling server 53 and computer 56 via the telephone line linkages from server 53 which may have accessed them from the internet 50 via linkage 51 . in accordance with the present invention , the user at display terminal 57 is prompted by the program on computer 56 to make his selections as to which version , hotspots only or full to transmit . these choices are conveyed to the server 53 usually via the browser program and , in turn , carried out by the server 53 . before proceeding with specific software embodiments , some additional background information should be considered . because of the ease and availability of web browsers , an almost unimaginable number and variety of pages and topics are available at low cost to tens of millions of users . unlike other database access systems , everyone on the web has the ability to incorporate additional information . also , as has been set forth earlier , in the era of the web , anyone and everyone can design a web page . as a result , pages are frequently designed by developers without usability skills . the present invention , as has been set forth hereinabove , avoids needless excessive downloading and browsing time spent dealing with unneeded text and images . the present invention is preferably implemented on the net browser in combination with standard browser functions . a graphical user interface is provided within the browser which would prompt the user to indicate selection of the alternate hotspots only version of web pages . if the user selects the hotspots only versions , then the browser requests the network server to transmit that version to the receiving display station . the advantages of the present invention may be readily seen with respect to fig3 and 4 . fig3 is a diagram of a typical web page 61 which may be received via the world wide web . it contains hotspots or links , such as terms 63 . on the present page , these have been received and underlined to designate them as hotspots or links . in the description which follows , “ hotspots ” and “ links ” may be used interchangeably to indicate the anchors which are embedded in web pages to link the user to other pages and data sources . hotspot or anchor is the more exact technical term used to designate a linkage ; but link is widely used , as in the flowchart of fig5 hereinafter . the page also contains , of course , text 65 and image 64 . it also contains a head or header 62 . when the user selects the links - only or hotspot only alternative version of the page , he gets the page 66 shown in fig4 which , in addition to head 62 , only shows links 63 . text 65 and image 64 of fig3 are gone . it should be understood that in this links - only version many layout variations for the remaining links 63 could be implemented . for example , the links could be aligned in a single column or in a single row . now with respect to the flowchart of fig5 we will describe an embodiment of the invention . when illustrative tags or code are given , they will be in html . the program may be desirably incorporated in any conventional browser program such as internet explorer or netscape . the display station in fig2 is made up of display 57 controlled by computer 56 which has a browser such as netscape or internet explorer modified in accordance with this invention . thus , fig5 the user , via the browser 70 , requests a particular url ( uniform resource locator ) using the links - only option , step 71 . the browser sends to the network server 53 ( fig2 ), a message which , for example , could be a character string in a cgi ( common gateway interface ) format , e . g . : in response , the server 53 ( cgi_server ) determines via decision step 72 , fig5 if the user has selected the links - only ( hotspot only ) option . if no , then there is a normal full web page download , step 75 , to the receiving display station , 56 , 57 . if yes , then , step 73 , the server 53 , fig2 executes the process for links - only . the web page file specified by the url is located , step 74 . then the head section which is all of the data in the page file from the beginning up to the & lt ; body & gt ; tag is copied to a links - only file copy , step 76 . then , step 77 , the data in the body section of the page is scanned for html links . these links are located by searching for the standard html & lt ; a href =“ . . . ”& gt ; and & lt ;/ a & gt ; tags . next , decision step 78 , if a link is found and the link is not a local link , i . e . it does not refer to an anchor or hotspot within the same document , then the link is copied to the links - only file , step 79 . in this connection , it should be noted that a local link can be detected by its leading ‘#’ in the href definition . also , it may be advantageous to generate a line break (& lt ; br & gt ;) after each link stored in the links - only file to enhance readability . after step 79 or , if in step 78 , there is no link found , the process moves to decision step 80 where it is determined whether we are at the end of the body section ; this is marked by the & lt ;/ body & gt ; tag . if yes , end the links - only file by a & lt ;/ html & gt ; tag , step 81 , and send the links - only file to the browser , step 70 , which may now display the links - only file . if the decision from step 80 is no , indicating that we are not at the end of the page body , then the process returns to step 77 and the page body is scanned for further links . although certain preferred embodiments have been shown and described , it will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope and intent of the appended claims . | 6 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the figures , like numerals being used to refer to like and corresponding parts of the various drawings . the present invention generally relates to connecting wireless transmitter and / or receiver components electronic devices . for this purpose the invention employs the use of flexible circuit boards — particularly flexible printed circuits ( fpc ) technology . devices with prior art micro - wire connections were discussed above in regards to fig1 , fig2 , fig3 , fig4 and fig5 . typical micro - wires have a diameter of approximately 1 . 37 mm ( 54 mil ). using fpcs the applicants have made connectors which are less than 0 . 50 mm ( 20 mils ) in thickness which are drastically less susceptible to kinking , crushing , crimping or other hazards mentioned above . fig6 illustrates a simple embodiment of an fpc rf electrical connector 100 according to the present invention . it is comprised of the fpc section 110 and two surface mounted rf coaxial connectors 112 . fig7 illustrates a cross section of the fpc section 110 along the length of the fpc section 110 . the cross - section includes a central conductor 120 , surrounded by non - conductive dielectric 122 , a top shield 124 a bottom shield 126 and two side shields 128 and 130 . the shielding layers 124 , 126 , 128 , 130 are surrounded by another isolative dielectric layer 136 . in one embodiment of such a cross section , the dimensions of the device are approximately 0 . 50 mm thick 134 and 1 . 85 mm wide 132 . fig8 illustrates the layer construction of the embodiment of the fbc section 110 illustrated in fig7 . in this embodiment the fpc is constructed of a three conductive layer fpc . the embodiment illustrated has 7 total layers in alternative embodiments other numbers of layers are possible . the layers are comprised of two different types of materials , conductive materials and dielectric non - conductive materials . in the present embodiment , the conductive material is copper and the dielectric material is mylar . other suitable materials for each are available and known in the art . the first layer 140 is a solid dielectric layer . the second layer 142 ( first conductive layer ) contains the bottom shield 126 base of conductive material flanked by dielectric material 143 . the third layer 144 contains a central dielectric material 125 flanked by side shields 128 and 130 which are flanked by dielectric sections 145 . the fourth layer 146 ( second conductive layer ) contains a central dielectric the rf conductor 120 flanked by dielectric sections 121 flanked by the side shields 128 and 130 which are flanked by dielectric sections 147 . the fifth layer 148 contains a central dielectric section 123 flanked by the side shields 128 and 130 flanked by dielectric sections 149 . the sixth layer 150 ( third conductive layer contains the top shield 124 flanked by dielectric sections 151 . the seventh layer is a solid dielectric section . the entire stack may be covered with an isolative conformal coating . the processes and thicknesses and materials used for manufacture of suitable flexible printed circuits are known to those skilled the art of the manufacture of fpcs . fig9 illustrates two alternative geometries for the construction . these two embodiments differ from each other and the embodiment 110 illustrated in fig7 in that they are of different widths 132 , 154 and 156 . as the width increases the angle of exposure 158 160 ( angle not shown in fig7 ) of the side shields of the radiation from the central conductor 120 decreases . in each the center conductor 120 is of the same geometry . the top and bottom shields in the embodiment shown are solid . the side shields can be of varying construction as will be illustrated below . the constructions may result in different levels of signal leakage . the wider the width the less this leakage . however the wider the geometry the less routable the fpc cable will be . therefore the geometry of fig7 maximizes routability while the widest geometry in fig9 minimizes leakage while the median width is a balance between the other two geometries . fig1 illustrates a configuration of the side shields 128 and 130 . in this embodiment the side shield is constructed of vias or a series of channels that connect the top and bottom shields ( not shown ) but not to each other . these vias can be of different shapes . in the example shown they are cylindrical , in other configurations they could be square , rectangular oval or any number of other shapes . the shape and spacing of the vias should take into consideration the frequencies of the rf signal to be carried by the conductor 120 in that the spacing should be less than the shortest wavelength to be carried on conductor 120 . fig1 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the side shields . in this embodiment the side shields are constructed of solid sheets of conductive material . the construction is less flexible than the construction illustrated in fig1 but does a better job preventing side leakage . fig1 illustrates yet another alternative embodiment of the side shields . this construction balances between flexibility and minimizing side leakage . fig1 illustrates an embodiment of an fpc rf connector 200 . in this embodiment the fpc is constructed to have two side - by - side shielded conductors 210 and 220 . the advantage of the side - by - side configuration is that the important height dimension is minimized . however , depending on the construction of the side shields , it may be necessary to bolster the shielding between the two conductors to avoid cross talk between the conductors due to leakage . fig1 illustrates an alternative two conductor fpc rf connector 250 . in this configuration the shielded conductors 230 and 240 are stacked . the advantage is that the side leakage is less of an issue , the disadvantage is nearly twice the height dimension and less flexibility . other configurations are also possible such as staggered configurations . either staggered vertically or horizontally or both are all possible . fig1 and fig1 illustrate the relative leakage profiles of the prior art micro - wire and the current stitched side shield design . the relative leakage in the z - axis in the fpc connector is relatively smaller than the leakage out the sides . in many instances this z - axis leakage is more important to the mobile device than the side leakage . fig1 . illustrates the rf component connections necessary for the rf related components illustrated in fig3 . one such connection path is labeled 600 . fig1 illustrates a fpc rf connector cable 610 that is designed to connect all the rf components 16 , 22 , 24 illustrated in fig1 . fig1 illustrates the fpc rf connector 610 in place connecting all the shown components 16 , 22 , 24 with a single part with less steps with greater consistency that the prior art use of multiple micro - wires . in this embodiment all of the connections 616 , 622 , 624 can be made in a single step unlike the prior art process of connecting multiple micro - wire coaxial cables one end at a time . all of the routing was taken care of in the design of the fpc . all of the routing is self - aligning — align the connectors 616 , 622 and 624 in one step and make the connections . all of the rf wiring is now easily located by locating the rf fpc which can easily identified from a manual to the device by looking at the shape of the fpc . all of these advantages result in faster assembly with more consistency and less error during the assembly and or repair or service of the device in which it is employed . fig2 illustrates the mounting pads for mounting surface mount coaxial rf connectors to and embodiment of the fpc rf connector pad 300 connects to the shielded conductor and 302 and 304 connect to the shields for the conductor connected to pad 300 . fig2 illustrates a pad configuration for an fpc rf connector with two side - by - side shielded conductors . fig2 illustrates the pad configuration for a stacked two shielded conductor fpc rf connector which are stacked on the left side and branched on the right side . fig2 illustrates a side illustration of a fpc rf connector 100 with a female coaxial rf connector 332 mounted to the fpc mounting pads ( not shown ) and the male coaxial rf connector is mounted to the circuit board 340 . fig2 and fig2 illustrates an alternative embodiment illustrating the routability of the fpc rf connector 400 . in fig2 the x / y routing is hard printed in the shape of the fpc as constructed . in fig2 the right section 402 is bent down in the z - axis to connect the coaxial rf connector 406 in a positioned normal to the plane of the other connector 408 . fig2 illustrates another embodiment incorporating an fpc shielded rf conductor . in this embodiment 500 an antenna is integrated into the fpc design . the fpc 500 has three sections . the first section 502 includes pads for receiving a coaxial rf connector for connecting to an rf circuitry device . the second section 504 includes a shielded rf conductor of the type ( s ) previously described and a third section 506 where the shielding stops and the conductor is geometrically configures to act as an antenna for the desired frequencies as defined by the rf circuitry &# 39 ; s requirements . fig2 illustrates a flexible circuit board rf connector with two inputs 704 and 708 and two integrated antenna sections 710 and 712 . each antenna section 710 and 712 contains antenna shaped traces 714 and 716 respectively . the circuit includes shielded signal conductors ( not shown ) as previously described that electrically connect the inputs 710 and 712 to the antenna sections 714 and 716 respectively . the shielding ( not shown stops when the antenna sections are reached as previously described in fig2 . fig2 illustrates the flexible circuit board rf connector of fig2 as shaped when in place around the edge of a tablet pc . fig2 illustrates another view of the flexible circuit board rf connector of fig2 . in comparison to micro - wire coaxial cabling the present fpc of the current design has the following advantages : a ) fpc can be pinched or sandwiched with less or no effect on vswr ( less signal reflection , waste , detuning cable ); b ) dielectric and typical fpc ( kapton ) material are more resilient and less compressive ; c ) can provide high wire shielding performance with is necessary to be accepted as a data device on a cellular network such as sprint , verizon , and t - mobile ; d ) solid annealed copper with thickness of ½ ounce ( 0 . 65 mils ) or 1 ounce ( 1 . 3 mils ) provides & gt ; 99 % e field shielding effectiveness ( se e & gt ; 60 db ) and 75 - 85 % h field shielding effectiveness ( se h & gt ; 15 db ) e ) only 0 . 5 mm ( 20 mills thick with less tenuous routing . f ) single piece containing all wires in inserted in single step g ) single piece can be mounted like a ‘ placemat ’ in which all wires fall into pre - located channels with no individual insertion steps h ) self - aligning fpc - 1 piece harness uses uneven system internal parts as an advantage , locating the fpc piece quickly . i ) less prone to assembly errors or system part variances that can affect antenna . j ) uses ‘ locator pins ’ or ‘ placemat channels the not only do not crush the fpc , but are usually not even near the signal traces , meaning the mounts have zero effect on the wires ’ performance k ) fpc minimum bend radius for 3 layers is ˜ 4 to 5 mm (˜ 200 mils ) allowing for tighter ‘ right angle ’ bends in the design saving internal x , y , and z space l ) the service loop ( sl ) on the universal wiring fpc rf connection arms is m ) sl just long enough to assemble without fumbling or tugging . n ) sl does not move into unwanted emi areas by self - locating features . o ) sl does not move into antenna resonance area ( s ) keeping more consistent product output to customers . p ) truly field and customer upgradeable rf antennas . in one embodiment , the end bezels snap off too reveal rf antennas , which can be replaced , or even upgraded to new type or technology in the field . q ) ex : wlan / wimax 2 . 5 ghz , upgraded to wlan / wimax ultra — in the field by customer , in only a few seconds ! r ) swappable antennas as shown in this disclosure allow faster test permutations to cover multiple antennas and radio technologies using the very same test platform . ( 1 ) decreased time to market for large radio permutations . ( 2 ) greatly decreased time to market for incremental radio additions . while the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art , having benefit of this invention , will appreciate that other embodiments may be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims . attenuation ( measured in decibels “ db ”)— the amount of signal loss for which the connector is responsible . other similar words are loss and attenuate . a term typically used in reference to long transmission lines like cables . electromagnetic interference — electromagnetic interference ( emi ) is any electromagnetic disturbance that degrades or limits the performance of the considered electronic system . it can be induced by the system being considered or its environment . the amount of interference electronic equipment can emit is regulated . internally , some systems may require other levels of emi be met , like radio receiver sensitivity . flexible printed circuitry — this is similar to a pcb , but is flexible and uses kapton ® ( or more commonly referred to as polyimide ) instead of rigid fr4 in most cases . this sometimes is referred to as fpc or flex . insertion loss ( measured in decibels “ db ”)— the amount of signal loss for which the connector is responsible and is mostly seen in cable applications . reflection — a process that occurs when a propagating electromagnetic wave impinges upon a change in its supporting media properties . in the case of an abrupt change the incident wave will “ bounce ” off of the barrier in the opposite direction it came from . in other cases , some of the wave reflects while the rest continues onward . shielding — the protective enclosure surrounding a transmission medium , designed to minimize electromagnetic interference ( emi / rfi ). | 7 |
fig1 illustrates graphically absorption curves for oxygen and ozone over the electromagnetic spectrum . these curves are based on data found in the text vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy , by zaidel & amp ; shrieder , pages 280 , 291 . ozone has strong absorption bands from about 110 to 140 nm while oxygen seems to have maximum absorption from about 130 to 170 nm . oxygen and ozone overlap to some extent from about 140 to 180 nm , but ozone has a very strong absorption band peaking at 254 nm . thus , judging from the absorption curves , it appears that a narrow band of radiation from 130 to 170 nm with none above 200 nm and none below 130 nm would be optimum for ozone generation . referring more particularly to fig2 of the drawing , an ozone generating cell is illustrated in the form of a typical cathode ray tube ( crt ) 10 . the crt includes an acrylic or other nonconducting housing 11 inside which is located a cathode element 12 and an anode 13 . it is a well known fact that cathode rays ( negative electrons ) are emitted normal to the surface of the cathode at their points of emission . a concave cathode can thus focus the rays to a point , and a convex cathode can spread the cathode rays to cover a large area as shown in fig2 . the crt is connected to a high voltage source 14 and is evacuated with a vacuum pump 15 or the like . opposite the cathode element 12 , the crt is provided with a window element 16 that is manufactured from a material that will transmit radiation at the desired lower end of the uv spectrum . the window 16 may be constructed from any material that transmits in the desired range of which fluorite is one example . other examples of window materials that may be useful for the present invention include combinations of quartz and fluoride and uv emitting windows prepared from thiourea - formaldehyde resins . the inside of the window 16 is coated with a material 17 that is designed to emit radiation only in the desired 130 - 170 nm range when bombarded with cathode rays discharged from cathode 12 . a preferred material for this purpose is a specially designed phosphor coating prepared from a zinc oxide magnesium oxide matrix with a small amount of an activator , usually a rare earth element . u . s . pat . no . 2 , 683 , 693 describes a process for preparing uv emitting coatings substantially as required for the present invention . however , other phosphor materials may be used , particularly as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 779 , 949 , providing the materials are made to limit their emissions to the desired 130 - 170 nm wavelengths . as shown in fig2 the crt housing 11 is mounted adjacent an opening in a duct 18 through which air or oxygen is passed for making ozone . in a preferred embodiment , the duct 18 would be provided with a plurality of crt ozone generators ( not shown ) each arranged with their windows 16 adjacent to openings wherein the uv radiation emitted from the phosphor coating would be transmitted directly to the passing gas . in this manner the efficiency of such a generating device would be enhanced . even greater efficiency from the cathode ray generating device can be achieved from the device illustrated in fig3 . for this purpose a spherical cathode ray tube 20 is used to take advantage of the backscatter effects commonly found with conventionally shaped crt &# 39 ; s . thus , in fig3 the spherical cathode ray tube 20 includes a uv transmitting bulb or enclosure 21 constructed from fluorite , quartz / fluorite or other uv transmitting materials which encloses a spherical cathode 22 . the tube 21 has applied to its inner surface a coating 23 of a phosphor material or the like which emits radiation in the desired 130 - 170 nm range . the tube 21 is vacuum sealed at 24 and includes an anode 25 mounted at one end . as in a conventional crt , the anode and cathode are connected to a high voltage source . the tube 21 is mounted in a duct 26 through which oxygen or air is passed for making ozone . in a preferred embodiment , a plurality of the spherical cathode ray tubes 20 would be arranged in the duct 26 for increased efficiency . thus , as the gas flows past the spherical cathode ray tubes 20 within duct 26 , the uv radiation emitted by the coating 23 passes through the tube walls 21 to produce ozone . in each of the embodiments disclosed in fig2 and 3 the uv emitting coating 17 and 23 is applied to the inside of the crt where the coating can be bombarded with electrons from the cathode . for this purpose , the applied coatings must be thick enough to capture all of the electrons but still thin enough to allow the emitted radiation to pass through the coating . in order to overcome any problems attendant with this practice , the embodiment illustrated in fig4 was developed . fig4 shows an inverse cathode ray ozone cell 30 wherein a semispherical metal cavity 31 is used as the anode and is coated with a phosphor material 32 that emits uv radiation in the desired 130 - 170 nm range . the cathode 33 is arranged opposite the inverse cavity 31 to insure that all electrons emitted from the cathode are captured . meanwhile , the metal cavity 31 is arranged opposite an opening 34 in the duct 35 where a uv transmitting window 36 is positioned . in this arrangement , uv emissions from the phosphor coating 32 are reflected from the polished inner surface of the metal cavity 31 and they travel unimpeded through the window 36 . thus , gas flowing through the duct 35 is exposed to the uv radiation to produce ozone . as in the case of the embodiments of fig2 and 3 , the inverse cathode ray cell of fig4 would be evacuated at 37 and sealed to the window 36 at 38 . similarly , the cathode 33 would be connected to a suitable high voltage source 39 or the like , and for increased efficiency , a plurality of such cells 30 could be arranged along the duct 35 . fig5 - 7 illustrate modifications of the fig4 embodiment . in fig5 an all glass construction is shown wherein the inverse cathode ray cell 40 is prepared from a glass bowl 41 or the like . the inside surface of the bowl 41 is supplied with a coating of aluminum 42 to serve as an anode , and the aluminum coating is overcoated with the preferred uv emitting phosphor material 43 described hereinbefore . at the opposite side of the bowl 41 , the uv transmitting window 44 is illustrated as being domed which enables the window to be made of reduced thickness as compared with a flat structure . the cathode 45 is positioned as shown , the glass bowl / window combination is evacuated and sealed over the opening 46 in duct 47 , and a high voltage source ( not shown ) is provided to energize the cathode . thus , when electrons produced by cathode 45 strike the uv emitting coating 43 , the uv radiation generated is reflected from the inside surface of bowl 41 and passes through the uv transmitting window 44 to convert gas flowing through duct 47 to ozone . in fig6 another all glass construction is illustrated wherein the inverse cathode ray cell 50 is provided with a unitized electrode assembly 51 . for this purpose , the anode and cathode connections 52 , 53 are both arranged in an attachment 54 integral with the bowl 55 . this arrangement permits all electrical connections to be made in one area with no obstructions in the gas duct 59 . moreover , this arrangement also allows the window element 56 to be constructed from one piece of window material allowing an even thinner construction but with the same strength as that used in fig5 . the fig6 modification also employs an inner coating of aluminum 57 as the anode and includes the uv emitting coating 58 applied to the inside of bowl 55 described for fig5 . in like manner , the ozone generating cell 50 of fig6 is mounted adjacent an opening in duct 59 to expose the gas flow therethrough to the emitted uv radiation to generate ozone . fig7 illustrates a slight modification to the arrangement shown in fig6 wherein the inverse cathode ray cell 60 is constructed with a semispherical cavity 61 rather than a hemispherical shape . such a construction should be cheaper to manufacture and because of the flatter shape , provide a shorter and more direct path for the uv radiation to travel . in other respects , the modification shown in fig7 would be constructed like the modifications shown in fig5 and 6 . the foregoing description of the invention has been directed to several embodiments and modifications of a basic crt ozone generating apparatus and method . it will be apparent , however , that those skilled in the art may make modifications and changes in the schematically shown apparatus without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . for instance , incidental heat generated by the apparatus will have to be removed from the system . those versed in the art of ozone generation will be familiar with means for cooling the system and the equipment and methods available . similarly modifications in the apparatus and method necessary to satisfy the needs of any particular field installation , whether in scaling the apparatus up in size or in providing special gas and ozone handling accessories , or in constructing the apparatus of materials chosen for environmental stability , are well within the state of the art . accordingly , the following claims are intended to cover all such modifications and variations that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 1 |
fig1 through 4 , discussed below , and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present invention in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention . those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present invention may be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless network and any suitably arranged rf transmitter , including rf transmitters used to transmit television signals and commercial radio signals . fig1 illustrates exemplary wireless network 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention . the wireless telephone network 100 comprises a plurality of cell sites 121 - 123 , each containing one of the base stations , bs 101 , bs 102 , or bs 103 . base stations 101 - 103 are operable to communicate with a plurality of mobile stations ( ms ) 111 - 114 . mobile stations 111 - 114 may be any suitable cellular devices , including conventional cellular telephones , pcs handset devices , portable computers , metering devices , and the like . dotted lines show the approximate boundaries of the cell sites 121 - 123 in which base stations 101 - 103 are located . the cell sites are shown approximately circular for the purposes of illustration and explanation only . it should be clearly understood that the cell sites may have other irregular shapes , depending on the cell configuration selected and natural and man - made obstructions . in one embodiment of the present invention , bs 101 , bs 102 , and bs 103 may comprise a base station controller ( bsc ) and a base transceiver station ( bts ). base station controllers and base transceiver stations are well known to those skilled in the art . a base station controller is a device that manages wireless communications resources , including the base transceiver station , for specified cells within a wireless communications network . a base transceiver station comprises the rf transceivers , antennas , and other electrical equipment located in each cell site . this equipment may include air conditioning units , heating units , electrical supplies , telephone line interfaces , and rf transmitters and rf receivers . for the purpose of simplicity and clarity in explaining the operation of the present invention , the base transceiver station in each of cells 121 , 122 , and 123 and the base station controller associated with each base transceiver station are collectively represented by bs 101 , bs 102 and bs 103 , respectively . bs 101 , bs 102 and bs 103 transfer voice and data signals between each other and the public telephone system ( not shown ) via communications line 131 and mobile switching center ( msc ) 140 . mobile switching center 140 is well known to those skilled in the art . mobile switching center 140 is a switching device that provides services and coordination between the subscribers in a wireless network and external networks , such as the public telephone system . communications line 131 may be any suitable connection means , including a t1 line , a t3 line , a fiber optic link , a network backbone connection , and the like . in some embodiments of the present invention , communications line 131 may be several different data links , where each data link couples one of bs 101 , bs 102 , or bs 103 to msc 140 . in the exemplary wireless network 100 , ms 111 is located in cell site 121 and is in communication with bs 101 , ms 113 is located in cell site 122 and is in communication with bs 102 , and ms 114 is located in cell site 123 and is in communication with bs 103 . the ms 112 is also located in cell site 121 , close to the edge of cell site 123 . the direction arrow proximate ms 112 indicates the movement of ms 112 towards cell site 123 . at some point , as ms 112 moves into cell site 123 and out of cell site 121 , a “ handoff ” will occur . as is well know , the “ handoff ” procedure transfers control of a call from a first cell to a second cell . for example , if ms 112 is in communication with bs 101 and senses that the signal from bs 101 is becoming unacceptably weak , ms 112 may then switch to a bs that has a stronger signal , such as the signal transmitted by bs 103 . ms 112 and bs 103 establish a new communication link and a signal is sent to bs 101 and the public telephone network to transfer the on - going voice , data , or control signals through bs 103 . the call is thereby seamlessly transferred from bs 101 to bs 103 . an “ idle ” handoff is a handoff between cells of a mobile device that is communicating in the control or paging channel , rather than transmitting voice and / or data signals in the regular traffic channels . fig2 illustrates in greater detail exemplary base station 101 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . base station 101 comprises base station controller ( bsc ) 210 and base transceiver station ( bts ) 220 . base station controllers and base transceiver stations were described previously in connection with fig1 . bsc 210 manages the resources in cell site 121 , including bts 220 . bts 120 comprises bts controller 225 , channel controller 235 , which contains representative channel element 240 , transceiver interface ( if ) 245 , rf transceiver unit 250 , antenna array 255 , and channel monitor 260 . bts controller 225 comprises processing circuitry and memory capable of executing an operating program that controls the overall operation of bts 220 and communicates with bsc 210 . under normal conditions , bts controller 225 directs the operation of channel controller 235 , which contains a number of channel elements , including channel element 240 , that perform bi - directional communications in the forward channel and the reverse channel . a “ forward ” channel refers to outbound signals from the base station to the mobile station and a “ reverse ” channel refers to inbound signals from the mobile station to the base station . transceiver if 245 transfers the bi - directional channel signals between channel controller 240 and rf transceiver unit 250 . antenna array 255 transmits forward channel signals received from rf transceiver unit 250 to mobile stations in the coverage area of bs 101 . antenna array 255 also sends to transceiver 250 reverse channel signals received from mobile stations in the coverage area of bs 101 . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , antenna array 255 is multi - sector antenna , such as a three sector antenna in which each antenna sector is responsible for transmitting and receiving in a 120 ° arc of coverage area . additionally , transceiver 250 may contain an antenna selection unit to select among different antennas in antenna array 255 during both transmit and receive operations . fig3 illustrates in greater detail a temperature compensated bias network , generally designated 300 , for use in an exemplary rf amplifier in rf transceiver 250 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . bias network 300 maintains a constant desired quiescent current , i dq , and device linearity in class ab laterally diffused metal - oxide - silicon field - effect transistor ( ldmos fet ) 301 . although the discussion that follows is directed toward the biasing of a class ab ldmos fet , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the teachings of this disclosure may easily be adapted to bias a gaas fet device or a bjt device . however , for the sake of simplicity , the following discussion will be limited to a class ab ldmos fet device . bias network 300 comprises differential operational amplifier ( oa ) 305 , which receives a first signal on a non - inverting input from voltage reference circuit 310 and a second buffered control signal on an inverting input from temperature sensor 315 . the output of temperature sensor 315 is buffered by non - inverting , unity gain oa 320 . the output of unity gain oa 320 is scaled by a gain factor determined by resistor 330 ( referred to below as “ r1 ”) and resistor 325 ( referred to below as “ r2 ”). the resultant output of differential oa 305 is subsequently scaled by a voltage divider comprised of resistor 335 and variable resistor ( potentiometer ) 340 . the rf input signal ( rf in ) is supplied to the gate of ldmos fet 301 by rf coupling capacitor 345 . fig4 a illustrates curve 400 , which represents the voltage output of temperature sensor 315 across a range of temperatures in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . as shown , temperature sensor 315 provides an output voltage ( v ts ) that increases linearly with temperature ( temp ) as depicted by the slope of curve 400 . as previously described , oa 320 provides non - inverting , unity gain for the output voltage of temperature sensor 315 . oa 320 , in conjunction with r2 , adjusts the high output impedance of temperature sensor 315 to an appropriate level for input to differential oa 305 . this prevents the output impedance of temperature sensor 315 from negatively impacting the performance of differential oa 305 . since oa 320 provides unity gain , the output of oa 320 to r2 is similar to curve 400 . thus , the output of oa 320 varies linearly with the temperature sensor 315 output ( control signal ). voltage reference 310 provides a precise non - varying output voltage ( v ref ) for input to the positive terminal of differential oa 305 . the positive input terminal of differential oa 305 provides an output gain to the v ref signal equal to g p , where g p = 1 + r1 / r2 . the negative input terminal of differential oa 305 provides an output gain to the v ts signal equal to g n , where g n =− r1 / r2 . therefore , differential oa 305 provides an output voltage ( v 0 ) that is represented by : v 0 =( 1 + r 1 / r 2 ) v ref −( r 1 / r 2 ) v ts = v ref +( r 1 / r 2 )( v ref − v ts ) the above equations in conjunction with fig4 a show that v 0 decreases linearly with the increases in temperature . thus , v 0 has the required characteristic for providing stable i dq over changes in temperature . as shown by fig3 v 0 is applied to a voltage divider comprised of resistor 335 and multi - turn potentiometer 340 . when properly adjusted , potentiometer 340 provides the desired quiescent current , i dq , and nominal operating voltage . in the case of the ldmos fet , potentiometer 340 is adjusted , at room temperature ( 25 ° c .) for example , while monitoring the fet &# 39 ; s quiescent current . once i dq is obtained , potentiometer 340 is no longer changed . fig4 b illustrates curve 410 , which represents the gate - source bias voltage ( v gs ) response over temperature on the gate of ldmos fet 301 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . as shown by correlation of fig4 a and 4b , when potentiometer 340 is adjusted at temperature t ( 1 ), for example 25 ° c ., to produce i dq , the resultant bias voltage v gs = v ( 2 ). as previously described for bias network 300 , v ( 2 ) is a function of v ts at t ( 1 ), which is shown as equal to v ( 1 ) in fig4 a . once adjusted , temperature sensitive bias network 300 provides constant i dq for various values of v ts and v gs across the indicated temperature range . besides providing means for stable output of i dq across various temperature ranges , bias network 300 also provides the means for compensation of manufacturing , lot - to - lot fet ( device ) variations . further , bias network 300 prevents fet thermal runaway by reducing the gate voltage as the temperature increases . fixed - bias designs are not capable of such dynamic control . one of the primary advantages of bias network 300 is its ability to provide a wide range of nominal quiescent currents and output voltages across temperature with a single adjustment . bias network 300 also provides the ability to obtain more output power from a given device without complex , expensive bias circuitry . without bias network 300 , the power amplifier must be over - sized to ensure adequate performance over temperature . an over - sized power amplifier results in lower efficiency and higher cost , lower mean - time - to failure ( mttf ), and larger and more costly heat sinking . thus , bias network 300 allows the amplifier to operate at nominal output power over a wide temperature range . although the present invention has been described in detail , those skilled in the art should understand that they can make various changes , substitutions and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form . | 7 |
fig1 through 8 , discussed below , and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure . those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged apparatus for an alarm clock with charging ports . the present disclosure relates to an alarm clock with charging ports , where , in various embodiments , the alarm function can be controlled from an alarm control device ; the same alarm control device can be used to set the current date and time ; a brightness switch can change brightness of the display , including turning the display off ; and the alarm clock includes a bluetooth - compatible speaker for use with an external audio source . fig1 presents an isometric view of an alarm clock 100 with charging ports according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure . the alarm clock 100 includes an upper body portion 102 . the upper body portion 102 includes a current time display 106 and an alarm time display 110 . the upper body portion 102 further includes a control knob 112 and a brightness switch 114 . the control knob 112 comprises a switch that responds to vertical or lateral pressure on the control knob 112 and a rotary position sensor that responds to rotation of the control knob 112 . the upper body portion 102 further includes an audio transducer ( not shown ) configured to emit an alarm sound . the control knob 112 is an alarm control device that controls the alarm functionality of the alarm clock 100 as well as other functions , as will be described in more detail below . the upper body portion 102 also includes usb charging ports 116 a and 116 b and line voltage charging ports 118 a and 118 b . the upper body portion 102 further includes a dst switch ( not shown in fig1 ) to enable or disable automatic switching of the alarm clock 100 into and out of daylight savings time mode , based upon the current date . the upper body portion further includes a power cord and connector 120 to provide line voltage power to the alarm clock 100 . in various embodiments , the power cord and connector 120 , as well as the line voltage charging ports 118 a and 118 b , may be adapted to the voltage and connector configurations of any national or international line power standards . the alarm clock 100 may optionally also include a lower body portion 104 . the lower body portion 104 includes a speaker system adapted for wireless connectivity to a portable music source ( not shown ). the lower body portion 104 comprises a “ pairing ” button 122 and speakers 124 l and 124 r . speaker 124 r is not visible in fig1 . operation of the brightness switch 114 and the control knob 112 are described below with reference to fig3 , and 5 . while the upper body portion 102 comprises two usb charging ports 116 a and 116 b , it will be understood that , in other embodiments , the alarm clock 100 may include any number of usb charging ports , including no usb charging ports . similarly , while the upper body portion 102 comprises two line voltage charging ports 118 a and 118 b , it will be understood that , in other embodiments , the alarm clock 100 may include any number of line voltage charging ports , including no line voltage charging ports . while the lower body portion 104 includes speakers 124 l and 124 r , it will be understood that , in other embodiments , the alarm clock 100 may include any number of speakers . fig2 presents a schematic block diagram of an alarm clock 200 with charging ports according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure . the alarm clock 200 includes a controller 202 . the controller 202 may be any suitable processing device , such as a microprocessor , microcontroller , programmable gate array ( pga ), application - specific integrated circuit ( asic ), or the like . the controller 202 includes memory comprising any suitable combination of volatile and / or non - volatile storage and retrieval device or devices . the memory of the controller 202 may store data and instructions adapted to be used by the controller 202 to control the various elements of the alarm clock 200 . the alarm clock 200 also includes outputs 204 and inputs 206 . the outputs 204 and the inputs 206 are communicatively coupled to the controller 202 . the outputs 204 may be configured using any suitable output technology and associated interface and driver circuits . in some embodiments , the displays 204 include the current time display 106 , the alarm time display 110 , and the audio transducer of the alarm clock 100 described with reference to fig1 . in such embodiments , the controller 202 is configured to send output signals to the displays 106 and 110 to show desired information on the displays 106 and 110 , as well as to send output signals to the audio transducer to emit sounds such as an alarm sound . the inputs 206 may be configured using any suitable physical devices and input technology , along with associated interface and driver circuits . in some embodiments , the inputs 206 include physical devices and circuits associated with the control knob 112 and the brightness switch 114 . in such embodiments , the controller 202 is configured to receive signals indicating activation of the brightness switch 114 , closure of the switch associated with the control knob 112 , and changes in position detected by the rotary position sensor associated with the control knob 112 . the alarm clock 200 is powered by a power supply 208 , which is electrically coupled to , and adapted to provide one or more voltages to , circuits of the alarm clock 200 . the power supply 208 is electrically coupled to power outlets 212 . the power outlets 212 are any suitable connectors for providing charging or other operational power to external devices . in some embodiments , the power outlets 212 include one or both of the usb charging ports 116 a and 116 b and the line voltage charging ports 118 a and 118 b described with reference to fig1 . in such embodiments , the power supply is configured to provide low voltage ( 5v or five volt ) dc power to the usb charging ports 116 a and 116 b and line voltage ac power to the line voltage charging ports 118 a and 118 b . the power supply 208 receives input power from a terminal 211 via a surge suppressor 210 . the terminal 211 may be electrically coupled to an input power connector such as connector 120 described with reference to fig1 . the surge suppressor 210 is adapted to reduce or prevent the impact on the circuits of the alarm clock 200 , as well as external devices plugged into the power outlets 212 , of surges or other potentially harmful variations in the input power received via the terminal 211 . in some embodiments , the alarm clock 200 further includes elements associated with a speaker system adapted for wireless connectivity to a music player or other external audio source , including elements associated with the lower body portion 104 described with reference to fig1 . in such embodiments , the alarm clock 200 includes a bluetooth - compatible receiver 214 , electrically coupled to an audio amplifier 216 , which is electrically coupled to one or more speakers 218 . the receiver 214 is further electrically coupled to a so - called “ pairing ” button 220 . the receiver 214 and the amplifier 216 are further electrically coupled to and receive power from the power supply 208 . when a user of the alarm clock 200 has a bluetooth - compatible external audio source , the user may operate the external audio source to place it in a mode where it is available for pairing with other bluetooth - compatible devices . if the user then activates the pairing button 220 , the receiver 214 is adapted to respond by performing a pairing procedure with the external audio source . upon completion of the pairing procedure , the receiver 214 will be operable to receive audio signals transmitted via bluetooth from the external audio source and play the received audio signals via the amplifier 216 and the speakers 218 . fig3 presents a procedure 300 for date and time setting functionality of an alarm clock with charging ports according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure . describing , as an example , operation of the alarm clock 100 described with reference to fig1 , from what might be termed ‘ normal ’ operation : e . g ., displaying the current time , in step 302 , a user presses and holds brightness switch 114 for at least a predetermined amount of time : e . g ., 6 seconds . if the brightness switch 114 is not held for the predetermined amount of time , further operation of the alarm clock 100 is described with reference to fig4 or 5 . if the brightness switch 114 is held for the predetermined amount of time , the alarm clock 100 enters a first phase of date - setting mode . in this first phase , in step 304 , the user may rotate the control knob 112 to set a desired year of the current date . once the desired year has been set , the user presses the control knob 112 in step 306 to enter a second phase of the date - setting mode . in this second phase , in step 308 , the user may rotate the control knob 112 to set a desired month of the current date . once the desired month has been set , the user presses the control knob 112 in step 310 to enter a third phase of the date - setting mode . in this third phase , in step 312 , the user may rotate the control knob 112 to set a desired day of the month of the current date . once the desired day of the month has been set , the user presses the control knob 112 in step 314 to enter a first phase of a time - setting mode . in step 316 , the user may rotate the control knob 112 to set a desired current hour . once the desired hour has been set , the user presses the control knob 112 in step 318 to enter a second phase of the time - setting mode . in step 320 , the user may rotate the control knob 112 to set a desired current minutes . in step 322 , the user presses the control knob 112 to return to normal operation . the current date is used in conjunction with the dst switch described with reference to fig1 to change the current time if the alarm clock 100 switches into or out of daylight savings time on the appropriate dates of the year . in some embodiments , the current date may be displayed in one or the other of the current time display 106 or the alarm time display 110 . fig4 illustrates a procedure 400 for alarm functionality of an alarm clock with charging ports according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure . using operation of the alarm clock 100 described with reference to fig1 again as an example , in step ( or state ) 402 , the alarm function of the alarm clock 100 is switched off . while the alarm function is switched off , the alarm time display 110 displays the word “ off ”. in step 404 , the user pushes the control knob 112 briefly to place the alarm clock 100 into an alarm - setting mode . in this mode , the current setting of the alarm time is displayed as flashing digits in the alarm time display 110 . in step 406 , the user may rotate the control knob 112 to set a desired alarm time . once the desired alarm time is displayed in the alarm time display 110 , the procedure 400 may proceed to either step 407 or step 408 . in step 408 , the user presses the control knob 112 to set ( or arm ) the alarm function and fix the current alarm time . while the alarm function is armed , in state 410 , the current alarm time is displayed as steady ( non - flashing ) digits in the alarm time display 110 . in step 407 , the alarm clock 100 waits for a predetermined amount of time ( e . g ., 5 seconds ) after the control knob 112 is rotated to set the desired alarm time , and then automatically arms the alarm function , fixes the current alarm time , and proceeds to state 410 while the alarm function is armed , in state 410 , two events may occur that affect the alarm function . in the first event , in step 412 , the user pushes the control knob 112 , which switches the alarm function off , causes the alarm time display 110 to display the word “ off ”, and returns the procedure 400 to step 402 . in the second event , the current time reaches the current alarm time , the alarm function triggers , and the procedure 400 passes to step 416 , wherein the alarm clock 100 emits an alarm sound . once the alarm has triggered and the alarm clock 100 is in step 416 , another two events may occur that affect the alarm function . in the first event , in step 418 , the user may push the control knob 112 , which switches the alarm function off , causes the alarm time display 110 to display the word “ off ”, turns off the alarm sound , and returns the procedure 400 to step 402 . in the second event , in step 420 , the user presses the brightness switch 114 , which turns off the alarm sound . the procedure 400 then passes to step 422 , wherein the alarm clock 100 waits for a predetermined amount of time ( e . g ., nine minutes ) before returning to step 416 , wherein the alarm clock 100 again emits the alarm sound . fig5 presents a procedure 500 for display brightness control of an alarm clock with charging ports according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure . the procedure 500 controls brightness of the current time display 106 and , if on , the alarm time display 110 . in step 502 the displays 106 and 110 are at full brightness setting . in step 504 , the user presses the brightness switch 114 and the procedure 500 passes to step 506 , wherein the displays 106 and 110 are at a medium brightness setting . in step 508 , the user presses the brightness switch 114 and the procedure 500 passes to step 510 , wherein the displays 106 and 110 are at a dim setting . in step 512 , the user presses the brightness switch 114 and the procedure 500 passes to step 514 , wherein the displays 106 and 110 are turned off . once the displays 106 and 110 are turned off in step 514 , two events may occur that affect the display brightness . in a first event , in step 516 , the user presses the brightness switch 114 and the procedure returns to step 502 , wherein the displays 106 and 110 are at full brightness setting . in the second event , in step 518 , the alarm triggers ( i . e ., the procedure 400 described with reference to fig4 passes to step 416 ) and the procedure returns to step 502 , wherein the displays 106 and 110 are at full brightness setting . in other embodiments , the alarm clock 100 may have any number of brightness levels ( other than off ), more than or less than the three brightness levels described with reference to procedure 500 . fig6 a present a top view of a portion of an alarm clock 600 with charging ports according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure . the alarm clock 600 includes a line voltage charging port 602 . a section “ a - a ” is indicated through one of the three connector apertures of the port 602 . the port 602 is referred to as a “ spill - through ” port , because liquids that are spilled or otherwise pass into one or more of the three apertures of the port 602 move past electrical connectors of the port 602 , through the interior of the alarm clock 600 , and out through drain apertures in the bottom of the alarm clock 600 , as will be described in more detail with reference to fig6 b and 6c . fig6 b and 6c present cross - sectional views along section “ a - a ” of the spill - through port 602 of the alarm clock 600 . a housing of the alarm clock 600 includes an upper surface 604 and a lower surface 606 . the lower surface 606 includes drain apertures 612 . while four drain apertures 612 are shown in the lower surface 606 , it will be understood that any number of drain apertures may be used in other embodiments . stanchions 608 are mechanically coupled to the top 604 and support port connectors 606 , which are positioned to make electrical contact with a plug connector 622 of a plug 620 inserted into the port 602 . conductors 610 are electrically coupled at a first end to the port connectors 606 and at a second end ( not shown in fig6 b or 6c ) to a power source such as power supply 208 described with reference to fig2 . liquids entering the spill - through port 602 flow over and past the port connectors 606 , and into a lower region 614 of the housing of the alarm clock 600 . however , rather than collecting in the lower region 614 , the liquid passes out of the housing through the drain apertures 612 . it will be understood that feet of the alarm clock 600 ( not shown in fig6 a - 6c ) rest on a supporting surface , raising the lower surface 606 adequately that liquid flowing out through the drain apertures 612 can flow away under the lower surface 606 on the supporting surface . in this way , liquid entering the alarm clock 600 through the aperture 602 is prevented from rising to a level at which the liquid contacts connectors associated with one or more of the three connector apertures of the port 602 , causing an electrical short - circuit between the contacted connectors . similarly , such liquid is prevented from rising to a level at which the liquid contacts circuitry of the clock 600 . additionally , the stanchions 608 and other mounting structures for the port connectors 606 are preferably fabricated from non - conductive material . in this way , the likelihood of the liquid forming electrical short - circuits between the port connectors 606 as it flows over the port connectors 606 is reduced or eliminated . fig7 presents an isometric view of an alarm clock 700 with charging ports according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure . most elements of the alarm clock 700 are similar to the alarm clock 100 described with reference to fig1 - 6c . a particular difference between alarm clock 700 and alarm clock 100 is alarm control device 713 . the alarm control device 713 comprises a plurality of switches . functions of the alarm clock 100 that are controlled by the control knob 112 are controlled in the alarm clock 700 by the plurality of switches of the alarm control device 713 . fig8 illustrates the alarm control device 713 in greater detail . the alarm control device 713 comprises a first switch , labeled on / off , which provides the same control of the alarm clock 700 as the switch associated with the control knob 112 provides of the alarm clock 100 . the alarm control device 713 further comprises two other switches , labeled “+” and “−”, which provide the same control of the alarm clock 700 as the rotary position sensor associated with the control knob 112 provides of the alarm clock 100 , when the control knob 112 is rotated in the clockwise and counter - clockwise directions , respectively . although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplary embodiment , various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art . it is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
for fluorine - containing copolymers according to the invention chlorotrifluoroethylene is exclusively used as the fluorine - containing component . as the second component which must have ester bond , vinyl esters and isopropenyl esters of fatty acids are alternatively useful . examples of fatty acid vinyl esters suited to this invention are vinyl acetate , vinyl lactate , vinyl butyrate , vinyl isobutyrate , vinyl caproate , vinyl isocaproate , vinyl pivalate , vinyl caprylate , vinyl caprylylate and vinyl caproylate . examples of fatty acid isopropenyl esters suited to this invention are isopropenyl acetate and isopropenyl propionate . when using a fatty acid vinyl ester it is preferred to choose one in which the alkyl group , r &# 39 ; in the general formula ( 1 ), has 1 to 3 carbon atoms . when using a fatty acid isopropenyl ester it is preferable to choose isopropenyl acetate because of ease of preparing a desired copolymer . the third component which provides functional groups to the fluorine - containing copolymer is always allylglycidyl ether . besides the above described essential components , another monomer or other monomers may optionally be incorporated into a copolymer according to the invention on condition that the optional comonomer ( s ) does not occupy more than 20 mol % of the copolymer . for example , an optional comonomer may be chosen from acrylates and methacrylates such as ethyl acrylate , ethyl methacrylate , methyl acrylate , methyl methacrylate , glycidyl acrylate and glycidyl methacrylate , acrylic amides such as acrylamide and n - methylol acrylamide and vinyl ethers such as ethylvinyl ether and butylvinyl ether . as to purities of monomers for use in this invention , gas chromatography purity of 98 % or above is sufficient so long as impurities obstructive to usual radical polymerization reactions are not contained . a copolymer according to the invention is obtained by copolymerizing the essential three kinds of monomers , and the optional monomer ( s ) if used , in the presence of a commonly used radical polymerization initiator . the manner of the copolymerization reaction is not particularly limited . for example , the object is accomplished by solution polymerization emulsion polymerization suspension polymerization or bulk polymerization . the copolymerization reaction can be carried out at temperatures ranging from about - 30 ° c . to about 100 ° c . usually it is suitable to carry out the copolymerization reaction at a tmperature in the range from about 0 ° c . to about 70 ° c . a suitable radical polymerization initiator can be selected from oil - soluble radical polymerization initiators including organic peroxides such as diisopropyl peroxydicarbonate , di - n - propyl peroxydicarbonate , t - butyl peroxypivalate , di - 2 - ethylhexyl peroxydicarbonate , benzoyl peroxide , lauroyl peroxide and perfluorooctanoyl peroxide , azo compounds such as azoisobutyronitrile and azobis - 2 , 4 - dimethylvaleronitrile and certain organic boron compounds such as oxytriethylboron and peroxytriethylboron , and water - soluble radical polymerization initiators such as hydrogen peroxide , potassium persulfate , ammonium persulfate and redox - type initiators . a suitable liquid medium for the copolymerization reaction is selected from water , hydrocarbons and organic fluorocompounds according to the manner of the reaction . if desired a mixture of two or three kinds of liquids ma be used . in the case of copolymerization reaction in an aqueous medium it is usual to use a conventional emulsifying or suspension stabilizing agent . to prepare a coating liquid composition comprising a fluorine - containing copolymer according to the invention , a variety of organic solvents are of use . examples are cyclie ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane , esters represented by ethyl acetate and butyl acetate , ketones such as acetone and methylethyl ketone , some nitrogen - containing solvents such as dimethylformamide and pyridine and some halogen - containing solvents such as 1 , 1 , 1 ,- trichloroethane and trichloroethylene . dissolution of a copolymer according to the invention in any of these solvents gives a colorless and transparent solution . when a suitable amine is added to a solution of the fluorine - containing copolymer and the solvent is dissipated after applying the solution to a desired surface , curing reaction of the copolymer with the amine takes place and proceeds even at room temperature . the rate of curing reaction can be enhanced by heating . also it is possible to use an organic acid or its anhydride as a curing agent , though a relatively high temperature is needed for curing reaction using such a curing agent . besides a curing agent , desired additives such as pigment , ultraviolet absorbing agent and dispersion stabilizing agent may be added to a solution of the fluorine - containing copolymer . almost every additive used in conventional paint or coating liquid compositions exhibits good dispersibility in a solution of this copolymer . initially 25 . 8 g of vinyl acetate ( vac ), 17 . 1 g of allylglycidyl ether ( age ), 200 g of butyl acetate ( buac ), 2 . 0 g of sodium borate and 0 . 5 g of lauroyl peroxide ( lpo ) were charged in a 500 ml stainless steel autoclave provided with electromagnetic stirrer , and replacement of the gas atmosphere in the autoclave by nitrogen gas was repeated three times . then the gas was purged from the autoclave , and 57 . 8 g of chlorotrifluoroethylene ( ctfe ) was introduced into the autoclave so that the ctfe / vac / age proportions were 52 / 32 / 16 by mol . the temperature in the autoclave was gradually raised up to 60 ° c ., at which radical copolymerization reaction was carried out for 24 hr . after that unreacted ctfe was discharged from the autoclave . the reaction product was in the form of a thick solution . ( the concentration of solid solute in this solution was found to be 20 . 7 wt %.) this solution was poured into n - hexane to precipitate a semitransparent copolymer , which weighed 57 . 8 g after washing and drying . the intrinsic viscosity of the obtained copolymer in tetrahydrofuran was 0 . 23 dl / g at 30 ° c ., and the epoxy equivalent of the copolymer was measured to be 748 g / equiv . by direct titration of α - epoxy group . infrared absorption spectrum of the copolymer exhibited absorption peaks at 3050 cm - 1 ( c - h of methylene group in the terminal epoxy ring ) and at 1760 cm - 1 ( c ═ o ) thermal analysis of the copolymer by differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ) and thermogravimetry ( tg ) revealed that the copolymer does not have a clear melting point . by tg , weight loss of the copolymer began at a temperature above 250 ° c . a mixed solution was prepared by first dissolving 25 g of the ctfe / vac / age copolymer in 25 g of buac and then adding 1 . 9 g of 50 wt % solution of hexamethylenediamine in buac . the resultant solution was spread on a chromate treated aluminum plate with a film applicator . after evaporating the solvent the coating film on the aluminum plate was cured by heating a 150 ° c . for 10 min . representative properties of the cured coating film were as shown in table 1 by results of generally employed evaluation tests . table 1______________________________________test item evaluation______________________________________gloss ( 60 ° specular gloss ) 158pencil hardness ( max . hardness of pencil 2hfailed to give scratch ) cross - cut adhesion test ( no peel areas 100 / 100among 100 areas tested with cellophane tape ) ______________________________________ the same solution was applied to a number of pieces of glass plate and aluminum plate , and the coating films were cured by the aforementioned method . resistance of the cured coating films to several kinds of liquid chemicals was tested by immersion for 30 days at room temperature . the results are shown in table 2 wherein : the mark &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; means no change in appearance by visual observation , and &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; means occurrence of some peel . for comparison , coating films of a ternary copolymer of ctfe , vac and ethylene glycol monoallyl ether ( egae ), i . e . a copolymer having hydroxyl group as functional group , cured with isocyanate were tested in the same manner . the results are contained in table 2 . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ ctfe / vac / age ctef / vac / egae copolymer of copolymer forliquid chemical substrate example 1 comparison__________________________________________________________________________5 % hydrochloric acid glass a bsolution5 % sodium hydroxide ibid a bsolution3 % sodium chloride ibid a bsolutiontoluene aluminum a aperchloroethylene ibid a amethylisobutyl ketone ibid a a__________________________________________________________________________ initially 51 . 2 g of vinyl butyrate ( vbu ), 25 . 7 g of age , 580 ml of water , 0 . 2 g of methyl cellulose , 3 . 0 g of sodium borate and 0 . 75 g of lpo were charged in a 1 . 4 - liter stainless steel autoclave provided with electromagnetic stirrer . then nitrogen gas was introduced into and finally purged from the autoclave in the same manner as in example 1 . after that 97 . 7 g of ctfe was introduced into the autoclave so that the ctfe / vbu / age proportions were 55 / 30 / 15 by mol . the temperature in the autoclave was gradually raised , and copolymerization reaction was carried out at 60 ° c . for 24 hr . after that unreacted ctfe was discharged from the autoclave . the reaction product was in the form of a slurry . the solid component of the slurry was collected by filtration and was washed with water and dried to obtain 107 g of a semitransparent copolymer powder . the intrinsic viscosity of the obtained copolymer in tetrahydrofuran was 0 . 35 dl / g at 30 ° c ., and the epoxy equivalent of the copolymer was measured to be 970 g / equiv . infrared absorption spectrum of the copolymer exhibited absorption peaks at 3050 cm - 1 ( c - h of methylene group in the terminal epoxy ring ) and at 1760 cm - 1 ( c ═ o ). a mixed solution was prepared by first dissolving 25 g of the ctfe / vbu / age copolymer in 25 g of buac and then adding 1 . 5 g of 50 wt % solution of 2 , 4 , 6 - tridimethylaminomethylphenol in buac . the resultant solution was applied to an aluminum plate to form a cured coating film by the same method as in example 1 . pencil hardness of the cured coating film was b , and the result of the cross - cut adhesion test on the same coating film was 100 / 100 . the same solution was applied to a glass plate , and the coating film was cured by the same method . then the coated glass plate was kept immersed in water at room temperature for 60 days . the coating film passed this test without peeling from the glass surface in any area . initially 25 . 8 g of vac , 12 . 2 g of age , 4 . 2 g of ethyl acrylate ( ea ), 200 g of buac , 2 . 0 g of sodium borate and 0 . 5 g of lpo were charged in the autoclave used in example 1 . then nitrogen gas was introduced into and finally purged from the autoclave in the same manner as in example 1 . after that 68 . 7 g of ctfe was introduced into the autoclave so that the ctfe / vac / age / ea proportions were 57 / 29 / 10 / 4 by mol , and copolymerization reaction was carried out at 60 ° c . for 24 hr . after that unreacted ctfe was discharged from the autoclave . the reaction product was in the form of a thick solution . ( the concentration of solid solute in this solution was found to be 20 . 2 wt %.) this solution was poured into a large quantity of n - hexane to precipitate a semitransparent copolymer , which weighed 50 g after washing and drying . the intrinsic viscosity of the obtained copolymer in tetrahydrofuran was 0 . 27 dl / g at 30 ° c ., and the epoxy equivalent of the copolymer was measured to be 1250 g / equiv . infrared absorption spectrum of the copolymer exhibited absorption peaks at 3050 cm - 1 ( c - h of methylene group in the terminal epoxy ring ) and at 1730 - 1760 cm - 1 ( c ═ o ) a mixed solution was prepared by first dissolving 25 of the ctfe / vac / age / ea copolymer in 25 g of methylisobutyl ketone and then adding 1 . 2 g of 50 wt % solution of hexamethylenediamine in methylisobutyl ketone . the resultant solution was applied to an aluminum plate to form a cured coating film by the same method a in example 1 . pencil hardness of the cured coating film was 2h , and the result of the cross - cut adhesion test on the same coating film was 100 / 100 . the same solution was applied to a glass plate , and the coating film was cured by the same method . at room temperature the coated glass plate was kept immersed in water for 60 days , but the coating film did not peel from the glass surface in any area . initially 12 . 0 g of isopropenyl acetate ( ipac ), 6 . 8 g of age , 80 g of buac , 0 . 8 g sodium borate and 0 . 2 g of lpo were charged in a 200 ml stainless steel autoclave provided with electromagnetic stirrer . then nitrogen gas was introduced into and finally purged from the autoclave in the same manner as in example 1 . after that 23 . 1 g of ctfe was introduced into the autoclave so that the ctfe / ipac / age proportions were 52 / 32 / 16 by mol . the temperature in the autoclave was gradually raised , and copolymerization reaction was carried out at 60 ° c . for 24 hr . after that unreacted ctfe was discharged from the autoclave . the reaction product was in the form of solution . ( the concentration of solid solute in this solution was found to be 10 . 7 wt %.) this solution was poured into a large quantity of n - hexane to precipitate a semitransparent copolymer , which weighed 13 g after washing and drying . the intrinsic viscosity of the obtained copolymer in tetrahydro furan was 0 . 12 dl / g at 30 ° c ., and the epoxy equivalent of the copolymer was measured to be 1100 g / equiv . infrared absorption spectrum of the copolymer exhibited absorption peaks at 3050 - 1 cm and at 1760 cm - 1 . a mixed solution was prepared by first dissolving 10 of the ctfe / ipac / age copolymer in 10 g of methylisobutyl ketone and then adding 0 . 5 g of 50 wt % solution of hexamethylenediamine in methylisobutyl ketone . the resultant solution was applied to an aluminum plate to form a cured coating film by the same method as in example 1 . pencil hardness of the cured coating film was 2h , and the result of the cross - cut adhesion test on the same coating film was 100 / 100 . the same solution was applied to a glass plate , and the coating film was cured by the same method . at room temperature the coated glass plate was kept immersed in water for 60 days , but the coating film did not peel from the glass surface in any area . | 2 |
in the present invention , a novel membrane is presented comprising a permeate channel . this is made possible by the inclusion of a 3d spacer fabric between two membrane layers . this integrated permeate channel membrane ( ipc - membrane ) basically comprises the two following constituents : the 3d - spacer fabric is preferably made by a knitting operation ( e . g . by a raschel knitting machine ). the spacer fabric is composed of two surface fabrics ( 2 , 3 ) ( knitted , woven or non - woven type of fabric ) at controllable distance , which are tied together with hundreds of spacer monofilament thread ( 4 ) per square cm . an example of such a 3d spacer fabric is shown in fig1 , 2 and 3 . the connection between the two fabric surfaces 2 and 3 is made by loops 5 in the spacer monofilament threads 4 . the distance between the two surface fabric layers ( 2 , 3 ) is determined by the length of the spacer monofilament threads ( 4 ) between the loops ( 5 ) and may be varied from 0 . 5 to 10 mm . the structure of the preferred surface fabrics is shown in fig2 . the most preferable ipc - membrane is made by the coating process . the ipc membrane is formed in - situ by a simultaneous coating of both surfaces ( upper and lower , 2 and 3 ) of the knitted spacer fabric with membrane dope . the membrane is subsequently formed by the phase inversion process ( coagulation in non - solvent ). the membrane dope may contain any type of polymer binder ( natural polymer from the non - limiting series : pvc , c - pvc , psf , pesu , pps , pu , pvdf , pi , pan , and their grafted variants ( sulphonated , acrylated , aminated . . . ), an aprotic solvent e . g . dmf , dmso , dmac or nmp , and filler material ( polymeric like : hpc , cmc , pvp , pvpp , pva , pvac , peo and / or inorganic like : tio 2 , hfo 2 , al 2 o 3 , zro 2 , zr 3 ( po 4 ) 4 , y 2 o 3 , sio 2 , perovskite oxide materials , sic ). the non - solvent may be water vapour phase ( water vapour or cold steam ), water , or mixtures of water with the mentioned aprotic solvents . spacer fabric preparation step : spacer fabric ( knitted , woven or non / woven ) unwinding ; spacer fabric guiding into vertical position and spacer fabric spreading to prevent fold formation ( perpendicular to the fabrication direction ) spacer fabric coating step : simultaneous double - side coating of dope with a double - sided coating system and automatic dope feeding on both sides of the spacer fabric ( same level at both sides ) to obtain a dope coated spacer fabric surface pore formation step : contacting of the double - side coated spacer fabric with water vapour phase . it is also possible to obtain an asymmetric spacer fabric - reinforced membrane with different pore size characteristics at both sides by applying different conditions on both sides of the dope coated spacer fabric . bulk formation step : coagulation of product into a hot water bath post - treatment step : washing out of chemicals in a water reservoir drying step : drying of the product by this in - situ membrane formation method the constituents ( the knitted spacer fabric and the two membrane layers ) are unbreakable linked to each other . this is due to the fact that the membrane is formed on top and inside of the spacer fabric itself . in fig4 , 5 and 6 a typical cross - sectional view is given of an ipc membrane . the monofilament threads 4 are still clearly visible , while both fabric surfaces are now covered with a membrane ( 12 , 13 ) fig5 is an optical photograph of the cross - section of an ipc - membrane made by phase - inversion process . fig4 is a fesem picture of the cross - section of the same ipc - membrane as is shown in fig5 . the typical cross - sectional view of the ipc membrane shows the typical components of the ipc membrane : the multitude of pillars ( spacer fabric monofilament threads 4 ) between the two membrane layers 12 and 13 ; the two membrane layers 12 and 13 ; the monofilament threads 6 of the two surfaces inside the membrane structure it can also be seen on these cross - sectional views that the loops ( 5 ) of the monofilament threads and the multifilaments of the fabric surfaces ( 3 ) are embedded in the membrane layers . from these figures it is clear that the membrane layers are unbreakably linked with the spacer fabric by the multitude of anchorage points . one of the key features of the ipc membrane is the presence of an integral permeate channel . this permeate channel is useful for different applications : for permeate withdrawal in mbr application , as well as for e . g . ultra - and microfiltration , membrane distillation , vapour permeation , pervaporation , and gas separation . for immobilisation purposes of in e . g . liquid ion - exchanger in supported liquid membranes and in pertraction . the anchorage / adhesion of the membrane layers of the ipc membrane fabricated by the coating and phase inversion process ( see fig5 ) to the knitted spacer fabric is very strong . this can be explained by the multitude of anchorage points . this property is illustrated by burst - pressure measurements with silicone oil ( having a viscosity of 50 times higher than water ). it was found that the two membrane layers do not detach at pressures even up to 17 bar . this property makes of the ipc - membrane an excellent back - washable flat - sheet ( mf / uf ) membrane . moreover , it was found that the formed composite material structure is also quite rigid . the ipc membrane as a whole is quite rigid after drying . this is rather unexpected considering the flexibility of the spacer fabric itself , due to the loops in the monofilament threads at the surface fabrics . this can be explained by the fixation / incorporation of the monofilament loops of the spacer fabric into the membrane structure of the two membrane layers . this property especially enables to make large surfaces ( e . g . 2 m by 2 m ). hence , the major properties of the ipc membrane according to the present invention are : the presence of the integrated spacer channel ; its back - wash ability ; its rigidity . from the aforementioned properties various novel membrane module concepts and applications can be generated with the ipc membrane . the present invention is further illustrated by two non - limiting examples described infra . this novel concept for submerged membrane bioreactor is named ipc - mbr membrane module concept . for this application the integrated permeate channel is used for withdrawing permeate from an active sludge system , without the need for special module concepts with separate permeate spacer channels . the driving force for permeation is a suction force applied from the integrate permeate channel side . by this action water with micro / ultrafiltration quality is generated from the active sludge system . to enable the suction force on the permeate channel , firstly the so - called “ ipc - mbr plates ” have to be realized . this is done by closing at least two ( preferably opposite ) edges of the ipc - mbr membrane 1 ( see fig6 and 7 ) with sealant 7 such as an epoxy / polyurethane type of resin , or any type of rubber , or a hot melt , or by any type of welding operation . the other edge ( s ) remain open and is ( are ) sealed to an inlet / outlet port 8 , to enable the permeate to be evacuated or to be fed back . the opposite edges with the inlet / outlet port 8 are then preferably placed into the vertical position ( on top ), so that gases can be easily evacuated . the so - formed ipc - mbr plates 9 may have the following dimensions for the purpose of wastewater purification : a width from 0 . 5 m to up to 2 m ; and a height from 0 . 5 m to up to 2 m to form an mbr module , the ipc - mbr plates 9 are placed vertically in arrays ( containing a multitude of these ipc - mbr plates ) positioned at a distance of 1 to 10 mm from each other allowing air bubbles to pass the membrane . the ipc - mbr module is now ready for use . preferably , an aeration system is placed at the bottom of the module , which serves for cleaning the membranes and for oxygen supply for the bacteria of the active sludge system . the ipc - membrane plates with at least two closed edges and at least one edge with inlet / outlet ports arrays of these ipc plates an optional aeration system at the bottom the ipc membrane sustains back - wash transmembrane pressures ( tmp ) in operation of above 10 bar , assuring long membrane life . the ipc membranes for this purpose preferably have a thickness in between 1 and 3 mm . in fig1 a schematic drawing is given of the ipc spiral membrane module concept . the ipc membrane leafs 32 are connected to the central permeate tube 31 just as like the envelope - like membrane types . in the ipc spiral membrane 30 there is no need for a permeate spacer since the distance between the two membrane surfaces is determined by the length of the spacer threads ( pillars ). it is also recommended to use a special feed spacer and to introduce special by - pass spacers . a more detailed view of the ipc spiral uf membrane along the line a - a ′ is represented in fig1 . the arrangement of membranes 32 with integrated permeate channel , feed spacers 33 and by - pass spacers 34 is shown with their respective dimensions for a preferred embodiment of the invention . the special feed spacer 33 is recommended to enhance the particle expulsion power during backwash operation . this is achieved by guiding the concentrate to the two topsides of the membrane module 30 . the spacer consists of massive pe , pp or pes foil 22 with continuous ribs 21 at both sides of the foil . the ribs 21 are in the longitudinal direction of the membrane module . the total thickness of this novel spacer is preferably between 0 . 5 and 3 mm , the rib height between 0 . 2 and 1 mm and the foil thickness between 0 . 05 and 0 . 3 mm . the distance between the ribs on the foil is preferably between 5 and 30 mm . fig8 and 9 show schematic representations of the special feed spacer the by - pass spacers 34 are also recommended to enhance the particle expulsion power during backwash operation in bigger modules . in fact it is quite similar to the special feed spacer 33 . moreover it contains a feed by - pass 23 ( see fig9 ). the feed by - pass 23 of the by - pass spacer has two functions : the first function is to help the particle expulsion during backwash operation . in fig1 a 240 inch long pressure vessel is shown with 4 membrane modules of 60 inches long . upon backwash the concentrate from modules c has to pass through the feed spacer of modules d , which is being back - washed at the same time . so the by - pass spacer of module d is used for the expulsion of the concentrate from module c . similar operation for the by - pass spacer of module a for the concentrate of module b . the second function is to help to distribute the feed water through all modules of the pressure vessel and especially the modules in the middle upon filtration ( modules b and c ). these functions are important for maintaining a stable transmembrane pressure ( tmp ) over a long period , and for postponing chemical cleaning of the membrane . due to the low transmembrane pressure in uf and mf membranes , modules are placed hydraulically in parallel to avoid pressure loss . applications for the membranes according to the invention are numerous and include mbr , microfiltration , ultrafiltration , membrane distillation , pervaporation , vapour permeation , gas separation , supported liquid membranes and pertraction . | 3 |
reference is now made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . the present invention maintains a receiver - chip sequence in synchronization with a transmitter - chip sequence embedded in a spread - spectrum signal . the method may be realized using a processor , discrete circuitry , or logical gate components . these items would be located at the receiver . the appropriate receiver circuitry for performing the required receiver functions is illustrated herein . at the transmitter , the method includes the steps of generating the spread - spectrum signal . the spread - spectrum signal has a period for initial synchronization , a marker , and data . the period for initial synchronization , the marker , and the data are transmitted together as one message , and each is sequentially a part of the spread - spectrum signal . the period for initial synchronization may be a time period of the signal when a transmitter - chip sequence is transmitted with or without data modulation . alternatively , the period for initial synchronization may include a preamble of bits , which would be embodied as preamble data imposed on the transmitter - chip sequence during the period for initial synchronization . preambles for spread - spectrum signals are well known in the art . the marker typically is a known bit pattern . for example , the marker may include an eight bit pattern , such as 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 . the marker is used to designate a particular point in time , or position in the bit sequence , after the period for initial synchronization . the data follow the period for initial synchronization and the marker . the data include the information being conveyed from the transmitter to the receiver . the period for initial synchronization , the marker , and the data are spread - spectrum processed with the transmitter - chip sequence to generate the spread - spectrum signal . the spread - spectrum processing may be any of phase shift keying ( psk ), amplitude shift keying ( ask ), or frequency shift keying ( fsk ). additionally , these modulation techniques may be combined to generate the spread - spectrum signal . circuitry , methods and apparatus for implementing these modulation techniques are well known in the art . examples of such circuitry are shown in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 265 , 120 , which is incorporated herein by reference . the spread - spectrum signal is transmitted using radio waves from the transmitter over the communications channel . at the receiver , the method includes the steps of generating the receiver - chip sequence . the receiver - chip sequence is identical to the transmitter - chip sequence , for despreading of a received spread - spectrum signal . as illustratively shown in fig1 the method includes the step of synchronizing 21 the receiver - chip sequence to the transmitter - chip sequence . the initial synchronizing 21 would be accomplished during the period for initial synchronization of the spread - spectrum signal . the step of synchronizing 21 may , for example , be slewing 11 the receiver - chip sequence against the received spread - spectrum signal . the step of synchronizing 21 may further include the step of detecting 12 a correlation peak of the receiver - chip sequence cross - correlated with the transmitter - chip sequence . if a correlation peak is not detected 12 , then the method continues slewing 11 the receiver - chip sequence until a peak is detected . alternatively , other methods of initial synchronization may be used as is known in the art . when a correlation peak is detected 12 , then the method stops slewing 13 the receiver - chip sequence and proceeds with the step of detecting 14 whether a marker is present in the spread - spectrum signal . thus , the method further includes the step of detecting 14 the marker embedded in the spread - spectrum signal . the marker is used to denote a time , or position in the transmitted signal , from which a first reposition delay is determined at the receiver . the marker occurs in the spread - spectrum signal after the period for initial synchronization , and before data are transmitted on the spread - spectrum signal . when the marker is detected 14 , then the method initiates 15 a timer or bit counter or time stamp . the timer or bit counter or time stamp is used to determine a next , reposition delay . after the first marker is detected then an initial chip - code reposition resynchronization occurs , by re - aligning 16 the receiver - chip sequence with the transmitter - chip sequence . after re - aligning 16 the receiver - chip sequence , the receiver demodulates 17 the data embedded in the spread - spectrum signal , and outputs the data . the step of demodulating 17 uses the appropriate circuitry for detecting a spread - spectrum signal processed at the transmitter with the appropriate modulation , including ask , fsk , psk , or combination thereof . at the end of the first reposition delay , the method repeats the step of re - aligning 16 the receiver - chip sequence with the transmitter - chip sequence . the step of re - aligning 16 can include slewing the receiver - chip sequence until a correlation peak is detected or any of the several techniques noted later in this text . when the correlation - peak is detected , the method continues to demodulate 17 data from the spread - spectrum signal . additionally , the method includes the steps of determining 18 whether the timer or bit counter has reached a time or count precalculated to represent less than the maximum acceptable drift limit . if the timer or bit counter were not equal to the preset drift limit , then the method continues demodulating 17 data from the received spread - spectrum signal . if the timer or bit counter were equal to the preset drift limit , then the method initializes the step of re - aligning 16 the receiver - chip sequence position to within a chip time of the transmitter - chip sequence . in the instant invention re - alignment preferably is to within 1 / 8 of a chip time . the present invention may have more than a first reposition delay , and may have multiple reposition delays . during each reposition delay , the method includes the step of demodulating data from the spread - spectrum signal . at the end of each reposition delay , the method re - aligns the receiver - chip sequence to within one chip time of the transmitter - chip sequence embedded in the spread - spectrum signal . each subsequent reposition delay may be determined from a recurring marker , or alternatively , from preprogrammed delays from an initial marker . at the beginning of a new transmission of a spread - spectrum signal , some finite time is spent in order to achieve initial chip sequence timing acquisition . this can be done under either hardware or software control , or some combination of both . message data can be extracted for typically between three to 20 milliseconds , depending on baud rate and crystal accuracies of the receiver and transmitter . in this case , the longer the transmitted message , the higher the crystal cost at both the transmitter and receiver . in order for longer messages to be reliably received , additional synchronization techniques should be employed . the data synchronization techniques should rely on the transmitted signals in order to continuously or periodically realign the receiver - chip sequence phase position to match the transmitter - chip sequence of the transmitted signal . spread - spectrum systems can use data modulation techniques which are otherwise available to conventional narrow band systems . some of these modulation techniques , such as amplitude shift keying ( ask ), create periods of time when either less signal or no signal is present for the receiver to perform a code re - alignment routine upon . further , other constant carrier modulation techniques such as fast frequency shift keying ( ffsk ) and binary phase shift keying ( bpsk ) experience sudden but small variations in received powers as the receiver - chip sequence alignment is purposely changed by the receiver &# 39 ; s algorithm . this affects signal - to - noise ratio ( snr ) and , in the minimum detectable signal ( mds ) case , can affect the bit error rate ( ber ). depending on the goals of the system , an impact on bit error rate may or may not be acceptable during the periodic receiver - chip sequence realignment optimizations generated by the receiver . in either case , dummy bit times can be sent by the transmitter at a constant carrier level so that the receiver can re - optimize positions of the chip sequence during the dummy bit times without affecting information bits . the term &# 34 ; dummy bits &# 34 ; is defined herein to include an arbitrary sequence of bits , which do not necessarily carry information . preferably , the receiver is able to re - optimize the receiver - chip sequence position often enough so that the minimum snr for the required bit error rate is maintained . if , for example , the design goal at the minimum detectable signal case is that the signal does not vary more than 1 . 25 db due to receiver - chip sequence / transmitter - chip sequence misalignment , then in a typical 63 chip system , the chip sequence should not become more than 1 / 4 of a chip out of alignment with the transmitter - chip sequence due to crystal drift . in an 800 nanosecond chip time system , this yields an allowable 200 nanosecond of chip sequence misalignment . therefore , a chip sequence re - optimization should occur at the receiver at least once every two milliseconds if low cost , 50 parts per million ( ppm ) initial accuracy crystals are to be used . a difference in other circuit components , aging , voltage and in the operating temperature between the receiver and transmitter , also adds to the error , thus reducing message time even further . the receiver can use well known techniques for correlation peak optimization such as signal strength measurement or quieting detection or any equivalent means to sense if the correlation peak is improved as the receiver changes receiver - chip sequence alignment in sub - chip steps . furthermore , the receiver can use a number of techniques to determine a predicted receiver - chip sequence alignment drift correction . for example , the receiver can take two or more readings after repositioning the receiver - chip sequence alignment in order to determine the slope of the correction factor and then use the slope to generate a chip position correction factor and apply that correction factor . another technique for correlation peak optimization that the receiver can employ is to take a multiplicity of correlation improvement samples as the receiver consecutively increments the receiver - chip sequence alignment in sub - chip increments , thereby plotting out an actual correlation function . this procedure can optionally be preceded by an initial receiver - chip sequence misalignment with respect to the transmitter - chip sequence in the opposite direction . if the direction of receiver - chip sequence drift is known , however , then the initial misalignment can be eliminated . once the correlation function is plotted , one of several techniques can be used to determine optimal receiver - chip sequence / transmitter - chip sequence position : a ) the peak signal level can be used ; b ) the outer bounds of the correlation function can be determined and then divided by two in order to estimate the middle , or peak , of the correlation function . both of these techniques can be used in conjunction with slope information to further optimize alignment position . equivalent correlation peak determination / prediction method can provide this function . the receiver optionally can keep track of the information gained in the previously described algorithms to identify the rate and the direction of the receiver - chip sequence misalignment drift with respect to the transmitter - chip sequence . upon determining the drift rate and direction , the receiver can further use this information as a second order correction function to the receiver - chip sequence reposition algorithm . the correction function can be used in between the times when the receiver actually samples the correlation improvement of the carrier . in this way , the receiver can lengthen the time between dummy bits which may have to be inserted by the transmitter . alternatively , further reduced accuracy crystals can be used . if the transmitter does not use a constant carrier data modulation , or if data are demodulated at the maximum achievable snr for a certain bit error rate , then after the beginning of a new transmission , and initial receiver - chip sequence alignment to the transmitter - chip sequence , the transmitter inserts dummy bits ; the receiver knows when these dummy bits occur so that the receiver can perform the receiver - chip sequence re - optimization algorithm . for the receiver to be able to identify the dummy bits , the transmitter sends a marker in the transmitted message designed to notify the receiver where to find the dummy bit times in the subsequent message . this marker can be a signal strength , frequency or phase variation , or a special data key or the like . the marker need only appear once in the message , provided the subsequent dummy bits appear in the transmitted message in some preset fashion which the receiver likewise knows and searches . if , on the other hand , the dummy bits are inserted at times which are not known by the receiver , then the transmitter retransmits the marker each time to alert the receiver as to when the dummy bits reoccur so that the receiver can execute its chip sequence re - optimization algorithm . as illustratively shown in fig2 a preferred embodiment of the instant invention uses ask data 30 and sends a marker 32 , i . e ., a synchronization byte of a set pattern , subsequent to the period for initial synchronization 31 and prior to sending subsequent information data bits . the transmitter then inserts several dummy bits 33 after the ask synchronization marker 32 . the initial synchronization feature queues the receiver to use the subsequent dummy bits 33 to perform a receiver - chip sequence re - optimization algorithm . further , in this example , the transmitter automatically reinserts dummy bits once every eight data bytes 35 . the receiver &# 39 ; s algorithm is aware of the automatic reinsertion and uses the same timing spacing 34 so that the receiver can automatically perform subsequent receiver - chip sequence timing re - optimizations every eight bytes during the times when these subsequent dummy bits are transmitted . in this manner , the transmitter can send an arbitrarily long data message while the receiver maintains receiver - chip sequence alignment with the transmitter - chip sequence , with no greater than 1 / 4 chip code alignment error resulting from crystal drift between the transmitter and receiver . the marker generated by the transmitter is also useful in systems which use chip sequence position for external synchronization applications . many spread - spectrum systems such as the global positioning satellite ( gps ) system rely on the time synchronization provided by the chip sequence alignment to measure the time - of - flight of radio waves so that a time delay can be converted into distance and ultimately latitude / longitude / altitude position fixes . an example of a radio position system is discussed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 799 , 062 , entitled radio position determination method and apparatus , to sanderford , which is incorporated herein by reference . in such systems , the marker can likewise reduce the crystal accuracy needed at remote devices . such a reduction in required accuracy is possible because in a typical time - of - flight system , the chip sequence optimization position can occur over the duration of the entire transmitted message or at varying positions within a received message . therefore the crystal drift at a remote unit can negatively effect the accuracy of the time - of - flight reading . by using the transmitted marker 32 , the devices , remote or otherwise , can take a chip sequence phase position reading which is optimized to the correlation peak at a known time distance from the purposely generated marker within a received message . therefore , the crystal drift error term can be reduced by several orders of magnitude since the drift factor that affects the time - of - flight measurement is reduced to several bits , as opposed to potentially an entire message . radio location systems that measure time - of - flight have a further requirement called lane counting . when a transmission is received from a distant station , the time delay of the transmission can be greater than that of the receiver - chip sequence repetition rate . when this happens , the chip sequence alignment yields an ambiguous range reading since the chip sequence position has rolled over one or more times . the maximum unambiguous ranging reading from a time - of - flight hyperbolic system is called a lane . for example , a time - of - flight radio location system which uses a five megachip per second code rate and a 127 chip code length would have a code repetition rate of 26 milliseconds , and therefore a lane distance of approximately five miles . transmissions from distances greater than five miles incorrectly roll over into a zero to five mile position determination . the marker 32 , which is purposely embedded into the transmitted message for the purpose of receiver - chip sequence realignment , also can generate a time stamp by which a macro - level timer can be used in increments of chip sequence repetition times . providing the embedded feature contains aspects which change in a time span equal to or shorter than a chip sequence repetition rate , then the feature can be used to initiate a timer , or to generate a time marker from a modulo counter , with resolution which is seamless and dovetails with the chip sequence phase positions . this macro - level time marker can be used to greatly enhance the unambiguous range measurements in a time - of - flight radio location system . in a hyperbolic time - of - flight radio location system , ambiguous relative time - of - flight measurements also generate multiple hyperbolic intersections causing ambiguous or multiple position fixes . the macro level timing just discussed , which is made possible by the embedded marker on the transmitted message , also serves to eliminate multiple ambiguous position fixes in a time - of - flight hyperbolic radio location system . as illustratively shown in fig3 the received signal , after passing through a receiver front - end and optionally undergoing a down conversion and appropriate filtering , as is well known in the art , is first applied to mixer 301 . mixer 301 provides bandwidth compression of an incoming spread spectrum signal to yield a compressed non - spread spectrum signal on mixer &# 39 ; s output port . mixer 301 is injected on the local oscillator port either directly by the chip code generator 303 or alternatively by a mixer / local oscillator combination 302 . the mixer / local oscillator combination 302 provides the optional second or third down conversion of the received signal to yield lower if frequencies , as is well known in the art . the chip code generator 303 provides the spread spectrum direct sequence modulation output . appropriate chip code generators can be fashioned from an exclusive or gate tapped shift register with feedback , or a random access memory / read only memory ( ram / rom ) look - up table wherein the appropriate chip code pattern is stored , or a serial shift register wherein the appropriate chip code pattern is stored , or any other means , as is well known in the art . the instant invention uses a sequentially addressed rom look - up table to store and recall the chip code pattern . the chip code generator 303 also has several inputs . the several inputs are designed to alter the time / phase offset of the repetitive chip code output . the advance input causes a time advance of the chip code position . the delay input causes a time delay of the chip code position . the advance and delay inputs can be in units of multiple chips , a single chip or in units of a portion of a chip . in the instant invention , the advance and delay lines are selected in two chip , one chip , or one - quarter chip increments . further , the chip code generator 303 is equipped with an input / output port which allows the processor 307 to read and write the chip code alignment phase . the chip code phase / alignment position output port allows the processor 307 to determine the aggregate time / phase position offset which has been selected / optimized by the processor 307 . when the processor 307 reads the chip code phase position from the chip code generator 303 , the processor 307 , is able to time stamp the phase / alignment position of an incoming received signal with a high degree of accuracy . the ability to read the chip code phase position allows the processor 307 to determine relative time - of - arrival measurements and to compare the chip code phase position to either a time reference or to another incoming received signal . the relative time - of - arrival information of the received signal can then be used to calculate a distance or a hyperbolic line of position . in addition to reading the chip code phase position , processor 307 can also set any chip code phase position by writing the input port of the chip code generator 303 . as illustrated in the preferred embodiment , a band pass filter 304 serves to eliminate received noise outside of the compressed output of mixer 301 . the filtered signal from the bandpass filter 304 is provided to a received signal strength indication ( rssi ) quieting detector 306 which makes possible a measurement of correlation . the rssi quieting detector 306 can be fashioned from available components which either measure signal strength or quieting detection or phase lock detection . alternatively , the rssi quieting detector could be located in earlier blocks of the receiver . the output of the rssi quieting detector 306 provides a measurement of correlation to the processor 307 so that the processor 307 can perform the reposition algorithm . the rssi quieting detector 306 can also provide part , or all , of the components necessary for data detection . alternatively , the rssi quieting detector 306 can be separate from the data detector 305 , in which case the data detector 305 would connect directly to the bandpass filter 304 output . the data detector 305 can be formed from any of the modulation detectors , as is well known in the art , such as amplitude modulation , frequency modulation or phase modulation methods . the purpose of the data detector 305 is to provide a data output to the processor 307 , so that the processor 307 can detect the presence of a marker and execute the reposition algorithm . the instant invention uses amplitude modulation as the data detector 305 , with the data detector 305 using the rssi quieting detector 306 . further , in the instant invention , the signal strength indication provides both correlation measurement and data amplitude information . the correlation measurement output of the rssi quieting detector 306 is therefore also used by the processor 307 to decode data output . in the preferred embodiment of the instant invention , the data detector 305 not a separate unit , but is part of the rssi quieting detector 306 . the processor 307 can be a micro - computer or digital logic , or discrete components , or an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), or equivalent means which can run the reposition algorithm . the instant invention uses an analog to digital convertor to translate the correlation measurement input into a digital representation of correlation level and of the am data modulation output . the micro - processor in the instant invention further controls the advance and delay of the chip code phase position of the chip code generator 303 and identifies the presence of a marker and reads the phase position of a received signal for time - of - flight applications . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the spread spectrum alignment repositioning method and apparatus of the instant invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention , and it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of the spread spectrum alignment repositioning method and apparatus provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . | 7 |
automatic focus adjustment in the embodiments to be described is based on a so - called zone - focus system . that is , the range finder device detects which of the near , middle and distant zones an object is placed in , and in response to the result , the objective lens positioning control mechanism sets an objective lens to the correct zone for the object . referring now to fig1 which shows the mechanical part of a first embodiment of the present invention , manual changeover member 1 for daylight photography and flash photography is set to the daylight photography mode of a camera with index 1a projecting from the center of the top surface of the member being set at the cloud symbol . in this condition , projection 1b facing downward at the right end of changeover member 1 rides on shoulder 13b on the top surface of lever 13 , rotating lever 13 counterclockwise against the action of spring 13c , whereby the left end of lever 13 abuts on switch sw1 which is , in turn , opened , thus causing an automatic focus adjusting device to operate properly . lens shift member 4 is biased left by spring 5 , and stop portion 4c at the right end of lens shift member 4 is restrained by lever 3 . provided at the left end of lever 3 is armature 3a which is normally attracted and held to electromagnet 2 , core 2a of which is a permanent magnet , and lever 3 maintains lens shift member 4 to be restrained at the position illustrated in fig1 . when the winding of electromagnet 2 is instantly energized by the operation of a release member ( not shown ), e . g . a shutter button , the attractive force of permanent magnet core 2a is offset to free armature 3a , causing lever 3 to rotate clockwise under the action of spring 3b , whereby lever 3 disengages from stop portion 4c of lens shift member 4 , which in turn starts travelling to the left by the action of spring 5 . provided on the top side of lens shift member 4 is rack 4a which engages with gear 6 on the outer circumference of the lens barrel for objective lens l . accordingly , the travelling of lens shift member 4 to the left causes the lens barrel to rotate clockwise , thus causing objective lens l to be retracted from the nearest zone toward the infinity zone ( the reverse may also be used ). at the same time , a range finder device ( not shown ) operates to detect which of the near , middle and distant zones an object is located in , and in response to that determination , electromagnet 8 is energized when the object is located in the near zone , and electromagnet 9 is energized when the object is in the middle zone , while neither electromagnet 8 or 9 is energized when the object is in the distant zone . electromagnets 8 and 9 , both having permanent magnet cores which normally attract and hold armatures , are of the type in which the instant energization of a winding offsets the attractive force to release the armature . when the object is in the near zone , the winding of electromagnet 8 is energized , causing lever 10 to be released and rotated clockwise by the action of spring 10a , and claw 10b at the left end of lever 10 projects into the left travelling path of engaging portion 4b of lens shift member 1 . when engaging portion 4b comes into engagement with claw 10b of lever 10 , lens shift member 4 is stopped at position p1 . in this manner , objective lens l is set to the near distance zone . further , when the object is in the middle zone , the winding of electromagnet 9 is energized to release lever 11 , which steps lens shift member 4 when the left end thereof is positioned at p2 , objective lens l thus being set to the middle distance zone . with the object in the distant zone , however , neither of electromagnets 8 or 9 is energized , permitting lens shift member 4 to move until its left end comes into contact with fixed stopper 12 , whereby lens shift member 4 is stopped at position p3 , objective lens l thus being set to the distant zone . fig2 illustrates an automatic focus adjusting circuit for operating electromagnets 8 and 9 . portions 8 and 9 correspond to electromagnets 8 and 9 , respectively . range finder device 7 generates a high level signal at terminal z1 when an object is located in the near zone , a high level signal at terminal z2 when the object is in the middle zone , and a high level signal at terminal z3 when the object is in the distant zone , respectively . terminal z1 is connected to the base of transistor tr1 , and when the signal at terminal z1 becomes a high level , transistor tr1 is turned on , and so is transistor tr2 . with transistor tr2 turned on , capacitor c , charged by power source e beforehand , is discharged through transistor tr2 and the winding of electromagnet 8 , the latter of which is instantly energized . similarly , when a high level signal appears at terminal z2 , transistors tr3 and tr4 are turned on because switch sw1 connected in parallel with transistor tr4 is normally opened , thereby causing the winding of electromagnet 9 to be instantly energized . it is to be noted that power source switch sm is closed at the initial stage of the shutter button depression . when changeover member 1 in fig1 is turned to the flash photography position marked with an electronic flash arrow , switch sw1 is closed . this causes switch sw1 to short - circuit the emitter and collector of transistor tr4 in fig2 whereby electromagnet 9 is energized independently of the operation of range finder device 7 so that objective lens l is always set to the middle zone . in the above embodiment , the automatic focus adjusting device is forced to remain inoperative in the case of flash photography . that is , when switch sw1 is closed , capacitor c is continuously short - circuited by the winding of electromagnet 9 , resulting in no remaining power strong enough to energize electromagnet 8 even if a high level signal is generated at terminal z1 of range finder device 7 . in the above construction , the objective lens is set to a position suitable for flash photography in association with a changeover to flash photography . this fact causes no failure in picture taking even if normal range finding and automatic focus adjustment are impossible due to too low scene brightness , thus ensuring a generally reasonable photograph with a minimum number of additional members . needless to say , the embodiment of the present invention may be applied when zone settings of automatic focus adjustment are made in a greater number of stages , or continuously . fig3 and 4 illustrate a second embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 in explaining the mechanical part of the embodiment , electromagnet 21 controls the stop of release operating member 24 by stop lever 22 . objective lens l is shifted in the direction of the optical axis by rack 23a cut on lens shift member 23 . slow governor 25 controls the shift speed of release operating member 24 . lens shift member 23 is biased left by spring 32 , as shown in fig3 from the position where objective lens l is focused on an object at the near zone to the position where objective lens l is focused on an object at the distant zone . however , lens shift member 23 is constructed to follow the movement of release operating member 24 , and when release operating member 24 is cocked in the right direction , for example , in association with shutter charging , lens shift member 23 is pushed by release operating member 24 to reach the position as illustrated in fig3 . when release operating member 24 is released from its restrained position effected by stop lever 22 , release operating member 24 moves left under the action of spring 24a to release the shutter ( not shown ) at its final stage . electromagnet 21 having a permanent magnet at its core normally holds stop lever 22 in the stop position illustrated in fig3 by the magnetic force of its permanent magnet . with an operating member ( not shown ), e . g . a shutter button , operated , the winding of electromagnet 21 is energized to generate magnetic force which offsets the magnetic force of the permanent magnet , whereby stop lever 22 is rotated counterclockwise by its spring force to release the stop of release operating member 24 . electromagnets 26 , 27 and 28 are provided in pairs to stop levers 29 , 30 and 31 , each of which is spring tensioned to be away from the core of each electromagnet . electromagnets 26 , 27 and 28 are designed to determine the stop position of lens shift member 23 and are of the type identical to electromagnet 21 , and normally maintain corresponding stop levers 29 , 30 and 31 in their inoperative positions by the magnetic force of permanent magnets included in the respective cores , i . e . out of the path of engaging projection 23b formed on lens shift member 23 . with their windings energized , electromagnets 26 , 27 and 28 release corresponding stop levers 29 , 30 and 31 from their restrained positions . released stop levers 29 , 30 and 31 are rotated clockwise by spring force to be brought into the path of engaging projection 23b . as a result , lens shift member 23 is respectively stopped at the position where objective lens l is set to the near zone when the winding of electromagnet 26 is energized , at the position where objective lens l is set to the first middle zone when the winding of electromagnet 27 is energized , and at the position where objective lens l is set to the second middle zone more distant than the first middle zone when the winding of electromagnet 28 is energized . it should be understood that when none of electromagnets 26 , 27 and 28 are energized , lens shift member 23 is stopped in engagement with projection 33 provided integrally on the camera body at the left of electromagnet 28 , thereby setting objective lens l to the more distant zone . with respect to fig4 range finder device 34 may have the construction described , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 945 , 023 for the embodiment of the present invention in which the distance of an object is divided into four zones and a high level signal is generated respectively at terminal z1 for an object in the near zone , at terminal z2 for an object in the first middle zone , at terminal z3 for an object in the second middle zone and at terminal z4 for an object in the distant zone . manual changeover member 35 is designed to select either daylight photography or flash photography , and setting index 35a at flash symbol 36 makes it possible for the camera to be set to the flash photography mode . with index 35a set at either symbol 37 or 38 for daylight photography , the camera can be set to the daylight photography mode , with the diaphragm ( not shown ) being set at either of two - step aperture sizes . switch sw2 operates in association with manual changeover member 35 , and is closed when index 35a is set at flash symbol 36 while it is opened at the other setting positions of manual changeover member 35 . inverter 39 and high potential power source + vcc constitute a conditional circuit together with switch sw2 , and the potential at node a becomes a high level when switch sw2 is opened , and it becomes a low level when switch sw2 is closed . the windings of electromagnets 26 , 27 and 28 are connected in series respectively to transistors tr5 , tr6 and tr7 but are in parallel connection to high potential power source + vcc , and the bases of transistors tr5 and tr6 are connected through resistors r4 and r5 respectively to terminals z1 and z2 . or circuit 40 receives the outputs at terminals z1 and z2 , nand circuit 41 receives the outputs of or circuit 40 and inverter 39 , and or circuit 44 receives the outputs at terminal z3 and of inverter 39 . and circuit 43 receives the outputs of nand circuit 41 and or circuit 44 , and the base of transistor tr7 is connected through resistor r6 to the output terminal of and circuit 43 . it should be noted that the relations between the operating member ( e . g . a shutter button ), range finder device 34 and electromagnet 21 in the embodiment are detailed below , although they are not illustrated . that is , a switch ( not shown ) is closed by the operation of the operating member , causing range finder device 34 to start operating . at the same time , after a predetermined lapse of time including the time required for range finder device 34 to complete its operation since the closure of the switch , the winding of electromagnet 21 is energized through the function of a delay circuit ( not shown ). further in the above embodiment , lens shift member 23 is associated with a known f . m . mechanism ( which automatically determines the diaphragm aperture commensurate with a photographic zone and which is not shown ), and with manual changeover member 35 is set to the flash photography mode , i . e . only with index 35a set at symbol 36 , the diaphragm aperture is determined for objective lens l in response to the setting position of lens shift member 23 . this is , however , due to the use of a manual strobo having a predetermined guide number as a flash device , and when a so - called automatic electronic flash device is used , the above mentioned f . m . mechanism is not required . in the operation of the embodiment comprising the above construction , manual changeover member 35 is first , in the case of daylight photography , set to a position where index 35a is set to symbol 37 or 38 , causing switch sw1 to be opened and inverter 39 to generate a low level signal as a conditional signal . with the operating member ( not shown ) operated in this condition , range finder device 34 begins operating , thus generating a high level signal at one of terminals z1 , z2 , z3 and z4 . with an object in the near zone , for example , a high level signal appears at terminal z1 , turning on transistor tr5 which energizes the winding of electromagnet 26 for its activation . however , transistor tr6 is maintained off , and or circuit 40 and nand circuit 41 generate high level signals while or circuit 40 and and circuit 43 generate low level signals , and as a result , transistor tr7 is also maintained off . in this case , therefore , stop lever 29 is brought into the path of engaging projection 23b . when an object is placed in the second middle zone , a high level signal appears at terminal z2 , turning on transistor tr6 which activates electromagnet 27 , whereby stop lever 30 is brought into the path of engaging projection 23b . transistor tr5 is maintained off , and or circuit 40 and nand circuit 41 generate high level signals while or circuit 44 and and circuit 43 generate low level signals , thereby causing transistor tr7 also to remain shut off . with an object in the second middle zone , a high level signal appears at terminal z3 and transistors tr5 and tr6 are maintained off . circuits 41 , 44 and 43 other than or circuit 40 generate high level signals which turn on transistor tr7 , thereby activating electromagnet 28 , whereby stop lever 31 is brought into the path of engaging projection 23b . further , with an object in the distant zone , a high level signal appears at terminal z4 . since terminal z4 is a floating terminal , however , its high level signal is applied as an input to none of the above circuits . however , low level signals are generated at terminals z1 , z2 and z3 , whereby transistors tr5 and tr6 are maintained off . also , low level signals are generated from circuits 40 , 44 and 43 other than nand circuit 41 , causing transistor tr7 also to remain shut off . as a result , stop levers 29 , 30 and 31 are all maintained at the positions illustrated in fig3 . when range finder device 34 generates a high level signal at one of terminals z1 , z2 , z3 and z4 as described above , the winding of electromagnet 21 is almost simultaneously energized for its activation . as a result , release operating member 24 is released from its restrained condition effected by stop lever 22 , thus being moved leftward by the action of spring 24a , and lens shift member 23 follows the movement of release operating member 24 under the action of spring 32 . during its movement , lens shift member 23 is stopped when projection 23b comes into contact with any one of stop levers 29 , 30 and 31 or projection 33 , whereby objective lens l is set to the lens shift position commensurate with the stop position of lens shift member 23 . release operating member 24 , however , continues to move leftward after lens shift member 23 has been stopped , to release the shutter ( not shown ) at its final step , thus commencing photography . as described above , with daylight photography selected , objective lens l is automatically focused on an object detected by range finder device 34 , thus ensuring an appropriate focus . when manual changeover member 35 is set to the position where index 35a matches symbol 36 to effect flash photography , switch sw2 is closed and inverter 39 generates a high level signal as a conditional signal . if a high level signal appears at none of terminals z1 , z2 and z3 under this condition , in other words , when an object is placed in the distant zone , or when an object is too dark for range finder device 34 to detect the distance of the object , transistors tr5 and tr6 are maintained off , and circuits 41 , 44 and 43 , other than or circuit 40 , generate high level signals . therefore , transistor tr7 alone is turned on to activate electromagnet 28 , whereby lens shift member 23 is restrained by stop lever 31 from moving to the left . that is to say , in this case , objective lens l is focused on the second middle zone , thus assuring a photograph which is not extremely out of focus and underexposed for an object in the distant zone and which is of appropriate focus and exposure at least for an object in the second middle zone permitting flash photography , whereby a generally satisfactory photograph is available . even with flash photography selected , objective lens l is accurately set to the position where it is focused on any of the near , first middle , second middle and distant zones , similar to daylight photography , if a high level signal appears at any one of terminals z1 , z2 and z3 , and photography with proper focus and exposure is made possible . that is , when a high level signal appears at terminal z1 , transistor tr6 is maintained off while transistor tr5 is turned on to activate electromagnet 26 . also , circuits 41 and 43 , other than or circuits 40 and 44 , generate low level signals , thus maintaining transistor tr7 off . when a high level signal appears at terminal z2 , however , transistor tr5 is maintained off while transistor tr6 is turned on to activate electromagnet 27 . similarly , circuits 41 and 43 , other than or circuits 40 and 44 generate low level signals , thus maintaining transistor tr7 also off . further , when a high level signal appears at terminal z2 , transistors tr5 and tr6 are maintained off , and circuits 41 , 44 and 43 , other than or circuit 40 , generate high level signals . accordingly , transistor tr7 alone is turned on to activate electromagnet 28 . it is to be noted that in the case of flash photography , a flash device ( not shown ) is supplied with power , for example , by setting manual changeover member 35 to the flash photography mode and flashes in synchronization with the shutter opening in a well - known manner . fig5 is a third embodiment of the present invention in which the circuit of fig4 is modified so that in response to film sensitivity setting or guide number setting of the flash device , the setting position of an objective lens is automatically altered when an object is placed in the more distant zone than the maximum permissible range for flash photography , or when range finder device 34 cannot detect the distance of an object . referring to fig5 changeover switch sw3 is changed either to terminal a or b by film sensitivity setting or the guide number setting of a flash device . changeover switch sw3 is changed to terminal a when the film sensitivity is high or the guide number is great , and to terminal b when the film sensitivity is low or the guide number is small . terminal b is connected to inverter 39a , as well as to high potential power source + vcc through a resistor , similar to terminal a , and the potential at node b is at a low level only when switch sw2 is closed and switch sw3 is on terminal b . that is to say , in the embodiment , switches sw2 and sw3 , inverters 39 and 39a , and high potential power source + vcc together constitute a conditional circuit . nor circuit 45 receives the outputs of or circuit 40 and terminal z3 , and or circuit 46 receives the outputs of and circuit 43 and nor circuit 45 , and circuit 47 receives the outputs of nor circuit 46 and inverter 44 , and or circuit 48 receives the outputs at terminal z2 and of and circuit 47 . the output of and circuit 43 is connected to the base of transistor tr6 . additionally , and circuit 49 receives the outputs of and circuit 43 and node b , and the output of and circuit 49 is connected to the base of transistor tr7 . in the above embodiment , switch sw2 is opened for daylight photography , and inverters 39 and 44 generate low level signals as a conditional signal independently of the setting of changeover switch sw3 . with a high level signal appearing at terminal z1 , transistor tr5 is turned on to activate electromagnet 26 . since or circuit 40 and nand circuit 41 generate high level signals while or circuits 42 , 46 and 48 , and circuits 47 and 49 , nor circuit 45 and and circuit 43 generate low level signals , transistors tr6 and tr7 are maintained off . with a high level signal appearing at terminal z2 , transistor tr5 is maintained off , and or circuits 40 and 48 , as well as nand circuit 41 generate high level signals while or circuits 42 and 46 , and circuits 43 , 47 and 49 as well as nor circuit 45 generate low level signals . therefore , transistor tr6 is turned on and transistor tr7 is maintained off , resulting in the activation of only electromagnet 27 . when a high level signal appears at terminal z3 , transistor tr5 is similarly maintained off , and or circuits 40 and 48 , nor circuit 45 and and circuit 47 generate low level signals , while nand circuit 41 , or circuits 42 and 46 as well as and circuits 43 and 49 generate high level signals . accordingly , transistor tr7 is turned on , and transistor tr6 is maintained off , resulting in the activation of only electromagnet 28 . further with a high level signal appearing at terminal z4 , nand circuit 41 , nor circuit 45 and or circuit 41 alone generate high level signals and all other circuits 40 , 42 , 43 , 47 , 48 and 49 generate low level signals . therefore , not only transistor tr5 but also transistors tr6 and tr7 are all maintained off , whereby all of electromagnets 26 , 27 and 28 are maintained deenergized . that is , in the case of daylight photography , objective lens l is alternatively set to one of the near , first middle , second middle and distant zones through the controls of electromagnets 26 , 27 and 28 , as detailed above . moreover , when changeover switch sw3 is at terminal a and switch sw2 is closed to effect flash photography , inverter 39 generates a high level signal while inverter 39a generates a low level signal . these signals in pairs become a conditional signal . in this condition , when a high level signal appears at none of terminals z1 , z2 and z3 , transistor tr5 is maintained shut off , and or circuits 40 and 48 , and and circuit 47 generate low level signals while nand circuit 41 , or circuits 42 and 46 , nor circuit 45 and and circuits 43 and 49 generate high level outputs . therefore , transistor tr6 is maintained off while transistor tr7 is turned on to activate electromagnet 28 . that is , upon activation of electromagnet 28 , objective lens l is set to the position where it is focused on an object in the second middle zone , resulting in a photograph which is not extremely out of focus and underexposed for an object even when placed in the distant zone , and ensuring proper exposure and focus for the field of an object at least in the second middle zone . on the contrary , with a high level signal appearing at terminal z1 , transistor tr5 is turned on to activate electromagnet 26 . at this time , circuits 41 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 and 49 , other than or circuits 40 and 42 , generate low level signals , thereby maintaining transistors tr6 and tr7 off . further , with a high level signal appearing at terminal 22 , transistor tr5 is maintained off and or circuits 40 , 42 and 48 generate high level signals while the other circuits 41 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 47 and 49 generate low level signals . therefore , transistor tr7 is also maintained off while transistor tr6 is turned on to activate electromagnet 27 . additionally , when a high level signal appears at terminal z3 , transistor tr5 is similarly maintained off , and or circuits 40 and 48 , nor circuit 45 and and circuit 47 generate low level signals while or circuits 42 and 46 , nand circuit 41 and and circuits 43 and 49 generate high level signals . therefore , transistor tr6 is maintained off , while transistor tr7 is turned on to activate electromagnet 28 . that is , when a high level signal appears at any one of the terminals z1 , z2 and z3 , objective lens l is accurately set to one of the near , first middle and second middle zones through the controls of electromagnets 26 , 27 and 28 , similar to daylight photography , so that it is focused on an object placed in the zone , thus enabling a proper focus and correct exposure for an object to be photographed . however , with changeover switch sw3 at terminal b , and switch sw2 closed to effect flash photography , inverter 39 generates a low level signal while inverter 39a generates a high level signal . when a high level signal appears at none of the terminals z1 , z2 and z3 under this condition , transistor tr5 is maintained off , and or circuits 40 and 42 and and circuits 43 and 49 generate low level signals while nand circuit 41 , nor circuit 45 , or circuits 46 and 48 and and circuit 47 generate high level signals . accordingly , transistor tr7 is also maintained off , while transistor tr6 is turned on to activate electromagnet 27 . further , with a high level signal appearing at terminal z3 , circuits 41 , 42 , 43 , 46 , 47 and 48 , other than or circuit 40 , and circuit 49 and nor circuit 45 generate high level signals , and similar to the above , transistor tr6 alone is turned on to activate electromagnet 27 . that is to say , when an object is placed in the zone more distant than the second middle zone or when range finder device 34 cannot detect the distance of an object to be photographed , objective lens l is set to the position where it is focused on an object in the first middle zone . this ensures satisfactory photography with proper exposure and focus for the field of an object placed at least in the first middle zone . setting objective lens l to the position where it is focused on an object in the first middle zone , in this case , prevents the maximum permissible range for flash photography from being shorter when the sensitivity of a film in use is low or the guide number of a flash device is small . even with changeover switch sw3 at terminal b and flash photography selected , on the contrary , objective lens l is accurately set to the position where it is focused on an object placed in either the near or first middle zone when a high level signal appears at either terminal z1 or z2 . that is , when the output at terminal z1 is at a high level , transistor tr5 is turned on to activate electromagnet 26 . circuits 42 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 and 49 , other than or circuit 40 and nand circuit 41 , generate low level signals , thus maintaining transistors tr5 and tr6 off . further , with a high level signal appearing at terminal z2 , transistor tr5 is maintained off , and or circuits 40 and 48 and nand circuit 41 generate high level signals , while the other circuits 42 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 47 and 49 generate low level signals , whereby transistor tr7 is maintained off . however , transistor tr6 is turned on to activate electromagnet 27 . as is clear from the above explanation , the automatic focus adjusting device for cameras according to the embodiments in fig3 through 5 has a conditional circuit including a switch changeable from a first condition to a second condition in response to flash photography setting . the conditional circuit is constructed such that it generates the first or second conditional signal when the switch is changed to the first or second condition . with the first conditional signal generated , the automatic focus adjusting device adjusts the focus position of an objective lens commensurate with a signal from a range finder device . with the second conditional signal generated , however , the automatic focus adjusting device adjusts the focus position of an objective lens commensurate with a signal equivalent to the signal corresponding to a predetermined distance within the permissible range for flash photography when the range finder device detects a signal corresponding to a distance beyond the maximum permissible range for flash photography , or the range finder device detects no signal of the distance for an object to be photographed . as a result , even when an object is located at a too distant position or an object is too dark , flash photography prevents any extreme de - focus or exposure failure for the object to be photographed , assuring appropriate focus and exposure for the field of an object placed at least in the predetermined distance within the permissible range for flash photography , whereby a generally satisfactory photograph is available . | 6 |
with reference first to fig1 an electrical connector housing 2 is shown which is a one piece molded item , and comprised of a plastic dielectric material . with reference to fig1 and 2 , an ear 4 extends from a sidewall 16 of the housing 2 and , with reference to fig2 includes a side opening 6 into the ear 4 . a latch member 8 projects outwardly and , as shown in fig3 comprises a beam section hinged at section 10 and includes an opening 12 beneath the beam section . on the upper surface of the beam 8 is a serrated edge 14 where , in the preferred embodiment of the invention , these serrations take on a sinuous shape . as shown in fig3 the latch member 8 is defined as a beam supported at one end only . in a plastic part such as a latch , the plastic is highly ductile , with a capability of yielding 100 % or more . however , when a plastic part is plated and is used as a spring member , the spring member must be flexible and the difference in strain causes problems . for example , considering a horizontal latch bent downwardly , the upper surface is put in tension by the deflection while the lower surface is in compression . the upper surface can yield , that is , grow longer in length , to distribute the required strain over much of the surface . the total strain , that is the change in length , can approach 100 % for many plastics without breaking although if deflected too far , yielding may occur resulting in a permanent set . however , if the part is unplated , the part will not break off . when the flexible beam is now plated and is deflected a similar amount , two problems result . first , the part is much stiffer when plated . plated samples show stiffness increasing from 1 . 25 pounds to deflect the unplated flexible beam whereas to deflect the same distance with a plated beam required a 7 . 5 pound force . secondly , when the strain exceeds about 2 . 5 % the metal surface cracks at the highest stress point . since the plastic on each side of this initial crack is bonded to the metal surface , which is not to continue to move once the crack occurs , all strain is concentrated on a very small section of plastic at the bottom of the crack . this section quickly exceeds the ultimate strain limit of the plastic and the crack propagates from the metal through the plastic , causing the plastic part to break off . the best plated plastic parts are much stiffer than unplated parts and break more easily when bent or deflected . it has been found that when an irregular pattern is formed in the surface of the dielectric part which requires the flexibility , and then the plastic part is plated , the above mentioned problem is alleviated . this surface acts as a zig - zag flat metal spring which uncoils as the part is deflected . this lowers the stiffness of the parts and it takes much less force to uncoil the spring than to yield the material . the extra length of the surface allows greater deflection without exceeding the 21 / 2 % strain limit at any one point . as mentioned earlier , when the plated beam without the serrations was deflected 0 . 085 inches , the required force was 7 . 5 pounds versus the same part without plating requiring only a 1 . 25 pound force . while the serrated part did become stiffer when plated , the increased force to deflect 0 . 085 inches only rose from 1 . 25 pounds to 2 . 1 pounds which is a 168 % increase versus a 600 % increase . the serrations also increased the possible deflection before cracking from 0 . 125 inches to 0 . 290 inches , a 230 % increase . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , the surface serrations should be smooth , and sinuous if possible to reduce the stress riser effects . the amplitude of the serrations should also be large and the pitch high to maximize the plated surface length . also , in the preferred embodiment of the invention , for reasons of effective emi shielding , the plating is nickel over copper . other configurations are possible , such as a sawtooth or scalloped pattern , or most combinations of a sinuous pattern . the most important aspect is that the surfaces are smooth , and that the linear surface length of the part is greater than the straight line distance of the part . with the latch member 8 produced in accordance with the above mentioned method , the latch is free to move within the opening 6 . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , a square nut is inserted within the opening 6 , and is bounded by the surfaces 14 , 16 , and 18 , and held in place by the latch surface 9 . with reference to fig4 - 9 , a second embodiment of electrical interconnection system will be described which utilizes the same inventive method . the details of the network interface shown in fig4 - 9 is described in greater detail in u . s . patent application ser . no . 07 / 475 , 620 , filed concurrently herewith . with respect first to fig4 the local area network interface includes a shielded junction box 20 , an edge card connector 150 which is insertable through the rear of the shielded junction box 20 and which receives through the front thereof a data connector assembly 200 which is latched to an adapter insert 300 . a face plate 400 is then insertable over the adapter insert 30 and is snap latchable to the shielded junction box 20 . on the exterior of the sidewalls are flanges 30 which include integral flexible arms 32 which include forwardly facing grounding stops 34 integral therewith . as best shown in fig6 the flexible arms 32 have a sinuous curviture 36 , or are corrugated in configuration which allows the resilient arms to flex without cracking the plating material which has been deposited on the resilient arms 32 . as shown in fig6 and 7 , the outlet box is latchable to a panel p . in fig7 the panel p is shown in phantom where the outlet box is attachable to the rear side of the panel p and mountable adjacent to an opening 0 in the panel p . the latch members 46 and the flexible arm members 32 cooperatively assist in mounting the outlet box 20 to the panel , without the use of extraneous hardware . as shown in fig6 and 7 , the latch members 46 are insertable through the opening 0 of the panel p , such that the rearwardly facing surfaces 50 abut the front face of the panel p as shown in fig6 . conveniently , the flexible arms 32 , which flank the outlet box 20 , are wider than the opening 0 in the panel p and therefore the grounding lugs 34 abut the rear face of the panel p . these surfaces 50 and 34 , therefore cooperatively retain the outlet box to the panel . it should be understood that the distance between the surfaces 50 and 34 , when the box is not inserted in the panel p , is less than the thickness of the panel p . in other words , the arms 32 are resilient to accommodate the thickness of the panel p therebetween . advantageously , due to the inventive method , the arms 32 are resiliently flexible to accommodate a variety of thicknesses of panels , without cracking the plating on the flexible arms 32 . | 7 |
fig1 a , 1b and 1c show respectively , top , edge and side views of one embodiment of the inventive device , comprising a solid state q - switching laser having integral emitter and absorber sections . as illustrated in fig1 a through 1c the device is integral in that it comprises a monocrystalline semiconductor which is doped to provide a plurality of regions of one and the opposite conductivity type including at least one active lasing region . as shown in fig1 b and 1c , the semi - conductor actually comprises five regions , regions 20 , 21 and 22 carry p doping while regions 23 and 24 are n - doped . this structure is described in more detail in an article by blum et al . entitled &# 34 ; oxygen implanted double heterojunction gaas / gaalas , injection lasers &# 34 ; dated july 1975 , and appearing in ieee j . of quantum of electronics , vol . 11 , p . 413 - 20 . briefly , the uppermost layer , layer 20 , is ge doped gaas , layer 21 is ge doped gaalas , layer 22 , the active lasing region , is si doped gaalas , region 23 is te doped gaalas and region 24 is si doped gaas , wherein 24 is normally the substrate on which the other layers are built . in addition to disclosing the composition of this laser the above referenced article also teaches the manner of its manufacture as well as the relative carrier concentrations in each of the different regions . those or ordinary skill in the art will understand that a five layered semic - conductive laser is not required and that as little as two regions , i . e ., sufficient to provide a p - n junction , can be employed , as well as employing materials other than those specified above . the active layer includes a laser material have two energy states which are separated by an amount corresponding to a characteristic frequency of the lasing material . the lasing material has the property of being excitable into an inverted population density condition , i . e ., an excess population can be established in one of its upper energy states . the active material may emit substantial coherent radiation as the atomic particles return from the higher energy level to a lower energy level . as is shown in fig1 a through 1c the laser device includes a pair of contacts 10 and 15 , on a major surface of the crystal , which are connected to leads 17 and 18 , respectively , for attachment to a pumping source or sources for exciting the molecules or ions in the active lasing region from a lower energy level to one of the desired higher energy levels . the pumping circuit is completed through contact 16 on another major surface of the crystal , which can be grounded via lead 25 &# 39 ;. in order to produce coherent radiation the laser device is positioned in a resonant optical cavity . to implement this the semi - conductive body is prepared to have a pair of end faces parallel and highly reflective , and the other surfaces are suitable for diffuse scattering . normally , the highly reflective end faces are realized simply by cleaving the crystal along a certain crystallographic plane , which in gaas is the ( 110 ) plane . certain portions of the operation of the inventive device are conventional in that the pumping sources conductively connected to their respective leads 17 and 18 energize the active lasing material to establish the inverted population condition . as the atomic particles are returned to a lower energy level , light is produced . the light may be visible or invisible . the light may then pass through the partially transparent reflectors and exit . integrally associated with the emitting section e of the laser device , which emitter section is characterized by an amplification factor , is a saturable absorber section a . since the saturable absorber a is integral with the semi - conductor body , radiation produced by the body must travel through the saturable absorber . the saturable absorber is designed so as to absorb a large percentage of light until it saturates . at that point , the saturable absorber is ineffective to absorb further light . as a result , transmission of the absorber section increases dramatically . the initial amount of absorption is controlled by the pumping source connected to lead 18 , namely , more current through section a will decrease the absorption . in operation the emitter section is driven by the pumping source connected thereto , relatively hard to saturate the absorber section . until the absorber section saturates stimulated emission is prevented . when the absorber section ceases to absorb , the laser suddenly , and quickly , switches to a condition in which it is far above the threshold level for stimulated emission . as a result , stimulated emission occurs and an optical pulse is produced . subsequent to emission of the aforementioned pulse , and in order to produce that pulse , the inverted population density substantially reverts to a lower energy state . assuming that the emitter and absorber sections remain driven , the entire cycle repeats itself with , first , the absorber section becoming saturated . since the laser body is monocrystalline , the respective physical structures of the emitter and absorber sections are substantially identical . thus , it is the amplitude of the different pumping sources which determine whether or not the associated section will be an emitter or an absorber , and the extent of that characteristic . it should be apparent , therefore , that insulation or other differentiation means is required to prevent current flow between emitter absorber sections in order to attain controllable characteristics of the q - switching device . to provide this insulation in this embodiment an insulating region i is provided . this is a region in which an ion has been implanted , subsequent to growing the body of the laser . the particular ion selected and the amount of its implantation depend upon the required characteristcs of the insulating region , and the extent to which the body had previously been doped . to provide effective insulation the doping density of the implanted ion , should be at least several times greater than the highest doping density theretofore present in the region to be made insulating . another requirement important for selection of the implanted ion is that , when implanted the energy level ( or levels it provides should be sufficiently widely separated from the conduction and valence bands of the charge carriers to prevent thermal excitation from transferring charge carriers from or to the conduction and valence bands to the energy of the implanted ion . furthermore , since the function of the implanted ion is to prevent leakage current from flowing between the emitter and absorber sections the implanation need not go beyond the upper portion of the active lasing region , i . e ., layers 20 - 22 . see the dotted lines in fig1 c showing the extent of the insulating region . fig1 c shows the desired implanation region . with present techniques , however , the implanted region may actually extend beyond that shown although the dosage will gradually decrease . this extension of the implanted region is not detrimental to device operation . for the gaas laser which has been disclosed as an exemplary embodiment , the implanted ion can be selected from the group of o , cr or fe . a particular embodiment which has been constructed employed o implanation . specifically the material used for this device is a four layer liquid phase epitaxy double heterostructure grown on an n - type silicon doped & lt ; 100 & gt ; oriented gaas substrate with a carrier concentration of 1 - 2 × 10 18 cm - 3 . a 8 um buffer layer , which is not shown on the figure , of tin or tellurium doped gaas with a carrier concentration of 1 × 10 18 cm - 3 is first grown on the substrate in order to smooth out irregularities sometimes seen at the interface between the substrate and the subsequent layer . the next four layers are grown as shown in the figure using conventional liquid phase epitaxial techniques . the two gaalas layers above and below the silicon doped active layer contain 30 % aluminum . the active layer contains as much as 10 % aluminum in it . a method of manufacturing a laser of the type disclosed above can employ the same procedures disclosed in the blum et al . article mentioned above . prior to deposition of the contacts 10 and 15 , however , an implantation mask is deposited on the upper major surface of the crystal . this mask is structured so as to prevent implantation from taking place in the emitter and absorber sections . with this mask in place the selected ion is implanted in region i with a dose selected in accordance with the already discussed requirements . subsequent to implantation , the mask may be removed and the contacts 10 and 15 deposited , as is illustrated in fig1 a and 1b . subsequent to deposition of the contacts 10 and 15 , respectively suitable leads may be attached for connection to pumping sources . the oxygen implantation may also be used , with a different dosage , if necessary , to define the boundaries of the lasing region ( referred to as &# 34 ; stripe &# 34 ; contact ) marked 12 , 13 in fig1 a . such oxygen implantation enables a small lasing region to be imbedded in a convenient - sized semiconductor crystal . since ion implantation is a known technique further description of the actual process of ion implantation is not believed necessary . in this regard see u . s . pat . no . 3 , 655 , 457 and favennec et al . &# 34 ; compensation of gaas by oxygen implantation &# 34 ; in ion implantation in semiconductors and other materials , edited by billy l . crowder , plenum press , n . y . 1973 , pp . 621 - 30 . fig2 a , 2b and 2c disclose , respectively , top , end and side views of another embodiment of the invention . this embodiment has a number of aspects which are in common with the embodiment illustrated in fig1 a through 1c . namely , the laser device includes emitter and absorber sections . however , a single conductive contact 19 is deposited in place of the two conductive contacts 10 and 15 , illustrated in fig1 a and 1c . corresponding to the single conductive contact , a single lead 25 is conductively connected thereto . this lead may be connected to a pumping source for pumping the injection laser . similar to the first embodiment , a plurality of regions of one and the opposite conductivity type comprise the body of the injection laser . more particular , fig2 b and 2c illustrate that there are five different regions . as in the case with the first embodiment , however , a number of regions of one and the opposite conductivity type may be increased and / or decreased , so long as an active lasing region is included which can have electrons excited by the pumping source to a higher energy level so as to result in an inverted population density . in constrast to the first embodiment , the entire saturable absorber section a is implanted with ions of a selected type and amount as shown within the dotted lines of fig2 c . the characteristics which determine the type of ion to be selected are the same for this embodiment , as in the first embodiment . the amount of implantation is , however , determined on a different basis . it was pointed out , with respect to the first embodiment , that it was the level of pumping current which determined whether a particular section of the laser was an emitter or absorber . in the embodiment of fig2 a - 2c , only a single pumping source is employed . as a result , if the resistivity of the laser body was uniform , the current through the p - n junction adjacent the lasing region would also be uniform . however , to achieve saturable absorber characteristics , the absorber section has had ion implantation effected in an amount to increase the resistivity of this section to result in the desired characteristics . thus , while this embodiment includes an implanted region for defining the extent of the emitter and absorber sections , the extent of the implanted region is co - extensive with the saturable absorber section . since a single conductive contact supplies pumping current to both the emitter and absorber sections , the potential difference across these sections will be identical . however , the current , and more importantly the current density across either the emitter or absorber section is determined by the resistivity of the material of that section . to give the absorber section the desired characteristics its resistivity is raised , by ion implantation , in proportion to the ratio between the pumping currents needed to give the desired emitter and absorber characteristic . in order to obtain this value of resistivity the implantation dose will be close or nearly equal to the doping of the material prior to implantation . from the foregoing description those skilled in the art will understand how a device , such as that disclosed , may be fabricated . in still another embodiment , the implantation dosage is increased to the level which was employed in the first mentioned embodiment , i . e ., to a level of such high resistivity that substantially no current flow through the implanted region . for instance the implanted dose is at least several times the doping density in the region prior to implantation . in this embodiment , which is also illustrated in fig2 a - 2c , the entire injection laser body is electroded , i . e ., the electrode covers substantially the entire body . however , by reason of the high resistivity substantially no injection current flows in the absorber section a . since no injection current is flowing in the absorption section , charge carriers will not be excited by any injection current . rather , photons emitted by the emitter section e can excite charge carriers in the absorption section which reduces the absorption by trap filling effects . when the absorption section saturates , lasing action occurs , much in the same manner previously outlined . still another embodiment of the invention is disclosed in fig3 a - 3c , in which the operation is substantially similar to that of the embodiment illustrtated in fig2 a - 2c wherein the resistivity of the absorption section is so high that substantially no injection current flows . in this embodiment , however , only a portion of the injection laser body is electroded , i . e ., that portion co - extensive with the electrode 26 , illustrated in fig3 a - 3c . at least a portion of the absorption section a is ion implanted to a sufficient level to prevent leakage current , from the emitter section , from flowing into the absorbtion section . to implement this , the entire absorption section a may be implanted with a dose that substantially raises the resistivity of the section . alternatively , only a portion of the absorption section , adjacent the emitter section , need be implanted with substantially the same dosage . either implementation prevents injection current from leaking from the emitter section to the absorption section . for example , the implanted dose in the entire absorption section , or in a region thereof directly adjacent the emitter section , will be at least several times the doping density of the region prior to implantation . fig4 a - 4c illustate an embodiment of the invention that was made and operated . a high resistivity absorbing section 30 was formed by implanting 0 near one end of a stripe contact , gaas / gaalas , double heterostructure laser . the implanted region was 25 um long and the laser was 250 um long . the lasing stripe 32 was also formed by oxygen implantation to render the side regions 31 highly resistive , as discussed by blum et al . in the previously cited reference . for simplicity , both regions 30 and 31 were implanted with 1 × 10 14 0 atoms / cmhu 2 at an energy of 2 . 5 mev , using a mask to prevent 0 atoms from reaching region 32 . the layer structure used to form the double heterostructure laser is shown in fig4 b and 4c , and was as follows : p - doped gaas contact layer 32 ( 1 . 4 um thick ), p - doped gaalas confining layer 33 ( 0 . 5 um thick ), p - doped gaas active layer 34 ( 0 . 3 um thick ), n - doped gaalas confining layer 35 ( 1 . 5 um thick ), and n - doped gaas substrate 36 . laser light was emitted by the active layer 34 in the directions indicated by the arrows marked l in fig4 a . fig4 a represents the structure at plane 4a -- 4a of fig4 c . full electrodes 37 and 38 were applied to the semiconductor chip and connected to a pumping pulse generator . the experimental unit is similar to the structure of fig2 with the absorber section 30 being of high resistance , except that the absorber section is near the middle of the lasting strip 32 instead of being at one end as shown in fig2 . the lasing output of this unit was observed with an optical detector and cathode - ray oscillascope whose response times were less than 0 . 5 n sec . at drive currents slightly above lasing threshold ( appox . 220 ma ), regular trains of pulses were obtained ( as shown in fig5 ) with frequencies in the range of 300 - 600 mhz . in a second unit , with a 50 um long absorber section , frequencies between 500 and 850 mhz were observed . the pulse repetition frequency was proportional to √( i d / i t ) - 1 , as would be expected on theoretical grounds where i d is the operating current and i t is the threshold current . ( see n . g . basov et al ., soviet physics uspekhi , vol . 12 , october 1969 , pp . 219 - 240 ). | 7 |
referring to the drawings , there is generally indicated at 1 in fig1 a vendor provided in accordance with this invention with coin transfer means generally designated 3 . the vendor 1 , as illustrated , is a hot beverage vendor of a type such as is presently manufactured and sold by national vendors division of umc industries , inc ., of st . louis , missouri , assignee of the invention . for purposes of understanding the present invention , it will suffice to say that the vendor comprises dispensing means indicated at 5 in fig2 under control of a coin controlled means indicated at 7 in a cabinet 9 having a front door 11 . for the hot beverage vendor illustrated , the dispensing means would include means for brewing a cup of coffee , means for dispensing a cup to a delivery station 13 , means for dispensing sugar and a cream product into the cup of coffee , means for dispensing hot chocolate , and other selections , typical of hot beverage machines . the coin controlled means 7 is that conventionally used in national vendors &# 39 ; said vendor . it controls the dispensing means in response to receipt of coins delivered thereto via a coin guide means 15 from the coin slot 17 of the vendor , this slot being in the front door 11 of the vendor at the right . in the case of national vendors &# 39 ; 72 - inch - high line of vendors , slot 17 is 583 / 4 inches above the floor . coins inserted in the slot 17 are guided by the guide means 15 to a slug rejector 19 at the top of the coin controlled means which rejects slugs and returns them to a return cup 21 in the front door 11 at an elevation well below the slot 17 ( approximately 27 inches above the floor in the case of national vendors &# 39 ; 72 - inch - high line of vendors ). genuine coins pass through the slug rejector to means in the coin controlled means 7 for totalizing the amount deposited and controlling the operation of the dispensing means in accordance therewith . the coin controlled means 7 may have a a change - making function , and include nickel and dime change tubes ( not shown ) for holding nickels and dimes for making change . nickels and dimes pass to the nickel and dime tubes , if they are not full , and to a money box 23 when the tubes are full . change is delivered to the return cup 21 . the coin controlled means 7 may have an escrow function , for escrowing coins until a purchase is made or the customer actuates a return means for releasing coins from escrow , the coins being delivered to the return cup 21 . push buttons for making the selection for vending are indicated at 25 in fig1 . the coin slot 17 constitutes a coin inlet at an upper level above the coin controlled means 7 , coins entering the slot or inlet 17 gravitating down through the guide means 15 to the slug rejector 19 , thence through the coin controlled means 7 , and thence to the money box 23 or the change tubes ( not shown ). the coin delivery means 3 receives coins at a lower level ( e . g ., 48 inches above the floor ) below the said upper level ( which is 583 / 4 inches , for example , above the floor ), elevates them to the coin slot or inlet 17 at the upper level , and enters them in the latter . as shown in fig1 - 5 , the coin transfer means 3 comprises an elongate housing designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 26 suitably secured in position extending vertically on the front of the front door 11 of the vendor with its lower end portion at a level within easy reach of a person seated in a wheel chair and its upper end portion in front of the coin slot 17 of the vendor . the housing has a front wall 29 , a back wall 31 , left and right side walls 33 and 35 , and upper and lower end walls 37 and 39 . in the front wall 29 adjacent the lower end of the housing is a vertical coin slot 41 adapted for insertion of coins of all the denominations which the coin controlled means 7 is to accept , e . g ., nickels , dimes and quarters . this slot 41 constitutes a lower inlet for entry of coins at a level within easy reach of a person seated in a wheel chair , being located 48 inches above the floor , for example . means indicated generally at 43 is provided in the housing 27 for moving coins entered in the coin slot or inlet 41 up to the level of the original coin slot 17 of the vendor ( at the 583 / 4 inch level , for example ). means such as indicated at 45 , and more particularly a vertical slot in the back wall 31 of the housing 27 in register with the original coin slot 17 of the vendor , is provided for passage of a coin reaching the level of slot 17 into the slot 17 at the level thereof ( which may be referred to as the upper level ). the coin moving means 43 of fig3 and 4 comprises an endless conveyor generally designated 47 having a series of coin lifters 49 spaced at equal intervals thereon . this endless conveyor comprises an endless chain , the individual links of which are indicated at 51 , with means constituted by upper and lower sprockets 53 and 55 in the housing 27 at its upper and lower ends guiding the endless chain for travel in an endless path including an upwardly movable left side reach 47a ( left as viewed from the front ) and a downwardly movable right side return reach 47b . the sprockets are mounted on upper and lower shafts 57 and 59 which extend horizontally in front - to - rear direction in the housing 27 adjacent its upper and lower ends . an electric motor 61 ( a gearmotor ) is provided in the housing for driving the chain . each of the coin lifters 49 on the chain 47 comprises an arm extending out from the chain in a plane parallel to the plane of the chain at one side of the chain , the arm being part of a sheet metal stamping having a body portion 63 fastened on the side of the chain on the outside of a link of the chain by means of the pins which secure this link to the two adjacent links . extending laterally from the arm is a coin - supporting finger 65 which , as appears in fig3 is inclined with respect to the arm . the coin slot or inlet 41 in the front 29 of the housing 27 ( which is located toward the left side of the housing ) provides for entry of coins up to the largest diameter coin to be handled ( e . g ., quarters ) to an inclined coin guide or chute 67 which slopes down from the front toward the back of the housing to the lower end of a vertical coin guideway 69 extending from adjacent the lower end to adjacent the upper end of the housing . this guideway 69 , which is located in the housing 27 at the back of the housing , is of channel shape in horizontal cross section ( see fig5 ) having left and right flanges forming side walls 71 and 73 spaced apart a distance somewhat greater than the thickness of the coin of greatest thickness to be handled ( e . g , a nickel ), a web forming a front wall 75 extending between the side walls , and lips 77 at the back of the side walls by means of which the channel is secured to the back wall 31 of the housing 27 . the latter forms the back wall of the guideway 69 up to the slot 45 in register with the original coin slot 17 of the vendor . pins such as indicated at 79 extend between the side walls 71 and 73 of the guideway at a level just below the level of the inner end of the bottom of the chute 67 for cradling a coin which has rolled down the chute 67 into the guideway . the lifter fingers 65 on the upwardly movable left side reach 47a of the chain extend into the guideway 69 through a vertical slot 81 in the right side wall 73 and out through a similar slot in the left side wall 79 of the guideway , these slots extending from adjacent the lower end to the upper end of the guideway . the arrangement is such that as each lifter finger 65 comes around the bottom of the sprocket 55 and up on the left side of this sprocket , it enters the slots 81 , and by the time it reaches a position such as indicated at a in fig3 and 4 somewhat below the pins 79 it extends into the guideway 67 from the right toward the left side of the guideway , the finger being inclined downwardly from the front to the back of the guideway . the pins 79 are located on opposite sides of the slots 81 . thus , with the chain at rest , and with a lifter finger 65 at position a , which may be referred to as the lifter starting position , a coin inserted in the slot 41 in the front of the housing 27 will roll down in the chute 67 and into the lower end portion of the guideway 69 , where it becomes supported on the pins 79 . fig3 shows how coins of the different denominations ( and sizes ), e . g ., nickels , dimes and quarters , are cradled on the pins . the lifter finger 65 at the starting position a underlies the coin on the pins . each finger 65 is movable from its said starting position a up through a position b at the level of the bottom of the slots 45 and 17 for elevating the coin to the level of these slots and entering the coin in the original coin slot or inlet 17 of the vendor , to a position such as indicated at c in fig4 . this entry of the coin in slot 17 occurs when the finger 65 reaches position b due to the inclination of the finger , the coin then rolling down off the finger through the slots 45 and 17 as indicated in fig3 . the fingers 65 are spaced at unit intervals of about 2 . 5 inches , for example . position c is four unit intervals ( ten inches ), for example , from position a , and beyond position b with respect to the direction of travel of the chain . operation of the motor 61 to drive the chain to lift a coin is initiated by means responsive to delivery of a coin via the chute 67 to the lower end of the guideway 69 ( i . e ., responsive to deposit of a coin in the slot 41 at the lower end of the housing 27 ). this means comprises a light source such as a light - emitting diode ( led ) 83 on one side of the guideway 69 ( its left side 71 as illustrated in fig5 ) which directs a beam of light through a window 85 in this side of the guideway through a window 87 in the other side of the guideway to a phototransistor 89 on the other side of the guideway . the windows , the led and the phototransistor are located for interception of the beam of light by any coin on the pins 79 as will appear from fig3 and 5 . on interruption of the beam by a coin , the phototransistor 89 delivers a positive pulse to a transistor 91 ( see fig6 ), which inverts this pulse to deliver a negative pulse to a timer 93 . the latter controls a relay r having a set of contacts r1 in a circuit 95 for the motor 61 . the relay is normally energized and its contacts r1 are normally open as shown in fig6 . when the timer 93 is activated by the stated negative pulse , it initiates a time cycle during which it de - energizes the relay for closure of contacts r1 to energize the motor . at the end of the time cycle ( 25 seconds , for example ), the relay is re - energized to open the contacts and stop the motor . the timer is of a well - known type which is operable on each delivery of a negative pulse thereto ( in response to interruption of the light beam by a coin ) to start the time cycle . the duration of the time cycle , and the resultant period of operation of the motor 61 , is such as to effect driving of the chain 47 to move a lifter finger 65 from position a to position c , another lifter finger coming into position a for the next cycle . in the operation of the vendor 1 with the coin transfer means , whenever a coin is inserted in the slot 41 , it rolls down the chute 67 into the lower end of the guideway 69 and onto the pins 79 . the slot 41 is at a level above the floor ( e . g ., 48 inches above the floor ), readily within the reach of a purchaser seated in a wheel chair , as well as being conveniently within reach of purchasers standing at the vendor . when the coin reaches the pins 79 , in intercepts the beam of light from the led 83 to the phototransistor 89 . the latter thereupon delivers a positive pulse to transistor 91 which in turn delivers a negative pulse to the timer 93 , thereby to de - energize the relay r for closure of the contacts r1 in the motor circuit 95 . the motor 61 is thereupon energized to drive the chain 47 . the coin lifter finger 65 , which was in the starting position a , moves up with the upwardly moving left - hand reach 47a of the chain and , engaging the bottom of the coin on the pins , passes up between the pins and lifts the coin , with the coin on edge in the plane of the guideway 69 and guided in the latter as it is lifted . the coin continues to be lifted by the finger until the finger reaches position b , at which point the coin rolls off the finger through the slots 45 and 17 into the coin guide means 15 of the vendor , which delivers the coin by gravity to the coin controlled means 7 of the vendor . the finger continues to move up with the chain to position c , at which point the timer 93 energizes the relay r to open the contacts r1 and de - energize the motor 61 . each additional coin which may be inserted in slot 41 while a previously inserted coin is being lifted re - starts the time cycle of timer 93 , so that the motor 61 continues in operation until the last coin has been lifted by a finger to position b and that finger has continued on to position c . fig7 and 8 show a modification 3a of the coin transfer means 3 , and one which may be presently preferred over the latter , in which the coin moving means comprises means indicated generally at 101 for shooting a coin entered in the slot 41 up in a guideway 69a to the level of the slots 45 and 17 , the coin being deflected through these slots into the coin guide means 15 by a deflector 103 at the upper end of the guideway . the coin transfer means 3a comprises a housing 27 generally the same as that shown in fig3 and 4 with the slot 41 on its front wall 29 and the slot 45 in its back wall 31 in register with the original coin slot 17 of the vendor . the guideway 69a is similar to the guideway 69 except that it has relative short vertical slots 105 in its sides 71 and 73 adjacent its lower end instead of the long slots 81 . the shooting means comprises a coin impeller or kicker 107 constituted by a lever pivoted at 109 on the back 31 of the housing 27 adjacent the right side of the housing and adjacent the lower end of the housing , the lever extending from the pivot 109 toward the left in the housing through the slots 105 in the guideway . the lever normally occupies the lowered retracted position in which it is shown in solid lines in fig8 in engagement with a stop 111 . in this retracted position of the lever , its free end portion is somewhat below the pins 79 , which are on opposite sides of the slots 105 . the lever is adapted rapidly to be swung up to impel a coin upwardly in the guideway 69a by means of a solenoid 113 having a hook 115 on the lower end of its plunger 117 hooked under the lever . the arrangement is such that on energization of the solenoid , plunger 117 is snapped up to snap up the lever . on de - energization of the solenoid , the plunger drops , and the lever swings back down to its retracted position . a coin entered in the slot 41 rolls down chute 67 into the guideway 69a and on to the pins 79 above the free end portion of lever 107 which extends across the guideway . the coin interrupts the beam of light from the led 83 to the phototransistor 89 , generally the same as in the embodiment of fig3 - 6 , and this results in energization of the solenoid 113 rapidly to swing the lever upwardly to kick the coin up in the guideway . circuitry similar to that shown in fig6 may be used with the solenoid 113 taking the place of the motor 61 , and being energized on de - energization of the relay r to close the contacts r1 . the timer 93 here would be set for a much shorter time interval , e . g ., a fraction of a second , or another suitable control may be used in place of the timer 93 for energizing the solenoid for a fraction of a second . the coin , kicked up in the guideway 69a , strikes the deflector 103 at the upper end of the guideway , which may be constituted simply as an angled upper end wall member for the guideway , and bounces off the deflector through the slots 45 and 17 into the coin guide means 15 of the vendor . while the coin transfer means 3 and 3a are herein shown as used in conjunction with existing vendors to adapt the vendors for insertion of coins at a level readily within reach of a person seated in a wheel chair , it will be understood that the principles of these coin lifters may be utilized in original equipment for insertion of coins at such a level while retaining the usual location of the coin handling means and return cup of the vendors . in view of the above , it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained . as various changes could be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . | 6 |
reference will now be made in detail to the present exemplary embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . an exemplary embodiment of the electrical wiring device of the present invention is shown in fig2 , and is designated generally throughout by reference numeral 10 . as embodied herein , and depicted in fig1 , a schematic 100 of an electrical wiring device 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed . in this example , the schematic shows a protective device that includes ground fault interrupter circuitry . device 10 includes line terminals ( 2 , 4 ), load terminals ( 6 , 8 ), and receptacle terminals ( 300 , 320 ). again , the load terminals 6 , 8 may also be referred to herein as feed - through terminals . as noted above , these terminals may be connected to wiring configured to provide power to downstream receptacles or switches . receptacle load terminals 300 , 320 are configured to mate with an electrical plug to provide power to an appliance or other such user attachable loads . the line terminals 2 , 4 are electrically connected to both load terminals 6 , 8 and receptacle terminals 300 , 320 when device 10 is reset . when in the tripped state , the circuit interrupter 120 disconnects the load terminals from the line terminals . in addition , the circuit interrupter may disconnect at least one feed - through terminal from a corresponding receptacle terminal . the ground fault circuitry includes a differential transformer 102 which is configured to sense load - side ground faults . transformer 104 is configured as a grounded neutral transmitter and is employed to sense grounded - neutral fault conditions . both differential transformer 102 and grounded - neutral transformer 104 are coupled to detector circuit 106 . power supply 112 provides power for gfi detector circuit 106 . note that in this embodiment , the lighting assembly 200 is disposed in series with power supply 112 . the light assembly 200 will be described in greater detail below . referring back to the operation of the detection circuit , detector 106 provides an output signal on output pin 7 based on the transformer outputs . the detector output signal is filtered by circuit 108 . filter circuit 108 filters out noise to thereby substantially reduce the possibility of false tripping . the filtered output signal is provided to the control input of scr 110 . when scr 110 is turned on , solenoid 116 is energized . solenoid 116 actuates the trip mechanism to thereby trip circuit interrupter 120 . the trip solenoid 116 is energized until the circuit interrupter trips to remove the fault condition . accordingly , there is no signal at output pin 7 and scr 110 is turned off . the time that the solenoid remains energized is less than about 25 milliseconds . after the fault condition has been eliminated , circuit interrupter 120 may be reset by way of reset button 260 . although fig1 has disclosed a ground fault circuit interrupter circuit , those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the present invention should not be construed as being limited to gfcis . the present invention is suitable for use in other types of protective devices such as afcis . for example , the sensor in an afci is similar to transformer 102 but is typically configured to sense load current by way of a toroidal transformer or a shunt and / or line voltage by way of a voltage divider . the detector in an afci is similar to detector 106 but is configured to detect an arc fault condition on the basis of frequency spectra or high frequency noise bursts . once an arc fault condition is detected , a signal is sent in a similar manner to an scr which in turn activates a trip mechanism to trip the circuit interrupter . the tvss ( spd ) is another example of a protective device . during a lightning storm , the tvss ( spd ) limits the voltages in the distribution system to a safe level . the tvss includes a voltage surge suppressing structure between hot and neutral terminals such as spark gap 130 . surge suppressing devices may be disposed between hot and ground terminals or between neutral and ground terminals . the surge suppressing device ( s ) are selected from a family of devices that includes spark gaps , movs , varistors , capacitors , avalanche and devices . more than one surge suppressing component may be disposed between a pair of terminals . thus the spirit of the invention disclosed herein applies to gfcis and to protective devices in general . the present invention addresses certain end of life conditions by denying power when the device is unable to function . one end of life condition may cause the solenoid to remain energized when a fault condition is not present or when the circuit interrupter is in a tripped state . the solenoid is susceptible to burn - out when scr 110 is permanently on . this typically happens when scr 110 is permanently shorted out . most solenoids are configured to be energized only momentarily . they tend to burn out if energized for more than about 1 second . once the solenoid burns out , the circuit interrupter is incapable of being tripped . as a result , the load terminals are permanently connected to the line terminals even when there is a fault condition . in this embodiment , solenoid burn - out is prevented by an auxiliary switch 114 . auxiliary switch 114 is configured to open when circuit interrupter 120 is in the tripped position . if scr 110 is shorted , or is permanently on , auxiliary switch 114 ensures that solenoid 116 is not permanently connected to a current source . accordingly , if reset button 260 is activated , circuit interrupter 120 resets but immediately trips in response to the trip mechanism , which in turn moves auxiliary switch 114 to the open position before solenoid 116 is able to burn out . the auxiliary switch 114 provides other benefits . those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that a metal oxide varistor ( mov ) is frequently employed in protective devices to protect the electrical circuit from voltage surges that sometimes occur in the electrical distribution system . the end - of - life failure mode of a mov is typically an electrical short . the resulting current can be enough to thermally damage the enclosure of the protective device . in one embodiment of the present invention , mov 118 is connected in series with auxiliary switch 114 and trip solenoid 116 to eliminate most over - current situations . thus , when mov 118 reaches end of life and shorts out , trip solenoid 116 is energized to open auxiliary switch 114 and the flow of short circuit current is terminated before any damage ensues . as noted above , the light assembly 200 is disposed in series with power supply 112 . the schematic shows that the light assembly 200 includes at least two light emitting diodes 202 . as such , light emitting diodes 202 are energized when the circuit interrupter 120 is reset and deenergized when the device is tripped . thus , the light assembly 200 functions as a reset indicator in this embodiment . referring to fig2 , an exploded view of the device 10 embodying the schematic provided in fig1 is shown . the device housing includes a back body 12 and separator member 14 . the electromechanical components forming gfci 100 are disposed therebetween . the gfci 100 is inserted into back body 12 such that the line terminals ( 2 , 4 ) and the load terminals ( 6 , 8 ) are accessible to the installer . the spark gap structure 130 is disposed between the line terminals ( 2 , 4 ). the separator is a molded member configured to accommodate both the various gfci structures disposed underneath it as well as the receptacle terminal structures ( 30 , 32 ) disposed above . the neutral receptacle terminal structure 30 includes neutral face receptacle terminals 300 and a fixed contact 302 . the terminal structure 30 is disposed in alignment slots formed in the separator 14 such that fixed contact 302 extends through separator 14 in alignment with the cantilevered line and load contacts in gfci 100 . the cantilevered structure is shown in greater detail in fig3 . the hot receptacle structure 32 is the mirror image of the neutral receptacle structure , and therefore , includes hot face receptacle terminals 320 and hot fixed contact 322 . the ground strap 16 is also mounted within separator 14 . the ground strap 16 includes an offset feature 162 . the amount of offset roughly corresponds to the thickness of the tamper - resistant shutter mechanism 18 . the offset 162 accommodates the thickness of the shutter mechanism 18 such that the front surface of the cover assembly 20 is flush with the wall plate after the device 10 is installed . in this embodiment , leds 202 are connected to the printed circuit board 101 via pigtail wires ( not shown for clarity of illustration ) that extend through the separator 14 . the leds 202 are inserted into a reflector portion 204 formed within the front cover assembly . reflector 204 is described in greater detail below . the cover assembly 20 includes face receptacle openings 22 disposed at either end thereof . a test button opening 24 , reset button opening 26 , and night light opening 208 are disposed in the surface area between the receptacle openings 22 . obviously , the test button opening 24 accommodates the test button 240 and the reset opening 26 accommodates the reset button 260 . the night light opening 208 extends across substantially the entire width of mesa 21 , which is the raised portion of the cover member 20 . the night light is configured to accommodate lens element 206 . of course , the reflector member 204 is coupled to the underside of the cover 20 within opening 208 . the reset button 260 includes a stem portion 262 and coil spring 264 that extend through strap 16 and into the latch block disposed in gfci 100 . therefore , the reset button is disposed on the central longitudinal axis of the device alongside the night light opening 208 . the test button 240 is disposed alongside the reset button 260 on one side of the central latitudinal axis opposite the night light opening 208 , which is disposed on the other side of the axis the major axis of the user accessible surfaces of the test and reset buttons are substantially normal to each other . turning now to the structure of the lighting assembly 200 , in one embodiment , the reflector is a molded portion of the front cover . of course , those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the reflector 204 may be formed separately and snapped into place within opening 208 of front cover 20 . the interior surface of the reflector 204 may be imbued with its reflective quality using any suitable method . for example , the surface may be formed using a relatively shiny white plastic material that is naturally reflective . the surface may be polished like a mirror . a reflective surface may be disposed over a plastic surface by painting or plating techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art . of course , separator 14 includes apertures disposed therein ( not shown ) that accommodate the leds 202 . those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that there may be one or more leds 202 employed within the scope of the present invention . in one embodiment , the leds are implemented using white leds that have a minimum 100 ° viewing angle . the amount of light emitted by each led on its optical axis is greater than about 500 mcd ( millicandelas ). the reflector and lens are configured so that the intensity of the light emitted by leds 202 into a region of space surrounding device 10 is greater than about 20 millifootcandles . in another embodiment , the intensity of the emitted light is greater than about 50 millifootcandles . lens 206 is substantially flush with the front surface of the cover member 20 . as noted previously , lens 206 extends across the full width of the front cover member 20 . in one embodiment , the surface area of lens 206 measures 0 . 300 inches by 1 . 160 inches . lens 206 is approximately 0 . 14 inches thick . if the separator is molded into the front cover 20 , lens 206 snaps into opening 208 from the top . in an alternate embodiment ( see fig9 ), lens 206 has a “ u - shaped ” cross - section , having the same cross - sectional profile as “ mesa ” 21 formed in front cover 20 . lens 206 wraps around mesa 21 when it is inserted from above . lens 206 may have lenticular lens elements formed on the interior surface disposed adjacent to the leds 202 . as those of ordinary skill in the art will understand , lenticular lens elements diffuse incident light to thereby provide uniform illumination . in yet another embodiment of the present invention , the combination of the leds 202 , plug tail wires , separator 204 , and lens 206 may be installed as a single unit that is snapped into the front cover . referring to fig3 , a perspective view of the gfci 100 portion of device 10 is shown with the back body 12 , separator 14 , and cover member 20 not shown . of particular note is the position of the receptacle terminal structures ( 30 , 32 ) with respect to the line and load cantilevers . neutral line terminal 4 includes a line terminal which extends into the interior of the gfci device . the neutral line cantilever includes contact 122 disposed at the end thereof . neutral load terminal 8 also includes a cantilever having dual contact 126 at the end thereof . contacts 122 and 126 are vertically aligned with fixed contact 302 . only hot fixed contact 322 may be seen on the “ hot side of the circuit interrupting structure . however , those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the hot interrupting contacts ( 124 , 128 322 ) and the neutral interrupting contacts ( 122 , 126 , 302 ) form the four - pole circuit interrupter 120 that is shown schematically in fig1 . the leds 202 ( lighting assembly 200 ) appear to be suspended in space in fig3 . in actuality , the leds 202 are connected to printed circuit board 101 via pig tail wires that are not shown in this view for clarity of illustration . as embodied herein and depicted in fig4 , a perspective view of the shutter assembly optionally employed in the first embodiment of the present invention is shown . reference is made to u . s . patent application ser . nos . 10 / 729 , 685 , 10 / 900 , 778 , and 11 / 609 , 793 , which are incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth in its entirety , for a more detailed explanation of various embodiments of the protective shutter assembly 18 . the shutter assembly may be optionally employed in any of the embodiments disclosed herein . when assembled , the upper shutter 190 is inserted into lower shutter 170 until stop members 1920 extend beyond rail guides 1782 and snap into place . this position represents the closed position , wherein the upper transverse structure 196 covers neutral aperture 174 ( not shown ) and upper base 198 covers hot aperture 176 ( not shown ). the lower shutter member 170 and the upper shutter member 190 are movable relative to each other from the closed position to the open position in response to being simultaneously engaged by the hot plug blade and the neutral plug blade of an electrical plug . to facilitate this movement , shutter members ( 170 , 190 ) are made from a family of plastics having natural lubricity . these include nylon 6 - 6 , delrin , and teflon . shutter members ( 170 , 190 ) may be made from a substrate on which these materials are coated , the substrate having a differing flammability or flexural characteristic . if a foreign object having a width substantially the same as a hot plug blade is inserted into the hot receptacle opening , the shutter assembly remains closed . the foreign object causes ramp 1784 , and therefore , lower shutter 170 , to move . however , this foreign object insertion does not cause upper shutter 190 to move relative to shutter 170 . as a result , the foreign object inserted into the hot receptacle opening strikes base member 198 of the upper shutter . on the other hand , if a foreign object having a width substantially the same as a neutral plug blade is inserted into the neutral receptacle opening , transverse structure 196 will move upper shutter 190 but not move lower shutter 170 . accordingly , the lower base member 173 does not move and the neutral aperture 174 ( not shown ) is not exposed . thus , the foreign object inserted into the neutral receptacle opening strikes lower base member 173 . only when the hot plug blade and the neutral plug blade of an electrical plug simultaneously engage ramp 1784 and ramp 1962 , respectively , will the lower shutter member 170 and the upper shutter member 190 move relative to each other from the closed position to the open position . in the open position , the lower hot aperture 176 is aligned with the upper hot contact aperture 194 and , the inward edge of the lower neutral contact aperture 174 is substantially aligned with the outer edge of ramp 1962 . in this position , the lower shutter 170 and the upper shutter 190 allow the plug contact blades to pass through the protective shutter 18 and engage the contacts disposed in the interior of the electrical wiring device . on the other hand , a foreign object such as a hairpin is likely to slide off of either side of ramp 1784 or ramp 1962 . obviously , if the foreign object has slid off the ramp , force cannot be applied to the object to open the corresponding shutter . in another embodiment , the predetermined electrical plug geometry that opens the shutters may include only some of the characteristics that have been described . the geometry may include just one or more of the following : two plug blades separated by a predetermined distance , plug blades contacting the two blade structures simultaneously , a neutral plug blade having a predetermined width , or a hot plug blade having a predetermined width . plug blade width will not matter if ramps 284 and / or 462 approach the widths of their respective contact structures . in another embodiment , shutters ( 170 , 190 ) open in response to the insertion of two objects without particular heed given to their geometries . this may be accomplished by extending the widths of ramp 1784 and ramp 1962 so that regardless of the sizes of the objects , there is nowhere for either or both objects escaping the ramps as they are inserted into the device . as such , it is assured that the two shutters will open . the movement of the upper shutter 190 and the lower shutter 170 is effected by spring member 180 . the spring member 180 is configured to bias the frameless shutter sub - assembly , i . e ., lower shutter 170 and upper shutter 190 , in the closed position . spring member 180 is compressed further in the open position and , therefore , opposes movement of the frameless shutter sub - assembly from the closed position to the open position . accordingly when the electrical plug is removed , the spring moves the frameless shutter sub - assembly from the open position to the closed position . stated differently , only a single spring is necessary to effect the closed position of the shutter assembly . as alluded to above , the protective shutter assembly 18 includes a spring retainer mechanism . the spring retainer mechanism includes lower shutter retainer pocket 1780 and upper shutter retainer pocket 1960 . the spring retainer mechanism is configured to retain the spring member 180 within the frameless shutter sub - assembly and substantially prevent the spring member from being separated from the frameless shutter sub - assembly . as those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate , the protective shutter assembly 18 may be dropped and / or exposed to vibrational and / or mechanical forces during automated assembly . as shown in fig4 , retainer pockets ( 1780 , 1960 ) are equipped with retainer lips that prevent the spring member from being jarred loose . referring to fig5 , a perspective view of device 10 without the center night light lens 206 is shown . this view clearly shows reflector member 204 disposed within the front cover member 20 . in the embodiment shown , two leds 202 are disposed within the reflector member 204 . the “ bathtub ” shape of the interior surface of the reflector is configured to redirect light emitted from the side portions of leds 202 out from opening 208 . as noted above , the reset button 260 and test button 240 are disposed adjacent to the light assembly 200 in the manner previously described . fig6 is a perspective view of the fully assembled device with lens element 206 in place . the lens element is substantially flush with respect to the front surface of cover member 20 . as embodied herein , and depicted in fig7 , a schematic of a circuit protection device 10 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention is disclosed . the schematic shown in fig7 is almost identical to the one shown in fig1 . in fig1 , the lighting assembly 200 is disposed between resistors r 7 and r 8 . in fig7 , light assembly 200 is not included in the power supply circuit 112 . the power supply includes diode d 1 , and resistors r 6 , r 7 , and r 8 in series . in this second embodiment , the hot receptacle terminal structure 32 is connected to the light assembly 200 by way of connection “ a ”. the neutral receptacle terminal structure 30 is connected to the light assembly 200 by way of connection “ b ”. because the other elements in the schematic shown in fig7 are identical to fig1 , the description of the circuit is not repeated for brevity &# 39 ; s sake . referring to fig8 , a schematic of the center night light assembly 200 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention is shown . as shown in fig7 , connection “ b ” is connected to the neutral receptacle terminal structure 30 . the light assembly circuit 200 includes a current rectifying diode d 1 in series with leds 202 and current limiting resistors r 80 , and r 82 . comparing fig7 and fig8 , it becomes apparent to those skilled in the art that the lighting assembly 200 again functions as a reset indicator . when the device is in the reset state , leds 202 are on . when the device is tripped , the leds 202 are off . fig9 is an exploded view of the second embodiment of the present invention previously discussed relative to fig7 - 8 . fig9 is very similar to the exploded view previously shown in fig2 . accordingly , a description of like features is omitted for brevity &# 39 ; s sake and only the differences are explained . in the second embodiment , lens 206 has a “ u - shaped ” cross section similar to the cross - sectional profile as “ mesa ” 21 formed in front cover 20 . lens 206 wraps around mesa 21 when it is inserted into opening 208 from above . another difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment relates to the light assembly 200 implementation . in the second embodiment , the light assembly 200 is disposed on a satellite printed circuit board 201 . connection points “ a ” and “ b ” are implemented as soldered pig tail wires disposed between pcb 201 and the terminal structures 30 , 32 . as embodied herein and depicted in fig1 , a schematic of a circuit protection device 10 in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention is disclosed . the schematic shown in fig1 is very similar to the schematics provided in fig1 and 7 . again , in fig1 , light assembly 200 is not included in the power supply circuit 112 . like the second embodiment , the hot receptacle terminal structure 32 is connected to the light assembly 200 by way of connection “ a ”. the neutral receptacle terminal structure 30 is connected to the light assembly 200 by way of connection “ b ”. any description of the circuit elements ( fig1 ) that are identical to those shown in fig1 and fig7 would be repetitious and superfluous , and therefore , is omitted . the third embodiment includes an additional indicator 150 disposed in parallel with auxiliary switch 114 . as noted above , the auxiliary switch 114 is configured to open when circuit interrupter 120 is in the tripped position . if scr 110 is shorted , or is permanently on , auxiliary switch 114 ensures that solenoid 116 is not permanently connected to a current source . accordingly , if reset button 260 is activated , circuit interrupter 120 resets but immediately trips in response to the trip mechanism , which in turn moves auxiliary switch 114 to the open position before solenoid 116 is able to burn out . the indicator 150 is implemented as a trip indicator , emitting a visual and / or audible indicator signal when circuit interrupter 120 is in the tripped state , i . e ., when the auxiliary switch 114 is open . the trip indicator led 150 , therefore , is energized when there is power on the line terminals and the circuit interrupter is in the tripped condition . the indicator 150 is off when device 10 is in the reset state . indicator 150 may be implemented as a red led or as an audible indicator , or both . the indicator may also be configured to emit a repetitive signal ( flashing or beeping ). fig1 is an exploded view of the device shown in fig1 . in this embodiment , cover 20 includes indicator opening 28 for indicator 150 . indicator 150 , which is disposed on the main pcb 101 , is in optical communication with opening 28 by way of light pipe 152 . notched opening 27 accommodates lens window element 270 . lens 270 is configured to cover the ambient light sensor 212 . the window lens 270 may be implemented using a translucent “ wrap - around ” lens of the type shown in fig1 , or alternatively , the front cover 20 may include an integral translucent lens portion . in any event , lens 270 is configured to direct the ambient light in the spatial volume proximate device 10 toward ambient light sensor 212 . the window or lens are disposed in the front user accessible surface of the device , or alternatively , may “ wrap around ” the edge of the user accessible surface . reference is made to u . s . patent application no . ( 905p300 ), which is incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth in its entirety , for a more detailed explanation of the sensor lens element 270 . ambient light is transmitted to the ambient light sensor 212 by way of the two outer surfaces of the wrap - around lens . these two surfaces are approximately normal to each another . an optical blocking structure is included such that light sensor 212 receives ambient light but not light emitted by light assembly 212 . in one approach , reflector member 204 is made out of an opaque material . in another , the inner ( or outer surfaces ) of the reflector member are painted or plated with an opaque material . in another , the ambient light sensor 212 is mounted such that the printed circuit board 201 serves as a blocking structure . in another , the light blocking structure is connected to ( or integral to ) the front cover 20 or separator member 14 . in another , lens 270 includes a light pipe disposed to couple ambient light , instead of light generated by the wiring device , to the light sensor . in yet another , the wrap - around lens is configured for sensing ambient light predominantly from the side surface of front cover 20 . this configuration reduces the likelihood that reflected light from lens 206 will pollute the ambient light . referring to fig1 , a detail perspective view of the center night light assembly 200 in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention is shown . as shown , white leds 202 are connected to pcb 201 . pcb 201 is disposed between terminal structure 30 and terminal structure 32 in the manner shown . the pig tail connections ( a , b ) are not shown in this view . the main pcb 101 may be manufactured in a “ six up array .” pcb 101 has a non - rectangular shape , necessitating the removal of excess printed circuit board material . this material is typically wasted . however , the size of the waste regions are big enough to be used as satellite boards 201 . thus , the use of the satellite boards represents an efficient use of material . note that the test button 240 is coupled to pcb 201 via compression spring 244 . moveable switch member 242 is connected to test button 240 . switch member 242 is formed from an electrically conductive material that need not be flexible . spring 244 biases test switch member 242 in the open position . in the open position , there is an air gap between contact 2420 and one end of the switch member , and another between hot receptacle contact structure 32 and the other end of switch member 242 . when the test button is depressed , the test switch is closed . switch member 242 bridges hot receptacle terminal 32 and contact 2420 . contact 2420 , of course , is coupled to the neutral line conductor in the manner shown in fig7 . this structure facilitates the novel arrangement of the test button , reset button 260 , and the light assembly within the center portion of the cover assembly 20 . because of the added functionality in the third embodiment , there is not enough room in the device for a cantilever beam actuated by the test button . instead of a cantilever , a compression switch structure 242 is included . this switch mechanism has two advantages . first , it is more compact than a cantilever structure . second , by virtue of the switch closing two air gaps instead of one air gap , the test button need only travel half the distance to make connection . the reduced distance is important because the compact switch structure does not provide the mechanical advantage that is provided by the traditional cantilever test blade . as shown in the schematic ( fig1 ), the test switch is connected in series with resistor r 1 , typically 15k ohms . reference is made to u . s . patent application no . 905p185 , which is incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth in its entirety , for a more detailed explanation of a dual air gap test button switch . referring to fig1 , a schematic of the center night light assembly in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention is shown . again , the satellite pcb 201 receives power from the receptacle terminals 30 , 32 , which are connected at points “ a ” and “ b ”, respectively . when the ambient light is above a certain level , light sensor 212 reacts to the ambient light level and diode d 3 begins to conduct . in one embodiment , sensor 212 is implemented using a light sensing diode and the amount of current conducted by sensor 212 is related to the amount of incident ambient light . as the ambient light increases past a predetermined level , which may be adjusted by potentiometer r 6 in the factory , the darlington transistor pair ( q 1 , q 2 ) are turned off . in particular , the current flow through d 4 pulls down the base of transistor q 1 . q 1 , in turn , pulls down the base of q 2 . when the ambient light begins to decrease , e . g ., as night falls , the current flowing through sensor 212 begins to decrease accordingly . at some predetermined ambient light level , the current flowing through sensor 212 diminishes to the point where a current flow through diode d 3 and resistor r 1 is established . subsequently , the transistors q 1 and q 2 are turned on collector / emitter current in q 2 flows energizing leds 202 . in the schematic shown in fig1 , a dimmer potentiometer 216 is provided , allowing the user to adjust the brightness of the leds 202 . in another embodiment , light sensor 212 may be implemented using a light sensing variable resistor . in this embodiment , sensor 212 and resistor 214 function as a voltage divider . therefore , the voltage presented to diode d 3 changes in accordance with the variable resistance of sensor 212 . additional features and benefits may be included . for example , the circuit may be configured to provide hysteresis . for example , the amount of ambient light at which leds 202 turn on may differ from the amount of ambient light at which leds 202 turn off in accordance with the selected hysteresis curve . leds 202 can only be energized when two conditions are met . device 10 must be reset and the ambient light level must fall below a predetermined level . thus , the light assembly 200 in this embodiment is not a reset indicator per se . in another embodiment of the present invention , the sensor circuitry may be replaced , or augmented by , proximity , motion sensing , or temperature sensing circuitry . while the sensor circuitry may function as strictly an on / off control of the nightlight assembly 200 , it may also be configured to regulate the power to the nightlight such that the luminous intensity is proportional to the incident ambient light . reference is made to u . s . patent application no . ( 905p184 cip1 ), which is incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth in its entirety , for a more detailed explanation of this type of light sensor circuitry . referring to fig1 , a schematic of an alternate center night light circuit in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention is shown . the circuit depicted herein is similar to the one shown in fig1 except that dimmer potentiometer 216 is coupled to a switch s 1 that is normally in the open position . switch s 1 is coupled in parallel with transistors q 1 and q 2 . when the user goes beyond one of the adjustment limit of potentiometer 216 , switch s 1 is configured to close to provide a “ full - on ” bypass . in this mode , the leds are fully lit regardless of the intensity of the ambient light . the dimmer potentiometer 216 is also coupled to a switch s 2 that is normally in the closed position . switch s 2 is connected in series with transistors q 1 and q 2 . when the user adjusts potentiometer 216 beyond the other adjustment limit of potentiometer 216 , switch s 2 is configured to open to provide a “ full - off ” bypass . in this mode , the leds are never lit regardless of the intensity of the ambient light . those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that switch s 1 and switch s 2 may be used alone or in combination with each other . fig1 is a schematic of yet another alternate center night light assembly in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , light assembly 200 is an “ intelligent pilot light ,” meaning that more light is emitted in response to a greater amount of room ambient light . photosensitive device 212 conducts an amount of current governed by the intensity of ambient light . when the intensity of the ambient light increases beyond some preset value , the current propagating through d 3 will turn on q 1 and q 2 . as a result , diodes d 1 and d 2 emit light . as the room ambient light increases , q 1 and q 2 are on for a longer duty cycle and d 1 and d 2 emit an increasing intensity of light . dimmer potentiometer 216 allows a user to adjust the intensity of the light emitted by d 1 and d 2 . switch s 1 or s 2 may be included . they provide a similar functionality to s 1 and s 2 described in fig2 . in another embodiment of the present invention , a secondary power source , such as a battery or a charged capacitor , may be disposed within the housing 12 as a back - up power source when the primary ac power source provided by the electrical distribution system has failed . reference is made to u . s . patent no . ( 905p 184 cip1 ), which is incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth in its entirety , for a more detailed explanation of a secondary power source . referring to fig1 , a perspective view of the fully assembled device 10 in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention is disclosed . this view illustrates the novel arrangement of the light assembly lens 206 , indicator lens 152 , test button 240 , reset button 260 , and sensor lens 270 within the space between the receptacle openings 22 in cover 20 . all references , including publications , patent applications , and patents , cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein . the use of the terms “ a ” and “ an ” and “ the ” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention ( especially in the context of the following claims ) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural , unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context . the terms “ comprising ,” “ having ,” “ including ,” and “ containing ” are to be construed as open - ended terms ( i . e ., meaning “ including , but not limited to ,”) unless otherwise noted . the term “ connected ” is to be construed as partly or wholly contained within , attached to , or joined together , even if there is something intervening . the recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range , unless otherwise indicated herein , and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein . all methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . the use of any and all examples , or exemplary language ( e . g ., “ such as ”) provided herein , is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention and does not impose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed . no language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non - claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed , but on the contrary , the intention is to cover all modifications , alternative constructions , and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention , as defined in the appended claims . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . | 8 |
the present invention is now described in further detail . the monomer or monomers used in this invention may be acrylamide or a mixture of acrylamide and up to 50 mole % of vinyl monomers . such vinyl monomers may be of any type which is copolymerizable with acrylamide , for example , methacrylamide , n - substituted ( metha ) acrylamide , n , n - substituted ( metha ) acrylamide , ( metha ) acrylonitrile , ( metha ) acrylic acid , salt of ( metha ) acrylic acid , methyl ( metha ) acrylate , ethyl ( metha ) acrylate , butyl ( metha ) acylate , dimethylaminoethyl ( metha ) acrylate , various salts and quaternary ammonium salt of dimethylaminoethyl ( metha ) acrylate , diethylaminoethyl ( metha ) acrylate , various salts and quaternary ammonium salt of diethylaminoethyl ( metha ) acrylate , styrene , styrene derivatives , vinylpyridine and various salts thereof , vinylpyrrolidone and vinyl acetate . the monomer concentration is selected within the range of 30 to 70 % by weight in this invention . it is possible to obtain porous polymer gel by polymerization of monomer concentration of less than 30 % by weight , if the polymerization starts at higher temperature . but low polymer concentration results in an economical disadvantage when drying the obtained polymer gel . this goes against the object of this invention to obtain an economically advantageous acrylamide polymer in a powdery form . also , in case of practicing the reaction of obtained polymer such as mannich reaction in a salt solution for example , low polymer concentration necessitates large amount of the salt solution , resulting in elevated cost for recovery of the solution . on the other hand , if the monomer concentration is over 70 %, amount of water is insufficient to remove heat of polymerization , temperature of the polymerization system is increased to result undesirable reaction such as imidation reaction and the product substantially insoluble in water . the polymerization steps of the present invention is carried out under conditions used in the art except the control of the polymerization temperature . the polymerization starts by adding a polymerization initiator to an aqueous monomer solution at a temperature sufficient to initiate polymerization . as to the polymerization initiator any known type of polymerization catalyst can be used . illustrative of these catalysts are tertiarybutylhydroperoxide , ditertiarybutylperoxide , benzoyl peroxide , hydrogen peroxide , ammonium persulfate , potassium persulfate , sodium persulfate , sodium chlorate , potassium chlorate , ammonium chlorate , sodium perborate , and the like . as a redox system one may use such catalyst comprising an oxygen containing compound and a reducing agent such as the combination of sodium persulfate with potassium bisulfite , sodium persulfate with sodium bisulfite , potassium persulfate with potassium bisulfite , ammonium persulfate with sodium thiosulfate and the like . when higher molecular weight polymers are desired a combination of an alkali metal bromate and an alkali metal sulfite or an alkali persulfate with a tertiary amine can be used . these latter catalyst combinations are described in the u . s . pat . no . 3 , 002 , 960 . as a azo catalyst 2 , 2 &# 39 ;- azobis ( 2 - amidinopropane ) hydrochloride , 2 , 2 &# 39 ;- azobis ( 2 , 4 - dimethylvaleronitrile ), 2 , 2 &# 39 ;- azobis ( isobutyronitrile ), 2 , 2 &# 39 ;- azobis ( 4 - methoxy - 2 , 4 - dimethylvaleronitrile ) can be used . as a general rule , the catalyst will be used in conventional catalyst amount such as between about 0 . 001 % and 5 % by weight based on the weight of the dry monomer . preferred catalyst are a redox type initiator , a water - soluble azo compound or a combination thereof , or a combination of a reducing agent and a water - soluble or oil - soluble azo compound . if needed , it is also possible to use a chain transfer agent . there is no need of forming the polymerization solution into a film as in the method described in japanese pat . pub . no . 5222 / 74 . for instance , polymerization may be performed on an endless belt by providing means for preventing side stream or after - stream and feeding a high - concentration aqueous monomer solution so that such solution is formed with a thickness of 200 to 300 mm on said belt , or in some cases , polymerization may be carried out in a tank with the horizontal bottom by feeding a high - concentration aqueous solution in 500 mm height . it is however advisable to avoid too much enlargement of the distance from the vessel bottom to the surface of the solution therein , because it is not expedient to escape the vapors produced and it is dangerous because of increasing the pressure in the vessel . the preferred form of the polymerization vessel used in this invention is the one which spreads out gradually upwardly and is lined internally with polyester or polycarbonate , and which can be turned 180 degrees for taking out the produced polymer gel by letting it drop naturally . the reaction system is purged with n 2 or co 2 or other innert gas before the addition of the polymerization catalyst . after starting the polymerization the temperature of the polymerization system rises gradually to the boiling point of the system . generally , it takes about 5 to 20 minutes from the start to boiling and boiling state continues for about 1 to 5 minutes , though these times are different from the polymerization conditions , such as catalyst used , amount thereof , monomer concentration , and starting temperature . the temperature of the polymerization system falls slowly after boiling , but the polymerization is carried out until substantially all of the monomer is converted to polymer by leaving the reaction system as it is for about 3 hours or more . pg , 9 the resulted polymerization mixtures are hydrous gel of acrylamide polymers which is porous , and water content is reduced by evaporation of water , in other word , the solution is thickened . the polymer content in the hydrous gel is comparatively high , the gel can be dried quickly . known drying techniques are used to remove the water from the polymer gel . the molecular weight may be varied over a wide range and may be low as a few thousand such as 20 , 000 to 50 , 000 or may be exceedingly high in molecular weight such as 2 million , 10 million and even higher . the method for determining the molecular weight can be achieved by any one of known techniques such as viscosities . now , the method of this invention is described in further detail by way of some preferred embodiments thereof , but the present invention is not limited to these examples . 4 kg of acrylamide was dissolved in 6 kg of deionized water and this solution was put into a 15 - liter stainless steel polymerization vessel . the temperature in the system is maintained at 20 ° c . the thickness of the solution in the vessel , that is the distance from the vessel bottom to the surface of the solution was about 150 mm . nitrogen gas was passed into this system to remove dissolved oxygen , and when the dissolved oxygen concentration in the system became 0 . 3 ppm , 0 . 4 gr of ammonium persulfate and 0 . 2 gr of sodium bisulfite were added to the system . polymerization started immediately and bumping occurred 15 minutes thereafter to release a volume of water vapor . the system temperature elevated up to 110 ° c ., then 2 or 3 minutes later , release of water vapor ceased and the temperature of the polymerization system began to drop slowly . the resultant polymer gel had a plurality of pores in its inside . a part of this gel was collected and the polymer content was measured . it was found that said content was increased to 43 % by weight . this polymer gel was perfectly soluble in water and viscosity of the polymer at 1 % concentration in 1n sodium chloride solution with brookfield viscometer was 380 cp ( at 25 ° c .). the residual monomer content was 0 . 18 % by gas chromatography , after the polymer gel was contacted with an 80 % aqueous methanol solution for 24 hours . 2 kg of acrylamide and 1 kg of 2 - methacryloyloxytrimethylammonium chloride were dissolved in 5 kg of deionized water and the solution was fed into a 15 - liter stainless steel polymerization vessel by maintaining the inner temperature at 30 ° c . then nitrogen gas was passed into this vessel to remove dissolved oxygen , and when the dissolved oxygen concentration in the solution became 0 . 2 ppm , 2 gr of 2 , 2 &# 39 ;- azobis ( 2 - amidinopropane ) hydrochloride and 0 . 2 gr of sodium bisulfite were added . polymerization started immediately and bumping occurred 15 minutes later to release a great volume of water vapor . the boiling state lasted for about 2 minutes , and then the temperature of the polymerization system began to drop slowly . 4 hours after the start of polymerization , a part of the produced polymer gel was dehydrated by contacting with acetone in a domestic mixer , and granular copolymer of acrylamide and 2 - methacryloyloxytrimethylammonium chloride were obtained . this granular polymer was soluble in water and the viscosity thereof , at 1 % concentration in a 1n sodium chloride solution with brookfield viscometer was 85 cp ( measured at 25 ° c .). 1 kg of acrylamide and 0 . 5 kg of n - n - dimethylacrylamide were dissolved in 1 . 5 kg of deionized water and this solution was put into a 5 - liter stainless steel beaker while keeping the temperature in the system at 20 ° c . then nitrogen gas was passed into this system to remove dissolved oxygen , and when the dissolved oxygen concentration in the system became 0 . 3 ppm , 0 . 1 gr of potassium persulfate and 0 . 05 gr of sodium bisulfite were added to the system . polymerization started 15 seconds later , and bumping occurred 20 minutes later to release a great volume of water vapor . 24 hours later , the produced porous polymer gel was taken out and granulated into the grain size of about 3 mm by a meat chopper and then dried with hot air at 60 ° c . after drying , the granular material was pulverized by a powdering machine to obtain a powdery copolymer of acrylamide and n , n - dimethylacrylamide . this powder was soluble in water and its viscosity , measured in the same condition as example 1 , was 340 cp ( measured at 25 ° c .). 1 kg of acrylamide , 0 . 5 kg of n , n - dimethylacrylamide and 0 . 2 kg of diethylaminoethylmethacrylate hydrochloride were dissolved in 1 . 5 kg of deionized water and resulted solution was put into a 5 - liter stainless steel beaker while maintaining the temperature in the system at 20 ° c . then nitrogen gas was passed into this system to remove dissolved oxygen , and when the dissolved oxygen concentration in the system became 0 . 3 ppm , 0 . 1 gr of potassium persulfate and 0 . 1 gr of sodium bisulfite were added . polymerization started about 30 seconds thereafter and bumping occurred about 30 minutes later to release a great quantity of vapor . 24 hours thereafter , the resulted porous polymer gel was taken out and dehydrated by contacting with acetone in a domestic mixer under agitation , and a granular terpolymer of acrylamide , n , n - dimethylacrylamide and diethylaminoethylmethacrylate hydrochloride was obtained . this polymer was soluble in water and suited for use as a cationic high polymer flocculant . this viscosity of the polymer , measured in the same condition as in example 1 was 108 cp ( measured at 25 ° c .). a solution of 100 kg of acrylamide in 150 kg of deionized water and maintained at 20 ° c ., was placed in a 300 - liter stainless steel conical tank , and nitrogen gas was passed into this tank to remove dissolved oxygen . when the dissolved oxygen concentration in the polymerization system became 0 . 3 ppm , 10 gr of ammonium persulfate and 5 gr of sodium bisulfite were added to the system . polymerization started about one minute later . when the solution became viscous , the valve at the tank bottom was opened to drop the viscous solution onto a stainless steel belt until the thickness of the solution on the belt became about 16 . 7 cm . the stainless steel belt was 5 m long and 30 cm wide , equipped with guide plates of 25 cm height on both sides , and a polyester film ( dia foil ®) was laid thereon . polymerization proceeded , and 20 minutes later , the temperature rised above 100 ° c . and boiling occurred to release a great volume of water vapor . the boiling state lasted for about 5 minutes , and then the temperature began to drop gradually . 4 hours after start of polymerization , the produced porous polymer gel was discharged by removing the guide plates and driving the steel belt . this polymer was perfectly soluble in water and its viscosity , measured in the same condition as in example 1 , was 420 cp . | 2 |
the present invention relates to a select subgroup of aliphatic dipercarboxylic acids that can be prepared as solids that are stable at room temperature , easy to synthesize , and effective against a variety of pathogenic bacteria and spores . these dipercarboxylic acids are synthesized in a single step reaction , in which hydrogen peroxide solution is added into a solution of the parent dicarboxylic acid dissolved in sulfuric acid . the synthetic scheme is set out in equation ( 1 ) the procedure for preparation of dipercarboxylic acid use starting materials that are common industrial chemicals and are thus commercially available . the process involves addition of hydrogen peroxide into a solution of dicarboxylic acid in sulfuric acid with external cooling , then adding saturated ammonium sulfate to precipitate the dipercarboxylic acids . the precipitates are filtered , dried and are ready to use without any further purification . the yield of dipercarboxylic acids in this reaction is above 85 %. the dipercarboxylic acids of equation ( 1 ) with n = 3 to n = 5 are fairly soluble in water . they are isolated by diluting the reaction mixture with saturated ammonium sulfate solution at 0 ° c ., followed by filtration . the higher peracids can be precipitated using half - saturated ammonium sulfate . the dipercarboxylic acids have a variable melting decomposition temperature of about 80 - 100 ° c . at room temperature , the dipercarboxylic acids are relatively stable . the sterilizing solutions of dipercarboxylic acids of the present invention are operable at any temperature between the freezing point of the solution and the boiling point of the solution . the activity of the diper acids is believed to be greater at higher temperatures ( resulting in faster sterilization ), but the decomposition of the diper acids is also greater at higher temperatures . the preferred temperature of the sterilizing solutions is between 0 ° c . and 50 ° c ., most preferably at a temperature that is ambient , such as 20 - 30 ° c ., and even more preferably at 25 ° c . peracids are strong oxidizing agents , and have a high affinity for sulfhydryl , sulfide , disulfide , and carbon to carbon double bonds . these bonds play critical roles in the function of certain essential enzymes and of cell membranes . without limiting the present invention to any particular mechanism , it is believed that oxidative cleavage of these bonds inactivate the enzyme ( s ) in question and result in the death of the cell . alternatively , if the affected bonds are part of the cell membrane , then the material transport and osmotic functions of the membrane would be disrupted , again causing death of the cell . because spore coats are known to have a high concentration of disulfide bonds , disruption of the spore coat by oxidation of disulfide bonds would expose the sensitive interior of the spore to the sterilant and cause spore death . the entire electron transport system of all living cells is highly susceptible to oxidation , and its disruption would result in rapid cell death . in this context , it is interesting to note that most living cells protect themselves from oxidative damage with enzymes , such as catalase . catalase very effectively decomposes hydrogen peroxide as soon as it is formed in cells as a result of radiation or some other process . catalase does not decompose organic peroxides . organic peroxides deactivate catalase , and can therefore continue their action unhindered , while depriving the cell of an important protective mechanism . further , peracids can oxidize alcohol , amine , and a variety of other functional groups abound in living cells and are powerful protein denaturants , and that effect will be lethal to all cells , microorganisms , and spores . the relative importance of these various effects will vary from one species to another . while the exact modality by which peracids kill microorganisms , spores , and viruses is not known , any of the mechanisms described above could alone cause death , and most , if not all , probably contribute in causing death . the select subset of dipercarboxylic acids of the present invention are unique sterilizing agents in that they can be in the form of dry solid particulates , yet they can still be readily dissolved in water with minimal agitation , such as stirring . as dry solid particulates , the dipercarboxylic acids can be stored for extended periods without degradation . it is preferred that the dry solid dipercarboxylic acids be stored in the absence of other organic compounds that could be oxidized by the acids . however , many saturated organic compounds may not be oxidized and may therefore be included in formulations to improve dissolution of the material into water . examples of suitable saturated organic compounds include long chain aliphatic fatty acids , long chain aliphatic quaternary ammonium salts , or combinations thereof . it is also preferred that the dipercarboxylic acids are dissolved with stirring , but without heating , without using special solubilizers , and without using special solvents . accordingly , dissolution into water or an aqueous solution produces a very effective sterilizing solution in situ within equipment or in the field under austere environments . where necessary , insoluble peracids can be suspended by the use of a combination of a c12 - c15 primary alcohol ethoxylate having 7 ethylene oxides , alkylbenzene suphonate and very high levels (& gt ; 6 % w / w ) of an electrolyte such as sodium sulphate . insoluble peracids can also be suspended by a c12 - c14 alcohol ethoxylate having 7 . 5 ethoxylates in combination with sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate , but the ph of these compositions must be maintained between 3 . 5 and 4 . 1 . a third solution for suspending insoluble peracids is a c12 - c15 alcohol ethoxylate having 3 ethoxylates in combination with a secondary alkane sulphonate and 10 % w / w sodium sulphate . the solubility of diperacids in water can be effected by changing the hydrophobicity of the alkyl chain present in the molecule . solubility of large chain diperacids like dipersabacic acid in water can be enhanced by incorporation of polar functional groups in the carbon chain . some examples of such groups are hydroxyl , amino , amido , alkoxy , carbonyl , and the like or combinations thereof . these groups can be attached at any or all positions within the alkyl chain of the less soluble diacids . the stability of peracids improves by avoiding impurities and also by adding stabilizers , preferably inorganic salts . examples of suitable stabilizers include , but are not limited to , stannates , dipicolinic acid , pyrophosphoric and polypyrophosphoric acids and their salts . the effectiveness of chemical sterilizers is sometimes reduced due to presence of organic load left on the medical / dental instruments . as a result , a pre - washing step is generally recommended to improve the degree of sterilization . the peracid formulations may optionally include an exothermic control agent admixed with the diperacid . the water level present in the diperacid - exothermic control composition is also carefully adjusted so that minimum destabilization of the diperacid is brought about by its presence , yet the exothermic control effects are maintained . the preferred exothermic control agents are na 2 so 4 , mgso 4 , and combinations thereof , each being in the hydrated form . hydrated alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salts may also be used as a means to control the exothermal deterioration of peracids . the diperacids and the stabilizing agents are preferably prepared as distinct granular components of the total composition . the efficacy of dipercarboxylic acids as broad - range sterilizing agents is demonstrated in the following examples in which diperglutaric acid is shown to kill a variety of pathogenic bacteria as well as spores . dipercarboxylic acids were synthesized by dissolving 0 . 05 moles of dicarboxylic acid in 30 grams of 95 % sulfuric acid in an open beaker . with good stirring , 13 . 5 grams ( 0 . 2 mole ) of 50 % hydrogen peroxide was added drop wise over 10 - 15 minutes keeping the internal temperature between 0 and 20 ° c . using an ice bath . stirring was continued for an additional 3 hours . adding several volumes of saturated aqueous ammonium sulfate then precipitated the dipercarboxylic acid , such as 10 grams of 85 % dipercarboxylic acid . the precipitate was washed several times until the filtrate was relatively free of sulfuric acid . the crude product was dried overnight in a vacuum oven at room temperature . the dried product was then dissolved in ethanol and recrystallized by gradual addition of water . the recrystallized dipercarboxylic acid was filtered and dried again in the vacuum oven over night at room temperature to obtain the desired solid particulate of dipercarboxylic acid . the recrystallized samples can be used to determine proton nmr , ftir , mass as well as elemental analysis . a crude experiment was done to first estimate the solubility in water of diperglutaric acid ( c5 ), dipersuberic acid ( c8 ), and dipersebacic acid ( c10 ) prepared in accordance with example 1 . it was estimated that the limit of solubility of these peracids in water was 10 %, 0 . 8 %, and 0 . 1 % wt / v for diperglutaric , dipersuberic , and dipersebacic , respectively . a saturated solution of each peracid was prepared in water . 1 . 2 ml of saturated peracid solution was placed in a 2 ml eppendorf ® tube . at t = 0 , 0 . 3 ml of a 2 . 5 × 10 8 spores per ml solution was placed in the eppendorf ® tube and mixed . the final spore concentration was 1 . 7 × 10 8 spores per ml . at various time points , a 0 . 2 ml aliquot ( containing 3 . 3 × 10 7 spores ) was removed from the eppendorf ® and added to 0 . 4 ml of a 10 % sodium thiosulfate , 10 % bovine serum albumin solution . this solution quenches unreacted peracid . the final spore concentration was 5 . 6 × 10 7 spores per ml . dilutions were made and 0 . 1 ml ( 5 . 6 × 10 6 spores ) of each was plated on nutrient agar plates . the plates were incubated at 37 ° c . overnight and colonies were counted the next day to determine the number of spores that survived exposure to peracid . the log of the number of spores plated ( 5 . 6 × 10 6 ) is 6 . 74 . in fig1 this value is plotted in the graph as a dark line and referred to as the “ starting contamination level ”. “ sterilization level ” which is the dark line near the bottom of the graph is simply the “ starting contamination level ” minus 6 . the x - axis in the graph is exposure time of the spores to peracid . zone of inhibition tests are qualitative screens for the inhibitory effect of the compound being tested . clear zones created by a compound on a bacterial lawn indicates bacteriostatic ability and possible bactericidal capability and the size of the zone of inhibition is a semi - qualitative measure of the strength of the compound . the procedure involved creating lawns of bacteria by spreading 100 μl of broth culture evenly on nutrient agar plates . the bacteria were drawn from broth cultures that had recently reached maximum density . the organisms were staphylococcus aureus , psuedomonas aeruginosa , and escherichia coli . sterile , 6 mm , white paper discs were placed in the middle of each bacterial lawn . 20 μl of treatment were dispensed onto the surface of each disc . the treatments were : 1 . 0 % and 0 . 033 % diperglutaric acid , 1 . 0 % glutaric acid in water . each treatment was performed in duplicate for each organism . the plates were incubated at 37 ° c . for 18 - 24 hours . all zones were then measured in millimeters across the diameter of the zone of inhibition . the results of the zone of inhibition study in table 1 show that diperglutaric acid at 1 % in water is very effective in preventing the growth of vegetative cells . photographs of the zones of inhibition are shown in fig2 . biopsy punch enumeration is an extension of the zone of inhibition test , which involves enumerating organisms on the surface or within a removed core ( punch ). this test provides a quantitative analysis of the viable organisms remaining after treatment . this procedure was carried out exactly the same as the zone of inhibition testing . after incubation , however , the disc was removed from the plate and a 6 - mm core was taken with a sterile , disposable biopsy punch precisely in the location where the disc had been removed . the same three organisms were used and the following treatments were sampled in duplicate : 1 . 0 % diperglutaric acid and 1 . 0 % glutaric acid in water . the core of each plate was aseptically placed in a microcentrifuge tube with 1 ml of sterile 0 . 85 % saline solution and placed on a vortex for 5 minutes . these samples were diluted and plated in duplicate on nutrient agar and allowed to incubate at 37 ° c . for 18 - 24 hours for enumeration . table 2 shows the results of the biopsy punch experiments , confirming the antimicrobial properties of diperglutaric acid compared to the unreacted parent compound . in conclusion , a 1 % diperglutaric acid solution in water has a high potential to be used as a broad spectrum high level disinfectant . additional spore testing experiments were done with diperglutaric acid . in this example , the diperglutaric acid was dissolved in a 90 % water and 10 % ethanol solution and used to kill bacillus subtilis spores . this experiment was done to demonstrate that an organic solvent can be used in the preparation of sporicidal formulation . sporicidal capabilities of diperglutaric acid were tested at various concentrations . these procedures called for a 30 - minute treatment of bacillus subtilis spores heat fixed to glass slides . glass slides were cut in half lengthwise . a suspension of spores , obtained from steris corporation of mentor , ohio ( order # na026 ) in 10 % bovine serum albumin ( as a simulated organic load ) was prepared at a concentration of 1 . 2 × 10 8 spores per ml . 100 μl of this suspension was heat - fixed to each glass slide . these slides were immersed in the following dilutions of the diperglutaric acid : 2 %, 1 %, 0 . 3 %, 0 . 1 %, and 0 . 03 %. control slides were treated in glutaric acid : 2 % and 1 % in a 10 % ethanol / water solution . all treatment concentrations were tested in duplicate . the spore coupons were immersed in 30 ml of test solution for 30 minutes . following the treatment , the slides were rinsed in sterile water to remove residual acid . each slide was then placed in a sterile 15 - ml test tube containing 2 ml of sterile water . these tubes were sonicated for one hour to resuspend all spores . the sonicated slides were removed from the test tubes . the remaining solutions were serially diluted , plated in duplicate on nutrient agar and incubated for 18 - 24 hours at 37 ° c . table 3 shows the results of the spore deactivation study . the control values ( pre - disinfection counts ) were obtained from spore carriers immersed in sterile distilled water for 30 minutes prior to rinsing , recovery , and enumeration . the average log 10 recovery from these controls was log 10 6 . 69 per carrier . this compares favorably with the initial number of spores added , which was log 10 7 . 08 . the number of viable spores recovered was 40 % of the number initially applied . thus losses due to drying , rinsing and sonication do not significantly affect spore viability . losses of 90 % or less are generally considered acceptable in this type of experiment . glutaric acid , at concentrations of 1 % and 2 % for 30 minutes , was not an effective sporicidal agent . a log reduction of less than log 10 0 . 5cfu / carrier was achieved . thus , the unreacted parent carboxylic acid has little effect on spores . in contrast , no viable spores were recovered from carriers that were exposed to diperglutaric acid at 1 % and 2 % for 30 minutes . table 3 shows that diperglutaric acid at these concentrations was significantly better at killing spores than that from freshly prepared 2 % glutaraldehyde preparation . even at a concentration of 0 . 33 %, the diperglutaric acid &# 39 ; s effect on spores was similar to that of 2 % glutaraldehyde . the results in table 2 show that diperglutaric acid solutions are highly sporicidal . in accordance with the above procedures , dipercarboxylic acids can be obtained in greater than 95 % purity . being solids , the dipercarboxylic acids can be dried , freed of gases , and stored under vacuum , as and when desired . dipercarboxylic acids are also more stable than their counterpart mono - peracids , in particular peracetic acid , and can perform cold sterilization under austere environments , such as where there is a lack of sophisticated equipment . it is anticipated that the dipercarboxylic acid solutions will be suitable for use in endoscope reprocessors . the contaminated lumens of the scopes are mounted in the reprocessor with or without the usual manual brushing steps . preferably , the endoscope is subject to multiple cleaning / disinfection cycles in an automated endoscope reprocessor having the disinfection tank of the reprocessor filled with an appropriate dipercarboxylic acid solution . it is believed that dipercarboxylic acid solutions will not damage even the most delicate medical instruments . the term “ comprising ” means that the recited elements or steps may be only part of the device and does not exclude additional unrecited elements or steps . it will be understood that certain combinations and sub - combinations of the invention are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features in sub - combinations . this is contemplated by and is within the scope of the present invention . as many possible embodiments may be made of this invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof , it is to be understood that all matters hereinabove set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . | 2 |
as seen in fig2 , a vertical dry , or plastered , wall 20 is supported from a wood post structure 21 . the wall 20 forms one side of a room within a building and generally extends from the floor to a structural ceiling . a suspended ceiling of the grid type as shown , for instance , in the &# 39 ; 681 patent referred to above , has a beam 22 in the form of an inverted t . beam 22 integrally has a flange 23 , a web 25 , and a bulb 26 . beam 22 is roll formed from a longitudinally extending flat strip bent to form the beam elements . a cover piece 27 is wrapped around the flange 23 of the beam and is painted a desired color . such beams 22 are well known in the art and are interconnected to form the grid structure for the panels that are laid in the grids . an angle wall molding 30 is secured to wall 20 by screws or fasteners 31 . the wall molding 30 extends horizontally along the wall 20 at the desired suspended ceiling height . wall molding 30 forms an angle in cross section having a wall molding vertical face 32 and a wall molding horizontal ledge 33 . the wall molding 30 is formed of a continuously extending strip bent into folds 35 to form smooth edges , and bent at a right angle along the longitudinal center line to form face 32 and ledge 33 . the face 32 and ledge 33 each are of a width approximately equal to the width of the flange portion 23 of beam 22 , for instance , so when the ceiling is in place , the wall molding ledge 33 and flange portion 23 are uniform in appearance . the beam 22 does not have an offset portion as taught in the &# 39 ; 294 patent , since this would interfere with the free sliding of the beam 22 in the clip 40 , as described later , during an earthquake . the perimeter clip 40 of the invention is used to firmly secure the end of beam 22 to wall molding 30 at one end of the beam 22 , in a line of connected beams , and to slidably support end of the beam 22 at the other end of the line , independently of wall molding ledge 22 . the perimeter clip 40 of the invention is that shown in the &# 39 ; 294 patent , with modifications . clip 40 is in the form of a right angle having legs 41 and 42 . leg 41 is of a single thickness of sheet metal and has a tab or ear 43 lanced out in a u - shape with the top of the u at 45 remaining integral with leg 41 . holes 44 receive screws 79 . a space , slightly smaller in thickness than the thickness of face 32 of wall molding 30 is formed by tab 43 . relatively small , pointed barbs 47 are lanced on each side of the tab 43 . the points of barbs 47 are pointed upward in the clip . leg 41 is generally rectangular in shape . an edge of leg 41 has extending therefrom one opposing web 52 of leg 42 . web 52 has at its top thereof , offset 53 . leg 41 has formed at the top thereof bent portion 60 extending toward leg 42 . section 61 of portion 60 has an edge 62 that is connected to opposing web 63 of leg 42 . web 63 has an offset portion 65 corresponding to offset 53 on web 52 . a slot 70 , extends in leg 42 . the slot 70 extends through both sides of leg 42 , in registry . the slot can be , for instance , { fraction ( 3 / 16 )} inch wide . the slot has a combined length of about 2 inches , with a 1 inch long horizontal segment 91 forward from the mid - rest position 90 , and a one inch long inclined segment 92 rearward from the rest position 90 and the wall 20 . the inclined segment 92 of the slot 70 can , for instance , rise a distance of about ⅜ inch over its length to provide the required rise and fall for the flange 23 on the beam 22 to clear the ledge 33 on the angle wall molding 30 as beam 22 slides back and forth during an earthquake . in the clip 40 of the present invention , the length of the leg 42 , in the direction normal to leg 41 , is about 2 and ⅜ inches , whereas , in the clip of the &# 39 ; 294 patent , the length of leg 42 was not critical , in that there was no concern with a sliding beam during an earthquake . in the &# 39 ; 294 patent , the beam 22 was secured in clip 40 at both ends of a line of connected beams 22 , preventing any movement of the line . the present invention does not secure the beam 22 at one end of a line of connected beams , so that the end of the beam 22 , and thus the line of connected beams , is free to slide at one end of the line with respect to the wall molding 30 during a quake , and still be supported on the wall molding 30 . the leg 42 of the clip that supports the end of the beam is extended to about 2⅜ inches to support the end of the beam during the sliding that results from the quake . as with the &# 39 ; 294 clip , the perimeter clip 40 of the invention is applied to the vertical face 32 of wall molding 30 by snapping tab 43 downward on the face until barbs 47 ride over upper fold 35 and , tab section 45 rests on the upper fold 35 , as seen , for instance , in fig2 . self - tapping screws 79 , as seen in fig1 , secure the clip 40 through holes 44 to board 20 , so the clip 40 cannot move horizontally along the wall molding 30 at rest or during a quake . clips 40 are positioned along the angle wall molding 30 at points predetermined by the intended position of the suspended ceiling grid . for instance , where the beams 22 are interconnected to form a 2 foot × 4 foot grid , the clips 40 will be spaced at 4 foot intervals along one set of opposing walls , and at 2 foot intervals on the other set of opposing walls , in a rectangularly shaped room . the end of the beam 22 is inserted into a clip 40 as seen in fig2 . web 25 of beam 22 is inserted between opposing webs 52 and 63 of leg 42 , and bulb 26 of the beam engages opposing ofsets 53 and 65 . the webs 52 and 63 are so spaced from one another as to provide a snug , springy fit about the beam . the end of the beam 22 is held by the clip 40 above the ledge 33 of wall molding 30 so that virtually no weight of the beam 22 rests on the ledge 33 . the end of beam 22 , as seen in fig2 , is inserted into the clip 40 as described above , so that it rests at a position about ¾ inch away from the vertical face 32 of molding 30 . as seen in fig2 , a self - tapping screw 71 is inserted through the slot 70 in web 63 of leg 42 , into web 25 , at the end of beam 22 . the screw 71 pierces through the web 25 of beam 22 and then out through the slot 70 on the other web 52 of leg 42 . the screw 71 has a diameter slightly smaller than the width of slot 70 , so that the screw is free to travel along the slot during a quake , in the form of a sliding pin , as will be described . the screw 71 is not tightened at the end of the beam that is intended to slide . in the event that it is desired to fix and secure the end of beam 22 in the clip 40 , as discussed above , it is simply necessary to tighten screw 71 so that it fixes the beam 22 to the clip 40 . during an earthquake , the end of a line of connected beams 22 that is fixed in a clip 40 , by tightened screw 71 , will not move relative to molding 30 and wall 20 . however , at the other end of the line of connected beams 22 , the end of beam 22 is free to slide in clip 40 , since screw 71 is not tightened . the movement of the end of beam 22 in clip 40 is a reciprocal one , forward toward the wall from rest position 90 , and rearward from the wall and away from rest position 90 . as the end of beam moves toward the wall from rest position 90 , as seen in fig3 , it is supported in the horizontal segment 91 of slot 70 by screw 71 , and its movement remains horizontal . as the end of beam 22 reciprocates rearward , away from the wall 20 , it travels again in a horizontal movement , until screw 71 reaches mid - position 90 , at which point the end of the beam 22 is elevated as it moves toward its outermost position as shown in fig4 . in the segment 92 of the slot 70 , the end of beam 22 is elevated as it moves beyond the ledge 33 of molding 30 , as seen in fig4 . as the end of beam 22 reverses direction and travels back toward the wall 20 and molding 30 , the flange 27 on beam 22 is lowered until it reaches the rest position 90 as seen in fig2 . the action then repeats as the seismic event continues . the action of the clip in elevating the end of beam 22 as it travels beyond ledge 32 of molding 30 , as seen in fig4 , prevents interference between the beam and molding during the quake . | 4 |
fig1 shows a sensor 10 that comprises a substrate 11 and a mems structure 12 . the substrate 11 is formed from a ceramic material or a polymer material . a ceramic material can be tailored to provide a close match for the coefficient of thermal expansion to either si or glass and ceramics are known to maintain their material characteristics over time and thermal cycling resulting in a very stable material . an example of ceramic material may be aluminium nitride ( aln ). polymer materials are preferable for low cost applications due to the extremely low cost molding techniques . examples of polymers are injection molded glass - fiber , reinforced nylon or pps , or liquid crystal polymer ( lcp ). the substrate 11 is provided with an integral pedestal 13 onto which the mems structure 12 is bonded using adhesive 19 . the pedestal 13 is elongate and preferably has a circular cross section . although one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that any shape of cross section could be used , he would also appreciate that a circular cross section minimizes the stresses by reducing the number of sharp corners . the pedestal 13 has a constant cross sectional area or can be tapered having the smallest cross section closest to the mems die . depending on the die bonding technique the surface of the pedestal may be metallized . the substrate 11 is further provided with protective portions 14 , 15 that extend beyond the mems structure 12 . these portions 14 , 15 provide an enclosed environment for the mems structure 12 . in addition , the portion 14 , 15 are used for attaching wire bonds 16 , 17 which also attach to the mems structure 12 . in addition to the features described above in connection with fig1 , the sensor 10 of fig2 is provided with an inlet hole 18 . this sensor 10 is suitable for use as a pressure sensor with the inlet hole 18 allowing the fluid to be measured to impinge on the sensor 10 . the sensors 10 shown in fig1 and 2 are compatible with any standard mems structure 12 and no specific adaptation of the mems structure 12 is required before it can be used in the sensor 10 when using an adhesive for the die bonding process . for direct bonding , metallizing or oxidizing the reverse side of the mems die may be necessary depending on the die bonding process parameters . for mems dies containing glass substrate or glass layer direct bonding can be performed directly . the sensors 10 shown in fig1 and 2 are manufactured as follows . first , the substrate 12 is formed using a multi - layer technique for ceramic material or molding technique for polymer material . the mems structure is then bonded to the pedestal 13 using either direct bonding , e . g ., anodic or metal bonding . alternatively , the bonding may be adhesive using solder or an organic substance , e . g ., epoxy . while devices and methods have been described in detail with reference to specific embodiments thereof , it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , it is intended that the present methods and devices cover the modifications and variations of this method and device provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . | 1 |
reference will now be made in detail to embodiments , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . in the following detailed description , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known methods , procedures , components , circuits , and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments . it will also be understood that , although the terms first , second , etc . may be used herein to describe various elements , these elements should not be limited by these terms . these terms are only used to distinguish one element from another . for example , a first contact could be termed a second contact , and , similarly , a second contact could be termed a first contact , without departing from the scope of the present invention . the first contact and the second contact are both contacts , but they are not the same contact . the terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention . as used in the description of the invention and the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ” and “ the ” are intended to include the plural forms as well , unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . it will also be understood that the term “ and / or ” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items . it will be further understood that the terms “ includes ,” “ including ,” “ comprises ,” and / or “ comprising ,” when used in this specification , specify the presence of stated features , integers , steps , operations , elements , and / or components , but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features , integers , steps , operations , elements , components , and / or groups thereof . as used herein , the term “ if ” may be construed to mean “ when ” or “ upon ” or “ in response to determining ” or “ in response to detecting ,” depending on the context . similarly , the phrase “ if it is determined ” or “ if [ a stated condition or event ] is detected ” may be construed to mean “ upon determining ” or “ in response to determining ” or “ upon detecting [ the stated condition or event ]” or “ in response to detecting [ the stated condition or event ],” depending on the context . embodiments of computing devices , user interfaces for such devices , and associated processes for using such devices are described . in some embodiments , the computing device is a portable communications device such as a mobile telephone that also contains other functions , such as pda and / or music player functions . exemplary embodiments of portable multifunction devices include , without limitation , the iphone ® and ipod touch ® devices from apple , inc . of cupertino , calif . other portable devices such as laptops or tablet computers with touch - sensitive surfaces ( e . g ., touch screen displays and / or touch pads ) may also be used . it should also be understood that , in some embodiments , the device is not a portable communications device , but is a desktop computer with a touch - sensitive surface ( e . g ., a touch screen display and / or a touch pad ). in the discussion that follows , a computing device that includes a display and a touch - sensitive surface is described . it should be understood , however , that the computing device may include one or more other physical user - interface devices , such as a physical keyboard , a mouse and / or a joystick . the device supports a variety of applications , such as one or more of the following : a drawing application , a presentation application , a word processing application , a website creation application , a disk authoring application , a spreadsheet application , a gaming application , a telephone application , a video conferencing application , an e - mail application , an instant messaging application , a workout support application , a photo management application , a digital camera application , a digital video camera application , a web browsing application , a digital music player application , and / or a digital video player application . the various applications that may be executed on the device may use at least one common physical user - interface device , such as the touch - sensitive surface . one or more functions of the touch - sensitive surface as well as corresponding information displayed on the device may be adjusted and / or varied from one application to the next and / or within a respective application . in this way , a common physical architecture ( such as the touch - sensitive surface ) of the device may support the variety of applications with user interfaces that are intuitive and transparent . the user interfaces may include one or more soft keyboard embodiments . the soft keyboard embodiments may include standard ( qwerty ) and / or non - standard configurations of symbols on the displayed icons of the keyboard , such as those described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 459 , 606 , “ keyboards for portable electronic devices ,” filed jul . 24 , 2006 , and ser . no . 11 / 459 , 615 , “ touch screen keyboards for portable electronic devices ,” filed jul . 24 , 2006 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . the keyboard embodiments may include a reduced number of icons ( or soft keys ) relative to the number of keys in existing physical keyboards , such as that for a typewriter . this may make it easier for users to select one or more icons in the keyboard , and thus , one or more corresponding symbols . the keyboard embodiments may be adaptive . for example , displayed icons may be modified in accordance with user actions , such as selecting one or more icons and / or one or more corresponding symbols . one or more applications on the device may utilize common and / or different keyboard embodiments . thus , the keyboard embodiment used may be tailored to at least some of the applications . in some embodiments , one or more keyboard embodiments may be tailored to a respective user . for example , one or more keyboard embodiments may be tailored to a respective user based on a word usage history ( lexicography , slang , individual usage ) of the respective user . some of the keyboard embodiments may be adjusted to reduce a probability of a user error when selecting one or more icons , and thus one or more symbols , when using the soft keyboard embodiments . attention is now directed towards embodiments of portable devices with touch - sensitive displays . fig1 a and 1b are block diagrams illustrating portable multifunction devices 100 with touch - sensitive displays 112 in accordance with some embodiments . the touch - sensitive display 112 is sometimes called a “ touch screen ” for convenience , and may also be known as or called a touch - sensitive display system . the device 100 may include a memory 102 ( which may include one or more computer readable storage mediums ), a memory controller 122 , one or more processing units ( cpu &# 39 ; s ) 120 , a peripherals interface 118 , rf circuitry 108 , audio circuitry 110 , a speaker 111 , a microphone 113 , an input / output ( i / o ) subsystem 106 , other input or control devices 116 , and an external port 124 . the device 100 may include one or more optical sensors 164 . these components may communicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines 103 . it should be appreciated that the device 100 is only one example of a portable multifunction device 100 , and that the device 100 may have more or fewer components than shown , may combine two or more components , or a may have a different configuration or arrangement of the components . the various components shown in fig1 a and 1b may be implemented in hardware , software , or a combination of both hardware and software , including one or more signal processing and / or application specific integrated circuits . memory 102 may include high - speed random access memory and may also include non - volatile memory , such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices , flash memory devices , or other non - volatile solid - state memory devices . access to memory 102 by other components of the device 100 , such as the cpu 120 and the peripherals interface 118 , may be controlled by the memory controller 122 . the peripherals interface 118 couples the input and output peripherals of the device to the cpu 120 and memory 102 . the one or more processors 120 run or execute various software programs and / or sets of instructions stored in memory 102 to perform various functions for the device 100 and to process data . in some embodiments , the peripherals interface 118 , the cpu 120 , and the memory controller 122 may be implemented on a single chip , such as a chip 104 . in some other embodiments , they may be implemented on separate chips . the rf ( radio frequency ) circuitry 108 receives and sends rf signals , also called electromagnetic signals . the rf circuitry 108 converts electrical signals to / from electromagnetic signals and communicates with communications networks and other communications devices via the electromagnetic signals . the rf circuitry 108 may include well - known circuitry for performing these functions , including but not limited to an antenna system , an rf transceiver , one or more amplifiers , a tuner , one or more oscillators , a digital signal processor , a codec chipset , a subscriber identity module ( sim ) card , memory , and so forth . the rf circuitry 108 may communicate with networks , such as the internet , also referred to as the world wide web ( www ), an intranet and / or a wireless network , such as a cellular telephone network , a wireless local area network ( lan ) and / or a metropolitan area network ( man ), and other devices by wireless communication . the wireless communication may use any of a plurality of communications standards , protocols and technologies , including but not limited to global system for mobile communications ( gsm ), enhanced data gsm environment ( edge ), high - speed downlink packet access ( hsdpa ), wideband code division multiple access ( w - cdma ), code division multiple access ( cdma ), time division multiple access ( tdma ), bluetooth , wireless fidelity ( wi - fi ) ( e . g ., ieee 802 . 11a , ieee 802 . 11b , ieee 802 . 11g and / or ieee 802 . 11n ), voice over internet protocol ( voip ), wi - max , a protocol for email ( e . g ., internet message access protocol ( imap ) and / or post office protocol ( pop )), instant messaging ( e . g ., extensible messaging and presence protocol ( xmpp ), session initiation protocol for instant messaging and presence leveraging extensions ( simple ), instant messaging and presence service ( imps )), and / or short message service ( sms ), or any other suitable communication protocol , including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document . the audio circuitry 110 , the speaker 111 , and the microphone 113 provide an audio interface between a user and the device 100 . the audio circuitry 110 receives audio data from the peripherals interface 118 , converts the audio data to an electrical signal , and transmits the electrical signal to the speaker 111 . the speaker 111 converts the electrical signal to human - audible sound waves . the audio circuitry 110 also receives electrical signals converted by the microphone 113 from sound waves . the audio circuitry 110 converts the electrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data to the peripherals interface 118 for processing . audio data may be retrieved from and / or transmitted to memory 102 and / or the rf circuitry 108 by the peripherals interface 118 . in some embodiments , the audio circuitry 110 also includes a headset jack ( e . g . 212 , fig2 ). the headset jack provides an interface between the audio circuitry 110 and removable audio input / output peripherals , such as output - only headphones or a headset with both output ( e . g ., a headphone for one or both ears ) and input ( e . g ., a microphone ). the i / o subsystem 106 couples input / output peripherals on the device 100 , such as the touch screen 112 and other input / control devices 116 , to the peripherals interface 118 . the i / o subsystem 106 may include a display controller 156 and one or more input controllers 160 for other input or control devices . the one or more input controllers 160 receive / send electrical signals from / to other input or control devices 116 . the other input / control devices 116 may include physical buttons ( e . g ., push buttons , rocker buttons , etc . ), dials , slider switches , joysticks , click wheels , and so forth . in some alternate embodiments , input controller ( s ) 160 may be coupled to any ( or none ) of the following : a keyboard , infrared port , usb port , and a pointer device such as a mouse . the one or more buttons ( e . g ., 208 , fig2 ) may include an up / down button for volume control of the speaker 111 and / or the microphone 113 . the one or more buttons may include a push button ( e . g ., 206 , fig2 ). a quick press of the push button may disengage a lock of the touch screen 112 or begin a process that uses gestures on the touch screen to unlock the device , as described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 322 , 549 , “ unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image ,” filed dec . 23 , 2005 , which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . a longer press of the push button ( e . g ., 206 ) may turn power to the device 100 on or off . the user may be able to customize a functionality of one or more of the buttons . the touch screen 112 is used to implement virtual or soft buttons and one or more soft keyboards . the touch - sensitive touch screen 112 provides an input interface and an output interface between the device and a user . the display controller 156 receives and / or sends electrical signals from / to the touch screen 112 . the touch screen 112 displays visual output to the user . the visual output may include graphics , text , icons , video , and any combination thereof ( collectively termed “ graphics ”). in some embodiments , some or all of the visual output may correspond to user - interface objects . a touch screen 112 has a touch - sensitive surface , sensor or set of sensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and / or tactile contact . the touch screen 112 and the display controller 156 ( along with any associated modules and / or sets of instructions in memory 102 ) detect contact ( and any movement or breaking of the contact ) on the touch screen 112 and converts the detected contact into interaction with user - interface objects ( e . g ., one or more soft keys , icons , web pages or images ) that are displayed on the touch screen . in an exemplary embodiment , a point of contact between a touch screen 112 and the user corresponds to a finger of the user . the touch screen 112 may use lcd ( liquid crystal display ) technology , or lpd ( light emitting polymer display ) technology , although other display technologies may be used in other embodiments . the touch screen 112 and the display controller 156 may detect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed , including but not limited to capacitive , resistive , infrared , and surface acoustic wave technologies , as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with a touch screen 112 . in an exemplary embodiment , projected mutual capacitance sensing technology is used , such as that found in the iphone ® and ipod touch ® from apple , inc . of cupertino , calif . a touch - sensitive display in some embodiments of the touch screen 112 may be analogous to the multi - touch sensitive touchpads described in the following u . s . pat . no . 6 , 323 , 846 ( westerman et al . ), u . s . pat . no . 6 , 570 , 557 ( westerman et al . ), and / or u . s . pat . no . 6 , 677 , 932 ( westerman ), and / or u . s . patent publication 2002 / 0015024a1 , each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . however , a touch screen 112 displays visual output from the portable device 100 , whereas touch sensitive touchpads do not provide visual output . a touch - sensitive display in some embodiments of the touch screen 112 may be as described in the following applications : ( 1 ) u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 381 , 313 , “ multipoint touch surface controller ,” filed may 2 , 2006 ; ( 2 ) u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 840 , 862 , “ multipoint touchscreen ,” filed may 6 , 2004 ; ( 3 ) u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 903 , 964 , “ gestures for touch sensitive input devices ,” filed jul . 30 , 2004 ; ( 4 ) u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 048 , 264 , “ gestures for touch sensitive input devices ,” filed jan . 31 , 2005 ; ( 5 ) u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 038 , 590 , “ mode - based graphical user interfaces for touch sensitive input devices ,” filed jan . 18 , 2005 ; ( 6 ) u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 228 , 758 , “ virtual input device placement on a touch screen user interface ,” filed sep . 16 , 2005 ; ( 7 ) u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 228 , 700 , “ operation of a computer with a touch screen interface ,” filed sep . 16 , 2005 ; ( 8 ) u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 228 , 737 , “ activating virtual keys of a touch - screen virtual keyboard ,” filed sep . 16 , 2005 ; and ( 9 ) u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 367 , 749 , “ multi - functional hand - held device ,” filed mar . 3 , 2006 . all of these applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety . the touch screen 112 may have a resolution in excess of 100 dpi . in an exemplary embodiment , the touch screen has a resolution of approximately 160 dpi . the user may make contact with the touch screen 112 using any suitable object or appendage , such as a stylus , a finger , and so forth . in some embodiments , the user interface is designed to work primarily with finger - based contacts and gestures , which are much less precise than stylus - based input due to the larger area of contact of a finger on the touch screen . in some embodiments , the device translates the rough finger - based input into a precise pointer / cursor position or command for performing the actions desired by the user . in some embodiments , in addition to the touch screen , the device 100 may include a touchpad ( not shown ) for activating or deactivating particular functions . in some embodiments , the touchpad is a touch - sensitive area of the device that , unlike the touch screen , does not display visual output . the touchpad may be a touch - sensitive surface that is separate from the touch screen 112 or an extension of the touch - sensitive surface formed by the touch screen . in some embodiments , the device 100 may include a physical or virtual click wheel as an input control device 116 . a user may navigate among and interact with one or more graphical objects ( e . g ., icons ) displayed in the touch screen 112 by rotating the click wheel or by moving a point of contact with the click wheel ( e . g ., where the amount of movement of the point of contact is measured by its angular displacement with respect to a center point of the click wheel ). the click wheel may also be used to select one or more of the displayed icons . for example , the user may press down on at least a portion of the click wheel or an associated button . user commands and navigation commands provided by the user via the click wheel may be processed by an input controller 160 as well as one or more of the modules and / or sets of instructions in memory 102 . for a virtual click wheel , the click wheel and click wheel controller may be part of the touch screen 112 and the display controller 156 , respectively . for a virtual click wheel , the click wheel may be either an opaque or semitransparent object that appears and disappears on the touch screen display in response to user interaction with the device . in some embodiments , a virtual click wheel is displayed on the touch screen of a portable multifunction device and operated by user contact with the touch screen . the device 100 also includes a power system 162 for powering the various components . the power system 162 may include a power management system , one or more power sources ( e . g ., battery , alternating current ( ac )), a recharging system , a power failure detection circuit , a power converter or inverter , a power status indicator ( e . g ., a light - emitting diode ( led )) and any other components associated with the generation , management and distribution of power in portable devices . the device 100 may also include one or more optical sensors 164 . fig1 a and 1b show an optical sensor coupled to an optical sensor controller 158 in i / o subsystem 106 . the optical sensor 164 may include a charge - coupled device ( ccd ) or complementary metal - oxide semiconductor ( cmos ) phototransistors . the optical sensor 164 receives light from the environment , projected through one or more lens , and converts the light to data representing an image . in conjunction with an imaging module 143 ( also called a camera module ), the optical sensor 164 may capture still images or video . in some embodiments , an optical sensor is located on the back of the device 100 , opposite the touch screen display 112 on the front of the device , so that the touch screen display may be used as a viewfinder for still and / or video image acquisition . in some embodiments , an optical sensor is located on the front of the device so that the user &# 39 ; s image may be obtained for videoconferencing while the user views the other video conference participants on the touch screen display . in some embodiments , the position of the optical sensor 164 can be changed by the user ( e . g ., by rotating the lens and the sensor in the device housing ) so that a single optical sensor 164 may be used along with the touch screen display for both video conferencing and still and / or video image acquisition . the device 100 may also include one or more proximity sensors 166 . fig1 a and 1b show a proximity sensor 166 coupled to the peripherals interface 118 . alternately , the proximity sensor 166 may be coupled to an input controller 160 in the i / o subsystem 106 . the proximity sensor 166 may perform as described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 241 , 839 , “ proximity detector in handheld device ”; ser . no . 11 / 240 , 788 , “ proximity detector in handheld device ”; ser . no . 11 / 620 , 702 , “ using ambient light sensor to augment proximity sensor output ”; ser . no . 11 / 586 , 862 , “ automated response to and sensing of user activity in portable devices ”; and ser . no . 11 / 638 , 251 , “ methods and systems for automatic configuration of peripherals ,” which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . in some embodiments , the proximity sensor turns off and disables the touch screen 112 when the multifunction device is placed near the user &# 39 ; s ear ( e . g ., when the user is making a phone call ). the device 100 may also include one or more accelerometers 168 . fig1 a and 1b show an accelerometer 168 coupled to the peripherals interface 118 . alternately , the accelerometer 168 may be coupled to an input controller 160 in the i / o subsystem 106 . the accelerometer 168 may perform as described in u . s . patent publication no . 2005 / 0190059 , “ acceleration - based theft detection system for portable electronic devices ,” and u . s . patent publication no . 2006 / 0017692 , “ methods and apparatuses for operating a portable device based on an accelerometer ,” both of which are which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety . in some embodiments , information is displayed on the touch screen display in a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of data received from the one or more accelerometers . in some embodiments , the software components stored in memory 102 may include an operating system 126 , a communication module ( or set of instructions ) 128 , a contact / motion module ( or set of instructions ) 130 , a graphics module ( or set of instructions ) 132 , a text input module ( or set of instructions ) 134 , a global positioning system ( gps ) module ( or set of instructions ) 135 , and applications ( or set of instructions ) 136 . the operating system 126 ( e . g ., darwin , rtxc , linux , unix , os x , windows , or an embedded operating system such as vxworks ) includes various software components and / or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks ( e . g ., memory management , storage device control , power management , etc .) and facilitates communication between various hardware and software components . the communication module 128 facilitates communication with other devices over one or more external ports 124 and also includes various software components for handling data received by the rf circuitry 108 and / or the external port 124 . the external port 124 ( e . g ., universal serial bus ( usb ), firewire , etc .) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices or indirectly over a network ( e . g ., the internet , wireless lan , etc .). in some embodiments , the external port is a multi - pin ( e . g ., 30 - pin ) connector that is the same as , or similar to and / or compatible with the 30 - pin connector used on ipod ( trademark of apple , inc .) devices . the contact / motion module 130 may detect contact with the touch screen 112 ( in conjunction with the display controller 156 ) and other touch sensitive devices ( e . g ., a touchpad or physical click wheel ). the contact / motion module 130 includes various software components for performing various operations related to detection of contact , such as determining if contact has occurred ( e . g ., detecting a finger - down event ), determining if there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement across the touch - sensitive surface ( e . g ., detecting one or more finger - dragging events ), and determining if the contact has ceased ( e . g ., detecting a finger - up event or a break in contact ). the contact / motion module 130 receives contact data from the touch - sensitive surface . determining movement of the point of contact , which is represented by a series of contact data , may include determining speed ( magnitude ), velocity ( magnitude and direction ), and / or an acceleration ( a change in magnitude and / or direction ) of the point of contact . these operations may be applied to single contacts ( e . g ., one finger contacts ) or to multiple simultaneous contacts ( e . g ., “ multitouch ”/ multiple finger contacts ). in some embodiments , the contact / motion module 130 and the display controller 156 detects contact on a touchpad . in some embodiments , the contact / motion module 130 and the controller 160 detects contact on a click wheel . the contact / motion module 130 may detect a gesture input by a user . different gestures on the touch - sensitive surface have different contact patterns . thus , a gesture may be detected by detecting a particular contact pattern . for example , detecting a finger tap gesture includes detecting a finger - down event followed by detecting a finger - up event at the same position ( or substantially the same position ) as the finger - down event ( e . g ., at the position of an icon ). as another example , detecting a finger swipe gesture on the touch - sensitive surface includes detecting a finger - down event followed by detecting one or more finger - dragging events , and subsequently followed by detecting a finger - up event . the graphics module 132 includes various known software components for rendering and displaying graphics on the touch screen 112 or other display , including components for changing the intensity of graphics that are displayed . as used herein , the term “ graphics ” includes any object that can be displayed to a user , including without limitation text , web pages , icons ( such as user - interface objects including soft keys ), digital images , videos , animations and the like . in some embodiments , the graphics module 132 stores data representing graphics to be used . each graphic may be assigned a corresponding code . the graphics module 132 receives , from applications etc ., one or more codes specifying graphics to be displayed along with , if necessary , coordinate data and other graphic property data , and then generates screen image data to output to display controller 156 . the text input module 134 , which may be a component of graphics module 132 , provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications ( e . g ., contacts 137 , e - mail 140 , im 141 , browser 147 , and any other application that needs text input ). the gps module 135 determines the location of the device and provides this information for use in various applications ( e . g ., to telephone 138 for use in location - based dialing , to camera 143 as picture / video metadata , and to applications that provide location - based services such as weather widgets , local yellow page widgets , and map / navigation widgets ). the applications 136 may include the following modules ( or sets of instructions ), or a subset or superset thereof : a contacts module 137 ( sometimes called an address book or contact list ); a telephone module 138 ; a video conferencing module 139 ; an e - mail client module 140 ; an instant messaging ( im ) module 141 ; a workout support module 142 ; a camera module 143 for still and / or video images ; an image management module 144 ; a video player module 145 ; a music player module 146 ; a browser module 147 ; a calendar module 148 ; widget modules 149 , which may include weather widget 149 - 1 , stocks widget 149 - 2 , calculator widget 149 - 3 , alarm clock widget 149 - 4 , dictionary widget 149 - 5 , and other widgets obtained by the user , as well as user - created widgets 149 - 6 ; widget creator module 150 for making user - created widgets 149 - 6 ; search module 151 ; video and music player module 152 , which merges video player module 145 and music player module 146 ; notes module 153 ; map module 154 ; and / or online video module 155 . examples of other applications 136 that may be stored in memory 102 include other word processing applications , other image editing applications , drawing applications , presentation applications , java - enabled applications , encryption , digital rights management , voice recognition , and voice replication . in conjunction with touch screen 112 , display controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , and text input module 134 , the contacts module 137 may be used to manage an address book or contact list , including : adding name ( s ) to the address book ; deleting name ( s ) from the address book ; associating telephone number ( s ), e - mail address ( es ), physical address ( es ) or other information with a name ; associating an image with a name ; categorizing and sorting names ; providing telephone numbers or e - mail addresses to initiate and / or facilitate communications by telephone 138 , video conference 139 , e - mail 140 , or im 141 ; and so forth . in conjunction with rf circuitry 108 , audio circuitry 110 , speaker 111 , microphone 113 , touch screen 112 , display controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , and text input module 134 , the telephone module 138 may be used to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to a telephone number , access one or more telephone numbers in the address book 137 , modify a telephone number that has been entered , dial a respective telephone number , conduct a conversation and disconnect or hang up when the conversation is completed . as noted above , the wireless communication may use any of a plurality of communications standards , protocols and technologies . in conjunction with rf circuitry 108 , audio circuitry 110 , speaker 111 , microphone 113 , touch screen 112 , display controller 156 , optical sensor 164 , optical sensor controller 158 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , text input module 134 , contact list 137 , and telephone module 138 , the videoconferencing module 139 may be used to initiate , conduct , and terminate a video conference between a user and one or more other participants . in conjunction with rf circuitry 108 , touch screen 112 , display controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , and text input module 134 , the e - mail client module 140 may be used to create , send , receive , and manage e - mail . in conjunction with image management module 144 , the e - mail module 140 makes it very easy to create and send e - mails with still or video images taken with camera module 143 . in conjunction with rf circuitry 108 , touch screen 112 , display controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , and text input module 134 , the instant messaging module 141 may be used to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to an instant message , to modify previously entered characters , to transmit a respective instant message ( for example , using a short message service ( sms ) or multimedia message service ( mms ) protocol for telephony - based instant messages or using xmpp , simple , or imps for internet - based instant messages ), to receive instant messages and to view received instant messages . in some embodiments , transmitted and / or received instant messages may include graphics , photos , audio files , video files and / or other attachments as are supported in a mms and / or an enhanced messaging service ( ems ). as used herein , “ instant messaging ” refers to both telephony - based messages ( e . g ., messages sent using sms or mms ) and internet - based messages ( e . g ., messages sent using xmpp , simple , or imps ). in conjunction with rf circuitry 108 , touch screen 112 , display controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , text input module 134 , gps module 135 , map module 154 , and music player module 146 , the workout support module 142 may be used to create workouts ( e . g ., with time , distance , and / or calorie burning goals ); communicate with workout sensors ( sports devices ); receive workout sensor data ; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout ; select and play music for a workout ; and display , store and transmit workout data . in conjunction with touch screen 112 , display controller 156 , optical sensor ( s ) 164 , optical sensor controller 158 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , and image management module 144 , the camera module 143 may be used to capture still images or video ( including a video stream ) and store them into memory 102 , modify characteristics of a still image or video , or delete a still image or video from memory 102 . in conjunction with touch screen 112 , display controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , text input module 134 , and camera module 143 , the image management module 144 may be used to arrange , modify ( e . g ., edit ), or otherwise manipulate , label , delete , present ( e . g ., in a digital slide show or album ), and store still and / or video images . in conjunction with touch screen 112 , display controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , audio circuitry 110 , and speaker 111 , the video player module 145 may be used to display , present or otherwise play back videos ( e . g ., on the touch screen or on an external , connected display via external port 124 ). in conjunction with touch screen 112 , display system controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , audio circuitry 110 , speaker 111 , rf circuitry 108 , and browser module 147 , the music player module 146 allows the user to download and play back recorded music and other sound files stored in one or more file formats , such as mp3 or aac files . in some embodiments , the device 100 may include the functionality of an mp3 player , such as an ipod ( trademark of apple , inc .). in conjunction with rf circuitry 108 , touch screen 112 , display system controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , and text input module 134 , the browser module 147 may be used to browse the internet , including searching , linking to , receiving , and displaying web pages or portions thereof , as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages . in conjunction with rf circuitry 108 , touch screen 112 , display system controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , text input module 134 , e - mail module 140 , and browser module 147 , the calendar module 148 may be used to create , display , modify , and store calendars and data associated with calendars ( e . g ., calendar entries , to do lists , etc .). in conjunction with rf circuitry 108 , touch screen 112 , display system controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , text input module 134 , and browser module 147 , the widget modules 149 are mini - applications that may be downloaded and used by a user ( e . g ., weather widget 149 - 1 , stocks widget 149 - 2 , calculator widget 149 - 3 , alarm clock widget 149 - 4 , and dictionary widget 149 - 5 ) or created by the user ( e . g ., user - created widget 149 - 6 ). in some embodiments , a widget includes an html ( hypertext markup language ) file , a css ( cascading style sheets ) file , and a javascript file . in some embodiments , a widget includes an xml ( extensible markup language ) file and a javascript file ( e . g ., yahoo ! widgets ). in conjunction with rf circuitry 108 , touch screen 112 , display system controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , text input module 134 , and browser module 147 , the widget creator module 150 may be used by a user to create widgets ( e . g ., turning a user - specified portion of a web page into a widget ). in conjunction with touch screen 112 , display system controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , and text input module 134 , the search module 151 may be used to search for text , music , sound , image , video , and / or other files in memory 102 that match one or more search criteria ( e . g ., one or more user - specified search terms ). in conjunction with touch screen 112 , display controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , and text input module 134 , the notes module 153 may be used to create and manage notes , to do lists , and the like . in conjunction with rf circuitry 108 , touch screen 112 , display system controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , text input module 134 , gps module 135 , and browser module 147 , the map module 154 may be used to receive , display , modify , and store maps and data associated with maps ( e . g ., driving directions ; data on stores and other points of interest at or near a particular location ; and other location - based data ). in conjunction with touch screen 112 , display system controller 156 , contact module 130 , graphics module 132 , audio circuitry 110 , speaker 111 , rf circuitry 108 , text input module 134 , e - mail client module 140 , and browser module 147 , the online video module 155 allows the user to access , browse , receive ( e . g ., by streaming and / or download ), play back ( e . g ., on the touch screen or on an external , connected display via external port 124 ), send an e - mail with a link to a particular online video , and otherwise manage online videos in one or more file formats , such as h . 264 . in some embodiments , instant messaging module 141 , rather than e - mail client module 140 , is used to send a link to a particular online video . additional description of the online video application can be found in u . s . provisional patent application no . 60 / 936 , 562 , “ portable multifunction device , method , and graphical user interface for playing online videos ,” filed jun . 20 , 2007 , and u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 968 , 067 , “ portable multifunction device , method , and graphical user interface for playing online videos ,” filed dec . 31 , 2007 , the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to a set of executable instructions for performing one or more functions described above and the methods described in this application ( e . g ., the computer - implemented methods and other information processing methods described herein ). these modules ( i . e ., sets of instructions ) need not be implemented as separate software programs , procedures or modules , and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re - arranged in various embodiments . for example , video player module 145 may be combined with music player module 146 into a single module ( e . g ., video and music player module 152 , fig1 b ). in some embodiments , memory 102 may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above . furthermore , memory 102 may store additional modules and data structures not described above . in some embodiments , the device 100 is a device where operation of a predefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusively through a touch screen 112 and / or a touchpad . by using a touch screen and / or a touchpad as the primary input / control device for operation of the device 100 , the number of physical input / control devices ( such as push buttons , dials , and the like ) on the device 100 may be reduced . the predefined set of functions that may be performed exclusively through a touch screen and / or a touchpad include navigation between user interfaces . in some embodiments , the touchpad , when touched by the user , navigates the device 100 to a main , home , or root menu from any user interface that may be displayed on the device 100 . in such embodiments , the touchpad may be referred to as a “ menu button .” in some other embodiments , the menu button may be a physical push button or other physical input / control device instead of a touchpad . fig2 illustrates a portable multifunction device 100 having a touch screen 112 in accordance with some embodiments . the touch screen may display one or more graphics within user interface ( ui ) 200 . in this embodiment , as well as others described below , a user may select one or more of the graphics by making contact or touching the graphics , for example , with one or more fingers 202 ( not drawn to scale in the figure ) or one or more styluses 203 ( not drawn to scale in the figure ). in some embodiments , selection of one or more graphics occurs when the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics . in some embodiments , the contact may include a gesture , such as one or more taps , one or more swipes ( from left to right , right to left , upward and / or downward ) and / or a rolling of a finger ( from right to left , left to right , upward and / or downward ) that has made contact with the device 100 . in some embodiments , inadvertent contact with a graphic may not select the graphic . for example , a swipe gesture that sweeps over an application icon may not select the corresponding application when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap . the device 100 may also include one or more physical buttons , such as “ home ” or menu button 204 . as described previously , the menu button 204 may be used to navigate to any application 136 in a set of applications that may be executed on the device 100 ( e . g ., applications depicted in fig1 a , 1 b and 3 ). alternatively , in some embodiments , the menu button is implemented as a soft key in a gui in touch screen 112 . in one embodiment , the device 100 includes a touch screen 112 , a menu button 204 , a push button 206 for powering the device on / off and locking the device , volume adjustment button ( s ) 208 , a subscriber identity module ( sim ) card slot 210 , a head set jack 212 , and a docking / charging external port 124 . the push button 206 may be used to turn the power on / off on the device by depressing the button and holding the button in the depressed state for a predefined time interval ; to lock the device by depressing the button and releasing the button before the predefined time interval has elapsed ; and / or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process . in an alternative embodiment , the device 100 also may accept verbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions through the microphone 113 . fig3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with a display and a touch - sensitive surface in accordance with some embodiments . device 300 need not be portable . in some embodiments , the device 300 is a laptop computer , a desktop computer , a tablet computer , a multimedia player device , a navigation device , an educational device ( such as a child &# 39 ; s learning toy ), a gaming system , or a control device ( e . g ., a home or industrial controller ). the device 300 typically includes one or more processing units ( cpu &# 39 ; s ) 310 , one or more network or other communications interfaces 360 , memory 370 , and one or more communication buses 320 for interconnecting these components . the communication buses 320 may include circuitry ( sometimes called a chipset ) that interconnects and controls communications between system components . the device 300 includes a user interface 330 comprising a display 340 , which is typically a touch screen display . the user interface 330 also may include a keyboard and / or mouse ( or other pointing device ) 350 and a touchpad 355 . memory 370 includes high - speed random access memory , such as dram , sram , ddr ram or other random access solid state memory devices ; and may include non - volatile memory , such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices , optical disk storage devices , flash memory devices , or other non - volatile solid state storage devices . memory 370 may optionally include one or more storage devices remotely located from the cpu ( s ) 310 . in some embodiments , memory 370 stores programs , modules , and data structures analogous to the programs , modules , and data structures stored in the memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 ( fig1 ), or a subset thereof . furthermore , memory 370 may store additional programs , modules , and data structures not present in the memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 . for example , memory 370 of device 300 may store drawing module 380 , presentation module 382 , word processing module 384 , website creation module 386 , disk authoring module 388 , and / or spreadsheet module 390 , while memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 ( fig1 ) may not store these modules . each of the above identified elements in fig3 may be stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices . each of the above identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions for performing a function described above . the above identified modules or programs ( i . e ., sets of instructions ) need not be implemented as separate software programs , procedures or modules , and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re - arranged in various embodiments . in some embodiments , memory 370 may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above . furthermore , memory 370 may store additional modules and data structures not described above . attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“ ui ”) that may be implemented on a portable multifunction device 100 . fig4 a and 4b illustrate exemplary user interfaces for a menu of applications on a portable multifunction device 100 in accordance with some embodiments . similar user interfaces may be implemented on device 300 . in some embodiments , user interface 400 a includes the following elements , or a subset or superset thereof : signal strength indicator ( s ) 402 for wireless communication ( s ), such as cellular and wi - fi signals ; time 404 ; bluetooth indicator 405 ; battery status indicator 406 ; tray 408 with icons for frequently used applications , such as : phone 138 , which may include an indicator 414 of the number of missed calls or voicemail messages ; e - mail client 140 , which may include an indicator 410 of the number of unread e - mails ; browser 147 ; and music player 146 ; and im 141 ; image management 144 ; camera 143 ; video player 145 ; weather 149 - 1 ; stocks 149 - 2 ; workout support 142 ; calendar 148 ; calculator 149 - 3 ; alarm clock 149 - 4 ; dictionary 149 - 5 ; and user - created widget 149 - 6 . in some embodiments , user interface 400 b includes the following elements , or a subset or superset thereof : 402 , 404 , 405 , 406 , 141 , 148 , 144 , 143 , 149 - 3 , 149 - 2 , 149 - 1 , 149 - 4 , 410 , 414 , 138 , 140 , and 147 , as described above ; map 154 ; notes 153 ; settings 412 , which provides access to settings for the device 100 and its various applications 136 , as described further below ; video and music player module 152 , also referred to as ipod ( trademark of apple , inc .) module 152 ; and online video module 155 , also referred to as youtube ( trademark of google , inc .) module 155 . fig4 c illustrates an exemplary user interface on a multifunction device with a separate display ( e . g ., 450 ) and touch - sensitive surface ( e . g ., 451 ). although many of the examples which follow will be given with reference to a touch screen display ( e . g ., where the touch sensitive surface and the display are combined , as shown in device 100 in fig4 a - 4b ), in some embodiments the display and the touch - sensitive surface are separate , as shown in fig4 c . in some embodiments the touch sensitive surface ( e . g ., 451 in fig4 c ) has a primary axis ( e . g ., 452 in fig4 c ) that corresponds to a primary axis ( e . g ., 453 in fig4 c ) on the display ( e . g ., 450 ). in accordance with these embodiments , the device detects contacts ( e . g ., 460 and 462 in fig4 c ) with the touch - sensitive surface 451 at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display ( e . g ., in fig4 c 460 corresponds to 468 and 462 corresponds to 470 ). in this way , user inputs ( e . g ., contacts 460 and 462 ) detected by the device on the touch - sensitive surface ( e . g ., 451 in fig4 c ) are used by the device to manipulate the user interface on the display ( e . g ., 450 in fig4 c ) of the multifunction device when the touch - sensitive surface and the display are separate . it should be understood that similar methods may be used for other user interfaces described herein . additionally , while the following examples are given primarily with reference to finger inputs ( e . g ., finger contacts , finger tap gestures , finger swipe gestures ), it should be understood that , in some embodiments , one or more of the finger inputs are replaced with input from another input device ( e . g ., a mouse based input or stylus input ). for example , a swipe gesture may be replaced with a mouse click ( e . g ., instead of a contact ) followed by movement of the cursor along the path of the swipe ( e . g ., instead of movement of the contact ). as another example , a tap gesture may be replaced with a mouse click while the cursor is located over the location of the tap gesture ( e . g ., instead of detection of the contact followed by ceasing to detect the contact ). similarly , when multiple user inputs are simultaneously detected , it should be understood that multiple computer mice may be used simultaneously , or a mouse and finger contacts may be used simultaneously . attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“ ui ”) and associated processes that may be implemented on a multifunction device with a display and a touch - sensitive surface , such as device 300 or portable multifunction device 100 . fig5 a - 5q illustrate exemplary user interfaces for managing user interface content and user interface elements while resizing user interface content and user interface elements in accordance with some embodiments . the user interfaces in these figures are used to illustrate the processes described below , including the processes in fig6 a - 6c . in fig5 a - 5q any values , such as the dimensions or aspect ratio of user interface elements , are provided solely for purposes of illustration . further , the values may not be to scale , and scale may vary from figure to figure . while sizes are expressed in units of centimeters in fig5 a - 5q , any suitable unit type may be used in alternate embodiments . each of fig5 a - 5k include two sections , which illustrate a portable multifunction device 100 displaying a user interface with an electronic canvas that includes the display of a user interface element , which in these examples are resizable rectangles . the portable multifunction device 100 is displayed in the figures as 5 ′ n ′ 1 , where ‘ n ’= the figure letter in the series , e . g ., fig5 b contains a depiction of portable multifunction device 100 as 5 b 1 . for clarity in the figures , respective gridlines are not displayed on the electronic canvas in the figures in 5 n 1 , though in some embodiments , gridlines may be displayed directly on the canvas . a representation of exemplary gridlines associated with the electronic canvas is provided in the charts 5 ‘ n ’ 2 , where ‘ n ’= the figure letter in the series , e . g ., fig5 b contains a depiction of respective gridlines of the electronic canvas as 5 b 2 . to give more context in the examples discussed here , respective gesture path marks representing detected user gestures to resize the user interface element are overlaid on the exemplary gridlines in 5 n 2 . thus , the figures in 5 n 1 and 5 n 2 present a synchronized view of resizing a user interface element on touch screen 112 and the conceptual representation of resizing that same user interface element with respect to the electronic canvas &# 39 ; s gridlines . fig5 a depicts an exemplary user interface displayed on device 100 within user interface ui 500 a ( section 5 a 1 of fig5 a ). in this example , the user interface includes the display of an electronic canvas 500 , on which rectangle 501 is displayed at a slightly oblique angle . the device detects point of contact 505 p over rectangle 501 in 5 a 1 . as there is no directional path associated with point of contact 505 p in fig5 a , no corresponding gesture path mark is displayed in chart 5 a 2 . fig5 b illustrates an exemplary affordance 503 - b displayed within user interface ui 500 b ( section 5 b 1 of fig5 b ). affordance 503 - b is displayed in conjunction with user interface object 501 . in this example , affordance 503 - b is configured to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 501 . ui 500 b also illustrates that after point of contact 505 p was detected in 5 a 1 , resize handles are displayed for rectangle 501 , including first resize handle 501 - 1 and second resize handle 501 - 2 , which are on opposite corners of rectangle 501 . note that in this example , point of contact 505 p is at a location corresponding to first resize handle 501 - 1 . ui 500 b also illustrates user gesture 505 , which includes a directional path 505 - 1 . chart 5 b 2 includes a representation of point of contact 505 p and directional path 505 - 1 , which crosses respective x - axis gridlines 505 - x 1 , 505 - x 2 , 505 - x 3 , 505 - x 4 , and 505 - x 5 , as well as respective y - axis gridlines 505 - y 1 , 505 - y 2 , and 505 - y 3 . accordingly , in this example , directional path 505 - 1 crosses more respective x - axis gridlines than respective y - axis gridlines . ui 500 b also illustrates that within rectangle 501 , diagonal axis 507 is depicted , and extends from the interior of rectangle 501 through first resize handle 501 - 1 , and corresponds to the directional path 505 - 1 as well as extending through exemplary resize snap locations represented by snap lines 508 - 1 through 508 - 6 ( which may be displayed visibly in some embodiments , and not displayed visibly in other embodiments ). ui 500 b also depicts exemplary quantized distance multiples 509 - 1 and 509 - 2 . in these examples , quantized distance multiples 509 - 1 and 509 - 2 correspond to snap lines 508 - 1 and 508 - 2 , which correspond to respective x - axis gridlines in chart 5 b 2 . fig5 c depicts that in response to user gesture 505 in ui 500 b , rectangle 501 has been snapped to snap line 508 - 1 ( section 5 c 1 of fig5 c ). affordance 503 - c has been updated to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 501 . specifically , in this example , rectangle 501 has been snapped to snap line 508 - 1 , and as indicated by affordance 503 - c , the width of rectangle 501 is now 4 cm , while the height is 6 . 6 cm . thus , the aspect ratio of rectangle 501 has been maintained at a 3 : 5 aspect ratio . chart 5 c 2 illustrates the corresponding location of point of contact 505 p in relation to directional path 505 - 1 of user gesture 505 , where the current location is at x - axis gridline 505 - x 1 . this example illustrates that when rectangle 501 was snapped to snap line 508 - 1 in 5 c 1 , the snapping was to a respective x - axis gridline , i . e . 505 - x 1 . further , as indicated by chart 5 c 2 , rectangle 501 is being snapped to x - axis gridlines , which are separated by quantized distance multiples 509 ( as depicted in ui 500 b ). thus , though the size changes in the x - direction ( or width in this example ) are fixed by the quantized distance multiple , a y - axis size adjustment ( or height in this example ) to the user interface element is derived to maintain the aspect ratio of the user interface element . here , once rectangle 501 is snapped to 4 cm width ( x - axis size ), the height of rectangle 501 is derived , namely 6 . 6 cm height ( y - axis size ). fig5 d illustrates the continuation of exemplary user gesture 505 , which includes the directional path 505 - 1 within ui 500 d ( 5 d 1 in fig5 d ), and chart 5 d 2 shows the corresponding directional path 505 - 1 superimposed on respective gridlines . exemplary affordance 503 - d has been updated to reflect the size increase of rectangle 501 due to user gesture 505 . rectangle 501 is now at 4 . 9 cm width and 8 . 1 cm height , while maintaining the 3 : 5 aspect ratio . for illustrative purposes , magnified region 511 displays a magnified image of the area around rectangle 501 and point of contact 505 p . magnified region 511 includes images of snap lines 508 - 2 and 508 - 3 , as well as predefined distance threshold 512 - t , which is predefined distance 512 from snap line 508 - 2 . note that rectangle 501 is less than predefined distance 512 from snap line 508 - 2 . fig5 e illustrates the continuation of exemplary user gesture 505 , which includes the directional path 505 - 1 within ui 500 e ( 5 e 1 in fig5 e ), and chart 5 e 2 shows the corresponding directional path 505 - 1 superimposed on respective gridlines . exemplary affordance 503 - e has been updated to reflect the size increase of rectangle 501 due to user gesture 505 . rectangle 501 is now at 5 cm width and 8 . 3 cm height , while maintaining the 3 : 5 aspect ratio . because , as noted above , the directional path 505 - 1 intersects more x - axis gridlines than y - axis gridlines ( illustrated in chart 5 e 2 ), the device snapped rectangle 501 to snap line 508 - 2 since the perimeter of rectangle 501 was closer to snap line 508 - 2 than predefined distance threshold 512 - t . though not explicitly depicted , point of contact 505 p is lifted off touch screen 112 in ui 500 e , so in fig5 f , the snap lines 508 , gesture 505 , resize handles 501 - 1 and 501 - 2 , and affordance 503 are no longer displayed in ui 500 f ( 5 f 1 in fig5 f ). as there is no detected gesture in ui 500 f , no corresponding gesture path mark is displayed in chart 5 f 2 . fig5 g - 5k illustrate resizing another user interface element , rectangle 516 . fig5 g depicts an exemplary user interface displayed on device 100 within user interface ui 500 g ( section 5 g 1 of fig5 g ). in this example , the user interface includes the display of an electronic canvas 500 , on which rectangle 516 is displayed at an oblique angle . the device detects point of contact 518 p over rectangle 516 in 5 g 1 . as there is no directional path associated with point of contact 518 p in fig5 g , no corresponding gesture path mark is displayed in chart 5 g 2 . fig5 h illustrates an exemplary affordance 503 - h displayed within user interface ui 500 h ( section 5 h 1 of fig5 h ). affordance 519 - h is displayed in conjunction with user interface object 516 . in this example , affordance 519 - h is configured to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 516 . ui 500 h also illustrates that after point of contact 518 p was detected in 5 g 1 , resize handles are displayed for rectangle 516 , including first resize handle 516 - 1 and second resize handle 516 - 2 , which are on opposite corners of rectangle 516 . note that in this example , point of contact 518 p is at a location corresponding to first resize handle 516 - 1 . ui 500 h also illustrates a user gesture 518 that includes a directional path 518 - 1 . chart 5 h 2 includes a representation of point of contact 518 p and directional path 518 - 1 , which crosses respective x - axis gridline 522 - x 1 , as well as respective y - axis gridlines 522 - y 1 , 522 - y 2 , 522 - y 3 , 522 - y 4 , 522 - y 5 , and 522 - y 6 . accordingly , in this example , directional path 518 - 1 crosses more respective y - axis gridlines than respective x - axis gridlines . ui 500 h also illustrates that within rectangle 516 , diagonal axis 517 is depicted , and extends from the interior of rectangle 516 through first resize handle 516 - 1 , and corresponds to the directional path 518 - 1 as well as extending through exemplary resize snap locations represented by snap lines 520 - 1 through 520 - 6 . fig5 i depicts that in response to user gesture 518 in ui 500 h , rectangle 501 has been snapped to snap line 520 - 1 ( section 5 i 1 of fig5 i ). affordance 519 - i has been updated to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 501 . specifically , in this example , rectangle 516 has been snapped to snap line 520 - 1 , and as indicated by affordance 519 - i , the width of rectangle 516 is now 4 cm , while the height is 6 . 6 cm . thus , the aspect ratio of rectangle 501 has been maintained at a 3 : 5 aspect ratio . chart 5 i 2 illustrates the corresponding location of point of contact 518 p in relation to directional path 518 - 1 of user gesture 518 , where the current location is at y - axis gridline 522 - y 2 . this example illustrates that when rectangle 516 was snapped to snap line 520 - 1 in 5 i 1 , the snapping was to a respective y - axis gridline , i . e . 522 - y 1 , because the directional path 518 - 1 crosses more y - axis gridlines than x - axis gridlines . thus , though the depicted size changes in the y - direction are of evenly spaced distances , 1 cm in this particular example , an x - axis size adjustment to the user interface element is derived to maintain the aspect ratio of the user interface element . here , once rectangle 516 is snapped to 4 cm width , the height of rectangle 516 is derived , namely 6 . 6 cm height . fig5 j illustrates the continuation of exemplary user gesture 518 , which includes the directional path 518 - 1 within ui 500 j ( 5 j 1 in fig5 j ), and chart 5 j 2 shows the corresponding directional path 518 - 1 superimposed on respective gridlines . exemplary affordance 519 - j has been updated to reflect the size increase of rectangle 516 due to user gesture 518 . rectangle 516 is now at 5 cm width and 8 . 3 cm height , while maintaining the 3 : 5 aspect ratio . because , as noted above , the directional path 518 - 1 intersects more y - axis gridlines than x - axis gridlines ( illustrated in chart 5 j 2 ), the device snapped rectangle 516 to snap line 520 - 2 , corresponding to respective y - axis gridline 522 - y 3 , rather than any gridline corresponding to an x - axis gridline , such as 522 - x 1 . though not explicitly depicted , point of contact 518 p is lifted off touch screen 112 in ui 500 j , so in fig5 k , the snap lines 520 , gesture 518 , resize handles 516 - 1 and 516 - 2 , and affordance 519 are no longer displayed in ui 500 k ( 5 k 1 in fig5 k ). as there is no detected gesture in ui 500 k , no corresponding gesture path mark is displayed in chart 5 k 2 . ui 500 l - ui 500 q ( fig5 l - 5q ) illustrate exemplary user interfaces for snapping user interface elements to adjusted sizes and predetermined aspect ratios in response to detecting user gestures to resize objects . ui 500 l illustrates a detected user gesture 532 including contact 532 - c and resizing motion 532 - 1 , where contact 532 - c is at resize handle 530 - 1 of currently selected user interface object 530 . user interface object 530 also has other resize handles , including second resize handle 530 - 2 , which is opposite resize handle 530 - 1 . in the exemplary embodiment of ui 500 l , user interface object 530 can be resized to an adjusted size that is different from the initial size of object 530 . further , as object 530 is resized , a plurality of exemplary , predetermined aspect ratios may be snapped to ( e . g ., current aspect ratio 540 , native aspect ratio 542 , 1 : 1 aspect ratio 546 , and 4 : 3 aspect ratio 548 ). specifically in this example , detected user gesture 532 is in the direction of current aspect ratio 540 . ui 500 l also depicts the display in the user interface of an exemplary affordance 539 - l displayed in conjunction with user interface object 530 . in this example , affordance 539 - l is configured to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 530 . ui 500 m illustrates that , in response to detected user gesture 532 in ui 500 l , the device snaps the shape of currently selected user interface object 530 to current aspect ratio 540 . ui 500 m also depicts that affordance 539 - m has been updated to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 530 . ui 500 m also depicts resizing motion 532 - 2 of detected gesture 532 , which in this example , is in the direction of native aspect ratio 542 . ui 500 n illustrates that , in response to detected user gesture 532 in ui 500 m , which includes resizing motion 532 - 2 , the device snaps the shape of currently selected user interface object 530 to native aspect ratio 542 . ui 500 n also depicts that affordance 539 - n has been updated to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 530 , i . e ., native aspect ratio 542 . ui 500 n also depicts resizing motion 532 - 3 of detected gesture 532 , which in this example , is in the direction of 1 : 1 aspect ratio 546 . ui 500 o illustrates that , in response to detected user gesture 532 in ui 500 n , which includes resizing motion 532 - 3 , the device snaps the shape of currently selected user interface object 530 to 1 : 1 aspect ratio 546 . ui 500 n also depicts that affordance 539 - n has been updated to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 530 , i . e ., 1 : 1 aspect ratio 546 . ui 500 o also depicts resizing motion 532 - 4 of detected gesture 532 , which in this example , is in the direction of 4 : 3 aspect ratio 548 , which is also the aspect ratio of second user interface element 531 , which neighbors user interface element 530 . ui 500 p illustrates that , in response to detected user gesture 532 in ui 500 o , which includes resizing motion 532 - 4 , the device snaps the shape of currently selected user interface object 530 to 4 : 3 aspect ratio 548 . ui 500 p also depicts that affordance 539 - p has been updated to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 530 , i . e ., 4 : 3 aspect ratio 548 . though not explicitly illustrated , contact 532 - c is lifted off of touch screen 112 in ui 500 p , thus ending detected user gesture 532 . ui 500 q illustrates that after detecting the end of detected user gesture 532 , user interface object 530 is no longer currently selected , and thus affordance 539 and resize handles , including first resize handle 530 - 1 and second resize handle 530 - 2 , are no longer displayed . in some embodiments , the following method is used to maintain aspect ratio while resizing at least one user interface object or user interface element : upon detecting the start of a user gesture to resize an object , save the aspect ratio and dimensions of the object being resized ; while detecting user gesture movement , calculate the width and height the object would be if it were to be resized in accordance with the user gesture movement ; calculate the aspect ratio of the change that would happen if the object were to be resized in accordance with the user gesture movement ; when the difference between the calculated aspect ratio and the original aspect ratio is below a predefined threshold : when the original object width is greater than the original object height , round the value of the width adjustment that would happen in response to the user gesture movement so that the width adjustment falls on an even increment , and then derive the height adjustment value to maintain aspect ratio ; when the original object width is less than or equal than the original object height , round the value of the height adjustment that would happen in response to the user gesture movement so that the height adjustment falls on an even increment , and then derive the width adjustment value to maintain aspect ratio ; adjust the height and width of the object with the rounded and derived height and width adjustment values ; when the option to snap to respective gridlines is not activated , adjust the height and width of the object to an intersection point of a diagonal line extending from the object along the direction of the resize gesture and a line perpendicular to the diagonal line , wherein the perpendicular line crosses the current location of the user gesture , and the diagonal line crosses a plurality of possible object resize locations that maintain the original aspect ratio ; when the difference between the calculated aspect ratio and a predetermined aspect ratio is below a predefined threshold , adjust the height and width of the object with derived height and width adjustment values to correspond to the predetermined aspect ratio ; when the difference between the current aspect ratio and a 1 : 1 aspect ratio is below a predefined threshold , set the height and width of the object to the intersection point of a diagonal line extending from the object along the direction of the resize gesture and a line perpendicular to the diagonal line , wherein the perpendicular line crosses the current location of the user gesture , and the diagonal line crosses a plurality of possible object resize locations that maintain a 1 : 1 aspect ratio ; and otherwise , resize the object in accordance with the user gesture movement . in some embodiments , one or more techniques of the method just discussed are used to resize two or more currently selected user interface objects or user interface elements , so that while detecting a user gesture corresponding to an user interface object resize gesture : the two or more currently selected user interface objects are simultaneously resized in accordance with the detected user gesture , and the respective aspect ratios of the two or more currently selected user interface objects are also simultaneously adjusted . in some embodiments , the predefined threshold for comparing the difference between two different aspect ratios is a set value , e . g ., whether the difference between a current aspect ratio and the original aspect ratio is below a predefined value such as 0 . 2 . for example , the device may determine whether a current aspect ratio and the original aspect ratio are within 0 . 2 of one another , 0 . 1 , 0 . 3 , or any suitable value . in some embodiments , the predefined threshold for comparing the difference between two different aspect ratios includes determining whether the two aspect ratios fall within a range of values , e . g ., 0 . 1 - 0 . 3 , 0 . 15 - 0 . 35 , 0 . 2 - 0 . 4 , or any suitable range ; thus , when the difference between the two different aspect ratios falls within the predefined threshold range , the comparison is true , and when the difference between the two different aspect ratios does not fall within the predefined threshold range , the comparison is false . in some embodiments , the predefined threshold for comparing the difference between two different aspect ratios is the difference of the logarithms of the respective aspect ratios . for example , the following calculation and comparison to a tolerance variable can be used to determine whether to snap to the current aspect ratio or to the original aspect ratio : where tolerance is 0 . 1 ( or may be set to another suitable value ), and the result of the comparison is used to determine which aspect ratio to snap to , i . e ., snap to the current aspect ratio if the inequality is true , or snap to the original aspect ratio if the inequality is false . fig6 a - 6b are flow diagrams illustrating a method 600 of managing user interface content and user interface elements while resizing user interface content and user interface elements in accordance with some embodiments . the method 600 is performed at a multifunction device ( e . g ., device 300 , fig3 , or portable multifunction device 100 , fig1 ) with a display and a touch - sensitive surface . in some embodiments , the display is a touch screen display and the touch - sensitive surface is on the display . in some embodiments , the display is separate from the touch - sensitive surface . some operations in method 600 may be combined and / or the order of some operations may be changed . as described below , the method 600 provides an intuitive way to maintain aspect ratio while resizing user interface objects . the method reduces the cognitive burden on a user when resizing user interface objects , thereby creating a more efficient human - machine interface . for battery - operated computing devices , enabling a user to resize user interface objects faster and more efficiently conserves power and increases the time between battery charges . the method 600 is performed at a computing device with a display and one or more user input devices adapted to detect user gestures ( e . g ., fig5 a portable multifunction device 100 , fig3 device 300 ). the device displays ( 602 ) on the display a user interface including at least one user interface element , wherein the user interface element is configured to be resized within the user interface in response to user gestures detected with the one or more user input devices , the user interface element has an aspect ratio , and the user interface element is displayed on the display in conjunction with a plurality of gridlines , which include a plurality of x - axis gridlines and a plurality of y - axis gridlines ( e . g ., fig5 a , section 5 a 1 , display of electronic canvas 500 , on which rectangle 501 is displayed at a slightly oblique angle , and has an aspect ratio , and the chart in section 5 a 2 depicts a plurality of x - axis and y - axis gridlines ). in some embodiments , at least one user interface element is displayed on an electronic canvas ( 604 ) ( e . g ., fig5 a , section 5 a 1 , display of electronic canvas 500 , on which rectangle 501 is displayed ). in some embodiments , the user interface element is rotated to an oblique angle on the electronic canvas before detecting the user gesture ( 606 ) ( e . g ., fig5 g , section 5 g 1 , rectangle 516 is displayed at an oblique angle ). in some embodiments , the user interface element includes at least a first resize handle and a second resize handle , wherein the first and second resize handles are positioned on opposite sides of the user interface element during the detected user gesture ( 608 ) ( e . g ., fig5 b , section 5 b 1 , resize handles are displayed for rectangle 501 , including first resize handle 501 - 1 and second resize handle 501 - 2 , which are on opposite corners of rectangle 501 ). in some embodiments , resize handles include an activation region proximate to and surrounding the resize handle to make it easier for a user to perform a gesture involving selection or movement of the resize handle . for purposes of clarity , these activation regions are not displayed herein . in some embodiments , the display and at least one of the one or more user input devices comprise a touch - screen display ( 610 ) ( e . g ., fig5 a , section 5 a 1 , touch screen 112 ). in some embodiments , the plurality of gridlines is visibly displayed ( 612 ). the device detects ( 614 ) a user gesture performed with one or more of the one or more user input devices , the user gesture corresponding to a gesture to resize the user interface element ( e . g ., fig5 b , section 5 b 1 , user gesture 505 , which includes a directional path 505 - 1 and point of contact 505 p ). in some embodiments , the detected user gesture includes a point of contact corresponding to a first resize handle of the two or more resize handles , and a second resize handle of the two or more resize handles corresponds to a second location of the user interface element that is opposite the first resize handle ( 615 ) ( e . g ., fig5 b , section 5 b 1 , user gesture 505 , which includes a directional path 505 - 1 and point of contact 505 p , where the point of contact 505 p corresponds to first resize handle 501 - 1 , and first resize handle 501 - 1 and second resize handle 501 - 2 are on opposite corners of rectangle 501 ). in some embodiments , the second resize handle is dynamically designated as an origin handle for the duration of the detected user gesture , and location data associated with the origin handle is used to derive one or more parameters for resizing the user interface element . in response to detecting the user gesture , the device resizes the user interface element in accordance with the detected user gesture , wherein the detected user gesture has a directional path that intersects at least some of the plurality of gridlines ( 616 ) ( e . g ., fig5 c , section 5 c 1 , in response to user gesture 505 in section 5 b 1 of fig5 b , rectangle 501 has been snapped to snap line 508 - 1 , thus resizing it ; fig5 b , section 5 b 1 gesture 505 has directional path 505 - 1 extending through snap lines 508 - 1 through 508 - 6 , which correspond to the gridlines reflected in the chart in section 5 b 2 , i . e ., chart 5 b 2 includes a representation of point of contact 505 p and directional path 505 - 1 , which crosses respective x - axis gridlines 505 - x 1 , 505 - x 2 , 505 - x 3 , 505 - x 4 , and 505 - x 5 , as well as respective y - axis gridlines 505 - y 1 , 505 - y 2 , and 505 - y 3 ). while resizing the user interface element in accordance with the detected user gesture , the device maintains ( 618 ) the aspect ratio of the user interface element ( e . g ., fig5 c , section 5 c 1 , rectangle 501 has been snapped to snap line 508 - 1 , and as indicated by affordance 503 - c , the width of rectangle 501 is 4 cm , while the height is 6 . 6 cm , so the aspect ratio of rectangle 501 was maintained at a 3 : 5 aspect ratio ). the device maintaining the aspect ratio of the user interface element includes that when the directional path intersects more x - axis gridlines than y - axis gridlines , the device snaps a perimeter of the user interface element to respective x - axis gridlines when a respective distance between the perimeter of the user interface element and a respective x - axis gridline is less than a predefined distance threshold ( 620 ) ( e . g ., fig5 c , section 5 c 2 , chart 5 c 2 includes a representation of point of contact 505 p and directional path 505 - 1 , which crosses respective x - axis gridlines 505 - x 1 , 505 - x 2 , 505 - x 3 , 505 - x 4 , and 505 - x 5 , as well as respective y - axis gridlines 505 - y 1 , 505 - y 2 , and 505 - y 3 , indicating that directional path 505 - 1 crosses more respective x - axis gridlines than respective y - axis gridlines ; chart 5 c 2 also illustrates the corresponding location of point of contact 505 p in relation to directional path 505 - 1 of user gesture 505 , where the current location is at x - axis gridline 505 - x 1 , thus when rectangle 501 was snapped to snap line 508 - 1 in 5 c 1 , the snapping was to a respective x - axis gridline , i . e . 505 - x 1 ). in some embodiments , respective x - axis gridlines snapped to are separated by a quantized distance multiple ( e . g ., 5 pixels , 10 pixels , 15 pixels , ⅛ cm , ¼ cm , ⅓ cm , ½ cm , or any suitable distance ), and a y - axis size adjustment to the user interface element is derived to maintain the aspect ratio of the user interface element ( 622 ) ( e . g ., fig5 c , section 5 c 1 , size changes in the x - direction , i . e ., width in this example , are fixed by the quantized distance multiple 509 , and a y - axis size adjustment , i . e ., height in this example , to the user interface element is derived to maintain the aspect ratio of the user interface element , specifically , when rectangle 501 is snapped to 4 cm width , i . e ., x - axis size , the height of rectangle 501 is derived , namely 6 . 6 cm height , i . e ., y - axis size ). in some embodiments , derivation of the y - axis size adjustment to maintain aspect ratio includes calculation of a y - axis size adjustment using at least a distance corresponding to the quantized distance multiple , the aspect ratio of the user interface element , and / or the origin handle . the device maintaining the aspect ratio of the user interface element includes that when the directional path intersects more y - axis gridlines than x - axis gridlines , the device snaps a perimeter of the user interface element to respective y - axis gridlines when a respective distance between the perimeter of the user interface element and a respective y - axis gridline is less than the predefined distance threshold ( 624 ) ( e . g ., fig5 h , chart in section 5 h 2 illustrates that point of contact 518 p and directional path 518 - 1 crosses respective x - axis gridline 522 - x 1 , as well as respective y - axis gridlines 522 - y 1 , 522 - y 2 , 522 - y 3 , 522 - y 4 , 522 - y 5 , and 522 - y 6 , so directional path 518 - 1 crosses more respective y - axis gridlines than respective x - axis gridlines ; fig5 i , section 5 i 1 depicts that in response to user gesture 518 in ui 500 h , rectangle 501 has been snapped to snap line 520 - 1 ). in some embodiments , respective y - axis gridlines snapped to are separated by a quantized distance multiple , and an x - axis size adjustment to the user interface element is derived to maintain the aspect ratio of the user interface element ( 626 ). in some embodiments , derivation of the x - axis size adjustment to maintain aspect ratio includes calculation of a x - axis size adjustment using at least a distance corresponding to the quantized distance multiple , the aspect ratio of the user interface element , and / or the origin handle . in some embodiments , the device maintaining the aspect ratio of the user interface element includes that when the directional path intersects the same number of x - axis gridlines and y - axis gridlines , and when a respective distance between the perimeter of the user interface element and a respective gridline is less than the predefined distance threshold , the device snaps the perimeter of the user interface element to respective gridlines selected from the group consisting of respective x - axis gridlines , respective y - axis gridlines , and respective x - axis and y - axis gridlines ( 628 ). in some embodiments , while detecting the user gesture , the device displays an affordance in conjunction with the user interface element being resized , wherein the affordance is configured to display at least a current size of the user interface element ( 630 ) ( e . g ., fig5 b , section 5 b 1 affordance 503 - b is configured to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 501 ). in some embodiments , while detecting the user gesture , the device displays an affordance in conjunction with the user interface element being resized , wherein the affordance is configured to display at least a current aspect ratio user interface element ( 632 ) ( e . g ., fig5 b , section 5 b 1 affordance 503 - b is configured to display both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 501 ). in some embodiments , one or more techniques of the method 600 are used to resize two or more currently selected user interface elements , so that while detecting a user gesture corresponding to an user interface element resize gesture : the two or more currently selected user interface elements are simultaneously resized in accordance with the detected user gesture , and the respective aspect ratios of the two or more currently selected user interface elements are also simultaneously adjusted . fig6 c is a flow diagram illustrating a method 650 of managing user interface content and user interface elements while resizing user interface content and user interface elements in accordance with some embodiments . the method 650 is performed at a multifunction device ( e . g ., device 300 , fig3 , or portable multifunction device 100 , fig1 ) with a display and a touch - sensitive surface . in some embodiments , the display is a touch screen display and the touch - sensitive surface is on the display . in some embodiments , the display is separate from the touch - sensitive surface . some operations in method 650 may be combined and / or the order of some operations may be changed . additionally , operations in method 650 may be combined with some operations in method 600 and / or the order of some combined operations may be changed . as described below , the method 650 provides an intuitive way to maintain aspect ratio while resizing user interface objects . the method reduces the cognitive burden on a user when resizing user interface objects , thereby creating a more efficient human - machine interface . for battery - operated computing devices , enabling a user to resize user interface objects faster and more efficiently conserves power and increases the time between battery charges . the method 650 is performed at a computing device with a display and one or more user input devices adapted to detect user gestures ( e . g ., fig5 a portable multifunction device 100 , fig3 device 300 ). the device displays on the display a user interface including at least a first user interface element , wherein the first user interface element is configured to be resized within the user interface in response to user gestures , the first user interface element has a first aspect ratio , the first user interface element has an initial size , the first user interface element includes at least a first resize handle and a second resize handle , and , the first and second resize handles are positioned on opposite sides of the user interface element ( 652 ) ( e . g ., fig5 l , user interface object 530 has resize handles , including first resize handle 530 - 1 and second resize handle 530 - 2 which are positioned on opposite sides of user interface object 530 ; user interface object 530 has an aspect ratio and can be resized to an adjusted size that is different from the initial size of object 530 ). in some embodiments , the user interface element is rotated to an oblique angle on the electronic canvas before detecting the user gesture ( 654 ) ( e . g ., fig5 g , section 5 g 1 , rectangle 516 is displayed at an oblique angle ). the device detects ( 656 ) a user gesture performed with one or more of the one or more user input devices , the user gesture corresponding to a gesture to resize the user interface element , and the user gesture is performed at a location corresponding to the first resize handle ( e . g ., fig5 l , detected user gesture 532 including contact 532 - c and resizing motion 532 - 1 , where contact 532 - c is at resize handle 530 - 1 of currently selected user interface object 530 ). in response to detecting the user gesture , the device resizes ( 658 ) the user interface element in accordance with the detected user gesture ( e . g ., fig5 m , in response to detected user gesture 532 in fig5 l , the device resizes the currently selected user interface object 530 to current aspect ratio 540 , which includes resizing the user interface object in accordance with resizing motion 532 - 1 ). while resizing the user interface element in accordance with the detected user gesture , the device snaps ( 660 ) the first user interface element to an adjusted size that is different from the initial size , wherein the adjusted size corresponds to a predetermined aspect ratio ( e . g ., fig5 m , in response to detected user gesture 532 in fig5 l , the device snaps the shape of currently selected user interface object 530 to current aspect ratio 540 , which includes resizing the user interface object to a size that is different from the initial size ). in some embodiments , snapping the first user interface element to an adjusted size that is different from the initial size includes snapping the first user interface element to two or more adjusted sizes that are different from the initial size , wherein the two or more adjusted sizes correspond to two or more distinct predetermined aspect ratios ( e . g ., in fig5 n , the device snapped currently selected user interface object 530 to native aspect ratio 542 , and in fig5 o , the device snapped currently selected user interface object 530 to 1 : 1 aspect ratio 546 ). in some embodiments , the predetermined aspect ratio is selected from the group consisting of 1 : 1 aspect ratio , 2 : 3 aspect ratio , 3 : 2 aspect ratio , 3 : 5 aspect ratio , 5 : 3 aspect ratio , 5 : 7 aspect ratio , 7 : 5 aspect ratio , 8 : 10 aspect ratio , 10 : 8 aspect ratio , 3 : 4 aspect ratio , 4 : 3 aspect ratio , 16 : 9 aspect ratio , 9 : 16 aspect ratio , and an aspect ratio of the display ( 662 ). in some embodiments , the predetermined aspect ratio is the first aspect ratio of the first user interface element ( 664 ), e . g , the aspect ratio of the first user interface element is restored , i . e ., after adjustments , the aspect ratio snaps to its original value during an object resize gesture , which may be the original proportions of an image . in some embodiments , the adjusted size corresponds to a predefined aspect ratio . in some embodiments , the adjusted size corresponds to a preselected aspect ratio . in some embodiments , the aspect ratio corresponding to the adjusted size of the user interface element is that of a neighboring user interface element , any of a number of predefined aspect ratios , such as 1 : 1 , 2 : 3 , 3 : 2 , 3 : 5 , 5 : 3 , 5 : 7 , 7 : 5 , 8 : 10 , 10 : 8 , 3 : 4 , 4 : 3 , 16 : 9 , 9 : 16 , an aspect ratio of the display , an aspect ratio of the user interface element being resized at the time of the initiation of the detected user gesture , an aspect ratio based on predefined dimensions of the user interface element , e . g ., photo images having an initial size and aspect ratio , etc ., or any suitable aspect ratio . in some embodiments , the displayed user interface includes a second user interface element having a second aspect ratio that is different than the first aspect ratio , the second user interface element is within a predefined distance of the first user interface element i . e ., the first and second user interface elements are neighbors , or are proximate to one another , and the predetermined aspect ratio is the second aspect ratio ( 666 ) ( e . g ., fig5 p , the device snaps the shape of currently selected user interface object 530 to 4 : 3 aspect ratio 548 , which is the aspect ratio of user interface object 531 , which is near by user interface object 530 ). in some embodiments , while detecting the user gesture , the device displays an affordance in conjunction with the user interface element being resized , wherein the affordance is configured to display at least a current size of the user interface element ( 668 ) ( e . g ., fig5 p , affordance 539 - p displays both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 530 ). in some embodiments , while detecting the user gesture , the device displays an affordance in conjunction with the user interface element being resized , wherein the affordance is configured to display at least a current aspect ratio user interface element ( 670 ) ( e . g ., fig5 p , affordance 539 - p displays both the current size and the current aspect ratio of user interface object 530 ). in some embodiments , one or more techniques of the method 650 are used to resize two or more currently selected user interface elements , so that while detecting a user gesture corresponding to an user interface element resize gesture : the two or more currently selected user interface elements are simultaneously resized in accordance with the detected user gesture , and the respective aspect ratios of the two or more currently selected user interface elements are also simultaneously adjusted . the steps in the information processing methods described above may be implemented by running one or more functional modules in information processing apparatus such as general purpose processors or application specific chips , such as asics , fpgas , plds , or other appropriate devices . these modules , combinations of these modules , and / or their combination with general hardware ( e . g ., as described above with respect to fig1 a , 1 b and 3 ) are all included within the scope of protection of the invention . the foregoing description , for purpose of explanation , has been described with reference to specific embodiments . however , the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed . many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . | 6 |
the particular values and configurations discussed in these non - limiting examples can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate an embodiment of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . in time division multiplexing ( tdm ) a series of very short optical pulses are time - interleaved ( multiplexed ) to get a single high speed data stream at one carrier wavelength . an alternate solution is to transmit each optical signal on a different wavelength , known as wavelength division multiplexing ( wdm ). this is analogous to transmitting different radio channels on different frequencies through air . a wdm channel is a signal running on a unique wavelength . each wdm channel is completely independent of the other channels , both with regards to bit rates , as well as protocols . fig1 depicts a known implementation of a tdm - wdm system using four lasers 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 of separate wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 , λ 4 with a combiner 106 and a single common optical gate 108 . in this embodiment the combiner 106 is nonblocking , that is , with the four inputs depicted in fig1 the output is always in an “ on ” state . current tdm - wdm interrogated arrays use a single optical gate 108 to define the optical pulses used to access individual sensors . it is also known to use a phase modulator 110 to phase generate a carrier . the resulting output pulse is a combination or summation of wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 , λ 4 at output 112 . fig2 depicts a known implementation of a tdm - wdm system using four lasers 201 , 202 , 203 , 204 of separate wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 , λ 4 with a combiner 206 , but that omits the single common optical gate 108 and the phase modulator 110 . in this embodiment the combiner 206 is blocking , that is , the output of the combiner 206 directly produces the depicted waveform of interleaved pulses . also , the phase generator may be omitted if the lasers are fm ( frequency modulated ). this is because the sine wave frequency modulation is equivalent to sine wave phase modulation . this circuit will also emit the output pulse that is a combination or summation of wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 , λ 4 at output 112 . fig3 depicts an embodiment with a nonblocking 4 × 1 matrix tdm optical switch according to the present apparatus . in this embodiment of a tdm - wdm system four lasers 301 , 302 , 303 , 304 of separate wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 , λ 4 are operatively coupled to inputs of a matrix switch 306 . an output of the matrix switch 306 is operatively coupled to an optical gate 308 and a phase modulator 310 . the optical matrix switch 306 enables the interleaving of the pulses in the output 312 so that multiple wavelengths are never present in a single pulse . optical switching combined with optical gating makes more efficient use of the lasers and avoids the nonlinear effects of cross phase modulation and four wave mixing . the optical switch 306 may perform the gating with appropriate time delays of the different wavelength channels to form the regular sequence of pulses at the output 312 . the switch 306 may do all the gating and switching . an auxiliary optical gate 308 may be used to improve the extinction ratio and / or the pulse rise and fall times if needed . the auxiliary switch 308 may be either electro - optic or acousto - optic . a phase modulator 310 may also be used . optical matrix switches of the electro - optic type have been demonstrated by many researchers , and at least one is commercially available from lynx photonic networks , inc . fig4 depicts an embodiment with a blocking 4 × 1 matrix tdm optical switch according to the present apparatus in which an optical gate and a phase modulator are omitted . in this embodiment of a tdm - wdm system , four fm frequency modulated lasers 401 , 402 , 403 , 404 of separate wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 , λ 4 are operatively coupled to inputs of a matrix switch 406 . the output has the sequence of pulses where wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 , λ 4 occur in separate pulses and where the sequence repeats . fig5 depicts an embodiment of the present system in which a single wavelength channel may be switched to four separate output channels 511 , 512 , 513 , 514 . in this fashion , a single laser 501 may interrogate four times as many hydrophones , for example , as compared to known systems , thus quadrupling the acoustic sensor sampling rate per laser . an input of the nonblocking 1 × 4 matrix switch 508 may be operatively coupled to the laser 501 via an optical gate 504 and phase modulator 506 . in other embodiments the optical gate 504 and the phase modulator 506 may be omitted if a blocking matrix is used with an fm modulated laser . the outputs of the switch 508 may have individual pulses that are offset in time relative to one another as depicted in fig5 in short , the wdm implementation of the tdm matrix switch in fig3 and 4 eliminates severe non - linear effects by eliminating multi - wavelength pulse propagation and the tdm implementation of the tdm matrix switch in fig5 produces many more sensor returns per wavelength . fig6 depicts an embodiment of the present system , which has a nonblocking 4 × 4 version of a matrix tdm switch 606 that combines the wdm and the tdm features and advantages of the above described embodiments . in this embodiment of a tdm - wdm system , four lasers 601 , 602 , 603 , 604 of separate wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 , λ 4 are operatively coupled to inputs of the matrix switch 606 . each of four outputs 612 , 618 , 624 , 630 may be coupled to the switch 606 via respective optical gate 608 , 614 , 620 , 626 and phase modulator 610 , 618 , 624 , 630 . as described above the optical gates and phase modulators may be eliminated if a blocking matrix switch is used with fm modulated lasers . fig7 depicts a block diagram of another embodiment of the present system . as depicted the tdmx system may interrogate xyz sensors 703 with x lasers 701 , y sensor returns 704 per laser , and z switch positions for a z x z switch 702 without multi - wavelength non - linear effects that degrade system performance . the steps or operations described herein are just exemplary . there may be many variations to these steps or operations without departing from the spirit of the invention . for instance , the steps may be performed in a differing order , or steps may be added , deleted , or modified . although exemplary implementations of the invention have been depicted and described in detail herein , it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that various modifications , additions , substitutions , and the like can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and these are therefore considered to be within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . | 7 |
with the pulsed light source according to the invention , biological tissue can be removed precisely and with little thermal side effects and in addition can be heated to a variable extent . the light emission of the light source according to the invention is modulated in a controllable manner in such a way that , within a pulse cycle , a high - power radiation pulse used for tissue removal is followed in a defined time by a light radiation with reduced irradiation intensity , which may have the form of a reduced - power end portion of the radiation pulse or the form of a series of pulses comprising one or more radiation pulses of which the power or energy content is not sufficient for tissue removal and consequently leads only to the tissue being heated . the pulsed light source according to the invention allows a hitherto unknown range of surgical applications in which a single radiation source can be used with little expenditure on apparatus , ranging from precision surgery with little thermal damage in areas which are not perfused with blood , or only to a slight extent , through to the removal of blood - perfused tissue with hemostasis . since the thermal side effect , and consequently the thickness of the coagulation zone , can be adapted to the individual intervention , in any case a just sufficient and at the same time minimally damaging thermal necrosis zone can be produced . in addition , such an enlarged coagulation zone does not lead to any sacrifices in the quality of the cut . the light source according to the invention is preferably an ultraviolet or infrared light source . the first radiation pulse of the pulse cycle corresponds to the radiation emission as commonly used for the ablation of biological tissue with little damage . the tissue removal commences when a specific amount of energy per element of volume h abl , dependent on the type of tissue and on the irradiation intensity , has accumulated on its surface . this corresponds to a threshold value of the irradiation ( f s ), which is likewise dependent on the tissue and the irradiation parameters . part of the irradiated energy remains in the tissue at the end of the pulse , heats the marginal region of the craters or cuts and leads to the thermal side effects described , in particular the coagulation of the tissue . according to a preferred refinement of the invention , the parameters of the first radiation pulse of the series of pulses is chosen such that the heating and tissue damage produced in connection with the tissue removal is low . this is achieved by the combination of high irradiation intensity and high absorption in the tissue ( typical coefficient of absorption greater than 10 cm - 1 ). the light source used for this is preferably a pulsed er : yag , er : ysgg , ho : yag , tm : yag , co , co 2 or excimer laser . some data on this can be taken from the publication by r . hibst and r . kaufmann , ` vergleich verschiedener mittelinfrarot - laser fur die ablation der haut ` [ comparison of various mid - infrared lasers for ablation of the skin ], lasermedizin [ laser medicine ], vol . 11 ( 1995 ), pages 19 - 26 . energy required for removal per element of volume h abl = 1 . 5 kjcm - 3 irradiation in clinical use on the skin about 5 - 20 jcm - 2 if removal is over a surface area , size of the spot 1 to 3 mm in diameter the laser - related power is calculated from the irradiation intensity and the size of the spot . the coagulation zone caused by the removing pulse is enlarged according to the invention by emitting after the short pulse leading to removal a respectively following light radiation with an irradiation intensity and / or irradiation which is not sufficient for the removal of tissue but produces a thermal effect . this subsequent light radiation in the form of a pulse end portion of reduced irradiation intensity or of at least one , but preferably more than one light pulses is dimensioned with regard to its power or energy such that , given a predetermined size of the irradiation zone , the removal threshold value of the tissue is not reached . according to a refinement of the invention , at least one pulse with low irradiation intensity is used for this . in order that the tissue is not removed and is only heated , pulses with such a low irradiation intensity that , as a result of the heat conduction , the energy per element of volume accumulated at the surface remains below h abl , i . e . the irradiation intensity remains below the threshold value required for removal . to estimate the upper limit of the irradiation intensity , it may be assumed that the energy h occurring per element of volume results from the supply of energy produced by light absorption and an energy loss proportional to h : ## equ1 ## ( i 0 : irradiation intensity , μ : coefficient of absorption ). the thermal relaxation time τ used as the proportionality factor for the rate of loss can be estimated from the known formulae . it decreases quadratically with the heated volume , and therefore with increasing μ . the threshold value of the irradiation intensity i s is reached when , in the state of equilibrium ( dh / dt = 0 ), the energy density at the surface is equal to h abl . it thus follows from the above equation that : ## equ2 ## for the er : yag laser , the thermal relaxation time of the tissue can be estimated as a few μs for the beginning of the irradiation , so that the remaining values ( see above ) give an irradiation intensity i s in the kwcm - 2 range . with increasing enlargement of the heated region , i s then decreases . the exact progression is difficult to calculate here . for a layer of a thickness of , for example , 80 μm , the thermal relaxation time is about 30 ms , which leads to a maximum permissible irradiation intensity of about 5 wcm - 2 . an advantageous refinement of this alternative is therefore a progression with decreasing irradiation intensity . the irradiation intensity ( power ) and the duration of the pulse then determines the extent of heating . if the required difference in the irradiation intensity between the removing pulses and the heating pulses is technically difficult to accomplish in the case of a given laser , according to a further refinement of the invention it is envisaged to use a sequence of pulses with an energy content below the removal threshold value . as a point of reference for this threshold value , the threshold values f s ( see above ) determined from the removal measurements may be used . the threshold values increase with decreasing irradiation intensity ( they are theoretically infinite at an irradiation intensity of i s ) and decrease in the case of preheated tissue . thus , for the er : yag laser , initially f s = 1 jcm - 2 would be assumed and , in an experimental situation , the irradiation intensity of each individual pulse or its duration would be changed such that removal no longer quite takes place . the individual factors , irradiation intensity and pulse duration , are governed by the technical requirements of the light source ; primarily decisive for the effect is their product . according to one embodiment , the irradiation intensity and the duration of the pulses following the first radiation pulse may vary from one another . this is appropriate , for example , for the er : yag laser if , for supplying the pumping flashlamp of this laser , the energy of a single capacitor bank is used for generating the entire series of pulses . the decreasing voltage causes the laser pulses to be increasingly weak , which however can be compensated by a correspondingly prolonged pulse duration . the optimum time interval between the subpulses or between the removing pulse and the series of pulses for heating results from the thermal relaxation time of the tissue surface . to be able to introduce as much energy as possible into the tissue without removing it , it is favorable to allow the tissue surface to cool between two such pulses with respect to the temperature leading to removal . in order at the same time to produce a great depth of the coagulation , this cooling should not proceed right down to the ( physiological ) starting temperature ( typically 37 ° c .). rather , the subsequent heating by the following pulse should take place at the latest when the surface has reached the temperature required for the desired coagulation , of about 60 ° c . to 70 ° c . this time period increases with the optical depth of penetration of the radiation used . in addition , the cooling behavior of the surface depends on its prehistory . in the case of the first laser pulse , the superficial heating of the tissue leads to a very steep temperature gradient with a correspondingly rapid falling of the temperature , caused by the heat conduction . the heat conduction also causes layers of tissue below the surface to be heated , so that the temperature gradient for a subsequent heating pulse is smaller . the increase in the thermal relaxation time with the number of heating pulses can be seen from a measurement of the surface temperature . an optimized sequence of heating pulses will therefore generally have different time intervals between the individual pulses . by analogy , the energy content of the individual pulses will be different . model calculations and measurements show for the er : yag laser that the temperature increase required for a coagulation of the skin in vivo from 30 k to 40 k is reached again at the surface a few ms after the end of the pulse . for the ho : yag laser , about 20 times this value can be expected . the exact times are to be determined experimentally in each case for the tissue under consideration and the wavelength used . for effects other than coagulation , for example hyperthermia , other temperatures and times which can be readily determined by a person skilled in the art are of course critical . in the case of this embodiment of the series of pulses used for heating , the energy introduced altogether ( per element of surface ) into the tissue , and consequently the depth of coagulation , can be advantageously controlled by the number of pulses in the series of pulses following the first pulse . in the case of a modified embodiment , as an alternative to the predetermination of fixed parameters for the individual heating pulses , a control of the pulse energy levels , durations and interpulse periods on the basis of the surface temperature measured continuously or intermittently can be used . as soon as the surface temperature drops below a predetermined minimum value ( for example 70 ° c . ), the laser is activated . the laser emission is stopped again when the preset upper limit value ( for example 200 ° c .) is reached . in the case of this way of accomplishing the series of pulses used for heating , the energy introduced altogether ( per element of surface ) into the tissue , and consequently the depth of coagulation , can be advantageously controlled by the number of pulses in the series of pulses following the first pulse . of course , the optimized series of heating pulses may also be used without the removing pulse for coagulating . similarly , it may be advantageous to apply the heating pulses before the removing pulse ( as well ), if , for example , infected tissue is to be killed off before the removal , which is accompanied by a dispersion of tissue fragments . the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings , in which : fig1 shows a section through a region of tissue after irradiation in the case of high tissue absorption and low irradiation intensity , fig2 shows a section through a region of tissue after irradiation in the case of high tissue absorption and high irradiation intensity , fig3 shows a section through a region of tissue after irradiation with a pulsed light source according to the invention , fig4 shows a first embodiment of a pulse which has a beginning - of - pulse portion , inducing removal , and an end - of - pulse portion , following the first , with reduced irradiation intensity , fig5 shows a preferred embodiment of a sequence of pulses with a first pulse , inducing removal , and a pulse following the latter with decreasing irradiation intensity , fig6 shows a further embodiment of a sequence of pulses with a first pulse , inducing removal , and a series of pulses following the latter with increasingly weaker , but correspondingly prolonged pulses , fig7 shows a configuration of an apparatus with a control of the laser in dependence on the surface temperature of the tissue . in fig1 there is shown a section through a region of tissue as obtained , for example , in the case of high absorption in the tissue and low irradiation intensity . this occurs , for example , in the case of the co 2 continuous - wave laser , which is directed at the tissue surface 1 . the crater or cut 2 formed in the tissue is surrounded by a carbonization zone 3 , a zone 4 broken up by vacuoles , a coagulation zone 5 and a reversibly thermally damaged region 6 . the coagulation of the tissue produced by the heating and the accompanying hemostasis is of practical advantage in many cases , because it makes possible cuts which do not bleed . for applications in which as little damage as possible to the remaining tissue and good healing of the wound are important , great thermal effects are disadvantageous . carbonization of the tissue surface is likewise unfavorable . in fig2 there is shown a section corresponding to fig1 which shows the irradiation of a pulsed light source of high power and a wavelength in the ultraviolet or infrared range . examples of such a light source are tea - co 2 , er : yag , er : ysgg or excimer lasers . with these lasers , hard or soft tissue can be removed without carbonization and with only little thermal damage by a very effective thermomechanical ablation process . the zone 5 which , in the case of soft tissue , coagulated after use of the free - running er : yag laser has in vivo only a thickness of about 30 - 40 μm . this is of particular interest for the treatment of superficial skin lesions or for cosmetic surgery , because damage of the tissue beyond that which is removed is largely avoided . if , however , the capillary layer is reached , the removal is stopped by emerging blood . fig3 shows a section corresponding to fig1 and 2 through a tissue after irradiation with the pulsed light source according to the invention . as will be explained in more detail below with reference to fig4 and 5 , in this case the light emission of a pulsed ultraviolet or infrared light source is modulated in a controllable manner in such a way that , within a pulse cycle , a high - power pulse sufficient for tissue removal is followed in a defined time by a series of pulses comprising one or more pulses of which the power or energy content is not sufficient for tissue removal and consequently leads only to the tissue being heated . in this case , the crater 2 is surrounded by a coagulation zone 5 of controllable size . in this way , it is possible to remove tissue precisely and at the same time with little thermal side effects and without carbonization of the surface and , independently of the removal , can be heated in a specifically directed and controllable manner . fig4 shows a first embodiment of a pulse for achieving the removal shown in fig3 . in this case , each pulse comprises a short , first beginning - of - pulse portion 10 , sufficient for removal , and a subsequent end - of - pulse portion of reduced irradiation intensity . with regard to the individual parameters of the pulse portions , reference is made to the discussion above . fig5 shows a second embodiment of a sequence of pulses for achieving the removal shown in fig3 . in this case , in a pulse cycle , a first , short pulse 10 , sufficient for removal , is followed by at least one further pulse 11 , which is separated from the pulse 10 by a time interval , has an irradiation intensity decreasing over time and merely produces a heating effect . in fig6 there is shown a further embodiment of a sequence of pulses in which , in a pulse cycle , the short pulse 10 of high irradiation intensity , sufficient for removal , is followed by a sequence of pulses 12 to 14 of which the irradiation intensity decreases in each case , but the duration of which increases . of course , the irradiation intensity of the pulses 11 , or 12 to 14 , following the first pulse 10 and their duration could also be constant , as long as they do not lead to further damage or removal of the tissue . furthermore , the number of these pulses 12 to 14 may be selected according to the purpose in question on the basis of the criteria stated at the beginning for the respective application . an alternative to the predetermination of fixed parameters for the individual heating pulses is the control of the pulse energy levels , durations and interpulse periods on the basis of the surface temperature measured continuously or intermittently , for example between the individual pulses . as soon as the surface temperature drops below a predetermined minimum value ( for example 70 ° c . ), the laser is activated . the laser emission is stopped again when the preset upper limit value ( for example 200 ° c .) is reached . a possible refinement of such an apparatus in the form of a hand - held appliance is diagrammatically shown in fig7 . the laser radiation from a laser source q is deflected by means of a beam - splitting mirror s , which is transmissive to thermal radiation , and is focussed on the tissue by a lens l which is transparent to laser radiation and thermal radiation . the irradiated surface region of the tissue is likewise projected through the lens l onto the end face of a light - conducting fiber transmitting the thermal radiation ( for example a silver halide fiber or chalcogenide fiber ). this fiber conducts the thermal radiation to an infrared detector d . from the output signal of the latter , which is amplified in an amplifier v , after appropriate calibration the surface temperature of the tissue being worked at the time can be calculated , and this can then be used for the described control of the laser . in the case of this embodiment of the series of pulses used for heating , the energy introduced into the tissue altogether ( per element of surface ), and consequently the depth of coagulation , can be advantageously controlled by the number of pulses in the series of pulses following the first pulse . although only laser light sources have been mentioned above as examples of the light source , these examples are in no way restrictive , since other light sources , the light generating process of which is not based on the laser principle , with a corresponding wavelength and irradiation intensity may also be used , such as for example pulsed high - pressure gas discharge lamps with xenon or other gas filling . | 0 |
the convertible garment 1 disclosed herein is illustrated in fig1 through fig1 . fig1 is a front view of the jacket 1 showing a sleeveless style with vertical front opening 5 , amenable to a variety of closure means including but not limited to for example , velcro ®, zippers , buttons and snaps and other closure means , and collar 8 with a blanket 12 observed at neck opening 19 . the jacket 1 has a right and a left side 22 , 20 . the collar 8 has a collar front and a collar back 9 , 10 . the collar 8 is shown in fig1 through 4 , 5 through 8 and 11 . the collar front 9 is shown in fig1 through 4 and 5 while the collar back 10 is shown in fig6 and 11 . the left side 20 of the jacket 1 is shown partially opened in fig2 . fig3 illustrates the right and left sides 22 , 20 of the jacket 1 in partially opened positions . fig3 also shows the blanket 12 of the jacket 1 . fig4 shows the jacket 1 from the back 40 with left and right seams 45 , 47 illustrating or indicating a portion of the jacket 1 structure forming the perimeter or boundary of a pocket 35 formed between the back 40 and the blanket 12 . the pocket 35 has a pocket opening 37 positioned , for example in the preferred embodiment , proximal to the collar 8 at the collar front 9 , as shown in fig1 through 2a , 11 and 12 , and a pocket bottom 39 positioned distal from the pocket opening 37 , as shown in fig1 through 5 and 11 and 12 . the blanket 12 forms a portion of the pocket 35 as is shown in fig1 through 5 and 9 through 12 . the blanket 12 is additionally folded into and contained within the pocket 35 . the blanket 12 in the preferred embodiment is composed of a double folded layer of blanket material . however , the blanket 12 may be composed of many different fabrics or materials including but not limited to , for example , canvas and fire resistant materials , plastics and reflective materials including but not limited to mylar , blanket stock and other materials recognized by one of ordinary skills in the garment arts . in an alternative embodiment the pocket opening 37 may be positioned proximal to the collar 8 at the collar back 10 , at the jacket inside and at the jacket side . the jacket 1 may be in a vest , jacket or coat form , with or without collar or sleeves . a jacket shell or other outer garment or an inner lining may be utilized . the pocket opening 37 will be amenable to a variety of fastening or closure means including but not limited to velcro ®, zippers , buttons and snaps and other closure means devices or methods . the pocket 35 may be oriented so that the pocket opening 37 is positioned in a multitude of orientations including , as examples without limitation , proximal to the jacket top or bottom 17 , 18 , proximal to the right or left 22 , 20 , diagonal to a vertical from the jacket top to bottom 17 , 18 at the front or back 3 , 40 or inside 26 . fig5 is illustrative of an arm and hand having partially pulled the blanket 12 out of the pocket 35 after first reaching in through the pocket opening 37 proximal to the collar 8 at the collar front 9 . the blanket 12 is removed from the pocket 35 to reveal and present a fabric or material covering . the blanket 12 is removed from the pocket 35 by inserting hands into the pocket opening 37 and grasping , at the inside of the pocket , the pocket bottom 39 . the blanket 12 is extracted from the pocket 35 after extending one &# 39 ; s arm fully into the pocket 35 via the pocket openings 37 and pulling the blanket 12 from the pocket 35 . fig6 shows the blanket 12 in a double folded form where the blanket 12 is completely extracted from the pocket 35 and flattened in the preferred folded configuration of this embodiment . fig6 also illustrates the collar back 10 and the blanket 12 which was contained within the pocket 35 . fig7 illustrates the blanket 12 in a partially unfolded orientation . a remaining fold 14 is demonstrated in fig7 . fig8 shows what was depicted as a remaining fold 14 , in fig7 unfolded into the full - length of the blanket 12 which remains , in fig8 partially folded . fig9 illustrates a remaining lengthwise fold 16 . fig1 displays the blanket 12 in the position where the pocket 35 has been turned inside - out revealing additionally the pocket bottom 39 and the left and right seams 45 , 47 . fig1 is a view of the blanket 12 extracted from the pocket 35 with the pocket 35 turned inside - out and bounded by the left and right seams 45 , 47 , the pocket opening 37 , the pocket bottom 39 and the jacket back 40 . fig1 shows the opposite side of jacket 1 from that shown in fig1 . fig1 additionally demonstrates the collar 8 facing downward revealing the collar back 10 . fig1 shows the collar 8 folded into the pocket 35 at the pocket opening 37 . the jacket 1 is returned to a jacket form by reversing the process described . the folded orientation of the blanket 12 in fig6 demonstrates the position for reinsertion of the blanket 12 into the pocket 35 to return to the form of a jacket . the jacket 1 is returned to the jacket 1 form by reaching through the pocket opening 37 into the pocket 35 and grasping the pocket bottom 39 and drawing the folded blanket 12 into the pocket 35 as the pocket 35 is again turned inside - out to the position demonstrated by fig1 through 4 . the convertible garment is comprised in the elemental sense of a garment , shown here for convenience as a jacket 1 , with a blanket 12 affixed by means to the jacket 1 , forming a pocket 35 ; the blanket 12 affixed to the jacket such that portions of the blanket 12 are foldably received into the pocket 35 . the jacket 1 may have a liner or a shell , be collar or collarless , sleeve or sleeveless and possess other commonly understood structures in the garment arts . the blanket 12 may be of regular geometric shapes including but not limited to square , rectangular and circular or irregular shapes . the blanket 12 , for convenience , is described as having a blanket top and bottom 13 , 14 , a blanket right and left edge 15 , 16 and a centerline 42 extending generally centrally from blanket top to blanket bottom 13 , 14 ; the blanket 12 is affixed to the jacket 1 generally by stitching with other commonly understood affixing means appropriate including but not limited to velcro ®, snaps , buttons , brads , glues and other affixing means . the blanket 12 is affixed to the jacket 1 in a variety of orientations including at the jacket back 40 , front 3 and inside 26 . the blanket 12 is affixed to the jacket 1 such that portions of the blanket 12 will be folded and received into the pocket 35 at the pocket opening 37 . the blanket 12 may be affixed to the jacket 1 intermediate to the blanket right edge 15 and the centerline and intermediate to the blanket left edge 16 and the centerline and proximal to the blanket bottom 14 forming a pocket having a pocket opening proximal to the blanket top 13 and distal to the blanket bottom 14 which foldably receives , at the pocket opening 37 , those portions of the blanket 12 positioned between the affixing means and the blanket right and left edges 14 , 15 and between the pocket opening 37 and the blanket top 13 . the jacket 1 has an outer covering 2 , a front and a back 3 , 40 , a jacket top and bottom 17 , 18 ; a jacket inside 26 ; the jacket 1 at the front 3 has a right and a left side 22 , 20 ; and a neck opening 19 at the jacket top 17 . the blanket 12 may be affixed by means to the jacket outer covering 2 at the back 40 , at the front 3 and at the inside 26 . another description of the orientation of the blanket and jacket is found in the description of the blanket 12 as affixed by means to the jacket 1 by left and right seams 45 , 47 and a bottom seam 48 ; the bottom seam 48 is generally orthogonal to the left and right seams , which are generally parallel , and intersecting the left and right seams 45 , 47 ; the left and right seams 45 , 47 and the bottom seam 48 fasten by affixing means to the blanket 12 to the jacket 1 forming the perimeter or boundary of a pocket 35 , the pocket 35 having a pocket opening 37 and a pocket bottom 39 positioned distal from the pocket opening 37 and the bottom seam 48 . again , the blanket 12 may be affixed by means to the back 40 , front 3 and inside 26 . alternatively the left and right seams 45 , 47 are generally vertically formed commencing proximal to the jacket top 17 and proceeding proximal to the jacket bottom 18 ; the bottom seam 48 is generally horizontally formed proximal to the jacket bottom 18 at the back 40 intersecting the left and right seams 45 , 47 ; the left and right seams 45 , 47 and the bottom seam 48 fasten by means the outer covering 2 at the back 40 to the blanket 12 forming the perimeter or boundary of a pocket 35 residing between the back 40 and the blanket 12 ; the pocket 35 having a pocket opening 37 positioned proximal to the jacket top 17 , and a pocket bottom 39 positioned distal from the pocket opening 37 proximal to the jacket bottom 18 and the bottom seam 48 ; the blanket 12 is folded into and contained within the pocket 35 . the blanket 12 may be affixed by means to the front 3 , the back 40 and / or the inside 26 . in all events , the blanket 12 is folded into and contained within the pocket 35 when the jacket 1 is used and is otherwise unfolded and used as a blanket 12 . it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the garment arts that the affixing pattern , above described as right and left seams 45 , 47 and a bottom seam 48 , may form other patterns including but not limited to “ u ” shaped and semicircular . the affixing means in the preferred embodiment is stitching . however other affixing means will suffice including but not limited to , velcro ®, zippers , buttons , snaps , brads , glues and other affixing means recognized by one of ordinary skill in garment arts . the jacket 1 may have a collar 8 , at the neck opening 19 , having a collar front and a collar back 9 , 10 ; arm openings 23 proximal to the jacket top 17 at the right and left sides 22 , 20 ; the outer covering 2 at the front 3 may have a center front opening 5 from the neck opening 19 to the jacket bottom 18 ; the center front opening 5 amenable to a variety of jacket closure means including but not limited to velcro ®, zippers , buttons and snaps and other closure means devices or methods . the pocket 35 may be positioned to place the pocket opening 37 proximal to the collar 8 at the collar front or back 9 , 10 or proximal to the jacket top 17 at the front or back 3 , 40 or inside 26 . the pocket 35 may alternatively be oriented to place the pocket opening 37 toward the right or left 22 , 20 or in other orientations . in any event , the blanket 12 is folded and inserted into and contained within the pocket 35 . the method of converting the garment of claim 7 comprises inserting a hand through the pocket opening 37 into the pocket 35 ; grasping , at the inside of the pocket , the pocket bottom 39 ; turning the pocket 35 inside - out revealing additionally the pocket bottom 39 and the left and right seams 45 , 47 ; extracting the blanket 12 from the pocket 35 ; unfolding the blanket 12 . the reverse returns the blanket 12 into the pocket 35 including folding the blanket 12 , reaching through the pocket opening 37 into the pocket 35 and grasping the pocket bottom 39 ; drawing the folded blanket 12 into the pocket 35 as the pocket 35 is again turned inside - out to the starting position . alternative embodiments apply to this invention , as would be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the garments art , to articles of clothing other than jackets including for example , without limitation , overcoats , pants and trousers . the matter of the application of a pocket foldably containing a blanket or other covering is equally applicable to other articles of clothing other than upper jacket type apparel . while a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects . the appended claims are therefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
referring to fig1 a , there is shown an electronic delay device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention and which illustrates principles of the invention . a chromium - doped gallium arsenide semi - insulating substrate 20 has a p - type buffer layer 30 of gallium arsenide thereon . an n - type layer of gallium arsenide 40 is disposed on the layer 30 . a schottky barrier metal contact 50 is disposed over a region of the n - type layer 40 and defines a channel 41 in the n - type piezoelectric semiconductor material 40 that is beneath the schottky barrier layer . an acoustic interdigital transducer 55 is disposed on the layer 40 in spaced relation to the barrier layer 50 . an ohmic contact 61 , which in conjunction with the layer 40 and the schottky barrier layer 50 , comprises a positively biased input diode in this structure , is disposed on the layer 40 in the region between the barrier layer 50 and the transducer 55 , and preferably in close proximity to the barrier layer 50 . an ohmic contact 71 , which , in conjunction with the layer 40 and the schottky barrier layer 50 , comprises a positively biased output diode in this structure , is disposed on the layer 40 in close proximity to the other end of barrier layer 50 . acoustic absorbers 56 are disposed on layer 40 , as shown . an energizing signal to the negatively biased piezoelectric transducer 55 is provided from source 58 . an input electrical signal is applied to diode 61 via input terminal 62 and capacitor 63 . the output signal from diode 71 is applied to output terminal 75 via capacitor 72 and amplifier 73 . forms of the physical geometry of the multilayer buried channel structure are further shown in fig2 a and 2b . in an operating embodiment , the layers , grown by molecular beam epitaxy on [ 100 ] cut cr doped gaas substrate 20 , were a 1 . 7 microns thick p layer ( na ˜ 10 15 cm - 3 ) 30 and a 4 . 7 microns n layer ( nd ˜ 10 15 cm - 3 ) 40 . the device transfer channel , oriented in the & lt ; 110 & gt ; direction , is delineated by a preferential mesa etch to a depth of 5 microns as shown in fig2 b . ohmic contacts to the input and output diodes and to the exposed p layer are formed using the lift off process . after the contacts are alloyed the al schottky barrier 50 , acoustic interdigital transducer 55 , and interconnect pads are formed using standard photolithographic techniques . the interdigital transducer 55 , which has approximately 100 electrode pairs in this embodiment , generates a 7 . 9 microns wavelength saw over a beam width of 150 wavelengths at a source ( 58 ) frequency of 367 . 1 mhz . the transport channel is 1 mm wide and 1 . 55 mm long in this embodiment , corresponding to an acoustic delay between the input and output diodes of about 0 . 54 microseconds . depletion of the channel electrons under the schottky barrier 50 is achieved in this embodiment by biasing the diodes 61 and 71 with about 8 volts ( fig1 ). the generating efficiency of the saw transducer 55 is increased significantly when it is also biased , again with about 8 volts , such that the n type region underneath the electrodes is depleted . this insures that the transducer fields are not screened by charge carriers in the vicinity of the electrodes . a reverse biased metal isolation bar ( not shown ) can be disposed between the transducer 55 and the diode 61 to prevent electrons from the transducer from entering the channel . further considerations of isolation in devices pursuant to the invention are discussed below . fig3 shows the depletion potential and the saw potential magnitude within the depleted channel . if the depth of the channel is roughly one half of an acoustic wavelength , the saw potential profile within the depleted region peaks in the center of the channel when the wave is fully screened by the surface metal and the conductive p layer . both the depletion potential and the saw potential provide electron confinement to the channel center , although the depletion potential is more important in this regard because it is the larger of the two . charge carriers can be injected into the wave , for example , by applying a short negative pulse to the input diode . fig1 b shows the interaction of the wave with the injected charge . electrons diffusing toward the p layer 30 and the schottky barrier 50 are bunched and translated down the channel by the potential wells of the saw . when the wave amplitude is large the injected electrons quickly reach a steady state condition whereby the charge moves synchronously with the wave , with each packet moving precisely at the sound velocity . upon reaching the output diode 71 , the delayed charge packets are swept out of the wave by the applied reverse bias resulting in a current spike in the output detection circuit . in the absence of charge loading and diffusion effects , it has been previously shown that the minimum wave electric field necessary for the transport to occur is v s / u = 40 v . cm - 1 where v s is the sound velocity and u is the mobility of electrons in gaas . the rather large electron mobility in gaas allows the synchronous condition to be achieved with relatively small wave potential , particularly when the saw frequency is large . transducer insertion loss measurements can be used to obtain estimates of the acoustic power flowing in the channel . from this calculation the wave potential and electric field can be calculated . in applicants &# 39 ; experiments the acoustic power is about 10 mw resulting in a peak wave potential of 0 . 077 v and a peak electric field of ˜ 600 v / cm . fig4 shows an oscillograph of the output diode current that was obtained by applying a 100 ns duration pulse to the input diode while the saw transducer 58 was driven by an 8 microseconds 367 mhz r . f . burst . the 0 . 54 microseconds acoustic delay between the contacts was observed , showing that the injected charge is moving synchronously with the wave . the response of the charge transport delay line to an r . f . burst at 10 mhz is shown in fig5 . the output amplifier was inverting in this experiment , so an electron output current appears as a positive trace deviation . the response is a close replica of the input waveform delayed by 540 ns . of special interest was the absence of an interfering signal in the output due to radiated or acoustic pickup at the saw frequency . the interfering signals are suppressed by using a high q narrowband reject filter 78 at the saw frequency , as shown in fig1 . it will be understood that there were several factors which limited the performance of the described experimental saw transport device . it was learned that the bandwidth of the device was limited primarily by the rc time constants associated with the input and output diodes , an effect which can be significantly reduced by positioning the diodes in closer proximity to their schottky barrier . input gates for charge injection can reduce the disadvantages of a poorly defined injection region and the removal of some charge from the wave when the input contact returns to the bias potential . also , the wave power in the channel was limited by the large insertion loss in the saw transducer due to fabrication imperfections in the electrodes . nevertheless , applicants believe that their experiments indicate that the disclosed transport process and device is potentially suitable for implementation of high speed , large time - bandwidth product , large dynamic range monolithic delay elements . in the previously described embodiment , lateral channel confinement was achieved with a mesa approach . alternative techniques can be employed . for example , metal guard rails , such as are shown in fig6 a ( and used in conjunction with a bias ring , as described below ), or p - type diffusions , as shown in fig6 b , can be employed to help confine charge packets to the channel . in the previously described embodiment a single delay section and diode are shown , but it will be understood that multiple delay sections and output sensing elements or taps can be employed . fig7 illustrates a configuration wherein three receiving taps are employed . the piezoelectric semiconductor layer 40 , saw 55 , acoustic absorbers 56 , and input diode 61 and output diode 71 ( used as a termination in the illustrated embodiment ) correspond to their counterparts in fig1 . the barrier layer portions 50a , 50b , 50c and 50d correspond to barrier layer 50 of fig1 and the recited elements can be biased and energized in a manner similar to previous description . in this embodiment , a guard ring 181 and a bias ring 182 are illustrated and surround most of the device as shown in fig9 . the guard ring 181 , a schottky barrier metal ring , is biased more negatively than anything else . it serves to deplete the channel and provide electrical isolation between the channel ( and its associated input and output structures ) and the rest of the epi - layer 40 . the bias ring 182 clamps the layer 40 to a defined positive potential so that electrons outside the guard ring cannot enter the channel . leakage current which may be generated under the guard ring is shunted away from the channel region by the bias ring . a further ring of the bias ring 182 can surround the saw transducer 55 , as shown in fig9 . a negatively biased input gate 84 is utilized in this embodiment , and has a control terminal 85 . the negative bias prevents electrons from diode 61 from entering the channel . a plurality of metal barrier taps 91a , 91b and 91c are respectively disposed after the barrier sections 50a , 50b and 50c . each tap has an associated output terminal and is also coupled through a capacitor c to ground . applicants have discovered that the taps are non - destructive of the signal as it is passed and is sensed . this will be described further hereinbelow . also , in the embodiment of fig7 the support layer 21 is a semi - insulating substrate of chromium - doped gallium arsenide , and there is no additional p - type layer of gallium arsenide , as in the fig1 embodiment , although such a layer can be included , if desired . advantageous fabrication can also be implemented using vapor phase epitaxy on liquid encapsulated czochralski semi - insulating substrates . other epitaxial growth techniques can also be used . also , techniques such as diffusion and ion implantation are being considered . in operation of the fig7 embodiment , the signal from input diode is injected into the channel ( which effectively includes the region under gate 84 when it is biased on ) and proceeds toward the output diode 71 , being transported along the channel by the travelling wave electric field produced by the saw . at each tap a delayed version of the input signal is obtained , the amount of delay being dependent upon the selected geometry and saw propagation velocity . when a charge packet is injected into the device channel , to be transported by the wave down the channel , the electric fields associated with the charge packet interact with any electrically conductive structures which are in proximity to the transport channel . the net effect of this interaction is to create a charge distribution in the conductors whose electric fields tend to cancel the fields set up by the charge packet . the simplest geometry to consider in this case is a metallic conducting plane parallel to the transport channel which lies on the surface of the device . the charge which collects in the metal can be referred to as the &# 34 ; image &# 34 ; charge . ( this image will occur in any conductive structure , including , for example , a conductive p type layer .) the image charge will move with its corresponding charge packet as the wave moves the charge down the channel . if the conductive structure is a perfect conductor , then the wave expends energy only to move the charge in the channels and the image charge rides along &# 34 ; free .&# 34 ; if the conductive structure has some resistance associated with it , then the wave must expend additional energy to move the image charge . in the practical cases to be considered here , the conductive structure should have low enough resistance that this additional energy can be considered to be negligible . the concept of the image charge is clarified by introducing the idea of an equivalent capacitance . in this model the transported charge resides on one plate of the equivalent capacitor while the image charge resides on the other . the sum of all charge in the image plate exactly equals the sum of all the charge in the transported packet except that the image charge has the opposite polarity of the transported charge . the ability to non - destructively sense the transported charge as it moves along the channel is made possible by monitoring the currents associated with the image charge . this is illustrated in simplified form in fig8 . a small gap is introduced in the conductive metal structure and a current sensing instrument ( such as a resistor ) is inserted between the two conductors to sense the current associated with the movement of the image charge . the voltage across the gap induced by the image current through the resistor can represent the output signal of the non - destructive &# 34 ; tap .&# 34 ; if the value of the resistor is chosen to be too large , this potential difference will &# 34 ; tilt &# 34 ; the potential wells of the wave , letting charge leak out of the transported packet . however , it can be shown that for values of r which give good detection sensitivity this effect is very small , provided the gap is very small . the power delivered to the resistor comes from the wave which works to push the charge across the gap . hence , for appropriate values of r , as noted , the signal ( charge packet ) is substantially unperturbed even though the power is dissipated in the resistor . the power lost from the wave will decrease the magnitude of the wave potential wells only slightly . this decrease in wave potential well size does not affect the charge in the well because of the strong non - linearity of the transport process . in other words , there are many well depths which can carry the same size charge packet . multiple signal taps of the form shown in fig8 use a floating current detector for each tap and can tend to be impractical when a large number of non - destructive taps are desired . a voltage sensing configuration , which does not require floating detectors , is employed in conjunction with the fig7 taps . in this case , an independent metal electrode is situated between grounded sections of the metal plate . as the transported charge moves under this electrode , the corresponding image charge proceeds from ground through the capacitor ( via displacement current ), onto the sense electrode . the capacitor integrates this current , giving an output voltage which varies in proportion to the amount of transport charge under the sense electrode . when the transport charge finishes its transit across the sense electrode , the same process occurs , discharging the capacitor , the voltage across it collapsing correspondingly . thus , longer impulse responses can be achieved by making the sense electrode longer . also , if desired , the signals from these electrodes can be readily summed , for example , by connecting them all to the same buss bar . in addition , the strength of each electrode can be varied by adjusting the width of the electrode . these characteristics can be useful for signal processing applications . further , multiple injection means could be respectively employed at tap positions ( for taps designed for injection ) and a combined output extracted from an end of the channel . referring to fig1 there is shown an embodiment of the invention which can be used , inter alia , as an analog or digital register device in which input signals are controlled with clock signals or other control signals . the semi - insulating substrate 21 and the layer 40 may be substantially the same as in the fig7 embodiment . also , the transducer 55 , absorbers 56 , guard ring 181 , bias ring 182 , input diode 61 , and input gate 84 may be substantially as shown in fig7 . in the fig1 embodiment , a negatively biased output gate 191 , under control of a signal applied via control terminal 193 and capacitor 192 is used to gate the output signal . an output gate can , of course , also be used in other embodiments . the barrier layer of the fig1 embodiment includes portions designated 50e1 , 50e2 , and 50e3 , and between these other portions designated 50f1 and 50f2 . the control or clock voltage applied to the three ( in this example ) &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; barrier layer portions is designated ve , and the control or clock voltage applied to the two &# 34 ; f &# 34 ; barrier layer portions is designated vf . as in the case of other embodiments of the invention where the channel barrier layer is divided into a plurality of portions , if the gaps between adjacent portions are very small , the effect on potential variation will be minimized . an example of a procedure for operating the fig1 embodiment is as follows : if ve = vf , the device will initially act like the device of fig1 . ( a suitable voltage , ve = vf , for normal transport operation will depend upon several factors , including the saw wavelength , the thickness and doping density of the layer 40 , and the type of substrate .) next , assume that an input signal is sampled and applied to the channel input ( via input terminal 62 , and under control of a gate control signal applied to terminal 85 ) using timing that causes signal charge packets to be spaced in time such that they are simultaneously under successive &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; portions of the barrier layer ; i . e . barrier layer portions 50e1 , 50e2 , and 50e3 . ( this can be achieved , for example , by setting the sampling period equal to the distance between the centers of the &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; portions divided by the velocity of saw wave .) the same timing associated with the input signal sampling can then be used to switch the voltages - ve and / or - vf such that - ve is less negative than - vf ( such as , 6 volts less negative ). this will result in small storage wells being effectively positioned beneath the &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; barrier layer portions , which will result in the charge packets thereunder being trapped , even in the presence of the saw wave attempting to sweep them along . to release the charge packets so that they can continue on toward the output ( e . g . after a selected delay ), - ve can again be set equal to - vf . it will be understood that if there is a lack of precise synchronization with the input sampling , there may be averaging of samples , which may be acceptable or even desirable , depending upon the application of the device . also , it will be understood that barrier layer portions of this and other embodiments may be used for optical inputs and / or non - destructive sensing taps , e . g . described herein . fig1 illustrates the barrier layer portions of another version of the fig1 embodiment , the remainder of the device being similar to that shown in fig1 . in this case , the progressing charge packets are confined under the barrier layer portions 50g1 , 50g2 , and / or 50g3 by virtue of potential barriers temporarily established under the small barrier layer portions 50h1 , 50h2 and 50h3 . in operation , the voltages - vg and - vh can initially be the same , with - vh being switched to a more negative voltage at the time when it is desired to establish under the &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; electrodes a barrier which prevents the charge packets from continuing to be carried along by the saw wave . the voltages can then , at a desired time , be made equal again to release the charge packets so they can continue to be carried along by the saw wave . referring to fig1 , there is shown a version of the fig1 embodiment wherein the charge can be injected in parallel into the regions in the channel beneath the barrier layer portions 50g1 , 50g2 and / or 50g3 , from electrodes 150g1 , 150g2 and / or 150g3 . a portion of the guard ring , designated 180a , is used as a gate to control transfer of the charge from the electrodes 150g1 , 150g2 and 150g3 ( which are preferably ohmic contacts ), to the regions beneath barrier layer portions 50g1 , 50g2 and 50g3 . the barrier layer portions 50h1 , 50h2 and 50h3 can extend past the guard ring portions 181a so as to also provide isolation of the electrodes 150g1 , 150g2 and 150g3 . the electrodes 150g1 , 150g2 and 150g3 can be optimized optical sensors used , for example , for sensing a line of optical information , and a field of video information can be produced from a series of side - by - side lines . alternatively , the device can be used , for example , for parallel - in - serial - out applications where the electrical signals to be read in are applied to terminals coupled to the electrodes 150g1 , 150g2 , and 150g3 . operation , after transfer of the input signals to the channel regions , can be as described in conjunction with fig1 , with controlled read - out of the stored charge packets being achieved , for example , by changing the voltage on barrier layer portions 50h1 and 50h2 . for serial - in - parallel - out operation , the electrodes 150g1 , 150g2 and 150g3 can be used to obtain the parallel output signals from the channel . in the illustrative embodiments hereof , the buried layer in which most of the acoustic wave energy ( and accompanying electromagnetic potential ) and the transported electrical signal travels is a layer of n - type gallium arsenide grown on one or more layers of gallium arsenide support and / or confining layers . in such case , each layer is a semiconductor which exhibits piezoelectricity . while this is preferred , it is only necessary that the first - mentioned buried layer be piezoelectric semiconductor . also , a heterojunction structure may be used wherein , for example , the confining layer beneath the gallium arsenide is aluminum gallium arsenide . other materials may also be used . further , while metal barrier layers have been illustrated , it will be understood that other conductive layers , such as a conductive p - type semiconductor layer ( which may be transparent ) can be employed for this purpose . the invention has been described with reference to particular preferred embodiments , but variations within the spirit and scope of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art . for example , counter - propagating channels with mutual coupling could be used to implement a convolver . gallium arsenide has photosensitivity to near infrared and visible light . as indicated above , the disclosed technique can be employed in image detection applications . the light can be received through openings in the barrier layer , through a transparent barrier or the back side of the device , or can be received by auxiliary sensors and transferred to the channel . further , a light source can be used as one or more discrete injection means . | 7 |
an common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 as illustrated in fig1 - 5 is comprised of any number of stackable modules 12 of same or varying heights , electrically interconnected via an internal connector raceway system 24 within raceway sealed chamber volume 44 and physically via module sealing tongue 32 and module base female sealing groove 18 and wall female sealing groove 40 and wall male scaling tongue 42 in addition to module compression bolt holes 20 and module compression bolts 22 forming a complete integrated and sealed common bus structure for avionics and satellites as illustrated in fig5 where module lid 14 interfaces with the top of stackable module 12 and beneath stackable module 12 with module stack base 16 by utilizing the same module sealing tongue 32 and module base female sealing groove 18 as occurs between any stackable module 12 . when a stackable module 12 is secured on top of another stackable module 12 , module floor underside 46 seals the top of another module 12 in the exact manner that module lid 14 does , forming a sub - dividable module sealed chamber volume 45 , while simultaneously if two stackable modules 12 are connected , internal connector raceway system 24 connects to another internal connector raceway system 24 via inserting internal raceway male connection guide 48 into internal raceway female connection guide 50 in conjunction with securely fitting internal raceway male connection 30 into internal raceway female connection 26 . in fig1 , internal to module 12 is module floor 38 forming a sealed chamber when either another module 12 is secured above it , or a module lid 14 is secured above it . all electrical connections into a raceway sealed chamber volume 44 are via a representative subdividing wall connector 36 electrically interfacing with subdividing wall connector female interface 29 integral to raceway wall connection interface 28 via a back - to - back representative subdividing wall connector 36 facing directly opposite to representative subdividing wall connector 36 as frontally shown in fig3 . a representative second module partitioning wall 34 is also shown inside stackable module 12 in fig3 . a stackable module 12 can be internally subdivided any number of times via placement of an additional module partitioning wall 34 at any predetermined location within stackable module 12 . a common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 as illustrated in fig5 shows its versatility in fig6 with instant unmodified placement as a stand - alone consolidated avionics system 11 aboard a representative aircraft platform 52 which has direct communication paths to gps satellite constellation 54 , generic relay satellite constellation 56 , and standard telemetry ground receiving system 58 . a common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 as illustrated in fig5 shows its versatility in fig7 with instant unmodified placement as a stand - alone consolidated avionics system 11 aboard a representative missile / rocket platform 60 which has direct communication paths to gps satellite constellation 54 , generic relay satellite constellation 56 , and standard telemetry ground receiving system 58 . a common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 as illustrated in fig5 is instantly adaptable into becoming stand - alone complete satellite system 64 as shown in fig8 , with the addition of representative solar panels 62 , a representative thrusting propulsion system 70 , a representative attitude control thrusting system 72 and a representative antenna 66 , all accommodated and integral to a common stackable module 12 . a common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 as illustrated in fig5 shows its versatility in fig9 with instant unmodified placement as a stand - alone consolidated avionics system 11 aboard a representative satellite platform 68 which has direct communication paths to gps satellite constellation 54 , generic relay satellite constellation 56 , and standard telemetry ground receiving system 58 . a common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 as illustrated in fig1 , 5 and 8 specifically detailing representative power / battery charging connector / cabled communication / monitoring interface 74 being an interface access point for monitoring / controlling an array of electronic component internals of cbsas by externally cabling in power for charging on - board batteries and for cabled bi - directional communication with all systems within common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 . the common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 as illustrated fully in fig1 and 5 , and incrementally in fig2 , 4 has solved the design and operational complexities involved with finally manifesting a single box which is the mainstay and common backbone of an avionics or satellite system capable of operating equally and as efficiently within benign atmospheric conditions as it does in the harsh environment of space , including the transit into space aboard any missile or rocket . this then being the first ever manifestation of a truly modular , stackable , scalable , flexible , inter - connectable , adaptable , reconfigurable , consolidated and interchangeable system combining the functions of rf ( wireless communication ), processor , data communication and i / o , emi / rfi , power with a emi / rfi chamber design along with the integration of complex interchangeable hardware , software and firmware into a single unit which allows for the never - before combined functions such as time / space / position information ( tspi ), data acquisition / processing / relay ( da / p / r ), wireless communication , avionics , navigation , command and data handling and power generation / distribution ( pg / d ) to be contained in a single consolidated structure . additionally , the combining of all these functions to comprise the common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 allows for unprecedented efficiencies in design , manufacture and space qualification testing to occur on a one - box system level , and provides for all components and capabilities within stackable modules 12 to be instantly accessible for any reason by simply removing module compression bolts 22 from modular bolt holes 20 , and subsequently easily separating any stackable module 12 from another stackable module 12 , including module lid 14 , modular stack base 16 that forms a parallel secondary floor to module floor 38 , and simultaneously separates internal raceway female connection 26 from internal raceway male connection 30 , along with internal raceway male connection guide 48 from internal raceway female connection guide 50 , or removing module lid 14 from the top of a stackable module 12 if it is the top module stackable module 12 . stackable module 12 can be of varying height as shown in fig8 , depending upon the needs of the user , with internal connector raceway system 24 being variable to any measurement required to support any varied stackable module 12 height . any components with functions such as rf ( wireless communication ), processor , data communication and i / o , emi / rfi , power , navigation sources ( gps receiver , ins , imu , etc .) can be placed in any module , and instantly interfaces with standard communication protocols through module subdividing wall connectors 36 into subdividing wall connector female interface 29 that is integral with raceway wall connection interface 28 . the innovations at the heart of the common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 make obsolete the need to employ many distributed / federated black boxes which today results in a huge price tag for development , unnecessary size and weight implications , qualification testing of many black - boxes instead of just one , and the present need in all black - box systems to always have rf , processor and power devices separated . each stackable module 12 is the equivalent of one black - box which would only provide one function of the array necessary in an aerospace hardware suite , those functions , amongst others are rf ( wireless communication ), processor , data communication and i / o , emi / rfi , power , and other navigation sources ( gps receiver , ins , imu , etc .) input . by combining all these functions individually , each into a stackable module 12 , one quickly and simply achieves the first truly modular , stackable , scalable , flexible , inter - connectable , adaptable , reconfigurable , consolidated and interchangeable single box that does all functions necessary in an aerospace hardware suite , while not restricting its use to being only of avionics , but also includes but is not limited to any tspi , da / p / r , wireless communication , navigation , command and data handling , pg / d function or even as a stand - alone satellite which can be networked in space with an unlimited number of other similar or different satellites and ground stations . the emi / rfi chambers that instantly manifested as a module sealed chamber volume 45 and raceway sealed chamber volume 44 upon mating two stackable modules 12 or a single stackable module 12 with a module lid 14 and a module stack base 16 allow for the first time mixing of rf ( wireless communication ), processor , data communication and i / o , emi / rfi , power , gps rx / ins / imu navigation input in one singly space qualified box which can be used instantly on a vehicle operating in benign atmospheric conditions up through and including the harsh environment of space , and without any increase in cost due to the innovative design which is applicable and cross - cutting for use in all environments on practically any aerospace or other vehicle type . the tongue in groove design exemplified and applied with module sealing tongue 32 , module base female sealing groove 18 , module floor underside 46 , wall male sealing tongue 42 and wall female sealing groove 40 , all in combination with module partitioning walls 34 with their associated back - to - back subdividing wall connectors 36 , and internal connector raceway system 24 cumulatively create the raceway sealed chamber volume 44 and subsequent individual stacked emi / rfi chambers necessary to co - locate and mix for the first time rf , processor , data communication and i / o , emi / rfi , power , gps rx / ins / emu navigation input in one singly space qualified box which can be used instantly on a vehicle operating in benign atmospheric conditions up through and including the harsh environment of space , and without any increase in cost in any environment due to the innovative design which is applicable and cross - cutting for on practically any aerospace or other vehicle type . additionally , external power and cabled communication are interfaced with common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 via representative power / battery charging connector / cabled communication / min interface 74 as illustrated in fig1 , 5 and 8 . fig6 and 9 clearly show how simple it is to use a common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 as a stand - alone consolidated avionics system 11 on a representative aircraft platform 52 in fig6 , as a stand - alone consolidated avionics system 11 on a representative missile / rocket platform 60 in fig7 , and as a stand - alone consolidated avionics system 11 on a representative satellite platform 68 in fig9 . fig8 illustrates how a common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 is manifested as a completely stand - alone satellite system 64 appended with representative solar panels 62 , a representative thrusting propulsion system 70 appended to module stack base 16 , an appended representative antenna 66 , and a representative attitude control thrusting system 72 appended to a stackable module 12 , clearly creating a completely modular stand - alone military class robust satellite capability with core bus commonality to a stand - alone consolidated avionics system 11 , employable on any aerospace platform as shown in fig6 and 9 . in the aircraft application as shown in fig6 , the missile / rocket application of fig7 , the stand alone satellite application of fig8 , and the larger satellite avionics application within representative satellite platform 68 as depicted in fig9 , the same gps satellite constellation 54 is employed as is the same generic relay satellite constellation 56 and the same standard telemetry ground receiving system 58 . the use of the architecture described in the common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 when applied to a stand - alone complete satellite system 64 will dominate and change the satellite industry by providing the capability to build satellites which are at least as , or more robust as the currently employed individual designed ones which cost orders of magnitude more to design and develop due to their proprietary nature , and are not nearly as efficient to integrate and deploy in a responsive manner due to their unique individualistic black - box designs integrated on a case - by - case basis . the use of the architecture described in the common bus structure for avionics and satellites 10 when applied to a stand - alone consolidated avionics system 11 will dominate and change the satellite industry by providing the capability to build consolidated avionics systems which are at least as , or more robust as the currently employed ones which cost orders of magnitude more to design and develop due to their proprietary and federated nature , and are not nearly as efficient to integrate and deploy in a responsive manner in comparison to stand - alone complete satellite system 64 due to their unique individualistic black - box designs integrated on a case - by - case basis . the above description distills the essence of the invention into the key component and integrated capabilities which illustrate the unprecedented aspect of this invention being the first time an avionics bus structure is usable on any aerospace platform whether employed within the atmosphere or in space , and can be equally and easily used as a standalone satellite . the qualities of complete modularity , scalability , flexibility , stackability , interconnectivity , adaptability , reconfigurability and interchangeability of an intelligent consolidated architecture into a single consolidated structure and function for multiple applications easily and elegantly takes the place of many federated black - boxes while combining functions never contemplated to combine before into one single box structure , and is capable of operating in a space or earth environment instantly without any modification , with more detailed qualities and capabilities being further described as follows : 1 ) commonality of manufacture and integration by a single entity into a single consolidated structure enables the establishment of all functions and interfaces to be controlled or quickly worked - around by that single entity , which leads to unprecedented internal flexibility of capabilities which can be reconfigured and controlled if hardware changes are necessary , in addition to rapid workarounds that may be required in the event of an unplanned failure within a module . 2 ) the simplicity and elegance of cbsas allows for reliability to be maintained and monitored simultaneously between all modules via integrated tests that can be automated or controlled via ground software . 3 ) similarly to tests while on the ground , cbsas has the integrated capability to do self or ground controlled integrated testing while in flight or on - orbit , and subsequently transmit that integrated data down to earth or any other monitoring location via a telemetry stream . 4 ) single or multiple inputs ingested into the cbsas from external sources are processed and distributed throughout the consolidated structure via the most efficient high - speed electronic routing in order for the system to respond in the most efficient actionable manner possible . 5 ) operational readiness is easy maintained by replacing electrical or mechanical components within a module at any desired time , as well as simply removing a module and replacing it with another module with similar internal components to accomplish the same function as previously required . 6 ) upgrading a single module &# 39 ; s components , or any number of module components simultaneously is easily accomplished within the responsibility of a single integrator at a single location , who can effectively accomplish a minimal cost upgrade to the entire system , vs . the extremely expensive approach for individually upgrading numerous black - boxes , not to mention the extended timeline and coordination that would be required from numerous individual suppliers . 7 ) the open architecture and commonality of this system for an avionics or satellite application drives the use of the lightest and most state - of - the - art components to be employed within the modules , whether the upgrade is as simple as replacing an internal component , or if a more rapid scenario is desired , a separate substitute module can be prepared independent of the existing module desired to be replaced , and then replaced into the consolidated stack of modules on a timeline that best suits the integrator . 8 ) a single suite of common test equipment is employed on the consolidated stack of modules , whether it is configured as an avionics bus or a satellite , and whether or not modules are divided into two or more chambers . 9 ) the completely independent arrangement of modules in a consolidated stack allows for a customer to configure it in any order for any reason , especially if an attitude control system ( acs ) with thrust ports are desired to be appended to a module comprising a stand - alone satellite configuration , whereby the most momentum leverage would be achieved by mounting the acs towards the top of the consolidated stack . 10 ) the size , weight and power reductions enabled by use of cbsas as an avionics unit or as a satellite are unparalleled in the avionics or satellite industries , and frees up acreage and weight that can be better utilized for other equipment and / or payload space , or in the case of a small satellite , the space and weight parameters freed up can be utilized for carrying more sensors or other specialized payload packages . 11 ) the internal raceway contained in both the avionics and satellite manifestations of cbsas enable high - speed secure communications throughout the entire stack of modules , irrespective of the order in which they are stacked , and allows for a communications port to interface with any standard communications network . 12 ) the direct interconnectivity of all systems contained in all the modules insure the most robust backup capability possible whether as a standalone avionics unit or as a standalone satellite , complete with internal diagnostics that give deep insight into the status of an individual module at anytime and at any place . 13 ) whether in use as a satellite or an avionics unit , cbsas has the capability to ingest external commands from an off - board location to adjust or even completely change the previously programmed flight parameters it was initially instructed to carry out . 14 ) the system architecture of cbsas allows it to internally accommodate the most tiny and powerful state - of - the - art components , allowing for redundant and fault tolerant systems to be integral with the primary ones with very little increased weight . 15 ) a satellite or avionics configuration in its stacked and consolidated arrangement can be environmentally qualification tested as a whole unit , thus saving many times over what environmentally qualifying the equivalent number of individual black - boxes would be . 16 ) all components contained or planned to be upgraded within a satellite or avionics manifestation of cbsas have been meticulously pre - selected , along with having a full reliability assessment compliment each component , which in - turn allows for extremely high initial system reliability . 17 ) in addition to the size , weight and power reductions made possible by deployment of cbsas , which in - turn leads to greater customer earning power , other huge benefits become apparent when one sees the design and manufacturing simplicity that accompanies the consolidated modular approach , allowing for rapid production to simultaneously benefit the satellite and avionics industry . 18 ) the simplicity inherent in the cbsas design allows for either a satellite in orbit or an avionics package in flight to have full duplex communications with the unit , while simultaneously having continual telemetry reporting of the health and status of all systems throughout all mission phases . 19 ) in sharp contrast to a federated black - box avionics or satellite system , cbsas &# 39 ; s modular and consolidated approach to manifest either an avionics or satellite system is capable of combining previously un - combinable disciplines such as comm and power into one unit , therefore allows the essence of this invention to exist for the first time ever in aerospace or any other industry . 20 ) the avionics manifestation of cbsas can equally function within the benign atmosphere or aboard a satellite in space without any modification , in sharp contrast to existing black - box avionics systems comprised of individual boxes , where each box is either space rated or atmosphere rated , and if space rated , by simple fact of that designation will cost orders of magnitude more than a box solely used within the atmosphere , but not so with cbsas . 21 ) costly space qualification tests are slashed by cbsas due to only needing to test one consolidated unit that would normally be comprised of approximately 5 individual units with a federated standard black - box system , which would require the corresponding number of space qualification tests , with one qualification test being required for each box , vs . cbsas where only testing one consolidated box containing all five previously segregated functions is necessary . 22 ) the integration of previously segregated emi / rfi enclosures into a single stacked unit with an internal raceway with its own separate emi / rfi chamber adjacent to the enclosures contained within a module is unprecedented , and is what allows the miniaturization of an avionics suite or a complete satellite system to be manifested into the single stacked unit known as cbsas 23 ) assembly of cbsas into a solid single structure is unprecedented amongst all the other federated black - box avionics and satellite systems whereby the vehicle attach points of the various black - boxes require full individual integration and cabling to each separate box , in sharp contrast to cbsas which utilizes a unique interlocking tongue and groove system to secure each module to each other , resulting in an integrated structure with internal cabling that withstands any severe environment encountered within or outside of the atmosphere 24 ) in order for cbsas to be usable as a standalone satellite in addition to an avionics system , it was important to remove all outer cabling from the modules structure and run the cables internally as the invention shows , which additionally provides the most stable structure possible when it comes to passing space qualification testing , especially since an external cable system would subject the unit to immediate emi hazards when deployed in space , rendering it useless . 25 ) cbsas levels the playing field for applications on small satellite launching systems up through large and expensive satellite launching systems without requiring any modification , and when coupled with the sustainability and repeatability of manufacture , large numbers of units can be quickly manufactured , keeping the price point lower than any federated avionics system . 26 ) the military robustness rating of cbsas allows for the armed forces to quickly proliferate space with the inexpensive bus structures of this invention for all types of satellite applications in a rapid deployment fashion , and while keeping increased numbers ready in orbit , and their tiny size makes them much more survivable than a larger satellite with an equivalent mission . given all the above detailed description of this first bus usable for atmospheric avionics , avionics on satellites in space , and as a stand - alone satellite , it also removes the cost barrier whereby a system utilized in the harsh conditions of space is also cost effective for use on vehicles operating within the atmosphere . previously it would have also been cost prohibitive and impractical to adapt any avionics utilized in atmospheric conditions for use in a space environment . for the first time in the aerospace or any industry , the data acquisition , computational and system components and interfaces of a satellite or avionics system are of a nature whereby their associated physical outer structure is integral with the components themselves that comprise it within a single assembled box system , thereby making the whole satellite or avionics system an integrated and consolidated structure . in sharp contrast to this approach , all other existing avionics and satellite systems employ a physical outer enveloping structure that houses many black boxes connected with external cabling in a federated manner to comprise the satellite or avionics suite in a distributed , non - integrated way . the integrated and consolidated approach of this invention creates an opportunity in the aerospace or any industry to forge a new dimension and paradigm when it comes to the assemblage of components which comprise a satellite or avionics system which can function equally as well on vehicles operating within benign atmospheric conditions either terrestrially or not , up through and including the harsh environment of space . of further note , accompanying this invention is the unprecedented ease of incremental or full upgrades of internal components which paves the way for extreme employment and modification cost reductions on a global scale , with no other federated system even coming close to the capabilities made instantly possible with this invention . finally , cbsas allows for the ease of deployment of hundreds of nano / micro satellites to form constellations in space with different payload instruments that communicate at high speed rates between each other to form a disaggregation architecture which emulates a large satellite and / or make hundreds of scientific measurements simultaneously to gain additional scientific insight and knowledge . it has unprecedented flexibility from design , buildup , test and operations due to its simplistic open architecture that allows it to function as a satellite or an avionics system for use within the atmosphere or in space without any internal modification , while additionally allowing for the most fail - safe operations possible via the lightweight internal components which can have backup systems resident within the modules . it employs the same open architecture within a satellite or avionics configuration , allowing for unprecedented and highly repeatable assembly and testing to occur prior to flight to maximize its reliability , and if an anomaly occurs , rapid replacement of module components or the module itself can occur , in addition to fail - over and fault tolerant software being present that can reconfigure the flight unit if deployed and inaccessible to human intervention . it is equally possible to have a satellite or avionics configuration function during all mission phases as a completely self - contained system that provides a data downlink for monitoring all systems within the consolidated stack of modules . it has a crossover nature with standard protocols enabling it to interface with any sensors in a common way that has direct applicability for a satellite or avionics implementation , while also enabling a simplistic approach for integration into any vehicle when manifested as an avionics suite for use within the atmosphere or in space . it is possible to reconfigure cbsas quickly and efficiently on a module level , on down to a component level within the modules in a manner that allows for a rapid response capability to maintain a timeline , whether during a production , testing or flight phase . it has an unparalleled capability for instantaneous upgrades whether in an avionics or satellite configuration , therefore allowing for the latest component technologies to be integrated as soon as they are available , and thereby minimizing risks when adopting and integrating these new technologies . it has the smallest footprint , weight and power requirements of any stand - alone satellite or avionics suite of similar capability , while additionally possessing complete crossover architecture for the first time between the avionics and satellite disciplines . it can be reconfigured in a very rapid manner in the event that mission objectives change which require new internal components , or even the addition of new modules to be added to the stack . it provides for the most responsive implementation of satellite vs . avionics buildup whether in the early manufacturing stages , or later on during final assembly with test and check - out , while simultaneously even allowing for a last minute change of the unit being manifested as a satellite or an avionics package . it is employable on any size vehicle currently utilizing avionics comprised of many federated black - boxes , while subsequently requiring a fraction of a footprint , power and allowing those metrics to be utilized by other disciplines for housing new capabilities which can generate additional revenue which would otherwise not have been possible . it has an on - board ability for monitoring or being controlled via full duplex communications , giving a real - time connection with all systems whether functioning as a consolidated avionics suite or as a stand - alone satellite . it employs a design philosophy whereby multiple pathways to mission success are assured , from having backup systems aboard to the uplink of new instructions to perform self reconfiguration , even while a mission is underway when functioning either as a satellite or as an avionics suite . it employs a programmed internal test and checkout sequence to evaluate the health of all components , and re - tests all systems upon the issuance of a reconfiguration command , whether the system is manifested as a satellite or an avionics suite . it has unparalleled reliability whether functioning as a satellite or as an avionics suite due to the failure analysis intricately performed in software which governs the processing part of the system in either application . it emulates the functions of a federated black - box system without requiring the rigorous multi - box qualification testing necessary with all other avionics or satellite systems , while additionally being internally upgradeable without causing a full re - qualification testing on an individual single box basis . it minimizes the complexities normally involved with the upgrade and interface testing of a federated black - box system , even if the upgrades and changes are relatively minor but could still cause unpredicted anomalies to occur . it greatly simplifies the cabling and accelerates the installation time required to install an avionics system on any aerospace platform , while simultaneously reducing size , weight and power , by not only by having a single consolidated box with all connections being completed internally , but also realizes the benefit of not having many pounds of external wire harnesses connecting numerous black - boxes . it has an active internal cross - talk capability between all modules which also streams the health and status state of all systems to a monitoring station via telemetry which can travel via uhf , shf and ehf communication simultaneously with a backup stream traveling via a worldwide consumer satellite network to any location . it is the first single integrated common avionics or satellite bus to integrate rf , power , processing , communications and other singular functions into a single box , therefore making it possible to employ that box as the first to be instantly usable as a satellite or an avionics system employed within the atmosphere or aboard a large satellite in space . it is quickly deployable within the rigid guidelines required for critical responsive space missions , while assuring it is as robust as any military satellite or avionics system in any scenario within atmospheric conditions , or if deployed in the harsh environment of space . it decisively shortens the timeframe required for pre - deployment systems qualification testing by only requiring one box to undergo this testing , vs . existing federated black - box systems typically requiring approximately five individual boxes to undergo this testing , which in - turn sharply decreases the associated cost of employing cbsas as an avionics suite or a satellite system , as systems qualification testing is very expensive and requires up - front long term scheduling . it is the first single structure of its kind that incorporates all aspects of avionics or equally a satellite bus into one distinct box that is universally adaptable for use in any aerospace vehicle under any environmental condition . it employs a design method to negate the effects of shock and vibration while simultaneously maintaining an assemblage of interlocking faraday cages that seamlessly pass data between each other in any order and subsequently transmit all required data to a receiving station . it is the only aerospace structure in existence that integrates a multitude of previously unmixable disciplines such as rf and power into a single structure without external cabling between what used to be these external rf and power black - boxes , with only a single cable being required to externally interface with cbsas for charging its internal batteries and for bi - directional health / status communication between cbsas and an external monitoring system . it achieves the most important goal of a responsive space system , that of being quickly fielded in the shortest timeframe possible by employing a standardized assembly line type of buildup operation due to the elegant simplicity of all the repeatable components which make up the system , whether for ultimate use as a satellite or as an avionics system . it is the first system that can be used as a stand - alone satellite , an avionics package within a larger satellite , or as an avionics package onboard a vehicle within the atmosphere , thus employing a standardized approach and interface that is unprecedented in the aerospace field . the many detailed descriptions above must not be interpreted in any manner to indicate a limit to the scope of this invention , as its only intent is to provide examples of its functionality obtained by employing it in many possible configurations . for example , the cbsas may contain any number of partitioned internal rfi / emi chambers and raceways than the three illustrated in fig3 . although many specifics have been contained therein to help describe the functioning of this system in a simple modular way , they should not be construed to confuse the main aspect of this invention being the first time an avionics bus system and a satellite system share a common core bus structure , and that common core bus is instantly usable as an avionics system within the atmosphere or outside of it aboard a larger satellite , and additionally can serve as a stand - alone satellite itself employed in space . in order to make this instantly transformable capability possible , cbsas is designed , manufactured and tested by incorporating the aspects of complete scalability , modularity , open architecture , flexibility , stackability , interconnectivity , reconfigurability , adaptability , interchangeability and consolidation in a single unit system which takes the place of many black - boxes boxes comprising all previously existing avionics , satellite or other types of technology systems functioning terrestrially or up though and into the environment of space . additionally , for the first time in the history of the aerospace industry , no longer will there be a reliance upon the distributed , inefficient and unique black - box systems which very inefficiently proliferate the avionics and satellite industries to provide the functions of tspi , da / p / r , pg / d , wireless communication , avionics , navigation , command and data handling , which are certainly not adaptable into becoming a stand - alone deployed satellite or consolidated avionics system , and certainly not of a common design and structure to be equally and instantly utilized as either a stand alone satellite or avionics system within or outside of the atmosphere . additionally , all multiple black - box avionics systems and satellites always have their internal components housed in a uniquely fabricated box assembly structures , opposed to the essence of this invention being that of a mass - producible and repeatable common structure that can be instantly utilized as either a stand - alone satellite or an avionics system employed within or outside of the atmosphere without any modification . therefore with cbsas , the single integrated and consolidated inner and outer structure together comprise the totality of the complete system , including the capability to provide rfi / emi shielding on a modular or sub - modular level , as well as an integrated box system level , while easily passing all required environmental full - scale qualification testing , including shock , vibration , thermal and the like . thus , the scope of this invention should only be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents . | 1 |
the catalysts utilized in the co - catalyst system of the instant invention are organo - metallic compounds , for example , metal salts of carboxylic acids , metal alcoholates , metal phenolates and metal oximes , wherein the metal is bismuth , zinc , antimony and / or lithium , and may be prepared by any known method . metal salts of carboxylic acids are preferred and may be produced , for example , by reacting a metal - containing base with a carboxylic acid having 2 to 20 carbon atoms in the molecule , preferably 6 to 16 carbon atoms in the molecule and more preferably 8 to 12 carbon atoms in the molecule , wherein the metal is bismuth , zinc , antimony and / or lithium . useful carboxylic acids are represented by the formula rcooh wherein r is a hydrocarbon radical containing 1 to about 19 carbon atoms . r can be alkyl , cycloalkyl , aryl , or alkylaryl , such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , neopentyl , octyl , neononyl , cyclohexyl , phenyl , tolyl or naphthyl . r is preferably alkyl or cycloalkyl , more preferably alkyl . see for example u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 584 , 362 ( bismuth catalysts ); 3 , 245 , 958 ( antimony catalysts ); and 3 , 714 , 077 ( bismuth and antimony catalysts ). metal alcoholates are disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 245 , 957 ( antimony catalysts ); 3 , 407 , 151 ( antimony and bismuth catalysts ); and 3 , 714 , 077 ( antimony and bismuth catalysts ). the individual catalysts are also available commercially . the primary use of the co - catalyst system is to accelerate the reaction between the isocyanate and the hydroxyl groups . the co - catalyst system can be employed in a wide range of non - cellular elastomer formulation systems where reduced catalyst toxicity is desirable , particularly plywood - patch applications . the co - catalyst system provides an alternative to the use of catalysts based on lead , tin or mercury with respect to reduced catalyst toxicity and to the sole use of bismuth - based catalysts with respect to reduced costs and improved flowability . catalysts in use prior to this invention all had the capability of promoting reaction between a hydroxyl group and isocyanates to produce urethane linkages and , ultimately , polyurethane products . the major disadvantage of organo - mercury based catalysts is that , as supplied , they must be handled with extreme caution due to their classification as poisons and the shipping containers must be managed under the resources conservation and recovery act as hazardous waste . organo - lead catalysts must also be handled with a great deal of caution due to their toxicity classification as a hazardous substance under the resources conservation and recovery act . organo - antimony catalysts must also be handled with caution due to their toxicity classification as a hazardous chemical by osha . at levels of less than 1 percent by weight antimony , polyurethanes are considered safe but such levels are not useful for plywood - patch applications due to slow reactivity . organo - antimony catalysts also tend to promote the water / isocyanate reaction . primarily due to these considerations of toxicity and handling , the use of organo - tin catalysts in non - cellular urethane systems has occurred . as a class , organo - tin compounds do not provide the same type of catalytic performance as organo - mercury and organo - lead compounds , since organo - tin compounds also promote the reaction between moisture and isocyanates in addition to the hydroxy group - isocyanate reaction . the non - specific nature of the tin catalysts makes their use difficult , with the processor required to go to extreme measures to reduce the presence of moisture in the reactants and other ingredients utilized therein in order to eliminate bubbling or pinhole formation in the elastomers obtained . in addition , when using catalysts based on mercury , lead or tin , monitoring of the work place environment must be done in order to ascertain ambient air quality compliance with occupational safety and health administration standards (&# 34 ; osha &# 34 ;). only general ventilation is required when using catalysts based on antimony . the co - catalyst system of this invention provides optimum performance based on flowability , tailored gel times , adhesion , and hardness in plywood - patch applications and will not contribute to embrittlement of the cured elastomer . as a precautionary measure , a desiccant such as molecular sieve may be added to the formulation in amounts effective for eliminating , or at least minimizing , any foaming that may occur . most importantly , the co - catalyst system has an excellent acute toxicity profile . no occupational exposure limit standard must be met when using the co - catalyst system and only general ventilation is required . it is apparent , therefore , that , when contrasted with organo - mercury compounds and lead salts of organic acids , the co - catalyst system of this invention is much less toxic . the toxicity profiles of organo - tin based chemicals are somewhat poorer , but within about the same order of magnitude as the compounds of this invention , but when considering their limitations based on moisture sensitivity and osha monitoring requirements , the safety and ease of use of the compounds of this invention are evident . the toxicity profiles of organo - bismuth based chemicals are within about the same order of magnitude as the compounds utilized herein , but are also about 2 to 4 times more expensive than the co - catalyst system utilized herein since the organo - bismuth catalyst is not used as the sole catalyst . the primary hydroxy containing reactants used in the preparation of the polyurethane elastomers utilized in the plywood - patch compositions embodying the present invention are primary and secondary hydroxy terminated polyalkylene ethers and polyesters having from 2 to about 4 hydroxyl groups and a molecular weight of from about 1000 to about 10 , 000 . they are liquids or are capable of being liquified or melted for handling . examples of polyalkylene polyols include linear and branched polyethers having a plurality of ether linkages and containing at least 2 hydroxyl groups and being substantially free from functional groups other than hydroxyl groups . typical examples of the polyalkylene polyols which are useful in the practice of the invention are the polyethylene glycols , polypropylene glycols and polybutylene ether glycols . linear and branched copolyethers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide are also useful in preparing the elastomers of this invention . those having molecular weights of from about 1000 to about 5000 are preferred . polyethers having a branch chain network are also useful . such branch chain polyethers are readily prepared from alkylene oxides and initiators having a functionality greater than 2 . a variety of poly ( oxyalkylene ) polyols are available commercially with an exemplary list provided in table a below : table a______________________________________ avg . commercial prod . hydroxyl no . molecular wt . f . sup . a mfgr . sup . b______________________________________niax lht - 112 112 1500 3 uccniax lht - 67 67 2000 3 uccniax 11 - 34 34 4800 3 uccthanol sf - 1502 112 1500 3 arcovoranol 2228 28 2715 3 dowvoranol 15096 . 0l 112 1500 3 dowxvr 1663 - 40557 - 23 110 1500 3 dowvoranol 4815 28 6000 3 dowvoranol 2140 28 4000 2 dowvoranol 2012 94 1200 2 dowvoranol 2120 56 2000 2 dowvoranol 2100 56 3000 3 dowfomrez x6017 - 183 140 1600 4 witcofomrez et 1500 112 1500 3 witcofomrez 6017 - 133 60 3740 4 witcopoly g - 30 - 112 112 1500 3 olinpoly g - 76 - 120 110 1500 3 olinpoly g - 55 - 56 56 2000 2 olinpoly g - 20 - 28 28 4000 2 olinpoly g - 85 - 28 27 6500 3 olin588 - 186 60 1870 2 jwres - d - 2116 82 1370 2 herc______________________________________ . sup . a functionality , i . e ., number of hydroxyl groups in the polyol , for example , f = 3 refers to a triol . . sup . b manufacturers . the abbreviations correspond to the following manufacturers : ucc union carbide corp ., danbury , connecticut arco arco , newtown square , pennsylvania dow dow chemical co ., midland , michigan witco witco corporation , chicago , illinois olin olin chemicals , stamford , connecticut jw jim walters , st . petersburg , florida herc hercules , inc ., wilmington , delaware any organic di or tri isocyanate can be used in the practice of the present invention . diisocyanates are preferred . examples of suitable organic polyisocyanates are trimethylene diisocyanate , tetramethylene diisocyanate , pentamethylene diisocyanate and hexamethylene diisocyanate . examples of aromatic diisocyanates include 2 , 4 tolylene diisocyanate , and 2 , 6 tolylene diisocyanate . in addition , methylene diphenyldiisocyanates and polymeric isocyanates based on methylene diphenyldiisocyanates can be employed . the tolylene diisocyanates ( tdi ) are monomeric and possess a high vapor pressure relative to the methylene diisocyanates ( mdi ), which are polymeric . the tdi vapors are very toxic and have a propensity of reacting once in a person &# 39 ; s respiratory system . as such , tdi poses a handling problem and a health hazard . as a result , mdi is preferred for many applications , including plywood patch material . the amount of polyisocyanate employed is greater than 1 . 00 , and preferably ranges from greater than 1 . 00 to about 2 . 0 , more preferably about 1 . 05 to about 1 . 7 , moles of nco in the polyisocyanate per mole of active hydrogen in the polyols . in certain instances it may be desirable to add a chain extender to complete the formulation of polyurethane polymers by reacting isocyanate groups of adducts or prepolymers . examples of some types of polyol chain extenders include 1 , 4 butanediol , diethylene glycol , trimethylol propane and hydroquinone di ( beta hydroxyethyl ether ). the chain extender when present is added at about 1 % w to about 20 % w , preferably about 3 % w to about 6 % w based on the weight of the reactants . plywood - patch compositions may additionally incorporate diluents , fillers , compatibilizers , thixotropes , pigments and anti - settling agents . suitable fillers include barium sulfate , calcium sulfate , calcium carbonate , silica , and clay particles , such as aluminum silicates , magnesium silicates and kaolin . suitable compatibilizers are hydroxy containing organic compounds , preferably hydroxy containing monocyclic arenes such as ethoxylated nonyl phenol , which compatibilize the polyol and aromatic diisocyanate reactants in the formulation . suitable diluents include hydrotreated paraffinic oils , hydrotreated naphthenic oils , petroleum solvents , aliphatic solvents and propylene carbonate . an exemplary list of commercial available diluents is given in table b below . table b______________________________________diluent flash point ( f .) manufacturer . sup . a______________________________________propylene carbonate 270 texaco ; arcohydrotreatednaphthenic oil : sunthene 204 265 sunhyprene v - 60 300 ergonhydrotreatedparaffinic oil : sunpar 107 350 sunsunpar lw104 260 sunsunpar lw003 200 sunaromaticpetroleum solvent : aromatic 100 108 exxonhisol - 10 110 ashlandpetroleum solvent : exxsol d110 221 exxonvarsol 1 108 exxonvarsol 18 106 exxonaliphatic solvents : pd - 23 225 witcopd - 25 225 witco______________________________________ . sup . a the abbreviations correspond to the following : texaco texaco , inc ., bellaire , texas arco arco , newtown square , pennsylvania sun sun refining , philadelphia , pennsylvania exxon exxon chemical , houston , texas ashland ashland chemical , columbus , ohio witco witco , sonnaborn division , ny , new york ergon ergon , jackson , mississippi a preferred plywood - patch composition comprises two components -- a component a and a component b wherein component a ranges from about 6 to about 15 parts to each part of b by volume . component a comprises ( a ) from about 15 to about 40 % w of a poly ( oxyalkylene ) polyol having a functionality of at least 3 , preferably a poly ( oxyalkylene ) triol ; ( b ) from 0 to about 16 % w of poly ( oxyalkylene ) diol ; ( c ) from 0 to about 2 . 5 % w of a compatibilizer such as ethoxylated nonyl phenol ; ( d ) from 0 to about 12 % w of a non - reactive diluent ; ( e ) from 0 to about 2 % w of a desiccant such as micronized molecular sieve , preferably 0 to about 1 % w ; ( f ) from 0 to about 0 . 8 % w of a thixotrope , more preferably from 0 to about 0 . 5 % w ; ( g ) from about 30 to about 70 % w of a filler , more preferably from about 50 to about 65 % w ; ( h ) from 0 to about 2 % w of a pigment , more preferably from about 0 . 05 to about 0 . 2 % w ; ( i ) from 0 to about 2 % w of an anti - settling agent , more preferably from 0 to about 0 . 5 % w ; and ( j ) from about 0 . 1 to about 3 % w of the co - catalyst system , wherein % w is based on the weight of component a . in one embodiment , the poly ( oxyalkylene ) polyol having at least three ( 3 ) hydroxyl groups is a mixture of a first and a second poly ( oxyalkylene ) triol , wherein the first poly ( oxyalkylene ) triol is present from about 15 to about 30 % w and has a molecular weight from about 1 , 000 to less than 3 , 000 and a hydroxyl number from about 60 to about 150 and the second poly ( oxyalkylene ) triol is present from about 5 to about 15 % w and has a molecular weight from about 3 , 000 to about 10 , 000 , and a hydroxyl number from about 30 to about 100 , preferably with no poly ( oxyalkylene ) diol , wherein % w is based on the weight of component a . in another embodiment , the poly ( oxyalkylene ) polyol having at least three ( 3 ) hydroxyl groups is a poly ( oxyalkylene ) triol and is present from about 15 to about 30 % w and has a molecular weight from about 1 , 000 to about 5 , 000 and a hydroxyl number from about 60 to about 150 and a poly ( oxyalkylene ) diol is present from about 5 to about 15 % w and has a molecular weight from about 1 , 000 to about 5 , 000 and a hydroxyl number from about 30 to about 100 , wherein % w is based on the weight of component a . the component b of the plywood - patch composition is preferably entirely methylene diphenyl diisocyanate , though mixtures of diisocyanates are also permissible . additionally , chain extenders including that amount utilized as a solvent in the catalyst solution may be present from 0 to about 5 % w , preferably from 0 to about 2 % w , based on the weight of component a . chain extenders in excess of these amounts have an adverse affect on adhesion ( american plywood association boil test ) and hardness ( shore a durometer hardness ). the following examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not meant to limit the claimed invention in any manner . the following tests have been utilized in some of the examples that follow : ( 1 ) flowability : the flowability of the chemicals relates to how well the chemicals process through the mixing / metering equipment and how they flow to fill surface defects , for example , voids , cracks , knot - holes , splits , and the like , in the plywood panels . for the mixed chemicals , flowability relates to two phenomena . first , the initial flowability which is related to the viscosity of the chemicals initially and which can be measured on a brookfield viscometer under high spindle speeds ( i . e ., the # 4 spindle @ 60 rpm &# 39 ; s for a model lvf brookfield ). chemicals of 3000 cps or less will have good initial flowability for this application . secondly , as the chemicals react , the viscosity changes . with an increase in viscosity due to the crosslinking reaction between the isocyanate and polyol , the flowability of the chemicals decreases until the gel point is reached , at which time flow stops . generally speaking , gel times of 17 to 18 seconds or longer result in good flowability . gel times of less than 17 seconds lead to poor flowability . ( 2 ) gel time is the point in time from the initial reaction of the chemicals until the viscosity has increased sufficiently so no flow occurs or when the polymer has crosslinked sufficiently to form a permanent shape . the gel time of the chemicals relates to mixing gun tube plugging and tube replacement costs . the desired gel time is one that is as close to the tack free time as possible as to maximize flowability . ( 3 ) tack free time is defined as the time from initial mixing until the surface of the urethane mass loses its stickiness or adhesive quality as measured by touching the surface with a tongue depressor or one &# 39 ; s finger tip . tack free time relates to how quickly the plywood patch cures on the plywood board such that the boards do not stick together during the stacking operation at the end of the plywood patch operating line . ( 4 ) shore a durometer hardness test per astm d - 2240 - 75 , &# 34 ; rubber property - durometer hardness &# 34 ;. shore a durometer hardness versus time relates to how quickly the patch cures on the board so that it resists damage during stacking , handling , sanding and other plant operations . ( 5 ) adhesion . a point in time when the urethane mass adheres to the surface of a plywood panel and cannot be removed by pulling at the edges with one &# 39 ; s fingernail or by thumb pressure . adhesion is a property that is very important in terms of the synthetic patch remaining in the filled defect area as the boards are sanded . the quicker the adhesion times the more likely the patch will remain in the defect . in the following examples , the plywood - patch formulation shown in table 1 was utilized , unless otherwise specified . in preparing component a , various amounts and types of catalyst and co - catalysts were added to about 100 grams of the base composition shown in table 1 and mixed thoroughly . component a was then combined with component b in the proportion of about 10 parts by volume of component a to one part of by volume of component b , which corresponded to the addition of about 8 grams of mdi . components a and b were mixed under high speed agitation for about 10 seconds . the mixture was then poured onto the surface of an unsanded plywood panel at about room temperature , about 73 ° f . each mixture ( sample ) was tested for flowability of the mixture onto the panel , gel time in seconds , tack free time in seconds , adhesion to the wood surface in seconds , and the curing hardness profile as measured by shore a durometer with time as the variable . table 1______________________________________plywood - patch composition formulation______________________________________ingredientscomponent a : 1 . base composition percent by weight poly ( oxyalkylene ) triol . sup . a 18 . 4 poly ( oxyalkylene ) triol . sup . b 13 . 3 diluent . sup . c 5 . 3 anti - settling agent . sup . d 0 . 2 thixotrope . sup . e 0 . 4 desiccant . sup . f 1 . 0 filler . sup . g 61 . 3 pigment . sup . h 0 . 12 . catalyst or catalyst solution variedcomponent b : methylene diphenyl diisocyanate ( mdi ) ratio a to b 10 to 1 ( parts by volume ): ______________________________________ . sup . a a triol having a molecular weight of about 1500 and hydroxyl numbe of about 120 . . sup . b a triol having a molecular weight of about 4800 and a hydroxyl number of about 34 . . sup . c an aromatic petroleum solvent having 100 % aromatic content and having a flash point of about 105 ° f . and a boiling point of about 308 ° f . . sup . d anti - terra ® - u80 available from byk chemie usa , wallingford , conn . and described as a solution of a salt of unsaturated polyamine amid and higher molecules of acidic esters . . sup . e cab - o - sil type m5 available from cabot corporation ; a fumed silica . sup . f molecular sieve type 4a is powder form available from union carbid corporation , tarrytown , new york , having a nominal pore diameter of about 4 angstroms . . sup . g wingdale white available from georgia marble co ., atlanta , ga ., a calcium carbonate having a mean particle size of about 6 microns . . sup . h yellow iron oxide commercially available as mapico yellow 1075a from columbian chemicals co ., atlanta , ga . the catalysts or catalyst solutions shown in table 2 were used in the following examples : table 2______________________________________catalyst code description______________________________________a catalyst 320 available from mooney chem - icals , inc ., cleveland , ohio , is a catalyst solution containing about 78 % by weight bismuth 2 - ethylhexoate and about 22 % by weight mineral spirits and contains about 28 % by weight bismuth . b 22 % zinc hex chem available from mooney chemicals , inc . is a catalyst com - posed of 100 % zinc octoate ( zinc 2 - ethylhexoate ) and contains about 22 % by weight zinc . c 18 % antimony hex chem available from mooney chemicals , inc . is a catalyst solu - tion containing about 98 % by weight anti - mony 2 - ethylhexoate and about 2 % by weight mineral spirits and contains about 18 % by weight antimony . d 2 % lithium ten - cem hf available from mooney chemicals , inc ., is a catalyst solu - tion containing about 57 % by weight lith - ium neodecanoate and about 43 % by weight diethylene glycol monobutyl ether and con - tains about 2 % by weight lithium . ______________________________________ in this example , various catalysts were utilized alone with the base composition of component a . the metals in these catalysts were bismuth ( bi ), zinc ( zn ), antimony ( sb ) and lithium ( li ). as indicated in table 3 , the bismuth catalyst solution ( sample no . 1 - 1 ) reacts and gels quite quickly and , as a result , flowability of the plywood patch formulation is very poor . as for the zinc -, antimony - and lithium - based catalysts , none of these catalysts produced an acceptable plywood patch as measured by the reactivity profile ( shore a hardness vs . time ). an acceptable plywood patching formulation would be one for which reaction and curing begin within about 30 ± 3 seconds . at the catalyst levels of about 0 . 41 to 0 . 42 parts of catalysts or catalysts solution per 100 parts of the base composition of component a ( pph ) ( samples no . 1 - 2 , 1 - 4 and 1 - 6 ), all three catalyst types took well over 200 seconds for any reaction to occur , and then only the lithium - based catalyst showed any promise with a final cure hardness of 72 as measured by shore a after 3000 seconds ( 50 minutes ). the antimony - based catalyst produced a foaming patch which did not cure and remained tacky and spongy well past 3000 seconds . the zinc - based catalyst likewise showed a very slow reaction with very little activity until about 1400 seconds . additionally , the concentration of zinc -, antimony -, and lithium - based catalyst or catalyst - solution used separately had to be increased greatly to between 2 . 5 to 6 . 0 pph levels to get any type of reaction to occur . these catalysts separately did not produce acceptable patch formulations and at these concentration levels would be cost prohibitive to use . table 3__________________________________________________________________________ ( sole catalyst ) __________________________________________________________________________sample no . 1 - 1 1 - 2 1 - 3 1 - 4 1 - 5 1 - 6 1 - 7catalyst level . sup . a / catalyst 0 . 26 / a 0 . 42 / b 2 . 5 / b 0 . 42 / c 2 . 5 / c 0 . 41 / d 6 . 0 / dmetal bi zn zn sb sb li limoles of metal 3 . 48 × 10 - 6 1 . 4 × 10 . sup .- 5 8 . 4 × 10 . sup .- 5 6 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 7 × 10 . sup .- 5 1 . 2 × 10 . sup .- 5 1 . 7 × 10 . sup .- 4flowability very poor good good good excellent good goodgel time ( sec .) 14 none 380 none 50 180 80tack free time ( sec .) 22 1300 450 2700 60 220 150shore a hardness 80 sec . 48 none -- none 5 none -- 100 sec . 50 none -- none 6 none -- 120 sec . 53 none -- none -- none -- 150 sec . 56 none -- none -- none -- 175 sec . 58 none -- none ( foam ) -- none -- 200 sec . 62 none -- none 20 none -- 250 sec . 68 none -- none -- 19 -- 300 sec . 69 none -- none -- 28 28 400 sec . 72 none -- none 25 36 -- 500 sec . 74 none -- none -- 45 -- 600 sec . 76 none -- none -- 50 -- 800 sec . -- none -- none -- 58 -- 1000 sec . -- none -- none -- 60 -- 1400 sec . -- 20 -- none -- -- -- 2000 sec . -- -- -- none -- 68 -- 2500 sec . -- 36 -- none -- 70 -- 3000 sec . -- 42 20 / 15 min . spongy 32 / 30 min . 72 40 / 30 min . adhesion time ( sec .) 556 2175 1800 none ( foam ) none 2300 1800comments sticky no foam foam no foam__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . a parts catalyst or catalyst solution per 100 parts of base composition of component a . &# 34 ;--&# 34 ; denotes test not performed . in this example , various ratios of bismuth - based catalyst to zinc - based catalyst were utilized with the base composition of component a . the weight ratio of the bismuth - based catalyst solution to the zinc - based catalyst ranged from about 20 : 80 to about 90 : 10 which corresponds to a mole ratio range of bismuth to zinc metal of about 1 : 10 to about 1 : 0 . 25 . as indicated in table 4 , an acceptable plywood patch formulation was one having a bismuth - based catalyst solution to zinc - based catalyst weight ratio ranging from about 40 : 60 to about 70 : 30 , which corresponds to a mole ratio range of bismuth to zinc metal of about 1 : 3 . 8 to about 1 : 1 . 1 . above about 70 : 30 weight ratio ( mole ratio of bismuth to zinc of about 1 : 1 . 1 ), the plywood patch formulation tends to gel too quickly for adequately processing it through the mixing equipment . whereas below the 40 : 60 weight ratio ( mole ratio of bismuth to zinc metal of about 1 : 3 . 8 ), the patch formulation tack free time starts to become too slow for on - line processing and could result in a soft patch which may cause boards to stick together when stacked . thus , to produce a most acceptable plywood patch formulation utilizing a co - catalyst system using a bismuth - based catalyst and a zinc - based catalyst , the bismuth and zinc metals therein should be present such that the mole ratio of bismuth metal to zinc metal is from about 1 : 4 to about 1 : 1 . table 4__________________________________________________________________________ ( bismuth / zinc ) __________________________________________________________________________sample no . 2 - 1 2 - 2 2 - 3 2 - 4 2 - 5 2 - 6 2 - 7 2 - 8ratio a / b catalyst 20 / 80 30 / 70 40 / 60 50 / 50 62 . 5 / 37 . 5 70 / 30 75 / 25 90 / 10a catalyst level . sup . a . 084 . 126 . 168 . 21 . 26 . 294 . 315 . 378b catalyst level . sup . a . 336 . 294 . 252 . 21 . 15 . 126 . 105 . 040moles of metal : bi 1 . 1 × 10 . sup .- 6 1 . 7 × 10 . sup .- 6 2 . 25 × 10 . sup .- 6 2 . 8 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 48 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 9 × 10 . sup .- 6 4 . 2 × 10 . sup .- 6 5 . 1 × 10 . sup .- 6zn 1 . 13 × 10 . sup .- 5 9 . 9 × 10 . sup .- 6 8 . 5 × 10 . sup .- 6 7 . 1 × 10 . sup .- 6 5 . 05 × 10 . sup .- 6 4 . 24 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 5 × 10 . sup .- 6 1 . 3 × 10 . sup .- 6mole ratio of 1 : 10 1 : 5 . 8 1 : 3 . 8 1 : 2 . 5 1 : 1 . 5 1 : 1 . 1 1 : 0 . 8 1 : 0 . 25bi : znflowability real good good good good good good poor poorgel time ( sec .) 72 36 26 27 21 20 16 16tack free time ( sec .) 92 56 42 44 28 34 25 23shore a hardness 80 sec . -- 42 40 32 42 40 55 52100 sec . 15 47 48 40 47 48 60 58120 sec . 22 53 55 46 57 56 62 61150 sec . 38 60 58 53 59 58 66 65175 sec . 44 62 64 55 62 61 70 65200 sec . 50 66 65 60 64 63 73 67250 sec . 54 70 68 64 66 66 77 69300 sec . 58 71 72 68 71 67 78 70400 sec . 64 74 73 72 73 70 79 72500 sec . 70 77 74 75 75 73 80 73600 sec . 74 79 76 76 78 75 80 76adhesion time ( sec .) 165 95 90 110 240 180 160 155comments tack free good appears would be acceptable acceptable gels gels too too slow adhesion ; acceptable acceptable but fast fast tack free beginning too slow to gel too quickly__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . a parts of catalyst or catalyst solution per 100 parts of base composition of component a . in this example , various ratios of bismuth - based catalyst to antimony - based catalyst were utilized with the base composition of component a . the weight ratio of the bismuth - based catalyst solution to the antimony - based catalyst solution ranged from about 25 : 75 to about 80 : 20 , which corresponds to a mole ratio range of bismuth to antimony metal of about 1 : 3 . 5 to about 1 : 0 . 3 . as indicated in table 5 , an acceptable plywood patch formulation is one having a bismuth - based catalyst solution to antimony - based catalyst solution ranging from about 50 : 50 to about 75 : 25 , which corresponds to a mole ratio range of bismuth to antimony of about 1 : 1 . 1 to about 1 : 0 . 4 . below the 50 : 50 weight ratio ( mole ratio of bismuth to antimony of 1 : 1 . 1 ), the reaction tends to proceed too slowly to be processable at a rapid rate and no adhesion occurred even after 30 minutes . above the 75 : 25 weight ratio ( mole ratio of bismuth to antimony of 1 : 0 . 4 ), the reaction tends to occur too fast for desired processability and did not achieve a good flow into defect areas on the plywood board . thus , to produce a most acceptable plywood patch formulation utilizing a co - catalyst system using a bismuth - based catalyst and an antimony - based catalyst , the bismuth and antimony metals therein must be present such that the mole ratio of bismuth metal to antimony metal is from about 1 : 1 . 1 to about 1 : 0 . 4 . table 5__________________________________________________________________________ ( bismuth / antimony ) __________________________________________________________________________sample no . 3 - 1 3 - 2 3 - 3 3 - 4 3 - 5 3 - 6 3 - 7ratio a / c catalyst 25 / 75 30 / 70 40 / 60 50 / 50 60 / 40 75 / 25 80 / 20a catalyst level . sup . a . 085 . 102 . 136 . 17 . 204 . 255 . 27c catalyst level . sup . a . 255 . 238 . 204 . 17 . 136 . 085 . 07moles of metal : bi 1 . 1 × 10 . sup .- 6 1 . 4 × 10 . sup .- 6 1 . 8 × 10 . sup .- 6 2 . 3 × 10 . sup .- 6 2 . 7 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 4 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 6 × 10 . sup .- 6sb 3 . 8 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 5 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 6 2 . 5 × 10 . sup .- 6 2 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 6 1 . 26 × 10 . sup .- 6 1 . 04 × 10 . sup .- 6mole ratio of 1 : 3 . 5 1 : 2 . 5 1 : 1 . 67 1 : 1 . 1 1 : 0 . 75 1 : 0 . 4 1 : 0 . 3bi : sbflowability good good excellent good good good poorgel time ( sec .) 54 50 40 20 20 20 15tack free time ( sec .) 105 80 66 38 32 33 24shore a hardness 80 sec . -- -- 5 20 41 40 48100 sec . -- 5 5 34 48 45 58120 sec . 5 18 20 43 50 50 64150 sec . 10 26 28 47 55 54 70175 sec . 13 32 38 52 57 58 70200 sec . 30 40 40 56 60 61 72250 sec . 42 45 46 58 63 65 73300 sec . 44 50 53 60 65 66 73400 sec . 50 55 55 63 69 71 75500 sec . 56 59 57 65 71 72 77600 sec . 58 62 63 68 72 73 77adhesion time ( sec .) none none 750 + 230 200 210 175comments slow slow , soft and reacts reacts reacts gels too reacting . sticky . sticky . ok . ok . ok . fast sticky . no slow shore a = no adhesion . adhesion . 72 max . adhesion . __________________________________________________________________________ . sup . a parts of catalyst or catalyst solution per 100 parts of base composition of component a . in this example , various ratios of bismuth - based catalyst to lithium - based catalyst were utilized with the base composition of component a . the weight ratio of the bismuth - based catalyst solution to the lithium - based catalyst ranged from about 25 : 75 to about 75 : 25 , which corresponds to a mole ratio range of bismuth to lithium metal of about 1 : 6 . 6 to about 1 : 0 . 7 . as indicated in table 6 , an acceptable plywood patch formulation was one having a bismuth - based catalyst solution to lithium - based catalyst solution ranging from about 25 : 75 to about 57 : 43 , which corresponds to a mole ratio range of bismuth to lithium metal of about 1 : 6 . 6 to about 1 : 1 . 65 . at the 25 : 75 weight ratio , the adhesion of the reacted plywood patch formulation to the plywood board tends to be too slow ( about 10 minutes ). this would require an extended cure of the plywood boards or panels before they are processed further in a processing plant , which may or may not be acceptable to some existing plant operations . weight ratios of 60 : 40 or higher produce fast reacting formulations which make it difficult to process in plant operations and tend to affect flowability into defect areas of the plywood board . thus , to produce a most acceptable plywood patch formulation utilizing a co - catalyst system using a bismuth - based catalyst and a lithium - based catalyst , the bismuth and lithium metal therein must be present such that the mole ratio of bismuth metal to lithium metal is from about 1 : 6 . 6 to less than about 1 : 1 . 6 ( i . e . more lithium per mole of bismuth ). table 6__________________________________________________________________________ ( bismuth / lithium ) __________________________________________________________________________sample no . 4 - 1 4 - 2 4 - 3 4 - 4 4 - 5 4 - 6ratio a / d catalyst 25 / 75 40 / 60 50 / 50 57 / 43 60 / 40 75 / 25a catalyst level . sup . a . 115 . 184 . 23 . 26 . 276 . 345d catalyst level . sup . a . 345 . 276 . 23 . 20 . 184 . 115moles of metal : bi 1 . 5 × 10 . sup .- 6 2 . 5 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 1 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 5 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 7 × 10 . sup .- 6 4 . 6 × 10 . sup .- 6li 9 . 9 × 10 . sup .- 6 7 . 96 × 10 . sup .- 6 6 . 6 × 10 . sup .- 6 5 . 8 × 10 . sup .- 6 5 . 3 × 10 . sup .- 6 3 . 3 × 10 . sup .- 6mole ratio of 1 : 6 . 6 1 : 3 . 2 1 : 2 . 1 1 : 1 . 65 1 : 1 . 4 1 : 0 . 7bi : liflowability excellent good fair excellent poor poorgel time ( sec .) 33 20 20 22 16 16tack free time ( sec .) 43 32 28 33 22 21shore a hardness 80 sec . 42 48 50 40 50 49100 sec . 48 54 56 48 58 60120 sec . 55 59 60 52 64 63150 sec . 56 63 64 56 65 66175 sec . 58 65 66 60 67 68200 sec . 61 65 69 63 70 70250 sec . 64 68 70 65 72 71300 sec . 66 70 72 66 73 73400 sec . 70 72 73 70 74 75500 sec . 73 74 74 71 75 78600 sec . 75 76 78 73 75 81adhesion time ( sec .) 550 375 300 400 275 170comments slow acceptable would rubbery gels too gels too reactivity . reactivity . make fast . fast . slow slow acceptable adhesion . adhesion . patch . __________________________________________________________________________ . sup . a parts of catalyst or catalyst solution per 100 parts of base composition of component a . the reaction product of isocyanates and polyols and other hydroxyl containing compounds utilizing the co - catalyst system of the present invention may be further utilized as elastomers , coatings , foundry resins , adhesives , urethane - isocyanate sealants and caulkings , carpet backings and any structural polymers which incorporate such reaction products . it will be apparent from the foregoing that many other variations and modifications may be made in the processes and the compositions hereinbefore described , by those having experience in this technology , without departing from the concept of the present invention . accordingly , it should be clearly understood that the processes and compositions referred to in the foregoing description are illustrative only and are not intended to have any limitations on the scope of the invention . | 2 |
the method for recovery of cerium oxide from the abrasive waste arising from the polishing of glass substrates according to the present invention is intended to recover abrasive composed mainly of cerium oxide . it permits to recover cerium oxide containing few impurities . it achieves its object by sequential treatment of abrasive waste with an alkali , precipitant , acid , and organic solvent . the procedure for recovery starts with addition of an aqueous solution of a basic substance to abrasive waste . this step is intended to make abrasive waste free of sio 2 and impurities ( soluble in a basic aqueous solution ) which otherwise would form voids in the precipitates to be produced later . the basic aqueous solution should be prepared from such base as alkali metal hydroxide , amine , and ammonia , with alkali metal hydroxide being particularly preferable . an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide which has at least ph 12 is preferable . from the standpoint of treatment of metal substances from the basic aqueous solution , sodium hydroxide is more desirable because sodium can be removed comparatively easily . the basic substance helps remove sio 2 which is contained in large amounts in abrasive waste left after the polishing of synthetic quartz glass substrates . this sio 2 prevents the sedimentation of solids in abrasive waste . forced sedimentation with excessive precipitant gives rise to precipitates in the form of hard - to - handle voluminous cake containing a large number of voids . the basic aqueous solution to be added to abrasive waste should preferably have at least ph 12 . in other words , it should have a concentration of 2 . 0 to 8 . 0 normal , particularly 2 . 0 to 4 . 0 normal , from the standpoint of its ability to dissolve sio 2 . with a lower ph value , the basic aqueous solution does not dissolve sio 2 from abrasive waste completely or rapidly . the basic aqueous solution should be added in an amount large enough to dilute abrasive waste 2 to 5 times . in the next step , a precipitant is added to settle solids which have been treated with the basic aqueous solution . the precipitant includes , for example , aluminum sulfate and polyaluminum chloride . these precipitants are desirable in view of the fact that cerium oxide as abrasive inherently has a small particle diameter , the particles of cerium oxide become smaller due to crushing by polishing , and the particles of cerium oxide have electric charges . the precipitant should be used in an amount of 0 . 2 to 1 . 0 wt %, preferably 0 . 2 to 0 . 5 wt %, of the basic aqueous solution containing the abrasive . with solids settled to form precipitate , the supernatant liquid is removed . in this way it is possible to remove sio 2 from abrasive waste and impurities soluble in the basic aqueous solution . in addition to the above step , the remaining precipitates should preferably be washed with pure water several times by decantation , so that the solution containing impurities is removed from the precipitates . then , the resulting precipitates are treated with a solution of an acid substance so as to make them weakly acidic or neutral . this step is intended to remove residual impurities remaining after treatment with the basic aqueous solution and also to make the precipitates nearly neutral . the acid substance includes , for example , acetic acid , carbonic acid , dilute nitric acid , and dilute hydrochloric acid , each having a concentration of 0 . 2 to 5 . 0 normal . the acid treatment should preferably be performed in such a way that the resulting solution which contains the precipitates has a ph value of about 5 . 5 to 7 . the solution with a ph value higher than 7 will weaken the precipitant contained in the precipitates . conversely , the solution with an excessively low ph value will dissolve cerium oxide , thereby reducing the recovery rate . the foregoing acid treatment should preferably be followed by decantation with pure water repeated several times , so that the precipitates are freed of solution containing impurities . then , the thus obtained precipitates composed mainly of cerium oxide are washed with an organic solvent so that they are freed of residual metal ( such as sodium and potassium ). the organic solvent should preferably be an hydrophilic one , such as methanol . contamination with metal impurities in the abrasive is fatal to the polishing of synthetic quartz glass substrates for photomasks and reticles to be used for fabrication of semiconductors . therefore , the recovered cerium oxide abrasive should preferably contain as little abrasive - derived metal impurities as possible aside from inevitable metal ions derived from the polishing machine . the recovered precipitates composed mainly of cerium oxide are subsequently dried at 50 to 80 ° c . to be made into a cake - like lump . this lump is crushed into powder having a primary particle diameter of 0 . 5 to 2 μm . the resulting powder can be reused as a cerium oxide - based abrasive . this abrasive should contain cerium oxide ( as solids ) in an amount at least 50 wt %, particularly 55 to 70 wt %, with the sio 2 content ( as solids ) being limited to 0 . 1 to 3 . 0 wt %, particularly 0 . 1 to 2 . 0 wt %. the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples and comparative examples , which are not intended to restrict the scope thereof . experiments in the examples were carried out using a virgin abrasive containing 62 . 1 wt % of cerium oxide ( as solids ) and abrasive waste containing 54 . 0 wt % of cerium oxide and 12 . 0 wt % of sio 2 ( both as solids ). a sample of abrasive waste ( in liquid form ) containing cerium oxide , which was collected after the polishing of quartz glass substrates , is prepared . this abrasive waste was diluted three times with aqueous solution ( 2 . 0 n ) of sodium hydroxide . the resulting liquid was stirred so that the abrasive waste and the basic aqueous solution become thoroughly intimate with each other . the resulting mixture was given aluminum sulfate ( 0 . 5 wt %) for precipitation of solids . the supernatant liquid was removed and the remaining solids were washed several times with pure water . with solids existing therein , the pure water was acidified to ph 5 . 8 with 2 . 0 n of nitric acid . the solids were washed several times with pure water and finally with methanol . the washed solids were dried to be made into a cake composed mainly of cerium oxide . this cake was crushed into powder having a primary particle diameter of 1 to 1 . 2 μm . thus there was obtained a recovered abrasive as desired . upon analysis by fluorescent x - ray spectrometry , the recovered abrasive was found to contain 0 . 5 wt % of sio 2 ( as solids ). this suggests that the recovered abrasive has almost the same composition as the virgin abrasive composed mainly of cerium oxide . the recovered abrasive thus obtained was made into an abrasive slurry , which was used for the polishing of quartz glass substrates . the abrasive slurry produced the same effect as the slurry of the virgin abrasive composed mainly of cerium oxide . the same abrasive waste as used in example 1 was diluted 2 . 5 times with an aqueous solution ( 3 . 5 n ) of potassium hydroxide . the resulting liquid was stirred so that the abrasive waste and the basic aqueous solution become thoroughly intimate with each other . the resulting mixture was given polyaluminum chloride ( 1 . 0 wt %) for precipitation of solids . the supernatant liquid was removed and the remaining solids were washed several times with pure water . with solids existing therein , the pure water was acidified to ph 6 . 3 with acetic acid . the solids were washed several times with pure water and finally with methanol . the washed solids were dried to be made into a cake composed mainly of cerium oxide . this cake was crushed into powder having a primary particle diameter of 1 to 1 . 2 μm . thus there was obtained a recovered abrasive as desired . upon analysis by fluorescent x - ray spectrometry , the recovered abrasive was found to contain 0 . 3 wt % of sio 2 ( as solids ). the recovered abrasive thus obtained was used for the polishing of quartz glass substrates . the abrasive slurry produced the same good effect as that in example 1 . a sample of abrasive waste was diluted three times with pure water in the same way as in example 1 . the resulting liquid was stirred so that the solids were thoroughly dispersed . the resulting mixture was given aluminum sulfate ( 1 . 0 wt %) for precipitation of solids . the supernatant liquid was removed and the remaining solids were washed several times with pure water . the washings were found to have ph 6 . 9 . the solids without acid treatment were washed with methanol . the washed solids were dried to be made into a cake , which was subsequently crushed into powder having a primary particle diameter of 1 to 1 . 2 μm . upon analysis by fluorescent x - ray spectrometry , this powder was found to contain 12 . 3 wt % of sio 2 ( as solids ). when used as an abrasive for glass polishing , this powder caused chattering to the polishing machine without no good polishing effect . a sample of abrasive waste was diluted three times with 2 wt % aqueous solution of fluoronitric acid ( rich with nitric acid ) in the same way as in example 1 . the resulting liquid was stirred so that the solids were thoroughly dispersed . the resulting mixture was given aluminum sulfate ( 1 . 0 wt %) for precipitation of solids . the supernatant liquid was removed and the remaining solids were washed several times with pure water . the washings were found to be strongly acid . the solids without ph control such as neutralization were washed with methanol . the washed solids were dried to be made into a cake , which was subsequently crushed into powder having a primary particle diameter of 1 to 1 . 2 μm . upon analysis by fluorescent x - ray spectrometry , this powder was found to contain 0 . 5 wt % of sio 2 ( as solids ). however , the content of cerium oxide was only about 50 wt % of that in the virgin abrasive . this poor yield is due to treatment with a strong acid which leaches out cerium oxide . an aqueous slurry of this powder as an abrasive for glass polishing was so strongly acid that it damaged the polishing cloth more rapidly than usual and it was poor in polishing performance . although some preferred embodiments have been described , many modifications and variations may be made thereto in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described without departing from the scope of the appended claims . | 2 |
poly ( siloxane - g - ethylene oxide ) ( see general formula i below ) electrolyte shows outstanding flame resistance . its propagation rate is significantly lower than conventional liquid electrolyte for lithium ion batteries and low molecular weight polyethylene oxide electrolyte . this is because the inorganic siloxane backbone naturally acts as a combustion inhibitor , resulting in a two stage combustion process . the initial stage involves decomposition of the stable polymer into flammable volatile by - products . for polysiloxanes such as our electrolyte , this requires a lot of energy due to the strength of the si — o backbone . this means that in order for combustion to occur , the heat added must be sufficient to decompose the polymer , ignite the by - products , and transfer enough heat back to the polymer to the sustain the reaction . additionally , our polymer is more thermally stable than the carbonates presently used in the industry as a standard . this is stability arises from the polymer &# 39 ; s large molecular size , nonvolatile nature and the higher temperatures required to vaporize . the si — o backbone also gives this polymer the added benefit of being nontoxic . the thermal stability and nontoxicity of this polymer electrolyte make it particularly well suited for medical device applications , especially implanted batteries for such devices as cardiac assist pumps , insulin pumps , neuromuscular stimulators , cardiac pacemakers , automatic defibrillators , cochlear implants , and other bioelectronic devices . the usage of this polymer in place of the traditional carbonates in medical device batteries would substantially improve safety . the polymer electrolyte of the present invention is also well suited for high energy applications such as electric and hybrid vehicles , submarines , satellites , and load - leveling installations . referring to fig1 a visual summary of the synthesis , the liquid polymer electrolyte of the form visually depicted by general formula i was synthesized . in particular , a species of this type with ( n ˜ 8 and m = 0 ), labeled w100 poly ( siloxane - g - 3 ethylene oxide ) ( n ˜ 8 ) ( general formula ii ) was synthesized using commercially available precursors involved in two major steps , as described below . note r4 is [— o -( alkylene oxide ) k - r11 ] wherein r11 is alkyl group . note further that viscosity increases with n , becoming a solid at values exceeding about 20 . preferably , n should range from 4 to 20 , more preferably from 4 to 12 , and most preferably approximately 8 . r1 , r2 , r3 , r8 , r9 and r10 are preferably chosen from the group consisting of : methyl , ethyl , propyl , and butyl . r5 , r6 and r7 are preferably chosen from the group consisting of : methyl , ethyl , propyl , and butyl . step 1 : ring opening polymerization synthesizing a md n h m ( n ˜ 8 ) intermediary the commercially available compounds 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 - tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane ( d 4 h , gelest inc ., 68 . 59 g or 0 . 286 mol ) ( general formula iii ) and hexamethyldisiloxane ( hmds , aldrich , 23 . 15 g or 0 . 143 mol ) ( a disiloxane described by general formula iv for the case wherein , r1 = r2 = r3 = r8 = r9 = r10 = ch3 ) were used as precursor materials . note that alternate precursor materials may be used such as cyclical polysiloxane with three to ten silicon - oxygen repeating units , for example : a ring opening polymerization of the cyclic compound was performed through the addition of a chain - stopping compound , hmds ( in a 1 : 2 molar ratio ), in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid ( 2 . 6 % by wt , fisher scientific , 1 . 85 g ) and stirred at 60 ° c . for 24 hours . the 1 : 2 ratio was used in this preferred example ; however , the ratio is not limited to 1 : 2 . preferably , the chain - stopping compound is added in an amount sufficient to limit final chain lengths to n = 4 to 20 . for example , if the ratio is 2 d 4 h : 1 disiloxane , n will be ˜ 8 ; for 3 d 4 h : 1 disiloxane , n will be ˜ 12 ; etc . the resulting mixture was then allowed to return to room temperature and washed with 10 % nahco 3 ( 3 × 15 ml ) and deionized water ( 6 × 10 ml ). this liquid was dissolved in diethyl ether ( 200 ml ) and then dried over na 2 so 4 . the diethyl ether solvent was removed on a rotary evaporator . the sample was then again dried at 70 ° c . under vacuum ( 0 . 05 torr ) overnight ( about 16 hours ). at this step nuclear magnetic resonance ( nmr ) characterization was performed on the current product , md n h m ( n ˜ 8 ) ( general formula v , with a more generalized chemical structure of the intermediary shown in general formula vi ), yielding a spectrum consistent with the proposed structure ( table 2 ). r1 , r2 , r3 , r8 , r9 and r10 are preferably chosen from the group consisting of : methyl , ethyl , propyl , and butyl . r5 , r6 and r7 are preferably chosen from the group consisting of : methyl , ethyl , propyl and butyl . step 2 : addition of a peo side - chain the above sample md n h m ( n ˜ 8 ) ( 48 . 54 g , 0 . 617 mol si — h ) was then mixed in a 500 ml flame dried flask containing tri ( ethyleneglycol ) monomethyl ether ( peo — me ) ( k = 3 ) ( aldrich , 101 . 22 g or 0 . 617 mol ) ( described by the general formula vii for the case wherein k = 3 ). also added to the mixture was tris ( pentafluorophenyl ) boron , b ( c 6 f 5 ) 3 , ( aldrich , 0 . 16 g or 0 . 31 mmol ) ( general formula viii ), which served as a catalyst for the dehydrocoupling reaction which occurs between the si — h groups of the md n h m ( n ˜ 8 ) and the o — h groups of the peo — me ( m = 3 ). note , the dehydrocoupling catalyst should be loaded as a percentage of the moles of si — h groups present in the substrates , preferably between 0 . 01 % and 10 %, more preferably between 0 . 01 % and 2 . 00 %, and most preferably about 0 . 05 % on a per mole basis . this mixture was vacuum pumped down (˜ 0 . 05 torr ) and then filled with argon , four times in succession . next , a solvent ( 150 ml toluene , dried over sodium ) was added and the entire mixture was heated to 70 - 75 ° c ., which caused bubbling to occur . other solvents such as benzene may be used in place of toluene , and the mixture may be heated to between 40 ° c . and 200 ° c . the mix was then stirred until this bubbling ceased , approximately 17 hours . the sample was then further dried at 125 ° c . under vacuum ( 0 . 02 torr ) to generate a colorless oil ( 137 . 6 g ). infrared spectroscopy ( ir ) showed the absence of h — o or si — h groups , an indication that our reaction proceeded to completion . table 3 shows the spectra resulting from the nmr , similarly indicative of the absence of h — o or si — h groups , and that the reaction proceeded to completion ( table 3 ). detecting traces of boron via mass spectroscopy , ftim , x - ray diffraction , and / or neutron diffraction in a polysiloxane , and in particular in poly ( siloxane - g - 3 ethylene oxide ) ( n ˜ 8 ), could be used to reveal that our inventive employment of a boron catalyst was utilized . it is noted that , although boron is considered the best catalyst , alternate catalysts including alkali metal or alkaline earth hydroxides , alkali metal or alkaline earth carbonates , triethylamine , and pyridine may be used . see , s . kohama , y umeki , j ., applied polymer sci ., 21 , 863 ( 1977 ). for example , and without limitation , zinc octanoate , triethylamine , pyridine , potassium hydroxide , magnesium hydroxide , potassium carbonate may be used . experiments have further demonstrated that a rhodium complex , rhcl ( pph 3 ) 3 , is an efficient catalyst but produces a dark color in the polymer which is difficult to remove . ionic conductivity : when doped , sample w100 , by virtue of its low molecular weight and viscosity , displays high levels of ionic conductivity . the sample was initially dried on a high vacuum line ( pressure reached 9 . 5 × 10 − 5 torr ) following synthesis . before testing the samples were doped with the lithium salt , lin ( so 2 cf 3 ) 2 ( litfsi ) at various concentrations . these concentrations were calculated based on the molar ratios between the amount of side - chain oxygen molecules in the sample and lithium cations present in the salt ( table 4 ). alternate candidate alkali metal salts include the lithium salts : liclo 4 , libf 4 , liasf 6 , lipf 6 , licf 3 so 3 , li ( cf 3 so 2 ) 2 n , lic ( cf 3 so 2 ) 3 , lin ( so 2 c 2 f 5 ) 2 , lithium bis ( oxalato ) borate (“ libob ”), lithium alkyl fluorophosphates , and mixtures thereof . other alkali metal salts may be used , particularly those comprising at least one quaternary ammonium salt having an anion selected form the following groups : clo 4 − , bf 4 − , asf 6 − , pf 6 − , cf 3 so 3 − ; ( cf 3 so 2 ) 2 n − , c ( cf 3 so 2 ) 3 c − , ( c 2 f 5 so 2 ) 2 n − , pf 3 ( c 2 f 5 ) 3 − , pf 3 ( cf 3 ) 3 − and b ( c 2 o 4 ) 2 . this doping was achieved through one of two methods . the first involves direct doping of the salt and polymer by placing them in a nalgene cup in an argon atmosphere dry box . once inside the box the mixture was placed in a drying tube containing a teflon stir bar . next the tube was removed from the dry box and placed on a schlenk line to enable the sample and salt to mix under an argon flow until homogenous mixing occurred . the criterion used to evaluate this level of mixing was the absence of salt crystals based on unaided visual inspections . this was achieved following several hours ( overnight ) of constant stirring . the second , or solution , method involves placing the desired amount of sample in a nalgene cup that is then transferred to a sealed drying tube with a teflon stir bar within the dry box . the salt is transferred into the tube through a syringe containing 0 . 052 m litfsi in a tetrahydrofuran ( thf ) solution under an argon flow . the mix was then allowed to stir to achieve homogeneity on a schlenk line . the thf solvent is removed on the schlenk line and the tube is then placed on a high vacuum line until a pressure below 3 × 10 − 5 torr is reached . the direct doping method was used in the preparation of doped sample w100 . the solution doping method was used when less than 15 mg of salt will be used since that small amount of salt cannot be measured precisely in a dry box . when using 50 to 100 mg of salt , precise amounts can be measured in a dry box allowing the use of the direct method , which does not expose the sample to additional solvent ( which then needs to be removed ). sample w100 was mixed with the direct method since about 100 mg of salt was added to the pure polymers . it is quicker and ensures that no additional solvent needs to be used . sandwich conductivity cells sealed with o - rings were used to measure conductivity . the cells were placed in the dry box and had their dimensions measured to enable the calculation of conductivity according to the equation , where σ is conductivity ( s / cm ), l is the length of the containment ring ( cm ), r is the resistance ( ω ) and a is area ( cm 2 ). three ( 3 ) different containment rings were used on our cells , giving geometric factors between 0 . 208 and 0 . 293 cm − 1 . resistance was derived from impedance measurements according to the following equation , r = z × cos ( θ ), where z is impedance ( ω ) and θ corresponds to the phase angle . these values were measured by a princeton applied research potentiostat / galvanostat model 273a with a model 1025 frequency response analyzer using par powersine software . the parameters for these tests were a frequency range of between 75 . 0 hz and 100 khz and a default ac amplitude of 10 mv . variations in temperature were achieved using a condenser connected to a brinkman mgw lauda rm 6 circulating bath . [ 0041 ] fig2 shows the results of impedance measurements yielding conductivity calculations , which were recorded at various temperatures and plotted . it is apparent that an eo : li ratio of 15 : 1 yields the best conductivity for our sample w100 . this data was then fit to the vogel - tamman - fulcher ( vtf ) equation , σ = at - 1 / 2 exp [ - b t - t 0 ] , where a sk 1 / 2 ( cm ) and b ( k − 1 ) are constants and to ( k ) is the ideal glass transition temperature . the equation parameter b , is related to activation energy ( e a ) by a constant such that , e a = b × ( 8 . 31 j mol k ) table 6 summarizes the conductivity measurements and vtf derived data for both the 24 . 8 : 1 and 15 : 1 eo : li doping ratios . the values of temperature and conductivity are presented in the forms of 1 / t × 1000 and log σ , respectively , so that the data can be easily plotted ( as in fig2 and 6 ) and related to the vtf equation . the corresponding calculated log σ values derived from the vtf fit are also presented for data point for comparison . electrochemical stability . for the measurement of the electrochemical stability window of the polymer electrolyte , stainless steel type 2032 button cell assemblies were used , with a stainless steel disc as a working electrode and a lithium metal disc as a counter electrode . the measurement cell was assembled in an argon - filled dry box . [ 0046 ] fig3 shows the electrochemical stability of the polymer electrolyte measured by using zahner electrochemical workstation im6 with scan rate of 5 mv / sec from 2 . 8 v to 6 . 0 v measured at 25 ° c . the first scan cycle displays small current increase from 4 . 0 v onward . successive scans show that sample w100 doped with litfsi can be cycled up to 4 . 5 v without an additional decomposition . viscosity ( η ): the viscosity of sample w100 ( see table 7 ) was measured by using a brookfield type viscometer ( dv - ii +) with a spindle speed of 50 rpm measured at 25 ° c . to further explore the properties of related polymer electrolytes , the three linear polysiloxane polymers shown in fig4 a and 4b were synthesized . the liquid samples were doped with litfsi at various concentrations before measuring conductivity . a previous study found the 32 : 1 eo : li ratio to be the optimum ratio for maximum conductivity , but the polymers examined in that study were double - comb polysiloxanes . ( see , hooper , supra .) past studies have measured conductivities that could be considered commercially viable ( ibid . ), but the polysiloxanes that were studied had to be meticulously synthesized at the laboratory level . trying to convert these syntheses to commercial volumes would likely prove to be too difficult and costly . thus , the methyl polysiloxane samples have the advantage of having been synthesized by much simpler schemes from the readily available starting materials poly ( methylhydrosiloxane ), pmhs , and poly ( ethylene glycol ), peo , as a step toward making the transition from laboratory to market . for comparison purposes , the liquid polymers w22p , w76 , w100 , and w102 were synthesized at the organosilicon research center at the university of wisconsin - madison . the liquid samples were dried on a high vacuum line until ultimate pressure was reached ( w22p , 1 . 5 × 10 − 5 torr ; w76 , 2 . 2 × 10 − 5 torr ; w100 , 9 . 5 × 10 − 5 torr ; w102 , 9 . 5 × 10 − 5 torr ). specifically , and by way of example , sample w76 ( fig4 a ) was synthesized in the same way as w100 except omitting step 1 (“ ring opening polymerization synthesizing a md n h m ( n ˜ 8 ) intermediary ”) above . the materials used were : 55 % pmhs - co - pdms ( m w = 900 ˜ 1200 from gelest inc ., 25 . 0 g , 0 . 167 mol si — h ) b ( c 6 f 5 ) 3 ( aldrich , 0 . 77 g , 1 . 5 mmol ); sample w76 ( 27 g ) was thus obtained and tested . spectra data ( ir , nmr ) for w76 were similar to that for w100 except for the presence of an additional absorption band at − 19 ˜- 22 ppm on the 29 si nmr spectrum . sample w76 , where the peo side chains are attached to the siloxane backbone through si — o bonds , is a novel material for use as an electrolyte . ( note that in terms of general formula i , the precursor for sample w76 , n ˜ 7 and n ˜ 6 . 3 . generally , in the present invention , m may range from 0 to about 20 , or more preferably from 0 to about 8 , and most preferably should be about 0 ). similarly , sample w102 ( fig4 b ) was synthesized according to step 2 in the sample w100 preparation above ( i . e ., omitting step 1 ). the materials used were : b ( c 6 ( f 5 ) 3 ( aldrich , 0 . 17 g , 0 . 33 mmol ); sample w102 ( 139 . 3 g ) was thus obtained and tested . spectra ( ir , nmr ) data for w102 were similar to w100 . referring to fig4 b , it may be seen that sample 22p is almost identical to sample w102 . the difference in the length of the silicon oxide backbone results from the use of potassium carbonate ( k 2 co 3 ) as a catalyst in formulating sample w22p versus the use of tris ( pentafluorophenyl ) boron ( b ( c 6 f s ) 3 ) as a catalyst in formulating sample w102 . importantly , the boron - containing catalyst results in more precise control of the length of the silicon oxide backbone , and a significant improvement in performance . the use of a boron - containing catalyst is therefore much preferred to other catalysts . viscosity ( η ): the viscosity of samples w22p , w76 , and w102 ( see table 8 ) was measured using the same method as sample w100 ( using a brookfield type viscometer ( dv - ii +) with a spindle speed of 50 rpm measured at 25 ° c .). doped polymer samples were prepared by direct mixing of the salt with the polymer . both polymer and the calculated amount of salt ( side - chain oxygen to lithium ion ratio ) were placed in a nalgene cup in the dry box and sealed in a custom drying tube with a stir bar . once out of the dry box , the tube was placed on a schlenk line to allow the polymer and salt to stir under an argon flow until a homogeneous mixture was achieved . [ 0067 ] fig5 is a plot of conductivity derived from impedance measurements of the samples of example 2 . o - ring sealed sandwich conductivity cells were loaded in the dry box of each sample using one of three containment rings . the geometric factor , 1 / a , for the rings ranged from 0 . 208 to 0 . 293 cm − 1 . ionic conductivities were calculated with the equation s = 1 / r * 1 / a , where s is conductivity and r is resistance . resistance was calculated from the impedance ( z ) using the equation , r = z * cos ( q ) where q is the phase angle and z is the impedance . the impedance was measured on a princeton applied research potentiostat / galvanostat model 273a with a model 1025 frequency response analyzer operated under computer control using par powersine software . the frequency ranged from 75 . 0 hz to 100 khz and the default ac amplitude of 10 mv was used for each measurement . measurements were taken at temperatures ranging from 0 to 70 ° c . by placing the conductivity cell inside a condenser attached to a brinkman mgw lauda rm 6 variable temperature , circulating bath . conductivity was calculated from the impedance measurements and plotted with respect to temperature . the plot of fig5 was fit to the vtf equation , ( see , fulcher , g . s . j . am . ceram . soc . 1925 , 8 , 339 ) in order to calculate the activation energy from the equation parameters . the samples w100 ( tested at eo : li doping ratios of 15 : 1 and 24 . 8 : 1 ) and w102 ( tested at a eo : li doping ratio of 24 . 8 : 1 ) outperformed the other samples tested . it is anticipated that w102 would also perform well at the 15 : 1 level . from fig5 there appears to be a trend over all samples that there is an optimum eo : li doping ratio range of about 5 : 1 to 50 : 1 , more preferably about 12 : 1 to 28 : 1 , even more preferably about 15 : 1 to 25 : 1 , and most preferably about 15 : 1 . [ 0068 ] fig6 is a plot of vtf derived conductivity for various concentrations of litfsi . it is evident that the sample w100 doped at 15 : 1 outperforms all other samples tested throughout the test range . it should be apparent that the present invention solves the long - felt need to create safe , high energy , lightweight electrochemical storage devices having liquid electrolytes . batteries containing the present electrolyte would be inherently safer than those with more volatile , flammable , and unstable electrolytes , and have significantly better performance due to the lower impedance and increased conductivity . additionally , the cost of manufacturing the electrolyte of the present invention is anticipated to be lower than other alternate electrolytes . following the same synthetic procedures as in example 1 , but varying the amount of starting materials , sample w119 was synthesized . step 1 : ring opening polymerization synthesizing a md n h m ( n =˜ 4 ) commercially available hexamethyldisiloxane hmds ( aldrich , 41 . 44 g or 0 . 255 mol ), 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 - tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane d 4 h ( gelest inc ., 61 . 24 g or 0 . 255 mol ) ( general formula iii ), and concentrated sulfuric acid h 2 so 4 ( fisher scientific , 2 . 46 g ) were used as precursors for the product md n h m ( n =˜ 4 ) ( 78 g ). nmr analysis showed the following data : 1 h nmr ( in cdcl 3 ): 4 . 70 ppm ( broad , 1h , si — h ), 0 . 21 ppm ˜ 0 . 12 ppm ( m , 7 . 4h , si — ch 3 ). 29 si nmr ( in cdcl 3 ): 8 . 78 ppm ( m , osi ( ch 3 ) 3 ), − 36 . 54 ppm ( m , si — h ). tri ( ethyleneglycol ) monomethyl ether ( aldrich , 65 . 85 g , 0 . 402 mol ), md n h m ( n =˜ 4 ) ( 40 . 39 g , 0 . 402 mol si — h ), tris ( pentafluorophenyl ) boron b ( c 6 f 5 ) 3 ( aldrich , 0 . 104 g , 0 . 202 mmol ) were used to afford the colorless liquid product designated sample w119 ( 96 . 7 g ). referring to general formula ii ( as well as the final product in fig1 ), n =˜ 4 . spectroscopic data : ir showed no ho groups ( at 3300 ˜ 3500 cm − 1 ) and no si — h ( at 2160 cm − 1 ) present . 1 h nmr ( in cdcl 3 ): 3 . 70 ˜ 3 . 30 ppm ( m , 12h , ch 2 ), 3 . 15 ppm ( s , 3h , och 3 ), 0 . 05 ˜− 0 . 10 ppm ( m , 7 . 4 h , si — ch 3 ). conductivity was measured at 2 . 10 × 10 − 4 scm − 1 at 25 . 1 ° c . ( at doping level of o / li = 24 , using litfsi ). following the same synthetic procedures as in example 1 , but varying the amount of starting materials , sample w168 ( n =˜ 6 ) was synthesized . step 1 : ring opening polymerization synthesizing a md n h m ( n =˜ 6 ) commercially available hexamethyldisiloxane hmds ( aldrich , 19 . 59 g , 0 . 121 mol ), 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 - tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane d 4 h ( gelest inc ., 43 . 42 g , 0 . 181 mol ), and concentrated sulfuric acid h 2 so 4 ( fisher scientific , 1 . 59 g ) were used as precursors for the product md n h m ( n =˜ 6 ) ( 46 . 5 g ). nmr analysis yielded the following data : 1 h nmr ( in cdcl 3 ): 4 . 70 ppm ( broad , 1h , si — h ), 0 . 21 ppm ˜ 0 . 12 ppm ( m , 6 . 1h , si — ch 3 ). 29 si nmr ( in cdcl 3 ): 8 . 92 ppm ( m , osi ( ch 3 ) 3 ), − 36 . 72 ppm ( m , si — h ). tri ( ethyleneglycol ) monomethyl ether ( aldrich , 39 . 72 g , 0 . 242 mol ), md n h m ( n =˜ 6 ) ( 21 . 56 g , 0 . 243 mol si — h ), and tris ( pentafluorophenyl ) boron b ( c 6 f 5 ) 3 ( aldrich , 0 . 150 g , 0 . 293 mmol ) were used to afford the colorless liquid product designated sample w168 ( 59 . 0 g ). referring to general formula ii ( as well as the final product in fig1 ), n =˜ 6 . spectroscopic data : ir showed no ho groups ( at 3300 ˜ 3500 cm − 1 ) and no si — h ( at 2160 cm − 1 ) present . 1 h nmr ( in cdcl 3 ): 3 . 70 ˜ 3 . 30 ppm ( m , 12h , ch 2 ), 3 . 15 ppm ( s , 3h , och 3 ), 0 . 05 ˜- 0 . 10 ppm ( m , 5 . 9h , si — ch 3 ). following the same synthetic procedures as in example 1 , but varying the amount of starting materials , sample w169 ( n =˜ 11 ) was synthesized . step 1 : ring opening polymerization synthesizing a md n h m ( n =˜ 11 ) commercially available hexamethyldisiloxane hmds ( aldrich , 8 . 28 g , 0 . 051 mol ), 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 - tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane d 4 h gelest inc ., 42 . 84 g , 0 . 179 mol ), and concentrated sulfuric acid h 2 so 4 ( fisher scientific , 1 . 58 g ) were reacted at 75 ° c . for 72 hours to afford the product md n h m ( n =˜ 1 ) ( 46 . 5 g ). nmr analysis yielded the following data : 1 h nmr ( in cdcl 3 ): 4 . 70 ppm ( broad , 1h , si — h ), 0 . 21 ppm ˜ 0 . 12 ppm ( m , 4 . 7 h , si — ch 3 ). 29 si nmr ( in cdcl 3 ): 8 . 87 ppm ( m , osi ( ch 3 ) 3 ), − 36 . 31 ppm ( m , si — h ). tri ( ethyleneglycol ) monomethyl ether ( aldrich , 45 . 77 g , 0 . 279 mol ), md n h m ( n =˜ 11 ) ( 21 . 93 g , 0 . 291 mol si — h ), and tris ( pentafluorophenyl ) boron b ( c 6 f 5 ) 3 ( aldrich , 0 . 101 g , 0 . 197 mmol ) were used to afford the colorless liquid product designated sample w169 ( 62 . 8 g ). referring to general formula ii ( as well as the final product in fig1 ), n =˜ 11 . spectroscopic data : ir showed no ho groups ( at 3300 ˜ 3500 cm − 1 ) and no si — h ( at 2160 cm − 1 ) present . 1 h nmr ( in cdcl 3 ): 3 . 70 ˜ 3 . 30 ppm ( m , 12h , ch 2 ), 3 . 15 ppm ( s , 3h och 3 ), 0 . 05 ˜− 0 . 10 ppm ( m , 4 . 7h , si — ch 3 ). the specific implementations disclosed above are by way of example and for enabling persons skilled in the art to implement the invention only . we have made every effort to describe all the embodiments we have foreseen . there may be embodiments that are unforeseeable or which are insubstantially different . we have further made every effort to describe the invention , including the best mode of practicing it . any omission of any variation of the invention disclosed is not intended to dedicate such variation to the public , and all unforeseen or insubstantial variations are intended to be covered by the claims appended hereto . accordingly , the invention is not to be limited except by the appended claims and legal equivalents . | 7 |
fig1 shows an exemplary led lighting device according to one embodiment of the present invention . the led lighting device 2 includes an led package 4 , heatsink 5 , and cooling liquid 9 . the led package 4 includes at least one led chip 10 which is typically an led element having an emitting area that emits light and a substrate 12 on which the chip is mounted . the emitting area includes an optional transparent window 7 that protects the led chip 10 . the heatsink 5 is attached to the substrate 12 to carry heat away from the led chip 10 . such led packages , for example , are available from luminus devices , inc . of billerica , mass . cooling liquid 9 contained in a liquid sealed housing is positioned in close proximity to or near the led chip 10 . in fig1 , the boundary of the housing containing the cooling liquid is not shown as it can be used in many different applications that use different types of housings . preferably , the cooling liquid 9 is in direct contact with the led chip 10 ( i . e ., the led semiconductor itself or the window 7 ) so that any heat generated by the chip will be carried away by the liquid immediately with very little heat resistance . in the case of fig1 , the cooling liquid 9 is in direct contact with the transparent window 7 of the chip . in cases where the transparent window 7 is absent , the cooling liquid 9 will be in direct contact with the led semiconductor itself . preferably , the cooling liquid 9 has low thermal expansion , high heat conductivity , chemically inert , and electrically insulating characteristics . one such liquid is a perfluorinated liquid called fluorinert ™ available from 3m company of st . paul , minn . other lower cost liquids can be mineral oil , paraffin or the like . fig2 shows an led lighting device with a recycling reflector as disclosed in applicant &# 39 ; s earlier filed application ser . no . 13 / 077 , 006 , filed mar , 31 , 2011 , which is incorporated herein by reference . the led lighting device includes an led package 4 , a driver circuit 3 for driving the led chips 10 , a recycling reflector 6 such as a recycling collar positioned in front of the led chip and a transmissive aperture 8 through which the led light passes . the led chips / elements 10 can be a single chip or multiple chips of white color , single color , or multiple color . for particular applications , they can be arranged such that the optical axis 16 of the transmissive aperture 8 of the recycling reflector 6 goes through the center 20 ( see fig3 ) of the led elements and the center is also substantially at the proximity of the center of curvature of the recycling reflector . the led elements 10 are preferably arranged in the same plane and closely positioned to minimize any space between any two emitting areas of the led elements . the led elements 10 can emit light of a single color such as red , green and blue or emit white light . the emission angle is typically 180 degrees or less . the recycling collar 6 is curved in a concave manner relative to the led element 10 . the inner surface 14 is a reflective surface such that the led light that impinges on the inner surface is reflected back to the light source , i . e ., led elements . the reflective surface can be provided by coating the exterior or interior surface of the collar 6 or by having a separate reflective mirror attached to the collar . according to a preferred embodiment , the recycling collar 6 is spherical in shape relative to the center 20 of the led elements 10 such that the output is reflected back to itself with unit magnification . thus , it is effectively an imaging system where the led elements 10 form an image on to itself . advantageously , substantially all led light that impinges on the inner spherical reflective surface 14 is reflected back to the light source , i . e ., emitting areas of the led elements 10 . as persons of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate , any led light that does not pass through the transmissive aperture of a conventional illumination system is lost forever . however , by using the curved reflective surface 14 , the led lighting device of the present invention allows recovery of a substantial amount of light that would have been lost . for example , in an illumination system whose transmissive aperture size captures about 20 % of emitted light , the recycling collar 6 allows collection of an additional 20 % of the emitted light . advantageously , that is an improvement of 100 % in captured light throughput , which results in a substantial improvement in brightness . the led in the present invention can be a single led or an array of leds . the led can be white , single color , or composed of multiple chips with single or multiple colors . the led can also be a dc led , or an ac led . fig3 shows some of the led chips that can be used with the present invention . fig3 a shows an led array 18 of four colored led elements 10 . specifically , the led array 18 includes one red led element r emitting red color light , one blue led element b emitting blue color light arranged at opposite corners and symmetrically about the center 20 , and two green led elements g 1 , g 2 emitting green color light arranged at opposite corners and symmetrically about the center 20 of the led array . the led array 18 is arranged such that the optical axis 16 of the recycling reflector 6 passes through the center 20 and the center is also substantially at the proximity of the center of curvature of the recycling reflector 6 . while the led array 18 is shown with four led elements , the present invention can work with at least one led element . also , in the case of a pair of led elements , while it is preferable that the led elements in the pair emit the same color , they can emit different colors although the efficiency may be lower . moreover , the size of each led element in the array can be different from any other led element . it is to be noted that while each led element 10 is shown as a square , it can be rectangular . preferably , the total emitting area of the led array 18 should have the same aspect ratio as the image to be projected . for example , to project a high definition television image whose aspect ratio is 9 : 16 , the total emitting area of the led array 18 should have the same 9 : 16 dimension . similarly , the dimension of the led array 18 can be , among others , 4 : 3 , 1 : 1 , 2 . 2 : 1 , which are also popular aspect ratios . in the embodiment of fig3 a , the two green led elements g 1 , g 2 are imaged on to each other . specifically , any light from led element g 1 impinging on the interior reflective surface 14 is reflected back to the symmetrically positioned led element g 2 and vice versa . for the symmetrically arranged same color led elements to work well , the driver circuit 3 drives the same color led elements ( e . g ., g 1 , g 2 ) simultaneously . thus , this arrangement provides high recycling efficiency . on the other hand , light from the blue led element b is imaged onto the red led element r and vise versa . thus , the recycling efficiency is lower for these two colors . in order to increase the efficiency with multi - colored led elements , a symmetric configuration as shown in fig3 b can be used . in this embodiment , the red chips ( led elements r ) are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center 20 . as such , the red chips are imaged onto each other with high recycling efficiency . similarly , the blue chips ( led elements b ) and green chips ( led elements g ) are also arranged symmetrically with respect to the center 20 and will be imaged onto each other with high recycling efficiency . fig4 shows a liquid cooled led lighting device invention in which the light output is recycled to allow higher output intensity according to an embodiment of the present invention . in fig4 , the led lighting device is an led light bulb 22 having a sealed housing / bulb 24 and a base 26 . the sealed bulb 24 can be made of plastic , glass or metal . an led mount 28 is attached to the base 26 and provides the rigid support structure for attaching a control circuit 3 , heat sink 5 , substrate 12 and led chips 10 which are electrically connected to the control circuit . the substrate 12 supporting the led chip 10 is mounted on the heatsink 5 . the led mount 28 also has a conduit for carrying electrical wires from the control circuit to an electrical foot contact 32 and screw threaded contact 30 . in operation , line voltage from the electrical contacts 30 , 32 is converted to the desired level for the led chip 10 by the control / driver circuit 3 . although fig4 shows a light bulb having an edison type threaded base connector , any other led lighting devices such as one having mr - 16 type base are also suitable for use with the present invention . the bulb 24 has an optically transparent transmissive aperture 8 through which the emitted light from the led chip 10 passes . the aperture 8 can be a simple optically transparent spherical window or can have a lens such as a focusing lens or collimating lens to obtain a desired output divergence . the part of the bulb 24 above the substrate 12 is spherically shaped relative to the center of the led chip 10 emitting area . a part of the spherical bulb surface around the transmissive aperture 8 is coated with reflective coating 14 for reflecting the emitted light back to the led chip 10 light emitting area . this functions as the recycling collar 6 as shown in fig2 . according to the invention , the sealed light bulb 24 is filled with cooling liquid 9 for heat sinking . similar to fig1 , the sealed cooling liquid 9 is positioned in close proximity to or near the led chip 10 . as shown , the cooling liquid 9 is in direct contact with the led chip 10 emitting area so that any heat generated by the chip will be carried away by the liquid immediately with very little heat resistance . the led chip 10 generates heat when emitting light . the heat in turn heats the cooling liquid 9 which expands in volume . since the cooling liquid 9 is sealed inside the bulb 24 , a relief is needed to prevent explosion due to expansion of the cooling liquid . as shown in fig4 , compressible material 34 is positioned inside the bulb to absorb the expanding volume of the cooling liquid 9 by compressing . in the embodiment shown , the compressible material 34 is immovably positioned and is outside of the optical path of the emitted light so that it does not interfere with the light being transmitted through the transmissive aperture 8 . if not , the compressible material 34 may travel into the optical path of the light and create distortions and shadows in the light exiting the aperture 8 and may also reduce the light output . in fig4 , the compressible material 34 is attached to the inner surface of the bulb 24 . alternatively , the compressible material 34 can be immovably attached to the led mount 28 , heat sink or other parts within the bulb 24 so long as the material is positioned outside of the optical path of the emitted light . in some embodiment the compressible material is contained in a sealed enclosure as shown in fig4 . the compressible material as shown in fig4 is a pocket of air . the air pocket is contained inside a small sealed balloon enclosure . as the pressure inside the bulb 24 increases , the air pocket 34 will reduce in volume , relieving the pressure inside the light bulb . instead of positioning the compressible material 34 inside the housing 24 , a part of the housing can be made of flexible material such as rubber so that it can expand as the cooling liquid 9 expands . however , this is not a preferred solution because it is difficult to maintain a seal between the flexible material and the rigid housing . thus , positioning of the compressible material 34 inside the housing 24 according to the present invention allows the housing to be made entirely of rigid , non - expanding material which is completely sealed , thereby improving the reliability and durability of the led lighting device . in an alternative embodiment , the compressible material 34 such as air is contained in an enclosure and is confined within an internal chamber 35 defined by an internal wall 33 having openings so that the fluid 9 flows freely therethrough . in this way , the compressible material 34 do not need to be immovably positioned . preferably , the wall 33 and therefore the compressible material 34 and its enclosure are outside of the optical path of the emitted light . although the embodiment of fig4 shows air as the compressible material , any other types of gas , which by nature are compressible , such as nitrogen can be used . in fact , even vacuum can be used so long as the enclosure is sufficiently rigid to withstand the force of vacuum , yet sufficiently flexible to compress due to the external pressure of the expanding cooling liquid 9 . fig5 shows various types of enclosures for enclosing compressible materials according to the present invention . fig5 a is a section of tubing containing air with both ends sealed . the tubing can be rubber , silicone , plastic or the like . the shape of the enclosure can be cylindrical as shown in fig5 a , spherical as shown in fig5 b , toroidal as shown in fig5 c , a flat cavity such as a disk as shown in fig5 d , or the like . the air pocket can be independent of the package , or can be attached to the package , or can be integrated with the package . as shown in fig5 e , the compressible material 34 can be a collection of small air pockets packed together as a piece of “ foam ”. such materials provide the necessary volume of gas required that is easy to handle and that can be cut to size as needed . the foam material can be found in packing cushion materials , for example . materials that make up these foams could be vinyl , silicone , rubber , etc . the gas inside the pockets can be air , nitrogen , or the like . to enhance the efficiency of cooling and heat sinking , a pump 38 can be added to circulate the cooling liquid inside the housing 24 . the pump 38 quickly moves away the hot liquid near the led chips 10 and replaced it with cooler liquid , thereby increasing the efficiency of cooling in order to reduce the junction temperature of the led chips . in a preferred embodiment , the pump 38 is an ultrasonic pump . ultrasonic signal is used to drive a transducer such that it generates acoustic waves in the cooling liquid 9 . the configuration of the pump 38 is such that the acoustic wave produces a net flow of liquid . fig6 a shows an led lighting device with such a pump . the liquid sealed housing 24 contains an ultrasonic pump 38 having an inlet 40 on one side and an outlet 42 on another side . the ultrasonic pump 38 is driven by an ultrasonic driver circuit 44 located outside the housing 24 that generates an ultrasonic drive signal . in fig6 a , the substrate 12 and led chip 10 attached to the substrate are mounted to the outer surface of the housing 24 instead of being attached to the inside of the housing as shown in fig4 . cooling fins 50 are attached to the housing 24 to remove heat from the cooling liquid 9 . preferably , the housing 24 in fig6 a is made of heat conductive material such as metal or metal alloy . the air pocket 34 in fig6 a is similar to that of fig4 , except that since the led chip 10 is attached to the outside of the housing 24 , the air pocket does not have to be immovably attached to the housing 24 . fig6 b shows an alternative led lighting device in which the led chip 10 and internal heat sink 5 are immersed in the cooling liquid 9 for effective cooling . the compressible material 34 is similar to that of fig4 and is attached to the interior surface of the liquid sealed housing 24 away from the optical path of the led chip 10 . fins 50 are attached to the housing 24 to remove heat from the cooling liquid 9 . preferably , the housing 24 in fig6 b is made of heat conductive material such as metal or metal alloy . the heatsink 5 is attached to the interior surface of the housing 24 so that the heat from the heatsink can be redistributed throughout the housing . the base 26 attached to the housing 24 couples electrical wires from the led chip 10 and pump 38 to connectors 46 . the light emitting from the led chip 10 is transmitted through the aperture / optical window 8 . fig7 shows an led lighting device according to another embodiment of the present invention . an array of led chips 10 and substrate 12 are mounted on a heatsink 5 attached to the interior surface of the housing 24 . the compressible material 34 is attached to the interior surface of the housing 24 and is positioned outside of the optical path of the emitted light . the housing 24 has an inlet 52 and outlet 54 . a flow tube 56 is coupled between the inlet 52 and outlet 54 . cooling fins 50 are attached to a portion of the flow tube 56 defining a cooling chamber 58 . a pump such as an ultrasonic pump 38 is connected inline with the flow tube 56 to pump the cooling liquid 9 from the housing 24 to the cooling chamber 58 for efficient heat sinking by the cooling fins . the above disclosure is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive . this description will suggest many modifications , variations , and alternatives may be made by ordinary skill in this art without departing from the scope of the invention . those familiar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein . for example , although the present invention is shown with a recycling reflector , it can be used without the recycling of light . also , while the present invention has been shown in the context of an led as the light source , it can be used with any light source that generates a significant amount of heat in operation . for example , the present invention can be used with laser , arc lamp , or the like . the principles of the present invention can also be applied to any other non - optical applications where heat is generated such as power transistors , microprocessors , inductors , rectifiers and transformers . accordingly , the scope of the invention is not limited to the foregoing specification . | 5 |
for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the embodiments disclosed herein , reference will now be made to the drawings and descriptions in the following written specification . it is understood that no limitation to the scope of the subject matter is thereby intended . it is further understood that the present disclosure includes any alterations and modifications to the illustrated embodiments and includes further applications of the principles of the disclosed embodiments as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains . a method 100 for registering and matching the input biometric signal of the consent biometric system is depicted in fig1 . during enrollment ( 100 ( a )), the method begins by acquiring a biometric signal for biometric trait comparison ( block 104 ) and a dynamic biometric signal for willingness test ( block 108 ). the region of the signal containing the biometric traits of interest is segmented from the signal acquired from 104 ( block 112 ). the segmented signal is processed by block 116 and a feature descriptor is calculated and generated ( block 116 ). at the same time , the dynamic biometric signal acquired from 108 is processed by block 120 to test whether the biometric trait is live . the method continues by extracting a consent signature from the live dynamic sequential signal by block 124 . this requires the biometric sensor to have the capability to acquire dynamic sequential data ( such as videos ). taking fingerprint recognition as an example , the user applies different strokes to operate the fingerprint acquisition device . the device will recognize and record the stroke patterns to generate a signature . for iris recognition , the consent signature can be a sequence of eye movement patterns . for face recognition , the consent signatures can be the head movement sequence , or facial expression sequence . the method 100 ( a ) continues by registering the generated feature templates and consent signature in electronic database ( block 128 ). during authentication ( 100 ( b )), the method begins by acquiring a biometric signal for biometric trait comparison ( block 132 ) and a dynamic biometric signal for willingness test ( block 136 ). the region of the signal containing the biometric traits of interest is segmented from the signal acquired from 132 ( block 140 ). the segmented signal is processed by block 144 and a feature template is calculated and generated . at the same time , the dynamic biometric signal acquired from 136 is processed by block 148 to test whether the biometric trait is live . the method continues by extracting a consent signature from the live dynamic sequential signal by block 152 . the method 100 ( b ) continues by matching the generated feature template and consent signature with the ones retrieved from database . ( block 156 ) the matching results from block 156 are fused to generate the final decision . access is authorized only if both of the biometric feature descriptors and consent signatures are matched . one type of scheme named combinational consent biometric system ( 200 ) is depicted in fig2 . the biometric pattern b ( x ) ( 204 ) and consent signatures c ( x ) ( 216 ) are acquired separately from user x . b ( x ) will go through biometric recognition module ( 208 ) with a recognition function p 1 ( w 1 | b ( x )) and output a probability p 1 ( w 1 ) ( 212 ). the consent signature will be transmitted into the signature recognition module ( 220 ) with a recognition function p 2 ( w 2 | c ( x )) for processing , feature extraction and signature matching and a result p 2 ( w 2 ) ( 224 ) is generated . finally , the two outputs are combined by block 228 to give the final authentication result ( 232 ). this type of system may need two kinds of sensors to acquire data . however traditional biometric systems can be used to obtain , process , extract and match biometric features . the other type of scheme named incorporating consent biometric system ( 300 ) is depicted in fig3 . the consent signature is acquired simultaneously with the biometrics data ( block 304 ). in other words , the biometric data incorporates the consent signature . this requires the biometric sensor to have the capability to acquire sequential data ( such as videos ). in this scheme , the consent signature includes both active and passive physiological / behavior information . biometric pattern b ( x ) ( 308 ) and consent signature c ( x ) ( 320 ) are extracted from the incorporated input . in this scheme , the biometric pattern b ( x ) is processed through the biometric recognition module ( block 312 ) with function p 1 ( w 1 | b ( x )) and compared with the entire database . the user selects his / her own dynamic pattern as the consent signature c ( x ) during the biometric registration process ( block 128 ). during matching stage ( block 132 ), the dynamic biometric data would be acquired by the biometric system . the consent signature will be extracted as well as the biometric features and processed through the consent signature module ( block 324 ) with function p 2 ( w 2 | c ( x )). only if the biometric data and consent signature are matched and proved to be from an eligible user , the access is authorized . an example authentication design 400 of method 200 using face is depicted in fig4 . the example design begins by acquiring a video sequence of subject &# 39 ; s face with multiple facial expressions ( block 404 ). the video acquisition may be performed with a digital camera having an adequate resolution for imaging features within the face area of the subject . the facial expression sequence is used to test liveness of biometric traits . the example design 400 continues by segmenting the face area from each frame of the acquired face sequence 412 ( block 408 ). skin color can be used to determine the interest region . the location , shape and size information is considered to further eliminate the non - face parts . the face area is cropped out , normalized and enhanced to reduce lighting variation . any other effective face segmentation method can be applied in 408 . neutral face image ( 420 ), i . e ., face frame without facial expressions is then extracted from the video sequence by block 416 . at the same time , a facial expression sequence ( 424 ) is extracted from the video to generate the consent signature by 416 . each segmented face frame is normalized and smoothed by a gaussian filter and compare to an average neutral face frame to determine whether it is an element of 424 . the corresponding facial expression is detected and extracted by 416 and a consent signature is generated and encoded from 424 . the design continues by processing the generated 420 and 424 . face template is calculated and generated by block 428 for 420 and by block 432 for 424 respectively . a face recognition method is applied to block 428 . a classifier was trained by facial expression images and applied to block 432 to classify each face expression frame in 424 . the generated feature descriptors generated from 428 and 432 are compared to the corresponding ones stored in electronic database during registration belonging to the identity the subject claims to be . the authentication example design was then followed by fusing the comparison results from 428 and 432 to generate a final result 440 ( block 436 ). there are four scenarios possible during the process of 436 : both 428 and 432 are matched , 428 is matched but 432 is not , 432 is matched but 428 is not , neither of 428 and 432 are matched . only the first scenario is considered to be a valid access . an illustration of a human eye is shown in fig5 . the eye 500 includes a pupil 504 surrounded by an iris 508 . a limbic boundary 512 separates the iris 508 from the sclera region 516 . a medial point 520 identifies the area where a tear duct is typically located and the lateral point 524 identifies an outside edge of the image . within the iris 508 are textured patterns 528 . these patterns have been determined to be sufficiently unique that may be used to identify a subject . an example authentication design 600 of method 300 using the iris is depicted in fig6 . the method begins by acquiring a video sequence of the subject &# 39 ; s eye with eye movement ( block 604 ). imaging of an eye may include illumination of the eye in near infrared , infrared , visible , multispectral , or hyperspectral frequency light . the light may be polarized or non - polarized and the illumination source may be close or remote from the eye . a light source close to an eye refers to a light source that directly illuminates the eye in the presence of the subject . a remote light source refers to a light source that illuminates the eye at a distance that is unlikely to be detected by the subject . as noted below , adjustments may be made to the image to compensate for image deformation that may occur through angled image acquisition or eye movement . thus , the eye image may be a frontal image or a deformed image . the image acquisition may be performed with a digital video camera having an adequate resolution for imaging features within the iris of the subject &# 39 ; s eye . the eye movement sequence is used to test liveness of biometric traits . the acquired video sequence with dynamic eye movement is processed by a consent signature extraction module ( block 608 ) and a video - based iris recognition module ( block 620 ) respectively . 608 extracts the consent signature from 604 . one embodiment of consent signature in this design is a sequence of eye movement , e . g ., the eye orientation sequence , including center , left , right , up , up - left and up - right , altogether six directions . it is required that each eye position should be kept for more than certain time to validate the movement state . the corresponding consent signature is bound with each subject &# 39 ; s enrolled iris pattern and pre - stored in the consent signature database ( 616 ). once the consent signature sequence is extracted by 608 , it is compared with the one registered in 616 frame by frame ( block 612 ). only when the distance between the extracted and the registered signature is smaller than a threshold are their orientations considered to be the same . in this way , the extracted signature is verified by 612 . block 616 continues by segmenting the eye image to isolate the region of the image containing the iris . the segmentation extracts a region of an image containing the pupil at the center with the iris surrounding the pupil . in one embodiment , the pupil acts as the center of the segmented region , with other portions of the iris being described using polar coordinates that locate features using an angle and distance from the center of the pupil . the segmented iris frames are categorized by their orientations , e . g ., center , left , right , up , up - left and up - right . after the iris region is segmented , one or more features presented in the iris image are detected and extracted . the features in question include any unique textures or structural shapes present in the iris region of the eye image . in one embodiment , the stable feature points which are invariant to scale , shift , and rotation are identified in each iris pattern . the sub - regions are distributed in a circular pattern about the pupil , with one partition scheme forming 10 sub - regions in the radial direction , and partitioning the full 360 ° angle about the pupil into 72 sub - regions for a total of 720 sub - regions . because a feature might lie on the boundary of a sub - region , the partitioning process in an example embodiment is repeated by offsetting the angle at which partitioning begins by 2 . 5 °. the offsetting ensures that a detected feature will always be included in one of the sub - regions . for each sub - region , extrema points are selected . these extrema points are the points that are tested to be different from its surrounding neighbors , which could be corner points , edge points and feature points . the block 6 continues by extracting the described iris feature using a bank of two - dimensional gabor filters . the gabor wavelet is selected by altering the values of the frequency and standard deviation parameters applied as part of the gabor filter transformation . the magnitude response to the 2d gabor filter of the filtered area is gaussian weighted based on the spatial distance between each point and the feature point . specifically , the identified feature points are next described by using a 64 - length descriptor that is based on the normalized and gaussian weighted position of each feature point within a normalized window about the feature point . in one embodiment , the normalized window includes 4 sub - divided bins in the horizontal ( x ) direction , 4 sub - divided bins in the vertical ( y ) direction , and 4 subdivided bins corresponding to phase response directions of a 2d gabor filter of the feature point . if each of the 4 bins is thought of as a dimension , the 4 × 4 × 4 matrix forms 64 bins , each one of which holds one of the descriptor values that identifies a feature point . the generated feature descriptors are then categorized by the eye orientations and matched with the corresponding registered descriptors in the iris database 624 . a matching score indicating the similarity between the authenticating iris and the registered one belonging to the identity the subject claims to be is generated for each orientation ( block 628 ). in one embodiment , six match scores are generated by matching the six orientations , center , left , right , up , up - left and up - right respectively . the example design 600 continues by fusing the multimodal matching scores generated by 628 . in one embodiment , five score fusion strategies are applied to 628 and the one with the best accuracy is selected for the 600 . the score fused by 628 is then compared to a threshold by block 632 to determine whether the authenticating iris and the registered one are matched . the matching result of 612 and 632 are inputted to a final fusion module ( block 632 ) to determine whether a valid access should be granted . the decision ( 640 ) is given by the following rules : registered user with right consent signature : the user will be accepted because the right consent signature connecting to his or her identity is matched . registered user with wrong consent signature : the user will be rejected since the consent signature generated from consent signature extraction module ( 608 ) is unique to each identity and cannot match with the wrong input . non - registered user : the user will be rejected in both consent signature matching module ( 612 ) and iris matching module ( 632 ). those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications can be made to the specific implementations described above . therefore , the following claims are not to be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated and described above . the claims , as originally presented and as they may be amended , encompass variations , alternatives , modifications , improvements , equivalents , and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein , including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated , and that , for example , may arise from applicants / patentees and others . | 6 |
an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows schematically an address region detection apparatus according to the present embodiment . in fig1 postal matter 301 to be processed is sent to an image input unit 302 by transfer means ( not shown ). in the image input unit 302 , the postal matter 301 is optically scanned and a surface image is photoelectrically converted . thereby , the image on the postal matter 301 is input and sent to an address region detection unit 303 . in the address region detection unit 303 , the image is subjected to image processing , as described later , and a plurality of character lines assumed to be a beginning portion of the address information are detected and sent to a character recognition unit 304 . in the character recognition unit 304 , characters are taken out from each character line one by one and recognized one by one . the recognition result is sent to a word recognition unit 305 . in the word recognition unit 305 , the character recognition result sent from the character recognition unit 304 is collated with address information registered in an address data base . thereby , the recognition result is corrected and a word recognition process is carried out . the recognition result is sent to a block recognition unit 306 . in the block recognition unit 306 . information of &# 34 ; chome &# 34 ; ( street number ) and &# 34 ; banchi &# 34 ; ( house number ) stated near the recognized line is read to perform a block recognition process . the recognized result is output as address recognition result 307 . fig2 is a flow chart illustrating the process performed in the address region detection unit 303 . the processing operations of the address region detection unit 303 will now be described with reference to this flow chart . at first , the image of postal matter 301 input by the image input unit 302 is subjected to a digitizing process ( s1 ). pixel regions connected on the digital image are found and a rectangular region circumscribed on these regions is found ( s2 ). then , the shape , position , etc . of each found rectangular region are determined on the basis of initially prepared determination reference data , and unnecessary rectangular data ( noise ) is eliminated ( s3 ). regarding the rectangular data remaining after step s3 , vertical and horizontal directions of lines of characters on the postal matter 301 are assumed ( s4 , s5 ). in each direction , the rectangular data is independently subjected to character line extraction ( s6 , s7 ), character line block evaluation ( s8 , s9 ), and a process of synthesizing character line blocks and detecting an address region candidate ( s10 , s11 ). the address region candidate detected in the process of steps s10 and s11 is evaluated on the basis of initially prepared determination reference data ( s12 ). the address region candidate is output from the one with a highest evaluation result ( s13 ). the circumscribed rectangular data preparing process performed in step s2 in fig2 will now be described with reference to fig3 . if a region 20 of an aggregation of pixels is detected from a digital image of postal matter , the maximum and minimum coordinate values of the region 20 in the x - and y - directions are found ( 21 ), and a rectangular region circumscribed about the aggregation of pixels is found ( 22 ). when attempting to detect a connection of pixels , if one character 23 is detected as discontinuous parts , the maximum and minimum coordinate values of each part in the x - and y - directions of a region 24 are found . fig4 shows methods of extracting pixel connection components . in a 4 - proximity method ( 26 ), if there are pixels adjoining a pixel - of - interest ( the shaded region in the center of 26 ) in the x - and y - directions , the pixels are determined to be connected with the pixel - of - interest and synthesized . in an 8 - proximity method ( 27 ), pixels adjoining a pixel - of - interest ( the shaded region in the center of 27 ) in four diagonal directions , in addition to the pixels of the 4 - proximity , method are synthesized . the noise elimination process performed in step s3 in fig2 will now be described with reference to the flow chart of fig5 . at first , circumscribed rectangular data formed in step s2 in fig2 is fetched in ( s40 ). then , based on initially prepared determination reference data , the shape of each rectangular data unit is determined and it is determined whether or not each rectangular data unit is a data unit for character line detection ( s41 ). invalid rectangular data is excluded from the subsequent process ( s42 ), and valid data is treated as data for character line detection processing ( s43 ). fig6 to 8 show examples of the determination reference data . specifically , as shown in fig6 when circumscribed rectangular data 45 is found from digital image 44 of a character , rectangular data with an area equal to or larger than a predetermined value is determined as data not to be subjected to character line detection processing and is removed ( 46 ). as is shown in fig7 when circumscribed rectangular data 49 is found from a digital image 47 including a stain 48 or the like , rectangular data 50 with an area equal to or less than a predetermined value is determined as data not to be subjected to character line detection processing and is removed ( 51 ). as is shown in fig8 when circumscribed rectangular data 55 and 56 is found from a digital image 52 including an underline 53 , rectangular data 55 having a width of a predetermined value or less and a length of a predetermined value or more is determined as data not to be subjected to character line detection processing and is removed ( 51 ). in this context , the width of a rectangle refers to a shorter side thereof and the length of a rectangle refers to a longer side thereof . image data 57 of , e . g . a zip code , as shown in fig9 is recognized as rectangular data having a prestored width and length . thus , it is clear that the image data 57 representing a zip code is not an address region . accordingly , the rectangular data is determined as data not to be subjected to character line detection processing . in this context , the width of a rectangle refers to a shorter side thereof and the length of a rectangle refers to a longer side thereof . fig1 is a flow chart illustrating another example of the noise elimination process performed in step s3 in fig2 . at first , circumscribed rectangular data formed in step s2 in fig2 is fetched in ( s60 ). the position and density of each rectangular data unit are determined on the basis of initially prepared determination reference data and it is determined whether the rectangular data is data to be subjected to character line detection ( s61 ). invalid rectangular data is excluded from the subsequent process ( s62 ), and valid data is used as data for character line detection processing ( s63 ). fig1 shows an example of the determination reference data . if there are circumscribed rectangles 66 having preset width and length in a predetermined region of an image 64 , 65 , those rectangles are considered to have information of the kind registered in accordance with set values of width and length . for example , in the case of postal matter , if there is a circumscribed rectangle group of a predetermined size in an upper specific region of the postal matter , the circumscribed rectangle group may be determined as a zip code region . the character line extraction process in steps s4 to s7 in fig2 will now be described with reference to fig1 . with respect to the circumscribed rectangular data 80 obtained by image processing , rectangular data units adjacent to one another in the x - direction are synthesized ( 81 ), thereby detecting ( 82 ) an x - directional character line . independently of the x - directional character line detection process , the same circumscribed rectangular data units are synthesized in the y - direction ( 83 ). thereby , the y - directional character line is detected ( 84 ). fig1 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method of synthesizing rectangular data and detecting a character line . the processing operation of this method will now be described with reference to the flow chart . during preprocessing , excessively small and large circumscribed rectangular data units are eliminated ( s100 ), and rectangular data units of the inclusion - relationship are synthesized and rearranged ( s101 ). then , the direction of synthesizing rectangular data units is determined ( s102 , s103 ) and the line detection process is initiated ( s104 ). in the line detection process in step s104 , the number - of - lines n is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; ( s105 ). then , it is determined whether there are rectangular data units which are not synthesized in any line ( s106 ). if not , the process is completed ( s107 ). if there are such rectangular data units , one of them is selected ( s108 ) and the n - th line region is initialized to the rectangular region ( s109 ). then , with respect to the present line region , it is checked whether or not there are rectangular data units adjacent to each other in the direction of synthesis ( s110 ). if not , &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; is incremented ( s115 ) and the control returns to s106 . otherwise , the distance between the selected rectangular data unit and line is found ( s111 ). if the distance exceeds a set value , the rectangular data unit is deleted from the list of all rectangular regions ( s112 ) and the control returns to s110 . if the distance is less than a set value , a ratio of line width variation is checked before and after the rectangular data unit selected in s110 is synthesized into the line region ( s113 ). if the ratio of line width variation exceeds a predetermined value , the rectangular data unit is deleted from the list and the control returns to s110 . otherwise , the rectangular data unit selected in s110 is synthesized and the line region is changed ( s114 ). the rectangular data unit is deleted from the list and the control returns to s110 . in the above line detection process , simultaneously with the vertical detection process , the horizontal detection process is performed independently on the basis of the same rectangular data ( s116 ). the extracted character line evaluation process performed in s8 and s9 in fig2 will now be described with reference to the flow chart of fig1 . at first , extracted character line data is fetched in ( s120 ). then , with respect to the shape of each character line data unit , it is determined whether or not the character line data is address indication object data based on initially prepared determination reference data ( s121 ). invalid character line data is excluded from the subsequent process ( s122 ) and valid character line data is used as address indication object data ( s123 ). as is shown in fig1 , a block 124 having a width of a predetermined value or more among obtained character line blocks is determined to be a data unit not to be subjected to address indication and deleted ( 125 ). as is shown in fig1 , a block 126 having a width of a predetermined value or less among obtained character line blocks is determined to be a data unit not to be subjected to address indication and deleted ( 127 ). as is shown in fig1 , a block 128 having a ratio of length and width outside a predetermined range among obtained character line blocks is determined to be a data unit not to be subjected to address indication and is deleted ( 129 ). fig1 is a flow chart showing an example of another process of evaluating an extracted character line performed in steps s8 and s9 in fig2 . at first , extracted character line data is fetched ( s140 ), and a characteristic value of the shape of each character line data unit is found ( s141 ). thereafter , a calculation based on the shape of each character line data unit is performed with an initially prepared evaluation function ( s142 ), and an evaluation value for determining the order of priority of processing the character line data as address indication object data is calculated ( s143 ). the evaluation function of the character line data will now be additionally described . the evaluation function is used to evaluate the width of the character line block and the number of characters of the character line block . regarding the width of the character line , it is evaluated , for example , ( 1 ) whether the width of the character line is within a range of set values and ( 2 ) whether the ratio of the width of the character line to an average value of the width of the circumscribed rectangular data included in the character line is a predetermined value or less . the closer the character line block matches the evaluation items , the higher the evaluation value thereof . in this context , the width of the character line refers to the dimension of the character line in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the line , and the width of the circumscribed rectangular data refers to the dimension of the circumscribed rectangular data in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the line . regarding the number of characters of the character line block , it is evaluated , for example , ( 1 ) whether the number of characters in the character line is within a range of set values and ( 2 ) whether or not the ratio of the number of circumscribed rectangular data units included in the character line to the number of characters in the character line is a predetermined value or less . the closer the character line block matches the evaluation items , the higher the evaluation value thereof . in this context , the number of characters in the character line refers to a value obtained by dividing the length of the character line by the width of the character line , or a value obtained by dividing the length of the character line by an average value of the widths of circumscribed rectangular data units included in the character line . the length of the character line refers to the dimension of the character line in the direction of the line . the process of synthesizing character line blocks and deleting the character statement region in steps s10 and s11 in fig2 will now be described with reference to fig1 and 20 . as is shown in fig1 , with respect to x - directional character line block data 160 extracted by synthesizing circumscribed rectangular data units in the x - direction , the character line blocks adjacent in the y - direction and the character line blocks aligned in the x - direction are synthesized to obtain synthesis data 161 . based on the synthesis data 161 , data 162 having x - directional character statement regions ( in broken lines ) are specified . similarly , as shown in fig2 , with respect to y - directional character line block data 163 extracted by synthesizing circumscribed rectangular data units in the y - direction , the character line blocks adjacent in the x - direction and the character line blocks aligned in the y - direction are synthesized to obtain synthesis data 164 . based on the synthesis data 164 , data 165 having y - directional character statement regions ( in broken lines ) are specified is obtained . fig2 is a flow chart showing a method of synthesizing the character line blocks and detecting the character statement region . the processing operations in this method will now be described with reference to this flow chart . at first , line data in the direction of the shorter side of postal matter is fetched ( s180 ). the direction of synthesis is set to the direction of the longer side of the postal matter ( s181 ), and the region detecting process is performed ( s182 ). simultaneously , line data in the direction of the longer side of the postal matter is fetched ( s183 ). the direction of synthesis is set to the direction of the shorter side of the postal matter ( s184 ) and the region detecting process is performed ( s185 ). in the region detecting process in step s182 , s185 , the number n of character statement regions is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; ( s186 ). then , it is determined whether there are lines which are not synthesized in any region ( s187 ). if not , the process is completed ( s188 ). if there are such lines , one of them is selected ( s189 ), and the n - th character statement region is initialized to the associated line region ( s190 ). subsequently , it is checked whether there is a line adjacent to the present line region in the direction of synthesis ( s191 ). if there is such a line , the line is determined with use of initially prepared determination reference data ( s192 ). if the line is determined to be valid , the line is synthesized in the region and the region is updated ( s193 ). the line is deleted from the list ( s194 ) and the control returns to s191 . if the line is determined to be invalid , the line is deleted from the list ( s194 ) and the control returns to s191 . in s191 , if there is no such line , it is checked whether there is a line adjacent to the present region in a direction perpendicular to the direction of synthesis ( s195 ). if there is such a line , the line is determined with use of initially prepared determination reference data ( s196 ). if the line is determined to be valid , the line is synthesized in the region and the region is updated ( s197 ). the line is deleted from the list ( s198 ) and the control returns to s195 . if the line is determined to be invalid , the line is deleted from the list ( s198 ) and the control returns to s195 . in step s195 , if there is no such line , n is incremented by one ( s199 ) and the control returns to step s187 . fig2 a and 22b show an example of the determination process performed in step s192 in fig2 . in this example , as shown in fig2 a , if the distance d1 between two regions 200 and 201 in the direction of synthesis , the vertical direction , is a predetermined threshold or less , the synthesis is performed . if the distance d2 between two regions 202 and 203 in the direction of synthesis is a predetermined threshold or more , the synthesis is not performed . in one example , d1 = 2 mm , d2 = 10 mm , and threshold set value = about 8 mm . if the displacement d3 between regions 204 and 205 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of synthesis , the horizontal direction , or the displacement d4 between regions 206 and 207 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of synthesis is a predetermined threshold or less , as shown in fig2 b , the synthesis is performed . however , if the displacement d5 between regions 208 and 209 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of synthesis or the displacement d6 between regions 210 and 211 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of synthesis is a predetermined threshold or more , the synthesis is not performed . in one example , d3 = 5 mm , d4 = 25 mm , d5 = 10 mm , d6 = 30 mm , and threshold set value = about 20 mm . fig2 shows an example of the determination process performed in step s196 in fig2 . in this example , as shown in fig2 , if the displacement d7 between regions 212 and 213 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of synthesis , the horizontal direction , is a predetermined threshold or less , the synthesis is performed . if the displacement d8 between regions 214 and 215 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of synthesis is a predetermined threshold or more , the synthesis is not performed . in one example , d7 = 10 mm , d8 = 40 mm , and threshold set value = about 20 mm . in another case , if the displacement d9 between regions 216 and 217 in the direction of synthesis , the vertical direction , is a predetermined threshold or less , the synthesis is performed . if the displacement d10 between regions 218 and 219 in the direction of synthesis is a predetermined threshold or more , the synthesis is not performed . in one example , d9 = 2 mm , d10 = 5 mm , and threshold set value = about 4 mm . the threshold value is set at a fixed value or a value calculated from a line size . the process for evaluating the extracted character statement region performed in step s12 in fig2 will now be described with reference to the flow chart of fig2 . extracted character statement region data is fetched ( s220 ). with respect to the region data , a characteristic value relating to the shape of each region is found ( s221 ). thereafter , a preset evaluation function relating to the shape and the number of lines in each region is calculated ( s222 ). furthermore , based on the arithmetic operation result of the evaluation function , it is found that target information is stated and an evaluation value for determining the order of priority of processing is obtained ( s224 ). the evaluation function will now be additionally described with reference to fig2 a1 - 25a2 and 25b1 - 25b2 . as regards the shape and the number of lines of the region , it is determined ( 1 ) whether or not the ratio of | x |/| y | of regions 225 and 226 is within a predetermined range of set values , as shown in fig2 a . if the ratio is outside the range , the evaluation value decreases . in addition , it is determined ( 2 ) whether or not the number of lines included in the region is within a predetermined range of set values , as shown in fig2 b1 - 25b2 . if not , the evaluation value is set at a low value . in other words , the better the region matches the conditions of items , the higher the evaluation value given to the region . the ratio of | x |/| y | and the range of set values of the number of lines in the region are calculated , respectively , in the case where the line direction is the x - direction and in the case where the line direction is the y - direction . as regards the position of the region , as shown in fig2 , priority evaluation is performed on the basis of the distance d between the center p of postal matter and each region candidate 241 , as a standard for selecting the region candidate . in fig2 , priority evaluation is performed on the basis of the distance d between the center p of an upper edge portion of postal matter and each region candidate 243 , as a standard for selecting the region candidate . in fig2 , priority evaluation is performed on the basis of the distance d between the zip code region p of postal matter and each region candidate 245 , as a standard for selecting the region candidate . in fig2 , priority evaluation is performed on the basis of the distance d between the postage area p of postal matter and each region candidate 247 , as a standard for selecting the region candidate . reference points used in evaluating the positions of regions are given , as shown in fig3 , 31a and 31b . in fig3 , with respect to both x - directional 262 and y - directional 261 regions , evaluation is performed on the basis of the distance d from a common reference point p to the x - directional or y - directional region . in fig3 a , with respect to an x - directional region 263 , evaluation is performed on the basis of reference point p for x - directional evaluation . in fig3 b , with respect to a y - directional region 265 , evaluation is performed on the basis of the distance d from reference point p for y - directional evaluation . by these evaluations , n - candidates with high evaluation values are selected . examples of methods of selecting n - candidates are ( 1 ) n - candidates are selected from all x - directional and y - directional regions from ones with high evaluation values , and ( 2 ) m - candidates and ( n - m )- candidates are selected from x - directional and y - directional regions . the process of generally evaluating address region candidates and outputting upper n - candidates with higher evaluation values will now be described with reference to the flow chart of fig3 . at first , character line data included in n - regions selected in the preceding step is fetched ( s280 ). next , the positional relationship between each a line and other lines located in the region to which the line belongs is determined by an initially prepared function ( s281 ). specifically , an evaluation value relating to a positional relationship with other lines is found ( s282 ), an evaluation result relating to the shape of the line is found ( s283 ), an evaluation result of the region to which the line belongs is obtained ( s284 ), and the evaluation results are totally evaluated ( s285 ). thus , the upper n - candidates with the highest general evaluation are output ( s286 ). with respect to the address candidate region having the highest evaluation result , character recognition processing is performed ( s287 ). with respect to the address candidate region , if correct address information is confirmed ( s288 ), the process is completed . if not , character recognition is performed with respect to the region candidate with the second highest evaluation ( s289 ). if correct address information is not confirmed once again , the recognition of the next candidate region is performed . in this manner , the regions are subjected to character recognition in the order of evaluation values . thereby , the frequency of character recognition in useless regions decreases , and the character recognition process can be performed more efficiently than in the prior art . pigs . 33a , 33b and 33c are views for illustrating the steps of the address region detection process in the present invention . fig3 shows an example of postal matter subjected to evaluation of the position of region . fig3 is a table showing values of an evaluation function relating to the position of the address region . fig3 a is a table showing values of an evaluation function relating to the shape of the address region in the x - direction . fig3 b is a table showing values of an evaluation function relating to the shape of the address region in the y - direction . fig3 is a table showing values of an evaluation function relating to the number of lines in the address region , and fig3 is a table relating to the evaluation of each address region of postal matter in fig3 . fig3 a , 33b and 33c show examples of the postal matter processed in the address region detection process of the present invention , and the image data processing based on the postal matter . the steps of the image data process are shown specifically in accordance with the flow chart of fig2 . postal matter 301 is fetched as a digital image 311 by the image input unit 302 ( s1 ). the digital image 311 is converted to rectangular image data 313 ( s2 ). further , as shown in fig7 the image data is converted to an image 315 from which fine noise images are removed ( s3 ). furthermore , the image 315 is processed assuming the direction of characters is vertical ( 317 , 319 , 321 , 323 ) and processed assuming the direction of characters is horizontal ( 325 , 327 , 329 , 331 ). the above - mentioned horizontal and vertical processing is performed in parallel . the image 317 , the direction of characters of which is assumed to be vertical , is converted to an image 319 in which the character line is extracted . a line block is evaluated by a method , etc . as illustrated in fig1 to 17 , and converted to an image 321 in which a portion unmatched with the address region is removed . finally , the image 321 is converted to a synthesis image 323 ( s4 , s6 , s8 , s10 ). in the case of the image 315 the direction of characters of which is assumed to be horizontal , the image 315 is similarly converted to images 325 , 327 , 329 and 331 successively ( s5 , s7 , s9 , s11 ). the two images 323 and 331 are integrated into an image 333 in which chosen address region candidates are included . evaluation functions on these address region candidates are calculated ( s12 ) and output along with ranks ( s13 ). fig3 shows postal matter 335 in which address region candidates a to e are stated . as regards the address region candidates a to e , evaluation functions , as mentioned below , are calculated and finally ranks of certainty are determined . fig3 is a table showing values of an evaluation function relating to the position of the address region . evaluation points from 50 to 100 are given in accordance with the magnitude 1 cm ! between reference point p1 to the address region candidate . if the distance l is 20 cm or more , at least 50 points are given . when the distance l is 4 to 10 cm , the highest evaluation point of 100 is given since it is considered to be the value of the most normal position of the address region . fig3 a is a table showing values of an evaluation function relating to the shape of the address region in the x - direction , and fig3 b is a stable showing values of an evaluation function relating to the shape of the address region in the y - direction . by these functions , the shape of the address region can be evaluated . specifically , when x - directional processing is performed , the evaluation value of | x |/| y |= r is the lowest point of - 50 when 0 & lt ; r & lt ; 1 . if 2 & lt ; r ≦ 10 , the value is the highest point of 10 and is considered to be the value most closely associated with the most normal address region . on the other hand , when y - directional processing is performed , the value of | y |/| x |= r is the lowest point of - 50 when 0 & lt ; r ≦ 1 . if 2 & lt ; r ≦ 10 , the value is the highest point of 10 and is considered to the value most closely associated with the most normal address region . fig3 is a table showing values of an evaluation function relating to the number of lines in the address region . if the number - of - lines n of the address region is 10 or more , the evaluation value is the lowest , - 40 . if n is between 3 and 5 , the evaluation value is the highest , 0 . thus , the values of the evaluation functions relating to the three factors are summed , and the address region candidates are ranked . fig3 is a table relating to the evaluation of each address region of the postal matter as shown in fig3 . as a result , region a is ranked &# 34 ; 4 &# 34 ; with 45 points , region b is ranked &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; with 80 points , region c is ranked &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; with 110 points , region d is ranked &# 34 ; 3 &# 34 ; with 75 points , and region e is ranked &# 34 ; 5 &# 34 ; with 40 points . the probability of each address region candidate is expressed in numerals , and the address region candidates are arranged in order . thus , character recognition can be performed for the address region candidates with higher ranks . thereby , the character recognition can be performed more efficiently than in the prior art and the total time needed for recognition can be decreased . as has been described above , according to the above embodiment , the circumscribed rectangular data is used in calculating the address statement region of the postal matter . thereby , the data amount can be reduced and efficient processing can be achieved . since the address indication object data is determined by using the shape and position data of the circumscribed rectangular data , the address region data to be recognized can be selected exactly and efficiently from the postal matter including advertisement , a postage stamp and / or an underline , in addition to the address information . as to the direction of character lines , both vertical and horizontal circumscribed rectangular data units are generally determined . as compared to the case where an address region is detected in a predetermined single direction of character line , the address line detection precision can be enhanced . furthermore , a plurality of address region candidates with the highest rankings are selected . thus , image processing ambiguity can be eliminated in character recognition and word recognition . as compared to the case where only a single candidate is selected , the possibility of erroneous detection of the address region can be decreased . as has been described above in detail , the present invention can provide an address region detection apparatus capable of detecting an address region on postal matter quickly and exactly . 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 devices 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 . | 6 |
referring to fig1 there is illustrated a processing apparatus 10 made in accordance with the present invention . the apparatus 10 is designed to process photosensitive material , such as photographic filmstrip . in the particular embodiment illustrated , the apparatus is particularly adapted for processing photosensitive filmstrip that has been provided in a thrust - type filmstrip cartridge , such as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 834 , 306 , commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application and which is hereby incorporated by reference . the apparatus 10 includes a load / unload station 12 , a filmstrip processing section 14 , and a drying section 16 . at the load / unload station 12 a filmstrip from a filmstrip cartridge is initially driven out of the cartridge into a processing reel and after processing back into the cartridge , as is discussed in greater detail later herein . as is typical with such processing apparatus , a housing 18 is provided for containing the load / unload station , filmstrip processing section , and drying section and for providing a light - tight environment within the housing 18 . housing 18 is appropriately sized and configured so as to fully enclose the components and allow access as required . a detailed description of the apparatus 10 and its operation is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 543 , 882 , which has previously been incorporated herein by reference . the apparatus 10 is designed such that it is possible to process filmstrip while the filmstrip is still attached to a filmstrip cartridge . referring to fig2 and 3 , there is illustrated a holding mechanism 20 having a nest 22 for holding a filmstrip cartridge 24 . the cartridge 24 is of the thrust - type and contains a filmstrip 26 . the holding mechanism further includes a cover 28 designed to mate with at least one processing tank . in the embodiment illustrated , six processing tanks are provided ( see fig1 ). in particular , there is provided a development tank 30 which contains a photographic developer solution , a bleach tank 32 containing a photographic bleach solution , a first wash tank 34 containing a wash solution , a fix tank 36 containing a fixing solution , a second wash tank 38 containing a wash solution , and a stabilizer tank 40 containing a stabilizing solution . it is , of course , understood that any desired number of processing tanks may be provided , each containing the desired processing solution . a transport mechanism 42 is provided for transporting the holding mechanism 20 through each of the processing tanks 30 , 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 . the transport mechanism includes a base 44 secured to apparatus 10 , a mounting block 46 which is rotatably mounted to base 44 , and a lift member 48 having one end secured to mounting block 46 and the other end secured to holding mechanism 20 . the mounting block 46 is mounted to base 44 such that the holding mechanism 20 may be rotated between an operative position ( as shown in fig2 ) and the transport position ( as illustrated in fig3 ). the mounting block 46 is also capable of being moved in a direction such that the holding mechanism 20 will be moved to a position adjacent to each of the processing tanks 30 , 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 . further details of the transport mechanism 42 and holding mechanism 20 is set forth in previously referred to u . s . pat . no . 5 , 543 , 882 . the holding mechanism 20 further includes a filmstrip processing reel 50 which is used to hold the portion of filmstrip 26 that has been thrust out of cartridge 24 at load / unload station 12 . the filmstrip 26 is held in a spiral pattern in reel 50 such that the processing solution can flow between adjacent convolutions of the filmstrip while it is transported through the desired sequence of processing tanks . a support arm 52 connects reel 50 with tank cover 28 . fluid 54 fills tank 30 to a level between the top of reel 50 and the bottom 56 of tank cover 28 . appropriate means , as shown in fig9 - 11 , is provided for thrusting the portion of filmstrip 26 to be processed out of the cartridge 24 and into reel 50 and then back into cartridge 24 , and as more fully described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 543 , 882 . the trailing end portion of filmstrip 26 remains attached to cartridge 24 as it is being processed . a baffle 58 is attached to support arm 52 and placed above reel 50 , but below the top level of fluid 54 . a slot ( not shown ) is provided for allowing the filmstrip 26 to pass through baffle 58 and onto reel 50 . in the embodiment illustrated , means are also provided for agitating and passing the processing solution adjacent the surface of the filmstrip while in reel 50 . in particular , there is provided a motor 60 having a propeller 62 for providing agitation and causing the processing solution 54 to pass through openings 53 in the side walls of the reel 50 such that the processing solution 50 is continuously allowed to flow past the emulsion placed on the filmstrip 26 . the cover 28 mates with the upper end of the tank so as to provide a substantially sealed processing tank , such that when the motor 60 is activated , the processing solution will be maintained within the processing tank . a shroud 64 is provided around the periphery of propeller 62 so as to direct the processing solution to reel 50 . referring to fig4 - 8 , there is illustrated in greater detail the processing reel 50 . the processing reel 50 includes a pair of substantially parallel side walls 121 , 123 . side wall 123 has an annular inner projection 127 which extends therefrom and mates with an annular outer projection 129 extending from side wall 121 so as to form a central hub in reel 50 . the inner surfaces 111 , 131 of side walls 121 , 123 facing each other are each provided with a projecting wall member 132 , 134 , respectively . the wall members 132 , 134 on each respective side wall 121 , 123 are provided in a substantially spiral pattern about hub 130 and are aligned with respect to each other so as to form a spiral path 135 for receiving the side edges 139 of a photosensitive material , such as a filmstrip 26 , as illustrated in fig5 . the side walls 121 , 123 , through annular portions 127 , 129 , are mounted to each other such that a rotating reciprocating motion about axis x -- x is provided between walls 121 , 123 . in the particular embodiment illustrated , the side wall 123 is allowed to oscillate back and forth approximately 30 ° with respect to side wall 121 . referring to fig6 - 8 , each of the side walls 121 , 123 are provided with a clutch mechanism 136 such that when the side walls are reciprocated in one direction relative to each other , the filmstrip will be advanced through spiral path 135 , and when oscillated in the opposite circumferential direction , will prevent movement of the photosensitive material out of path 135 . in particular , the clutch mechanism includes a cage 144 designed to receive a spherical member / ball 146 . in the particular embodiment illustrated , spherical member 146 is a steel ball . the cage 144 is configured and sized such that the ball 146 is trapped within cage 144 and can be moved only along the circumferential direction as illustrated in fig6 by arrow 148 . the clutch mechanism includes a ramp surface 152 within cage 144 . the ramp surface 152 is designed such that when the photosensitive material is moved in the direction indicated by arrow 154 , the filmstrip will be caught between the top surface of the ball 146 and outer wall 151 causing it to be moved in a direction in which the wall member is being oscillated , and when one wall member is moved in the opposite direction with respect to the other side as indicated by arrow 158 , the ball member 146 will be at the lower end 153 of ramp 152 , as illustrated by dash line in fig8 thus allowing movement of one of the side walls 121 , 123 without moving the filmstrip 26 . if the filmstrip 26 is pulled in a direction to remove the filmstrip 26 from the spiral path 135 as indicated by arrow 154 , the balls in each of the cages will prevent the filmstrip 26 from being pulled out . in the prior art , in order to allow the filmstrip 26 to be removed from the spiral path 135 , a clutch disengaging means is provided for disengaging of the balls 146 from the filmstrip 26 when the filmstrip 26 is moved in the direction indicated by arrow 158 ( see fig1 ). in the embodiment illustrated , there is provided a pair of spring members 160 , one associated with each of the cages 144 having a forward engaging portion 166 and a rear end 168 which is secured to the associated wall members 121 , 123 . it is to be understood that the rear end 168 may be secured in any desired manner , for example , means such as screws , adhesive , rivets , etc . each spring member 160 has a central portion 170 which extends in a direction outwardly from adjacent wall members 121 , 123 and terminates in forward end 166 . forward end 166 is provided with a projecting portion 172 which has an engaging surface 174 which can pass through an access opening provided in cage 144 . the surface 174 is configured so as to engage the ball 146 and thereby force the spherical ball 146 to be retained at the lower end portion 153 of the ramp surface 152 so that the filmstrip 26 will not engage ball 146 as it is moved in the removal direction . referring to fig9 , and 11 , there is illustrated actuation mechanisms 180 , 181 located at station 12 for engaging and disengaging surfaces 174 with balls 146 . in the embodiment illustrated , mechanism 180 comprises a projecting member 182 which is secured to the end of arm 183 which is secured to the drive shaft 184 of motor 185 . motor 185 is mounted to the upper section 186 of l - shaped member 187 . the shaft 184 is keyed and engages a correspondingly shaped opening 189 in inner projection 127 of side wall 123 of reel 50 . the motor 185 is used to oscillate side wall 123 of reel 50 . the l - shaped member 187 has a base section 191 which is secured to slide block 195 which is slideably mounted to slide projection 196 which is secured to the frame of apparatus 10 by any conventional means . a rack 198 is provided on base section 191 having teeth 201 which engage a gear ( not shown ) which is driven by motor 199 which is also secured to the frame of apparatus 10 . by activating motor 199 in the appropriate direction , the l - shaped member will be caused to be moved toward or away from reel 50 , causing projecting member 182 to engage or disengage spring member 160 , causing the ball 146 to freely move within cage 144 or force the ball 146 to be retained in the lower portion of the cage for allowing removal of the filmstrip 26 . mechanism 181 is used to engage and disengage the spherical ball 146 in side wall 121 . mechanism 181 comprises an arm 202 mounted to rod 204 which is rotatably mounted to the apparatus 10 . a projecting member 206 is provided for engaging spring member 160 on side wall 121 . by rotating rod 204 , by any desired means , such as a motor or circular solenoid , member 206 can engage or disengage spring member 160 causing the spherical member 146 to be free within cage 144 or retained at the lower end for allowing removal of the filmstrip out of the reel 50 in the direction indicated by arrow 39 . after the filmstrip 26 has been properly developed and dried , it is returned to the load / unload station 12 where the filmstrip 26 is rewound back into the cartridge 24 . applicants have found that simply pulling of the filmstrip , for example , by rotating of the spool in the thrust cartridge 24 , will result in the edges of filmstrip 26 binding on the ridges in the side walls 121 , 123 of the reel 50 . applicants have found that by simply oscillating one of the side walls with respect to the other side wall , this will release any binding forces experienced during withdrawal of the filmstrip from the reel 50 . after the filmstrip 26 has been developed and returned to station 12 , the filmstrip 26 is rewound back into the cartridge 24 . motor 199 is activated so as to move the l - shaped member toward the reel 50 so that projection 182 engages spring 160 . at the same time , rod 204 is rotated so that projection 206 engages spring 160 on side wall 121 . the filmstrip 26 is then rewound back into the cartridge 24 by applying a removal force to the rear end of the filmstrip 26 . a motor 207 rotates the spool of the cartridge . this causes the filmstrip 26 to exit reel 50 through guide 192 into the cartridge 24 . motor 207 is initially used to thrust the filmstrip 26 out of the cartridge and into the reel prior to processing . as previously noted , binding of the filmstrip edges with the projections may result during rewinding of the filmstrip 26 back into the cartridge 24 . in order to avoid this binding , simultaneously , as a rewinding force is applied to the filmstrip 26 by motor 207 , one of the side walls of reel 50 is oscillated in a direction indicated by arrow 148 such that this releases any tensioning forces between the edges of the filmstrip 26 and the spiral ridges . in particular , motor 185 is appropriately activated for oscillating side wall 123 with respect to side wall 121 . preferably , oscillation of the side wall 123 occurs at the same time or prior to applying the rewinding force on the trailing end of the filmstrip 26 so as to prevent cinching of the filmstrip to the reel . also , the direction of the first oscillation is preferably in the direction for rewinding as indicated by arrow 158 . the present invention provides an improved method for reducing friction forces between the filmstrip and the reel as the filmstrip is being withdrawn therefrom . it is to be understood that various other modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention , the present invention being defined by the following claims . | 6 |
fig2 is a figure illustrating a magnetic carrier comprising an enzyme for inhibiting biofilm formation immobilized thereon according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig3 is a figure illustrating a process for separating and collecting the used magnetic carrier comprising an immobilized enzyme according to an embodiment of the present invention using a magnetic device such as a magnet in the membrane bioreactor process . the present invention provides a magnetic carrier that comprises a magnetic core , a layer for enzyme immobilization formed on the magnetic core , and an enzyme for inhibiting biofilm formation immobilized on the layer for enzyme immobilization . there is no particular limitation on the magnetic core of the present invention , and any magnetic core can be used , which are given magnetism to be easily separated and collected for recycling with a magnetic device such as a magnet after it is used for a certain time in a membrane process . the magnetic core is made of at least one selected from powder , particles , beads and resin , and which are containing magnetic ingredients preferably . for example , magnetite ( fe 3 o 4 ) powder , commercially available magnetic particles ( simag ® produced by chemicell company ), resin and beads impregnated with magnetic ingredients can be used . the size of the magnetic core can be a level or larger enough to be rejected by the microfiltration membrane ( pore size : 0 . 1 ˜ 0 . 45 μm ) or ultrafiltration membrane ( pore size : about 0 . 01 μm ) that are generally used in a mbr . in order to collect magnetic particles easily in a large - scale engineering system , magnetic particles , resin or beads impregnated with magnetic ingredients of several tens of micrometers or larger are preferable as the magnetic core of the present invention . further , a spherical magnetic carrier is preferable to minimize damage of the membrane surface , considering the magnetic carrier may unavoidably collide with a membrane module due to the flow of mixture in a mbr . the above resin or beads impregnated with magnetic ingredients can be commercially available products ( e . g ., magnetic ion exchange resin , miex , produced by orica company ), and can be fabricated directly by a cross - linking polymerization method for polymerizing monomers ( e . g ., styrene ) mixed with magnetic ingredients . there is no particular limitation on the feature of the layer for enzyme immobilization of the present invention , and any layer for enzyme immobilization can be formed on the magnetic core which may protect magnetic ingredients from external bacteria ( corrosion inhibition ), and consist of multi - functional polymers including functional groups for immobilizing enzymes . specifically , the layer for enzyme immobilization may be formed of materials including functional groups { e . g ., hydroxyl group (— oh ), carboxylic acid group (— cooh ), amine group (— nh 2 )} for forming chemical covalent bonding . more specifically , the layer for enzyme immobilization comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of chitosan ; 3 - aminopropyltriethoxsilane ; polyethyleneimine ; poly ( 2 - hydroxyethyl methacrylate ( phema ); and polysaccharides such as cellulose , agarose and dextran . further more specifically , chitosan is preferred because an amine group included therein can be used in enzyme immobilization , and the antibacterial feature of the chitosan prevents growth of microorganisms on the surface of the magnetic carrier , thereby inhibiting corrosion of the magnetic core . there is no particular limitation on the enzyme for inhibiting biofilm formation of the present invention , any enzyme for inhibiting biofilm formation can be used which can prevent biofilm formation by microorganisms such as i ) an enzyme for quenching quorum sensing that decomposes signal molecules used in the quorum sensing mechanism or ii ) an enzyme for decomposing extracellular polymer substances ( eps ) consisting of the slime matrix of the biofilm . for example , the enzyme for quenching quorum sensing can be acylase and lactonase for decomposing acyl - homoserine lactone , which is a signal molecule of gram - negative bacteria . since the soluble product by lactonase may be re - synthesized to a signal molecule depending on ph ( camara et al ., lnacet . infect . dis ., 2002 , vol . 2 , pp . 667 - 676 ), it is preferable to use acylase . as for acylase and lactonase , other commercially available products can be used , otherwise it can be extracted and refined from microorganisms that have the above - described enzyme activity , e . g ., bacillus sp . 240b1 , bacillus strain cot1 , strains of bacillus thuringiensis , anthrobacter sp . ibn110 , variovorax paradoxus strain vai - c , and ralstonia strain xj12b . the decomposition reaction of the signal molecule by the enzymes such as lactonase and acylase is as follows . the eps - decomposing enzyme may include carbohydrases ( e . g ., cellulose , glucanase ) and protease ( e . g ., aminopeptidase , elastase ) that can decompose polysaccharides and proteins respectively , which are main ingredients of eps . cellulase cleaves 1 , 4 - beta - d - glycosidic bonding of cellulose , glucanase decomposes glucane , which is a polysaccharide secreted by microorganisms , aminopeptidase hydrolyzes the terminal peptide bond at the amino end of a polypeptide , and elastase decomposes elastine or a collagen ingredient , thereby disintegrating the eps matrix of the biofilm . in the embodiment of the present invention , the magnetic carrier comprising an enzyme for inhibiting biofilm formation immobilized thereon can be fabricated by a method that comprises manufacturing a magnetic core , forming a layer for enzyme immobilization on the magnetic core , and immobilizing enzyme . the method of forming a magnetic core is not limited particularly . the magnetic core may be purely composed of magnetic ingredients ( e . g ., magnetite ), and may include magnetic ingredients impregnated during the manufacturing of particles , beads or resin to be given magnetism . the method of using particles , resin or beads impregnated with magnetic ingredients is preferable because the method facilitates following step of formation of the layer for enzyme immobilization . the method of forming a layer for enzyme immobilization on the magnetic core is not limited particularly , and any method of forming a layer on the core can be used . specifically , a layer - by - layer ( lbl ) method using electrostatic interaction ( attraction ) depending on the type and characteristics of the magnetic core , or a polymerization method on the core surface can be selected . as shown in fig4 , in order to form a layer of chitosan ( layer for immobilization ), which is a cationic polyelectrolyte , on a magnetic resin carrying positive surface charge , a negative polymer layer can be formed on a magnetic resin using a lbl method by the electrostatic interaction , and cationic chitosan layers can be sequentially formed . in this case , a zeta potential of the magnetic core surface is measured so as to confirm formation of a desired layer for enzyme immobilization . the method for immobilizing enzymes is not limited particularly , and any method capable of immobilizing an enzyme for inhibiting biofilm formation on a layer for enzyme immobilization formed on the magnetic core surface can be used . for example , after a magnetic core ( e . g ., resin ) with a layer for enzyme immobilization formed thereon carrying positive charge is added to a solution of enzyme ( e . g ., acylase ) of negative charge for inhibiting biofilm formation , the resultant solution is stirred under a predetermined condition , so that an acylase enzyme is immobilized ( physically ) on the layer for enzyme immobilization of the magnetic core surface by electrostatic interaction ( attraction ). in addition to the physical immobilization , as shown in fig5 , a covalent bond can be formed between amine groups of the layer for enzyme immobilization ( chitosan layer ) and the enzyme for inhibiting biofilm formation through addition of a cross - linking agent such as glutaraldehyde , so that the enzyme can be immobilized ( chemically ) by a chemical method . the method of chemical immobilization for the enzyme includes various methods depending on the types of functional groups used in the formation of the covalent bond with the enzyme , and is not limited to the methods described above . for example , when a hydroxyl group is used in enzyme immobilization on the magnetic carrier surface , the hydroxyl group is activated with cyanogens bromide and s - triazine etc ., thereby forming the covalent bond with the enzyme using the activated hydroxyl group . when a carboxylic acid group is used in enzyme immobilization , the enzyme is chemically immobilized using carbodiimides reagents such as 1 - ethyl - 3 -( 3 - dimethylaminopropyl )- carbodiimide ( edc ) and 1 - cyclohexyl - 3 -( 2 - morpholino - ethyl )- carboimide ( cmc ). when an amine group is used in enzyme immobilization , difunctional reagents such as diimidate esters , disiocyannate , and dialdehyde in addition to glutaraldehyde described above can be used . in order to minimize outward loss of the enzyme by immobilizing the enzyme permanently , it is preferable to use the chemical immobilization corresponding to an irreversible reaction rather than the physical immobilization corresponding to a reversible reaction . after the magnetic carrier is prepared which comprises the enzyme for inhibiting biofilm formation by the above - described method , the magnetic carrier can be put in a reactor of a mbr system , thereby operating stably a wastewater treatment process without degrading filtration performance of the membrane over a long period . and , after the mbr process is stopped as a certain level of biofilm is formed on the membrane surface , some sludge is taken out and the magnetic carrier according to the present invention can be selectively collected using a magnet so as to be reused in the next operation . moreover , the magnetic carrier can be put in equipment or facilities of water systems such as a water tank or a water pipe in addition to the mbr process by a suitable method , thereby inhibiting formation of biofilm or microorganic slime by microorganisms so as to keep the performance of the equipment or facilities over a long period . hereinafter , the present invention will be described in detail through preparation examples and examples , which is not limited herein . a commercially available magnetic ion exchange resin { miex , produced by orica } was used as a magnetic core , and a layer for enzyme immobilization is formed on the magnetic core by a lbl method using electrostatic interaction ( attraction ). specifically , 20 ml of poly ( sodium - 4 - styrene sulfonate ) ( pss ) solution ( 1 % w / v ), which is solution of anionic polyelectrolyte , was added in the magnetic ion exchange resin ( 1 g ) carrying positive charge , and stirred to form a pss layer on the magnetic resin surface . 20 ml of poly ( d - glucosamin ) deaceylated chitin (“ chitosan ”) solution ( 1 % w / v ), which is solution of a cationic polyelectrolyte , was added to the resultant resin , thereby forming a layer for enzyme immobilization consisting of pss - chitosan over the resultant resin , and an amine group of chitosan was used in the next step , chemical immobilization of the enzyme . a zeta potential on the surface of the magnetic ion exchange resin was measured with a zeatmeter { zetasizer nano z , malvern , uk } in each step of forming the layer for enzyme immobilization , thereby confirming formation of the layer for enzyme immobilization . since the magnetic ion exchange resin used in the embodiment of the present invention has quaternary ammonium as a functional group of the surface site , the zeta potential has a positive value . however , when the pss layer is formed on the surface of the magnetic resin , the zeta potential of the surface changes into a negative value . when the pss - chitosan layer is formed on the magnetic resin by adding chitosan which is a cationic polyelectrolyte , the zeta potential of the surface changes into a positive value again . table 1 shows the zeta potential of the surface measured in each step . referring to table 1 , it was confirmed that the pss - chitosan layer was formed on the magnetic resin through the change of the zeta potential . after the magnetic resin ( 1 . 3 g ) having a layer for enzyme immobilization was put in an acylase enzyme solution ( 500 ppm , 10 ml ), the resulting mixture was stirred at 10 ° c . with 180 rpm . since the acylase enzyme carried a negative charge and the layer for enzyme immobilization on the magnetic core carried a positive charge , the enzyme could be physically immobilized by electrostatic attraction . when the enzyme concentration of the bulk reached an equilibrium state , acylase was additionally immobilized by chemical immobilization by adding glutaraldehyde ( 0 . 05 % v / v ) as a cross - linking agent ( see fig6 ). in order to confirm space distribution of acylase immobilized on the magnetic carrier , the magnetic carrier comprising immobilized enzyme was stained with sypro orange , which is a fluorescence probe combining selectively with protein , and observed with a red fluorescence channel ( excitation 543 nm and emission 600 / 50 nm ) of confocal laser scanning miscroscopy ( clsm ), in which the combination of the acylase enzyme ( protein ) with sypro orange is detected by red fluorescence , and the location of acylase in the magnetic carrier is confirmed . as a result , as shown in fig7 , it was confirmed that the acylase enzyme was uniformly distributed on the surface of the magnetic carrier . the magnetic carrier comprising immobilized enzyme prepared from the above preparation example was applied to a lab scale mbr process ( see fig8 ). in order to observe the effect of biofouling alone by a biofilm formed by self - growth of the microorganism attached on the membrane surface , the mbr was operated with a batch type ( total recycle method ) where a microorganism layer transferred and accumulated from a suspended region to the membrane surface region in a mbr is swept away by inflow of permeate ( treated water ) which is circulated from a reservoir to a membrane module . specifically , after activated sludge was inoculated to synthetic wastewater in a 150 ml reservoir ( flask ), the synthetic wastewater and the activated sludge were transferred and circulated through a pump into a glass tube ( hollow fiber module ) where a hollow fiber membrane was vertically included . the filtration was performed with a batch type ( total recycle method ) where the permeate was filtered through the membrane with a predetermined flow rate using a suction pump , and flowed in the reservoir again . the synthetic wastewater using glucose as a main carbon source had a chemical oxygen demand ( cod ) of 1 , 000 ppm . the activated sludge was collected from si - hwa sewage disposal plant ( located in gyeongki - do , korea ) and acclimated sufficiently to the used synthetic wastewater . as for the membrane , a submerged hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane ( zeeweed500 ™ produced by ge - zenon company , diameter : 0 . 04 μm ) was used . the mbr was operated with a constant flux , 15 lmh ( l · m − 2 · hr − 1 ), of permeate penetrating the membrane . the magnetic carrier of the present invention was put into the mbr so that the concentration of the acylase enzyme was to be 10 ppm . as the operation proceeded , the biofilm was formed on the membrane surface , which degraded permeability of the membrane due to increase of biofouling . the degree of the biofouling was represented with a value of transmembrane pressure ( tmp ). as the tmp increases , the degree of biofouling deepens . as a result of the operation for a duration of 1 , 200 minutes , the tmp was no more than 15 kpa ( see fig9 ). the same procedure from example 1 was repeated except injecting the acylase enzyme , with a solution state not immobilized state into the mbr so that the concentration of acylase in the reactor was to be 10 ppm . as a result of the operation for a duration of 1 , 200 minutes , the tmp reached 22 kpa . the same procedure from example 1 was repeated except the magnetic carrier according to the present invention where the acylase enzyme was immobilized was not injected into the mbr . as a result of the operation for a duration of 1 , 200 minutes , the tmp reached 70 kpa . the magnetic carrier comprising immobilized enzyme prepared from the above preparation example was applied in a laboratory - scaled mbr process of continuous type ( see fig1 ). example 2 was performed to simulate an actual mbr process where flow of wastewater and filtration of treated water were continuously performed . the same synthetic wastewater and activated sludge as those of example 1 were used . the magnetic carrier comprising immobilized enzyme ( 0 . 5 g ) of the present invention was put into a reactor which has a working volume of 1 l and mixed liquor suspended solids ( mlss ) of 26 , 000 (± 1 , 300 mg / l ), so that enzyme concentration in mbr reactor is to be 8 . 3 ppm . while the synthetic wastewater flowed into a reactor at a flow rate of 100 ml / hr { hydraulic retention time ( hrt ): 10 hr }, the synthetic wastewater was filtered with a constant flux , 15 lmh ( l · m − 2 · hr − 1 ), through a hollow fiber membrane module { membrane area : 0 . 008 m 2 , pore size : 0 . 04 μm , zeeweed 500 ™, ge - zenon usa } submerged in the reactor . the permeate ( treated water ) was transferred to a reservoir . about 20 ml of sludge per day was extracted from the reactor , thereby maintaining the solids retention time ( srt ) to be 50 days . in the sludge extraction line of a reactor , a magnetic retriever was installed to collect the magnetic carrier comprising immobilized enzyme according to the present invention extracted along with the sludge . the collected magnetic carrier was re - injected into the reactor . an electronic pressure gauge was installed in the downstream of a membrane module so as to record change of tmp of the mbr during continuous operation . fig1 shows the results . in the continuous mbr process where the magnetic carrier comprising immobilized enzyme was injected , the tmp was shown to hardly increase from its initial value . after 48 hours of continuous operation , the membrane module of the reactor was replaced with a new one , and the operation restarted . even after further operation for 6 days , there was a negligible change to the tmp . in an actual operation of the mbr process , the treatment quality of treated water as well as the increase of the tmp by biofouling is an important performance evaluation index . the cod of treated water of the mbr in the above operation was measured as 13 . 2 (± 4 . 5 ) mg / l . it was confirmed that the microbial quorum sensing mechanism , which occurs in the magnetic carrier comprising immobilized enzyme of the present invention for alleviating the biofouling , had no negative side effect upon microbial activity related to removal of organisms of wastewater . meanwhile , the regulation of gene transcription for microorganisms through the quorum sensing mechanism has a close relation to a physiological state of the microorganisms . it has been reported that the physiological state of the microorganisms affects the secreting characteristic of soluble microbial products ( smp ) and eps consisting of the biofilm , and determines the degree of biofouling in the mbr ( kim et al ., separation science and technology , 2006 , vol . 41 , pp . 1213 - 1230 ; chang et al ., desalination , 1998 , vol . 120 , pp . 221 - 233 ). based on this point , the present inventor analyzed smp and eps of the reactor to observe change of physiological feature for microorganism by the magnetic carrier comprising immobilized enzyme . according to the analysis , when the magnetic carrier comprising immobilized enzyme of the present invention is used , it is considered that the secretion of smp and eps for microorganisms is reduced and regulated , so that the biofouling of the mbr is reduced ( that is , the permeability is improved ). the same procedure from example 2 was operated at the same time as shown in fig1 except that the magnetic carrier comprising immobilized enzyme was not injected into the mbr , and mixed liquor suspended solids ( mlss ) was 24 , 000 (± 3 , 500 mg / l ) slightly different from example 2 { the slight difference of mlss was not intentional , but the difference was negligible not to have an substantial effect on the present invention .}. as a result of the operation for a duration of 48 hours , the tmp reached 30 kpa . at that time the membrane module was replaced with a new one , and the operation restarted . as a result of the further operation for about 2 days , the tmp reached 30 kpa . the cod of treated water of the mbr was shown to be 16 . 9 (± 5 . 7 ) mg / l . as described above , a magnetic carrier comprising an enzyme for inhibiting biofilm formation immobilized thereon according to the present invention inhibits biofouling of the membrane by a mechanism for inhibiting biofilm formation on the membrane surface by decomposing signal molecules of microorganisms , thereby improving membrane filtration performance . since the enzymes can be separated and collected with a magnetic field ( magnetism ) if necessary , a wastewater treatment process can be operated stably and efficiently over a long period . specifically , the magnetic carrier according to the present invention can be properly used in a large - scale engineering system where biofouling prevention is important . | 1 |
referring now to the drawing figures in which like reference designators refer to like elements , fig1 shows a base station controller ( bsc ) 10 which controls wireless communications within multiple cells 12 , which cells are served by corresponding base stations ( bs ) 14 . in some configurations , each cell is further divided into multiple sectors 13 ( not shown ). in general , each base station 14 facilitates communications using ofdm with mobile terminals 16 , which are within the cell 12 associated with the corresponding base station 14 . the movement of the mobile terminals 16 in relation to the base stations 14 results in significant fluctuation in channel conditions . as illustrated , the base stations 14 and mobile terminals 16 may include multiple antennas to provide spatial diversity for communications . in some configurations , relay stations 15 may assist in communications between base stations 14 and mobile terminals 16 . mobile terminals 16 can be handed off 18 from any cell 12 , sector 13 ( not shown ), base station 14 or relay 15 to an other cell 12 , sector 13 ( not shown ), base station 14 or relay 15 . in some configurations , base stations 14 communicate with each and with another network ( such as a core network or the internet , both not shown ) over a backhaul network 11 . in some configurations , a base station controller 10 is not needed . with reference to fig2 , an example of a base station 14 is illustrated . the base station 14 generally includes a control system 20 , a baseband processor 22 , transmit circuitry 24 , receive circuitry 26 , antennas 28 , and a network interface 30 . the receive circuitry 26 receives radio frequency signals bearing information from one or more remote transmitters provided by mobile terminals 16 ( illustrated in fig3 ) and relay stations 15 ( illustrated in fig4 ). a low noise amplifier and a filter ( not shown ) may cooperate to amplify and remove broadband interference from the signal for processing . downconversion and digitization circuitry ( not shown ) will then downconvert the filtered , received signal to an intermediate or baseband frequency signal , which is then digitized into one or more digital streams . the baseband processor 22 processes the digitized received signal to extract the information or data bits conveyed in the received signal . this processing typically comprises demodulation , decoding , and error correction operations . as such , the baseband processor 22 is generally implemented in one or more digital signal processors ( dsps ) or application - specific integrated circuits ( asics ). the received information is then sent across a wireless network via the network interface 30 or transmitted to another mobile terminal 16 serviced by the base station 14 , either directly or with the assistance of a relay 15 . on the transmit side , the baseband processor 22 receives digitized data , which may represent voice , data , or control information , from the network interface 30 under the control of control system 20 , and encodes the data for transmission . the encoded data is output to the transmit circuitry 24 , where it is modulated by one or more carrier signals having a desired transmit frequency or frequencies . a power amplifier ( not shown ) will amplify the modulated carrier signals to a level appropriate for transmission , and deliver the modulated carrier signals to the antennas 28 through a matching network ( not shown ). modulation and processing details are described in greater detail below . with reference to fig3 , an example of a mobile terminal 16 is illustrated . similarly to the base station 14 , the mobile terminal 16 will include a control system 32 , a baseband processor 34 , transmit circuitry 36 , receive circuitry 38 , antennas 40 , and user interface circuitry 42 . the receive circuitry 38 receives radio frequency signals bearing information from one or more base stations 14 and relays 15 . a low noise amplifier and a filter ( not shown ) may cooperate to amplify and remove broadband interference from the signal for processing . downconversion and digitization circuitry ( not shown ) will then downconvert the filtered , received signal to an intermediate or baseband frequency signal , which is then digitized into one or more digital streams . the baseband processor 34 processes the digitized received signal to extract the information or data bits conveyed in the received signal . this processing typically comprises demodulation , decoding , and error correction operations . the baseband processor 34 is generally implemented in one or more digital signal processors ( dsps ) and application specific integrated circuits ( asics ). for transmission , the baseband processor 34 receives digitized data , which may represent voice , video , data , or control information , from the control system 32 , which it encodes for transmission . the encoded data is output to the transmit circuitry 36 , where it is used by a modulator to modulate one or more carrier signals that is at a desired transmit frequency or frequencies . a power amplifier ( not shown ) will amplify the modulated carrier signals to a level appropriate for transmission , and deliver the modulated carrier signal to the antennas 40 through a matching network ( not shown ). various modulation and processing techniques available to those skilled in the art are used for signal transmission between the mobile terminal and the base station , either directly or via the relay station . in ofdm modulation , the transmission band is divided into multiple , orthogonal carrier waves . each carrier wave is modulated according to the digital data to be transmitted . because ofdm divides the transmission band into multiple carriers , the bandwidth per carrier decreases and the modulation time per carrier increases . since the multiple carriers are transmitted in parallel , the transmission rate for the digital data , or symbols , on any given carrier is lower than when a single carrier is used . ofdm modulation utilizes the performance of an inverse fast fourier transform ( ifft ) on the information to be transmitted . for demodulation , the performance of a fast fourier transform ( fft ) on the received signal recovers the transmitted information . in practice , the ifft and fft are provided by digital signal processing carrying out an inverse discrete fourier transform ( idft ) and discrete fourier transform ( dft ), respectively . accordingly , the characterizing feature of ofdm modulation is that orthogonal carrier waves are generated for multiple bands within a transmission channel . the modulated signals are digital signals having a relatively low transmission rate and capable of staying within their respective bands . the individual carrier waves are not modulated directly by the digital signals . instead , all carrier waves are modulated at once by ifft processing . in one embodiment , ofdm is preferably used for at least downlink transmission from the base stations 14 to the mobile terminals 16 . each base station 14 is equipped with “ n ” transmit antennas 28 ( n & gt ;= 1 ), and each mobile terminal 16 is equipped with “ m ” receive antennas 40 ( m & gt ;= 1 ). notably , the respective antennas can be used for reception and transmission using appropriate duplexers or switches and are so labelled only for clarity . when relay stations 15 are used , ofdm is preferably used for downlink transmission from the base stations 14 to the relays 15 and from relay stations 15 to the mobile terminals 16 . with reference to fig4 , an example of a relay station 15 is illustrated . similarly to the base station 14 , and the mobile terminal 16 , the relay station 15 includes a control system 132 , a baseband processor 134 , transmit circuitry 136 , receive circuitry 138 , antennas 130 , and relay circuitry 142 . the relay circuitry 142 enables the relay 14 to assist in communications between a base station 16 and mobile terminals 16 . the receive circuitry 138 receives radio frequency signals bearing information from one or more base stations 14 and mobile terminals 16 . a low noise amplifier and a filter ( not shown ) may cooperate to amplify and remove broadband interference from the signal for processing . downconversion and digitization circuitry ( not shown ) will then downconvert the filtered , received signal to an intermediate or baseband frequency signal , which is then digitized into one or more digital streams . the baseband processor 134 processes the digitized received signal to extract the information or data bits conveyed in the received signal . this processing typically comprises demodulation , decoding , and error correction operations . the baseband processor 134 is generally implemented in one or more digital signal processors ( dsps ) and application specific integrated circuits ( asics ). for transmission , the baseband processor 134 receives digitized data , which may represent voice , video , data , or control information , from the control system 132 , which it encodes for transmission . the encoded data is output to the transmit circuitry 136 , where it is used by a modulator to modulate one or more carrier signals that is at a desired transmit frequency or frequencies . a power amplifier ( not shown ) will amplify the modulated carrier signals to a level appropriate for transmission , and deliver the modulated carrier signal to the antennas 130 through a matching network ( not shown ). various modulation and processing techniques available to those skilled in the art are used for signal transmission between the mobile terminal and the base station , either directly or indirectly via a relay station , as described above . with reference to fig5 , a logical ofdm transmission architecture will be described . initially , the base station controller 10 will send data to be transmitted to various mobile terminals 16 to the base station 14 , either directly or with the assistance of a relay station 15 . the base station 14 may use the channel quality indicators ( cqis ) associated with the mobile terminals to schedule the data for transmission as well as select appropriate coding and modulation for transmitting the scheduled data . the cqis may be directly from the mobile terminals 16 or determined at the base station 14 based on information provided by the mobile terminals 16 . in either case , the cqi for each mobile terminal 16 is a function of the degree to which the channel amplitude ( or response ) varies across the ofdm frequency band . scheduled data 44 , which is a stream of bits , is scrambled in a manner reducing the peak - to - average power ratio associated with the data using data scrambling logic 46 . a cyclic redundancy check ( crc ) for the scrambled data is determined and appended to the scrambled data using crc adding logic 48 . next , channel coding is performed using channel encoder logic 50 to effectively add redundancy to the data to facilitate recovery and error correction at the mobile terminal 16 . again , the channel coding for a particular mobile terminal 16 is based on the cqi . in some implementations , the channel encoder logic 50 uses known turbo encoding techniques . the encoded data is then processed by rate matching logic 52 to compensate for the data expansion associated with encoding . bit interleaver logic 54 systematically reorders the bits in the encoded data to minimize the loss of consecutive data bits . the resultant data bits are systematically mapped into corresponding symbols depending on the chosen baseband modulation by mapping logic 56 . preferably , quadrature amplitude modulation ( qam ) or quadrature phase shift key ( qpsk ) modulation is used . the degree of modulation is preferably chosen based on the cqi for the particular mobile terminal . the symbols may be systematically reordered to further bolster the immunity of the transmitted signal to periodic data loss caused by frequency selective fading using symbol interleaver logic 58 . at this point , groups of bits have been mapped into symbols representing locations in an amplitude and phase constellation . when spatial diversity is desired , blocks of symbols are then processed by space - time block code ( stc ) encoder logic 60 , which modifies the symbols in a fashion making the transmitted signals more resistant to interference and more readily decoded at a mobile terminal 16 . the stc encoder logic 60 will process the incoming symbols and provide “ n ” outputs corresponding to the number of transmit antennas 28 for the base station 14 . the control system 20 and / or baseband processor 22 as described above with respect to fig5 will provide a mapping control signal to control stc encoding . at this point , assume the symbols for the “ n ” outputs are representative of the data to be transmitted and capable of being recovered by the mobile terminal 16 . for the present example , assume the base station 14 has two antennas 28 ( n = 2 ) and the stc encoder logic 60 provides two output streams of symbols . accordingly , each of the symbol streams output by the sic encoder logic 60 is sent to a corresponding ifft processor 62 , illustrated separately for ease of understanding . those skilled in the art will recognize that one or more processors may be used to provide such digital signal processing , alone or in combination with other processing described herein . the ifft processors 62 will preferably operate on the respective symbols to provide an inverse fourier transform . the output of the tuft processors 62 provides symbols in the time domain . the time domain symbols are grouped into frames , which are associated with a prefix by prefix insertion logic 64 . each of the resultant signals is up - converted in the digital domain to an intermediate frequency and converted to an analog signal via the corresponding digital up - conversion ( dug ) and digital - to - analog ( dia ) conversion circuitry 66 . the resultant ( analog ) signals are then simultaneously modulated at the desired rf frequency , amplified , and transmitted via the rf circuitry 68 and antennas 28 . notably , pilot signals known by the intended mobile terminal 16 are scattered among the sub - carriers . the mobile terminal 16 , which is discussed in detail below , will use the pilot signals for channel estimation . reference is now made to fig6 to illustrate reception of the transmitted signals by a mobile terminal 16 , either directly from base station 14 or with the assistance of relay 15 . upon arrival of the transmitted signals at each of the antennas 40 of the mobile terminal 16 , the respective signals are demodulated and amplified by corresponding rf circuitry 70 . for the sake of conciseness and clarity , only one of the two receive paths is described and illustrated in detail . analog - to - digital ( aid ) converter and down - conversion circuitry 72 digitizes and downconverts the analog signal for digital processing . the resultant digitized signal may be used by automatic gain control circuitry ( agc ) 74 to control the gain of the amplifiers in the rf circuitry 70 based on the received signal level . initially , the digitized signal is provided to synchronization logic 76 , which includes coarse synchronization logic 78 , which buffers several ofdm symbols and calculates an auto - correlation between the two successive ofdm symbols . a resultant time index corresponding to the maximum of the correlation result determines a fine synchronization search window , which is used by fine synchronization logic 80 to determine a precise framing starting position based on the headers . the output of the fine synchronization logic 80 facilitates frame acquisition by frame alignment logic 84 . proper framing alignment is important so that subsequent pet processing provides an accurate conversion from the time domain to the frequency domain . the fine synchronization algorithm is based on the correlation between the received pilot signals carried by the headers and a local copy of the known pilot data . once frame alignment acquisition occurs , the prefix of the ofdm symbol is removed with prefix removal logic 86 and resultant samples are sent to frequency offset correction logic 88 , which compensates for the system frequency offset caused by the unmatched local oscillators in the transmitter and the receiver . preferably , the synchronization logic 76 includes frequency offset and clock estimation logic 82 , which is based on the headers to help estimate such effects on the transmitted signal and provide those estimations to the correction logic 88 to properly process ofdm symbols . at this point , the ofdm symbols in the time domain are ready for conversion to the frequency domain using eft processing logic 90 . the results are frequency domain symbols , which are sent to processing logic 92 . the processing logic 92 extracts the scattered pilot signal using scattered pilot extraction logic 94 , determines a channel estimate based on the - extracted pilot signal using channel estimation logic 96 , and provides channel responses for all sub - carriers using channel reconstruction logic 98 . in order to determine a channel response for each of the sub - carriers , the pilot signal is essentially multiple pilot symbols that are scattered among the data symbols throughout the ofdm sub - carriers in a known pattern in both time and frequency . continuing with fig6 , the processing logic compares the received pilot symbols with the pilot symbols that are expected in certain sub - carriers at certain times to determine a channel response for the sub - carriers in which pilot symbols were transmitted . the results are interpolated to estimate a channel response for most , if not all , of the remaining sub - carriers for which pilot symbols were not provided . the actual and interpolated channel responses are used to estimate an overall channel response , which includes the channel responses for most , if not all , of the sub - carriers in the ofdm channel . the frequency domain symbols and channel reconstruction information , which are derived from the channel responses for each receive path are provided to an stc decoder 100 , which provides stc decoding on both received paths to recover the transmitted symbols . the channel reconstruction information provides equalization information to the stc decoder 100 sufficient to remove the effects of the transmission channel when processing the respective frequency domain symbols . the relay station could act as another base station or as a terminal in the context of this invention . the recovered symbols are placed back in order using symbol de - interleaver logic 102 , which corresponds to the symbol interleaver logic 58 of the transmitter . the de - interleaved symbols are then demodulated or de - mapped to a corresponding bitstream using dc - mapping logic 104 . the bits are then de - interleaved using bit de - interleaver logic 106 , which corresponds to the bit interleaver logic 54 of the transmitter architecture . the dc - interleaved bits are then processed by rate dc - matching logic 108 and presented to channel decoder logic 110 to recover the initially scrambled data and the crc checksum . accordingly , crc logic 112 removes the crc checksum , checks the scrambled data in traditional fashion , and provides it to the de - scrambling logic 114 for de - scrambling using the known base station de - scrambling code to recover the originally transmitted data 116 . in parallel to recovering the data 116 , a cqi , or at least information sufficient to create a cqi at the base station 14 , is determined and transmitted to the base station 14 as noted above , the cqi may be a function of the carrier - to - interference ratio ( cir ), as well as the degree to which the channel response varies across the various sub - carriers in the ofdm frequency band . for this embodiment , the channel gain for each sub - carrier in the ofdm frequency band being used to transmit information is compared relative to one another to determine the degree to which the channel gain varies across the ofdm frequency band . although numerous techniques are available to measure the degree of variation , one technique is to calculate the standard deviation of the channel gain for each sub - carrier throughout the ofdm frequency band being used to transmit data . in some embodiments , a relay station may operate in a time division manner using only one radio , or alternatively include multiple radios . fig1 to 6 provide one specific example of a communication system that could be used to implement embodiments of the application . it is to be understood that embodiments can be implemented with communications systems having architectures that are different than the specific example , but that operate in a manner consistent with the implementation of the embodiments as described herein . fig7 is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of cells 12 divided into sectors or “ regions ” 124 . each base station 14 supports three sectors 124 . of course , cells 12 can be divided into more or fewer than three sectors . as is shown , mobile terminal 16 a is on the edge of sector 124 a and may be served by base station 14 a and mobile terminal 16 b is at the edge of sector 124 b and may be served by base station 14 b . mobile terminal 16 a may include base stations 14 a , 14 b and 14 c in its active set and mobile terminal 16 b may include base stations 14 b and 14 c in its active set . as noted , fractional frequency reuse ( ffr ) can be used to improve the coverage for cell edge mobile terminals 16 a and 16 b . in ffr , the bandwidth is divided into multiple sub - bands ( hereinafter referred to as “ zones ”) where each sector 124 defines some high power zones and some power restricted zones . a coverage gain can be obtained when neighbouring sectors 124 define non - overlapping high power zones . the zones are logical zones that can consist of tones that are either contiguous ( localized zones ) or non - contiguous ( distributed zones ). the channel condition for a cell edge interference limited mobile terminal 16 improves on the high power zone as neighbouring sectors 124 reduce the power on the power restricted zones . in order to obtain an accurate estimate of the channel on each zone , each sector 124 must define each zone using the same tones . the hopping pattern for the diversity channels in each zone should use a different hopping pattern in order to obtain interference diversity . an example of an ffr allocation for sectors 124 a , 124 b and 124 c is illustrated in fig8 . as shown , given there are three sectors 124 per cell 12 , each sector 124 may divide the available bandwidth into three zones where one zone is a high power zone 127 and the other zones are power restricted zones 128 . each ffr zone has its own control channel . as illustrated in fig9 , each control channel 144 consists of a multicast control segment 145 , which contains a combination index ( ci ). the combination index indicates how the resources within the zone are partitioned . the combination index for each zone can be encoded together and broadcast to all mobile terminals 16 or each combination index can be signalled separately in the beginning of each zone . each partition within the ffr zone contains the control channel 144 , which is located at the beginning of the partition . a cell edge mobile terminal 16 can be instructed to only decode the control information in the high power ffr zone , whereas cell centre mobile terminals 16 can attempt to decode the control information in each ffr zone . the transmit power level on the power restricted zones 128 can be adapted in response to coverage problems . as noted , the power level may be controlled based on the backhaul communication scheme disclosed in united states patent application number 2009 / 0061778 , the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein . alternatively , or in combination with that approach , the power level may be controlled based on feedback from mobile terminal 16 to the non - serving base stations 14 of its active set . specifically , once the ffr zones are configured , a mobile terminal 16 that detects a strong interfering base station from the members of its active set can send an interference indicator to the interfering base station . the interference indicator for a given base station 14 indicates how much interference the base station 14 is causing to the mobile terminal 16 . for example , the interference indicator can be the difference between the carrier to interference power ratios ( cirs ) of the interfering base station and the serving base station . in response to receiving an interference indicator , the interfering base station can adapt its transmit power on the corresponding ffr zone . advantageously , mobile assisted adaptive ffr allows for faster power level adaptation than the backhaul communication scheme , though a more limited number of base stations are controlled . an uplink ffr feedback channel is required to signal the interference indicator . in some embodiments , the uplink ffr channel may be in the packet data unit ( pdu ) header of the terminal &# 39 ; s uplink burst . alternatively , in some embodiments the uplink ffr channel could be a dedicated control region in the ofdma frame that is used only for ffr , or it could be included in an existing dedicated control region . the dedicated control region may be preferred since the base station would likely have less decoding to do and could obtain the information quicker . the interference indicator can either be decoded directly by the interfering base station or it can be decoded by the serving base station and sent to the interfering base station on the backhaul . if the uplink ffr feedback channel is intended to be decoded by the interfering base station then it can be power controlled to target the intended interfering sector using either open loop or closed loop power control . otherwise , if the uplink ffr feedback channel is intended to be decoded by the serving base station then it may be power controlled by the serving base station . the interfering base station may combine the interference indicator with indicators from other mobile terminals . if the number of mobile terminals that report a given interference level on a dedicated channel exceeds a threshold , the interfering base station can reduce its transmit power on the corresponding ffr zone . alternatively , in the case where the mobile terminal &# 39 ; s serving base station allocates the ffr feedback channel ( s ) only when the serving base station plans to transmit data to the mobile terminal , the non - serving base station may react immediately to the feedback from the mobile terminal . as noted , the interference indicator can be the difference between the cirs of the serving bs and the interfering bs . alternatively , the indicator can be a command from the mobile terminal 16 to a given interfering base station 14 to decrease the transmit power . the mobile terminal can measure the cir on the assigned ffr zone for both the serving base station and the interfering base station since the pilot tones are orthogonal . further , since the pilot tones are not power controlled ( only the data tones are power controlled ), and the transmitted level is known at both base stations , mobile terminal 16 can derive a metric ( e . g ., the difference between cirs ) from the relative power levels received from each base station 14 indicating how much the non - serving base station is interfering . if for example that metric exceeds a predefined threshold , mobile terminal 16 will broadcast the interference indicator . other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and , therefore , the invention is defined in the claims . | 7 |
reference will now be made in detail to exemplary aspects of the present disclosure that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . aspects of the present disclosure relate to ferrule - less fiber optic connectors . as used herein , a ferrule - less fiber optic connector is a fiber optic connector that does not have a ferrule bonded or otherwise affixed to an end portion of an optical fiber of the fiber optic connector . structures are disclosed herein to provide enhanced fiber protection to end portions of optical fibers . example structures can include shutters and / or retractable nose pieces . fig3 and 4 illustrate an example fiber optic connector 20 in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure . the fiber optic connector 20 is depicted as a ferrule - less fiber optic connector . the fiber optic connector 20 includes a connector body 22 having a front end 24 and an opposite rear end 26 . the connector body 22 defines a longitudinal axis 28 that extends through the connector body 22 in an orientation that extends from the front end 24 to the rear end 26 of the connector body 22 . an optical fiber 30 extends through the connector body 22 from the rear end 26 to the front end 24 . the optical fiber 30 has a fiber end 32 accessible at the front end 24 of the connector body 22 . the fiber optic connector 20 also includes a nose piece 34 mounted at the front end 24 of the connector body 22 . the nose piece 34 defines a fiber passage 36 through which the optical fiber 30 extends . the nose piece is movable along the longitudinal axis 28 between an extended position ( see fig3 ) where a front end portion 38 of the optical fiber 30 is protected within the fiber passage 36 and a retracted position ( see fig4 ) where the front end portion 38 of the optical fiber 30 projects forwardly beyond the nose piece 34 . the fiber optic connector 20 further includes a shutter 40 mounted at the front end 24 of the connector body 22 . the shutter is movable between a first position ( e . g ., a closed position as shown at fig3 ) where the shutter 40 covers the nose piece 34 and a second position ( e . g ., open position as shown at fig4 ) where the nose piece 34 is exposed . in certain examples , the fiber optic connector 20 can include a spring 42 for biasing the nose piece 34 toward the extended position . in certain examples , the nose piece 34 retracts back into the connector body 22 as the nose piece 34 moves from the extended position toward the retracted position . in certain examples , the shutter 40 is configured to pivot relative to the connector body 22 as the shutter moves between the open and closed positions . in certain examples , the fiber optic connector 20 can include a latch for retaining the shutter 40 in the closed position . in certain examples , the latch can be released when the fiber optic connector 20 is inserted within a mating fiber optic adapter thereby allowing the shutter 40 to be moved between the closed and open positions . in certain examples , relative movement is permitted between the nose piece 34 and the optical fiber 30 so that the nose piece 34 can slide relative to the optical fiber 30 . in certain example , the fiber optic connector 20 includes a fiber anchoring region 41 near the rear end of the connector body 22 where the optical fiber 30 is fixed in position relative to the connector body 22 thereby preventing relative axial movement between the fiber 30 and the connector body 22 at the anchoring location 41 . in certain examples , a fiber buckling region 43 is provided in the connector body 22 between the anchoring region 41 and the end portion 38 of the optical fiber 30 . the buckling region allows the fiber to buckle ( i . e ., bend , flex ) within the connector body 22 when an optical connection is being made . fig5 and 6 show an example fiber optic adapter 50 compatible with the fiber optic connector 20 . it will be appreciated that the fiber optic connector 50 is configured for coupling two of the fiber optic connectors 20 together such that optical signals can be conveyed between the optical fibers of the coupled fiber optic connectors 20 . the fiber optic adapter 50 can have an alignment feature 52 for receiving and coaxially aligning the front end portions 38 of the optical fibers of the coupled fiber optic connectors 20 . in certain examples , the alignment feature 52 can include an alignment passage such as a v - groove 53 . in certain examples , the alignment feature 52 can include a biasing structure such as a spring - loaded component that presses the front end portions 38 of the optical fibers 30 into the alignment passage . as depicted , the spring - loaded components can include members 55 ( e . g ., balls , rods , or other structures ) spring - biased toward fiber alignment surfaces ( e . g ., surfaces defining a v - groove ) of the alignment passage . in certain examples , fiber optic adapter 50 can include opposite first and second adapter ports 54 , 56 with the alignment feature 52 disposed therein between . the first and second adapter ports 54 , 56 can be configured for respectively receiving fiber optic connectors 20 desired to be coupled together . it will be appreciated that the shutters 40 of the fiber optic connectors 20 move from the closed position to the open position as the fiber optic connectors 20 are inserted into their respective ports 54 , 56 . similarly , the nose pieces 34 of the fiber optic connectors 20 move from the extended positions to the retracted positions as the fiber optic connectors 20 are inserted into their respective ports 54 , 56 . when the nose pieces 34 retract , the front end portions 38 of the optical fibers 30 protrude forwardly beyond the nose pieces 34 and thereby can be inserted into the alignment passage ( e . g ., groove ) of the alignment feature 52 . in certain examples , the shutters 40 move at least partially toward the open positions prior to the nose pieces 34 beginning to move from the extended positions toward the retracted positions . in certain examples , the fiber passages 36 of the nose pieces 34 align with the alignment passages of the alignment feature 52 to assist in guiding the front end portions 38 into the alignment groove of the alignment feature 52 as the nose pieces 34 retract . as described above , in certain examples , the alignment passage is defined by an open - sided groove such as a v - groove . additionally , in certain examples , resilient structures are provided for biasing the front end portions 38 of the optical fibers 30 into the open sided grooves . in certain examples , the resilient structures can include structures such as spring - biased balls , flexible cantilevers and other structures . in certain examples , the alignment passage is defined by the fiber alignment feature 52 of the fiber optic adapter 50 . in certain examples , the fiber alignment feature 52 can include first and second opposite ends 58 , 59 . in certain examples , the nose pieces 34 of the fiber optic connectors 20 inserted within the adapter ports 54 , 56 respectively abut against the first and second ends 58 , 59 of the fiber alignment feature 52 when the fiber optic connectors 20 are inserted into the first and second adapter ports 54 , 56 thereby causing the nose pieces 34 to retract . fig7 - 10 illustrate another fiber optic connector 120 in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure . in the depicted example , fiber optic connector 120 is a ferrule - less , multi - fiber fiber optic connector . referring still to fig7 - 10 , the fiber optic connector 120 includes a connector body 122 having a front end 124 and an opposite rear end 126 . in certain examples , a fiber optic cable can be coupled to the fiber optic connector 120 adjacent the rear end 126 . the connector body 122 defines a longitudinal axis 128 that extends through the connector body 122 in an orientation that extends from the front end 124 to the rear end 126 of the connector body 122 . a plurality of optical fibers 130 extend through the connector body 122 from the rear end 126 to the front end 124 . the optical fibers 130 have fiber ends 132 accessible at the front end 124 of the connector body 122 . the fiber optic connector 120 also includes a nose piece 134 mounted at the front end 124 of the connector body 122 . the nose piece 134 defines a plurality of fiber passages 136 through which the optical fibers 130 extend . it will be appreciated that the optical fibers 130 are slidable within the fiber passages 136 such that relative movement is permitted in an orientation that extends along the longitudinal axis 128 . the nose piece 134 is movable along the longitudinal axis 128 relative to the connector body 122 between an extended position ( see fig7 and 8 ) where front end portions 138 of the optical fibers 130 are protected within the fiber passages 136 and a retracted position ( see fig9 and 10 ) where the front end portions 138 of the optical fibers 130 project forwardly beyond the nose piece 134 . it will be appreciated that when the nose piece 134 is in the retracted position , the front end portions 138 of the optical fibers 130 project forwardly beyond the nose piece 134 a distance sufficiently long to allow the front end portions 138 to be inserted within a suitable alignment structure . in certain examples , an alignment structure can be provided within a fiber optic adapter configured for coupling two of the fiber optic connectors 120 together . in another example , a direct connection may be made between mating fiber optic connectors without the use of an intermediate adapter . in such an example , the front end portions 138 of the fibers of one fiber optic connector may fit within alignment grooves defined by a mating fiber optic connector . referring to fig8 and 10 , the fiber optic connector 120 can include a spring 142 for biasing the nose piece 134 toward the extended orientation . additionally , as shown at fig7 and 9 , registration elements can be provided on the nose piece 134 to assist in providing registration between two fiber optic connectors desired to be coupled together . in certain examples , the registration structures can include alignment pins 143 and / or alignment openings 144 . in certain examples , the alignment pins 143 can fit within alignment openings of a corresponding fiber optic connector or a corresponding fiber optic adapter , and the alignment openings 144 can receive alignment pins of a mating fiber optic connector or a mating fiber optic adapter . in certain examples , fiber optic connector 120 is a robust , hardened fiber optic connector suitable for outdoor use . in certain examples , fiber optic connector 120 can include structure for providing environmental sealing when inserted within the port of a corresponding fiber optic adapter or when coupled to a mating fiber optic connector . for example , as shown at fig8 and 10 , the fiber optic connector 20 can include a sealing element such as an annular sealing ring 145 ( e . g ., an o - ring ) that mounts within an annular groove that extends about the perimeter of the connector body 122 . in certain examples , a robust coupling element can be provided for securing the connector body 22 within the corresponding port of a fiber optic adapter or to a mating fiber optic connector . for example , the robust coupling element can include a twist - to - lock coupling element such as a threaded coupling element 147 ( e . g ., an exteriorly threaded nut or an interiorly threaded sleeve ) or a bayonet - style coupling element . it will be appreciated that the connector body 122 can also include one or more keying features for ensuring that the fiber optic connector is inserted into a corresponding port of a fiber optic adapter or mating fiber optic connector at a predetermined rotational orientation . example keying structures can include rails , projections , grooves or other structures . as depicted , the fiber optic connector 120 is provided with a key in the form of a rail 146 configured to fit within a corresponding groove defined by a mating adapter or connector port . fig1 - 13 illustrate another multi - fiber fiber optic connector 220 in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure . the fiber optic connector 220 includes a connector body 222 having a front end 224 and an opposite rear end 226 . the connector body 222 defines a longitudinal axis 228 that extends along a length of the connector body 222 . the rear end 226 of the connector body 224 can be configured to couple to a fiber optic cable 227 . the fiber optic cable 227 can include a jacket 229 containing a plurality of optical fiber ribbons 231 . the fiber optic cable 227 can include reinforcing members 233 ( e . g ., reinforcing rods such as epoxy reinforced fiber glass rods or other types of reinforcing elements such as aramid yarn ). in certain examples , the reinforcing members 233 can be secured ( e . g ., bonded , clamped , or otherwise attached ) to the connector body 222 . in certain examples , the reinforcing members 233 can be secured within openings 235 ( see fig1 ) defined adjacent the rear end 226 of the connector body 222 . as depicted , the fibers are not shown routed through the fiber optic connector 220 . referring to fig1 , the connector body 122 has a two - part construction including a main body 237 and a cover 239 . the main body 237 and the cover 239 mate together to form the connector body 222 . a reinforcing sleeve 241 can be mounted over the connector body 222 after the cover 239 and the main body 237 have been mated together . the fiber optic connector 120 can also include an outer housing 243 that mounts over the connector body 222 . additionally , the fiber optic connector 220 can include a fastening element such as a robust fastening element for securing the fiber optic connector 220 to a corresponding fiber optic adapter 245 . in certain examples , the fastening element can include a twist - to - lock fastening element such as a bayonet - style fastening element or a threaded fastening element . as depicted , the fastening element includes an internally threaded sleeve 247 that mates with corresponding exterior threads 249 provided at one end of a fiber optic adapter 245 . the fiber optic adapter 245 includes a first port 251 that receives the fiber optic connector 222 and an opposite second port 253 adapted to receive a fiber optic connector desired to be optically coupled to the fiber optic connector 222 . in certain examples , the fiber optic adapter 245 can be mounted within a hole in an enclosure or panel and can have suitable sealing structure for providing an environmental seal with the panel or enclosure . referring to fig1 , fiber optic connector 220 can include a nose piece 234 that is movable along the longitudinal axis 228 relative to the connector body 222 between an extended position and a retracted position . the nose piece 234 can define a plurality of fiber passages 236 that receive front end portions of optical fibers corresponding to the optical fiber ribbons 231 . in certain examples , the front end portions can be bare glass portions of the optical fibers including only the fiber cores and cladding layers . it will be appreciated that the front end portions ( not shown ) of the optical fibers can slide within the nose piece 234 as the nose piece 234 is moved between the extended and retracted positions . when the nose piece 234 is extended , the front end portions of the optical fibers are protected and enclosed within the nose piece 234 . when the nose piece 234 is retracted , the front end portions of the optical fibers are exposed thereby allowing the front end portions to be inserted within a corresponding alignment feature provided in the fiber optic adapter 245 . in certain examples , the nose piece 234 can be spring - biased toward the extended position by one or more springs 255 positioned within the connector body 222 . in certain examples , the nose piece 134 can include a main body 257 and a front extension 259 . the main body 257 can be captured within an interior of the connector body 222 , and the front extension 259 can extend into a front opening 260 defined at the front end 224 of the connector body 222 . the main body 257 can define flanges that project outwardly from the front extension 259 . in certain examples , the springs 255 can be positioned on opposite sides of the optical fibers ( e . g ., above and below ) and can engage a backside of the main body 257 at the flanges . in certain examples , the two - piece construction of the connector body 222 facilitates laterally loading the nose piece 234 , the springs 255 and other components into the interior of the connector body 222 . it will be appreciated that the fiber optic connector 220 can also include structure within the interior of the connector body 220 for managing and anchoring the optical fibers . in certain examples , the fiber management and anchoring structure can be defined by a stack of miniature fiber management trays 261 positioned within the connector body 222 . the fiber management trays 261 can define a separate fiber buckling passages 262 corresponding to each of the optical fibers . the stack of fiber management trays 261 can also include a fiber anchoring region 265 for anchoring the optical fibers relative to the connector body 222 . it will be appreciated that the fiber buckling passages 264 are positioned between the fiber anchoring region 265 and the passages 236 in the nose piece 234 for receiving the front end portions of the optical fibers . as shown at fig2 - 26 , the fiber management trays 261 can each include a first side ( e . g ., a top side as depicted ) defining a plurality of parallel shallow grooves 290 and an opposite second side ( e . g ., a bottom side as depicted ) defining a plurality of deeper grooves 291 . when the trays 261 are stacked , the top and bottom sides of adjacent trays 261 oppose one another and interlock or mate with one another to provide mechanical registration between the trays 261 . the shallow and deeper grooves 291 register within one another and cooperate to define the separate fiber buckling passages 262 . the opposing sides of adjacent trays 261 also form clamping regions 293 where the spacing between the opposing sides is small enough that the optical fibers are compressed between the trays and held in place . the clamping regions 293 can form the fiber anchoring region 265 . in certain examples , fiber management trays 261 are mounted in fixed relation relative to the connector body 222 , and the nose piece 234 is free to move forwardly and rearwardly relative to the fiber management trays 261 . in certain examples , the fiber buckling slots 263 generally align with the fiber passages 236 of the nose piece 234 . it will be appreciated that the fiber optic adapter 245 can include an interior fiber alignment feature 271 for coaxially aligning the optical fibers of the fiber optic connector 220 with the optical fibers of a corresponding fiber optic connector desired to be coupled to the fiber optic connector 220 via the fiber optic adapter . in certain examples , the fiber alignment feature 271 includes a stack of fiber alignment trays 272 that define an array of alignment grooves ( e . g ., v - grooves 295 ) for receiving the front end portions of the optical fibers when the fiber optic connector 220 is inserted within the first port 251 and the nose piece 234 is retracted . it will be appreciated that the fiber passages 236 assist in registering the optical fibers 130 with the alignment grooves 295 defined by the fiber alignment trays 272 ( see fig1 ). in certain examples , an end of the fiber alignment feature 271 can fit or mate at least partially within the front end 224 of the connector body 222 ( e . g ., the alignment feature can fit within the front opening 260 ). in this way , the distance the fibers project beyond the front end of the connector body 222 is minimized while still allowing substantial lengths of the optical fibers to be inserted within the fiber alignment feature 271 of the fiber optic adapter 245 . the fiber optic adapter 245 can also include alignment projections 275 that fit within corresponding alignment openings 277 defined by a front face of the connector body 222 when the fiber optic connector 220 is inserted within the first port 251 of the fiber optic adapter 245 . the mating alignment projections 275 and alignment openings 277 can provide an alignment and keying function . additionally , when the alignment projections 275 slide into the alignment openings 277 , the alignment projections 275 can engage a front side of the main body 257 of the nose piece 234 thereby causing the nose piece to move from the extended position toward the retracted position as the fiber optic connector 220 is inserted into the first port 251 . when the fiber optic connector 220 is optically coupled to another fiber optic connector by the fiber optic adapter 245 , the fiber ends of the coupled fiber optic connectors preferably engage one another . the fiber buckling slots 263 provide space for allowing the optical fibers 230 to slightly buckle within the connector body 222 as the fiber ends 232 contact one another . thus , the fiber buckling slots 263 provide take - up regions for receiving buckled portions of the fibers when an optical connection is made . the buckling of the fibers provides axial loading on the optical fibers that ensures the end faces of the optical fibers remain in contact with one another . additionally , the ability to allow the optic fibers to buckle provides extra tolerance and range of motion that ensures all of the optical fibers of the interconnected fiber optic connectors in engagement with one another . in certain examples , the fiber alignment feature 271 can include rows of cantilevers 280 for biasing the fiber end portions into the v - grooves 295 ( see fig2 and 21 ). in certain examples , one cantilever 280 is provided for every two of the v - grooves 295 . the cantilevers 280 can be part of a biasing layer 296 that includes two sets of cantilevers 280 with one set of cantilevers 280 a corresponding to the fibers of one of the fiber optic connectors received within the fiber optic adapter and the other set of cantilevers 280 b corresponding to the other fiber optic connector received within the fiber optic adapter . the biasing layers 296 can be formed by stamping the cantilevers 280 from plates . the biasing layers 296 can be provided between the fiber alignment trays 272 of the alignment tray stack . various modifications and alterations of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure , and it should be understood that the scope of this disclosure is not to be unduly limited to the illustrative examples set forth herein . | 6 |
the following description is of the best - contemplated mode of carrying out the invention . this description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense . the scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims . fig1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a dac . dac 10 comprises capacitors cin p , cin n , cf 1 , cf 2 , an operational amplifier 110 , and switches sw 1 ˜ sw 12 . all nodes labeled op are coupled together . all nodes labeled on are coupled together . switches sw 1 ˜ sw 4 are controlled by a clock signal φ 1 . switches sw 1 , sw 3 and capacitor cin p are serially connected between a reference voltage vrefp and a common mode voltage v cm . switches sw 2 , sw 4 and capacitor cin n are serially connected between a reference voltage vrefn and the common mode voltage v cm . switches sw 5 ˜ sw 8 are controlled by a clock signal φ 2 and a digital code di . switches sw 9 ˜ sw 12 are controlled by the clock signal φ 2 and a digital code dib . the digital code di is generated by a delta - sigma modulator ( dsm ) 120 . an inverter 130 inverts the digital code di to generate the digital code dib . in this embodiment , the dsm 120 generates a single - bit code . in a first period , switches sw 1 ˜ sw 4 are turned on such that the capacitor cin p stores an amount of charge ( vrefp − v cm )* cin p and the capacitor cin n stores an amount of charge ( vrefn − v cm )* cin n . in a second period , switches sw 5 , sw 6 , sw 9 , and sw 10 connect the capacitor cin p to the operational amplifier 110 according to the digital codes di and dib . similarly switches sw 7 , sw 8 , sw 11 , and sw 12 connect the capacitor cin n to the operational amplifier 110 according to the digital codes di and dib . in this embodiment , the operational amplifier 110 comprises a non - inverting input , an inverting input , a non - inverting output , and an inverting output . the capacitor cf 1 is coupled to the operational amplifier 110 in parallel at the inverting input and the non - inverting output . the capacitor cf 2 is coupled to the operational amplifier 110 in parallel at the non - inverting input and the inverting output . in the second period , switches sw 5 and sw 6 connect the capacitor cin p to the inverting input and the non inverting output of the operational amplifier 110 according to the digital code di . thus , the capacitor cin p is connected to the capacitor cf 1 in parallel . similarly , switches sw 7 and sw 8 connect the capacitor cin n to the non inverting input and the inverting output of the operational amplifier 110 according to the digital code di . thus , the capacitor cin n is connected to the capacitor cf 2 in parallel . in the second period , switches sw 9 and sw 10 connect the capacitor cin p to the non inverting input and the inverting output of the operational amplifier 110 according to the digital code dib . thus , the capacitor cin p is connected to the capacitor cf 2 in parallel . similarly , switches sw 11 and sw 12 connect the capacitor cin n to the inverting input and the non inverting output of the operational amplifier 110 according to the digital code dib . thus , the capacitor cin n is connected to the capacitor cf 1 in parallel . it is assumed that a logic high value of the clock signal φ 1 or φ 2 makes the corresponding switches turned on . when the clock signal φ 1 or φ 2 is low , the corresponding switches are turned off . in the first period , the clock signal φ 1 is high such that switches sw 1 ˜ sw 4 are turned on . the capacitor cin p stores the amount of charge ( vrefp − v cm )* cin p and the capacitor cin n stores the amount of charge ( vrefn − v cm )* cin n in the second period , φ 1 is low and φ 2 is high . if the digital code di is high and the digital code dib is low , the switches sw 5 ˜ sw 8 are turned on and the switches sw 1 ˜ sw 4 are turned off . the capacitor cin p is connected to the capacitor cf 1 in parallel and the capacitor cin n is connected to the capacitor cf 2 in parallel . the output signal of the non - inverting output is determined by a charge sharing between cin p and cf 1 . that is , the charge ( vrefp − v cm )* cin p transferred by the second period is added to the parallel connection of cin p and cf 1 . it is noted that cf 1 may have charge caused by the last φ 2 . the final charge redistributes on the parallel connection of cin p and cf 1 . the output signal of the inverting output is determined by a charge sharing between cin n and cf 2 . that is , the charge ( vrefn − v cm )* cin n transferred by the second period is added to the parallel connection of cin n and cf 2 . it is noted that cf 2 may have charge caused by the last φ 2 . the final charge redistributes on the parallel connection of cin n and cf 2 . similarly , if the clock signal φ 2 and the digital code dib are high and the clock signal φ 1 and the digital code di are low , the switches sw 9 ˜ sw 12 are turned on and the switches sw 1 ˜ sw 4 are turned off . the capacitor cin p is connected to the capacitor cf 2 in parallel and the capacitor cin n is connected to the capacitor cf 1 in parallel . the output signal of the non - inverting output is determined by a charge sharing between cin n and cf 1 . that is , the charge ( vrefn − v cm )* cin n transferred by the second period is added to the parallel connection of cin n and cf 1 . it is noted that cf 1 may have charge caused by the last φ 2 . the final charge redistributes on the parallel connection of cin n and cf 1 . the output signal of the inverting output is determined by a charge sharing between cin p and cf 2 . that is , the charge ( vrefp − v cm )* cin p transferred by the second period is added to the parallel connection of cin p and cf 2 . it is noted that cf 2 may have charge caused by the last φ 2 . the final charge redistributes on the parallel connection of cin p and cf 2 . as described previously , according to digital code di , capacitor cin p is connected to capacitor cf 1 in parallel and the capacitor cin n is connected to capacitor cf 2 in parallel . additionally , according to digital code dib , capacitor cin p is connected to capacitor cf 2 in parallel and capacitor cin n is connected to capacitor cf 1 in parallel . fig2 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of the dac . fig2 is similar to fig1 with the exception that dac 20 provides a chopper function for modulating flicker noises of an operational amplifier 210 into a higher frequency band . the modulated flicker noises can be filtered out . as shown in fig2 , switches sw 5 ˜ sw 12 are controlled by the clock signals φ 2 , φ ch , φ chb , and digital codes di and dib . the clock signal φ ch is an inverted signal of the clock signal φ chb . the dac 20 does not require additional switches to achieve the chopper function . switches sw 5 ˜ sw 12 of dac 20 additionally consider the clock signals φ ch and φ chb to comprise the chopper function . the boolean operation of ( di * φ ch + dib * φ chb ) can be implemented by digital circuits to control the switch sw 5 . similarly , sw 6 - sw 12 can be controlled by digital circuits . for performing the chopping function , adding digital operation into a chip is less expensive than adding additional switches on signal paths of the dac 20 . fig3 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of the dac . the dac 30 processes multi - bit codes . inverters 331 ˜ 33 n respectively process digital codes di 1 ˜ di n provided by the sdm 320 to generated digital codes dib 1 ˜ dib n . all nodes labeled op are coupled together . all nodes labeled on are coupled together . all nodes labeled ip are coupled together . all nodes labeled in are coupled together . in the first period , switches sw 1 1 ˜ sw 4 1 and sw 1 n ˜ sw 4 n are controlled by the clock signal φ 1 such that the capacitors cin p1 and cin pn are charged according to the reference voltage vrefp and v cm . the capacitors cin n1 and cin nn are charged according to the reference voltage vrefn and v cm . in the second period , switches sw 5 1 ˜ sw 12 1 are controlled by the clock signal φ 2 and digital codes di 1 and dib 1 such that the capacitor cin p1 is connected to the capacitor cf 1 or cf 2 in parallel and the capacitor cin n1 is connected to the capacitor cf 2 or cf 1 in parallel . similarly switches sw 5 n ˜ sw 12 n are controlled by the clock signal φ 2 and digital codes di n and dib n such that the capacitor cin pn is connected to the capacitor cf 1 or cf 2 in parallel and the capacitor cin nn is connected to the capacitor cf 2 or cf 1 in parallel . while the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments . to the contrary , it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements ( as would be apparent to those skilled in the art ). therefore , the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements . | 7 |
in describing a preferred embodiment of the subject invention , it is stressed that the following description is of only one embodiment , and that such description should not limit the scope of the invention herein to one such embodiment , as more than one embodiment may fall within the scope of the subject invention as set forth in the claims . referring now to fig1 in which a schematic representation of the preferred embodiment of the subject invention is shown , the basic elements of the subject system incorporating the subject system are shown . for purposes of further orientation in describing the preferred embodiment herein , the word “ inner ” will refer to those parts of the system directly incorporated in the alarm system while the work “ external ” will be used relative to those elements outside the described alarm system . referring now to the drawings , and particularly fig1 in which a preferred embodiment of the subject invention is shown , setting forth schematically the sub elements of the subject invention . specifically in fig1 is shown schematically a calling mechanism 10 which may be in the form of a telephone integrated directly or indirectly into the overall system . a ring or call detector 20 which has a recording control device generally of an electromechanical structure . the ring or call detector is directly linked to an audio recorder 30 the output of which is fed through an and gate 40 , which in turn leads to an audio amplifier 50 to amplify the sound signal to the speaker 60 . moreover , the subject system integrally includes a timing mechanism 70 , generally in the form of a clock having means to set a signal at a predetermined time for alarm or other purposes . the clock 70 is interconnected to the audio recorder 30 with means to activate the audio recorder at the time preset in the timing mechanism 70 . a reset device 80 enables the user to reset the alarm set system in the timing mechanism in the timing mechanism . additionally , the timing mechanism may be equipped with a manually replay switch 100 that the user can replay the sound or voice received through the audio recorder 30 . moreover , there is a recorder reset switch 110 integrated with the audio recorder which functions to reset the audio recorder for possible replay . the specific interactions of elements are more fully described below . attention is again addressed to the schematic display shown in fig1 , as seen the caller mechanism 10 is the first element both from the sequential aspect and a real time perspective . a caller will initiate a call to the telephone 10 and upon the detection of a call the detector 20 is automatically activated which in turn relays an electrical signal through electrical lead 130 to the audio recorder 30 in order to turn on the audio recorder . the audio recorder 30 may be used either with an analog system or a digital recording system . specifically , in an analog recording system , a presentation of the sound wave is stored directly in the recording medium and on the other hand in digital recording a description of the sound wave is stored in the form of binary or two - state numbers that are recorded as simple on - off signals . the latter method used to encode a sound wave in a numeric form accurately reconstructs in playback through the use of integrated - circuit chips or other means . the digital audio recording is preferably but not necessarily accomplished on compact disc . the compact disc or other means may be reproductions systems monophonic or stereophonic , or quadraphonic sound . once the audio recorder records the signal voice or sound message it is stored as discussed above , using one of the recording system discussed above or by way of other recording methods . the sound message is retained in such recorded and stored status until such time as the pre - set time signal in the timing mechanism 70 is set . the timing mechanism in clock 70 is interconnected through lead 1160 which in turn leads to the and gate 40 , with the electrical impulse being withheld from the clock to the and gate until such time as the pre - set time is reached to activate the play back system . for this purpose the clock timer sends dual signals to the audio recorder and the and switch 40 through electrical leads 170 and 180 respectively . as stated above , the audio recorder 30 is linked to the and gate 40 through electrical lead 195 which will transfer the recorded sound signal through the and gate 40 and ultimately to the audio amplified 50 . the output of the and gate 40 is thus governed and controlled by both the input signals through leads 170 from the clock timer and lead 195 from the audio recorder . alternately stated there will be no output for the audio recorder signal to the audio recorder through the and gate 40 until both the clock signal and recorder signal is activated and relays those signals through the and gaate 40 thence to the amplifier 50 and speaker 60 . the and gate having received both signals will in turn send the ultimate recorded sound signal to the audio amplifier and speaker . an attendant optional attribute of the subject invention is a manual replay switch interconnected to either the clock or recorder which will activate a replay of the recorded source . | 6 |
the description that follows includes exemplary apparatus , methods , techniques , and instruction sequences that embody techniques of the inventive subject matter . however , it is understood that the described embodiments may be practiced without these specific details . fig2 depicts a downhole tool 50 , such as a plug , a packer , or the like , in an unset or run - in condition in casing c ( although the tool 50 can be used in an open hole ). the tool 50 has a mandrel 52 , an end gage ring 54 , a sealing element 56 , and a push ring 58 . the end gage ring 54 is fixed to the lower end of the mandrel 52 and may be secured to the mandrel 52 using known techniques . the push ring 58 as well as the sealing element 56 are movable along the outside of the mandrel 52 . in this way , a setting tool ( not shown ) can be used to hold the mandrel 52 and push the push ring 58 toward the fixed ring 54 , causing the sealing element 56 to be compressed and expand radially . in general , the sealing element 56 may be an elastomer or any other material that may be relatively easily deformed . moreover , although the sealing element 16 has been described above as a compressible element , other types of sealing elements , such as a swellable sealing element , can be used and benefit from the teachings of the present disclosure . to prevent extrusion of the sealing element 56 through the annular spaces between the rings 54 and 58 and the casing c and into the annulus spaces between the mandrel 52 and the casing c , the tool 50 uses anti - extrusion devices 60 according to the present disclosure . one device 60 fits at one ( downhole ) end of the tool 50 between the end of the sealing element 56 and the fixed gage ring 54 , while another device 60 fits at the other ( uphole ) end between the opposite end of the sealing element 56 and the push ring 58 . each anti - extrusion device 60 has a number of slots 64 formed into it to allow the middle section 66 to expand radially outward . the proximal section 62 may be relatively solid to prevent the proximal section 62 from expanding radially , thereby maintaining an anti - extrusion seal against the mandrel 52 . the distal section 68 may be relatively solid to prevent the distal section 68 from expanding radially outward . by having a relatively solid distal section 68 , the anti - extrusion device 60 is able to resist tearing or snagging as the tool 50 is run into the wellbore . in some instances , it may be desired to allow the distal section 68 to radially expand a certain amount . in these instances , the distal section 68 may have a separate set of expansion slots , or it may be reinforced by a reinforcing ring , where the reinforcing ring could be stretchable , split , or split with overlapping rings . the slots 64 are typically longitudinally elongated slits or splits cut through the material of the device 60 , but they could also be perforations , indentations , thinned areas , score lines , etc . ( e . g ., “ burst lines ”) formed partially through or on the anti - extrusion device 60 to allow the middle section 66 to split along the slots 64 , which would allow the anti - extrusion device 60 to expand against the wellbore or casing c and prevent the sealing element 56 from extruding past the anti - extrusion device 60 . in some instances , it may be desirable to overlap multiple anti - extrusion devices 60 on top of one another at each end of the sealing element 56 so that any gaps formed by the slots 64 in one layered device 60 are overlapped by the petals of the device 60 in an adjacent layer . when the tool 50 is a plug and is set in position downhole , a setting tool ( not shown ) is secured to the mandrel 52 and applies force in the direction of arrow p to the push ring 58 . where the tool 50 is a packer and is set in position downhole , the components for setting the element would be part of the packer &# 39 ; s assembly so that a separate setting tool may not be used . either way , as the push ring 58 is forced downwards along the mandrel 52 , each of the slidably mounted components is also moved longitudinally downwards against the fixed gage ring 54 . a locking mechanism ( not shown ) may typically be used to hold the push ring 58 in place on the mandrel 52 once forced downward . at the same time , the sealing element 56 is longitudinally compressed and expands radially outwards to seal against both the mandrel 52 and the casing c , sealing the exterior of the mandrel 52 to fluid flow in either direction . as the sealing element 56 expands radially outward , portions of the sealing element 56 may tend to extrude longitudinally . the anti - extrusion devices 60 tend to limit the extrusion of the sealing element 56 . fig3 a - 3c depict an embodiment of an anti - extrusion device 100 according to the present disclosure . fig3 a depicts a cross - sectional view of the anti - extrusion device 100 , fig3 b depicts an end - sectional view of the anti - extrusion device 100 , and fig3 c depicts an orthographic view of the anti - extrusion device 100 . the anti - extrusion device 100 has an inner ring 110 at a proximal end or edge , a sheath 120 in a middle section , and a reinforcing ring or band 130 at a distal end or edge . the band 130 reinforces the distal edge 126 of the sheath 120 and , as noted herein , acts as anti - hooping band . the inner ring 110 is mounted on a tool &# 39 ; s mandrel , such as the mandrel 52 from fig2 , and may have fastener holes 112 or the like . if used adjacent a fixed gage ring or other component , the inner ring 110 may be fixedly held on the mandrel 52 . if used adjacent a push ring or other movable component , the inner ring 110 may be slidably mounted on the mandrel 52 . the sheath 120 extends from the inner ring 110 , and has the distal edge 126 where the reinforcing band 130 is attached . when placed on a tool prior to the tool being set , the reinforcing band 130 and the sheath 120 fit over the end of the sealing element , such as sealing element 56 from fig2 . a distal portion of the sheath 120 , nearest to the reinforcing band 130 tends to have a relatively uniform diameter for a set longitudinal distance , such as distance 128 . this distance 128 is typically the distance that the anti - extrusion device 100 overlaps the sealing element 56 . the proximal portion of the sheath 120 nearest to the inner ring 110 has a rapidly diminishing diameter where it attaches to the inner ring 110 . slots 124 are defined around the circumference of the sheath 120 . the slots 124 can be cut , formed , molded , or otherwise produced in the material of the sheath 120 . typically , the slots 124 are disposed longitudinally along the sheath 120 and may extend from the inner ring 110 to the reinforcing band 130 . the slots 124 can be full slits or perforations defined through the material of the sheath 120 . in other instances , the slots 124 may not perforate through the material of the sheath 120 . instead , the slots 124 may be creased , cut , or molded areas of reduced thickness , such as burst lines , in the sheath material so that the sheath material may break to form split slits when expanded . either way , the sheath 120 may form a number of petals 122 upon expansion of the sealing element 56 . the anti - extrusion device 100 can be composed of plastic , metal , other material , or a combination thereof . the inner ring 110 and the sheath 120 may be integrally formed as one piece , while the reinforcing band 130 can be a separate component affixed , fused , embedded , molded , or otherwise attached to the distal end of the sheath 120 . the reinforcing band 130 may in fact be formed as a metal ring with a round , flat , or other cross - section that is molded , embedded , or affixed to the distal edge 126 of the sheath 120 , which may be formed of the same or different material . in another alternative , the inner ring 110 can be a flat metal ring affixed or disposed on the proximal end of the sheath 120 . in yet another alternative , the reinforcing band 130 can be integrally formed with the sheath 120 as one piece . in fig4 , an embodiment of the anti - extrusion device 100 according to the present disclosure is depicted in a side cut away view . the sealing element 56 has been expanded against the casing c and the mandrel 52 to seal the annular area a , thereby preventing fluid flow past the tool 50 . prior to its radial expansion , the sealing element 56 and the anti - extrusion device 100 were arranged so that a portion of the sheath 120 as well as the reinforcing band 130 on the leading edge 126 of the sheath 120 overlaid a portion of the exterior of an end of the sealing element 56 . as the sealing element 56 radially expands , the sealing element 56 causes the portion of the sheath 120 to move radially outward to contact the casing c , thereby preventing the sealing element 56 from extruding past the point where the anti - extrusion device 100 contacts the casing c . as discussed previously , the leading edge 126 of the sheath 120 of the anti - extrusion device 100 is attached to the reinforcing band 130 . during run - in and after the sealing element 56 has been expanded , the reinforcing band 130 protects the leading edge 126 from snags that the leading edge 126 may encounter as it moves in the wellbore . the reinforcing band 130 also tends to limit the leading edge 126 from expanding with the sealing element 56 radially outwards to an extent towards the casing c that in certain instances may cause the anti - extrusion device 100 to have the appearance of a cresting wave in cross - section . in certain embodiments , the reinforcing band 130 may be of an expandable type of material or may be split to allow the leading edge 126 to expand at least to some extent with the sheath 120 and the sealing element 56 . it may also be desirable to have the reinforcing band 130 comprise overlapping reinforcing rings . fig5 a and 5b show another embodiment of an anti - extrusion device 100 according to the present disclosure . rather than having a separate or round reinforcing band 130 , the device 100 of fig5 a - 5b has a reinforcing area 132 at the distal edge 126 of the sheath 120 . this reinforcing area 132 is not slotted and may not have an area of reduced diameter . in some instances , this reinforcing area 132 may be radially thicker than the adjacent leading edge 126 . again , the anti - extrusion device 100 can be composed of plastic , metal , other material , or a combination thereof . the inner ring 110 and the sheath 120 may be integrally formed as one piece , while the reinforcing area 132 can be a separate component affixed , fused , embedded , molded , or otherwise attached to the distal end of the sheath 120 . the reinforcing band 130 may in fact be formed as a metal ring with a flat cross - section . also , the reinforcing band 130 may also be integrally formed with the inner ring 110 and the sheath 120 . in some instances , it may be desirable to mount multiple anti - extrusion devices 100 adjacent to one another , but have the slots 124 of each anti - extrusion device 100 offset from an adjacent anti - extrusion device 100 on the tool &# 39 ; s mandrel 52 . by mounting multiple anti - extrusion devices 100 adjacent to one another in this way , any gaps 124 between the petals 122 of one anti - extrusion device 100 can be covered by the petals 122 of the adjacent anti - extrusion device 100 . as one example , fig6 a depicts a cross - sectional view of another anti - extrusion device according to the present disclosure for use on one end of a sealing element ( not shown ). this device includes an inner device 200 disposed between an outer device 100 and the sealing element ( not shown ). the outer device 100 can be similar to those disclosed above having the reinforcing ring or band 130 . the inner device 200 can also be the same and can have such a reinforcing band ( not shown ). as depicted in fig6 a , however , the inner device 200 may lack a reinforcing band . instead , as best shown in the isolated perspective of fig6 b , the inner anti - extrusion device 200 includes an inner ring 210 at a proximal end and a sheath 220 at an opposing end . the inner ring 210 is mounted on a tool &# 39 ; s mandrel , such as the mandrel 52 from fig2 , and may have fastener holes 212 or the like . if used adjacent a fixed gage ring or other component , the inner ring 210 may be fixedly held on the mandrel 52 . if used adjacent a push ring or other movable component , the inner ring may be slidable mounted on the mandrel 52 . the sheath 220 extends from the inner ring 210 and has a distal edge 226 . when placed on a tool prior to the tool being set , the distal edge 226 and the sheath 220 fit over the end of the sealing element , such as sealing element 56 from fig2 . as shown , the distal edge 226 of the sheath 220 lacks a reinforcing ring in this embodiment . instead , the slots 224 ( e . g ., slits or burst lines ) are defined on the sheath 220 from the inner ring 210 to the device &# 39 ; s distal edge 226 so that the inner device 200 has a number of free petals 222 . with the inner device 200 disposed inside of the outer device 100 as shown in fig6 a , the inner device &# 39 ; s distal edge 226 is preferably shorter than the extent of the outer device 100 . in this way , the reinforcing band 130 on the outer device 100 can overlap further on the sealing element ( not shown ) when disposed adjacent thereto . as further noted above and as shown in fig6 a , the slots 224 ( slits or burst lines ) in the inner sheath 220 are preferably radially misaligned with the slots 124 ( slits or burst lines ) in the outer sheath 120 , although other arrangements are possible . for instance , the inner and outer devices 100 and 200 may have different numbers of slots 124 and 224 and may be offset from one another in different configurations . the foregoing description of preferred and other embodiments is not intended to limit or restrict the scope or applicability of the inventive concepts conceived of by the applicants . it will be appreciated with the benefit of the present disclosure that features described above in accordance with any embodiment or aspect of the disclosed subject matter can be utilized , either alone or in combination , with any other described feature , in any other embodiment or aspect of the disclosed subject matter . in exchange for disclosing the inventive concepts contained herein , the applicants desire all patent rights afforded by the appended claims . therefore , it is intended that the appended claims include all modifications and alterations to the full extent that they come within the scope of the following claims or the equivalents thereof . | 4 |
in the drawings , the thickness of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity . embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to cross - section illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments of the present invention . as such , variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result , for example , of manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances , are to be expected . as shown in fig1 and 3 , an lcd according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a liquid crystal ( lc ) panel assembly 300 , an image scanning driver 400 , an image data driver 500 , a sensing signal processor 800 , a gray voltage generator 550 coupled to the image data driver 500 , a contact determiner 700 coupled to the sensing signal processor 800 , and a signal controller 600 for controlling the above - referenced elements as described further herein . referring to fig1 to 5 , the lc panel assembly 300 , in an equivalent circuital view , includes a plurality of signal lines g 1 - g n and d 1 - d m , a plurality of pixels px , a plurality of sensor signal lines sy 1 - sy n , sx 1 - sx m , and rl , and a plurality of sensing units su , a plurality of sensor signal output units sout connected to the sensor signal lines sy 1 - sy n and sx 1 - sx m , respectively , and a plurality of output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m . the pixels px are connected to the signal lines g 1 - g n and d 1 - d m and are arranged substantially in a matrix , and the sensing units su are connected to the sensor signal lines sy 1 - sy n , sx 1 - sx m , and rl and are arranged substantially in a matrix . the panel assembly 300 , in a structural view shown in fig2 and 6 , includes a thin film transistor array panel 100 , a common electrode panel 200 , a liquid crystal layer 3 interposed therebetween , and a plurality of spacers ( not shown ). the spacers form a gap between the panels 100 and 200 and are transformed by pressure applied from the outside . the signal lines g 1 - g n and d 1 - d m include a plurality of image scanning lines g 1 - g n for transmitting image scanning signals and a plurality of image data lines d 1 - d m for transmitting image data signals . the sensor signal lines sy 1 - sy n , sx 1 - sx m , and rl include a plurality of horizontal and vertical sensor scanning lines sy 1 - sy n and sx 1 - sx m for transmitting sensor data signals and a plurality of reference voltage lines rl for transmitting reference voltages . the reference voltage lines rl may be omitted if necessary . as shown in fig1 and 3 , the image scanning lines g 1 - g n and the horizontal sensor data lines sy 1 - sy n extend substantially in a row direction and are substantially parallel to each other , while the image data lines d 1 - d m and the vertical sensor data lines sx 1 - sx m extend substantially in a column direction and are substantially parallel to each other . the reference lines rl extend substantially in the row direction or in the column direction . referring to fig2 , each pixel px , for example a pixel px in the i - th row ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n ) and the j - th column ( j = 1 , 2 , . . . , m ), is connected to signal lines g i and d j and includes a switching element q connected to the signal lines g 1 - g n and d 1 - d m , and an lc capacitor c lc and a storage capacitor c st that are connected to the switching element q . however , it will be understood that the storage capacitor c st may be omitted . the switching element q , such as a tft , is provided on the lower panel 100 and has three terminals : a control terminal connected to one of the image scanning lines g 1 - g n ; an input terminal connected to one of the image data lines d 1 - d m ; and an output terminal connected to the lc capacitor c lc and the storage capacitor c st . the tft may be made of amorphous silicon or poly crystalline silicon . the lc capacitor c lc includes a pixel electrode 191 provided on the tft array panel 100 and a common electrode 270 provided on the common electrode panel 200 , as two terminals . the lc layer 3 disposed between the two electrodes 191 and 270 functions as a dielectric of the lc capacitor c lc . the pixel electrode 191 is connected to the switching element q , and the common electrode 270 is supplied with a common voltage vcom and covers an entire surface of the common electrode panel 200 . while shown on the common electrode panel 200 in fig2 for illustrative purposes , it will be understood that the common electrode 270 may be provided on the tft array panel 100 , and both electrodes 191 and 270 may have shapes comprising , e . g ., bars or stripes . the storage capacitor c st is an auxiliary capacitor for the lc capacitor c lc . the storage capacitor c st includes the pixel electrode 191 and a separate signal line ( not shown ), which is provided on the lower panel 100 , overlaps the pixel electrode 191 via an insulator ( not shown ), and is supplied with a predetermined voltage such as the common voltage vcom . in alternative embodiments , the storage capacitor c st includes the pixel electrode 191 and an adjacent image scanning line ( one of g 1 - g n ), called a previous image scanning line , which overlaps the pixel electrode 191 via an insulator . for color display , each pixel px uniquely represents one of various colors ( i . e ., spatial division ) or each pixel px sequentially represents the colors ( e . g ., primary colors ) in turn ( i . e ., temporal division ) such that a spatial or temporal sum of the colors is recognized as a desired color . an example of a set of the colors includes primary colors of red , green , and blue . fig2 shows an example of the spatial division in which each pixel px includes a color filter 230 representing one of the colors in an area of the upper panel 200 facing the pixel electrode 191 . in alternative exemplary embodiments , the color filter 230 is provided on or under the pixel electrode 191 on the tft array panel 100 . one or more polarizers ( not shown ) are attached to at least one of the panels 100 and 200 . referring to fig4 , each of the sensing units su includes a variable capacitor cv connected to a horizontal or vertical sensor data line that is represented as a drawing reference “ sl ”, and a reference capacitor cp connected between the sensor data line sl and a reference voltage line rl . the reference capacitor cp is formed between the reference voltage line rl of the tft array panel 100 and the sensor data line sl via an insulator . the variable capacitor cv includes the sensor data line sl of the tft array panel 100 and the common electrode 270 provided on the common electrode panel 200 as two terminals , and an lc layer 3 interposed therebetween , which functions as an insulator . the capacitance of the variable capacitor cv varies by external stimulus such as the user touching the lc panel assembly 300 . an example of the external stimulus is pressure , and when the pressure is applied to the common electrode panel 200 , the distance between the two terminals of the variable capacitor cv varies under the applied pressure , changing the capacitance of variable capacitor cv . the variation of the capacitance of the variable capacitor cv , varies the voltage vn ( referred to as “ a touch voltage ”) at the point of contact between reference capacitor cp and variable capacitor cv . the touch voltage vn applied to sensor data line sl is a sensor data signal that indicates whether or not contact is made . at this time , since the reference capacitor cp has a predetermined capacitance and the reference voltage applied to the reference capacitor cp is also fixed , the touch voltage vn is varied within a constant range . thereby , the sensor data signal is varied within the constant range , and whether contact is made , and if so a contact position , are easily determined . one sensing unit su is disposed for two adjacent pixels px . the concentration of a pair of the sensing units su disposed adjacent to an intersected area of the corresponding sensor data lines sy 1 - sy n and sx 1 - sx m , may be , for example , about ¼ of the concentration of the “ dots ”, where the term “ dot ” includes a set of different colored pixels px and is the basic unit for representing color and determining the resolution of the lcd . the set of pixels px may includes a red pixel , a green pixel , and a blue pixel sequentially arranged in a row . alternatively , the set of pixels px may include a red pixel , a green pixel , a blue pixel , and a white pixel . as an example of the pair of the sensing units su having about ¼ concentration of the concentration of the dots , concentrations in horizontal and vertical directions of the sensing units su are about half the concentrations of horizontal and vertical directions of the pixels px , respectively . in this case , there may be pixel rows and pixel columns without the sensing units su . an lcd having the concentration of sensing units su and dots as above - described may be required in various application fields for high letter recognition and accuracy . the concentration of sensing units su may be varied if necessary . by disposing the sensing units su according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the space occupied by the sensing units su and the sensor data lines sl may advantageously be lower than the concentration of pixels px , thereby minimizing the decrementation of the optical aperture . the sensor signal output units sout have substantially similar structure and will be described with reference to fig5 . in fig5 , for convenience , one sensor signal line sl ( in fig3 , sy 1 - sy n , sx 1 - sx m ) is connected to one sensing unit su , but in reality , it is connected to a plurality of sensing units su . referring to fig5 , the sensor signal output unit sout includes first and second reset transistors qr 1 and qr 2 and an output transistor qs . transistors qr 1 , qr 2 , and qs , such as thin film transistors , etc ., have three terminals , respectively . that is , the first reset transistor qr 1 has a control terminal connected to reset control signal rst 1 , an input terminal connected to a reset voltage vr 1 , and an output terminal connected to a sensor signal line sl . the second reset transistor qr 2 has a control terminal connected to a reset control signal rst 2 , an input terminal connected to a reset voltage vr 2 , and an output terminal connected to the sensor signal line sl . output transistor qs also has a control terminal connected to the sensor data line sl , an input terminal connected to an input voltage vdd , and an output terminal connected to an output data line ol ( in fig3 , oy 1 - oy n , ox 1 - ox m ). output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m include a plurality of horizontal and vertical output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m connected to horizontal and vertical sensor data lines through the corresponding sensor signal output units sout , respectively . output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - 0 x m are connected to the sensing signal processor 800 , and transmit the output signals from the sensor signal output units sout to the sensing signal processor 800 . the horizontal and vertical output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m extend almost in a longitudinal direction , and are substantially parallel to each other . referring again to fig1 and 3 , gray voltage generator 550 generates two sets of gray voltages ( or reference gray voltages ) related to the transmittance of the pixels . the gray voltages in the first set have a positive polarity with respect to the common voltage vcom , while the gray voltages in the second set have a negative polarity with respect to the common voltage vcom . the image scanning driver 400 in fig1 is connected to the image scanning lines g 1 - g n of the panel assembly 300 , and synthesizes a first high voltage and a first low voltage to generate the image scanning signals for application to the image scanning lines g 1 - g n . image data driver 500 in fig1 is connected to the image data lines d 1 - d m of the panel assembly 300 , and applies image data signals selected from the gray voltages to the image data lines d 1 - d m . however , it will be understood that the image data driver 500 may generate gray voltages for both sets of gray voltages by dividing the reference gray voltages and selecting the data voltages from the generated gray voltages when the gray voltage generator 550 generates reference gray voltages . as shown in fig3 , sensing signal processor 800 is connected to output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m of the lc panel assembly 300 , and is provided with the output signals transmitted through the output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m . after signal processing such as amplifying , etc ., to generate analog sensing signals , the sensing signal processor 800 converts the analog sensing signals into digital sensing signals using an analog - digital converter , etc ., to generate digital sensing signals dsn . contact determiner 700 is provided with the digital sensing signals dsn from the sensing signal processor 800 , processes predetermined operations to determine whether contact is made , and if so , a contact position is output to an external device as contact information . contact determiner 700 senses the operations of sensing units su based on the digital sensing signals dsn and control signals applied to the sensing units . signal controller 600 controls image scanning driver 400 , image data driver 500 , gray voltage generator 550 , and sensing signal processor 800 , etc . referring to fig1 and 3 , each of the aforementioned units 400 , 500 , 550 , 600 , 700 , and 800 may include at least one integrated circuit ( ic ) chip mounted on the lc panel assembly 300 or on a flexible printed circuit ( fpc ) film as a tape carrier package ( tcp ) type , which are attached to the panel assembly 300 . in alternative embodiments , at least one of the units 400 , 500 , 550 , 600 , 700 , and 800 may be integrated with the panel assembly 300 along with the signal lines g 1 - g n , d 1 - d m , sy 1 - sy n , sx 1 - sx m , oy 1 - oy n , ox 1 - ox m , and rl , and the switching elements q . referring to fig6 , the lc array panel assembly 300 is divided into a display area p 1 , a periphery area p 2 , and exposed area p 3 . most of pixels px , the sensing units su , and signal lines g 1 - g n , d 1 - d m , sy 1 - sy n , sx 1 - sx m , and rl are disposed in the display area p . the common electrode panel 200 includes a light blocking member ( not shown ) such as a black matrix , and the light blocking member substantially covers the periphery area p 2 to block light from the outside . in addition , the sensor signal output units sout and the output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m are mainly disposed in the periphery area p 2 . the size of the common electrode panel 200 is less than that of the tft array panel 100 such that portions of the tft array panel 100 are exposed to form the exposed area p 3 . a single chip 610 is mounted onto the exposed area p 3 and a fpc ( flexible printed circuit board ) substrate 620 is attached thereon . the chip 610 includes operating units , that is , the image scanning driver 400 , the image data driver 500 , the gray voltage generator 550 , the signal controller 600 , the contact determiner 700 , and the sensing signal processor 800 . the units 400 , 500 , 550 , 600 , 700 , and 800 may be integrated into the single chip 610 to decrease the occupied size of the units 400 , 500 , 550 , 600 , 700 , and 800 and consumption power . if necessary , at least one of the units 400 , 500 , 550 , 600 , 700 , and 800 or at least one circuit element thereof may be located outside of the single ic chip . the image signal lines g 1 - g n and d 1 - d m and the output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m extend to the exposed area p 3 and are connected to the corresponding units 400 , 500 , and 800 . the fpc substrate 620 receives signals from an external device and transmits the signals to the single chip 610 or lc panel assembly 300 . the fpc substrate 620 mainly has connectors for easily contacting the external device at end portions thereof . operation of the lcd will now be described in accordance with exemplary embodiments . the signal controller 600 is supplied with input image signals r , g , and b and input control signals for controlling the display thereof , from an external graphics controller ( not shown ). the input image signals r , g , and b contain luminance information of each pixel px , and the luminance has a predetermined number of grays , for example 1024 (= 2 10 ), 256 (= 2 8 ), or 64 (= 2 6 ). the input control signals include a vertical synchronization signal vsync , a horizontal synchronization signal hsync , a main clock signal mclk , a data enable signal de , etc . on the basis of the input control signals and the input image signals r , g , and b , the signal controller 600 generates image scanning control signals cont 1 , image data control signals cont 2 , and sensor data control signals cont 3 , and it processes the image signals r , g , and b to be suitable for the operation of the panel assembly 300 . the signal controller 600 sends the image scanning control signals cont 1 to the image scanning driver 400 , the processed image signals dat and the image data control signals cont 2 to the image data driver 500 , and the sensor data control signals cont 3 to the sensing signal processor 800 . the image scanning control signals cont 1 include an image scanning start signal stv for instructing start of an image scanning operation , and at least one clock signal for controlling the output time of the first high voltage . the image scanning control signals cont 1 may include an output enable signal oe for defining the duration of the first high voltage . the image data control signals cont 2 include a horizontal synchronization start signal sth for informing of the start of image data transmission for a group of pixels px , a load signal load for instructing application of the image data signals to the image data lines d 1 - d m , and a data clock signal hclk . the image data control signals cont 2 may further include an inversion signal rvs for reversing the polarity of the image data signals ( e . g ., with respect to the common voltage vcom ). responsive to the image data control signals cont 2 from the signal controller 600 , the image data driver 500 receives a packet of the digital image data dat for the group of pixels px from the signal controller 600 , and receives one of the two sets of the gray voltages supplied from the gray voltage generator 550 . the image data driver 500 converts the processed image signals dat into analog image data voltages selected from the gray voltages supplied from the gray voltage generator 550 , and applies the image data voltages to the image data lines d 1 - d m . the image scanning driver 400 applies a gate - on voltage von to the image scanning lines g 1 - g n in response to receiving the image scanning control signals cont 1 from the signal controller 600 , thereby turning on the switching elements q connected thereto . the image data voltages applied to the image data lines d 1 - d m are supplied to the pixels px through the activated switching elements q . the difference between the voltage of an image data signal and the common voltage vcom is represented as a voltage across the lc capacitor c lc , which is referred to as a pixel voltage . the lc molecules in the lc capacitor c lc have orientations depending on the magnitude of the pixel voltage , and the molecular orientations determine the polarization of light passing through the lc layer 3 . the polarizer ( s ) converts light polarization into light transmittance to display images . by repeating this procedure for each unit of the horizontal period ( also referred to as “ 1 h ”, which is equal to one period of the horizontal synchronization signal hsync and the data enable signal de ), all image scanning lines g 1 - g n are sequentially supplied with the first high voltage , thereby applying the image data signals to all pixels px to display an image for a frame . when the next frame starts after one frame finishes , the inversion control signal rvs applied to the image data driver 500 is controlled such that the polarity of the data voltages is reversed ( which is referred to herein as “ frame inversion ”). the inversion control signal rvs may also be controlled such that the polarity of the image data signals flowing in an image data line is periodically reversed during one frame ( for example , row inversion and dot inversion ), or the polarity of the image data signals in one packet is reversed ( for example , column inversion and dot inversion ). the sensing signal processor 800 reads the sensor data signals through the output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m in a porch period between two adjacent frames in accordance with the sensor data control signals cont 3 every frame . this is to decrease the influence of driving signals on sensor data signals from the imager scanning driver 400 and the image data driver 500 , etc ., such that reliability of the sensor data signals is increased . however , the reading of the sensor data signals by the sensing signal processor 800 is not necessarily performed every frame , and if necessary , it may be performed once for a plurality of frames . furthermore , the reading of the sensor data signals may be performed twice and more in one porch period . when a period of reading the sensor data signals by the sensing signal processor 800 ends , the sensor signal output units sout transmit the sensor data signals form the sensor data lines sy 1 - sy n and sx 1 - sx m to the output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m . operations of the sensor signal output units sout will be described with reference to fig7 . fig7 is a timing chart for the sensing operation of a sensor signal output unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig7 , an lcd reads sensing signals in the porch period between two adjacent frames as described above , and in particular , preferably in the front porch period before the vertical synchronization signal vsync . the common voltage vcom has a high level and a low level , and swings between the high level and the low level in about 1 h . the first and second reset control signals rst 1 and rst 2 have a turn - on voltage ton and a turn - off voltage toff for turning on and turning off the transistors rst 1 and rst 2 , respectively . the turn - on voltage ton may be the gate - on voltage von and the turn - off voltage toff may be the gate - off voltage voff . the turn - on voltage ton of the first reset control signal rst 1 is applied when the common voltage vcom has a high level . sl ( in fig3 , sy 1 - sy n , sx 1 - sx m ), the turn - on voltage ton is applied to the control terminal of the first reset transistor qr 1 to make the first reset transistor qr 1 turn on . thereby , the reset voltage vr 1 applied to the input terminal of the first reset transistor qr 1 is applied to the sensor data line sl to initialize the state of the sensor data line sl by the reset voltage vr 1 . after the above - described initializing of the sensor data line sl , the sensor signal output unit sout outputs a sensor data signal from the corresponding sensor data line sl . then , when the first reset control signal rst 1 has a turn - off voltage in synchronization with finishing of the initializing of the sensor data line sl , the state of the sensor data line sl is floated , and thereby a voltage applied to the control terminal of the output transistor qs is varied based on the capacitance variation of the variable capacitor cv and the variation of the common voltage vcom , responsive to whether or not contact occurs . the current amount of the output transistor qs is varied on the basis of the variation of the voltage , and thereby the sensing signal having a magnitude defined by the current amount is output through the output data line ol ( in fig3 , oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m ). thereby , the sensing signal processor 800 reads the sensing signal applied from the sensor data line sl . the sensor data signal is preferably read within about 1 h after the state of the first reset control signal rst 1 is changed into the turn - off voltage toff . that is , the sensing signal is preferably read before the common voltage vcom has a high level again since the sensing signal is varied by the level variation of the common voltage vcom . since the sensor data signal is varied based on the reset voltage vr 1 , the sensor data signal has a constant voltage range , and thereby whether contact occurs , and if so a contact position , are easily determined . after the sensing signal processor 800 reads the sensing signal , the state of the second reset control signal rst 2 is changed from the turn - off voltage toff to the turn - on voltage ton to turn on the second reset transistor qr 2 . thereby , the second reset voltage vr 2 is applied to the sensor data line sl . at this time , the state of the second reset voltage vr 2 becomes a ground voltage gnd such that the sensor data line sl is reset by the ground voltage gnd . the second reset voltage vr 2 is maintained until the next first reset voltage vr 1 is applied to the sensor data line sl . thereby , since the output transistor qs maintain the turn - off state until the next first reset voltage vr 1 is applied , power consumption of the output transistor qs by unnecessary operations decreases . the turn - on voltage ton of the first reset control signal rts 1 may be applied when the common voltage vcom has a low level , and at this time it is preferable that the sensing signal processor 800 reads the sensing signal before the common voltage vcom has a low level again . also , the first reset control signal rts 1 may be synchronized with an image scanning signal applied to the final image scanning line g . the second reset control signal rts 2 may have a turn - on voltage ton right next to an approximate 1 h or in any subsequent approximate 1 h after the sensing signal is read . then , the sensing signal processor 800 processes , for example amplifies , etc ., the read sensor data signals using an amplifier ( not shown ) and converts them into digital sensing signals dsn to output to the contact determiner 700 . the contact determiner 700 suitably operates the received digital sensing signals dsn and determines whether contact occurs , and if so , determines a contact position to output the contact information to an external device . the external device transmits the image signals r , g , and b to an lcd based on the contact information from the contact determiner 700 . next , for the lcd in which the image displaying and the sensing are performed as described , a visual inspecting ( vi ) method for inspecting states of the sensor signal output units sout will be described . first , referring to fig8 , construction of the lc panel assembly for inspecting the states of the sensor signal output units sout will be described . fig8 is a schematic layout view of an lc panel assembly on which a plurality of inspection switching elements , a plurality of inspection lines , and a plurality of inspection pads for inspecting a sensor signal output unit are formed according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig8 , an lc panel assembly ( not shown ) for inspecting states of the sensor signal output units sout includes a plurality of inspection switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m , a signal line l 1 , an inspection pad ip 3 , an inspection lines l 2 and l 3 . the inspection switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m include the inspection switching elements ty 1 - ty n between the output data lines oy 1 - oy n and the adjacent image scanning lines g 1 - g n and the inspection switching elements tx 1 - tx m between the output data lines ox 1 - ox m and the adjacent image data lines d 1 - d m . that is , each of the switching elements ty 1 - ty n includes an input terminal connected to the corresponding output data line oy 1 - oy n , an output terminal connected to the subsequent image scanning line g 1 - g n adjacent thereto , and a control terminal connected to the inspection line l 2 , and each of the switching elements tx 1 - tx m includes an input terminal connected to the corresponding output data line ox 1 - ox m , an output terminal connected to the subsequent image data line d 1 - d m adjacent thereto , and an control terminal connected to the inspection line l 2 . the signal line l 1 transmits a switching element off voltage vss from the single chip 610 . the inspection pad ip 3 is connected to the signal line l 1 and the inspection line l 2 . the inspection line l 3 is connected to the inspection line l 2 through a contact point c 3 . in addition , under the single chip 610 , inspection lines il 1 and il 2 , inspection pads ip 1 and ip 2 , an output pad vp , and a plurality of input pads px 1 - px m and py 1 - py m are formed . the inspection line il 1 is connected to the odd - numbered image data lines d 1 , d 3 , . . . through contact points c 1 , and the inspection line il 2 is connected to the even - numbered image data lines d 2 , d 4 , . . . through contact points c 2 . the inspection pad ip 1 is connected to the inspection line il 1 and the inspection pad ip 2 is connected to the inspection line il 2 . the output pad vp is connected to the signal line l 1 and outputs the switching element off voltage v ss , and the input pads py 1 - py n and px 1 - px m are connected to the output data lines oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m , respectively . the switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m , the signal line l 1 , the inspection lines l 2 and l 3 , and the inspection pad ip 3 are formed on the periphery area p 2 . next , the vi method will be described . before the inspecting of the sensor signal output units sout , the states of the pixels px , the image scanning lines g 1 - g n , and image data lines d 1 - d m are inspected . since the vi methods to the image scanning lines g 1 - g n and the image data lines d 1 - d m are very similar , the vi method for the image data lines d 1 - d m with reference to fig8 will only be described and the vi method for the image scanning lines g 1 - g n will be omitted . in this case , it is assumed that the states of the image scanning lines g 1 - g n are normal . after manufacturing the lc panel assembly , a gate - on voltage von is applied to all the image scanning lines g 1 - g n using a test apparatus ( not shown ) to turn on the switching elements q of the pixels px . the single chip 610 is not mounted on the lc panel assembly . in this state , when an image data line test signal is applied to the inspection pad ip 1 using a probe of the test apparatus , the test signal is transmitted to image data lines , that is , the odd - numbered image data lines d 1 , d 3 , . . . through the inspection line il 1 and the contact portion c 1 . thereby , the pixels connected to the image scanning lines supplied with the gate - on voltage von represent brightness corresponding to a voltage value of the image data test signal . subsequently , an inspector examines the display status such as for brightness of pixels by eye to check for disconnection of the image data lines and the operation of the lcd , and then stops the application of the test signal . next , when an image data line test signal is applied to the inspection pad ip 2 using the probe of the test apparatus , the test signal is transmitted to image data lines , that is , the even - numbered image data lines d 2 , d 4 , . . . through the inspection line il 2 and the contact portion c 2 . the inspector examines the display status such as for brightness of pixels by eye to check for disconnection of the image scanning lines and image data lines and the operation of the lcd , and then stops the application of the test signal . when the vi methods for all the image lines d 1 - d m are finished , the inspection lines il 1 and il 2 interconnecting the inspection pads ip 1 and ip 2 and the image data lines d 1 - d m , respectively , are cut along a cutting line l 11 using an appropriate apparatus such as a laser trimming device . next , an inspecting method to the sensor signal output units sout will be described . first , operations for inspecting states of the first reset transistors qr 1 and the output transistors qs of the sensor signal output units sout will be described . using a test apparatus , voltages of which each has a high level , for example gate - on voltages von , are applied to the input terminals and the control terminals of the first reset transistors qr 1 and the input terminals of the output transistors qs , and voltages of which each has a low voltage , for example gate - off voltages voff , are applied to the input terminals and the control terminals of the second reset transistors qr 2 . thereby , the first reset transistors qr 1 and the output transistors qs are turned on . next , a test signal is applied to the inspection pad ip 3 using the test apparatus , to turn on the switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m . thereby , the gate - on voltages von through the respective turned - on output transistors qs are applied to the image scanning lines g 1 - g n and the image data lines d 1 - d m through the respective turned - on switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m , respectively as gate - on voltages of the switching elements q and data signals of the image data lines d 1 - d m , to operate the pixels px . at this time , when the first reset transistors qr 1 or the output transistors qs of the sensor signal output units sout connected to the horizontal sensor data lines sy 1 - sy n are abnormal , the gate - on voltages are not applied to the corresponding image scanning lines g 1 - g n such that the corresponding pixels px are not operated . furthermore , when the first reset transistors qr 1 or the output transistors qs of the sensor signal output units sout connected to the vertical sensor data lines sx - sx m are abnormal , the gate - on voltages are not applied to the corresponding image data lines g 1 - g n as data signals such the corresponding pixel columns represent different brightness from normal pixel columns . thereby , the inspector examines the pixel operation status or the display status such as for brightness of pixels by eye to check states the sensor signal output units sout or sensor data lines sy 1 - sy n and sx 1 - sx m , and then stops the application of the test signal . next , operations for inspecting states of the second reset transistors qr 2 of the sensor signal output units sout will be described . using the test apparatus , the voltages applied to the input terminal and the control terminal of the first reset transistors qr 1 are changed into the gate - off voltages voff of a low level , and the gate - on voltages von of a high level are applied to the input terminals of the output transistors qs . the gate - on voltages von are also applied to the input terminals and the control terminals of the second reset transistors qr 2 . thereby , the first reset transistors qr 1 are turned off , and the second reset transistors qr 2 and the output transistors qs are turned on . at this time , it is assumed that the output transistors qs are normal because of the vi performed previously . next , using the test apparatus , a test signal for turning on the inspection switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m is applied to the inspection pad ip 3 . thereby , pixels px operate by signals applied to the respective image scanning lines g 1 - g n and the image data lines d 1 - d m through the turned - on switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m . at this time , when the second reset transistors qr 2 of the sensor signal output units sout connected to the horizontal sensor data lines sy 1 - sy n are abnormal , the output transistors qs are not turned on such that the gate - on voltages are not applied to the corresponding image scanning lines g 1 - g n , and thereby the pixels px of the corresponding pixel rows are not operated . furthermore , when the second reset transistors qr 2 of the sensor signal output units sout connected to the vertical sensor data lines sx - sx m are abnormal , the gate - on voltages are not applied to the corresponding image data lines g 1 - g n , and thereby the corresponding pixel columns represent different brightness from normal pixel columns . thereby , the inspector examines the pixel operation status or the display status such as for brightness of pixels by eye to check states of the output transistors qs of the sensor signal output units sout , and then stops the application of the test signal . when the vi is finished for all the sensor signal output units sout , the single chip 610 is mounted on the lc panel assembly . then , the single chip 610 outputs a switching element off voltage vss through the output pad vp . the switching element off voltage v ss is applied to the inspection lines l 2 and l 3 through the signal line l 1 and the inspection pad ip 3 such that the switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m maintain the turned - off state . thereby , the pixels px are operated by the controlling of the single chip 610 . next , referring to fig9 , a vi method of the sensor signal output units sout according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described . fig9 is a schematic layout view of an lc panel assembly on which a plurality of inspection switching elements , a plurality of inspection lines , and a plurality of inspection pads for inspecting a sensor signal output unit are formed according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . as compared with fig8 , a sensing signal processor 800 in fig9 is not integrated on the single chip 610 ′, but is manufactured as a separate chip to be mounted on the lc panel assembly . thereby , as shown in fig9 , the input pads py 1 - py n and px 1 - px m are formed on the sensing signal processor 800 , of which each is connected to a corresponding output data line oy 1 - oy n and ox 1 - ox m . furthermore , as compared with fig8 , an output pad vp 12 is further formed under the single chip 610 ′, as well as an output pad vp 11 for outputting a switching element off voltage vss to the inspection pad ip 3 . the output pad vp 12 transmits the switching element off voltage vss to an inspection line l 2 . except for the above description , the construction shown in fig9 is substantially the same as that shown in fig8 , and thereby the elements performing the same operations are indicated as the same reference numerals , and a detailed description thereof is omitted . next , a vi method for inspecting states of the sensor signal output units sout will be described . the vi method according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention is very similar to the vi method described with reference to fig8 . as above - described , in a state in which the single chip 610 ′ and the sensing signal processor 800 are not mounted on the lc panel assembly , after inspecting the states of the pixels px , the image scanning lines g 1 - g n , and the image data lines d 1 - d m using a vi method , the inspection lines il 1 and il 2 connected between the inspection pads ip 1 and ip 2 and the image data lines d 1 - d m are cut along the cutting line l 11 using an appropriate apparatus such as a laser trimming device . next , an inspecting method to the sensor signal output units sout will be described . first , operations for inspecting states of the first reset transistors qr 1 and the output transistors qs of the sensor signal output units sout will be described . using a test apparatus , gate - on voltages of a high level are applied to the input terminals and the control terminals of the first reset transistors qr 1 and the input terminals of the output transistors qs such that the first reset transistors qr 1 and the output transistors qs are turned on , and gate - off voltage of a low level are applied to the input terminals and the control terminals of the second reset transistors qr 2 such that the second reset transistors qr 2 are turned off . next , a test signal is applied to the inspection pad ip 3 using the test apparatus , to turn on the switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m . thereby , the gate - on voltages von through the respective turned - on output transistors qs are applied to the image scanning lines g 1 - g n and the image data lines d 1 - d m through the respective turned - on switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m , respectively , to operate the pixels px . that is , when the first reset transistors qr 1 or the output transistors qs of the sensor signal output units sout connected to the horizontal sensor data lines sy 1 - sy n are abnormal , the corresponding pixels px are not operated . furthermore , when the first reset transistors qr 1 or the output transistors qs of the sensor signal output units sout connected to the vertical sensor data lines sx - sx m are abnormal , the corresponding pixel columns represent different brightness from normal pixel columns . thereby , the inspector examines the pixel operation status or the display status such as for brightness of pixels by eye to check states the first reset transistors qr 1 or the output transistors qs , and then stops the application of the test signal that is applied to the sensor signal output units sout and the inspection pad ip 3 . next , operations for inspecting states of the second reset transistors qr 2 of the sensor signal output units sout will be described . using the test apparatus , the gate - off voltages of a low level are applied to the input terminal and the control terminal of the first reset transistors qr 1 , and the gate - on voltages von of a high level are applied to the input terminals of the output transistors qs . the gate - on voltages von are also applied to the input terminals and the control terminals of the second reset transistors qr 2 . thereby , the first reset transistors qr 1 are turned off , and the second reset transistors qr 2 and the output transistors qs are turned on . at this time , it is assumed that the output transistors qs are normal . next , using the test apparatus , a test signal for turning on the inspection switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m is applied to the inspection pad ip 3 . thereby , pixels px operate by signals applied to the respective image scanning lines g 1 - g n and the image data lines d 1 - d m through the turned - on switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m . at this time , when the second reset transistors qr 2 of the sensor signal output units sout connected to the horizontal sensor data lines sy 1 - sy n are abnormal , the pixels px of the corresponding pixel rows are not operated , and when the second reset transistors qr 2 of the sensor signal output units sout connected to the vertical sensor data lines sx - sx m are abnormal , the corresponding pixel columns represent different brightness from normal pixel columns . thereby , the inspector examines the pixel operation status or the display status such as for brightness of pixels by eye to check states of the output transistors qs of the sensor signal output units sout , and then stops the application of the test signal . when the vi is finished for all the sensor signal output units sout , the single chip 610 ′ and the sensing signal processor 800 are mounted on the lc panel assembly . then , the single chip 610 ′ and the sensing signal processor 800 output a switching element off voltage vss through the output pads vp 11 and vp 12 , respectively . the switching element off voltage v ss is applied to the inspection lines l 2 and l 3 through the signal line l 1 and the inspection pad ip 3 such that the switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m maintain the turned - off state . thereby , the pixels px are normally operated by the controlling of the single chip 610 ′ and the sensing signal processor 800 , etc . next , referring to fig1 , when the concentrations of the pixels and the sensing units are different , a connection between the inspection switching elements and the image scanning and image data lines will be described . fig1 is an equivalent circuit diagram illustrating a connection between the inspection switching elements and the image scanning and image data lines when the concentrations of the pixels and the sensing units are different , in testing the sensor signal output units according to embodiments of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , the concentration of the sensing units su is less than that of the pixels px such that sensor data lines sx 1 , sx 2 , . . . , sy 1 , sy 2 , . . . are disposed for each predetermined of number pixel rows and columns , for example every two successive pixel rows ( hereinafter referred to as “ a pixel row group ”) and two successive pixel columns ( hereinafter referred to as “ a pixel column group ”). in this case , the inspection switching elements tx 1 - tx m have the output terminals connected to the respective image data lines d 1 - d m and the control terminals connected to the inspection line l 3 , and the inspection switching elements ty 1 - ty n have the output terminals connected to the respective image data lines g 1 - g n and the control terminals connected to the inspection line l 2 . that is , the switching elements ty 1 - ty n and tx 1 - tx m are respectively connected to one image scanning line g 1 - g n and one image data lines d 1 - d m . however , the switching elements tx 1 - tx m and ty 1 - ty n included in the same pixel row groups and the same pixel column groups are respectively connected to the same output data lines ox 1 - ox m and oy 1 - oy n , through the output terminals . for example , as shown in fig1 , the switching elements tx 1 and tx 2 connected to the first and second image data lines d 1 and d 2 are connected to the output data line ox 1 , and the switching elements tx 3 and tx 4 connected to the third and fourth image data lines d 3 and d 4 are connected to the output data line ox 2 . in addition , the switching elements ty 1 and ty 2 connected to the first and second image scanning lines g 1 and g 2 are connected to the output data line oy 1 , and the switching elements ty 3 and ty 4 connected to the third and fourth image scanning lines g 3 and g 4 are connected to the output data line oy 2 . in fig1 , the sensor data lines sx 1 - sx m are located on the left side of the pixel column groups , but they may be located on the right side , and the sensor data lines sy 1 - sy n ) are located on the upper side of the pixel row groups , but they may be located on the lower side of the pixel row groups . alternatively , the sensor data lines sx 1 - sx m and sy 1 - sy n may be located with shapes different from those shown in fig1 . thereby , in performing the vi of the sensor signal output units sout , a signal from one sensor signal output unit sout is applied to a plurality of image scanning signals or image data lines included in the same pixel row group and the same pixel column group through the respective inspection switching elements to make the pixels operate for vi . when one sensor signal output unit sout is abnormal , the pixels included in the corresponding pixel row group or the corresponding pixel column group do not normally operate such that an inspector determines that the sensor signal output unit sout connected to the pixel row group or the pixel column group is in an abnormal state . in fig1 , one sensor line is disposed every two pixel rows and pixel columns , but may be disposed every three or more pixel rows and columns . in the embodiments , as one example of the sensing unit , the sensor unit is formed by a variable capacitor and a reference capacitor , but may be formed with different types thereof . furthermore , an lcd is described in the embodiments of the present invention as one example of a display device , but the present invention may be apply to flat display devices such as a plasma display device or an organic light emitting diode ( oled ) display , etc . accordingly to the present invention , by forming the inspection switching elements , the sensor signal output units outputting the sensor data signals are visual inspected before costly driving ics are mounted . thereby , waste of the costly driving ics due to the abnormal sensor signal output units decreases such that a manufacturing cost is saved and a defect rate of the display devices is reduced . while the present teachings of invention have been provided with reference to exemplary embodiments , it is to be understood that various modifications and equivalent arrangements will be apparent to those skilled in the pertinent art after having read the present disclosure and that such various modifications may be made without , however , departing from the spirit and scope of the teachings . | 8 |
referring more specifically to the drawings , for illustrative purposes aspects of the present invention is depicted in the exemplary embodiments generally shown in fig1 - 10 . it will be appreciated that the illustrated embodiments may vary as to their details , for example , representative icons ( a square may be a circle ), configuration ( the exact screen layout may be adjusted ), etc ., without departing from the basic concepts disclosed herein . the following description , therefore , should not to be taken in a limiting sense . fig1 illustrates a graphical representation of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . as shown , the graphical view includes several underlying support mechanisms including : colorized grid of nodes ( fig1 - 1 . 0 ) being monitored , grouped for ease of association ( in this example , the white lines in the grid divide the nodes by location ) colored by evaluation of change status . note : the concept of node is not limited to a physical object and can be extended to a logical concept like a business process , object or application a map of nodes ; baselines ( fig1 - 2 . 0 ): a selection of sets of predefined node attribute values with which to evaluate node conformity ; groups ( fig1 - 3 . 0 ): user defined node groupings for change and behavior pattern isolation ; pie charts ( fig1 - 4 . 0 , 4 . 1 ): for providing quantitative percentage of change within the selected set of nodes for referential comparison ; time frame ( fig1 - 5 . 0 , 5 . 1 , 5 . 2 ): utilities from which to alter the time frame evaluated and presented ; auto focus ( fig1 - 6 . 0 ): a utility which evaluates the groups to present those with the greatest deviation from expected values ; custom color ( fig1 - 7 . 0 ): a utility to select the colors in which the graduated values for change appear ; rotate ( fig1 - 8 . 0 ): providing view control ; create report t ( fig1 - 9 . 0 ): a report generator . fig2 illustrates the group selection progression of functionality listed in the description of fig1 . it presents the group pattern identification process which consists of the primary graphical view and supporting mechanisms : selection of groups ( fig2 - 1 . 0 ), select the group to be distinguished from the enterprise node view ; identification of nodes within group selection ( fig2 - 2 . 0 ), nodes which belong to the selected node group are highlighted to be distinguished from the full population of nodes ; group selection pie chart ( fig2 - 3 . 6 ) provides visualization of the quantitative percentage of change within the selected set of nodes ; node view pie chart ( fig2 - 4 . 0 ) provides visualization of the quantitative percentage of change in full population to provide a basis with which to compare the group to the whole . this ability provides a means by which to isolate the groups with the highest rate of change . the auto focus button ( fig2 - 5 . 0 ) when clicked , will automatically select and present the group with the most significant rate of change . fig3 progresses beyond group selection and into analysis of the group selection through baseline comparison . 1 it is not necessary to select a group in order to select a baseline . one could look at a baseline for patterns of change or behavior across the enterprise node view ; however , patterns are more easily tracked when using both the baseline and a group . fig3 and 4 combined illustrate the use of baseline compare to quickly analyze and isolate the set of attributes which are out of range within a group . selection of groups ( fig3 - 1 . 0 ), select the group to be distinguished from the enterprise node view ; selection of baseline ( fig3 - 2 . 0 ), select the baseline through which to filter the node group ( this example provides a visualization of nodes in web - grp 1 and how they align with the pre - established attribute - value pairs in the web - patches baseline ). node view ( fig3 - 3 . 0 ) presents the group nodes with the status relative to the baseline ; node view pie chart ( fig3 - 4 . 0 ) continually provides visualization of the quantitative percentage of change in full population . group selection pie chart ( fig3 - 5 . 0 ) provides visualization of the quantitative percentage of change within the baseline for the selected set of nodes ( in this example , 100 % of web - grp 1 exactly match the web - patches baseline . this would quickly allow a system administrator to dismiss web - patches as a problem area and allow him or her to look for other areas in which to find root cause of change . 2 multiple groups may be selected . fig4 illustrates the means with which to progress through the baselines to identify the properties , or patterns , of the most intense change in the infrastructure . the group selected remains as it was in fig3 , i . e ., web - grp 1 . since , as described in fig3 , the user learned that the baseline web - patches had no changes , they move to another baseline in an effort to identify a pattern of the change . selection of baseline ( fig4 - 1 . 0 ), select the baseline through which to filter the node group ( this example provides a visualization of nodes in web - grp 1 as filtered through the attribute - value associations of nt - perf ). node view ( fig4 - 2 . 0 ) presents the group nodes with the status relative to the baseline ; node view pie chart ( fig4 - 3 . 0 ) continually provides visualization of the quantitative percentage of change in full population group selection pie chart ( fig4 - 4 . 0 ) provides visualization of the quantitative percentage of change within the baseline for the selected set of nodes . comparing the node view pie chart to the group view pie chart indicates quickly that the percentage of change is greater in the nt perf baseline than the greater population and indicates an area for further investigation . 3 multiple baselines may be selected . fig5 depicts the drill down from fig4 , focusing specifically on the node group and baseline selected at the point the user drills down . node group view ( fig5 - 1 . 0 ), presents the selected group nodes , delineated by location , with the status relative to the baseline . the drill - down view reduces the number of nodes in the map , while leaving the remainder of the screen and its corresponding functionality intact . fig6 illustrates alternate 3d views of drill down . 3d - z axis ( fig6 - 1 . 0 ) is the power axis and can be configured by the user to represent any key aspect of the nodes being monitored ( e . g . cpu power ( 3 of cpus * cpu speed ), # of users , revenue ,) the color assigned to a node is determined using a weighted moving average . increasing the time of the sampled data for each attribute creates an average . the greater the percentage of change against that average , the greater the deviation and the greater the color shift ( e . g . green to red ). the delta time is used to compute a moving average for each sample . time is actually the number of samples back in time , e . g ., if the daily sample is selected ( as shown in fig6 ), a delta time of 5 equates to the average of the last five days . the maximum and minimum of the averages are used to compute the entire range of possibility . for example , if a cpu attribute is selected and it is currently 25 %, and the last five days it was : 90 %, 10 %, 50 % 50 % and 50 %, the min is 10 %, the max is 90 % and the moving average is ( 90 + 10 + 30 + 35 + 50 )/ 5 = 43 %. since 25 is less then 43 % it will be on the green scale where 10 is bright green and 43 is the midway point to red . to compute the exact color of green on the scale , 43 − 10 is 33 and 25 − 10 = 15 , so 15 / 33 is the percentage of green on the scale . fig7 depicts a graphical illustration of this point . fig8 identifies the radio button selections for time comparison ( fig7 - 1 . 0 ) daily , weekly and monthly . the timeframe can be customized by using the custom timeframe button ( fig7 - 2 . 0 ), this customization will allow complex time selections like each monday between 2 pm and 5 pm . sliding sample mean time ( fig7 - 3 . 0 ) is used to allow the end user to change the default moving average in the computation of changes for metrics types of attributes . as shown in fig9 , a user can change the colors in their view according to the user preferences . finally , fig1 illustrates an exemplary network / compute infrastructure having managers ( fig1 - 1 . 0 , 2 . 0 , 2 . 1 , 2 . 2 ), managers with gateways ( fig1 - 3 . 0 ), gateways ( fig1 - 4 . 0 ), managed nodes with agents ( fig1 - 5 . 1 , 5 . 2 , 5 . 3 etc ), managed nodes that are agentless ( fig1 - 6 . 0 , 6 . 1 , 6 . 2 etc ), software including application software , that can be managed like a node ( fig1 - 7 . 0 , 7 . 1 etc . ), and special devices that can be managed ( fig1 - 8 . 0 , 8 . 1 , etc ). having now described embodiments of the present invention , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is illustrative only and not limiting , having been presented by way of example only . all the features disclosed in this specification ( including any accompanying claims , abstract , and drawings ) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same purpose , and equivalents or similar purpose , unless expressly stated otherwise . therefore , numerous other embodiments of the modifications thereof are contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereto . the techniques may be implemented in hardware or software , or a combination of the two . specifically , the techniques may be implemented in computer programs executing on programmable computers that each include a processor , a storage medium readable by the processor ( including volatile and non - volatile memory and / or storage elements ), at least one input device and one or more output devices . program code is applied to data entered using the input device to perform the functions described and to generate output information . the output information is applied to one or more output devices . each program is preferably implemented in a high level procedural or object oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system , however , the programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language , if desired . in any case , the language may be a compiled or interpreted language . each such computer program is preferably stored on a storage medium or device ( e . g ., cd - rom , hard disk or magnetic diskette ) that is readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer for configuring and operating the computer when the storage medium or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described in this document . the invention may also be considered to be implemented as a computer - readable storage medium , configured with a computer program , where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner . | 7 |
fig1 illustrates the general principle of the present invention wherein the first electromagnetic field is generated by superposition of electromagnetic fields emitted from a first set of waveguides 1 , 2 , . . . , m . the system 1 comprising the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter converts the first electromagnetic field into the desired second electromagnetic field that is the superposition of desired propagating modes of a second set of waveguides 1 , 2 , . . . , n . the system operates to perform both mode conversion and switching . fig2 shows a 4 f optical system 1 for conversion of a first electromagnetic field 6 , namely a light beam emitted by a laser 2 and collimated by the collimator 3 , into a desired second electromagnetic field 8 for propagation through the microstructured waveguide 10 . a complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 , such as a spatial light modulator ( slm ), is positioned for reception of the first electromagnetic field 6 that is transmitted through tile complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 and a fourier transforming lens 5 having a focal length f 1 . the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 is positioned in the front focal plane of the lens 5 . another fourier transforming lens 7 with a focal length f 2 is positioned so that its front focal plane coincides with the back focal plane of lens 5 as is well known in 4 f optical systems . the magnification of the system is f 2 / f 1 . the converted electromagnetic field 8 is generated in the back focal plane 9 of the lens 7 and input to the microstructured waveguide 10 . it is seen that the surface of the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 is imaged onto the end surface of the waveguide 10 by the fourier transforming lenses 5 , 7 , e . g . ( x , y ) is imaged onto ( x ′, y ′) at the end of the waveguide 10 . as previously described , each resolution element ( x , y ) of a spatial light modulator modulates the phase and the amplitude of electromagnetic radiation incident upon it with a predetermined complex value a ( x , y ) e | φ ( x , y ) . further the spatial light modulator may modulate the polarization of the incoming electromagnetic field by selectively modulating vector components of the field individually by each resolution element ( x , y ). thus , the values of a ( x , y ) and φ ( x , y ) for each vector component are determined from the amplitude and phase values at corresponding positions ( x ′, y ′) at the waveguide end of the desired waveguide mode whereby the collimated electromagnetic field 6 is converted into the desired electromagnetic field 8 that matches a desired mode of the microstructured waveguide 10 . the system 1 may be simplified by positioning of the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 in the fourier plane of lens 5 , i . e . the front focal plane of lens 7 , and removal of lens 5 . this requires that the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 converts the incoming electromagnetic field 6 into the fourier transformed field of the desired mode of the waveguide 10 since the lens 7 generates a fourier transformation of the field at the output surface of the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 . in this case the resolution , i . e . number of resolution elements , of the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 must be much higher than for the 4 f system of fig1 . the lenses 5 , 7 may be compound lenses , doublets , achromats , f - theta lenses . microscope lenses , microscope objectives , graded - index lenses , aspherical lenses and / or non - circularly symmetrical lenses , etc . further , the lenses 5 , 7 may be ball lenses offering a system of a small size . the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 may be a spatial light modulator ( slm ), such as a phase - only spatial light modulator ( poslm ) wherein the amplitude of the field is not modulated , a complex spatial light modulator modulating amplitude and phase , or a polarization modulator also modifying the field vector components of the electromagnetic field . the microstructured waveguide may be an index - guided crystal fiber , photonic band gap crystal fiber , coaxial omniguide , polymer optical fiber , polymer crystal fiber , hole assisted light guide fiber , hollow optical fiber , waveguides in integrated optical circuits , such as photonic crystal based planar waveguides , a slab waveguide structure , etc , a surface plasmon polariton based waveguide , resonators , coupled cavity waveguides , coupling resonator optical waveguides , photonic wire waveguides ( i . e . very tightly confined waveguides ), couplers , powersplitters , combiners , e . g . 3 db couplers , etc , a microstructured waveguide may transmit an electromagnetic field passively or may form part of an active component , e . g . a rare earth doped fiber amplifier , such as an er doped fiber amplifier , an yb doped fiber amplifier , etc , raman amplifier , brillouin amplifier , etc . it is obvious that other systems according to the present invention may be designed with optical components in fresnel planes . fig3 shows a 4 f optical system similar to the system shown in fig2 , however in fig3 the electromagnetic field 6 to be converted is emitted by a microstructured waveguide 10 . the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 is adapted to convert the mode of the microstructured waveguide 10 into the mode of the single mode step index fiber 12 , of course the single mode step index fiber 12 may be substituted with any of the fibers mentioned above . fig4 combines the system illustrated in fig3 with the system illustrated in fig1 whereby system requirements of each of the complex spatial electromagnetic field converters may be lowered compared to the previously illustrated systems . for example , poslms may be used for provision of both amplitude and phase modulation . fig5 schematically shows the microstructure of an exemplary photonic band gap crystal fiber , and fig6 schematically shows the cross - sectional phase distribution of a propagating mode of the photonic band gap crystal fiber , it is seen that in this case the phase changes sign six times as a function of the angular position in a cross - section of the fiber . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 is dynamically adjustable . for example , the resolution elements ( x , y ) of a spatial light modulator may be addressed so that the modulating values of a ( x , y ) and φ ( x , y ) can be adjusted . in this way the modulation pattern a ( x , y ) e | φ ( x , y ) of the spatial light modulator may be rotated until its phase pattern coincides with the phase pattern of the mode of the waveguide 10 either in the case wherein the first electromagnetic field 6 is emitted by the waveguide 10 or wherein the converted second field is coupled into the waveguide 10 . also the modulation pattern may be adjusted to selectively match different desired modes of the waveguide 10 , or a desired mode may selectively be turned on or off with a powerful suppression of possible other modes if desired . it should be noted that the illustrated propagating mode of fig4 is an example . fibers may be provided with propagating modes with an arbitrary number of phase changes radially and tangentially across a cross - section of the fiber . fig7 and 8 illustrate utilization of an analog hologram as a complex spatial electromagnetic field converter . in fig7 , light 14 of a desired mode of a microstructured waveguide 10 is emitted from the end of the waveguide 10 and is collimated by the lens 20 and impinges on the surface of the hologram 22 for interference with a collimated reference beam 24 . the reference beam may be emitted by a semiconductor laser , by another microstructured waveguide , a conventional optical fiber , etc . in fig8 , the desired mode is excited in the waveguide 10 by emitting a conjugated reference beam 26 towards the hologram 22 whereby the collimated electromagnetic field 16 of the desired mode is regenerated for coupling into the waveguide 10 . obviously , the fringe pattern of the hologram 22 may be computer generated thus , eliminating the need for the optical recording set - up illustrated in fig7 . fig9 and 10 illustrate utilization of a volume hologram 22 as a complex spatial electromagnetic field converter . in fig9 , light 14 of a desired mode of a microstructured waveguide 10 is emitted from the end of the waveguide 10 and is collimated by the lens 20 and impinges on the hologram 22 for interference with a collimated reference beam 241 . different desired modes of the waveguide 10 may be recorded on the volume hologram 22 with different respective reference beams 24 1 , 24 2 , . . . , 24 n . again , the reference beam may be emitted by a semiconductor laser , by another microstructured waveguide , a conventional optical fiber , etc . in fig1 , one of the desired modes is selectively excited in the waveguide 10 by emitting the corresponding conjugated reference beam 26 i towards the hologram 22 whereby the collimated electromagnetic field 16 of the desired mode is regenerated for coupling into the waveguide 10 . in a diffractive optical element , electromagnetic field converting fringe patterns may be combined with other functional fringe patterns , such as beam splitting fringe patterns . thus , the incoming field 6 may be generated by several waveguides , and likewise the converted electromagnetic field may be directed towards a plurality of waveguides and , in combination with such a diffractive optical element , waveguide couplers , switches , etc . may be provided . a dynamic optical element that is recorded in a dynamically rewriteable medium may provide dynamic switching between waveguides . fig1 shows another 4 f optical system wherein the electromagnetic field 6 to be converted is emitted by a microstructured waveguide 10 , and the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 is positioned in the fourier plane of the first fourier transforming lens 5 which coincides with the front focal plane of second lens 7 . the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 multiples the collimated electromagnetic field with a filter function a ( x , y ) e | φ ( x , y ) that has been predetermined so that the fourier transformed of the fourier transformed incoming field 6 times the filter function matches the desired mode of the coaxial omniguide 30 . in fig1 , the coaxial omniguide may be replaced by a detector , and the filter function of the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 may be a correlator function providing a peak output when the incoming collimated field 6 matches the correlator function . this may be utilized in waveguide sensing systems wherein the propagating mode of the waveguide 10 is changed in response to a specific influence . the change may be detected utilizing an appropriate correlator function , e . g . in relation to detection of strain , rotation , tilt , off - set , temperature , etc . in hollow core waveguides , such as air core photonic crystal fibers , hole assisted light guide fibers , single hole core doped fibers , etc , this may be utilized for detection of presence of specific substances , pressure detection , etc . in fig1 , the electromagnetic field 6 to be converted is emitted by a microstructured waveguide 10 . the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 is arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the waveguide 10 . the electromagnetic field 6 emitted by the waveguide broadens into an expanded region as it emerges from the waveguide . when the field 6 passes through the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 4 the amplitude and / or phase is changed . a focusing lens 7 focuses the field into the coaxial omniguide 30 . fig1 shows a system according to the present invention comprising a plurality of the complex spatial electromagnetic field converters 4 , 4 ′. the electromagnetic field emitted by a microstructured waveguide 10 is collimated by lens 5 and then it passes through two complex spatial electromagnetic field converters 4 , 4 ′ and is finally focused by lens 7 into the coaxial omniguide 30 . fig1 schematically shows a system according to the present invention integrated into a waveguide module . the integration is provided utilizing grin lenses 34 and a micro - hologram 35 . all of the previously suggested systems may be integrated in one waveguide coupling module , such as a flip - flop module for a wafer with integrated waveguide ( s ), or , a fiber coupling module that may be fused to e . g . optical fibers , etc . fig1 illustrates a complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 38 that is integrated with the end facet 36 of the microstructured waveguide 10 or alternatively , with the end facet of the single mode fiber 32 . in the figure , the converter 38 is shown separated from the end facet 36 for clarity only . in an operating system , the converter 38 is positioned at the end facet 36 , and the microstructured fiber 10 and the single mode fiber 32 are fused together , e . g . by gluing . the phase variations 37 of the mode propagating through the microstructured fiber 10 is illustrated at the end facet 36 in the same way as in fig6 . the complex spatial electromagnetic field converter 38 is adapted to convert the mode of the microstructured waveguide 10 into the mode of the single mode step index fiber 32 . thus , light may travel from the single mode fiber 32 towards the microstructured waveguide 10 , or , light may travel from the microstructured waveguide 10 towards the single mode fiber 32 . in the illustrated example , the phase shift of the converter 38 is equal to π , i . e . the difference in travelling distance of an electromagnetic field propagating through an area marked with π and an electromagnetic field propagating through a surrounding area is half a wavelength . however , a specific substance , e . g . the substance of the microstructured fiber 10 may be deposited onto the and facet 36 of the fiber 10 , or , the fiber 32 , with a height profile that provides the phase shifts needed for the desired electromagnetic field conversion . in the illustrated example , a stepped height profile is indicated but it is obvious that a height profile of any desired shape may be provided . since the height is small , i . e . on the order of half a wavelength , the height profile does not mechanically influence the fusing of the two fibers 10 , 32 . alternatively , a fiber may be cleaved to provide the desired height profile at the end facet of the fiber . the desired conversion may also be provided by provision of a material with a desired refractive index profile at the end facet of the fiber in question without changing the surface of the end facet , i . e . without a height or a depth profile , for example by doping of the material at the end facet . the desired phase shifting may also be provided by removal , e . g . etching , of material from the end facet 37 of the microstructured fiber 10 , or , from the end facet of the fiber 32 , with a depth profile providing the desired phase shift . further , the added or removed material may have a desired refractive index profile and may be birefringent so that , in combination with a desired height or depth profile , any desired phase , amplitude , and polarization conversion may be provided . | 6 |
the invention is a tar sand recovery and separation technique wherein mined tar sand is separated into its component parts , that is , sand , clay , water and petroleum . the invention may be better understood by reference to the attached fig1 upon which is schematically depicted a typical embodiment of the invention . this embodiment is not intended to limit the invention in any way and is only given for illustration . mined tar sand is carried by conveyor 1 and deposited in a tank 2 which contains toluene at about - 10 ° f . the mined tar sand and cold toluene are thoroughly mixed and sand is removed at 3 and ice at 11 by gravity separation and settling . the tar and toluene are then transported to a filter 4 to remove additional sand and crystalline ice . the upgraded tar and toluene mixture is then moved to another chiller 5 wherein the temperature is once again lowered to about 0 ° f . after this chilling operation , the tar and toluene mixture is moved to a centrifuge 6 wherein any additional sand and ice crystals are removed . the now sand - and ice - free tar and toluene mixture is routed through a heat exchanger to raise its temperature from about 5 ° to about 130 ° f wherein this hot tar and toluene mixture is introduced into a distillation tower 8 and the toluene and petroleum are separated . the petroleum from the tar sand is removed at 9 and the toluene is the overhead at about 250 ° f . this toluene is routed through heat exchanger 7 to raise the temperature of the incoming tar and toluene mixture to the distillation tower . after emerging from the heat exchanger at about 50 ° f , the recovered toluene is introduced into a chiller 10 wherein the temperature of the toluene is lowered to - 10 ° f . this toluene is then routed back into the first phase separator 2 to be mixed with more incoming tar sand . the solvent used in the method of the invention may be any material capable of dissolving bitumen contained in tar sands . aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons capable of dissolving bitumen are suitable for the process of my invention . mixtures of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons may also be used as well as hydrocarbons containing both aromatic and aliphatic characteristics . suitable aromatic hydrocarbons include mononuclear and polynuclear species . aliphatic hydrocarbons , preferably linear or branched paraffinic hydrocarbons having from 4 to 10 carbon atoms , are suitable materials for use in practicing the process of the invention . for example , butane , pentane , hexane , heptane , octane , etc . and mixtures thereof as well as commercial blends such as natural gasoline will function as a satisfactory liquid solvent for many bitumens . of course , any solvent used in the process of the invention must have a freezing point well below that of any water contained in the tar sand . also , it has been noted that many aliphatic hydrocarbons will not totally dissolve some bitumens . thus in selecting an aliphatic hydrocarbon , it may be well to thoroughly test samples of the bitumen to be recovered in the laboratory with a series of solvents to choose the one most likely to dissolve the greatest amount of bitumen . most mononuclear aromatic hydrocarbons , however , will dissolve bitumen totally and therefore , they are excellent candidates for solvents in the process of the invention . however , many of these mononuclear aromatic hydrocarbons have a freezing point above that of water . these are unacceptable for the process of the invention . solvents which have a very low freezing point are particularly preferred . this class includes but is not necessarily limited to toluene , meta - xylene and orthoxylene . a mixture of an aliphatic hydrocarbon such as pentane and an aromatic hydrocarbon such as toluene comprise an excellent solvent for use in our process . mixed aromatic solvents are frequently available from processing streams of refineries and may contain a mixture of mononuclear aromatic aromatic hydrocarbons and a substantial amount of aliphatic hydrocarbons as well as many other types of hydrocarbons . such materials may be economic solvents and frequently the materials are very satisfactory . their ability to perform in the process of the invention may best be determined by simple tests utilizing the solvent under consideration and a sample of the bitumen from the formation at the low temperature at which the separation is to be performed . a freezing point test should also be undertaken to see if the solvents freeze at a point above that which will be used in the process . chlorinated methane including carbon tetrachloride or carbon disulfide are also suitable solvents for use in this process . the particular temperature to be used in the process during the extraction stages is not critical as long as it is below the freezing point of the water in the tar sands and therefore able to form ice crystals so that the water can be removed as solid ice . of course , the temperature of the tar sand and solvent mixture must be at least as low as the freezing point of water , that is 32 ° f ( 0 ° c ) but it is also conceivable that the temperature must be below this point since the water contained in the tar sands may be contaminated by dissolved minerals or salts and have a freezing point below 32 ° f . therefore , before undertaking the process of the invention , the water naturally occurring in the tar sand should be tested for its freezing point , and the operating temperature of the process then determined . these are steps well within the skill of the practitioner in the art and need not be explained in detail here . the method of the invention may be performed in a variety of sequences all leading to the same result ; that is , the water in the tar sands is converted to ice crystals , and these are then removed from the tar sand - solvent mixture . in one embodiment of the invention , the solvent is added to the tar sand at above the freezing point of the water in the tar sand and then the entire mixture is cooled to a temperature below the freezing point of the water in the tar sand . the sand and ice thus formed may then be easily removed by filtering and centrifuging . in another embodiment of the invention , the solvent is added to the tar sand at a temperature below the freezing point of the water in the tar sand and ice crystals are formed immediately upon mixing . the sand and ice is then separated mechanically by filtering and centrifuging . in yet another embodiment of the invention , the solvent is added to the tar sand at a temperature above the freezing point of the water in the tar sand and the sand is then separated from the mixture . at this point , the temperature of the remaining materials , principally butane , solvent and water , is lowered to a temperature below the freezing point of the water in the tar sand and the ice crystals thus formed are separated . this is a particularly attractive embodiment in that the energy otherwise required to reduce the temperature of sand present in the tar sand to below the freezing point of water is saved . many other variations could be thought of by those skilled in the art armed with the teachings herein without departing from the scope of the invention . a series of multi - stage extractions ( by leaching ) were performed at - 2 ° f . a sample ( 214 grams ) of athabasca tar sand was treated with toluene by stages at - 2 ° f . the sample containing 13 . 23 weight percent tar and had &# 34 ; dried &# 34 ; out since it contained only 3 percent water and about a 20 percent gas saturation . fig2 shows a recovery of 91 %, an efficiency of 7 . 3 barrels of toluene for barrel of bitumen recovered and a tar concentration in the toluene extract decrease from 35 to 8 % from the first to sixth stage . initially , two units of toluene were required to obtain a supernatant liquid . the final points were obtained by permitting the system to warm to room temperature , washing with water and recovering additional supernatant extract . the efficiency can be increased by washing with water earlier such as after treating with 2 to 4 units of toluene . note that the maximum efficiency , without washing with water , occured at 3 . 7 parts of toluene per part of original in - place tar . | 2 |
reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings , wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout . the embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures . before explaining embodiments of the invention in detail , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of design and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings . the invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways . also , it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting . by way of introduction , embodiments of the present invention are directed to securing against theft a shipping container and its contents . embodiments of the present invention may alternatively or in addition be useful for logistics management of shipping containers and / or their contents . according to a feature of the present invention a circuit board and power supply for the circuit board is provided in a housing which looks like vent cover 16 mounted on the side of a shipping container . in embodiments of the present invention the circuit board and the power supply preferably are mounted in a housing as part of injection molding or other manufacturing process used to form the housing or the circuit board and / or power supply is mounted in the housing after manufacture of the housing . vent holes on the exterior wall of the container may be used to allow sensing of the container interior . the vent holes may be situated at a standard place in the wall of the container or at a non - standard place on the container . the “ vent holes ” may be drilled , bored or punched or otherwise formed when the vent cover according to embodiments of the present invention is installed on the shipping container . referring now to the drawings , reference is now made to fig3 a which shows an isometric view 30 of a housing 16 a used to secure a shipping container 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention . housing 16 a like vent cover 16 is attached to a container 10 via fasteners 22 and typically also performs the function of allowing air to flow between the interior and exterior through ventilation slots 26 . to an observer , housing 16 a attached to container 10 looks no different than housing 16 attached to container 10 . circuit board 34 , battery holder 32 and / or one or more antennas 36 are mounted inside or on surface of housing 16 a in such a way that housing 16 a is visually indistinguishable from vent cover 16 when mounted on shipping container 10 . battery holder 32 typically may hold for instance one or more standard aa or aaa size replaceable batteries or rechargeable batteries such as nickel cadmium ( nicad ) types . the batteries , when mounted in battery holder 32 , supply direct current power to circuit board 34 during operation . reference is now made to fig3 b which shows a cross - sectional detail of housing 16 a according to an embodiment of the present invention . housing 16 a is shown attached to flat surface of wall 12 between corrugated sections of wall 12 and mounted on the outside of a shipping container 10 . a transducer 304 , e . g . electromagnetic transducer , is located on the inside of container 10 and is attached to circuit board 34 with cable 306 . cable 306 connects board 34 to transducer 304 through ventilation hole 24 . multiple ventilation holes 24 may allow for multiple sensors , transducers or antennas to be located inside container 10 which may be connected to circuit board 34 . multiple sensors , transducers or antennas located inside container 10 typically may allow for sensing of temperature , humidity , pressure , air quality , motion , along with the removal and placement of objects inside container 10 . antenna 36 is connected to circuit board 34 and may be disposed on the inside of housing 16 a ( along with board 34 and battery holder 32 ) if housing 16 a is made from an electrically non - conductive material . if housing 16 a is made from electrically conductive material such as metal , antenna 36 may be mounted outside the exterior surface of housing 16 a . antenna 36 is typically located and orientated to allow for either vertical and / or horizontal polarization . antenna 36 is shown externally on a vertical face of housing 36 by way of example only . one or more antennas 36 may be placed on other external faces of housing 16 , disposed internally within housing 36 and / or as part of circuit board 34 . circuit board 34 , battery holder 32 and / or batteries ( not shown ) may be cast inside of housing 16 a as part of the manufacturing process , e . g . injection molding , of housing 16 a . the manufacturing process , may include use of either thermoplastic or thermoset , e . g . epoxy , urethane materials . alternatively battery holder 32 and / or circuit board 34 may be mounted inside of housing 16 a using conventional attachment means known in the art subsequent to injection molding . a mutual inductive coupling 302 , on the inside of housing 16 a , may be used for charging re - chargeable batteries . coupling 302 may have an aperture 310 which provides a mutual inductive coupling to a secondary magnetic core . mutual inductive coupling 302 has a secondary winding which is wound around the secondary magnetic core . the secondary winding provides a low voltage alternating current ( ac ) output when a primary magnetic core ( with a primary winding connected to mains electricity ) is inserted into the aperture 310 of coupling 302 . the low voltage ac output of the secondary winding is rectified to provide a direct current ( dc ) used for charging batteries in battery holder 32 when batteries are re - chargeable . batteries in battery holder 32 may need to be re - charged or replaced prior to the shipping and delivery of a container 10 . when the batteries in battery holder 32 are replaced , typically when container 10 is being reloaded , housing 16 a is removed from the side of container 10 by unfastening fasteners 22 , the batteries in battery holder 32 are replaced and housing 16 a is re - attached to container 10 using fasteners 22 . alternatively , batteries may be recharged using solar and / or wind power from an external power generation device , e . g . solar panel , wind turbine . reference is now also made to fig3 c which shows further details of circuit board 34 according to an aspect of the present invention . circuit board 34 is powered by batteries placed in battery holder 32 . circuit board 34 includes an antenna interface 342 which allows one or multiple antennas 36 to be connected to one or more transmitters , receivers and / or transceivers . a single transceiver 341 and a single antenna interface 342 is shown , by way of example only . transceiver 341 may be for a global system for mobile communications ( e . g . gsm transceiver , and / or for a wireless local area network or wireless wide area network . optionally , a satellite receiver 343 for global positioning system ( gps ) may be attached to a port 346 for a satellite antenna externally mounted in or outside housing 16 a . both satellite receiver 343 and transceiver 341 are operatively connected to a processor 344 ( with memory 346 built in and / or attached thereto ) along with a sensor interface 345 . sensor interface 345 allows data to be sent and received from one or multiple sensors 304 located inside container 10 . the data are typically processed by processor 344 . interface 345 typically may provide the function of sample and hold and appropriate analogue to digital ( a / d ) and digital to analogue ( d / a ) conversion of data sent and received between processor 344 and multiple sensors located inside container 10 . reference is now also made to fig3 d which shows a cross sectional plan view 399 of rectangular container 10 and an electromagnetic signal 324 inside container 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . housing 16 a is mounted between corrugated sections of wall 12 . walls 12 have a length l which is typically around 12 . 2 meters and a width w which is typically around 2 . 4 meters and height h ( not shown ) typically around 2 . 5 meters . items inside container 10 which are to be shipped are shown as items 380 a and 380 b . electromagnetic transducer 304 is typically located near a corner of container 10 and is connected to housing 16 a using cable 306 through one of vent holes 24 ( not shown ). transducer 306 connected to processor 344 is used to detect the proximity and movement of objects 380 a , 380 b . transducer 306 typically emits an electromagnetic signal or pulse 324 and also senses a change in return signal 322 . emitted signal 324 typically may be an acoustic signal , an electromagnetic signal or infra red signal . reference is now made to fig3 e which shows a method 301 used to secure a shipping container 10 against theft according to an embodiment of the present invention . electromagnetic transducer 306 transmits an electromagnetic signal 324 inside container 10 ( step 303 ). step 303 may be performed periodically ( once an hour for example ) as part of a monitoring mode which is used to save battery power of batteries in holder 32 . an electromagnetic signal may be selected within a frequency band which has a full wave , half - wave or quarter - wave corresponding or similar to one of the dimensions of container 10 , preferably at low power or within a citizen &# 39 ; s band . for example , the frequency of signal 324 which typically corresponds to half a wavelength or a quarter wavelength is determined by either the height ( h ), length ( l ) or width ( w ) of container 10 . if length l of container 10 is 12 . 2 meters ( 40 feet ) for a wavelength of l4 would give a frequency f determined by equation eq . 1 . equation 1 gives approximately , a frequency of approximately 10 mhz for signal 324 for a wavelength l / 4 or 6 mhz a for a wavelength of l / 2 . the choice of 12 mhz or 6 mhz for signal 324 is intended so that the inside of container 10 acts as an electromagnetic wave cavity with respect to signal 324 . a similar estimation may be performed for a container of length 6 . 1 meters ( 20 feet ). referring back to fig3 e , a response signal 322 is sensed ( step 305 ) by transducer 306 . response signal 322 may be sensed in terms of the amplitude and phase or frequency content of response signal 322 . according to an aspect of the present invention steps 303 and 305 may be first performed prior to shipping a container 10 , with the amplitude , phase and / or frequency content of response signal 322 and signal 324 stored in memory 346 in a look - up table as calibration values . decision 307 may include an evaluation of sensed signal 322 . the evaluation may involve calculating a difference between phase / amplitude / frequency content of transmitted signal 324 and sensed response signal 322 . and comparing with values for response signal 322 and signal 324 previously stored in memory 346 look up table . the evaluation may also further involve consideration from other sensors connected to sensor interface 345 which sense for example humidity , motion , temperature , and shipping container 10 door positioning for example . if the difference is below a certain pre - defined threshold , periodic transmission in monitoring or sleep ( power saving ) mode ( step 303 ) continues . if the difference is above a certain pre - defined threshold , an alert of theft is transmitted ( step 309 ) optionally over transceiver 341 , e . g . gsm cellular , and an active mode of operation for circuit board 34 is initiated ( step 311 ). the active mode typically may further involve the activation of transceivers 341 and gps 343 to actively attempt communication with other communication systems such as satellite links , wide area networks ( wan ), a local area networks ( lan ), global system for mobile communications ( gsm ) gateway or portable cells or any other communication method . the definite articles “ a ” or “ an ” as used herein , such as “ a housing ”, “ a sensor ” have the meaning of “ one or more ” that is “ one or more housings ” or “ one or more sensors ”. although selected embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , it is to be understood the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments . instead , it is to be appreciated that changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention , the scope of which is defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof . | 1 |
as shown in fig1 , and 3 , the present invention includes a casing 1 , a bristle means 2 and a bristle extender 3 . casing 1 comprises a perforated pad 11 drilled with plurality of bristle holes 11a , several bristle - extending guides 12 , a cylindrical wall 14 disposed on the perforated pad 11 , and a cover 15 covering cylindrical wall 14 . bristle means 2 comprises a bristle base 21 and a plurality of bristles 22 fixed on base 21 . each bristle - extending guide 12 is formed with a pin hole 12a which is inserted with a pin 13a of a limiting cap 13 . each guide 12 is jacketed with a tension spring 12b . the bristle base 21 is drilled with several guide holes 21a each passing the bristle - extending guide 12 . the bristle means 2 is then movably on the guides 12 and is resiliently backed by the springs 12b . the limiting caps 13 define the backward motion of bristle means 2 . bristle extender 3 comprises a rotating knob 31 , a raising arm 32 formed as u - shaped to raise bristle means 2 , a positioning gear 33 connected between raising arm 32 and rotating knob 31 , two retaining springs 34 , 34a respectively disposed on both ends of raising arm 32 , and a releasing means 35 which includes a pivot 35a for rotatably mounting releasing means 35 , a releasing button 35b extending through a hole 14b formed on cylindrical wall 14 , a latch 35c engaging with positioning gear 33 , and a spring plate 35d resiliently biasing latch 35c to resiliently engage with gear 33 . the cylindrical wall 14 is formed with washing holes 14a so that the present invention may be dipped in detergent water for flushing the oil dirts possibly penetrating into casing through bristle holes 11a . the perforated pad 11 may be made from elastomers or rubber materials so that the bristles 22 , 22a as shown in fig4 and 5 may be retracted into pad 11 and the elastomer material of pad 11 will serve as a packing for sound sealing and prevent dirt penetration through the holes 11a . one end of retaining spring 34 is fixed on positioning gear 33 and another end thereof is fixed on the wall 14 . another retaining spring 34a is fixed on the wall 14 opposite to spring 34 and is also fixed on a disk 34b connected with raising arm 32 . a washer 31a is provided between the rotating knob 31 and the wall 14 for smooth rotation of knob 31 . a handle 4 is connected with casing 1 as shown in fig6 . the raising arm 32 may be extended through a handle 4 by connecting a link 31b and terminated by the rotating knob 31 as fig7 shown . when using the present invention , the rotating knob 31 may be rotated to allow the raising arm 32 to push bristle means 2 upwards to extend bristles for combing use . as the positioning gear 33 is always locked by latch 35c or releasing means 3 so that , whenever extending the bristles 22 , the bristles 22 will not be retracted and will be stable as the bristle base 21 is resiliently supported by springs 12b . during the rotation of knob 31 , the retaining springs 34 , 34a are wound to store the resilience . when depressing the releasing button 35b , the latch 35c is separated from the engagement with gear 33 so that gear 33 is no longer locked and the resilience of springs 34 , 34a will re - rotate the raising arm 32 to retract the bristles 22 within perforated pad 11 , whereby the dirts or hairs accumulated on bristles 22 will then be easily removed . accordingly , the present invention has the following advantages in comparison with the prior wall &# 39 ; s patent : 1 . the bristles can be retracted automatically only by depressing a releasing button . the extension of bristles is merely operated by rotating knob 31 in an easier and more convenient way . 2 . when not in use , the bristles can be retracted into perforated pad for compact storage or handling . 3 . the pad 11 may serve as a packing to prevent penetration of dirts through the bristle holes 11a . even a little amount of dirt may still come into casing , the washing hole 14a provides a water passage for flushing and washing purpose . 4 . the bristles can be optionally positioned and automatically locked as the positioning gear 33 is normally engaged by a latch 35c of a releasing means 35 of the present invention . the present invention is applied both for combs and brushes . the cover 15 may be formed as a mirror for wider uses . | 0 |
in order to provide a clear and consistent understanding of terms used in the present description , a number of definitions are herein provided . array : in the context of this invention , an array is a set of different spotted dna consisting of capture probes for target nucleic acids . such an array is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 700 , 637 . complementary dna ( cdna ): dna that has been synthesized from rna by the effect of the enzyme reverse transcriptase , converting rna bases into their complements ( a to t , u to a , g to c , c to g ). cy3 , cy5 : non - radioactive fluorescent dyes from amersham pharmacia biotech that are widely used for labeling dna in microarray experiments . feature : a feature is a spot ( typically of dna ) on a slide . the collection of such features is called a microarray . hydridization : the process of joining two complementary strands of dna , or one strand each of dna and rna , to form a double - stranded molecule . messenger rna ( mrna ): rna that is used to direct the protein synthesis that is part of gene expression . it represents but a small fraction of the total rna found in a cell . mrna - derived cdna : cdna synthesized from a mrna template using reverse transcriptase and a mrna - specific primer . microarray - sequestered dna or dna capture probe : dna ( single - stranded or double - stranded ) that are anchored onto the solid surface of a microarray . ( see fuller description of microarrays immediately following this glossary .) oligonucleotide : a short strand of single - stranded dna , typically composed of up to 50 bases . pixel intensity : the raw intensity of a pixel on a genepix ( axon instrument inc .) single - wavelength or ratio image , falling in a range from 0 to 65535 . pmt : photomultiplier tubes in scanners used to analyze array images . these array images are the end products of comparative hybridization experiments . ratio image : the ratio image is an rgb ( red - green - blue ) overlay image . in this image , wavelength # 1 ( 635 nm ) is mapped to the green channel of the rgb image , and wavelength # 2 ( 532 nm ) is mapped to the red channel . superimposing these two images onto each other results in a third , composite image , whose color is a blend of the red and green signals . ratio of medians : the ratio of medians is the ratio of the background subtracted median pixel intensity at the second wavelength to the background subtracted median pixel intensity at the first wavelength . reference cdna : this cdna originates from a reference sample that is used for comparison with another one , called test cdna obtained from a test sample . the reference cdna serves as a control against which test cdnas may be compared to quantify changes in the level of expression of any mrna found in the test sample . typically , the reference cdna is labelled with cy3 - dctp ( green fluorescent label ) when a fluorescent label is used . ribosomal rna ( rrna ): structural rna found in the ribosomes . it is the most abundant form of rna in the cell and does not vary significantly . rrna - cdna probe : a probe which is designed to hybridize to the rrna - derived cdna found in the hybridization mixture . this probe may be the capture probe , which may have the same sequence as the rrna competitor probe ( see below ) so as to compete with it for the target rrna - derived cdna . rrna competitor probe : a dna oligonucleotide with the same sequence as part of a ribosomal rna - cdna sequence and capable of competing with the microarray capture probe for hybridization with a rrna - derived cdna . this oligonucleotide has the role of competing for the limited space available on the rrna cdna capture probe bound to the microarray , thus reducing the quantity of rrna - derived cdna which can be retained on the microarray and thus allowing the use of rrna - derived cdna as an & lt ;& lt ; internal standard & gt ;& gt ;. rrna - derived cdna : cdna synthesized from a rrna template using reverse transcriptase and a rrna - specific primer . saturation : saturation refers to the overloading of the photodetection circuitry . saturation can be reduced by reducing the amount of light that is reaching the pmts , which is done by reducing the amount of incident laser light . in practice , this is accomplished by reducing the voltage of the pmt , which reduces its gain . saturating pixels in genepix 1 . 0 are shown as white pixels in the raw wavelength images . spotted dna : known dna capture probe that is spotted onto a microarray slide and used to identify the nucleic acids present in unknown samples ( test and reference ). the spotted dna could be oligonucleotide or cdna . test cdna : cdna from a cell sample that is to be tested , in comparison with a reference sample . typically , the test cdna is labelled with cy5 - dctp ( red fluorescent label ) when a fluorescent label is used . microarrays are made from a collection of purified dnas . a drop of each type of dna in solution is placed onto a specially - prepared glass microscope slide by an arraying machine . the arraying machine can quickly produce a regular grid of thousands of spots in a square about 2 cm on a side , small enough to fit under a standard slide cover slip . the dna in the spots is bound to the glass to keep it from washing off during the hybridization reaction . the choice of dna to be used within the spots on a microarray &# 39 ; s surface determines which genes can be detected in a comparative hybridization assay . these dna probes could be synthetic oligonucleotides or pcr amplified dna ( hence the terms “ oligo microarray ” and “ cdna microarray ”). the invention relates to rrna used as an internal standard for the normalization of the fluorescence intensities in microarray analysis experiments . this can provide an estimate of relative abundance of multiple mrnas and allow direct comparison between two rna samples . use of rrna for normalization provides a sound method of identifying differentially expressed genes between two samples because its percentage of abundance in total rna does not vary through the cell cycle or with a particular treatment . in order to detect the difference in gene expression between two samples on a single microarray slide , the rna should be reverse transcribed to cdna and labelled with two different fluorophores prior to cohybridizing both samples to the same slide and same spots simultaneously . there are several techniques that allow labeling of cdna . direct labeling is done by the incorporation of a fluorescent nucleotide such as , for example , cy3 - dctp ( green ) or cy5 - dctp ( red ) ( from amersham - pharmacia biotech ), during the reverse transcription reaction . other protocols may be used for labeling the cdna following the reverse transcription reaction ( indirect labeling ). alternatively , the cdna can be used for rna amplification involving t7 polymerase . this method relies on attaching a t7 promoter sequence to the reverse transcriptase primer used for synthesis of the first cdna strand . after second strand cdna synthesis , one can generate amplified rna ( arna ) using t7 rna polymerase and the double - stranded cdna molecules as targets for the linear amplification . those targets can then be labelled directly or indirectly . in the present invention , the reverse transcriptase reaction for the cdna labeling step involves the use of two kinds of reverse transcriptase primers in the same reaction : an oligo - dt and specific primers for rrna ( 5 . 8s , 1 8s or 28s rrna ). one set of rna to be reverse transcribed is all the polya + mrna that is present in the rna sample , the other set is the rrna . both sets are labelled in the same sample with the same label . random short primer like random hexamers or sets of specific primers could also be used as alternative methods to reverse transcribe all the polya + mrna . in a typical experiment , the reference cdna is labelled with cy3 and the test cdna is prepared in the presence of cy5 . both of these cdna populations are hybridized to the same spotted dna capture probes on the microscope slide . after the hybridization and washing steps , the slide is scanned at the appropriate wavelengths and an image is generated for each wavelength . in the derived ratio image , a red spot indicates that the test cdna for this feature is more abundant than the reference cdna which means that the test cdna is being expressed at a level higher than the reference cdna ; a yellow spot means that there is no change in the expression level between the two populations of test and reference cdna . in order to measure changes in gene expression numerically , image analysis software like genepix 1 . 0 ( axon instruments , inc .) extracts the intensity of a given feature ( spot ) from an image and performs a number of computations on the raw data . in this kind of comparative analysis , normalization is essential to compensate for variations in rna isolation techniques , initial quantification errors , tube to tube variation in reverse transcriptase reactions and other experimental variations . that is where the present invention intervenes : normalization is possible upon correcting the green intensity and the red intensity of the spot having the internal standard capture probe to achieve a ratio of 1 . this normalization therefore leads to the obtention of a correction factor that is applied to the intensities of signals specific to each reference and test samples . the end product of a comparative hybridization experiment is a scanned array image . saturated pixels appear when there are more photons detected than can be processed by the photomultiplier tubes ( pmt ) of the scanner . this occurs when the amount of hybridized target per shot is too high . saturated pixels cannot be used for proper measurement of the signal intensity . pmt should then be set to avoid the detection of saturated pixels . as a consequence , this reduces the signal intensity of all other spots and low levels of cdna will not be detected . in the present invention , the hybridization step is performed with specific amounts of free rrna - derived cdna ( competitor probe ) added into the hybridization buffer so as to set up a competition for ribosomal cdna of the test cdna and of the reference cdna ( if the latter is part of the experiment ) with the capture probe . for efficient competition , the competition probe should be nearly identical to the capture probe or have a high level of overlapping sequences therewith . the hybridization efficiency of the rrna - derived cdna with the capture probe can be predictably and reproducibly altered . reducing the hybridization of these internal and abundant targets in microarray experiments has the effect of generating a signal intensity in the same dynamic range of detection as the less abundant targets in microarrays . the competition is important because the control must be detected at a level similar to the test transcript . if one target is present at a significantly higher concentration than the other , the pmt ( laser voltage ) has to be reduced to avoid a saturated signal , with the consequence of reducing all the other signals . the ability to obtain quantitative information for low abundant mrna will then be lost . with the applicants &# 39 ; invention , the normalization factor is computed using the ratio of intensity obtained between the signal detected for the test cdna and that of the reference cdna . this ratio should be 1 . 0 . for example , if the ratio is 0 . 8 , a normalization factor of 1 . 25 would have to be calculated ( 1 / 0 . 8 ). the analyzed data is then corrected using this factor . if the normalization factor is greater than 2 ( or less than 0 . 5 ) the slide is usually rescanned with other pmt voltage to ensure maximum data integrity . the applicants used the products and protocols that are described herein , which results in proper normalization . [ 0073 ] fig1 illustrates how a given sample ( reference or test ) is labelled and hybridized to capture probes ( a plurality of specific cdna probed spots and one internal standard probe spot ). the labelled ribosomal cdna is mixed with a competitor probe that is here identical to the capture probe . [ 0074 ] fig2 illustrates the organization of the rdna locus . the microarray was made from a collection of synthetic dna oligonucleotides as dna probes . [ 0075 ] fig3 illustrates the positions of spotted dna capture probes on the slide . in order to use the cdna made from rrna for normalisation , a dna capture probe having a sequence that is complementary to the rrna - derived cdna has also been spotted on the array slide . table 1 shows the sequences of two dna - probes designed for that purpose . 3d - link activated slides from surmodics inc . were used according to the supplier &# 39 ; s protocol for the covalent attachment of the 5 ′ amino modified oligonucleotides and prehybridization treatment of the slides . on the dna microarray used here , each spot contains approximately 0 . 15 ng of bound dna probe . the cdna for microarray analysis was prepared from rna templates by incorporation of fluorescent - labelled deoxyribonucleotides during first strand cdna synthesis . 10 μg of total rna extract from jurkat and jurkat - tpa cell lines ( geneka biotechnology ) was used . priming of cdna synthesis was performed using 2 μg of oligo ( dt ). for each labeling reaction , 50 ng of 18s primer were included to allow reverse transcription of the 18s rrna . table 1 shows the sequences of the 18s reverse transcriptase primer . in this experiment , labelled reference cdna from jurkat total rna was prepared using cy3 - dctp while jurkat - tpa total rna was reverse transcribed and labelled using cy5 - dctp ( amersham pharmacia biotech ) to produce labelled test cdna . reverse transcriptase reactions were performed using the superscript ii reverse transcriptase ( lifetechnologies ) enzyme according to the supplier &# 39 ; s protocol . for the hybridization and washing steps the following conditions were used ( optimized conditions for 3d - link activated slides , surmodics inc .). labelled cdnas were cohybridized in 5 × ssc - 0 . 1 % sds buffer for 16 hours at 45 ° c . washing was performed by incubating slides two times 15 minutes in 2 × ssc - 0 . 1 % sds at 45 ° c ., one time 5 minutes in 0 . 2 × ssc at room temperature and one time 5 minutes in 0 . 1 × ssc at room temperature . slides were dried by low speed centrifugation . the test and reference cdnas were analyzed through hybridization with the microarray - sequestered cdna . in this type of experiment , if the test or reference cdna contains a sequence that is complementary to the dna on a given spot , that cdna will hybridize to the spot , where it will be detectable by virtue of its fluorescence . [ 0080 ] fig4 shows a ratio image of a typical cohybridized cdna with no internal standard according to the invention . the target cdnas and the results are listed in table 2 ( see right column ). fig5 and 6 show counterparts of arrays of fig4 but with 5 ng and 50 ng of ribosomal competitor probe , respectively , in accordance with this invention . the results are listed in table 2 , in the middle and left columns , respectively . saturated spots were observed for the two rrna cdna probes ( dna probe 1 and probe 2 ). the genepix 3 . 0 software ( axon instruments inc .) was used to extract the intensity of each feature ( hybridized spot ) from the image . table 2 shows the mean value of pixel intensity for each spot . to analyse feature intensity and calculate a ratio , the local background should be subtracted from the median value of the pixel . the method used by genepix pro 3 . 0 for determining the background intensity is a local background subtraction technique . a different background is therefore computed for each individual feature - indicator and the median value of the background pixel intensities are reported ( table 2 ). the end product of a comparative hybridization experiment is a scanned array image . saturated pixels appear when there are more photons detected than the photomultiplier tubes ( pmt ) of the scanner can process . this occurs when the amount of hybridized cdna to the spot is too high . saturated pixels cannot be used for proper measurement of the signal intensity . pmt should then be set to avoid the detection of saturated pixels . as a consequence , this reduces the signal intensity of all other spots , and lower levels of cdna will not be detected . because of the high abundance of the rrna - derived cdna relatively to the mrna - derived cdna , it is important to reduce its hybridization to the microarray - sequestered dna . in this invention , the applicants compete the hybridization of the rrna - derived cdna to the microarray dna capture probe by adding a defined amount of rrna competitor probe in the hybridization buffer , said probe carrying the same sequence as the microarray - bound probe . five ( 5 ) to 100 molar excess of competitor probe relative to the quantity of microarray dna capture probe is enough to obtain a rrna - derived cdna signal intensity in the same dynamic range of detection as the other cdnas ( i . e ., test and / or reference mrna - derived cdna ), which are otherwise present in much lesser quantities in the reaction buffer . the amount of molar excess to be used is essentially a function of the amount of the total rna used for the assay ( for example : 0 . 2 to 20 μg ). in short , because of their relatively invariant expression across tissues and treatments , 18s and 28s rna are ideal internal controls for quantitative rna analysis by microarrays . the current invention describes how to use these rrnas to that end by compensating , thanks to competition with specific oligos , for their overabundance relative to the mrna of test and reference cell samples . the overall exhaustive results of comparison of test and reference cdnas , normalized in accordance with the method and principles of the present invention , are provided in appendix 1 . although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof , it can be modified , without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention , as defined in the appended claims . [ 0087 ] table 2 hybridization with 50 ug of probe 2 as competitor ratio of median value not normalized beta - actin 18 s f635 f532 block column row gene name probe name — 1 . 02 — median median 8 1 5 18s probe 1 1 . 04 1 . 02 undetectable 27678 26672 1 11 6 18s probe 1 1 . 00 0 . 98 undetectable 65217 65349 1 12 6 18s probe 1 1 . 00 0 . 98 undetectable 65217 65352 8 2 5 18s probe 1 0 . 85 0 . 83 undetectable 21986 26060 10 1 6 18s probe 2 0 . 93 0 . 91 undetectable − 73 33 10 2 6 18s probe 2 1 . 27 1 . 25 undetectable − 31 10 3 12 6 18s probe 2 1 . 00 0 . 98 undetectable 83 254 3 11 6 18s probe 2 1 . 02 1 . 00 undetectable 122 285 5 7 6 beta actin actin 1 0 . 78 0 . 76 undetectable 1159 1791 5 8 6 beta actin actin 1 0 . 88 0 . 87 undetectable 977 1351 10 3 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 87 0 . 85 undetectable 1674 2034 10 4 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 89 0 . 87 undetectable 1880 2213 4 3 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 63 0 . 62 undetectable 2010 3400 11 14 5 beta actin actin 1 0 . 86 0 . 84 undetectable 1607 1981 11 13 5 beta actin actin 1 0 . 91 0 . 89 undetectable 1760 2021 4 4 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 68 0 . 67 undetectable 1833 2880 6 1 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 96 0 . 94 undetectable 3619 3853 3 2 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 88 0 . 86 undetectable 278 603 4 2 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 81 0 . 80 undetectable 1667 2185 6 2 1 beta actin actin 2 1 . 00 0 . 98 undetectable 3013 3092 1 8 6 beta actin actin 2 0 . 75 0 . 73 undetectable 1641 2348 4 1 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 75 0 . 73 undetectable 1651 2355 3 1 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 93 0 . 91 undetectable 419 686 5 1 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 87 0 . 86 undetectable 530 827 5 2 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 79 0 . 77 undetectable 323 673 1 7 6 beta actin actin 2 0 . 76 0 . 75 undetectable 2157 2986 3 8 6 beta actin actin 3 1 . 41 1 . 38 undetectable 1765 1336 3 7 6 beta actin actin 3 1 . 26 1 . 23 undetectable 2079 1744 11 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 51 1 . 48 undetectable 1697 1175 11 1 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 50 1 . 47 undetectable 1852 1299 12 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 22 1 . 19 undetectable 572 534 12 1 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 13 1 . 11 undetectable 545 651 10 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 11 1 . 09 undetectable 980 947 9 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 23 1 . 21 undetectable 1173 1020 10 1 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 92 0 . 90 undetectable 514 655 8 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 28 1 . 25 undetectable 991 808 8 1 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 36 1 . 34 undetectable 931 704 9 13 5 beta actin actin 3 1 . 28 1 . 25 undetectable 1379 1128 9 1 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 43 1 . 40 undetectable 1330 976 9 14 5 beta actin actin 3 1 . 51 1 . 48 undetectable 1946 1303 2 1 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 76 0 . 74 undetectable 1630 2269 2 2 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 76 0 . 75 undetectable 1800 2462 4 2 4 9g8 splicing l22253_b 0 . 69 0 . 68 undetectable 361 689 9 14 4 a - myb x13294_b 2 . 30 2 . 25 undetectable 197 64 4 8 4 ash1 l08424_a 1 . 33 1 . 31 undetectable 587 487 3 5 3 bteb d31716_b 3 . 88 3 . 80 undetectable 332 33 3 12 5 btf3 homologue m90355_a 4 . 15 4 . 07 undetectable 1627 338 4 4 2 cbfa1 / osf2 af053949_b 0 . 52 0 . 51 undetectable − 136 14 2 2 5 cdp m74099_b 0 . 45 0 . 44 undetectable − 54 173 11 10 5 cyclin d1 aml 12 1 . 75 1 . 72 undetectable 4205 2401 6 6 4 en2 l12700_b 2 . 93 2 . 88 undetectable 1517 476 8 15 6 gapdh s6 - 1 1 . 37 1 . 35 undetectable 2104 1553 2 10 2 gtf2ip1 af036613_b 0 . 49 0 . 48 undetectable − 106 21 5 12 1 zrp - 1 af000974_a 2 . 99 2 . 93 undetectable 4235 1405 hybridization with 5 ug of probe 2 as competitor ratio of median value not normalized beta - actin 18s f635 f532 block column row gene name probe name — 1 . 20 1 . 11 median median 8 1 5 18s probe 1 0 . 73 0 . 61 0 . 66 5617 7877 1 11 6 18s probe 1 0 . 77 0 . 65 0 . 70 50642 65367 1 12 6 18s probe 1 0 . 68 0 . 56 0 . 61 28798 42677 8 2 5 18s probe 1 0 . 79 0 . 66 0 . 71 4808 6252 10 1 6 18s probe 2 1 . 19 0 . 99 1 . 07 1446 1275 10 2 6 18s probe 2 1 . 24 1 . 03 1 . 12 1437 1211 3 12 6 18s probe 2 1 . 01 0 . 84 0 . 92 2904 2973 3 11 6 18s probe 2 0 . 99 0 . 82 0 . 89 2970 3112 5 7 6 beta actin actin 1 0 . 78 0 . 65 0 . 71 2778 3771 5 8 6 beta actin actin 1 0 . 81 0 . 67 0 . 73 2813 3723 10 3 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 89 0 . 74 0 . 80 2114 2491 10 4 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 95 0 . 60 0 . 86 1958 2142 4 3 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 79 0 . 66 0 . 72 886 1246 11 14 5 beta actin actin 1 0 . 85 0 . 70 0 . 76 4081 4908 11 13 5 beta actin actin 1 0 . 82 0 . 68 0 . 74 4163 5178 4 4 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 84 0 . 70 0 . 76 630 861 6 1 1 beta actin actin 2 1 . 34 1 . 12 1 . 21 6216 6179 3 2 1 beta actin actin 2 1 . 13 0 . 94 1 . 02 2734 2573 4 2 1 beta actin actin 2 1 . 07 0 . 89 0 . 97 3255 3107 6 2 1 beta actin actin 2 1 . 29 1 . 07 1 . 16 5016 3954 1 8 6 beta actin actin 2 0 . 90 0 . 75 0 . 81 5528 6304 4 1 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 86 0 . 72 0 . 78 3905 4676 3 1 1 beta actin actin 2 1 . 13 0 . 95 1 . 02 6154 5479 5 1 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 97 0 . 81 0 . 88 2991 3266 5 2 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 80 0 . 67 0 . 72 1924 2563 1 7 6 beta actin actin 2 0 . 93 0 . 78 0 . 84 8491 9183 3 8 6 beta actin actin 3 1 . 38 1 . 15 1 . 25 7582 5556 3 7 6 beta actin actin 3 1 . 46 1 . 22 1 . 32 9368 6469 11 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 73 1 . 44 1 . 56 1674 996 11 1 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 83 1 . 53 1 . 66 2150 1173 12 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 31 1 . 09 1 . 18 4607 3517 12 1 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 28 1 . 07 1 . 16 4478 3494 10 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 18 0 . 99 1 . 07 1003 920 9 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 65 1 . 37 1 . 49 7356 4461 10 1 1 beta actin actin 3 1 26 1 . 05 1 . 14 5499 4379 8 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 69 1 . 41 1 . 52 1957 1167 8 1 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 60 1 . 33 1 . 44 1998 1288 9 13 5 beta actin actin 3 1 . 67 1 . 39 1 . 50 4283 2609 9 1 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 70 1 . 41 1 . 53 8913 5248 9 14 5 beta actin actin 3 1 . 60 1 . 33 1 . 44 2481 1579 2 1 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 18 0 . 98 1 . 06 986 905 2 2 1 beta actin actin 3 1 . 13 0 . 94 1 . 02 4407 3937 4 2 4 9g8 splicing l22253_b 0 . 98 0 . 82 0 . 89 777 875 9 14 4 a - myb x13294_b 2 . 73 2 . 28 2 . 47 1228 429 4 8 4 ash1 l08424_a 1 . 49 1 . 24 1 . 35 1332 908 3 5 3 bteb d31716_b 2 . 86 2 . 38 2 . 58 1565 510 3 12 5 btf3 homologue m90355_a 3 . 47 2 . 89 3 . 13 3479 1036 4 4 2 cbfa1 / osf2 af053949_b 1 . 25 1 . 04 1 . 13 62 99 2 2 5 cdp m74099_b 0 . 79 0 . 66 0 . 72 138 296 11 10 5 cyclin d1 aml 12 1 . 60 1 . 33 1 . 45 11710 7312 6 6 4 en2 l12700_b 3 . 61 3 . 01 3 . 26 1835 458 8 15 6 gapdh s6 - 1 2 . 15 1 . 79 1 . 94 3462 1593 2 10 2 gtf2ip1 af036613_b 0 . 66 0 . 57 0 . 62 − 45 83 5 12 1 zrp - 1 af000974_a 3 . 24 2 . 70 2 . 92 12043 3689 hybridization without competitor ratio of median value not normalized beta - actin 18 s f635 f532 block column row gene name probe name — 0 . 56 — median median 8 1 5 18s probe 1 1 . 01 1 . 80 saturated 65181 65226 1 11 6 18s probe 1 1 . 01 1 . 80 saturated 65181 65226 1 12 6 18s probe 1 1 . 01 1 . 80 saturated 65160 65187 8 2 5 18s probe 1 1 . 01 1 . 80 saturated 65154 65211 10 1 6 18s probe 2 1 . 01 1 . 80 saturated 65250 65274 10 2 6 18s probe 2 1 . 01 1 . 80 saturated 65250 65283 3 12 6 18s probe 2 1 . 01 1 . 80 saturated 65157 65199 3 11 6 18s probe 2 1 . 01 1 . 80 saturated 65115 65168 5 7 6 beta actin actin 1 0 . 66 1 . 18 saturated 42650 65208 5 8 6 beta actin actin 1 0 . 60 1 . 07 saturated 32564 54998 10 3 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 54 0 . 96 saturated 31689 59418 10 4 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 50 0 . 89 saturated 20804 42413 4 3 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 52 0 . 93 saturated 5227 10326 11 14 5 beta actin actin 1 0 . 57 1 . 02 saturated 5227 9416 11 13 5 beta actin actin 1 0 . 57 1 . 02 saturated 4828 8663 4 4 1 beta actin actin 1 0 . 47 0 . 85 saturated 3316 7269 6 1 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 61 1 . 10 saturated 12776 21111 3 2 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 60 1 . 07 saturated 11482 19359 4 2 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 56 1 . 00 saturated 9879 18018 6 2 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 62 1 . 10 saturated 8311 13731 1 8 6 beta actin actin 2 0 . 56 1 . 01 saturated 8060 14583 4 1 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 50 0 . 89 saturated 6632 13645 3 1 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 56 1 . 00 saturated 5885 10732 5 1 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 51 0 . 92 saturated 4246 8568 5 2 1 beta actin actin 2 0 . 50 0 . 89 saturated 3917 8126 1 7 6 beta actin actin 2 − 0 . 91 − 1 . 63 saturated − 206 − 149 3 8 6 beta actin actin 3 0 . 72 1 . 28 saturated 12612 17918 3 7 6 beta actin actin 3 0 . 65 1 . 16 saturated 10632 16662 11 2 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 87 1 . 55 saturated 9874 11511 11 1 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 93 1 . 66 saturated 8951 9743 12 2 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 66 1 . 18 saturated 7276 11204 12 1 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 61 1 . 09 saturated 7196 11985 10 2 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 54 0 . 97 saturated 6401 12065 9 2 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 67 1 . 20 saturated 5666 8611 10 1 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 53 0 . 94 saturated 5565 10881 8 2 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 79 1 . 42 saturated 4425 5686 8 1 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 66 1 . 19 saturated 4266 6610 9 13 5 beta actin actin 3 0 . 62 1 . 11 saturated 3873 6437 9 1 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 70 1 . 26 saturated 3211 4705 9 14 5 beta actin actin 3 0 . 62 1 . 10 saturated 2984 5021 2 1 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 48 0 . 86 saturated 2319 5083 2 2 1 beta actin actin 3 0 . 44 0 . 79 saturated 2317 5572 4 2 4 9g8 splicing l22253_b 0 . 48 0 . 86 saturated 1217 2852 9 14 4 a - myb x13294_b 0 . 84 1 . 50 saturated 664 877 4 8 4 ash1 l08424_a 0 . 70 1 . 25 saturated 3104 4657 3 5 3 bteb d31716_b 1 . 18 2 . 10 saturated 3709 3172 3 12 5 btf3 homologue m90355_a 1 . 14 2 . 03 saturated 5707 5036 4 4 2 cbfa1 / osf2 af053949_b 0 . 51 0 . 91 saturated 219 754 2 2 5 cdp m74099_b 0 . 32 0 . 57 saturated 88 743 11 10 5 cyclin d1 aml 12 1 . 03 1 . 84 saturated 15590 15215 6 6 4 en2 l12700_b 1 . 41 2 . 51 saturated 7429 5251 8 15 6 gapdh s6 - 1 0 . 43 0 . 76 saturated 3632 9331 2 10 2 gtf2ip1 af036613_b 0 . 36 0 . 65 saturated 20 458 5 12 1 zrp - 1 af000974_a 1 . 61 2 . 88 saturated 13359 8293 appendix 1 : signal normalization using 18s rna as an internal standard . two microarray analyses were performed independently , each one comparing the expression of many transcription factors in jurkat cells and in jurkat cells treated with the phorbol ester tpa . the signals obtained in the latter case were divided by the signals obtained in the former case to get a ratio of induction by tpa in these cells . the signals were normalized using 18s rna as a standard ( see columns 3 and 4 ). since 18s rna is used as a control in both experiments and that the same type of cells were used , presumably giving very similar results , the ratio of the results obtained in each experiment should be nearing 1 . that ratio is presented in column 5 . column 3 jurkat / jurkat column 4 column 5 column 2 tpa jurkat / jurkat ratio of column 1 accession ratio tpa ratio experiments gene name number experiment 1 experiment 2 1 and 2 9g8 splicing factor l22253 0 . 84 1 . 00 0 . 836078512 9g8 splicing factor l22253 0 . 77 0 . 99 0 . 779340183 a - myb x66087 1 . 32 1 . 38 0 . 950679679 a - myb x66087 1 . 34 1 . 43 0 . 937305665 a - myb x13294 1 . 12 1 . 21 0 . 924150275 a - myb x13294 1 . 12 1 . 21 0 . 924083463 abf - 1 af060154 0 . 45 0 . 39 1 . 166895465 abf - 1 af060154 0 . 39 0 . 38 1 . 029207795 abh nm_006020 0 . 91 1 . 05 0 . 865303363 abh nm_006020 0 . 81 0 . 98 0 . 822950019 abp / zf u82613 1 . 32 1 . 64 0 . 804108596 abp / zf u82613 1 . 25 1 . 60 0 . 783304597 af10 nm_004641 1 . 24 1 . 31 0 . 947593818 af10 nm_004641 1 . 23 1 . 32 0 . 931357689 aib3 af208227 1 . 33 1 . 28 1 . 034779297 aib3 nm_014071 1 . 09 1 . 25 0 . 870698314 aib3 nm_014071 1 . 07 1 . 36 0 . 784035932 aib3 af208227 1 . 10 1 . 40 0 . 782294079 all - 1 u04737 1 . 65 1 . 88 0 . 880126672 all - 1 u04737 1 . 58 1 . 88 0 . 838592996 all - 1 l04284 0 . 66 0 . 79 0 . 838134698 aml2 z35278 0 . 44 0 . 51 0 . 858684813 aml2 z35278 0 . 42 0 . 55 0 . 77112205 aml3 af001450 1 . 28 1 . 32 0 . 974983445 aml3 af001450 1 . 34 1 . 39 0 . 966458433 ap - 2gamma u85658 2 . 57 2 . 62 0 . 978390776 ap - 2gamma u85658 2 . 23 2 . 59 0 . 86381938 ap - 4 x57435 1 . 21 1 . 23 0 . 984438472 ap - 4 x57435 1 . 17 1 . 28 0 . 91144528 ap4 nm_014374 1 . 39 1 . 59 0 . 871879245 ap4 nm_014374 1 . 32 1 . 59 0 . 831996755 apbb1 nm_001164 0 . 95 0 . 97 0 . 984113563 apbb1 nm_001164 0 . 79 0 . 99 0 . 801180869 apc m74088 1 . 50 1 . 31 1 . 148676257 apc m74088 1 . 29 1 . 46 0 . 8859936 apeced ab006682 1 . 49 1 . 56 0 . 957659838 apeced ab006682 1 . 38 1 . 65 0 . 837168643 apex nm_001641 0 . 88 1 . 13 0 . 783250131 apex nm_001641 0 . 84 1 . 08 0 . 780343345 apobec2 nm_006789 1 . 15 1 . 12 1 . 031439776 apobec2 nm_006789 1 . 04 1 . 05 0 . 990111417 appl nm_012096 1 . 32 1 . 54 0 . 856820461 appl nm_012096 1 . 31 1 . 56 0 . 839878811 ar nm_000044 1 . 74 2 . 04 0 . 855879355 ar nm_000044 1 . 60 2 . 01 0 . 796494966 arnt m69238 1 . 25 1 . 42 0 . 880056649 arnt m69238 1 . 24 1 . 42 0 . 876705905 arnt y18500 0 . 78 0 . 96 0 . 816130578 ash2l2 af056717 1 . 34 1 . 35 0 . 994678817 ash2l2 af056717 1 . 38 1 . 40 0 . 991252318 atbf1 nm_006885 0 . 90 1 . 01 0 . 889758762 atbf1 nm_006885 0 . 90 1 . 02 0 . 879456944 atf d90209 1 . 05 1 . 01 1 . 035713928 atf d90209 0 . 97 1 . 01 0 . 960323304 atf - a x52943 1 . 54 1 . 88 0 . 817277421 atf - a x52943 1 . 51 1 . 93 0 . 780957523 atf1 nm_005171 0 . 84 0 . 91 0 . 927916867 atf1 nm_005171 0 . 87 1 . 02 0 . 854281302 atf6 nm_007348 1 . 29 1 . 29 1 . 00327664 atf6 nm_007348 1 . 09 1 . 28 0 . 856533977 bach1 nm_001186 1 . 49 1 . 31 1 . 137064444 bach1 nm_001186 1 . 45 1 . 62 0 . 891057108 bapx1 nm_001189 2 . 55 2 . 33 1 . 093826453 bapx1 nm_001189 2 . 46 2 . 59 0 . 946872482 barx2 nm_003658 1 . 17 1 . 27 0 . 917084438 barx2 nm_003658 1 . 14 1 . 37 0 . 830998058 bcl2 nm_000633 1 . 43 1 . 65 0 . 866945304 bcl2 nm_000633 1 . 37 1 . 70 0 . 806442848 bcl3 u05822 1 . 11 1 . 26 0 . 877431885 bcl3 m31732 1 . 17 1 . 38 0 . 848343893 bcl3 m31732 1 . 13 1 . 37 0 . 825031918 bcl3 u05822 1 . 02 1 . 30 0 . 790257156 beta - actin x00351 1 . 02 1 . 19 0 . 855958172 beta - actin x00351 1 . 02 1 . 21 0 . 843968769 beta - actin x00351 1 . 01 1 . 21 0 . 837209294 beta - actin x00351 1 . 00 1 . 19 0 . 836410947 beta - catenin x89593 2 . 01 2 . 06 0 . 977986591 beta - catenin x89593 1 . 99 2 . 11 0 . 942592932 bf - 2 x74143 1 . 28 1 . 38 0 . 931388014 bf - 2 x74143 1 . 22 1 . 37 0 . 894927517 bfp / znf179 ab026054 1 . 33 1 . 32 1 . 005754548 bfp / znf179 ab026054 1 . 36 1 . 37 0 . 993222418 birc4 nm_001167 1 . 51 1 . 44 1 . 054435009 birc4 nm_001167 1 . 40 1 . 50 0 . 932289706 bmzf3 nm_005773 0 . 92 1 . 08 0 . 850837495 bmzf3 nm_005773 0 . 90 1 . 13 0 . 798215326 brahma x72889 5 . 90 5 . 49 1 . 074544412 brahma x72889 5 . 14 5 . 97 0 . 86166573 brca2 nm_000059 1 . 45 1 . 75 0 . 824507422 brca2 nm_000059 1 . 39 1 . 74 0 . 798236353 brn - 3b u06233 1 . 48 1 . 37 1 . 078166711 brn - 3b u06233 1 . 47 1 . 50 0 . 974841891 brn - 4 x82324 1 . 57 1 . 06 1 . 486851514 brn - 4 x82324 1 . 29 1 . 07 1 . 198217087 brs3 nm_001727 2 . 71 2 . 75 0 . 983814035 brs3 nm_001727 2 . 36 2 . 77 0 . 851828571 bteb d31716 4 . 86 4 . 21 1 . 153934489 bteb d31716 4 . 30 4 . 32 0 . 995197771 bteb2 d14520 1 . 25 1 . 27 0 . 978590601 bteb2 d14520 1 . 30 1 . 39 0 . 933625786 btf3 nm_001207 1 . 05 1 . 10 0 . 955111894 btf3 nm_001207 0 . 99 1 . 08 0 . 913787418 btf3a m90352 2 . 83 2 . 32 1 . 219855319 btf3a m90352 2 . 70 2 . 39 1 . 130461687 btf3l1 nm_001208 1 . 22 1 . 07 1 . 137813523 btf3l1 nm_001208 1 . 16 1 . 05 1 . 102860167 btf3l3 m90356 1 . 44 1 . 37 1 . 049188317 btf3l3 m90356 1 . 24 1 . 34 0 . 927268611 bzip protein b - atf u15460 1 . 07 1 . 14 0 . 9426678 bzip protein b - atf u15460 0 . 97 1 . 08 0 . 901877866 c - ets - 1 x14798 1 . 09 1 . 25 0 . 873492353 c - ets - 1 x14798 1 . 10 1 . 32 0 . 830363686 c - maf af055376 5 . 74 4 . 79 1 . 19705637 c - maf af055376 4 . 91 5 . 10 0 . 962031195 c - rel m11595 1 . 33 1 . 41 0 . 946493027 c - rel x75042 1 . 32 1 . 46 0 . 902036285 c - rel m11595 1 . 27 1 . 42 0 . 889929469 c - rel x75042 1 . 14 1 . 47 0 . 777782886 c2h2 znf af033199 1 . 07 1 . 14 0 . 938338671 c2h2 znf af033199 0 . 99 1 . 16 0 . 852890579 c2h2 - type znf u95991 1 . 19 1 . 01 1 . 173282928 c2h2 - type znf u95991 0 . 98 1 . 04 0 . 942590144 c2orf3 nm_003203 1 . 46 1 . 22 1 . 196699322 c2orf3 nm_003203 1 . 01 0 . 93 1 . 093811577 cbf ( 5 ) m37197 4 . 06 4 . 25 0 . 956014195 cbf ( 5 ) m37197 3 . 60 4 . 09 0 . 88090602 cbf1 af098297 1 . 61 1 . 63 0 . 991664197 cbf1 af098297 1 . 38 1 . 78 0 . 772546908 cbfa1 l40992 1 . 30 1 . 45 0 . 898057655 cbfa1 l40992 1 . 26 1 . 46 0 . 865127809 cbfa1 / osf2 af053949 1 . 22 1 . 28 0 . 951727989 cbfa1 / osf2 af053949 1 . 22 1 . 33 0 . 92146037 cbfa2t1 nm_004349 1 . 49 1 . 65 0 . 901008111 cbfa2t1 nm_004349 1 . 24 1 . 59 0 . 780002118 cbfb l20298 2 . 33 2 . 74 0 . 851333501 cbfb l20298 2 . 36 2 . 91 0 . 8088749 cdp m74099 1 . 39 1 . 61 0 . 85914075 cdp m74099 1 . 27 1 . 64 0 . 77621359 cebpb nm_005194 1 . 24 1 . 47 0 . 846246886 cebpb nm_005194 1 . 26 1 . 49 0 . 846246188 cebpd nm_005195 0 . 83 1 . 00 0 . 829917576 cebpd nm_005195 0 . 84 1 . 03 0 . 822579365 cebpe u48866 1 . 91 2 . 01 0 . 948532903 cebpe u48866 2 . 06 2 . 38 0 . 86669978 cezanne nm_020205 2 . 88 2 . 96 0 . 974633442 cezanne nm_020205 2 . 65 2 . 83 0 . 935357017 chd1 nm_001270 1 . 62 1 . 59 1 . 014951939 chd1 nm_001270 1 . 43 1 . 59 0 . 898362477 chd4 nm_001273 1 . 54 1 . 70 0 . 909055986 chd4 nm_001273 1 . 49 1 . 72 0 . 862018232 chfr nm_018223 4 . 35 4 . 43 0 . 982194772 chfr nm_018223 3 . 92 4 . 36 0 . 899117503 chn1 nm_001822 1 . 42 1 . 53 0 . 927629676 chn1 nm_001822 1 . 37 1 . 49 0 . 923095091 cis4 nm_004232 1 . 67 1 . 79 0 . 935688257 cis4 nm_004232 1 . 82 2 . 13 0 . 851569476 cited1 nm_004143 1 . 10 1 . 30 0 . 850853943 cited1 nm_004143 1 . 17 1 . 39 0 . 844249881 cnbp m28372 0 . 67 0 . 54 1 . 233592517 cnbp m28372 0 . 62 0 . 54 1 . 163359863 coactivator ebv nuclear u22055 0 . 82 0 . 94 0 . 869546763 protein 2 coactivator ebv nuclear u22055 0 . 81 1 . 00 0 . 810099254 protein 2 copeb nm_001300 1 . 14 1 . 29 0 . 885046712 copeb nm_001300 1 . 12 1 . 34 0 . 833843243 cops5 nm_006837 2 . 46 2 . 14 1 . 148421053 cops5 nm_006837 2 . 48 2 . 32 1 . 071355007 cp2 u01965 1 . 01 1 . 23 0 . 82004865 cp2 u01965 1 . 00 1 . 30 0 . 771414141 cr53 af017433 1 . 33 1 . 33 0 . 997732351 cr53 af017433 1 . 29 1 . 39 0 . 925956448 cre - bp1 j05623 1 . 13 1 . 38 0 . 819277436 cre - bp1 j05623 1 . 02 1 . 26 0 . 815059942 creb m27691 0 . 92 1 . 09 0 . 842697518 creb m27691 0 . 85 1 . 06 0 . 7964146 crebbp nm_004380 1 . 09 1 . 25 0 . 872661186 crebbp nm_004380 1 . 12 1 . 30 0 . 86705145 crebpa nm_004904 1 . 26 1 . 30 0 . 971711147 crebpa nm_004904 1 . 10 1 . 24 0 . 887551154 croc4 nm_006365 1 . 15 1 . 25 0 . 926055212 croc4 nm_006365 1 . 16 1 . 38 0 . 842320854 crsp70 nm_004831 0 . 91 1 . 06 0 . 854668195 crsp70 nm_004831 0 . 92 1 . 15 0 . 803384327 crsp9 nm_004270 1 . 37 1 . 49 0 . 919973517 crsp9 nm_004270 1 . 40 1 . 53 0 . 919262135 csda nm_003651 2 . 00 2 . 09 0 . 956497534 csda nm_003651 1 . 79 2 . 09 0 . 857935728 cspg4 nm_001897 6 . 91 6 . 16 1 . 121744511 cspg4 nm_001897 6 . 24 6 . 25 0 . 998642122 cyclin t1 af048730 1 . 27 1 . 54 0 . 823279433 cyclin t1 af048730 1 . 20 1 . 47 0 . 813677962 cyclin t2a af048731 1 . 50 1 . 54 0 . 973727374 cyclin t2a af048731 1 . 65 1 . 70 0 . 971786333 daxx ab015051 1 . 22 1 . 49 0 . 814149894 daxx ab015051 1 . 16 1 . 45 0 . 796739358 db1 d28118 1 . 21 1 . 38 0 . 873780256 db1 d28118 1 . 20 1 . 38 0 . 871224304 ddxbp1 nm_016166 1 . 20 1 . 32 0 . 908250709 ddxbp1 nm_016166 1 . 14 1 . 32 0 . 865664426 ded aj249940 0 . 85 0 . 90 0 . 947823489 ded aj249940 0 . 84 0 . 90 0 . 93599742 dek s89712 1 . 38 1 . 62 0 . 856330516 dek s89712 1 . 32 1 . 55 0 . 852478465 dffb nm_004402 1 . 36 1 . 40 0 . 968276574 dffb nm_004402 1 . 22 1 . 55 0 . 787420865 dip1 nm_012142 1 . 39 1 . 14 1 . 217929208 dip1 nm_012142 1 . 17 1 . 15 1 . 01617335 dlc1 nm_006094 3 . 06 3 . 29 0 . 931248269 dlc1 nm_006094 2 . 97 3 . 29 0 . 903164687 dlx3 nm_005220 1 . 13 1 . 26 0 . 894141987 dlx5 nm_005221 1 . 45 1 . 39 1 . 04166642 dlx5 nm_005221 1 . 25 1 . 61 0 . 775477519 dmahp x84813 1 . 10 1 . 29 0 . 851587242 dmahp x84813 1 . 08 1 . 31 0 . 825399746 dmrt1 aj276801 1 . 41 1 . 41 1 . 002793104 dmrt1 aj276801 1 . 43 1 . 48 0 . 961743556 dna - binding protein x60824 1 . 36 1 . 52 0 . 897844438 dna - binding protein x60824 1 . 32 1 . 48 0 . 88927803 dnase1 nm_005223 1 . 21 1 . 25 0 . 964151008 dnase1 nm_005223 0 . 97 1 . 21 0 . 798481304 dnase2 nm_001375 2 . 98 3 . 43 0 . 867988126 dnase2 nm_001375 2 . 89 3 . 55 0 . 815129956 dra nm_000111 1 . 26 1 . 39 0 . 904139999 dra nm_000111 1 . 21 1 . 41 0 . 862444488 dream aj131730 0 . 78 0 . 96 0 . 819901761 dream aj131730 0 . 76 0 . 98 0 . 770874238 e2f1 m96577 0 . 89 1 . 03 0 . 869321414 e2f1 m96577 0 . 91 1 . 05 0 . 867695906 ear - 1r d16815 2 . 06 2 . 10 0 . 984212792 ear - 1r d16815 1 . 88 2 . 21 0 . 850783292 egr1 x52541 1 . 47 1 . 50 0 . 979883348 egr1 x52541 1 . 44 1 . 51 0 . 953589751 egr1 m17254 0 . 86 1 . 03 0 . 832083695 egr1 m17254 0 . 87 1 . 05 0 . 827505943 egr4 nm_001965 0 . 60 0 . 71 0 . 840382873 egr4 nm_001965 0 . 63 0 . 81 0 . 775954581 eklf u65404 0 . 98 1 . 04 0 . 944031465 eklf u65404 0 . 96 1 . 03 0 . 935317019 elf1 m82882 1 . 76 1 . 83 0 . 964878433 elf1 m82882 1 . 62 1 . 76 0 . 921751518 elf4 nm_001421 1 . 45 1 . 41 1 . 027947336 elf4 nm_001421 1 . 36 1 . 37 0 . 991044834 elk3 nm_005230 1 . 28 1 . 57 0 . 815739725 elk3 nm_005230 1 . 33 1 . 68 0 . 790796088 ell nm_006532 0 . 95 1 . 16 0 . 822566492 ell nm_006532 0 . 95 1 . 16 0 . 819455294 elongation factor 1 - x16869 1 . 35 1 . 50 0 . 8947725 alpha elongation factor 1 - x16869 1 . 36 1 . 59 0 . 853485168 alpha l34587 1 . 41 1 . 64 0 . 861800291 elongation factor siii elongation factor siii l34587 1 . 49 1 . 82 0 . 820065033 elongation factor - 1 - z21507 0 . 81 0 . 99 0 . 81190776 delta elongation factor - 1 - z21507 0 . 78 1 . 00 0 . 782148893 delta en1 l12698 1 . 36 1 . 45 0 . 935865444 en1 l12698 1 . 23 1 . 47 0 . 836794344 epas1 nm_001430 1 . 18 1 . 38 0 . 856844874 epas1 nm_001430 1 . 15 1 . 46 0 . 783761416 ercc2 x52222 5 . 72 4 . 80 1 . 193231705 ercc2 x52222 5 . 33 4 . 73 1 . 127089247 ercc3 nm_000122 1 . 36 1 . 57 0 . 863467286 ercc3 nm_000122 1 . 30 1 . 60 0 . 812147676 erf - 2 x78992 2 . 14 2 . 41 0 . 889330713 erf - 2 x78992 2 . 26 2 . 55 0 . 883602051 erg nm_004449 1 . 62 1 . 42 1 . 142428678 erg nm_004449 1 . 49 1 . 50 0 . 996969892 erm x96375 4 . 16 4 . 29 0 . 969559654 erm x96375 3 . 27 3 . 55 0 . 921520209 ert af017307 2 . 43 2 . 68 0 . 90894817 ert af017307 2 . 51 2 . 82 0 . 891141057 esrrg nm_001438 0 . 95 1 . 13 0 . 839582135 esrrg nm_001438 0 . 95 1 . 15 0 . 821231854 etr101 nm_004907 2 . 74 2 . 75 0 . 997375352 etr101 nm_004907 2 . 49 2 . 80 0 . 887790293 ets transcription factor af115403 1 . 14 1 . 31 0 . 87442124 ese - 2b ets transcription factor af115403 1 . 11 1 . 43 0 . 77156259 ese - 2b ets - 1 gene af193068 1 . 21 1 . 38 0 . 874625305 ets - 1 gene af193068 1 . 22 1 . 40 0 . 868962372 ets - like u30174 1 . 40 1 . 23 1 . 131217765 ets - like u30174 1 . 49 1 . 35 1 . 098811633 ets - like z49980 1 . 61 1 . 51 1 . 067048232 ets - like z49980 1 . 54 1 . 56 0 . 991710772 ets2 m30137 1 . 75 2 . 02 0 . 86945137 ets2 m30137 1 . 78 2 . 11 0 . 844919404 etv1 nm_004956 1 . 13 1 . 25 0 . 910122678 etv1 nm_004956 1 . 39 1 . 59 0 . 871215971 etv6 u45432 1 . 38 1 . 43 0 . 965065589 etv6 nm_001987 0 . 90 1 . 11 0 . 811726255 evi - 1 s82592 2 . 53 2 . 10 1 . 208239627 evi - 1 s82592 2 . 26 2 . 15 1 . 055074375 ewsr1 nm_005243 1 . 01 1 . 28 0 . 789906804 ewsr1 nm_005243 1 . 00 1 . 28 0 . 783731221 ezh2 u61145 1 . 26 1 . 35 0 . 932953273 ezh2 u61145 1 . 27 1 . 39 0 . 907474288 factp140 nm_007192 1 . 43 1 . 48 0 . 96265369 factp140 nm_007192 1 . 41 1 . 48 0 . 954817504 fas - binding protein af015956 0 . 90 1 . 08 0 . 833884369 daxx fas - binding protein af015956 0 . 89 1 . 09 0 . 81465638 daxx fbw1a af129530 1 . 31 1 . 45 0 . 900471742 fbw1a af129530 1 . 27 1 . 54 0 . 829306514 fgd1 u11690 1 . 33 1 . 14 1 . 173441119 fgd1 u11690 1 . 21 1 . 23 0 . 990554056 fgr nm_005248 1 . 33 1 . 58 0 . 839283541 fgr nm_005248 1 . 27 1 . 60 0 . 790883893 fhl1 af110763 1 . 56 1 . 77 0 . 88200997 fhl1 af110763 1 . 45 1 . 76 0 . 822210318 fkhl7 af048693 3 . 42 3 . 29 1 . 040543697 fkhl7 af048693 3 . 65 3 . 62 1 . 006927826 fkhr af032885 2 . 42 2 . 08 1 . 161966778 fkhr af032885 2 . 36 2 . 18 1 . 082816723 fkhrl1p1 af032887 1 . 42 1 . 54 0 . 924383924 fkhrl1p1 af032887 1 . 46 1 . 60 0 . 912174436 fli_cdna al360183 1 . 33 1 . 28 1 . 036167415 fli_cdna al360183 1 . 37 1 . 37 0 . 996443864 flj10173 nm_018014 1 . 04 1 . 04 0 . 999229429 flj10173 nm_018014 1 . 01 1 . 01 0 . 996944727 flj10251 nm_018039 1 . 31 1 . 43 0 . 911977997 flj10251 nm_018039 1 . 31 1 . 46 0 . 897214657 flj10339 nm_018063 1 . 62 1 . 87 0 . 866263178 flj10339 nm_018063 1 . 53 1 . 86 0 . 822236451 flj10469 nm_018102 0 . 94 1 . 09 0 . 865336872 flj10469 nm_018102 0 . 94 1 . 09 0 . 865236102 flj10688 ak001550 0 . 97 1 . 11 0 . 881574929 flj10688 ak001550 0 . 95 1 . 19 0 . 802514491 flj10891 nm_018260 1 . 22 1 . 31 0 . 928051813 flj10891 nm_018260 1 . 15 1 . 38 0 . 83802715 flj10909 ak001771 2 . 36 2 . 38 0 . 988865574 flj10909 ak001771 2 . 19 2 . 39 0 . 917728349 flj11015 nm_018300 1 . 10 1 . 19 0 . 922727928 flj11015 nm_018300 0 . 99 1 . 17 0 . 845365497 flj11137 nm_018337 1 . 43 1 . 64 0 . 875337744 flj11137 nm_018337 1 . 33 1 . 60 0 . 831187459 flj11340 ak002202 3 . 74 3 . 96 0 . 944037815 flj11340 ak002202 3 . 72 4 . 02 0 . 925252175 flj11344 ak002206 1 . 11 1 . 24 0 . 900786005 flj11344 ak002206 1 . 22 1 . 39 0 . 879708376 flj11688 ak021750 1 . 31 1 . 41 0 . 925531252 flj11688 ak021750 1 . 35 1 . 50 0 . 901037884 flj12606 ak022668 1 . 11 1 . 15 0 . 965529216 flj12606 ak022668 0 . 96 1 . 10 0 . 876202729 flj12628 ak022690 1 . 30 1 . 38 0 . 938935506 flj12628 ak022690 1 . 25 1 . 36 0 . 925116959 flj12644 ak000909 0 . 98 1 . 09 0 . 901825689 flj12644 ak000909 1 . 02 1 . 16 0 . 874104763 flj13479 ak023541 1 . 12 1 . 35 0 . 830838509 flj13479 ak023541 1 . 05 1 . 27 0 . 825925564 flj20337 nm_017772 1 . 55 1 . 60 0 . 969110576 flj20337 nm_017772 1 . 60 1 . 66 0 . 966477023 flj20428 ak000435 1 . 00 1 . 13 0 . 88699187 flj20428 ak000435 1 . 03 1 . 16 0 . 883146291 flj20438 ak000445 2 . 61 2 . 97 0 . 876697181 flj20438 ak000445 2 . 41 2 . 99 0 . 807812353 flj22332 ak025985 1 . 37 1 . 67 0 . 823105199 flj22332 ak025985 1 . 22 1 . 52 0 . 80219778 flj22973 ak026626 0 . 93 1 . 11 0 . 841359026 flj22973 ak026626 0 . 94 1 . 14 0 . 825377156 fog2 nm_012082 1 . 03 1 . 10 0 . 930301277 fog2 nm_012082 1 . 11 1 . 24 0 . 901732208 fosl2 nm_005253 1 . 42 1 . 73 0 . 818161857 fosl2 nm_005253 1 . 40 1 . 80 0 . 775807396 foxd2 nm_004474 1 . 36 1 . 49 0 . 918399567 foxd2 nm_004474 1 . 35 1 . 48 0 . 912187342 foxd3 nm_012183 1 . 67 1 . 55 1 . 072311149 foxd3 nm_012183 1 . 55 1 . 63 0 . 952188792 foxo3a nm_001455 0 . 87 1 . 10 0 . 789948212 foxo3a nm_001455 0 . 85 1 . 09 0 . 780082817 fra - 1 x16707 1 . 19 1 . 22 0 . 975373174 fra - 1 x16707 1 . 15 1 . 25 0 . 920368654 freac1 u13219 1 . 33 1 . 44 0 . 920850002 freac1 u13219 1 . 33 1 . 47 0 . 900355759 freac10 af042831 1 . 37 1 . 53 0 . 895510594 freac10 af042831 1 . 29 1 . 49 0 . 862685753 freac6 l13203 0 . 68 0 . 76 0 . 894745854 freac6 l13203 0 . 65 0 . 75 0 . 865206105 freac7 u13225 0 . 82 0 . 70 1 . 159351607 freac7 u13225 0 . 70 0 . 72 0 . 971169803 frphe af026692 1 . 02 1 . 11 0 . 917414227 frphe af026692 0 . 99 1 . 17 0 . 852068204 gabpb1 nm_005254 1 . 74 1 . 77 0 . 98532103 gabpb1 nm_005254 1 . 74 1 . 82 0 . 956282084 gadd 153 s40706 1 . 28 1 . 47 0 . 871741003 gadd 153 s40706 1 . 09 1 . 42 0 . 76973024 gapdh m33197 0 . 58 0 . 61 0 . 949162972 gapdh m33197 0 . 56 0 . 59 0 . 947048611 gcma nm_003643 1 . 20 1 . 32 0 . 908325507 gcma nm_003643 1 . 15 1 . 32 0 . 870108289 gcn5l1 nm_001487 0 . 80 0 . 93 0 . 856784201 gcn5l1 nm_001487 0 . 73 0 . 90 0 . 820087548 giot - 1 ab021641 1 . 29 1 . 45 0 . 884372648 giot - 1 ab021641 1 . 22 1 . 50 0 . 812297818 giot - 2 nm_016264 0 . 93 1 . 07 0 . 868101488 giot - 2 nm_016264 0 . 91 1 . 10 0 . 82720992 giot - 3 nm_016265 0 . 87 0 . 97 0 . 893216374 giot - 3 nm_016265 0 . 86 0 . 97 0 . 884789805 giot - 4 nm_016266 1 . 73 2 . 15 0 . 806073313 giot - 4 nm_016266 1 . 78 2 . 27 0 . 783305867 gli x07384 1 . 34 1 . 32 1 . 019171414 gli x07384 1 . 28 1 . 34 0 . 958829722 gli3 m57609 2 . 18 1 . 98 1 . 098071683 gli3 m57609 1 . 95 2 . 06 0 . 944192578 gpx5 nm_001509 0 . 94 1 . 08 0 . 865100605 gpx5 nm_001509 1 . 37 1 . 62 0 . 847040407 grlf1 nm_004491 0 . 79 0 . 87 0 . 906709069 grlf1 nm_004491 0 . 71 0 . 80 0 . 885942625 gtf2b nm_001514 2 . 16 2 . 30 0 . 937394785 gtf2b nm_001514 1 . 95 2 . 44 0 . 799673306 gtf2e1 nm_005513 0 . 76 0 . 98 0 . 784112092 gtf2e1 nm_005513 0 . 74 0 . 96 0 . 769972038 gtf2i nm_001518 2 . 68 2 . 80 0 . 958900201 gtf2i nm_001518 2 . 58 2 . 96 0 . 869928806 gtf2ip1 af036613 0 . 95 0 . 70 1 . 359169172 gtf2ip1 af036613 0 . 84 0 . 84 0 . 988769754 gtf3a nm_002097 1 . 49 1 . 59 0 . 932083753 gtf3a nm_002097 1 . 58 1 . 70 0 . 931723008 gtf3c1 nm_001520 2 . 07 2 . 25 0 . 919747554 gtf3c1 nm_001520 1 . 99 2 . 34 0 . 847308047 gtf3c2 nm_001521 1 . 31 1 . 28 1 . 027107124 gtf3c2 nm_001521 1 . 22 1 . 29 0 . 943844023 gtf3c3 nm_012086 1 . 64 1 . 64 0 . 996581398 gtf3c3 nm_012086 1 . 52 1 . 67 0 . 907893639 gtf3c4 nm_012204 1 . 11 1 . 28 0 . 860437792 gtf3c4 nm_012204 1 . 13 1 . 33 0 . 851773956 gtp af054183 1 . 98 2 . 25 0 . 880760132 gtp af054183 1 . 86 2 . 27 0 . 818437867 h1f3 m60746 1 . 08 1 . 27 0 . 853497342 h1f3 m60746 1 . 10 1 . 33 0 . 824710104 h2afx x14850 1 . 24 1 . 33 0 . 934617922 h2afx x14850 1 . 19 1 . 40 0 . 849848259 h4 x67081 0 . 83 0 . 97 0 . 859373264 h4 x67081 0 . 84 1 . 00 0 . 842811776 hairless af039196 1 . 39 1 . 46 0 . 951801096 hairless af039196 1 . 37 1 . 53 0 . 896272718 hap2 m59079 1 . 59 1 . 49 1 . 062457371 hap2 m59079 1 . 33 1 . 71 0 . 780793131 hat1 nm_003642 1 . 05 0 . 86 1 . 223229142 hat1 nm_003642 1 . 06 1 . 04 1 . 026464835 hb16 m31630 0 . 97 1 . 09 0 . 894291244 hb16 m31630 1 . 01 1 . 26 0 . 797052293 hb9 u07663 2 . 64 2 . 61 1 . 013508831 hb9 u07664 0 . 92 1 . 03 0 . 895489189 hboa nm_007067 1 . 27 1 . 37 0 . 929935594 hboa nm_007067 1 . 23 1 . 35 0 . 912294782 hcf - 2 af117210 1 . 43 1 . 56 0 . 918694023 hcf - 2 af117210 1 . 43 1 . 61 0 . 888145397 hd - znf1 nm_004876 1 . 11 1 . 22 0 . 910541692 hd - znf1 nm_004876 1 . 05 1 . 19 0 . 884372648 hdac1 nm_004964 0 . 83 0 . 97 0 . 851140233 hdac1 nm_004964 0 . 82 0 . 97 0 . 844737874 hdac4 nm_006037 2 . 76 2 . 40 1 . 153229661 hdac4 nm_006037 1 . 64 1 . 99 0 . 825094678 heb m83233 0 . 75 0 . 89 0 . 83812814 heb m83233 0 . 73 0 . 90 0 . 814864061 hen1 m96739 1 . 51 1 . 61 0 . 937658625 hen1 m96739 1 . 49 1 . 69 0 . 883530062 herp1 af232238 1 . 64 1 . 78 0 . 918811847 herp1 af232238 1 . 48 1 . 69 0 . 873182906 herp2 af232239 0 . 88 0 . 97 0 . 913791819 herp2 af232239 0 . 82 1 . 01 0 . 814129508 hes4 ab048791 1 . 12 1 . 24 0 . 906421263 hes4 ab048791 1 . 17 1 . 31 0 . 892326717 hgs nm_004712 1 . 13 1 . 22 0 . 925941974 hgs nm_004712 1 . 08 1 . 23 0 . 884627755 hic1 nm_006497 1 . 01 1 . 19 0 . 84718439 hic1 nm_006497 0 . 94 1 . 20 0 . 789513268 hivep1 nm_002114 1 . 24 1 . 14 1 . 08520656 hivep1 nm_002114 1 . 03 1 . 16 0 . 893216374 hivep2 nm_006734 2 . 86 2 . 87 0 . 99372865 hke4 nm_006979 1 . 51 1 . 70 0 . 89115193 hke4 nm_006979 1 . 35 1 . 66 0 . 814320291 hlf m95585 1 . 28 1 . 32 0 . 971118298 hlf m95586 1 . 15 1 . 26 0 . 910803018 hmg - 1 d63874 1 . 27 1 . 25 1 . 015741343 hmg - 1 d63874 1 . 23 1 . 22 1 . 008346304 hmg - 2 x62534 1 . 70 1 . 82 0 . 938295788 hmg - 2 x62534 1 . 55 1 . 76 0 . 878616998 hmg17 nm_005517 0 . 99 1 . 14 0 . 868604212 hmg17 nm_005517 0 . 97 1 . 15 0 . 841273347 hmgiy nm_002131 0 . 92 1 . 04 0 . 886466628 hmgiy nm_002131 0 . 93 1 . 13 0 . 824826257 hnf - 1a m57732 1 . 03 1 . 19 0 . 868596298 hnf - 1a m57732 1 . 07 1 . 25 0 . 861349263 hnf - 1b x71346 2 . 40 2 . 21 1 . 087117438 hnf - 1b x71346 2 . 25 2 . 18 1 . 030922798 hnf - 3gamma l12141 1 . 46 1 . 53 0 . 956635501 hnf - 3gamma l12141 1 . 40 1 . 54 0 . 90844598 hnf - 4alpha3 u72967 2 . 92 3 . 06 0 . 953909282 hnf - 4alpha3 u72967 2 . 76 3 . 16 0 . 871764387 hnf - 6alpha af035580 1 . 20 1 . 00 1 . 202677165 hnf - 6alpha af035580 1 . 02 1 . 07 0 . 954515537 hnf3a nm_004496 1 . 35 1 . 39 0 . 968770391 hnf3a nm_004496 1 . 30 1 . 39 0 . 934312714 hox l11239 1 . 29 1 . 55 0 . 831459424 hox l11239 1 . 22 1 . 56 0 . 784287548 hox11 s38742 0 . 82 0 . 97 0 . 846268344 hox11 s38742 0 . 89 1 . 06 0 . 840219605 hox11l2 aj223798 5 . 90 5 . 44 1 . 08601856 hox11l2 aj223798 5 . 29 5 . 47 0 . 967027069 hoxa - 9 u81511 2 . 28 2 . 06 1 . 107860869 hoxa - 9 u81511 2 . 06 2 . 02 1 . 019494694 hoxa1 s79910 1 . 47 1 . 44 1 . 023612925 hoxa1 s79910 1 . 22 1 . 31 0 . 930731462 hoxa11 af071164 1 . 23 1 . 36 0 . 902672948 hoxa11 af071164 1 . 28 1 . 48 0 . 86247018 hoxa13 nm_000522 7 . 13 5 . 19 1 . 375914112 hoxa13 nm_000522 3 . 90 4 . 45 0 . 876388041 hoxa4 u56105 1 . 20 1 . 41 0 . 854164123 hoxa4 u56105 1 . 19 1 . 46 0 . 814779811 hoxa7 nm_006896 1 . 14 1 . 20 0 . 952764133 hoxa7 nm_006896 1 . 09 1 . 21 0 . 899003953 hoxb1 x16666 1 . 59 1 . 81 0 . 877682176 hoxb1 x16666 1 . 62 2 . 00 0 . 80887332 hoxb2 x78978 1 . 84 1 . 60 1 . 145917 hoxb2 x78978 1 . 64 1 . 72 0 . 957991608 hoxb2 x16665 1 . 39 1 . 54 0 . 905368978 hoxb2 x16665 1 . 42 1 . 59 0 . 895429132 hoxb3 x16667 1 . 92 1 . 73 1 . 107588304 hoxb3 x16667 1 . 87 1 . 84 1 . 015740013 hoxb4 af005652 1 . 16 1 . 27 0 . 911652213 hoxb4 af005652 1 . 09 1 . 24 0 . 880915725 hoxb5 m92299 1 . 18 1 . 38 0 . 854344138 hoxb5 m92299 1 . 20 1 . 49 0 . 803737757 hoxb7 m16937 0 . 95 1 . 22 0 . 778800068 hoxb7 m16937 0 . 97 1 . 24 0 . 778387715 hoxc10 af255675 1 . 16 1 . 28 0 . 905053085 hoxc10 x99685 1 . 12 1 . 27 0 . 881270065 hoxc10 af255675 1 . 13 1 . 31 0 . 858450467 hoxc10 x99685 1 . 10 1 . 33 0 . 82796661 hoxc6 m16938 1 . 26 1 . 49 0 . 844466889 hoxc6 m16938 1 . 16 1 . 46 0 . 800039127 hoxc8 x99681 1 . 12 1 . 30 0 . 860768554 hoxc8 x99681 0 . 97 1 . 24 0 . 783209726 hoxd3 nm_006898 1 . 51 1 . 62 0 . 92856985 hoxd3 nm_006898 1 . 47 1 . 61 0 . 918716026 hoxd4 x04706 1 . 24 1 . 40 0 . 886519344 hoxd4 x67079 1 . 56 1 . 78 0 . 877418885 hoxd4 x67079 1 . 54 1 . 86 0 . 826005297 hoxd4 x04706 1 . 22 1 . 52 0 . 804048475 hpx42b nm_014468 1 . 02 1 . 04 0 . 980963071 hpx42b nm_014468 0 . 91 1 . 00 0 . 913143774 hrev x72631 1 . 25 1 . 35 0 . 929674185 hrev x72631 1 . 28 1 . 42 0 . 902255362 hs747e2a nm_015370 1 . 07 1 . 12 0 . 959032318 hs747e2a nm_015370 1 . 02 1 . 17 0 . 873166624 hsa275986 nm_018403 1 . 80 1 . 66 1 . 081002809 hsa275986 nm_018403 1 . 61 1 . 81 0 . 888060724 hsbp1 af068754 2 . 24 2 . 62 0 . 853507954 hsbp1 af068754 2 . 27 2 . 83 0 . 801085361 hset d14678 0 . 47 0 . 56 0 . 84140568 hset d14678 0 . 46 0 . 59 0 . 779570541 hsf2bp nm_007031 2 . 36 2 . 61 0 . 904409562 hsf2bp nm_007031 2 . 24 2 . 57 0 . 86866997 hsgt1 nm_007265 1 . 14 1 . 17 0 . 973056944 hsgt1 nm_007265 1 . 12 1 . 27 0 . 878498082 hsim2 d85922 2 . 71 2 . 85 0 . 952407887 hsim2 d85922 2 . 65 2 . 91 0 . 910509622 hsp90 x07270 0 . 92 1 . 11 0 . 82588322 hsp90 x15183 2 . 01 2 . 48 0 . 812100632 htfiis . h aj223473 0 . 99 1 . 13 0 . 878742961 htfiis . h aj223473 0 . 98 1 . 14 0 . 856298131 hunki y12059 1 . 59 1 . 62 0 . 976707993 hunki y12059 1 . 33 1 . 50 0 . 884627755 hzf2 x78925 1 . 12 1 . 19 0 . 948487222 hzf2 x78925 1 . 08 1 . 19 0 . 908973223 hzf3 x78926 1 . 28 1 . 39 0 . 920945575 hzf3 x78926 1 . 10 1 . 31 0 . 838730175 hzf8 x78931 1 . 56 1 . 52 1 . 022134201 hzf8 x78931 1 . 40 1 . 56 0 . 896953681 hzf9 x78932 1 . 14 1 . 24 0 . 918602524 hzf9 x78932 1 . 11 1 . 30 0 . 857126824 id1 nm_002165 1 . 24 1 . 23 1 . 00902126 id1 nm_002165 1 . 13 1 . 41 0 . 80522294 id3 a17548 1 . 38 1 . 31 1 . 055781754 id3 x69111 1 . 27 1 . 28 0 . 990641606 id4 y07958 1 . 15 1 . 26 0 . 913664616 id4 y07958 1 . 09 1 . 32 0 . 830113526 insaf s73205 1 . 84 2 . 05 0 . 898920183 insaf s73205 1 . 85 2 . 13 0 . 871765981 intergenic region u15407 2 . 30 2 . 60 0 . 88468389 hoxb7 - hoxb6 intergenic region u15407 2 . 04 2 . 59 0 . 785453268 hoxb7 - hoxb6 iqgap2 nm_006633 1 . 12 1 . 12 0 . 998484582 iqgap2 nm_006633 0 . 94 1 . 12 0 . 840859025 irf - 1 x14454 2 . 41 2 . 57 0 . 938218115 irf - 1 x14454 2 . 39 2 . 58 0 . 925343204 irf2 nm_002199 3 . 34 2 . 85 1 . 173965009 irf2 nm_002199 2 . 94 2 . 56 1 . 14907375 irf4 u52682 1 . 32 1 . 28 1 . 029933166 irf4 u52682 1 . 37 1 . 43 0 . 959410817 irf5 nm_002200 1 . 37 1 . 51 0 . 904052621 irf5 nm_002200 1 . 36 1 . 59 0 . 858607001 irf6 nm_006147 1 . 29 1 . 58 0 . 813425333 irf6 nm_006147 1 . 18 1 . 50 0 . 789190299 irf7 u53830 1 . 84 1 . 44 1 . 27973546 irf7 nm_004029 1 . 32 1 . 21 1 . 084000454 irx - 4 nm_016358 1 . 19 1 . 15 1 . 029933166 irx - 4 nm_016358 1 . 17 1 . 22 0 . 956334448 isgf - 3gamma m87503 1 . 42 1 . 55 0 . 915149715 isgf - 3gamma m87503 1 . 39 1 . 56 0 . 887975373 jun - d x56681 2 . 38 2 . 25 1 . 056280294 jun - d x56681 2 . 04 2 . 18 0 . 933938896 junb x51345 1 . 02 1 . 14 0 . 892190868 junb x51345 0 . 98 1 . 14 0 . 855272625 k - alpha - 1 nm_006082 0 . 83 0 . 96 0 . 86884485 k - alpha - 1 nm_006082 0 . 83 0 . 97 0 . 859281424 kf1 nm_005667 0 . 93 1 . 05 0 . 890983333 kf1 nm_005667 0 . 91 1 . 06 0 . 864474263 kiaa0048 d28588 1 . 17 1 . 24 0 . 943988673 kiaa0048 d28588 1 . 19 1 . 30 0 . 918453567 kiaa0065 d31763 2 . 61 2 . 47 1 . 058679492 kiaa0065 d31763 2 . 53 2 . 52 1 . 005681703 kiaa0071 nm_015156 2 . 49 2 . 21 1 . 124047572 kiaa0071 nm_015156 2 . 30 2 . 27 1 . 015956269 kiaa0130 nm_014815 1 . 35 1 . 36 0 . 9886418 kiaa0130 nm_014815 1 . 17 1 . 34 0 . 869733568 kiaa0161 d79983 1 . 43 1 . 66 0 . 85937708 k1aa0161 d79983 1 . 42 1 . 69 0 . 837823111 kiaa0211 d86966 1 . 41 1 . 67 0 . 846204986 kiaa0211 d86966 1 . 37 1 . 73 0 . 79442123 kiaa0222 d86975 2 . 22 2 . 40 0 . 925360475 kiaa0222 d86975 2 . 02 2 . 43 0 . 82835128 kiaa0244 nm_015153 1 . 54 1 . 39 1 . 1095751 kiaa0244 nm_015153 1 . 45 1 . 36 1 . 067040755 kiaa0314 ab002312 2 . 38 2 . 57 0 . 927343337 kiaa0314 ab002312 2 . 33 2 . 65 0 . 876030662 kiaa0333 ab002331 1 . 05 1 . 22 0 . 861487483 kiaa0333 ab002331 1 . 07 1 . 25 0 . 854015656 kiaa0352 nm_014830 2 . 88 3 . 18 0 . 9057295 kiaa0352 nm_014830 2 . 37 2 . 80 0 . 8492877 kiaa0395 ab007855 1 . 56 1 . 77 0 . 879373168 kiaa0395 ab007855 1 . 42 1 . 77 0 . 801179995 kiaa0426 nm_014724 1 . 17 1 . 17 0 . 995781911 kiaa0426 nm_014724 1 . 06 1 . 23 0 . 866553199 kiaa0478 ab007947 2 . 27 2 . 38 0 . 954072874 kiaa0478 ab007947 2 . 25 2 . 62 0 . 857934327 kiaa0569 nm_014795 1 . 66 1 . 65 1 . 011174941 kiaa0569 nm_014795 1 . 39 1 . 76 0 . 78836631 kiaa0595 ab011167 1 . 90 1 . 85 1 . 026787356 kiaa0595 ab011167 1 . 71 2 . 19 0 . 782500333 kiaa0600 ab011172 1 . 90 1 . 34 1 . 413460448 kiaa0600 ab011172 2 . 18 1 . 58 1 . 381300612 kiaa0929 ab023146 1 . 54 1 . 62 0 . 949493335 kiaa0929 ab023146 1 . 55 1 . 63 0 . 949132006 kiaa1015 ab023232 2 . 58 2 . 62 0 . 982939758 kiaa1015 ab023232 2 . 17 2 . 68 0 . 811021231 kiaa1259 ab033085 0 . 85 1 . 04 0 . 817749165 kiaa1259 ab033085 0 . 91 1 . 18 0 . 771007682 kiaa1442 ab037863 2 . 14 2 . 34 0 . 914709549 kiaa1442 ab037863 2 . 15 2 . 39 0 . 898110711 kiaa1528 ab040961 6 . 42 6 . 40 1 . 003589265 kiaa1528 ab040961 6 . 67 6 . 98 0 . 955545485 kiaa1741 aw081989 1 . 58 1 . 79 0 . 882769399 kiaa1741 aw081989 1 . 68 1 . 99 0 . 846731464 kid d38751 1 . 54 1 . 48 1 . 042612741 kid d38751 1 . 45 1 . 52 0 . 95955196 klf13 nm_015995 1 . 04 1 . 28 0 . 816419879 klf13 nm_015995 0 . 91 1 . 14 0 . 796485569 knsl4 ab017335 1 . 22 1 . 41 0 . 866676983 knsl4 ab017335 1 . 19 1 . 45 0 . 818446687 kox1 x52332 1 . 02 1 . 16 0 . 880125266 kox1 x52332 0 . 98 1 . 24 0 . 789133958 kox23 x52354 0 . 91 1 . 08 0 . 842330108 kox23 x52354 0 . 90 1 . 08 0 . 832659332 kox26 x52357 1 . 00 1 . 19 0 . 83622347 kox26 x52357 0 . 99 1 . 26 0 . 785398373 kox29 x52360 0 . 96 1 . 07 0 . 90087877 kox29 x52360 0 . 98 1 . 09 0 . 897521031 kox30 x52361 1 . 58 1 . 72 0 . 918425379 kox30 x52361 1 . 38 1 . 53 0 . 902401118 krab m67508 1 . 56 1 . 63 0 . 955633904 krab m67508 1 . 47 1 . 60 0 . 922478172 kruppel - type znf aj245587 2 . 04 2 . 40 0 . 851750841 kruppel - type znf aj245587 1 . 79 2 . 14 0 . 836843037 kup x16576 0 . 96 1 . 15 0 . 839112982 kup x16576 0 . 92 1 . 13 0 . 816714046 l - myc - 1 ( long form ) x07262 1 . 05 1 . 20 0 . 876584744 l - myc - 1 ( long form ) x07262 1 . 01 1 . 23 0 . 826416004 laf4 nm_002285 0 . 67 0 . 83 0 . 815483937 laf4 nm_002285 0 . 65 0 . 84 0 . 784014372 lbr nm_002296 1 . 25 1 . 30 0 . 966371608 lbr nm_002296 1 . 23 1 . 38 0 . 891519857 ld5 - 1 u88080 1 . 15 1 . 38 0 . 82971758 ld5 - 1 u88080 1 . 11 1 . 41 0 . 790825308 ldoc1 nm_012317 1 . 33 1 . 41 0 . 946393907 ldoc1 nm_012317 1 . 28 1 . 42 0 . 897325005 lef - 1 af203908 1 . 27 1 . 37 0 . 928294795 lef - 1 af203908 1 . 16 1 . 44 0 . 810978586 lens epithelium - derived af063020 1 . 24 1 . 42 0 . 870186854 gf lens epithelium - derived af063020 1 . 13 1 . 39 0 . 81400662 gf leucine zipper af056184 2 . 24 2 . 72 0 . 824441293 leucine zipper af056184 2 . 47 3 . 10 0 . 796652442 leucine zipper kinase af251441 2 . 80 3 . 31 0 . 846204986 azk leucine zipper kinase af251441 2 . 71 3 . 35 0 . 808081689 azk lhx2 nm_004789 1 . 42 1 . 48 0 . 953866869 lhx2 nm_004789 1 . 33 1 . 52 0 . 87550605 lhx6 nm_014368 1 . 31 1 . 42 0 . 921284172 lhx6 nm_014368 1 . 28 1 . 42 0 . 905610681 lim af061258 1 . 13 1 . 44 0 . 78655152 lim af061258 1 . 09 1 . 41 0 . 773071315 lim domain only 1 m26682 1 . 39 1 . 44 0 . 966564434 ( rhombotin 1 ) lim domain only 1 m26682 1 . 32 1 . 49 0 . 883805842 ( rhombotin 1 ) lim protein mlp u49837 0 . 96 1 . 03 0 . 937706079 lim protein mlp u49837 0 . 95 1 . 14 0 . 82868354 lim1 u14755 1 . 17 1 . 23 0 . 952256263 lim1 u14755 1 . 01 1 . 27 0 . 798369687 limk d26309 2 . 92 3 . 03 0 . 964180024 limk - 2 d45906 1 . 60 1 . 66 0 . 965944664 limk - 2 d45906 1 . 63 1 . 73 0 . 945399728 lmo4 u24576 0 . 85 0 . 84 1 . 007125772 lmo4 u24576 0 . 85 0 . 88 0 . 960803963 loc51043 nm_015872 0 . 86 0 . 91 0 . 949928525 loc51043 nm_015872 0 . 96 1 . 02 0 . 943797482 loc51131 nm_016119 1 . 08 1 . 04 1 . 041898041 loc51131 nm_016119 1 . 01 1 . 03 0 . 974830053 loc51193 nm_016331 1 . 18 1 . 40 0 . 846337164 loc51193 nm_016331 1 . 26 1 . 54 0 . 817829826 loc51591 nm_015905 5 . 44 4 . 01 1 . 354983586 loc51591 nm_015905 5 . 77 4 . 26 1 . 353823958 loc51717 nm_016285 1 . 43 1 . 55 0 . 919576048 loc51717 nm_016285 1 . 32 1 . 54 0 . 856030646 loc55862 nm_018479 3 . 18 3 . 29 0 . 96566812 loc55862 nm_018479 2 . 90 3 . 29 0 . 882904561 loc56899 af164792 1 . 35 1 . 46 0 . 923685155 loc56899 af164792 1 . 24 1 . 47 0 . 843151755 lyf - 1 u40462 1 . 17 1 . 33 0 . 881798663 lyf - 1 u40462 1 . 04 1 . 28 0 . 809448886 lzlp nm_013344 1 . 63 1 . 78 0 . 914937922 lzlp nm_013344 1 . 50 1 . 67 0 . 897409878 madh4 nm_005359 1 . 48 1 . 23 1 . 202041185 madh4 nm_005359 1 . 27 1 . 13 1 . 118588098 madh5 nm_005903 1 . 19 1 . 37 0 . 867598314 madh5 nm_005903 1 . 20 1 . 38 0 . 864484722 maf nm_005360 0 . 82 0 . 83 0 . 983383327 maf nm_005360 0 . 74 0 . 92 0 . 79706277 mafg nm_002359 1 . 33 1 . 60 0 . 833961234 mafg nm_002359 1 . 37 1 . 65 0 . 833526497 map4 nm_002375 3 . 80 4 . 62 0 . 824293011 map4 nm_002375 3 . 69 4 . 71 0 . 78417244 mapk8 nm_002750 0 . 88 1 . 00 0 . 88152506 mapk8 nm_002750 0 . 88 1 . 02 0 . 860049569 maz m94046 1 . 21 1 . 47 0 . 819442731 maz m94046 1 . 19 1 . 48 0 . 804052549 mb67 z30425 1 . 08 1 . 02 1 . 060408157 mb67 z30425 0 . 99 1 . 08 0 . 915952791 mcg4 nm_006782 1 . 15 1 . 31 0 . 87362439 mcg4 nm_006782 1 . 15 1 . 34 0 . 857557298 mef2a u49020 1 . 18 1 . 29 0 . 917750293 mef2a u49020 1 . 08 1 . 27 0 . 851735738 mef2b nm_005919 1 . 02 1 . 07 0 . 950137026 mef2b nm_005919 0 . 95 1 . 04 0 . 910069513 mef2d nm_005920 1 . 39 1 . 33 1 . 043108425 mef2d nm_005920 1 . 20 1 . 44 0 . 837034123 metallopanstimulin u85979 1 . 98 2 . 01 0 . 985678226 metallopanstimulin u85979 1 . 94 2 . 20 0 . 882570172 mhox ( k - 2 ) m95929 1 . 07 1 . 17 0 . 914292266 mhox ( k - 2 ) m95929 0 . 95 1 . 17 0 . 810474232 mi z29678 1 . 71 1 . 66 1 . 030471845 mi z29678 1 . 76 1 . 79 0 . 986205176 mitf af034755 1 . 23 1 . 24 0 . 99130983 mitf af034755 1 . 32 1 . 50 0 . 883057308 miz - 1 y09723 1 . 01 1 . 15 0 . 876000186 miz - 1 y09723 0 . 93 1 . 14 0 . 814161592 mlh3 nm_005784 0 . 54 0 . 63 0 . 855999025 mlh3 nm_005784 0 . 62 0 . 78 0 . 801334083 mlx af203978 1 . 41 1 . 49 0 . 949042398 mlx af203978 1 . 36 1 . 48 0 . 923306997 mog u64564 1 . 32 1 . 37 0 . 960484338 mog u64564 1 . 27 1 . 39 0 . 915925265 mrg1 af109161 3 . 76 4 . 37 0 . 860312626 mrg1 af109161 3 . 73 4 . 50 0 . 827783082 mterf nm_006980 1 . 51 1 . 80 0 . 838119573 mterf nm_006980 1 . 35 1 . 70 0 . 789625228 mtf - 1 aj251881 2 . 11 2 . 39 0 . 881959401 mtf - 1 aj251881 1 . 95 2 . 39 0 . 815353763 mttf1 x64269 1 . 47 1 . 59 0 . 925536704 mttf1 x64269 1 . 44 1 . 57 0 . 914838473 mxi1 nm_005962 1 . 16 1 . 29 0 . 898657286 mxi1 nm_005962 1 . 16 1 . 36 0 . 857867078 mybbp1a af147709 2 . 29 1 . 77 1 . 292847997 mybbp1a af147709 1 . 85 1 . 75 1 . 054649057 mycbp nm_012333 3 . 73 3 . 58 1 . 040887845 mycbp nm_012333 3 . 47 3 . 48 0 . 997884909 mycl2 nm_005377 2 . 12 2 . 03 1 . 044677307 mycl2 nm_005377 2 . 04 2 . 00 1 . 018897998 myclk1 m64786 1 . 43 1 . 73 0 . 828883125 myclk1 m64786 1 . 49 1 . 80 0 . 826354974 myt2 nm_003871 4 . 01 4 . 17 0 . 962205771 myt2 nm_003871 4 . 04 4 . 42 0 . 915182881 n - cor af044209 1 . 33 1 . 29 1 . 027153581 n - cor af044209 1 . 25 1 . 29 0 . 969389141 n - oct - 3 z11933 3 . 50 3 . 17 1 . 103689021 n - oct - 3 z11933 2 . 91 3 . 05 0 . 955346496 n143 aj002572 3 . 89 3 . 16 1 . 232431216 n143 aj002572 2 . 82 3 . 41 0 . 828068155 naca nm_005594 1 . 34 1 . 26 1 . 061449635 naca nm_005594 1 . 22 1 . 36 0 . 899257451 naga nm_000262 2 . 23 2 . 55 0 . 873072079 naga nm_000262 2 . 02 2 . 54 0 . 795967326 ncoa1 nm_003743 1 . 34 1 . 43 0 . 939022342 ncoa1 nm_003743 1 . 36 1 . 45 0 . 932646647 ncoa3 nm_006534 2 . 14 2 . 15 0 . 995002762 ncoa3 nm_006534 1 . 97 2 . 05 0 . 959254041 ncym nm_006316 1 . 18 1 . 11 1 . 067219564 ncym nm_006316 1 . 07 1 . 16 0 . 917384574 ndufa6 nm_002490 0 . 80 0 . 82 0 . 969899497 ndufa6 nm_002490 0 . 71 0 . 92 0 . 772339515 negative control negative control 1 . 29 1 . 11 1 . 161392449 negative control negative control 5 . 43 5 . 29 1 . 027043989 neurod2 u58681 1 . 14 1 . 28 0 . 889551897 neurod2 u58681 1 . 02 1 . 28 0 . 795592113 neurog1 u63842 1 . 39 1 . 71 0 . 812574039 neurog1 u63842 1 . 29 1 . 63 0 . 795487149 nf - 1x u07811 0 . 99 0 . 82 1 . 215806558 nf - 1x u07811 0 . 64 0 . 82 0 . 782275487 nfat1 u43341 2 . 28 2 . 65 0 . 861852199 nfat1 u43341 2 . 30 2 . 80 0 . 819721245 nfatc1 nm_006162 1 . 21 1 . 27 0 . 956885723 nfatc1 nm_006162 1 . 20 1 . 33 0 . 906442678 nfatx u14510 1 . 09 1 . 35 0 . 8066644 nfatx u14510 0 . 99 1 . 24 0 . 798995238 nfil3 nm_005384 3 . 33 3 . 43 0 . 969982487 nfil3 nm_005384 3 . 22 3 . 36 0 . 957589194 nfkb1 m58603 2 . 44 2 . 68 0 . 910234175 nfkb1 m55643 1 . 23 1 . 37 0 . 894069494 nfkb2 u09609 1 . 09 1 . 21 0 . 899003953 nfkb2 u09609 1 . 04 1 . 28 0 . 815426014 nfkbib nm_002503 0 . 66 0 . 74 0 . 891632657 nfkbib nm_002503 0 . 61 0 . 73 0 . 835589511 nfkbie nm_004556 1 . 34 1 . 34 0 . 995844935 nfkbie nm_004556 1 . 30 1 . 37 0 . 951450999 nfkbp105 m55643 0 . 82 0 . 80 1 . 028950235 nfkbp105 m55643 0 . 78 0 . 88 0 . 882630106 ngn3 aj133776 1 . 04 1 . 14 0 . 911675496 ngn3 aj133776 1 . 01 1 . 15 0 . 877939013 nme2 nm_002512 1 . 08 1 . 28 0 . 849242645 nme2 nm_002512 0 . 99 1 . 21 0 . 819907039 nmi u32849 1 . 50 1 . 65 0 . 908824603 nmi u32849 1 . 46 1 . 67 0 . 874987469 nod1 af149774 0 . 88 0 . 97 0 . 913819737 nod1 af149774 0 . 80 0 . 97 0 . 829329103 not3 nm_014516 1 . 10 1 . 05 1 . 043010425 not3 nm_014516 1 . 01 1 . 32 0 . 770565768 np220 d83032 1 . 59 1 . 80 0 . 886060234 np220 d83032 1 . 50 1 . 74 0 . 861556367 npas1 nm_002517 2 . 55 3 . 06 0 . 832115639 npas1 nm_002517 2 . 53 3 . 18 0 . 795687598 nr0b1 nm_000475 0 . 89 0 . 90 0 . 985394227 nr0b1 nm_000475 0 . 84 1 . 02 0 . 822398708 nr2f6 nm_005234 1 . 11 1 . 26 0 . 878406569 nr2f6 nm_005234 1 . 03 1 . 23 0 . 843593242 nr3c1 nm_000176 1 . 45 1 . 63 0 . 884627755 nr3c1 nm_000176 1 . 37 1 . 57 0 . 872392013 nr4a2 nm_006186 5 . 15 5 . 52 0 . 933470433 nr4a2 nm_006186 4 . 88 5 . 68 0 . 859257687 nr5a1 nm_004959 1 . 55 1 . 88 0 . 827098402 nr5a1 nm_004959 1 . 56 1 . 94 0 . 806250074 nrl m81840 1 . 12 1 . 36 0 . 824507422 nrl m81840 1 . 08 1 . 34 0 . 802675923 nrsf form 2 u13879 1 . 51 1 . 60 0 . 940689035 nrsf form 2 u13879 1 . 29 1 . 56 0 . 826356612 nsep1 nm_004559 4 . 08 4 . 54 0 . 898882683 nsep1 nm_004559 4 . 09 4 . 85 0 . 843016697 nuclear factor 1 b - type u07810 1 . 67 1 . 72 0 . 970651102 nuclear factor 1 b - type u07810 1 . 50 1 . 56 0 . 957498055 nuclear factor i - b2 u85193 5 . 86 6 . 80 0 . 86191166 nuclear factor i - b2 u85193 6 . 04 7 . 09 0 . 85215085 nuclear factor iv x57500 1 . 44 1 . 28 1 . 118113871 nuclear factor iv x57500 1 . 35 1 . 53 0 . 882482444 oaz af221712 0 . 95 0 . 98 0 . 974744849 oaz af221712 0 . 82 0 . 94 0 . 867200363 oct - 1b = pou s66902 1 . 11 1 . 23 0 . 901795827 homeodomain oct - 1b = pou s66902 1 . 07 1 . 22 0 . 879755632 homeodomain oct - 4a z11900 1 . 44 1 . 75 0 . 825538314 oct - 4a z11900 1 . 43 1 . 85 0 . 773109431 ogl12 af023203 2 . 31 2 . 68 0 . 864811744 ogl12 af023203 2 . 45 2 . 92 0 . 837215348 osmrb u60805 0 . 90 1 . 09 0 . 825581 osmrb u60805 0 . 78 0 . 97 0 . 805457565 otf3c z11901 6 . 19 4 . 42 1 . 40097838 otf3c z11901 5 . 89 4 . 42 1 . 332945525 otx1 ab037501 1 . 87 1 . 84 1 . 018457389 otx1 ab037501 1 . 75 1 . 86 0 . 938379 ovol1 nm_004561 1 . 34 1 . 20 1 . 12018921 ovol1 nm_004561 1 . 05 1 . 21 0 . 869990813 p130 s67171 2 . 11 1 . 71 1 . 231079229 p130 s67171 1 . 56 1 . 60 0 . 975948711 p243 aj242977 1 . 27 1 . 43 0 . 884227005 p243 aj242977 1 . 37 1 . 69 0 . 812266478 p38ip nm_017569 0 . 99 1 . 09 0 . 90720651 p38ip nm_017569 0 . 94 1 . 10 0 . 856087428 p53 k03199 1 . 39 1 . 68 0 . 831158406 p53 k03199 1 . 38 1 . 67 0 . 828166161 p621 aj242978 1 . 19 1 . 20 0 . 990516633 p621 aj242978 1 . 06 1 . 18 0 . 898178687 pace4 nm_002570 1 . 29 1 . 48 0 . 867988727 pace4 nm_002570 1 . 26 1 . 48 0 . 852795758 pax1 nm_006192 1 . 20 1 . 32 0 . 903818349 pax1 nm_006192 1 . 06 1 . 32 0 . 807894213 pax2 u45255 1 . 46 1 . 62 0 . 901165711 pax2 u45255 1 . 40 1 . 63 0 . 858751434 pax3 nm_000438 1 . 21 1 . 36 0 . 886358667 pax3 nm_000438 1 . 16 1 . 37 0 . 850478749 pax5 u56835 0 . 93 1 . 06 0 . 871188843 pax5 nm_016734 1 . 71 2 . 02 0 . 846266 pax6 u63833 1 . 33 1 . 53 0 . 865756264 pax6 u63833 1 . 27 1 . 52 0 . 833925287 pax8 s55490 1 . 94 2 . 07 0 . 934433059 pax8 s55490 1 . 82 2 . 05 0 . 885815601 pax9 nm_006194 0 . 78 0 . 95 0 . 817959194 pax9 x92850 1 . 17 1 . 49 0 . 784900153 pbx1 nm_002585 1 . 46 1 . 26 1 . 160624187 pbx1 nm_002585 1 . 56 1 . 36 1 . 14486291 pbx2 nm_002586 1 . 14 1 . 28 0 . 885932245 pbx2 nm_002586 1 . 14 1 . 34 0 . 848773413 pc4 nm_006713 0 . 70 0 . 80 0 . 879994421 pc4 nm_006713 0 . 70 0 . 81 0 . 86301099 pcaf nm_003884 1 . 07 1 . 34 0 . 798415415 pcaf nm_003884 1 . 03 1 . 29 0 . 796481403 pdef nm_012391 1 . 17 1 . 33 0 . 876561702 pdef nm_012391 1 . 38 1 . 70 0 . 811137032 pea3 d12765 1 . 21 1 . 54 0 . 784602478 pea3 d12765 1 . 21 1 . 56 0 . 775569587 pepd j04605 0 . 66 0 . 78 0 . 8570049 pepd j04605 0 . 71 0 . 86 0 . 827558815 pgf nm_002632 1 . 08 1 . 18 0 . 917061973 pgf nm_002632 1 . 01 1 . 20 0 . 83593402 pgli3hh m20674 1 . 21 1 . 31 0 . 921799298 pgli3hh m20674 1 . 13 1 . 32 0 . 856812924 pias3 nm_006099 3 . 47 4 . 09 0 . 849170482 pias3 nm_006099 3 . 59 4 . 26 0 . 842175439 pinch u09284 1 . 62 1 . 49 1 . 088214315 pinch u09284 1 . 44 1 . 44 1 . 001116263 pit - 1 d10216 2 . 56 2 . 74 0 . 934572932 pit - 1 d10216 2 . 26 2 . 72 0 . 831778211 pitx1 nm_002653 1 . 04 1 . 23 0 . 841903944 pitx1 nm_002653 0 . 95 1 . 22 0 . 780247958 pitx2 u69961 2 . 17 1 . 90 1 . 142972468 pitx2 u69961 1 . 90 1 . 73 1 . 099447256 pitx3 nm_005029 1 . 08 1 . 19 0 . 908904038 pitx3 nm_005029 1 . 05 1 . 16 0 . 900257494 pknox1 nm_004571 2 . 66 2 . 91 0 . 915727678 pknox1 nm_004571 2 . 43 2 . 80 0 . 867326045 plcg1 nm_002660 0 . 88 1 . 09 0 . 801330479 plcg1 nm_002660 0 . 87 1 . 12 0 . 777390419 pml m79462 2 . 93 3 . 22 0 . 90918611 pml m79462 2 . 83 3 . 18 0 . 891376967 pou6f1 nm_002702 1 . 18 1 . 38 0 . 853348217 pou6f1 nm_002702 1 . 11 1 . 39 0 . 803725887 ppar delta af187850 1 . 68 2 . 05 0 . 817974153 ppar delta af187850 1 . 63 2 . 05 0 . 797208472 pparbeta l07592 1 . 12 1 . 30 0 . 860735779 pparbeta l07592 1 . 09 1 . 30 0 . 841097109 pparbp nm_004774 2 . 49 2 . 42 1 . 028888699 pparbp nm_004774 2 . 59 2 . 62 0 . 989587372 pparg nm_005037 1 . 76 1 . 92 0 . 919451555 pparg nm_005037 1 . 54 1 . 87 0 . 82431469 ppargc1 nm_013261 4 . 02 4 . 08 0 . 985608174 ppargc1 nm_013261 3 . 61 3 . 97 0 . 910308604 ppih nm_006347 1 . 11 1 . 36 0 . 810066673 ppih nm_006347 1 . 10 1 . 37 0 . 797849135 prb x16439 1 . 29 1 . 40 0 . 923240454 prb x16439 1 . 21 1 . 44 0 . 839720657 prdm4 nm_012406 1 . 09 1 . 14 0 . 952491603 prdm4 nm_012406 1 . 02 1 . 09 0 . 935085892 protein id4 u28368 1 . 18 1 . 11 1 . 06450375 protein id4 u28368 1 . 29 1 . 23 1 . 054319434 protein p38 aj242975 1 . 63 1 . 95 0 . 834950074 protein p38 aj242975 1 . 44 1 . 85 0 . 781801717 prx2 nm_016307 4 . 82 3 . 63 1 . 326456916 prx2 nm_016307 4 . 32 4 . 25 1 . 017671923 pscdbp nm_004288 0 . 74 0 . 85 0 . 86992699 pscdbp nm_004288 0 . 69 0 . 84 0 . 81936229 psmc1 nm_002802 1 . 36 1 . 52 0 . 894759062 psmc1 nm_002802 1 . 18 1 . 33 0 . 891456342 pthr1 nm_000316 1 . 31 1 . 42 0 . 924499528 pthr1 nm_000316 1 . 20 1 . 40 0 . 8556512 pxmp3 nm_000318 1 . 62 2 . 02 0 . 804068402 pxmp3 nm_000318 1 . 40 1 . 80 0 . 78066981 pxn nm_002859 2 . 72 2 . 90 0 . 93925013 pxn nm_002859 2 . 51 2 . 90 0 . 863012935 rab 13 x75593 1 . 25 1 . 23 1 . 008775651 rab 13 x75593 1 . 12 1 . 33 0 . 83974611 rar - alpha1 x06614 1 . 43 1 . 62 0 . 88166305 rar - alpha1 x06614 1 . 30 1 . 60 0 . 814209521 rar - b m96016 1 . 57 1 . 95 0 . 801619789 rar - b m96016 1 . 57 2 . 00 0 . 782949951 rara nm_000964 1 . 42 1 . 65 0 . 862685131 rara nm_000964 1 . 40 1 . 65 0 . 847918555 rarg nm_000966 1 . 42 1 . 61 0 . 882296859 rarg nm_000966 1 . 41 1 . 60 0 . 882261145 rb1 nm_000321 0 . 97 1 . 19 0 . 812728745 rb1 nm_000321 0 . 96 1 . 20 0 . 800478062 rbl1 nm_002895 2 . 04 2 . 42 0 . 841470759 rbl1 nm_002895 1 . 92 2 . 35 0 . 817621225 rbp - l ab026048 0 . 94 0 . 70 1 . 339824561 rbp - l ab026048 0 . 80 0 . 71 1 . 133824475 rcl nm_006443 1 . 26 1 . 39 0 . 906711617 rcl nm_006443 1 . 24 1 . 39 0 . 891529469 rela z22951 0 . 86 0 . 89 0 . 96567493 rela z22951 0 . 80 0 . 85 0 . 94852389 repressor protein d30612 1 . 37 1 . 53 0 . 890929984 repressor protein d30612 1 . 32 1 . 52 0 . 87316143 req nm_006268 1 . 43 1 . 67 0 . 860238236 req nm_006268 1 . 46 1 . 72 0 . 847602428 retinoid x receptor u66306 2 . 17 2 . 44 0 . 889382828 alpha retinoid x receptor - u38480 2 . 07 2 . 33 0 . 889199662 gamma rfp nm_006510 3 . 73 3 . 97 0 . 940382915 rfp nm_006510 3 . 81 4 . 43 0 . 858648769 rfx3 x76092 1 . 62 1 . 47 1 . 1024024 rfx3 x76092 1 . 43 1 . 62 0 . 8816817 rhohp1 d85815 1 . 42 1 . 33 1 . 069393174 rhohp1 d85815 1 . 46 1 . 53 0 . 955107329 ring1 nm_002931 1 . 42 1 . 59 0 . 896164283 ring1 nm_002931 1 . 41 1 . 60 0 . 880810591 rlf nm_012421 3 . 38 3 . 75 0 . 901013305 rlf nm_012421 3 . 65 4 . 07 0 . 898102049 rnf ny - ren - 43 af155109 1 . 18 1 . 29 0 . 913146151 rnf ny - ren - 43 af155109 1 . 16 1 . 43 0 . 811644103 rnf13 nm_007282 1 . 22 1 . 33 0 . 916119358 rnf13 nm_007282 1 . 20 1 . 31 0 . 912867135 rnf15 nm_006355 1 . 29 1 . 45 0 . 893216374 rnf15 nm_006355 1 . 17 1 . 44 0 . 811128245 rnf4 nm_002938 1 . 35 1 . 44 0 . 936370857 rnf4 nm_002938 1 . 32 1 . 45 0 . 907740218 rnf9 nm_006778 1 . 25 1 . 36 0 . 918123369 rnf9 nm_006778 1 . 18 1 . 36 0 . 863185084 rnp - specific a x06347 1 . 31 1 . 39 0 . 94551044 rnp - specific a x06347 1 . 16 1 . 47 0 . 788038353 roralpha2 u04898 4 . 15 4 . 42 0 . 938764319 roralpha2 u04898 4 . 03 4 . 29 0 . 938708029 rorbeta y08639 1 . 29 1 . 50 0 . 858111801 rorbeta y08639 1 . 27 1 . 50 0 . 842642276 rorc nm_005060 1 . 39 1 . 61 0 . 861315789 rorc nm_005060 1 . 43 1 . 77 0 . 807520338 rp58 aj223321 1 . 34 1 . 40 0 . 953320654 rp58 aj223321 1 . 19 1 . 38 0 . 866072097 rpf - 1 u91934 1 . 26 1 . 51 0 . 833565324 rpf - 1 u91934 1 . 23 1 . 50 0 . 822227125 rpl13a x56932 0 . 87 0 . 88 0 . 991870123 rpl13a x56932 0 . 77 0 . 87 0 . 883814097 rpl15 nm_002948 1 . 01 1 . 07 0 . 944600915 rpl15 nm_002948 0 . 98 1 . 14 0 . 859452181 rpl21 nm_000982 1 . 60 1 . 53 1 . 04809166 rpl21 nm_000982 1 . 57 1 . 58 0 . 995425213 rpl23a nm_000984 1 . 59 1 . 42 1 . 117137899 rpl23a nm_000984 1 . 46 1 . 38 1 . 059317332 rpl37 nm_000997 1 . 09 1 . 23 0 . 883744302 rpl37 nm_000997 1 . 09 1 . 30 0 . 842639916 rps11 nm_001015 1 . 55 1 . 32 1 . 171184602 rps11 nm_001015 1 . 30 1 . 22 1 . 068789518 rps19 nm_001022 0 . 84 1 . 00 0 . 841774594 rps19 nm_001022 0 . 86 1 . 05 0 . 819892642 rrn3 nm_018427 1 . 64 1 . 61 1 . 015843155 rrn3 nm_018427 1 . 10 1 . 40 0 . 78552954 ruvbl1 nm_003707 1 . 21 1 . 41 0 . 864080705 ruvbl1 nm_003707 1 . 15 1 . 43 0 . 805614035 rx af001911 1 . 40 1 . 19 1 . 169408279 rx af001911 1 . 21 1 . 29 0 . 940515001 rxr - alpha x52773 1 . 14 1 . 20 0 . 95178794 rxr - alpha x52773 1 . 02 1 . 17 0 . 875212013 rxrb u00961 1 . 41 1 . 76 0 . 802764083 rxrb u00961 1 . 32 1 . 64 0 . 802187954 safb nm_002967 2 . 08 1 . 85 1 . 122521568 safb nm_002967 1 . 98 1 . 85 1 . 072239203 sall1 nm_002968 1 . 06 1 . 32 0 . 799379966 sall1 nm_002968 1 . 09 1 . 37 0 . 794919835 sap - 1a m85165 1 . 02 1 . 15 0 . 893216374 sap - 1a m85165 0 . 99 1 . 14 0 . 868660598 sep3b af285109 1 . 36 1 . 52 0 . 895524427 sep3b af285109 1 . 34 1 . 51 0 . 891662954 sf1 d88155 1 . 24 1 . 23 1 . 006655807 sf1 d88155 0 . 89 1 . 10 0 . 815406356 sf3a1 nm_005877 0 . 94 1 . 18 0 . 796947498 sf3a1 nm_005877 0 . 98 1 . 24 0 . 789354005 six1 x91868 1 . 28 1 . 26 1 . 011940877 six1 x91868 1 . 15 1 . 27 0 . 899649002 six6 af141651 1 . 31 1 . 51 0 . 866808238 six6 af141651 1 . 28 1 . 61 0 . 795100662 ski nm_003036 1 . 27 1 . 34 0 . 951830965 ski nm_003036 1 . 23 1 . 34 0 . 916814067 skil nm_005414 1 . 22 1 . 23 0 . 996060051 skil nm_005414 1 . 18 1 . 23 0 . 965665088 smad2 u78726 1 . 54 1 . 70 0 . 902843033 smad2 u78726 1 . 52 1 . 74 0 . 876401307 smarca3 nm_003071 2 . 60 2 . 63 0 . 988267744 smarca3 nm_003071 2 . 52 2 . 58 0 . 977550509 smarca4 nm_003072 1 . 20 1 . 41 0 . 850958457 smarca4 nm_003072 1 . 14 1 . 43 0 . 798506046 smarcc1 nm_003074 1 . 37 1 . 53 0 . 897049921 smarcc1 nm_003074 1 . 31 1 . 51 0 . 867695906 smarcc2 nm_003075 1 . 11 1 . 36 0 . 816630385 smarcc2 nm_003075 1 . 10 1 . 37 0 . 803295263 smn1 u18423 2 . 14 2 . 06 1 . 0410434 smn1 u18423 1 . 93 2 . 06 0 . 938075938 snap190 af032387 1 . 08 1 . 15 0 . 940066948 snap190 af032387 1 . 19 1 . 34 0 . 88972042 snapc3 nm_003084 0 . 64 0 . 65 0 . 973605848 snapc3 nm_003084 0 . 58 0 . 67 0 . 873988625 snrnp b x17567 0 . 99 0 . 98 1 . 010085806 snrnp b x17567 0 . 82 0 . 97 0 . 840177885 sox10 aj001183 1 . 71 1 . 82 0 . 937524016 sox10 aj001183 1 . 59 1 . 78 0 . 894532832 sox13 nm_005686 1 . 71 1 . 92 0 . 891384762 sox13 nm_005686 1 . 66 1 . 93 0 . 860515571 sox4 x70683 0 . 90 0 . 93 0 . 960960313 sox4 x70683 0 . 82 0 . 92 0 . 894488762 sox6 x65663 0 . 69 0 . 79 0 . 882795517 sox6 x65663 0 . 65 0 . 75 0 . 87280897 sox8 af164104 1 . 79 2 . 09 0 . 857375717 sox8 af164104 1 . 65 2 . 13 0 . 774778844 sox9 z46629 1 . 69 1 . 88 0 . 898185589 sox9 z46629 1 . 55 1 . 92 0 . 807916038 sp1 j03133 1 . 18 1 . 30 0 . 909375062 sp1 j03133 1 . 16 1 . 30 0 . 887824726 sp3 x68560 1 . 66 1 . 66 1 . 001079125 sp3 x68560 1 . 45 1 . 77 0 . 818395433 srf j03161 1 . 45 1 . 67 0 . 867315899 srf j03161 1 . 43 1 . 69 0 . 84824421 sry l10101 1 . 18 1 . 21 0 . 982441028 sry l10101 1 . 13 1 . 21 0 . 934783803 stat2 m97934 1 . 41 1 . 52 0 . 926980567 stat2 m97934 1 . 41 1 . 62 0 . 868724958 stat5b nm_012448 1 . 56 1 . 40 1 . 114847778 stat5b nm_012448 1 . 40 1 . 71 0 . 821978259 stat6 nm_003153 1 . 27 1 . 36 0 . 938049629 stat6 nm_003153 1 . 21 1 . 37 0 . 879605458 szf1 nm_016089 1 . 21 1 . 50 0 . 802961061 szf1 nm_016089 1 . 16 1 . 49 0 . 774800507 t - star nm_006558 0 . 67 0 . 78 0 . 861849244 t - star nm_006558 0 . 68 0 . 82 0 . 831664605 t3r y00479 1 . 71 1 . 62 1 . 053389262 t3r y00479 1 . 60 1 . 53 1 . 041322337 t3r x55066 1 . 56 1 . 89 0 . 824459774 taf ( i ) 63 l39061 1 . 00 1 . 12 0 . 896350467 taf ( i ) 63 l39061 1 . 02 1 . 30 0 . 783696377 taf ( ii ) 30 u25816 1 . 51 1 . 40 1 . 074026032 taf ( ii ) 30 u25816 1 . 40 1 . 38 1 . 015134059 taf ( ii ) 32 u21858 0 . 98 1 . 22 0 . 802461769 taf ( ii ) 32 u21858 0 . 98 1 . 23 0 . 792812413 taf ( ii ) 70 - alpha l25444 0 . 96 1 . 02 0 . 941312641 taf ( ii ) 70 - alpha l25444 0 . 90 1 . 03 0 . 872787029 taf2a nm_004606 1 . 13 1 . 14 0 . 999330892 taf2a nm_004606 0 . 93 1 . 11 0 . 838249213 taf2f nm_005642 1 . 03 1 . 26 0 . 81530342 taf2f nm_005642 1 . 02 1 . 30 0 . 784947723 taf2i nm_005643 1 . 50 1 . 43 1 . 045218429 taf2i nm_005643 1 . 39 1 . 41 0 . 991353741 taf2i af118094 1 . 11 1 . 26 0 . 881120736 taf2j nm_005644 1 . 28 1 . 40 0 . 913232427 taf2j nm_005644 1 . 23 1 . 45 0 . 849684168 taf2k nm_005645 2 . 39 2 . 40 0 . 997067405 taf2k nm_005645 2 . 40 2 . 47 0 . 972697492 tafii105 y09321 1 . 26 1 . 45 0 . 867396208 tafii105 y09321 1 . 19 1 . 45 0 . 818176516 tal - 1 nm_003189 1 . 37 1 . 51 0 . 902488517 tal - 1 nm_003189 1 . 27 1 . 53 0 . 828923165 tarbp2 nm_004178 1 . 09 1 . 24 0 . 873471591 tarbp2 nm_004178 1 . 08 1 . 37 0 . 786576406 tbp nm_003194 2 . 77 2 . 67 1 . 040623399 tbp nm_003194 2 . 51 2 . 58 0 . 973841382 tbpl1 nm_004865 1 . 28 1 . 30 0 . 987855849 tbpl1 nm_004865 1 . 11 1 . 40 0 . 794804113 tbr1 nm_006593 1 . 19 1 . 20 0 . 996692807 tbr1 nm_006593 1 . 05 1 . 26 0 . 836636729 tbx19 nm_005149 1 . 36 1 . 48 0 . 923280344 tbx19 nm_005149 1 . 44 1 . 59 0 . 909429873 tbx2 nm_005994 0 . 85 1 . 07 0 . 798962867 tbx2 nm_005994 0 . 83 1 . 06 0 . 785853316 tbx20 aj237589 1 . 34 1 . 21 1 . 102533818 tbx20 aj237589 1 . 36 1 . 64 0 . 831910222 tbx6 nm_004608 4 . 15 4 . 62 0 . 899551242 tbx6 nm_004608 3 . 96 4 . 53 0 . 875140298 tcea1 nm_006756 1 . 27 1 . 14 1 . 110125734 tcea1 nm_006756 1 . 16 1 . 11 1 . 05196336 tceb2 nm_007108 0 . 58 0 . 43 1 . 337134151 tceb2 nm_007108 0 . 51 0 . 40 1 . 277713489 tcf - 1 z47365 1 . 00 1 . 16 0 . 86404602 tcf - 1 z47365 0 . 92 1 . 18 0 . 774647829 tcf - 4 y11306 1 . 36 1 . 46 0 . 928464375 tcf - 4 y11306 1 . 32 1 . 56 0 . 849608167 tcf21 nm_003206 1 . 75 2 . 02 0 . 863693344 tcf21 nm_003206 1 . 69 2 . 12 0 . 798699048 tcf4 nm_003199 0 . 93 0 . 92 1 . 021001263 tcf4 nm_003199 0 . 84 0 . 92 0 . 912194059 tcf6l1 nm_003201 1 . 67 1 . 95 0 . 857799865 tcf6l1 nm_003201 1 . 82 2 . 34 0 . 776883554 tcfl1 nm_005997 1 . 45 1 . 63 0 . 891060583 tcfl1 nm_005997 1 . 45 1 . 68 0 . 863907712 tcfl5 nm_006602 1 . 87 2 . 31 0 . 809256058 tcfl5 nm_006602 1 . 79 2 . 27 0 . 788010751 tead1 m63896 1 . 97 2 . 40 0 . 821174945 tead1 m63896 1 . 84 2 . 35 0 . 783305005 tef - 4 x94440 1 . 14 1 . 29 0 . 883210896 tef - 4 x94440 1 . 13 1 . 33 0 . 854457478 tf u79243 1 . 42 1 . 54 0 . 919800195 tf u79243 1 . 29 1 . 63 0 . 789904601 tfcp2 nm_005653 0 . 99 1 . 11 0 . 887949768 tfcp2 nm_005653 0 . 94 1 . 13 0 . 832221275 tfe3 al161985 1 . 20 1 . 25 0 . 952888449 tfe3 al161985 1 . 16 1 . 30 0 . 896818053 tfiia nm_015859 0 . 84 0 . 82 1 . 018380452 tfiia nm_015859 0 . 80 0 . 82 0 . 977671128 tfiid z22828 2 . 50 2 . 34 1 . 068758898 tfiid z22828 2 . 55 2 . 73 0 . 936976254 tfiih - cyclin h u11791 1 . 28 0 . 95 1 . 34843684 tfiih - cyclin h u11791 1 . 29 0 . 98 1 . 318842969 tfiih - mo15 x77743 2 . 43 2 . 39 1 . 014330459 tfiih - mo15 x77743 2 . 43 2 . 39 1 . 012865369 tfiih - p34 z30093 2 . 74 2 . 96 0 . 92722107 tfiih - p34 z30093 2 . 34 2 . 95 0 . 792209645 tfrc nm_003234 1 . 33 1 . 49 0 . 895571075 tfrc nm_003234 1 . 28 1 . 59 0 . 809200973 tgif nm_003244 1 . 75 1 . 38 1 . 274809288 tgif nm_003244 1 . 52 1 . 51 1 . 004868421 tieg2 nm_003597 1 . 39 1 . 48 0 . 938352308 tieg2 nm_003597 1 . 35 1 . 51 0 . 889349637 tif1gamma nm_015906 1 . 01 1 . 27 0 . 800846532 tif1gamma nm_015906 1 . 01 1 . 30 0 . 777179202 tif2 x97674 1 . 33 1 . 45 0 . 922316636 tif2 x97674 1 . 31 1 . 45 0 . 902108121 tim44 nm_006351 1 . 33 1 . 57 0 . 847735407 tim44 nm_006351 1 . 36 1 . 61 0 . 84323103 timeless af098162 2 . 00 2 . 39 0 . 833636058 timeless af098162 1 . 93 2 . 42 0 . 796169622 timm8b af152350 1 . 40 1 . 42 0 . 984849477 timm8b af152350 1 . 42 1 . 51 0 . 941288783 timm9 nm_012460 0 . 71 0 . 77 0 . 920513309 timm9 nm_012460 0 . 68 0 . 84 0 . 805700618 tis11d u07802 1 . 12 1 . 35 0 . 827564107 tis11d u07802 1 . 04 1 . 27 0 . 821167897 tnrc11 nm_005120 0 . 88 1 . 05 0 . 836486567 tnrc11 nm_005120 0 . 85 1 . 05 0 . 802230359 tob1 nm_005749 1 . 02 1 . 29 0 . 790953507 tob1 nm_005749 1 . 02 1 . 32 0 . 77856472 top1 u07806 3 . 49 3 . 40 1 . 026563028 top1 u07806 3 . 18 3 . 15 1 . 008577791 tp53bp1 nm_005657 0 . 83 0 . 86 0 . 969466553 tp53bp1 nm_005657 0 . 79 0 . 86 0 . 910836728 tp73 nm_005427 4 . 36 4 . 73 0 . 923146915 tp73 nm_005427 3 . 95 4 . 55 0 . 867754692 tr2 af171055 1 . 60 1 . 59 1 . 007806633 tr2 af171055 1 . 53 1 . 69 0 . 90288023 traf6 nm_004620 1 . 25 1 . 38 0 . 902520712 traf6 nm_004620 1 . 33 1 . 62 0 . 825230675 ttf - 1 u43203 1 . 57 1 . 92 0 . 818730798 ttf - 1 u43203 1 . 59 1 . 97 0 . 8042506 ttf - i interacting af000560 0 . 93 1 . 01 0 . 912809508 peptide ttf - i interacting af000560 0 . 92 1 . 02 0 . 908180051 peptide ttf1 nm_007344 1 . 36 1 . 32 1 . 03206288 ttf1 nm_007344 1 . 21 1 . 33 0 . 908191402 ttp m63625 1 . 47 1 . 69 0 . 871059069 ttp m63625 1 . 45 1 . 78 0 . 812551459 tumor suppressor aj224819 0 . 97 0 . 96 1 . 010680445 tumor suppressor aj224819 0 . 94 0 . 94 1 . 002997158 twist x91662 1 . 15 1 . 30 0 . 889607419 twist x91662 1 . 14 1 . 32 0 . 862171118 tzfp nm_014383 1 . 61 1 . 57 1 . 026900096 tzfp nm_014383 1 . 31 1 . 62 0 . 806125978 ubiquitin m26880 1 . 25 1 . 29 0 . 968558812 ubiquitin m26880 1 . 20 1 . 38 0 . 866123555 ubp1 nm_014517 1 . 16 1 . 39 0 . 837548498 ubp1 nm_014517 1 . 05 1 . 31 0 . 801834157 uklf ab015132 0 . 94 1 . 15 0 . 812199016 uklf ab015132 0 . 91 1 . 13 0 . 807110731 usf1 x55666 0 . 92 0 . 77 1 . 202641159 usf1 x55666 0 . 90 1 . 16 0 . 779296001 usf2 x90824 1 . 70 1 . 51 1 . 12444728 usf2 x90824 1 . 49 1 . 47 1 . 010033818 utf1 nm_003577 0 . 78 0 . 92 0 . 852557876 utf1 nm_003577 0 . 75 0 . 88 0 . 846901451 vax - 2 y17791 1 . 95 1 . 73 1 . 125466134 vax - 2 y17791 1 . 50 1 . 58 0 . 944890049 vdr nm_000376 2 . 14 1 . 94 1 . 102535767 vdr nm_000376 2 . 17 1 . 98 1 . 096166462 vimentin x56134 0 . 85 0 . 82 1 . 03779146 vimentin x56134 0 . 77 0 . 78 0 . 995470101 vsx1 nm_014588 1 . 19 1 . 38 0 . 862794625 vsx1 nm_014588 1 . 14 1 . 36 0 . 838036984 wave2 ab026542 1 . 37 1 . 57 0 . 873152446 wave2 ab026542 1 . 34 1 . 56 0 . 8602453 whn y11746 0 . 95 1 . 05 0 . 89877812 whn y11739 0 . 98 1 . 10 0 . 8889781 winged - helix af055080 1 . 80 1 . 62 1 . 112375194 tfforkhead 5 winged - helix af055080 1 . 64 1 . 65 0 . 995925632 tfforkhead 5 xb u52701 0 . 93 1 . 00 0 . 931696975 xb u52701 0 . 86 0 . 99 0 . 874287286 xbp1 nm_005080 1 . 32 1 . 48 0 . 894006132 xbp1 nm_005080 1 . 29 1 . 50 0 . 861985033 xg z48514 0 . 94 1 . 07 0 . 879021004 xg z48514 0 . 94 1 . 11 0 . 844934408 xpe - bf u32986 1 . 23 1 . 06 1 . 157546744 xpe - bf u32986 1 . 11 1 . 18 0 . 939655721 xpot nm_007235 0 . 93 1 . 04 0 . 888739099 xpot nm_007235 0 . 91 1 . 09 0 . 833312043 yaf2 u72209 1 . 78 1 . 60 1 . 115424048 yaf2 u72209 1 . 29 1 . 55 0 . 831250433 ypt3 x79780 1 . 04 1 . 04 0 . 999551657 ypt3 x79780 0 . 91 1 . 09 0 . 841560488 ywhaz nm_003406 1 . 42 1 . 48 0 . 955552146 ywhaz nm_003406 1 . 34 1 . 45 0 . 924713154 zfd25 ab027251 1 . 38 1 . 47 0 . 935259419 zfd25 ab027251 1 . 38 1 . 59 0 . 867549237 zfm1 d26120 1 . 38 1 . 52 0 . 904756638 zfm1 d26120 1 . 32 1 . 51 0 . 870056053 zfn3 x60153 1 . 11 1 . 27 0 . 873020321 zfn3 x60153 1 . 08 1 . 27 0 . 84639825 zfn5128 nm_014347 1 . 68 1 . 48 1 . 132667677 zfn5128 nm_014347 1 . 69 1 . 51 1 . 116327465 zfp161 nm_003409 1 . 54 1 . 51 1 . 021814742 zfp161 nm_003409 1 . 53 1 . 56 0 . 977142745 zfp36 nm_003407 1 . 35 1 . 21 1 . 119420521 zfp36 nm_003407 1 . 40 1 . 26 1 . 107958549 zfp37 nm_003408 2 . 85 3 . 53 0 . 806477053 zfp37 nm_003408 3 . 00 3 . 78 0 . 795656333 zfs - 2 d70832 1 . 25 1 . 31 0 . 960341853 zfs - 2 d70832 1 . 19 1 . 34 0 . 887098454 zinc finger factor gklf af105036 2 . 60 2 . 44 1 . 066684361 zinc finger factor gklf af105036 2 . 21 2 . 60 0 . 850960542 zk1 nm_005815 1 . 09 1 . 29 0 . 849600519 zk1 nm_005815 1 . 13 1 . 34 0 . 848599298 zmpste24 nm_005857 1 . 59 1 . 96 0 . 807467602 zmpste24 nm_005857 1 . 64 2 . 04 0 . 804181945 znf af024700 1 . 37 1 . 42 0 . 968200406 znf af024700 1 . 25 1 . 43 0 . 877660819 znf af024702 2 . 44 2 . 27 1 . 071242218 znf af024702 2 . 13 2 . 46 0 . 864203489 znf af024708 0 . 85 1 . 06 0 . 803894737 znf af024708 0 . 88 1 . 10 0 . 795504238 znf af244088 0 . 96 1 . 18 0 . 80824225 znf al359576 1 . 96 2 . 40 0 . 816139265 znf al359576 1 . 97 2 . 45 0 . 804419877 znf l14787 0 . 81 0 . 94 0 . 858334842 znf l14787 0 . 77 0 . 99 0 . 776247563 znf l14843 1 . 04 1 . 21 0 . 859382421 znf l14843 1 . 00 1 . 22 0 . 819499696 znf m77171 0 . 87 1 . 07 0 . 819786317 znf m77171 0 . 84 1 . 06 0 . 788842997 znf m77172 1 . 11 1 . 29 0 . 86138076 znf m77172 1 . 10 1 . 31 0 . 841409825 znf u69645 1 . 02 1 . 11 0 . 923798753 znf u69645 1 . 01 1 . 10 0 . 92309697 znf u90919 1 . 91 2 . 41 0 . 791009945 znf x16282 1 . 04 1 . 06 0 . 976817907 znf x16282 0 . 97 1 . 08 0 . 896468376 znf h140 u80232 1 . 31 1 . 38 0 . 951857602 znf h140 u80232 1 . 25 1 . 46 0 . 852470368 znf riz u17838 1 . 37 1 . 49 0 . 919856161 znf riz u17838 1 . 33 1 . 52 0 . 878560838 znf10 nm_003419 1 . 14 1 . 24 0 . 918736842 znf10 nm_003419 1 . 06 1 . 25 0 . 852019812 znf124 nm_003431 1 . 66 1 . 70 0 . 976675202 znf124 nm_003431 1 . 69 1 . 79 0 . 942839506 znf131 u09410 4 . 06 3 . 16 1 . 287565844 znf131 u09410 3 . 52 3 . 10 1 . 135482919 znf132 nm_003433 1 . 58 1 . 92 0 . 819592954 znf132 nm_003433 1 . 39 1 . 80 0 . 770618048 znf133 nm_003434 1 . 00 1 . 08 0 . 92665805 znf133 nm_003434 0 . 98 1 . 07 0 . 917239309 znf133 u09366 1 . 59 1 . 48 1 . 074070972 znf133 u09366 1 . 44 1 . 60 0 . 901250209 znf134 nm_003435 0 . 87 1 . 03 0 . 842143011 znf134 nm_003435 0 . 89 1 . 11 0 . 803684073 znf135 nm_003436 1 . 21 1 . 31 0 . 927158596 znf136 nm_003437 1 . 76 1 . 84 0 . 953483104 znf136 nm_003437 1 . 71 1 . 96 0 . 871707485 znf139 u09848 1 . 82 2 . 14 0 . 854333258 znf139 u09848 1 . 88 2 . 25 0 . 83696718 znf140 nm_003440 1 . 18 1 . 31 0 . 902148538 znf140 nm_003440 1 . 10 1 . 38 0 . 795943758 znf141 nm_003441 0 . 94 1 . 10 0 . 852952765 znf141 nm_003441 0 . 97 1 . 14 0 . 851266923 znf143 nm_003442 1 . 23 1 . 38 0 . 888983121 znf143 nm_003442 1 . 25 1 . 41 0 . 88328255 znf144 nm_007144 1 . 39 1 . 50 0 . 928320948 znf144 nm_007144 1 . 37 1 . 47 0 . 926533504 znf146 nm_007145 2 . 27 2 . 48 0 . 916337136 znf146 nm_007145 2 . 13 2 . 64 0 . 805090416 znf154 u20648 1 . 01 1 . 10 0 . 91658232 znf154 u20648 0 . 98 1 . 10 0 . 890033893 znf157 nm_003446 3 . 06 3 . 63 0 . 842644802 znf157 nm_003446 3 . 32 4 . 07 0 . 815095843 znf169 u28251 1 . 07 1 . 06 1 . 007079353 znf169 u28251 0 . 99 1 . 12 0 . 884849008 znf173 nm_003449 1 . 76 1 . 84 0 . 954247529 znf173 nm_003449 1 . 69 1 . 91 0 . 885869838 znf174 u31248 1 . 05 1 . 11 0 . 946809357 znf174 u31248 0 . 98 1 . 07 0 . 916147357 znf175 nm_007147 1 . 42 1 . 58 0 . 896913462 znf175 nm_007147 1 . 37 1 . 66 0 . 824940576 znf177 nm_003451 1 . 35 1 . 31 1 . 030771696 znf177 nm_003451 1 . 16 1 . 36 0 . 850314531 znf180 nm_013256 0 . 97 1 . 13 0 . 856084978 znf180 nm_013256 0 . 97 1 . 18 0 . 824583936 znf186 nm_012480 1 . 05 1 . 14 0 . 913656108 znf186 nm_012480 0 . 99 1 . 11 0 . 892164294 znf191 af016052 3 . 91 4 . 38 0 . 892949504 znf191 af016052 4 . 30 5 . 22 0 . 823076704 znf200 nm_003454 1 . 53 1 . 36 1 . 124250225 znf200 nm_003454 1 . 47 1 . 43 1 . 02397083 znf211 nm_006385 2 . 54 2 . 24 1 . 133216101 znf211 nm_006385 2 . 36 2 . 13 1 . 105677798 znf214 nm_013249 1 . 12 1 . 35 0 . 833321399 znf214 nm_013249 1 . 15 1 . 43 0 . 806432749 znf215 nm_013250 1 . 09 1 . 24 0 . 879083204 znf215 nm_013250 1 . 13 1 . 35 0 . 837769383 znf216 af062073 6 . 28 6 . 85 0 . 916789497 znf216 af062073 6 . 12 6 . 94 0 . 882430365 znf22 nm_006963 1 . 06 1 . 27 0 . 835382221 znf22 nm_006963 1 . 05 1 . 29 0 . 80987367 znf220 nm_006766 1 . 16 1 . 31 0 . 88697634 znf220 nm_006766 1 . 15 1 . 35 0 . 848209348 znf223 nm_013361 1 . 29 1 . 44 0 . 90055118 znf223 nm_013361 1 . 25 1 . 45 0 . 865757643 znf228 nm_013380 1 . 13 1 . 10 1 . 028423144 znf228 nm_013380 0 . 84 1 . 00 0 . 838339028 znf229 af192979 1 . 44 1 . 74 0 . 826578529 znf229 af192979 1 . 41 1 . 76 0 . 802898585 znf231 nm_003458 1 . 29 1 . 38 0 . 933778707 znf231 nm_003458 1 . 24 1 . 42 0 . 875912367 znf232 nm_014519 3 . 91 3 . 54 1 . 103967871 znf232 nm_014519 3 . 65 3 . 40 1 . 074957509 znf232 af080171 0 . 94 1 . 07 0 . 871430609 znf232 af080171 0 . 92 1 . 08 0 . 856315576 znf258 nm_007167 3 . 65 2 . 56 1 . 429969861 znf258 nm_007167 2 . 86 2 . 23 1 . 280364117 znf261 nm_005096 2 . 03 2 . 19 0 . 929608653 znf261 nm_005096 1 . 79 2 . 05 0 . 873798627 znf297 nm_005453 1 . 40 1 . 66 0 . 844649054 znf297 nm_005453 1 . 39 1 . 65 0 . 841507575 znf31 u71600 0 . 91 1 . 13 0 . 804205241 znf31 u71600 0 . 89 1 . 16 0 . 770222697 znf35 nm_003420 1 . 53 1 . 57 0 . 977397734 znf35 nm_003420 1 . 52 1 . 62 0 . 938058006 znf37a x69115 0 . 96 1 . 05 0 . 915518905 znf37a x69115 0 . 94 1 . 13 0 . 835188396 znf41 m92443 1 . 52 1 . 91 0 . 798258529 znf41 m92443 1 . 53 1 . 99 0 . 771414141 znf41 x60155 0 . 99 1 . 06 0 . 934017616 znf41 x60155 1 . 01 1 . 10 0 . 917673489 znf47 u71601 1 . 03 1 . 18 0 . 872466879 znf47 u71601 0 . 96 1 . 14 0 . 8440485 znf7 nm_003416 1 . 04 1 . 17 0 . 895223602 znf7 nm_003416 1 . 07 1 . 23 0 . 869409968 znf8 m29581 0 . 94 1 . 00 0 . 940042921 znf8 m29581 0 . 84 0 . 94 0 . 89819251 znf80 nm_007136 2 . 05 1 . 92 1 . 064684732 znf80 nm_007136 1 . 98 1 . 93 1 . 024108326 znf85 nm_003429 1 . 27 1 . 39 0 . 915903902 znf85 nm_003429 1 . 14 1 . 42 0 . 797896136 znf91 nm_003430 1 . 09 1 . 09 1 . 002040082 znf91 nm_003430 1 . 04 1 . 07 0 . 975112741 znfb7 u34249 1 . 41 1 . 47 0 . 955940013 znfb7 u34249 1 . 34 1 . 50 0 . 893216374 znfn1a3 nm_012481 1 . 17 1 . 06 1 . 108208901 znfn1a3 nm_012481 1 . 17 1 . 06 1 . 100020165 znk75a x91826 0 . 99 1 . 18 0 . 840732485 znk75a x91826 0 . 98 1 . 24 0 . 792918773 zrp - 1 af000974 4 . 16 4 . 74 0 . 87742034 zrp - 1 af000974 4 . 06 4 . 99 0 . 813590373 zyx nm_003461 1 . 40 1 . 36 1 . 031031823 zyx nm_003461 1 . 31 1 . 36 0 . 963983275 1 . chen , y ., dougherty , e . r ., bittner , m . l . ( 1997 ) j . biomed . optics 24 : 364 - 374 . 2 . hegde , p ., qi , r ., abernathy , k ., gay , c ., dharap , s ., gaspard , r ., earle - hughes , j ., snesrud , e ., lee , n ., quackenbush , j . ( 2000 ) biotechniques 29 : 548 - 562 . [ 0092 ] 3 . yang m c , ruan q g , yang j j , eckenrode s , wu s , mcindoe r a , she j x . ( 2001 ) physiol genomics 7 : 45 - 53 . [ 0093 ] 4 . schena m , shalon d , davis r w , brown p o . ( 1995 ). science 270 : 467 - 70 . 5 . cho y j , meade j d , walden j c , chen x , guo z , liang p . ( 2001 ) biotechniques 30 : 562 - 8 , 570 , 572 [ 0095 ] 6 . brown a j , planta r j , restuhadi f , bailey d a , butler p r , cadahia j l , cerdan m e , de jonge m , gardner d c , gent m e , hayes a , kolen c p , lombardia l j , murad a m , oliver r a , sefton m , thevelein j m , tournu h , van delft y j , verbart d j , winderickx j , oliver s g . ( 2001 ). embo j 20 : 3177 - 86 . [ 0096 ] 7 . chaib h , cockrell e k , rubin m a , macoska j a . ( 2001 ) neoplasia : 43 - 52 . [ 0097 ] 8 . barbu v , dautry f . ( 1989 ) nucleic acids res17 : 7115 [ 0098 ] 9 . gaudette m f , crain w r . ( 1991 ). nucleic acids res . 19 : 1879 - 84 . [ 0099 ] 10 . horikoshi s , fukuda k , ray p e , sawada m , bruggeman l a , klotman p e . ( 1992 ). kidney int . 42 : 764 - 9 . [ 0100 ] 11 . kerr m k , churchill g a . ( 2001 ). proc natl acad sci u s a 98 : 8961 - 5 | 2 |
reference is made to fig1 - 6 for illustrating one preferred embodiment of a compact camera 20 of the self - developing type that is made in accordance to the principles of the present invention . included in the camera 20 is a light - tight housing assembly 24 that essentially comprises a main frame assembly 24 , an upper casing shell or member 26 , a lower casing shell or member 28 , and an electrical strobe board 30 that carries the electrical components for operation of the camera . the upper casing member 26 defines an elliptical recess 32 for accommodating in a generally flush relationship thereto a decorative and removable top panel 34 that a user can replace in order to change styling of the camera . the decorative top panel 34 is latched to the upper casing . the upper casing 26 has an opening for accommodating a shutter button 36 and an elongated slot 38 for an aperture selector tab 40 . the upper and lower casing members are suitably joined together to enclose the main frame assembly 24 and define an elliptical recess 41 in the front thereof for accommodating a decorative and replaceable front panel 42 . the front panel 42 is latched to the housing assembly 22 so as to fit generally flush within the recess 41 . the front panel 42 has a strobe opening 44 , a taking lens opening 46 , and a viewfinder opening 48 . the lower casing member 28 has an enlarged generally rectangular opening 50 sized for allowing a film loading door 52 to move pivotally between open and closed conditions . as a consequence , a film assembly is allowed to be inserted and removed . provision is made for a generally rectangular retaining plate 56 that has a taking lens aperture 58 and a viewfinder aperture 60 that is mounted on the main frame assembly 24 and is enclosed within the casing members 26 , 28 . reference is made back to the main frame assembly 24 , wherein provision is made for a film box cavity 62 that is sized for removably receiving a film package ( not shown ) that stores the film assemblage 54 in a light - tight relationship . by virtue of such a condition being achieved , it is possible to make the surrounding upper and lower casing members of a transparent material without the risk of damaging the film . the film assemblage 54 is , preferably , of the self - developing kind that is particularly adapted for use in a camera of the above type . the film assemblage is similar in construction to those described in commonly - assigned u . s . pat . nos . : 5 , 838 , 999 and 5 , 888 , 693 , and hence , the descriptions thereof are incorporated herein and made a part hereof . however , only those portions of the film assemblage 54 necessary to understand the present invention will be set forth herein . in this regard , the film assemblage is in the form of an elongated strip 64 with separable individual film frames 66 housed in a folded and stacked relationship within the film package or cassette . a leading tab 68 of each frame 66 is adapted to protrude from an exit slot 70 ( fig4 ) and a spring - biased film flap 72 is pivotally mounted adjacent one end of the camera housing , whereby an operator can grasp and pull the film assemblage for indexing the latter . the film flap does not , per se , form an aspect of the present invention . a detailed description thereof is described in the last noted patent application and is incorporated herein and made a part hereof . the film frames 66 are frangibly connected to each other , whereby they separate into individual frames when the film strip is pulled from the housing assembly . thus , when an operator pulls on a leading tab 68 of an exposed film frame , the film is advanced thereby effecting processing of an exposed film unit as the latter is withdrawn from a focal plane 74 and passes through a nip defined by a pair of processing rollers 80 a , b ( fig4 ). as a result , each of the emerging and distal end film frames separate from a successive film frame that has been simultaneously indexed from the film cavity which has its leading tab emerge . continued reference is to fig4 - 6 wherein the film loading door 52 is pivotally mounted to one end of the main frame housing assembly 24 adjacent a film flap 72 . the spread roller 80 a is mounted for rotation on the door 52 adjacent a pre - spread feature 82 that is mounted on the door immediately prior to a nip defined by and between the rollers 80 a and 80 b . a latch 84 is located at one end of the film loading door 52 and cooperates with a complementary catch for releaseably securing the door in a closed relationship with the main frame assembly . a more complete description this structure is found in commonly filed patent application ( case 8453pro ) noted above which is incorporated herein and made a part hereof . the camera is also envisioned to be a one - time use camera , whereby the door would be locked against customer opening and the film preloaded prior to being locked . for defining the focal plane 74 there is provided a taking lens 86 , a mirror 88 , and a focal cone 90 defined by and at the bottom of the main housing assembly 24 . the taking lens 86 is mounted by the retaining plate and is generally positioned to reduce the height of camera relative to , for example , the camera described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 099 , 172 . the taking lens 86 is positioned more laterally with respect to a longitudinal axis of the camera while retaining the same focal length as the taking lens in the noted patent . this relationship in turn lowers the mirror , thus reducing the height profile . the focal cone 90 is defined to accommodate the size format of the film . adjacent the focal cone 90 is a film path defining ramp 92 that serves to reduce the height of the camera . the spread roller 80 b is spring biased and is mounted for rotation in the bottom wall of the main frame assembly 24 . the spread roller 80 b defines a nip with roller 80 a whenever the loading door is in the closed condition . one viewfinder lens 94 of the viewfinder assembly 96 is retained by the retaining plate 46 . the viewfinder assembly 96 can be anyone of several kinds . as illustrated , a pair of generally parallel battery receiving cavities 97 a , 97 b are mounted in close proximity to the viewfinder assembly 96 and the shutter button 36 . the battery receiving cavities lie in a plane that includes the viewfinder assembly 96 for purposes of establishing a compact relationship . batteries ( not shown ) engage with the battery contacts 98 . a battery compartment door 99 is provided . a flash tube assembly 112 of any suitable type is mounted on the strobe board 30 as illustrated for use in generating pulses of artificial illumination directed at the scene . a capacitor 114 is provided for energizing the flash tube assembly 112 and is mounted on an underside surface of the strobe board 30 with its axial length extending along a bottom surface of the strobe board and generally parallel to such bottom surface . the horizontally mounted strobe board 30 has an aperture 116 that is configured and sized to fit over and surround the periphery of an aperture selector mechanism 120 made according to the principles of the present invention . the aperture 116 also encloses a top portion of the mirror housing , thereby lowering the overall height of the camera . included in the aperture selector mechanism 120 is an elongated aperture selector slide 122 that is mounted for slidable movement on the main frame assembly 24 and is otherwise manually displaceable by an operator to one of several distinct aperture settings corresponding to , for example , iconographic information or symbols ( not shown ) on the exterior of the housing . the aperture selector slide 122 is housed and guided for movement by a slide retainer housing 124 ; both of which have their longitudinal axes generally parallel to each other and a top surface of the strobe board 30 . the slide and its retainer are generally centrally disposed along the length of the camera and are positioned to be above the taking lens . reference is initially made to fig7 and 8 for illustrating an improved shutter and aperture selector assembly or mechanism 120 in a rest or “ off ” condition . a shutter link 126 has a wing portion 126 a that is engaged by a plunger 53 on the shutter button 36 . the shutter link 126 is pivoted about an axis 127 and has another wing portion 126 b with a cam 128 at a distal end thereof . the cam 128 engages a complementary surface on a clasping or detenting mechanism 130 for reasons to be described hereinafter . it will be further appreciated that the clasp can only engage and stop the slide when it the former is in one of the notches . if the clasp engages at any location other than the notches the shutter is prevented from further operation . the aperture selector assembly 120 includes an elongated and generally flat aperture selector slide 122 that is partially enclosed by aperture selector slide retainer 124 . the slide 122 is mounted on tracks , not shown , on the main housing assembly for allowing its reciprocal movement . a protrusion 132 protrudes upwardly from the slide 122 and is free to travel in an axial direction in an elongated slot 134 formed in the slide retainer 124 . the protrusion 132 cooperates with the aperture selector tab 132 that protrudes through a corresponding slot in the plate 34 for allowing a user to displace the slide from its “ off ” position ( fig7 & amp ; 8 ) to the one of three distinct settings ( not shown ) corresponding to “ indoor ”; “ sunny ” or “ partly cloudy ” conditions . the slide 122 has an elongated cut - out 136 located on a bottom surface and positioned adjacent one lateral side thereof for defining a hook or shoulder 138 that is adapted to cooperate with a radially protruding hammer tab 148 of a rotatable hammer bypass device 150 . a shutter hammer 152 is mounted for rotation on the same axis as the bypass device 150 and is adapted to be driven by the latter . however , the hammer 152 moves independently of the hammer bypass 150 for reasons to be made evident . the hammer 152 is shown in a non - cocked or raised condition for either its first exposure or following a previously completed exposure . as will be described , the hammer 152 when actuated is adapted to trip a shutter blade 154 . the shutter blade 154 is spring biased by a shutter spring 156 to a scene light blocking or closed position covering aperture 158 of the taking lens . [ 0062 ] fig9 & amp ; 10 illustrate the aperture selector slide 122 in a position after it has been displaced by an operator , from it rest condition ( fig7 & amp ; 8 ) towards a desired aperture setting condition ; but before it arrives the aperture setting condition . during this early phase of displacement , the shoulder 138 drivingly engages the tab 148 for rotating the bypass device 150 , against a spring bias by a spring 151 ( fig1 ) that has an arm portion thereof engaging a surface of the device . since the bypass device 150 is in engagement with a pin on the side of the hammer 152 , the latter is likewise rotationally displaced to its cocked condition ( see fig1 and 14 ). the hammer when so driven stretches a hammer spring 160 attached at one end thereof for providing energy for operating the shutter . the hammer is latched in its cocked condition ( fig1 & amp ; 12 ) when a portion 162 thereof engages a surface on a flexibly resilient hammer latch 164 in the same manner as described in the last noted patent . it will be noted that if the user decides not to take an exposure after cocking the hammer , the slide 122 can be moved back to its original or “ off ” position without requiring a firing of the shutter . this can happen since the bypass 150 is independently rotatably with respect to the hammer in the opposite direction . toward this end , a shoulder 145 on the cut - out 144 can override the tab 148 when returning because the bypass is independently rotatable with respect to the hammer . it will be noted that the slide 122 returns automatically to the original position under the influence of a clasp spring 166 mounted on the main frame assembly 24 as will be described . reference is made to fig1 for better illustrating how the strobe 112 is powered “ on ” in response to displacement of the slide 122 . in this regard , a strobe power switch 170 connected to the strobe board 30 has an elongated spring arm 170 a having a distal end biased into engagement with a side of the slide 122 to maintain the switch in an open or “ off ” condition as illustrated in fig7 and 11 . however , as the slide member 122 is moved to a first aperture setting position ( fig1 ) switch arm 170 a follows a cam surface 172 onto a reduced width portion of the slide , thereby closing the switch and thus effecting energization of a strobe capacitor . thus , the strobe will be energized during aperture select without the user having to make a conscious decision to use the strobe . it will be appreciated that the strobe will be fired in each of the aperture settings . [ 0064 ] fig1 and 14 illustrate an arrangement of components wherein the slide 122 is detented in the first aperture setting condition . in this condition , a slide detent member 174 is pivotally mounted on the slide housing 124 and has a tapered distal end 176 that is urged into a first aperture setting detent notch 178 a by a clasp spring 180 . it will noted that the detent notch 178 a corresponds to the “ indoor ” aperture setting . for effecting this detenting operation , a clasp spring 180 has an end 180 a engaging a projection on the slide housing 124 and another end 180 b engaging a surface of the detent member 174 . the spring 180 urges the distal end 176 into the notch 178 a when there is registration between the latter . however , it will be further noted that the clasping mechanism 130 is maintained out of engagement with the slide 122 during the aperture setting mode . it will be further noted that there are three notches 178 a - c , each corresponding to one of the three aperture settings . in the first aperture setting position shown in fig1 , it will be further noted that aperture plate 182 is pivotally mounted at 184 to the main frame assembly and remains out of an overlying relationship with the aperture 156 , thereby not modulating incident scene light to the film plane during the indoor exposure . [ 0066 ] fig1 & amp ; 16 illustrate a second aperture setting position corresponding to a “ sunny ” scene condition . to reach this setting , an operator further displaces the slide 122 until the selector tab 40 is positioned adjacent the “ sunny ” iconographic setting on the camera . at this location , the distal end 176 engages the detent notch 178 b under the influence of the spring 180 . it will be understood that during sliding movement , a depending shoulder 186 of the slide 122 extends downwardly and into the path of an aperture plate pin 188 . as the slide 122 is displaced , the shoulder 186 and an accompanying recess 187 trap the pin and effect rotation of the aperture plate so that an aperture 190 , corresponding to an appropriate f - number for “ sunny ” conditions , is in optical alignment with the exposure aperture 156 . the aperture plate 182 is positively locked into an overlying optical registry with the exposure aperture 156 . [ 0067 ] fig1 & amp ; 18 illustrate the components when the aperture select mechanism 120 is in its third aperture setting condition corresponding to , for example , “ partly sunny ” conditions , whereby an aperture 192 on the plate is in alignment with the exposure aperture 156 . the aperture 192 is set when the slide 122 and its depending shoulder 186 drive rotatably the aperture plate 182 until the distal end 176 of the slide detent 174 is driven into engagement with detent notch 178 c and thus resist movement of the slide 122 . the aperture 192 has an appropriate f - number that corresponds to a so - called “ partly sunny ” scene condition . [ 0068 ] fig1 & amp ; 21 illustrate a shutter actuating procedure and , in particular , the positioning of several components following the shutter button 36 being depressed by an operator . in such a position , the shutter link 126 has been pivoted upwardly and effects swinging movement of the clasping mechanism 130 from an inoperative position to an operative or clasping position ( fig1 ). in particular , the cam 128 while pivoted upwardly rides on and drives an inclined surface 200 about 45 degrees with respect to a vertical plane on a clasping arm portion 204 of the clasping mechanism 130 about a vertical axis 206 ; whereby a distal end 208 of a clasping arm 209 engages a notch 210 a formed on a side of the slide 122 ; thereby retaining the latter until the clasping mechanism 130 is released in a manner to be described . it will be noted that the slide 122 includes a series of detent notches 210 a - c corresponding in position with the detent notches 178 a - c so that the clasping mechanism holds the slide until it is by an operator releasing the shutter button . referring back to the shutter link 126 , its upward movement drives a link pin 212 that engages and moves the hammer latch 164 so as to release the hammer 152 , whereby the latter is rotated upwardly by the hammer spring 160 to trip the shutter 154 to commence opening of the shutter aperture 156 . the shutter 154 will then be driven back to its closed position , thereby terminating exposure by the shutter return spring 158 . as the hammer 152 moves to its upward position , a cam 214 carried thereby engages a strobe fire switch 216 that depends from the strobe board for firing the strobe during the time that the shutter allows scene light to the film plane through the aperture 156 . it will be appreciated that the hammer 152 remains in its upward position until it is recocked . [ 0070 ] fig2 , 25 , 26 a & amp ; 26 b illustrate that the cam 214 on the hammer drives the detent arm 174 out of engagement with a respective one of the notches 178 a - c generally simultaneously as the strobe fire switch is closed ( fig2 a , 26b ). however , the slide 122 remains stationary because of the clasping arm 209 retaining the slide in place until released by the operator in a manner to be described . [ 0071 ] fig2 and 28 illustrate release of the clasping arm 209 upon release of the shutter button 36 by the operator , thereby freeing the slide to return to the original position under the urging of the clasp spring 166 . because of a spring ( not shown ) the shutter link 122 is rotated back to its original position about axis 127 upon release of operator pressure . as this occurs , the cam 128 moves downwardly . it will be realized that an arm 166 a of the clasp spring 166 engages the arm 204 portion beyond the axis 206 and retains engagement with the cam 128 such that as the cam is rotated the arm 209 is thereby rotated in a counterclockwise direction to remove the distal end 208 from one of the notches 210 a . owing to the clasp spring portion 166 b engaging the slide 122 , the latter is returned automatically to the opposite end of the slot whereby the button engages the retainer housing to retain the slide in its original “ off ” condition ( fig2 & amp ; 30 ) [ 0072 ] fig3 illustrates a bottom view of the aperture selector slide 122 which includes a main slide portion 122 a that is interconnected to and relatively movable with respect to a stop element 122 b by virtue of a spring 123 for allowing the slide portion and the stop element to mfove relative to each other for purposes made apparent . it will be appreciated that the notches are generally aligned in both the main slide portion and the stop element . in this embodiment , the clasp engages the notches in the stop element 122 b and not necessarily the main slide portion 122 a ; wherein the stop element is actually spring biased by the clasp spring 166 ( not shown ). because of this construction and arrangement , a user can easily and reliably manually return the aperture slide 122 to its original or “ off ” position ; after the slide has been moved to one of the aperture setting conditions . in particular , when the user moves the main portion 122 a its notches will move relative the stop element that has received in detenting relationship the clasp . owing to the relative movement the notches of the main portion will force the clasp from the notches of the stop element thereby allowing the user to return the slide to its original position if the operator decides not to take a picture . it will be appreciated that changes may be made in the above structure and process without departing from the scope of the invention described herein . it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense . thus , other alternatives and modifications will now become apparent without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
a wireless input and a non - wireless input are effectively combined so that both may be efficiently provided as an audio output signal . this is achieved by selecting a frequency at which all the digital signals are provided to a common digital audio mixer . shown in fig1 is an audio system 10 comprising an rf front end 12 , an rf front end 14 , a converter 16 , a resonator 18 , an analog audio source 20 , a digital audio source 22 , a dsp adder 24 , and a controller 26 . rf front end 12 receives an rf signal which may be fm , am , weather band , or short wave or some other wireless type signal . similarly , rf front end 14 receives an rf signal of the same class as that received by rf front end 12 . rf front end 12 and rf front end 14 each provide an intermediate frequency signal to converter 16 . analog audio source 20 provides differing analog audio signals to converter 16 . digital audio source 22 provides multiple digital signals representative of audio information to dsp adder 24 . controller 26 coupled to dsp adder 24 provides control information to the dsp adder 24 , converter 16 , rf front end 12 , and rf front end 14 . the controller information from controller 26 may be routed through dsp adder 24 or applied directly to converter 16 , rf front end 12 , rf front end 14 , as well as dsp adder 24 . converter 26 comprises a clock generator 28 , a bus interface 30 , a bus interface 32 , and a digital - to - analog converter ( dac ) and analog - to - digital converter ( adc ) 34 . in operation , resonator 18 coupled to clock generator 28 , provides for a clock oscillator to operate at 28 . 8 megahertz ( mhz ). this clock frequency is then utilized to provide a rf reference to rf front end 12 and rf front end 14 at 7 . 2 mhz . this 28 . 8 mhz clock frequency is also used to provide a dsp reference to dsp adder 24 at 57 . 6 mhz . rf front end 12 and rf front end 14 operate in a similar fashion but may be operating on different input signals . rf front end 12 converts the received rf signal to an intermediate frequency signal utilizing a frequency derived from the rf reference of 7 . 2 mhz . the if frequency is provided at 10 . 8 mhz . the intermediate frequency is then sampled and converted to a digital signal by dac and adc 34 and provided as an output by converter 16 through bus interface 32 to dsp adder 24 . an input from analog audio source 20 is converted to a digital signal by dac and adc 34 and provided as an output to dsp adder 24 via bus interface 32 . bus interface 32 is controlled by controller 26 and multiplexes the signal received from analog audio source 20 and rf front ends 12 and 14 to dsp adder 24 . digital audio source 22 provides digital signals to dsp adder 24 . dsp adder 24 combines the wireless signals received by front ends 12 and 14 as converted to digital form with signals received from analog audio source 20 , and digital audio source 22 under the control of controller 26 . typically , digital audio source 22 and analog audio source 20 are separate units of hardware that are designed for the particular type of audio information they provide such as a cassette player or an mp3 player . it has become a standard for most digital audio sources that they provide data at a rate of 48 khz or multiples thereof . for the purpose of mixing a wireless audio signal with such a 48 khz digital audio signal , it is a benefit for the information that is received as a wireless signal to be also at a data rate of 48 khz . thus , it is desirable that the clock frequency used as dsp reference for dsp adder 24 be such that 48 khz is an integer - number multiple thereof . in this case the chosen dsp reference is 57 . 6 mhz . 57 . 6 mhz is conveniently twice that of the crystal oscillator that provides a 28 . 8 mhz clock frequency . similarly , rf front ends 12 and 14 receive the rf reference at 7 . 2 mhz , which is conveniently one fourth of the clock frequency of 28 . 8 mhz . the frequency of 7 . 2 mhz is carefully chosen so that it is a multiple of the raster spacing for a number of different radio tuning requirements throughout the world . the typical required raster spacings that cover the vast majority of the requirements of the world , as shown is fig5 are 16 , 18 , 20 , 25 , and 30 khz . the frequency of 7 . 2 mhz is a whole number multiple of each of these desirable raster spacings . rf front ends 12 and 14 perform filtering , rf mixing , and amplifying of the wireless broadcast signal to produce a wireless input signal at an intermediate frequency . the frequency of 10 . 8 mhz as the if is conveniently generated as a frequency whose alias , one fourth of the sample frequency , is equidistant from 7 . 2 mhz as 10 . 8 mhz is . downconverting the if signal to base band using an alias image is well known and commonly called sub - sampling . thus the rf reference in this described embodiment is halfway between the intermediate frequency and its alias . this is desirable because there is essentially no interference between this reference frequency and the if frequency and its alias . in this case the alias is created using a sampling clock at 14 . 4 mhz in the converter 16 making the alias 3 . 6 mhz . this technique of centering the reference frequency between the if and its alias image is effective so long as the if is sufficiently narrow in bandwidth so that it does not extend to the mid frequency point of 7 . 2 mhz in this case . thus the selection of a clock frequency of 28 . 8 mhz is advantageously used in the rf front ends 12 and 14 to provide the wide variety of raster spacings , the if sampling frequency , and also to provide the optimum sample frequency consistent with the industry standard for mp3 and dvd audio for digital mixing and represented as digital audio source 22 in fig1 . analog outputs from converter 16 result from conversion of digital signals provided by dsp adder 24 to converter 16 . converter 16 performs a digital - to - analog conversion and provides the analog outputs . these analog outputs are then useful for providing the desired audio outputs . these analog output signals would typically be received by a power amplifier that would in turn be connected to speakers . as an alternative , dsp adder 24 could provide digital signals directly to an active speaker system capable of converting digital signals to analog signals and driving the speakers . a benefit of using the frequency of 7 . 2 mhz for the rf reference is that a type of noise called synthesizer reference spurs is generated at 18 khz or above , which is generally considered above the audible range . this arises because the 7 . 2 mhz rf reference is integer divisible by 18 khz as well as the other raster spacings . thus , the synthesizer reference spurs occur at or above these raster spacing frequencies . if a lower frequency is required in order to achieve the lower raster spacing , then the synthesizer spurs are generated at this lower frequency and may become audible . another benefit of not having to go to a lower frequency than the raster spacing frequency itself is faster locking in rf front end 12 or rf front end 14 . shown in fig2 is dsp adder 24 in more detail . dsp adder 24 comprises a phase lock loop 36 , a source selector 38 , radio signal processing block 40 , audio signal processing block 42 , audio signal processing block 44 , audio signal processing block 46 , decimator 48 , decimator 50 , decimator 52 , decimator 54 , selector adder 56 , and a chime generator 58 . phase lock loop 36 provides a dsp clock derived from clock generator 28 . dsp clock and controller 26 are coupled to radio signal processing 40 , audio signal processing 42 - 46 , decimators 48 - 54 , selector adder 56 , source selector 38 , and chime generator 58 . source selector 38 receives digital signals from adc bus interface 32 and selectively couples the signals to either radio signal processing 40 or one of audio signal processing blocks 42 - 46 . source selector 38 also receives digital audio signals from digital audio source 22 and selectively couples them to one of audio signal processing 42 - 46 . shown here is just one radio signal processing block 40 and three audio signal processing blocks 42 - 46 , but there may be more of each in a different embodiment . the signal processing by blocks 40 - 46 varies depending upon the particular need . for example , for blocks 42 - 46 in particular decompression decoding may occur . for radio signal processing block 40 , radio signal demodulation and audio fidelity improvement processing are particularly relevant . for all blocks 40 - 46 treble , bass , and volume control may be applied . decimators 48 - 54 reduce the frequency , if necessary , of the signal from signal processing blocks 40 - 46 by an amount to achieve the desired 48 khz data rate . the “ x ” value in at least some of the decimators 50 - 54 can be 1 . some of the signal processing may be moved from between source selector 38 and decimators 48 , 50 , 52 , and 58 to from between decimators 48 , 50 , 52 , and 58 and selective adder 56 . filtering , for example , may only require a single set of coefficients for signals that are the same frequency . thus , it may save memory to move filters between decimators 48 , 50 , 52 , and 58 and selective adder 56 . thus selective adder 56 receives multiple inputs derived directly from decimators 48 - 54 all at the same sample frequency and synchronous with each other . thus , selective adder 56 can easily mix these signals in a normal audio context . the effect of selective adder 56 is to superimpose the content of any two or more of the incoming signals together . they can be superimposed or added in a ratio determined by controller 26 . further , chime generator 58 provides a signal at a sample rate of 48 khz , which may also be mixed with any of the other signals provided to selective adder 56 . chime generator 58 is convenient for indicating to the occupants of a vehicle of an incoming phone call or any other type of alert . thus music that is playing does not have to be muted in order to provide the alert . the sampling frequencies of 48 khz being in common is conveniently provided because only integer decimation is needed for it to be achieved . in some cases no decimation may be required . digital audio 22 provided externally to dsp adder 24 may not be exactly 48 khz . in such case it may be necessary to convert it to precisely 48 khz and have it timed perfectly with the other signals . this timing is achieved using the dsp clock provided by pll 36 . this processing would typically be provided prior to source selector 38 receiving the signal . a common technique for achieving this is the use of an asynchronous sample rate converter . the synchronization may also be achieved by the decimators that provide phase adjustment as needed . shown in fig3 is converter 16 in more detail . converter 16 comprises bus interface 30 , an a to d converter ( adc ) 62 , an a to d converter 64 , clock generator 28 , an a to d converter 66 , an a to d converter 68 , a d to a converter 70 , a d to a converter 72 , bus interface 32 , mixer 74 and mixer 76 . bus interface 30 provides microcontroller information to the rf front ends 12 and 14 . microcontroller input arrives via bus interface 32 . not all of the microcontroller connections are shown in fig3 . for example , the microcontroller inputs arriving at bus interface 32 are coupled to each of the elements shown in fig3 such as a to d converters 62 - 68 and clock generator 28 as well as mixers 74 and 76 . also , microcontroller inputs are coupled to dacs 70 and 72 . a to d converters 62 and 64 receive the intermediate center frequency from rf front ends 12 and 14 . there may be even additional rf front ends and corresponding a to d converters as part of converter 16 . a to d converters 62 and 64 convert the intermediate center frequency to a digital signal sampled at 14 . 4 mhz so the a to d converters 62 and 64 are designed so that they operate on the image of the intermediate center frequency , the image in this case being 3 . 6 mhz . the result is a digital signal with a 3 . 6 center frequency . if digital mixers 74 and 76 mix the digital if signal with 3 . 6 mhz to provide the digital signal without central frequency . the center frequency is removed so it is simply a digital signal so the outputs of mixers 74 and 76 are provided to bus interface 32 . bus interface 32 multiplexes them as an output to dsp adder 24 . similarly , a to d converters 66 and 68 , and there may be more than just the two shown , receive an analog signal and convert it to a digital signal . the sample rate is a multiple of 48 khz but is typically greater than 48 khz . the output of a to d converter 66 and 68 are coupled to bus interface 32 which multiplexes them to dsp adder 24 . the a to d converters 62 - 68 each thus provide a digital signal at a rate which is a multiple of 48 khz . bus interface 32 receives a digital signal from dsp adder 24 and couples them to one or more of d to a converters 70 and 72 . additionally , there may be more d to a converters than the two shown . the d to a converters convert the digital signal provided by dsp adder 24 and coupled by bus interface 32 to an analog signal that is in a condition to be further amplified and provided to a speaker via output the digital output of selective adder 56 . clock generator 28 , as shown in fig3 is coupled to resonator 18 to provide the desired 28 . 8 mhz frequency . this 28 . 8 mhz base clock frequency is thus convenient for providing the desired 7 . 2 mhz reference clock for the rf front ends 12 and 14 , which in turn provide the 10 . 8 mhz intermediate center frequency . similarly , the 28 . 8 mhz clock frequency provides convenience for the sample rates for the a to d converters 66 and 68 and is thus consistent with the industry standard . 48 khz of digital sources such as mp3 and dvd audio . shown in fig4 is a portion of front end 12 comprising a divider 78 , a phase detector 80 , a low pass filter , 82 , a divider 84 , a divider 86 , and a vco 88 . divider 78 divides the incoming rf reference , which is at a frequency of 7 . 2 mhz , by an integer selected to obtain one of 16 , 18 , 20 , 25 , and 30 khz , depending upon the relevant raster spacing . phase detector 80 receives the output of divider 78 and an output of divider 84 , which provides the output as a signal divided from vco 88 . phase detector 80 compares these two outputs and provides an error output if they are not in phase . low pass filter 82 receives the output of phase detector 80 and provides a control signal to vco 88 . eventually vco will adjust until the frequency of the output of divider 84 is the same frequency as the output of divider 78 and phase lock is obtained . the phase lock is not perfect however so that the unintentional synthesizer reference spurs are generated at the rate of the output of the phase detector 80 . the spurs are detrimental to analog signals but are not problematic in digital transmission . further , if the band is am , anything above 10 khz is filtered out anyway because 10 khz is the maximum audio frequency that is transmitted . divider 86 is considered the output of the local oscillator and provides the output frequencies used by rf front end such as that required to produce the 10 . 8 mhz if . shown in fig5 is a table showing , by jurisdiction , bands , local oscillator frequencies , change in frequency by a change of one in n , raster frequencies , and the integer divisors applied to dividers 80 , 84 , and 86 of fig4 to achieve the if of 10 . 8 mhz . note that in all cases the 7 . 2 mhz is divided by a number no greater than 400 , which is 18 khz , except for one case , and that case is digital transmission . in the foregoing specification , the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments . however , one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below . accordingly , the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense , and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present invention . benefits , other advantages , and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments . however , the benefits , advantages , solutions to problems , and any element ( s ) that may cause any benefit , advantage , or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical , required , or essential feature or element of any or all the claims . as used herein , the terms “ comprises ,” “ comprising ,” or any other variation thereof , are intended to cover a non - exclusive inclusion , such that a process , method , article , or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process , method , article , or apparatus . | 7 |
described herein is a folding table for supporting medical equipment bedside . the table comprises three main components which may be folded from an extended position for transport or storage . the folded position is configured to allow the table to be easily transported along with the medical equipment during travel . the table is also configured to be unfolded and stabilized bedside to support the medical equipment without the need of tools , or excessive time or mechanical skills the table comprises three main components , the principal being a table top , which supports the medical equipment and has several features to facilitate ease of use for the medical equipment . the secondary components are a support which extends extends outward from the side of the table at approximately one - hundred eighty degrees ( 180 °), and a stabilizer which extends outward from the bottom of the table so as to be oriented perpendicular to the bottom plane of the table surface , and oriented perpendicular to the common side of the table and support previously described . the table is designed such that the support is positioned between an upper and lower mattress such that the table top extends beside the bed at approximately the height of the mattresses intersection and parallel with the lying surface of the bed . the stabilizer supports the table top and redirects the downward forces of the table top and its contents approximately ninety of the lower mattress thus allowing the table top to support heavier loads . in the preferred embodiment , the table is a molded plastic with a plurality of hinge barrels oriented proximately along the bottom edges of two perpendicular sides of the table . the hinge barrels are offset unequal distances from the bottom of the table surface such that the stabilizer and support , when mated with the table top may be folded against the table &# 39 ; s underside to a stacked configuration without interference between the support and stabilizer . one skilled in the art would appreciate that other types of hinges and other configurations of the main components may be utilized within the spirit of the innovation . examples include , but are not limited to offset hinges , double hinge configurations , removable and attachable stabilizer and / or support . further , the innovation may be implemented in a non - folding configuration , which would be bulkier for transport , but may be suitable for home , or treatment facility where more consistent use is expected without extensive transportability . the preferred implementation utilizes a series of machine supports to keep the machine situated on the table during minor bumps , knocks , or other table / bed movements . alternatives may include utilizing straps , or belts to secure the machine to the table top , sticky pads , suction cups , etc . for some machines , it may be desirable to place a cushioned pad on the table surface to reduce the transmission of vibrations from the machine . to further protect the machine , from being knocked from the table top , the preferred embodiment comprises a power cord trap . the power cord trap is implemented as an angled groove in one side surface of the table into which a user may guide the power cord such that it is semi - locked or trapped into the groove against casual removal . this power cord trap causes any minor forces on the cord to be transferred to the table top , instead of directly to the machine , or power outlet into which it is connected . further , if the machine is ever knocked from the table surface , the power cord acts as a restraint to aid in securing the machine to the table , and at least prevent an unrestricted impact with the floor . the preferred embodiment also includes a mask support hook in the form of a void in one corner of the table which produces a pin , hook , or holder over which a straps of a mask can be hung to support the mask when not in use . hanging the mask from the strap allows air to pass around the mask during the day to dry any moisture which accumulates during use . this mask hanger , also support the mask in a position conveniently reached for storage and retrieval of the mask by the user . the mask hanger also secures the mask to prevent it from being knocked to the floor , or from taking up space on a bedside table , or the bed lying surface . the support is a substantially flat planer like surface which can be positioned between the mattresses of a bed without disturbing the lying surface of the bed . in the preferred embodiment the support has a roughened texture to prevent unrestricted slipping from between the mattresses once placed there between . i . e . sufficient force must be applied to remove the support from between the mattresses , and that force amount is dependent on the size of the physical characteristics of the embodiment and the anticipated loads to be placed on the table surface . the roughened texture should not be sufficiently rough to cause damage to the mattress surfaces , and may include a nonskid material rather than a surface texture . this may be a random texture , or a patterned texture molded , cut , or otherwise embossed or embedded to one or more surfaces of the support . one skilled in the arts would appreciate that dependent on the material construction of the support , the unrestricted slipping from between the mattress may be accomplished by texture , material content , and / or coatings and treatments thereto . the primary requirements would be sufficient resistance from slippage as previously described , and no intentional damage or residue evidence on mattress surfaces after use . in keeping with the goals of no intentional damage , all surface joints should be deburred , “ knocked down ,” or rounded . further , the same treatment should apply to all edges which may be exposed to contact during normal expected use . for the same reasoning , the stabilizer in the preferred embodiment having a hinged joint with the bottom surface of the table in the preferred embodiment has a rounded outer edge joining the table contacting edge to avoid having an unnecessary corner protruding from under the table top surface by creating a quarter rounded shape . other embodiments may have an angled joint producing a triangular shape . in other embodiment , a decorative shape may be utilized , or a plurality of hooks or handles may be molded , cut , or embossed onto one or more surfaces of the stabilizer for hooking or holding hoses , wires , medical devices , etc . to store or transport the table , the power cord for the machine is removed from the power cord trap , and the machine and mask are removed from the table . the table is then removed from between the mattresses . the stabilizer is folded approximately ninety degrees ( 90 °) to lie flat against the bottom of the table . the support is then folded approximately one hundred eighty degrees ( 180 °) against the bottom of the table , or more specifically against the stabilizer which is against the bottom of the table . one skilled in the arts would appreciate that the exact folding configuration of the table could be altered and still be consistent with the illustrative principals fo the innovation described herein . in the folded configuration , the table is approximately the same size as the footprint of the machine , and is substantially flat , and can be easily transported along with the machine . fig1 a illustrates a folding table supporting a cpap machine on the side of a bed during night use by a patient in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . the user ( 70 ) lies upon the surface of a bed ( 60 ) comprised of an upper mattress ( 60 a ) and a lower mattress ( 60 b ). a cpap mask ( 55 ), positioned over the face of the user , and held in position with straps ( 56 ) connects by air hose ( 54 ) to the air intake ( 51 ) of a cpap machine ( 50 ). the machine ( 50 ) rest on a table ( 100 ) which is positioned beside the bed ( 60 ), with the support ( 300 ) between the mattresses ( 60 a , 60 b ) such that the main body of the table ( 100 ) protrudes from between the mattresses ( 60 a , 60 b ) with the table top &# 39 ; s stabilizer ( 200 ) is against the side of the lower mattress ( 60 b ). the power cord ( 53 ) is connected to the machine ( 50 ) and connected to the power cord trap ( 140 ). the mask support hook , or mask hanger ( 130 ) is shown as a notch in one edge of the table ( 100 ) distal the support ( 300 ) such that the mask ( 55 ) will hang away from the bed ( 60 ) to promote air circulation around the mask ( 55 ) when not in use and supported by the hanger ( 130 ). fig1 b illustrates a folding table supporting a cpap machine on the side of a bed during day use with the mask supported by the mask support hook in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . a cpap mask ( 55 ), hangs by the straps ( 56 ) from a mask hanger ( 130 ) on the edge of the table ( 100 ) distal the support ( 300 ). the mask ( 55 ) connects by air hose ( 54 ) to the air intake ( 51 ) of a cpap machine ( 50 ). the mask support hook , or mask hanger ( 130 ) supports the mask ( 55 ) away from the bed ( 60 ) to promote air circulation around the mask when not in use . fig2 a illustrates a folding table for supporting medical equipment in a folded configuration in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . fig2 b illustrates a folding table for supporting medical equipment in an extended configuration in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . the table ( 100 ) is sized such that a cpap machine ( 50 ) or other medical device , fits comfortably on the table top ( 110 ) and is secured around the edges by machine supports ( 120 ). in another embodiment , the machine supports ( 120 ) may be closer to the edge of the table top ( 110 ), or they may be shaped to accommodate machines ( 50 ) which are different shapes . additionally , the machine supports may be pegs , or pins which insert into one or more receptacles in the table top ( 110 ) to allow repositioning such that a universal table top ( 110 ) can be customized to hold multiple types of machines ( 50 ). the table top further comprises a mask hanger ( 130 ) in an edge , and a power cord trap ( 140 ) which in the preferred embodiment illustrated here are created by notches in the edge of the table top ( 110 ) and passing completely through the table surface . the table &# 39 ; s support ( 300 ) is hinged to one side of the table top ( 110 ) by hinge joints ( 170 ), which allow the support ( 300 ) to swing ( 410 ) to a position ( 300 ′) extending away from the table top ( 110 ) and substantially parallel . in the preferred embodiment , the support ( 300 , 300 ′) is supported in the extended position by a support hinge stop ( 175 ). the table also includes a stabilizer ( 200 , 200 ′) shown in fig2 a in the closed position ( 200 ) and in fig2 b in the the open position ( 200 ′) having been rotated ( 420 ) about a hinge joint ( 160 ) to an orientation approximately perpendicular to the table top ( 110 ) and perpendicular to the hinge joing ( 170 ) of the support ( 300 ). the support ( 300 ) and the stabilizer ( 200 ) may be locked in place by offset hinges , or other locking means which would be familiar to one skilled in the arts . however , in the preferred embodiment illustrated , locking is accomplished by positioning of the support ( 300 ) between the mattresses of the bed such that the stabilizer ( 200 ) rest against the edge of a bottom mattress ( see fig1 ), preventing the table from closing . fig3 a shows a perspective view from above of the table top component of a folding table in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . the table top ( 110 ) has machine supports ( 120 ) which extend above the table top &# 39 ; s ( 110 ) top surface . the table top has openings or grooves which pass from the tables top surface to the bottom surface to create notches in the table top . one such notch creates a mask hanger ( 130 ), and is a substantially straight notch located in a corner of the table surface and extending in approximately one half to one inch , being located from the corner approximately a distance equal to the table thickness . the actual dimensions are not specific and are dependent on implementation of the embodiment , being depended on the type of mask to be utilized with the table , and the thickness and strength of the table materials . another such notch creates a power cord trap ( 140 ), and is a substantially “ j ” shaped notch located somewhere along a edge of the table surface and extending approximately two times the width of a typical power cord , and then angling approximately ninety degrees . the actual dimensions and shape of the notch are not specific and are dependent on implementation of the embodiment , being depended on the type of power cord to be utilized , and the thickness and strength of the table materials . multiple mask hangers ( 130 ) and power cord traps ( 140 ) can be positioned on the table ( 100 ) to allow options for the user to orient the machine ( 50 , not shown ) to suit their convenience . in other embodiments , the power cord trap ( 140 ) and / or the mask hanger ( 130 ) can be extended from the table surface to the side , or above or below the upper or bottom surface , however doing so may compromise the folding and transportability of the table design . fig3 b shows a perspective view from below of the table top component of a folding table in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . the table top ( 110 ), viewed from the underside shows the mask hanger ( 130 ) and the power cord trap ( 140 ) since they extend through the table from the upper to the lower surface . also visible at this angle is a plurality of barrel hinges ( 160 ) for the stabilizer ( 200 , not shown ) having a hinge support stop ( 165 ) which would constrain the hinge to a ninety degree ( 90 °) range between the hinge support stop ( 165 ) and the table top &# 39 ; s ( 110 ) lower surface . also visible at this angle is a plurality of barrel hinges ( 170 ) for the support ( 300 , not shown ) having a hinge support stop ( 175 ) which would constrain the hinge to a one - hundred eighty degree ( 180 °) range between the hinge support stop ( 175 ) and the table top &# 39 ; s ( 110 ) lower surface . fig4 shows a perspective view from above of the support component of a folding table in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . the support ( 300 ) comprises a barrel hinge ( 320 ) located on one edge , which mates with the barrel hinges ( 170 , not shown ) of the table top ( 110 , not shown ). fig5 shows a perspective view from above of the stabilizer component of a folding table in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . the stabilizer ( 200 ) comprises a barrel hinge ( 220 ) located on one edge , which mates with the barrel hinges ( 160 , not shown ) of the table top ( 110 , not shown ). the table has a supporting edge ( 240 ) which is a straight edge perpendicular to the axis of the barrel hinges ( 220 ). in the preferred embodiment , a curved edge ( 210 ) joints the supporting edge ( 240 ) and the perpendicular edge containing the barrel hinges ( 220 ) to create an approximate quarter round shape . this configuration means no corners protrude from under the table surface which may cause a hazard . fig6 shows a perspective view of hinge pins for a folding table in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention . in the preferred embodiment barrel hinges ( 220 and 160 ) were utilized for joining the support to the table top and barrel hinges ( 320 and 170 ) were utilized for joining the stabilizer to the table top . in the preferred embodiment , a plurality of hinge pins ( 230 ) extend from either end of the support to meet in the middle of the center barrel ( 220 ) of the three barrel configuration . due to the positioning of the stabilizer in the preferred embodiment , a single hinge pin ( 330 ) was utilized for the three barrel configuration of the support . one skilled in the arts would appreciate many other configurations and hinge joints , types , and orientations that may accomplish the same general functions and would be in accordance with the illustrative principals of the innovation described herein . the diagrams in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided as examples and should not be construed to limit other embodiments within the scope of the invention . for instance , heights , widths , and thicknesses may not be to scale and should not be construed to limit the invention to the particular proportions illustrated . additionally some elements illustrated in the singularity may actually be implemented in a plurality . further , some element illustrated in the plurality could actually vary in count . further , some elements illustrated in one form could actually vary in detail . further yet , specific numerical data values ( such as specific quantities , numbers , categories , etc .) or other specific information should be interpreted as illustrative for discussing exemplary embodiments . such specific information is not provided to limit the invention . the above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention . numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated . it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications . | 0 |
the preferred form of the present invention will now be described . it is understood that there can be various changes to the preferred form of the present invention without detracting from the spirit or the scope of the invention . the invention is primarily formed from a high grade industrial steel . it is comprised of three main components : a main frame 10 , part of which is a drum 15 on which cable 90 is stored ; a carriage 30 which rotates around the drum 15 winds or unwinds cable 90 from the drum 15 ; and a cable guide fairlead 40 which is affixed to the carriage 30 through which the cable 90 is picked up and positioned for winding or unwinding . each of these components will be described separately and then their function and relationship to the other components will be described hereinafter . the main frame 10 is comprised of a supporting base of skids 18 , a rear housing 12 and the cable drum 15 . the skids 18 support the entire device and permit it to be moved on the skids . the frame is formed of substantial steel members comprising the outside dragging skids 18 and cross members 19 . these members are generally welded . the rear housing 12 is formed from heavy metal plate and is formed as an integral part of the drum 15 . the drum 15 protrudes from the rear housing 12 towards the front of the skids 18 , so as to cantilever from the rear housing 12 . the inner storage portion of drum 15 is defined by a front flange 17 and a rear flange 16 . the inside of the drum as well as the rear housing is hollow and serves to house the mechanical elements of the invention as described hereinafter . on the front side of the front flange 17 is disposed the front drive sprocket 68 and on the outside of rear flange 16 is disposed the rear drive sprocket 69 . both sprockets 68 and 69 are solidly affixed to front and rear flanges 16 and 17 respectively . ( they do not turn ). on the outside of each flange is disposed a track 84 and 85 in which the cam follower bearings 80 of the carriage 30 travel , as described hereinafter . the carriage 30 has a front square frame 31 and a rear square frame 34 . the carriage frames 31 and 34 are formed of heavy steel members and welded at the comers . the carriage frames 31 and 34 have cam follower bearings 80 disposed at the mid point of each side of each frame and also at the comers where they engage the front 84 and rear 85 of the cam follower track 84 and 85 . four carriage cross members 32 connect the front 31 and rear 34 carriage frames and make the carriage 30 an integral rigid member . the cross frame members 32 are typically welded to the front 31 and rear 34 frames . a level wind tube 50 is also welded to the front and rear carriage frame as shown in fig1 and 2 . the construction and operation of the level wind tube 50 are described hereinafter . the carriage 30 is disposed around the drum 15 and rotates freely there around on the cam followers bearings 80 as they engage the cam follower tracks 84 and 85 . a guide fairlead 40 is coupled to the front carriage frame 31 such that it has a front end that projects forward of the front carriage frame 31 . the fairlead tube 40 serves to collect the cable 90 so as to pass through and be spooled or unspooled on drum 15 when the carriage 30 rotates as hereinafter described . the guide fairlead 40 is formed from &# 34 ; rolled or radiused &# 34 ; angle iron and has multiple rollers 41 spaced throughout its length on which the cable 90 passes without impingement . the guide fairlead 40 has it &# 39 ; s lead end 86a disposed at the forward of and at the center line of the drum 15 . the guide fairlead 40 transforms gradually so as to extend outside of the entire drum 15 , and then curves gently so as to parallel the axis of the storage drum . the fairlead 40 then curves gently at a right angle and is terminated at the rear end 86b which is located so as to be in parallel alignment with the front flange 17 . cable 90 which passes through the guide fairlead 40 enters at the front end 86a of the fairlead 40 and makes several bends until it exits the fairlead 90 degrees from its entry position 86a and can be picked up from the drum as it is unwound or wound on the drum 15 . end 86b of the guide fairlead 40 is in the preferred form secured in place by two steel cross members 35 that are attached to the front and rear of the carriage frame 30 . the level wind tube 50 is disposed so that cable 90 exiting the guide fairlead 40 passes through the level wind rollers 88 . the rollers 88 are secured to the indexing fairlead frame 53 . as the carriage 30 rotates , the indexing fairlead causes rollers 88 to move along the level wind tube 50 as the ball screw 52 inside the level wind tube turns , thus driving sliding follower 51 . in this manner cable 90 will be wound uniformly on drum 15 . sprocket 54 is mounted to the ball screw of the level wind tube 50 . sprockets 54 and 55 are joined by chain 43 . sprockets 55 and 56 are on the same axis with a reversing planetary transmission 44 between them which selects and provides the left and right and direction of travel to the indexing fairlead 53 as needed . a carriage drive shaft 70 is mounted on the carriage frame so as to be on the opposite side as the level wind tube 50 . a power sprocket 72 is mounted near the front end of the drive shaft 70 and drive sprockets 71 and 73 are mounted near the front and rear ends . the drive sprockets are disposed so as to be in alignment with the sprockets 68 and 69 respectively . a chain 74 is disposed around the rear carriage drive sprocket 71 and a similar chain around the front drum sprocket 68 . this system of sprockets and chains are used to uniformly drive the carriage 30 around the drum 15 as is described hereinafter . the mechanical equipment that is used to drive the present invention is housed within the drum 15 . in this manner the equipment is protected from the environment and other damage . the mechanical equipment comprises an air operated main drive clutch 61 , a gear reducer 62 , an electric motor 63 and an air rotor seal 65 . also an air compressor 64 and control box 66 are located inside the drum 15 . the electric motor 63 is coupled to the power shaft 60 through the gear reducer 62 and the main clutch drive 61 . the power shaft extends from the front of the drum 15 and has two drive sprockets 57 and 58 coupled thereto . drive sprocket 57 is aligned with the drive sprocket 56 that is mounted on the level wind sprocket and has a chain 59 that encircles the two drive sprockets . drive sprocket 58 is aligned with the carriage power sprocket 72 and has chain 76 that engages sprocket 58 and the drive sprocket 72 . the operation and interaction of the various elements of the invention will now be described . initially the power cable 90 is threaded through the guide fairlead and wrapped around the drum 15 and exits towards the rear of the invention and connected to a power source . the other end , the lead end is coupled to the working unit . when the working unit , a miner for example , reverses it &# 39 ; s direction of travel there is excess cable 90 . the invention senses the reduction in tension on the cable 90 and the electric motor begins to turn shaft 60 . shaft 60 simultaneously begins turning drive sprockets 57 and 58 . chain 76 turns sprocket 72 , thereby turning sprocket 71 and 73 which forces the entire carriage 30 to begin to rotate clockwise around the drum 15 and wind cable 90 onto the drum 15 . at the same time sprocket 57 engages chain 59 and drives , sprocket 56 , which in turn activates reversing transmission 44 . cable 90 is properly layered by changing rotation of sprocket 55 which automatically activates the pneumatic controls of reversing transmission 44 and drives sprocket 54 which in turn causes ball screw 52 and indexing guide 53 to move along the drum so as to cause the cable 90 to be uniformly wound on the drum 15 . when the working unit starts moving forward and demands additional cable 90 the drive clutch 61 senses the increase in tension in the cable 90 and releases carriage 30 so that it is essentially free wheeling which allows cable 90 to be withdrawn from the drum 15 , under controlled conditions . since the drum 15 does not rotate , one end of the cable 90 can be coupled directly to the primary power source . the cable 90 can then be partially spooled on the drum 15 exit the invention through the guide fairlead 40 and be coupled directly to the working unit . in this manner the power cable 90 is uninterrupted and there is no need for use of split rings and / or the like . the invention is portable and is capable of being moved from place to place , but can be located away from the actual work area and be out of harms - way , while still being able to manage the demand for the cable so that the working unit can move about and the cable 90 will be wound or unwound as required . in the preferred form drum 15 is perforated with randomly placed holes through which air can flow . the inside of the drum 15 is enclosed so that air can be released into the drum through the air seal 65 which allows air to be forced out of the perforations and around the cable 90 disposed on the drum . the air cools the cable 90 which can heat and can cause cable damage if not properly cooled . in the preferred form of the invention a steel frame 100 is constructed around the invention and a heavy steel mesh 101 is attached to the frame . this frame and mesh prevent and protect the invention from getting hit by falling rocks or other debris in work areas . it is understood that the mechanical system as described herein that drive the carriage around the drum can be altered or parts thereof can be substituted to perform the same function and not detract from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 8 |
the present invention provides , in an 802 . 11 - based or similar network , a method to admit and route users . the method routes the user &# 39 ; s traffic through multiple - hop wireless links , determines and provides ( implicitly or explicitly ) traffic - shaping options at one or more of the hops . in certain situations , the admissibility condition is also a stability condition that each communication group has to satisfy for a given set of parameters or options ( e . g ., aggregation level , bursting level , and connection rates ). the solution determines an acceptable set of parameters ( more than one solution may exist ) and the route and traffic profile across the network , for each user and communication group , without overloading or violating quality of service ( qos ) constraints imposed for existing and new users . according to one embodiment of the present invention , a central or “ control ” entity collects data regarding the state of the network and computes the loads for each communication group as would occur under different potential options . this control entity can exist anywhere in the network ; in fact , it may be collocated with or implemented in the gap . the control entity may collect information from and may take advantage of entities within the network that include automated mechanisms for adaptation ( e . g . some communication groups may be able to adapt certain parameters autonomously as mentioned above , based the links they support ). one example of such an automated mechanism is the relay access point ( rap ) which makes local decisions on aggregation and bursting levels in each of its outbound link , based on corresponding inbound traffic parameters , such as the number and types of inbound users , the number and types of inbound aggregated or burst flows from other raps , and the snrs on different links . unlike the prior art , a method under the present invention takes into account multiple parameters ( e . g ., aggregation level , bursting level , and connection rates ) for selectively admitting users . in the detailed description below , “ system load ” may be determined from calculating the relative channel occupancy time in each communication group . system load may be used as a metric for stability . a stable system results when the communication groups can support the system load . for voice traffic , for example , if the time interval between voice packet generation for each user is x milliseconds , and the time required to transmit all packets generated over the x milliseconds interval is y milliseconds , for all traffic associated with users having links passing through a given communication group , y being greater than x , the system is unstable . the stability condition ensures that the voice packets of all voice calls are serviced in a timely manner , without a long queuing time and without a large packet loss rate ( e . g . less than 1 %, overall ). one can also consider a more aggressive condition for stability , such as the y being less than x by a known gap , i . e . a link budget . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the stability condition is deemed only a limiting condition . that is , there are many possible admission and routing options that can support a user and enable the system to perform in a stable fashion , providing the required quality of service to all users . a “ system load ” vector may be provided to adapt the traffic - shaping options under a given admission or routing selection . the system load vector may also be used to indicate unstable communication groups . one approach to admission that takes into account multiple parameters is disclosed in the article “ analyzing and managing traffic shaping in the transmission of voice over multi - hop 802 . 11 networks ” (“ lkrp06 ”), by d . li , u . c . kozat , s . a . ramprashad , c . pepin , unpublished docomo internal document , november 2006 . this article provides a mathematical description of the load calculation that can be used effectively . the article under review “ an analysis of joint aggregation , bursting and rate adaptation mechanisms for increasing voip capacity in multi - hop 802 . 11 networks ”, s . a . ramprashad , d . li , u . c . kozat , and c . pepin , under review by ieee transactions on wireless communications , submitted february 2007 , revised october 2007 . (“ rlkp07 ”) describes the concept in greater detail . in particular this article provides detailed mathematical descriptions of another method of load calculation which accounts for the transmission of packets in greater detail . to provide an in - depth discussion for these load calculation techniques , the lkrp06 and rlkp07 articles are attached herewith as appendices a and b , and are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties . fig2 shows system 200 to which the present invention is applicable . as shown in fig2 , system 200 includes a number of access points , including relay access points ( rap 1 to rap 3 ) and a gateway access point ( gap ), thus creating a multi - hop network . ( technically , the network of fig2 is a mixed 2 - hop and 3 - hop tree - rooted network . fig5 shows a system with two gaps which is not tree - rooted and for which the principles also apply ). the gap provides connectivity to another network ( e . g ., a wired network ). for example , the gap may be a high - speed wired connection to the internet . system 200 provides wireless multi - hop paths from mobile terminals to the gap . such a system may include multiple gaps as in fig5 . in fig2 , the multi - hop network consists of multiple communication groups , with each communication group and its links being labeled by the same reference number ( e . g ., communication group 1 includes four links associated with the gap ). a communication group may be defined by the radio channel or the radio interfaces shared by the links . the radio channel or interfaces are a common wireless resource that is shared by the associated originating or destination mobile terminals or access points . one example of a wireless resource is an 802 . 11 channel , or a 802 . 11 hybrid scheme , such as hcca . the wireless resource may also consist of different time intervals ( e . g ., a communication group may be refined to be the distributed contention time - interval or a centralized controlled ( point coordination function — pcf mode ) interval ). the network supports a number of mobile clients , providing each mobile client a route ( i . e ., a set of one or more connected links ) to at least one gap . clients may connect to any one of the four access points rap 1 - rap 3 or the gap . the packets exchanged between the gap and the mobile client may traverse only one - hop to the gap ( e . g . in fig2 clients that connect directly to the gap over links labeled “ 1 ”), or multiple hops to the gap . ( although the basic network topology illustrated in this detailed description is a tree - structure , the method of the present invention is applicable to more general network topologies .) as shown in fig2 , access points can participate in several communication groups . one implementation provides an access point with different wireless network interface cards that allow them to receive and transmit simultaneously in each group . alternatively , a single interface card is used with appropriate time - sharing between its use for multiple communication groups . one may generalize the concept of communication groups to simply links that use the same channel or strongly interfere with each other . for example , fig3 illustrates another allocation of communication groups , in which a relay access point rap 3 uses the same time and channel as the gap . such an arrangement results in a system with less performance than the one shown in fig2 . however , such an arrangement may be user or preferable when the number of independent available 802 . 11 channels or time slots in the system is inadequate . each communication group may be characterized by the following state variables : ( a ) the aggregation level used in each of the outbound flows to other terminals , raps or gaps ; ( b ) the bursting level used in each of the outbound flows to other terminals , raps or gaps ; ( c ) the aggregation level used in each of the inbound flows from other terminals , raps or gaps ; ( d ) the bursting level used in each of the inbound flows from other terminals , raps or gaps ; ( e ) the number of mobile terminals directly supported by the aps in the group ; ( f ) the packet generation rate ( e . g ., in packets / second ) and the data rate ( e . g ., in mega or kilo bits / second ) in each flow and from each user ; ( g ) the physical layer data rate of each link or flow ; ( h ) the channel state seen by each flow ; and ( i ) the medium access control ( mac ) parameter settings or each mac mechanism in the group . while this list of parameters is not exhaustive , these parameters may be used to estimate a “ load ” on each communication group , according to one embodiment of the present invention , as discussed below . many of these parameters are traffic - shaping parameters . other state variables are possible , and include , for example , the present buffer levels at each transmitting terminal or mac mechanism . while communication groups are assumed not to interfere with each other in the wireless medium ( for the most part ), communication groups affect each other through the nature of their respective flows . for example , in fig2 , the state of one communication group “ 4 ” affects the state of communication group “ 1 ”. this is because the packets sent to ( from ) mobiles in group 4 do eventually terminate ( originate ) at the gap , and therefore do use the link rap 3 ←→ gap in group “ 1 ”. furthermore , the traffic - shaping options of a first communication group on one rap or gap can affect the traffic - shaping options of other communication groups or links involve in forwarding the traffic of the first communication group . for example , the traffic - shaping settings and state of rap 1 applied on its group “ 2 ” link to rap 2 affects the qos in communication group “ 2 ”. the selected traffic - shaping options may even have an effect on the qos seen in group “ 1 ” since the flow from rap 1 → rap 2 eventually flows to the gap over a group “ 1 ” link . further , in a communication group , traffic - shaping inbound traffic ( i . e ., the number and the types of packets ) can affect traffic - shaping on outbound packets . after all , inbound traffic is collected together for outbound transmissions . in this detailed description , one focus application is voip traffic . stability with respect to the packetization interval of the voice codec may be used as a performance parameter for an voip application . for simplicity , the following model assumes that the network support only voip applications and considers stability with respect to the packetization interval . if all users use the same coder and packetization interval , the method of the present invention described below computes a channel occupancy time ( i . e ., the “ load ”) of each communication group as the expected ( or maximum ) time to transfer on the links in the communication group one packet per user that uses this group . typically , a user &# 39 ; s route to the gap may include multiple links and thus involves multiple communication groups . at each access point ( i . e ., at the gap and at each of the raps ), packets are collected for transmission over the wireless links along the assigned routes . the collected packets to a common destination ( over a common link ) may be processed as a group in various ways to allow efficient use of the wireless resources . specifically , an access point may choose between ( i ) several options of “ aggregating ” multiple voice or transmission packets into larger single transmission packets and ( ii ) using a single transmission opportunity ( e . g ., an opportunity granted after contention in the carrier sense multiple access - csma scheme of 802 . 11 ) to “ burst ” multiple transmission packets over the wireless medium . using both the common transmission packet payloads and the transmission opportunities efficiently reduces overheads associated with data transmission over the 802 . 11 wireless interface . as discussed in the wiopt06 , lkrp06 and rlkp07 articles , overheads can consume more than ⅔ of the total available wireless resource , in some instances , leaving ⅓ or less of the wireless resource for actual data transmission . by placing more data in each packet , or by transmitting more packets at each transmission opportunity , the relative overhead per bit of payload information transmitted over an 802 . 11 link is reduced . given the number and the types of flows supported by a communication group , a combination of system parameters ( e . g ., “ aggregation level ”, “ bursting level ”, “ physical layer rate , and “ signal - to - noise ratio on the link ”) affect the resource utilization efficiency of the wireless resource each communication group has over the wireless medium . for a given communication group , such parameters are given values that result in the best efficiency , or a desired level of efficiency or performance ( e . g ., delay ). fig4 shows an example of using both aggregation and bursting at a transmission opportunity to improve efficiency . as shown in fig4 , at a transmission opportunity , a burst of two transmission packets ( i . e ., packets 401 and 402 ) and acknowledgement of packet 403 , separated from each other by a short interframe spacing ( sifs ). transmission packets 401 and 402 are each formed by aggregating three voice data packets . here the aggregation level on flow “ i ” is indicated by “ a ( i )”, and the bursting level by “ b ( i )” as in lkrp06 and rlkp07 . more generally , each packet in a burst transmission may use a different aggregation level . here , in the mathematical framework below and in the appendices , we use “ a ( i , j )” to refer to the aggregation level of the j - th packet in a burst of flow “ i ”, where “ j ” goes from 1 to b ( i ). all “ a ( i , j )” and “ b ( j )” values can also be statistical quantities . according to one embodiment of the present invention , when a new user enters the system , an access point is selected for the new user to associate and a route to the gap is assigned . in some instances , the route may be implicitly assigned upon admission due to the simple topologies . admission ( and associated parameter settings ) is correctly managed such that the resulting system parameter values achieve desirable performance ( e . g . maximized efficiency ). further , a method of the present invention not only takes into account admission and routes , but also defines ( implicitly or explicitly ) a traffic - shaping mechanism ( e . g ., aggregation and bursting level ) for transferring packets collected at one access point to the next access point . fig1 illustrates a method that takes admission , routing and traffic - shaping into consideration in the process of admitting a new user , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . at step 101 , as each new user ( or a group of users ) joins the network , the method first collects information regarding possible admission decisions and routes that are to be , or can be , considered for admitting the user into the system . at step 102 , the method collects the existing state of the network ( e . g ., the aggregation levels , the bursting levels , the snrs , and the number and types of users in each communication group ). the admission control algorithm includes primarily the following steps : ( i ) decompose or note the map of the multi - hop network into communication groups ; ( ii ) compute the load in each communication group for different possible route and traffic - shaping options ( steps 103 - 105 ); ( iii ) check the stability condition for each communication group for every possible scenario ( step 106 ); ( iv ) consider further load attributes if stability is achieved for more than one scenario ( step 107 ); ( iv ) admit or reject each user to the network , based on the best solution . in fig1 , the search for stable scenarios is conducted by theoretically computing the load vector ( vector consisting of load values for each communication group ) for each admission and routing scenario . according to one embodiment of the present invention , for each aggregation level , bursting level , transmission rate , and number of users or access points in a communication group , a channel occupancy time is computed for that communication group . each scenario takes into account the constraints of the multi - hop network . the constraints may include the numbers of access points , users , and current connections , and the sensing range of each user . setting of proper constraints generally limits the search space . in one embodiment where the users may have several access points in their sensing range and the network allows re - association of the users ( without violating the stability condition ), then scenarios where users who are already admitted into the network are re - associated to different access points may be investigated . for each possible admission option , the state of the system may change as result of a new user &# 39 ; s admission . in fact , multiple changes may result from each admission option , and multiple admission options exist . for example , the number of users and the types of users in each communication group may change , and a change in one communication group typically leads to a change in another communication group . such changes follow directly from the fact that the traffic for a new user is carried by the assigned route or routes to and from one of the gaps , the possible routes based on the admission options considered or selected . further , and of significance , a method of the present invention determines how each change in a communication group ( e . g ., whether directed centrally or as a result of self - adaptation ) changes traffic - shaping settings ( e . g ., aggregation , bursting levels and phy rate on its links ). traffic shaping has a strong influence on system performance , and admission decisions affect traffic - shaping . the method may have options to re - associate existing users ( i . e ., changing the aps with which the user are associated and their routes to the gap ) as part of the admission consideration and the change in system state . for each potential admission option being considered , and the associated joint route and traffic - shaping changes implicit in selecting that option , a new “ load ” may be computed for each communication group to provide a new network state . these potential “ load ” measurements can then be used for making admission control decisions and to select between routing options and traffic - shaping options , where many options exist for a given admission option . the computed “ load ” indicates a relative ( fractional ) or weighted channel occupancy time for each communication group . for the entire network , the “ system load ” for a given option may be expressed as a vector of load values , with each value in the vector corresponding to the load for a communication group . the new “ system load ” for a given admission , routing and traffic - shaping option may in fact contain load values that show instability in one or more of the communication groups ( i . e ., the communication groups cannot support the admission option ). for example , the load on one or more communication groups exceeds a pre - determined limit for acceptable operation ( e . g ., a load which exceeds the wireless medium &# 39 ; s ability to deliver an acceptable qos in delay or packet loss ). alternatively , a number of potential admission and routing options may allow all communication groups to operate acceptably . in that situation , the final admission and routing decision among these possibilities may be made based on other criteria , such as the least number of hops , the highest signal - to - noise ratio , minimization of the maximum load over all groups , and load balancing , given the current constraints of the network . as discussed above , loads are calculated for each communication group . in calculating such loads it is useful to note that there are different types of load components . some components are incurred per packet transmission , such as 802 . 11 phy and mac headers , while others are incurred per transmission opportunity , such as contention overheads . still other load components are invariant to how many packets are transmitted , or how many transmission opportunities are used , such as the actual voice ( or media ) data being transmitted . the former two types of loads are intimately connected with traffic - shaping , since the loads can be amortized , using the techniques of aggregation and bursting , over multiple voice - packets . many main system state parameters may be used to calculate a system load value that can then be used in making admission , routing and traffic - shaping decisions . details of two such calculations can be found in lkrp06 and rlkp07 ( attached as appendices ), with lkrp06 providing a simple method , and rlkp07 providing a more detailed method . for example , each inbound or outbound flow “ i ” in a communication group , one can consider traffic - shaping variables ( a ) aggregation level a ( i ) or a ( i , j ), ( b ) bursting level b ( i ), and ( c ) physical layer data rate phy ( i ). many possible combinations of such parameters may be selected . a particular combination may refer to a particular admission and routing option . aggregation level a ( i ) refers to the number of packets ( e . g ., voice packets ) that are aggregated into a single 802 . 11 - packet in flow i . bursting level b ( i ) refers to the number of 802 . 11 - packets that are transmitted per transmission opportunity in flow i . if different aggregation levels are used for different packets in a burst one can use the notation “ a ( i , j )” as described above to refer to the aggregation level of the “ j - th ” packet in a burst . phy ( i ) refers to physical layer data rate that is used to transmit the i - th flow . under the 802 . 11 standard , phy ( i ) takes values of 1 , 2 , 11 , . . . , 54 mega - bits - sec ( mbs ). to illustrate the use of both aggregation and bursting , fig4 shows a flow in which a ( i ) and b ( i ) have values 3 and 2 respectively ( here a ( i , 1 )= a ( i , 2 )= 3 ). fig4 also assumes the aggregation includes exactly one voice packet from each user in the communication group . in practice , a ( i ) is more realistically the effective aggregation level ( i . e ., some 802 . 11 - packets may contain two or more voice data packets from a single user ; but each user provides on the average one voice packet per 802 . 11 - packet ). in this detailed discussion , aggregate level a ( i ) and bursting level b ( i ) are assumed the same at every transmission opportunity . although other values of aggregation level a ( i ) and bursting value b ( i ) are possible . b ( i ) need not be the same at every transmission opportunity . b ( i ) may be , for example , an average value over many bursts . each admission and routing decision includes an assumption regarding a level of data packet traffic that results on each link in each communication group per packetization interval . for example , for voip traffic , a 2 - way constant bit - rate ( or constant packet rate ) traffic may be assumed . if one voice packet is generated per call per direction within each frame - interval (“ voice - packet - interval ”), the number of voice packets transported within that communication group is given by 2 × the number of users using links in the communication group . it may also be 4 × the number of users using links in the communication group , at a rap , if inbound and outbound likes use the same group , i . e . where the voice packet appears in both inbound and outbound links in the same wireless interface using the same channel . of course , the assumption single voice packet per voice - packet - interval per direction is invalid for a variable bit - rate service , or where a single user may use multiple routes . compensation for the incorrect assumption can be provided in the calculation as needed and described in rlkp07 . in all cases , these models suggest that a load to be borne by the communication group may be associated with each admission and routing decision based on the number of packets ( per packetization interval ) supported by flows in the communication group . this number defines the possible aggregation and bursting parameter options “ a ( i )” ( or “ a ( i , j )”) and “ b ( i )” that may be considered for flow “ i ” in the group . such parameters may also be implicit on the operation of the nodes in response to the new traffic it sees , as discussed above . an option may consider a joint selection of admission , routing and set of parameter choices for all flows in the communication group . a load for the group can then be calculated . in the following , the parameters a ( i ), b ( i ) and phy ( i ) are used to illustrate calculating a channel occupancy required to support that load . this calculation is done for all groups affected by the admission and routing possibility ( option ) being tested . lkrp06 and rlkp07 provide in greater detail the calculation described below . to do the calculation other application - or scenario - specific parameters may be used . these parameters may include : ( i ) the number of bits v ( i ) per voice packet ; ( ii ) packet error rate p ( i ); and ( iii ) a statistical description of the probability of successful transmissions p ( i , j , m ). v ( i ) refers to the number of bits per voice packet within the i - th flow . as with a ( i ) and b ( i ), v ( i ) may be provided the same fixed value for each user to simplify calculation of the load , although the analysis can be extended to cases where different users generates different bits per voice packet . v ( i ) may be used to model not only speech data generated by the speech or audio encoder , but also other overhead quantities such as ( a ) internet protocol ( ip ) header overheads ; ( b ) real time transport ( rtp ) overheads ; user datagram protocol ( udp ) header overheads , and ( d ) any other overhead ( on average or amortized over users ) within the payload of each 802 . 11 packet . packet error rate p ( i ) refers the packet error rate of each transmitted 802 . 11 packet in the i - th flow , which is a function of v ( i ), phy ( i ), and a ( i ). see , e . g ., the “ lkrp06 ” and “ rlkp07 ” article mentioned above . to transmit a burst of packets may take multiple transmission attempts because of collisions and errors on the wireless medium , which may be accounted for in the calculation . transmission probability p ( i , j , m ) refers to the probability that it takes “ m ” transmit opportunities to transfer the “ j ” packet in a burst for flow i . in one embodiment of the present invention , the load ( i . e ., “ channel occupancy time ”) for each packetization interval consists of three additive parameters : ( a ) successful transmission time t s ; ( b ) unsuccessful transmission time t f ; and ( c ) the time when nodes are not transmitting but are in contention for the wireless medium , known as the back - off time t b . successful transmission time t s refers to the time spent successfully transmitting packets . unsuccessful transmission time t f refers to the time wasted due to transmission failures . back - off time t b refers to the time spent in back - off mode by each mac in the communication group . successful transmission time t s includes 3 components : ( a ) the time spent transmitting voice ( or another application payload ) bits on each link , ( b ) the time spent transmitting an acknowledgement ( ack ) packet , and ( c ) additional overhead , such as interframe ( if ) spacing . the time spent transmitting an application payload ( e . g ., voice ) is a parameter invariant to the number of successful voice - packets or successful transmission opportunities used to transmit the data . assuming v ( i ), a ( i ), and b ( i ) are fixed and the same for each user on link i , v ( i )× a ( i )× b ( i ) bits are transmitted during each packet - interval ( e . g ., one voice - packet per user ) over the link . the time required to transmit these bits , assuming the same physical layer data rate phy ( i ) for each user , is simply v ( i )× a ( i )× b ( i )/ phy ( i ) in microseconds , if phy ( i ) is expressed in mega - bits / second . the time spent transmitting an ack packet acknowledging is spent following successful transmissions . in theory , one or more ack packets may be sent per transmission opportunity to cover all packets burst transmitted during that transmission opportunity . for example , if there are no hidden terminals ( i . e . all nodes in a group can sense transmissions from all other nodes ) and if there are no other channel impairments resulting in bit or symbol losses , it is shown in lkrp06 and rlkp07 that if the first packet in a burst transmission is successful , then all other packets in the burst are successful . therefore , for a set of b ( i ) burst packets on ack would be used to acknowledge the burst . assuming that the b ( i ) burst of 802 . 11 - packets are all part of the same transmission opportunity , one ack packet is provided for transmission of v ( i )× a ( i )× b ( i ) bits . traffic - shaping via both aggregation ( a ( i )) and burst processing b ( i ) amortizes the overhead over multiple voice packets . alternatively , one ack packet may be sent for each 802 . 11 - packet transmitted in a burst . there are two cases in which this can happen . the first case is when the system chooses to do so ( this practice may not conform to the 802 . 11 standard ). the second case is when there are channel impairments such as hidden terminals or bit or symbol losses due to noise on the wireless channel . in the second case individual packets in a burst can be lost , terminating the burst transmission and resulting in retransmissions of the lost packets as described in rlkp07 . this is where the parameter “ p ( i , j , m )” helps to describe the average number of ack packets that are transmitted . for greater detail , see , the rlkp07 article . also see the 802 . 11e / d13 . 0 standard 1 , and the 802 . 11a standard 2 for greater details on the ack mechanism . note , in all cases the aggregation mechanism helps to amortize ack overheads from multiple speech packets by creating a single ack for an aggregated transmission . bursting can further amortize acks over multiple aggregated packets , depending on the ack mechanism and channel impairments . 1 ieee p802 . 11e / d13 . 0 , part ii wireless lan medium access control ( mac ) and physical layer ( phy ) specifications : amendment medium access control ( mac ) quality of service ( qos ) enhancements , ieee , january 2005 2 ieee computer society , “ part 11 : wireless lan medium access control ( mac ) and physical layer ( phy ) specifications : higher - speed physical layer ( phy ) extension in the 5 ghz band },” ieee std . 802 . 11a - 1999 r2003 . additional overheads , such as inter - frame spacings ( ifs ) ( e . g . short ifs ( sifs ), the preamble ( plcp ), phy header , and mac header , are seen per 802 . 11 — transmitted packet , while others such as some of the distributed ifs ( difs )) spacing occur once per transmission opportunity . as with acks , these overheads are amortized over many voice packets by the process of aggregation and bursting leading to increased efficiency by these processes . the exact values of these times are defined in the standard . see , e . g ., the articles lkrp06 and rlkp07 , the 802 . 11e / d13 . 0 standard , and the 802 . 11a standard . time wasted due to transmission failures ( i . e ., time t f ) can result from collisions in the transmission medium , or errors in transmitted information due to channel impairments . failures can happen at each transmission opportunity and for each packet transferred within a burst of transmission . depending on the channel impairments , aggregation level a ( i ) can affect the packet loss rate . t f depends on the number ( or expected number ) of transmission failures per transmitted burst ( i . e ., on transmission probability p ( i , j , m )). see , e . g ., the articles lkrp06 and rlkp07 for a description of how to calculate time t f , and the 802 . 11e / d13 . 0 standard and the 802 . 11a standard , for the overheads relevant to each failure . in calculating time t f per transmission attempt , the main time not included is time for ack packets that are missing from 802 . 11 - packets , or which are not correctly received . since transmissions lost due to collisions and failures are often a statistical process , time t f is often given as an expected value , and not an deterministic value as in time t s . see , for example , the lkpr06 and rlkp07 articles . other ways for calculating a value representative of time t f includes the distribution of the t f value , or the probability that time t f exceeds a predetermined time value . time t b spent in back - off mode by each mac in the communication group represents the time wasted while the channel is idle , or when mac mechanisms in the system are in a random back - off state , contending for access to the channel . time t b is a central part of the distributed coordination function ( dcf ) mode under the 802 . 11 standard , which is based on a carrier sense multiple access ( csma ) scheme . see , e . g ., the descriptions in the 802 . 11e / d13 . 0 standard and the 802 . 11a standard . the total system load is then estimated by taking into account all links and users , and adding all the individual contributions to the values t s , t f and t b . once the totals are known over all traffic within the communication group , the load for the communication group is given by the sum : this time - based load may be converted to a relative value . for example , in an voip application , when the voice - packet interval is d s , and the load is the time spent transmitting all voice packets generated by users , or transmitted in flows during that interval , a “ relative load ” may be used , given by : for stability , the relative load for all communication groups may be either strictly less than , or at times sufficiently less than or equal , to 1 . the time load and the relative load values given above for each communication group form a vector of load values for a admission option . if stability is achieved with more than one option , the relative load of each communication group for each option can be used to compare options . for example , the maximum load or the average load estimated across communication groups for each option can be used to compare options . comparison of options can be refined using other metrics , such as the number of hops of each flow or delays . the above detailed description is provided to illustrate specific embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to be limiting . numerous modifications and variations within the scope of the present invention are possible . the present invention is set forth in the accompanying claims . | 7 |
agents of the present invention include nucleic acid molecules and more specifically est nucleic acid molecules or nucleic acid fragment molecules thereof . fragment est nucleic acid molecules may encode significant portion ( s ) of , or indeed most of , the est nucleic acid molecule . alternatively , the fragments may comprise smaller oligonucleotides ( having from about 15 to about 250 nucleotide residues , and more preferably , about 15 to about 30 nucleotide residues ). a subset of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention includes nucleic acid molecules that are marker molecules . another subset of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention include nucleic acid molecules that encode a protein or fragment thereof . another subset of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention are est molecules . the term “ substantially purified ”, as used herein , refers to a molecule separated from substantially all other molecules normally associated with it in its native state . more preferably a substantially purified molecule is the predominant species present in a preparation . a substantially purified molecule may be greater than 60 % free , preferably 75 % free , more preferably 90 % free , and most preferably 95 % free from the other molecules ( exclusive of solvent ) present in the natural mixture . the term “ substantially purified ” is not intended to encompass molecules present in their native state . the agents of the present invention will preferably be “ biologically active ” with respect to either a structural attribute , such as the capacity of a nucleic acid to hybridize to another nucleic acid molecule , or the ability of a protein to be bound by antibody ( or to compete with another molecule for such binding ). alternatively , such an attribute may be catalytic , and thus involve the capacity of the agent to mediate a chemical reaction or response . the agents of the present invention may also be recombinant . as used herein , the term recombinant means any agent ( e . g . dna , peptide etc . ), that is , or results , however indirect , from human manipulation of a nucleic acid molecule . it is understood that the agents of the present invention may be labeled with reagents that facilitate detection of the agent ( e . g . fluorescent labels ( prober , et al ., science 238 : 336 - 340 ( 1987 ); albarella et al ., ep 144914 , chemical labels ( sheldon et al ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 582 , 789 ; albarella et al ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 563 , 417 , modified bases ( miyoshi et al ., ep 119448 , all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety ). it is further understood , that the present invention provides bacterial , viral , microbial , and plant cells comprising the agents of the present invention . nucleic acid molecules or fragment thereof of the present invention are capable of specifically hybridizing to other nucleic acid molecules under certain circumstances . as used herein , two nucleic acid molecules are said to be capable of specifically hybridizing to one another if the two molecules are capable of forming an anti - parallel , double - stranded nucleic acid structure . a nucleic acid molecule is said to be the “ complement ” of another nucleic acid molecule if they exhibit complete complementarity . as used herein , molecules are said to exhibit “ complete complementarity ” when every nucleotide of one of the molecules is complementary to a nucleotide of the other . two molecules are said to be “ minimally complementary ” if they can hybridize to one another with sufficient stability to permit them to remain annealed to one another under at least conventional “ low - stringency ” conditions . similarly , the molecules are said to be “ complementary ” if they can hybridize to one another with sufficient stability to permit them to remain annealed to one another under conventional “ high - stringency ” conditions . conventional stringency conditions are described by sambrook , et al ., in : molecular cloning , a laboratory manual , 2nd edition , cold spring harbor press , cold spring harbor , n . y . ( 1989 ), and by haymes , et al . in : nucleic acid hybridization , a practical approach , irl press , washington , d . c . ( 1985 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference . departures from complete complementarity are therefore permissible , as long as such departures do not completely preclude the capacity of the molecules to form a double - stranded structure . thus , in order for an nucleic acid molecule or fragment of the present invention to serve as a primer or probe it need only be sufficiently complementary in sequence to be able to form a stable double - stranded structure under the particular solvent and salt concentrations employed . appropriate stringency conditions which promote dna hybridization are , for example , 6 . 0 × sodium chloride / sodium citrate ( ssc ) at about 45 ° c ., followed by a wash of 2 . 0 × ssc at 50 ° c ., are known to those skilled in the art or can be found in current protocols in molecular biology , john wiley & amp ; sons , n . y . ( 1989 ), 6 . 3 . 1 .- 6 . 3 . 6 . for example , the salt concentration in the wash step can be selected from a low stringency of about 2 . 0 × ssc at 50 ° c . to a high stringency of about 0 . 2 × ssc at 50 ° c . in addition , the temperature in the wash step can be increased from low stringency conditions at room temperature , about 22 ° c ., to high stringency conditions at about 65 ° c . both temperature and salt may be varied , or either the temperature or the salt concentration may be held constant while the other variable is changed . in a preferred embodiment , a nucleic acid of the present invention will specifically hybridize to one or more of the nucleic acid molecules set forth in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof under moderately stringent conditions , for example , at about 2 . 0 × ssc and about 65 ° c . in a particularly preferred embodiment , a nucleic acid of the present invention will include those nucleic acid molecules that specifically hybridize to one or more of the nucleic acid molecules set forth in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof under high stringency conditions . in one aspect of the present invention , the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention have one or more of the nucleic acid sequences set forth in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof . in another aspect of the present invention , one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention share between 100 % and 90 % sequence identity with one or more of the nucleic acid sequences set forth in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof . in a further aspect of the present invention , one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention share between 100 % and 95 % sequence identity with one or more of the nucleic acid sequences set forth in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof . in a more preferred aspect of the present invention , one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention share between 100 % and 98 % sequence identity with one or more of the nucleic acid sequences set forth in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof . in an even more preferred aspect of the present invention , one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention share between 100 % and 99 % sequence identity with one or more of the sequences set forth in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof . in a further , even more preferred aspect of the present invention , one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention exhibit 100 % sequence identity with one or more nucleic acid molecules present within the cdna libraries soymon018 , and soymon028 ( monsanto company , st . louis , mo ., united states of america ). in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , a soybean protein or fragment thereof of the present invention is a homologue of another plant protein . in another preferred embodiment of the present invention , a soybean protein or fragment thereof of the present invention is a homologue of a fungal protein . in another preferred embodiment of the present invention , a soybean protein or fragment thereof of the present invention is a homologue of mammalian protein . in another preferred embodiment of the present invention , a soybean protein or fragment thereof of the present invention is a homologue of a bacterial protein . in another preferred embodiment of the present invention , a soybean protein or fragment thereof of the present invention is a homologue of a maize protein . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the nucleic molecule of the present invention encodes a soybean protein or fragment thereof where a soybean protein or fragment thereof exhibits a blast probability score of greater than 1e - 12 , preferably a blast probability score of between about 1e - 30 and about 1e - 12 , even more preferably a blast probability score of greater than 1e - 30 with its homologue . in another preferred embodiment of the present invention , the nucleic acid molecule encoding a soybean protein or fragment thereof exhibits a % identity with its homologue of between about 25 % and about 40 %, more preferably of between about 40 and about 70 %, even more preferably of between about 70 % and about 90 % and even more preferably between about 90 % and 99 %. in another preferred embodiment , of the present invention , a soybean protein or fragment thereof exhibits a % identity with its homologue of 100 %. in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the nucleic molecule of the present invention encodes a soybean protein or fragment thereof where the soybean protein exhibits a blast score of greater than 120 , preferably a blast score of between about 1450 and about 120 , even more preferably a blast score of greater than 1450 with its homologue . nucleic acid molecules of the present invention also include non - soybean homologues . preferred non - homologues are selected from the group consisting of alfalfa , arabidopsis , barley , brassica , broccoli , cabbage , citrus , cotton , garlic , oat , oilseed rape , onion , canola , flax , an ornamental plant , maize , pea , peanut , pepper , potato , rice , rye , sorghum , strawberry , sugarcane , sugarbeet , tomato , wheat , poplar , pine , fir , eucalyptus , apple , lettuce , lentils , grape , banana , tea , turf grasses , sunflower , oil palm and phaseolus . the degeneracy of the genetic code , which allows different nucleic acid sequences to code for the same protein or peptide , is known in the literature . ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 757 , 006 , the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). in an aspect of the present invention , one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention differ in nucleic acid sequence from those encoding a soybean protein or fragment thereof in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 due to the degeneracy in the genetic code in that they encode the same protein but differ in nucleic acid sequence . in another further aspect of the present invention , one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention differ in nucleic acid sequence from those encoding a soybean protein or fragment thereof in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 due to fact that the different nucleic acid sequences encode a protein having one or more conservative amino acid residues . it is understood that codons capable of coding for such conservative substitutions are known in the art . it is well known in the art that one or more amino acids in a native sequence can be substituted with another amino acid ( s ), the charge and polarity of which are similar to that of the native amino acid , i . e ., a conservative amino acid substitution , resulting in a silent change . conserved substitutes for an amino acid within the native polypeptide sequence can be selected from other members of the class to which the naturally occurring amino acid belongs . amino acids can be divided into the following four groups : ( 1 ) acidic amino acids , ( 2 ) basic amino acids , ( 3 ) neutral polar amino acids , and ( 4 ) neutral nonpolar amino acids . representative amino acids within these various groups include , but are not limited to , ( 1 ) acidic ( negatively charged ) amino acids such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid ; ( 2 ) basic ( positively charged ) amino acids such as arginine , histidine , and lysine ; ( 3 ) neutral polar amino acids such as glycine , serine , threonine , cysteine , cystine , tyrosine , asparagine , and glutamine ; and ( 4 ) neutral nonpolar ( hydrophobic ) amino acids such as alanine , leucine , isoleucine , valine , proline , phenylalanine , tryptophan , and methionine . conservative amino acid changes within the native polypeptides sequence can be made by substituting one amino acid within one of these groups with another amino acid within the same group . biologically functional equivalents of the proteins or fragments thereof of the present invention can have 10 or fewer conservative amino acid changes , more preferably seven or fewer conservative amino acid changes , and most preferably five or fewer conservative amino acid changes . the encoding nucleotide sequence will thus have corresponding base substitutions , permitting it to encode biologically functional equivalent forms of the proteins or fragments of the present invention . it is understood that certain amino acids may be substituted for other amino acids in a protein structure without appreciable loss of interactive binding capacity with structures such as , for example , antigent - binding regions of antibodies or binding sites on substrate molecules . because it is the interactive capacity and nature of a protein that defines that protein &# 39 ; s biological functional activity , certain amino acid sequence substitutions can be made in a protein sequence and , of course , its underlying dna coding sequence and , nevertheless , obtain a protein with like properties . it is thus contemplated by the inventors that various changes may be made in the peptide sequences of the proteins or fragments of the present invention , or corresponding dna sequences that encode said peptides , without appreciable loss of their biological utility or activity . it is understood that codons capable of coding for such amino acid changes are known in the art . in making such changes , the hydropathic index of amino acids may be considered . the importance of the hydropathic amino acid index in conferring interactive biological function on a protein is generally understood in the art ( kyte and doolittle , j . mol . biol . 157 , 105 - 132 ( 1982 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ). it is accepted that the relative hydropathic character of the amino acid contributes to the secondary structure of the resultant protein , which in turn defines the interaction of the protein with other molecules , for example , enzymes , substrates , receptors , dna , antibodies , antigens , and the like . each amino acid has been assigned a hydropathic index on the basis of its hydrophobicity and charge characteristics ( kyte and doolittle , 1982 ); these are isoleucine (+ 4 . 5 ), valine (+ 4 . 2 ), leucine (+ 3 . 8 ), phenylalanine (+ 2 . 8 ), cysteine / cystine (+ 2 . 5 ), methionine (+ 1 . 9 ), alanine (+ 1 . 8 ), glycine (− 0 . 4 ), threonine (− 0 . 7 ), serine (− 0 . 8 ), tryptophan (− 0 . 9 ), tyrosine (− 1 . 3 ), proline (− 1 . 6 ), histidine (− 3 . 2 ), glutamate (− 3 . 5 ), glutamine (− 3 . 5 ), aspartate (− 3 . 5 ), asparagine (− 3 . 5 ), lysine (− 3 . 9 ), and arginine (− 4 . 5 ). in making such changes , the substitution of amino acids whose hydropathic indices are within ± 2 is preferred , those which are within ± 1 are particularly preferred , and those within ± 0 . 5 are even more particularly preferred . it is also understood in the art that the substitution of like amino acids can be made effectively on the basis of hydrophilicity . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 554 , 101 , incorporated herein by reference in its entirety , states that the greatest local average hydrophilicity of a protein , as govern by the hydrophilicity of its adjacent amino acids , correlates with a biological property of the protein . as detailed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 554 , 101 , the following hydrophilicity values have been assigned to amino acid residues : arginine (+ 3 . 0 ), lysine (+ 3 . 0 ), aspartate (+ 3 . 0 ± 1 ), glutamate (+ 3 . 0 ± 1 ), serine (+ 0 . 3 ), asparagine (+ 0 . 2 ), glutamine (+ 0 . 2 ), glycine ( 0 ), threonine (− 0 . 4 ), proline (− 0 . 5 ± 1 ), alanine (− 0 . 5 ), histidine (− 0 . 5 ), cysteine (− 1 . 0 ), methionine (− 1 . 3 ), valine (− 1 . 5 ), leucine (− 1 . 8 ), isoleucine (− 1 . 8 ), tyrosine (− 2 . 3 ), phenylalanine (− 2 . 5 ), and tryptophan (− 3 . 4 ). in making such changes , the substitution of amino acids whose hydrophilicity values are within ± 2 is preferred , those which are within ± 1 are particularly preferred , and those within ± 0 . 5 are even more particularly preferred . in a further aspect of the present invention , one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention differ in nucleic acid sequence from those encoding a soybean protein or fragment thereof set forth in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or fragment thereof due to the fact that one or more codons encoding an amino acid has been substituted for a codon that encodes a nonessential substitution of the amino acid originally encoded . one aspect of the present invention concerns markers that include nucleic acid molecules seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof or fragments of either that can act as markers or other nucleic acid molecules of the present invention that can act as markers . genetic markers of the present invention include “ dominant ” or “ codominant ” markers “ codominant markers ” reveal the presence of two or more alleles ( two per diploid individual ) at a locus . “ dominant markers ” reveal the presence of only a single allele per locus . the presence of the dominant marker phenotype ( e . g ., a band of dna ) is an indication that one allele is present in either the homozygous or heterozygous condition . the absence of the dominant marker phenotype ( e . g . absence of a dna band ) is merely evidence that “ some other ” undefined allele is present . in the case of populations where individuals are predominantly homozygous and loci are predominately dimorphic , dominant and codominant markers can be equally valuable . as populations become more heterozygous and multi - allelic , codominant markers often become more informative of the genotype than dominant markers . marker molecules can be , for example , capable of detecting polymorphisms such as single nucleotide polymorphisms ( snps ). snps are single base changes in genomic dna sequence . they occur at greater frequency and are spaced with a greater uniformity throughout a genome than other reported forms of polymorphism . the greater frequency and uniformity of snps means that there is greater probability that such a polymorphism will be found near or in a genetic locus of interest than would be the case for other polymorphisms . snps are located in protein - coding regions and noncoding regions of a genome . some of these snps may result in defective or variant protein expression ( e . g ., as a results of mutations or defective splicing ). analysis ( genotyping ) of characterized snps can require only a plus / minus assay rather than a lengthy measurement , permitting easier automation . snps can be characterized using any of a variety of methods . such methods include the direct or indirect sequencing of the site , the use of restriction enzymes ( botstein et al ., am . j . hum . genet . 32 : 314 - 331 ( 1980 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated reference ; konieczny and ausubel , plant j 4 : 403 - 410 ( 1993 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), enzymatic and chemical mismatch assays ( myers et al ., nature 313 : 495 - 498 ( 1985 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), allele - specific pcr ( newton et al ., nucl . acids res . 17 : 2503 - 2516 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; wu et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 86 : 2757 - 2760 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), ligase chain reaction ( barany , proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 88 : 189 - 193 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), single - strand conformation polymorphism analysis ( labrune et al ., am . j . hum . genet . 48 : 1115 - 1120 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), primer - directed nucleotide incorporation assays ( kuppuswami et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 88 : 1143 - 1147 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), dideoxy fingerprinting ( sarkar et al ., genomics 13 : 441 - 443 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), solid - phase elisa - based oligonucleotide ligation assays ( nikiforov et al ., nucl . acids res . 22 : 4167 - 4175 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), oligonucleotide fluorescence - quenching assays ( livak et al ., pcr methods appl . 4 : 357 - 362 ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), 5 ′- nuclease allele - specific hybridization taqman assay ( livak et al ., nature genet . 9 : 341 - 342 ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), template - directed dye - terminator incorporation ( tdi ) assay ( chen and kwok , nucl . acids res . 25 : 347 - 353 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), allele - specific molecular beacon assay ( tyagi et al ., nature biotech . 16 : 49 - 53 ( 1998 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), pinpoint assay ( haff and smirnov , genome res . 7 : 378 - 388 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) and dcaps analysis ( neff et al ., plant j 14 : 387 - 392 ( 1998 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). additional markers , such as aflp markers , rflp markers and rapd markers , can be utilized ( walton , seed world 22 - 29 ( july , 1993 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; burow and blake , molecular dissection of complex traits , 13 - 29 , paterson ( ed . ), crc press , new york ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). dna markers can be developed from nucleic acid molecules using restriction endonucleases , the pcr and / or dna sequence information . rflp markers result from single base changes or insertions / deletions . these codominant markers are highly abundant in plant genomes , have a medium level of polymorphism and are developed by a combination of restriction endonuclease digestion and southern blotting hybridization . caps are similarly developed from restriction nlclease digestion but only of specific pcr products . these markers are also codominant , have a medium level of polymorphism and are highly abundant in the genome . the caps result from single base changes and insertions / deletions . another marker type , rapds , are developed from dna amplification with random primers and result from single base changes and insertions / deletions in plant genomes . they are dominant markers with a medium level of polymorphisms and are highly abundant . aflp markers require using the pcr on a subset of restriction fragments from extended adapter primers . these markers are both dominant and codominant are highly abundant in genomes and exhibit a medium level of polymorphism . ssrs require dna sequence information . these codominant markers result from repeat length changes , are highly polymorphic and do not exhibit as high a degree of abundance in the genome as caps , aflps and rapds , snps also require dna sequence information . these codominant markers result from single base substitutions . they are highly abundant and exhibit a medium of polymorphism ( rafalski et al ., in : nonmammalian genomic analysis , birren and lai ( ed . ), academic press , san diego , calif ., pp . 75 - 134 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). it is understood that a nucleic acid molecule of the present invention may be used as a marker . a pcr probe is a nucleic acid molecule capable of initiating a polymerase activity while in a double - stranded structure with another nucleic acid . various methods for determining the structure of pcr probes and pcr techniques exist in the art . computer generated searches using programs such as primer3 ( available on the worldwide web at genome . wi . mit . edu / cgi - bin / primer / primer3 . cgi ), stspipeline ( available on the worldwide web at genome . wi . mit . edu / cgi - bin / www - sts_pipeline ), or geneup ( pesole et al ., biotechniques 25 : 112 - 123 ( 1998 ) the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), for example , can be used to identify potential pcr primers . it is understood that a fragment of one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be a probe and specifically a pcr probe . a class of agents comprises one or more of the protein or peptide molecules encoded by seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or one or more of the protein or fragment thereof or peptide molecules encoded by other nucleic acid agents of the present invention . as used herein , the term “ protein molecule ” or “ peptide molecule ” includes any molecule that comprises five or more amino acids . it is well know in the art that proteins may undergo modification , including post - translational modifications , such as , but not limited to , disulfide bond formation , glycosylation , phosphorylation , or oligomerization . thus , as used herein , the term “ protein molecule ” or “ peptide molecule ” includes any protein molecule that is modified by any biological or non - biological process . the terms “ amino acid ” and “ amino acids ” refer to all naturally occurring l - amino acids . this definition is meant to include norleucine , ornithine , homocysteine , and homoserine . one or more of the protein or fragment of peptide molecules may be produced via chemical synthesis , or more preferably , by expression in a suitable bacterial or eukaryotic host . suitable methods for expression are described by sambrook , et al ., ( in : molecular cloning , a laboratory manual , 2nd edition , cold spring harbor press , cold spring harbor , n . y . ( 1989 )), or similar texts . a “ protein fragment ” is a peptide or polypeptide molecule whose amino acid sequence comprises a subset of the amino acid sequence of that protein . a protein or fragment thereof that comprises one or more additional peptide regions not derived from that protein is a “ fusion ” protein . such molecules may be derivatized to contain carbohydrate or other moieties ( such as keyhole limpet hemocyanin , etc .). fusion protein or peptide molecule of the present invention are preferably produced via recombinant means . another class of agents comprise protein or peptide molecules encoded by seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof or , fragments or fusions thereof in which non - essential , or not relevant , amino acid residues have been added , replaced , or deleted . an example of such a homologue is the homologue protein of all non - soybean plant species , including but not limited to alfalfa , arabidopsis , barley , brassica , broccoli , cabbage , citrus , cotton , garlic , oat , oilseed rape , onion , canola , flax , maize , an ornamental plant , pea , peanut , pepper , potato , rice , rye , sorghum , strawberry , sugarcane , sugarbeet , tomato , wheat , poplar , pine , fir , eukalyptus , apple , lettuce , peas , lentils , grape , banana , tea , turf grasses , etc . particularly preferred non - soybean plants to utilize for the isolation of homologues would include alfalfa , arabidopsis , barley , cotton , corn , oat , oilseed rape , rice , corn , canola , ornamentals , sugarcane , sugarbeet , tomato , potato , wheat , and turf grasses . such a homologue can be obtained by any of a variety of methods . most preferably , as indicated above , one or more of the disclosed sequences ( seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof ) will be used to define a pair of primers that may be used to isolate the homologue - encoding nucleic acid molecules from any desired species . such molecules can be expressed to yield homologues by recombinant means . one aspect of the present invention concerns antibodies , single - chain antigen binding molecules , or other proteins that specifically bind to one or more of the protein or peptide molecules of the present invention and their homologues , fusions or fragments . such antibodies may be used to quantitatively or qualitatively detect the protein or peptide molecules of the present invention . as used herein , an antibody or peptide is said to “ specifically bind ” to a protein or peptide molecule of the present invention if such binding is not competitively inhibited by the presence of non - related molecules . nucleic acid molecules that encode all or part of the protein of the present invention can be expressed , via recombinant means , to yield protein or peptides that can in turn be used to elicit antibodies that are capable of binding the expressed protein or peptide . such antibodies may be used in immunoassays for that protein . such protein - encoding molecules , or their fragments may be a “ fusion ” molecule ( i . e ., a part of a larger nucleic acid molecule ) such that , upon expression , a fusion protein is produced . it is understood that any of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be expressed , via recombinant means , to yield proteins or peptides encoded by these nucleic acid molecules . the antibodies that specifically bind proteins and protein fragments of the present invention may be polyclonal or monoclonal , and may comprise intact immunoglobulins , or antigen binding portions of immunoglobulins ( such as ( f ( ab ′), f ( ab ′) 2 ) fragments , or single - chain immunoglobulins producible , for example , via recombinant means ). it is understood that practitioners are familiar with the standard resource materials which describe specific conditions and procedures for the construction , manipulation and isolation of antibodies ( see , for example , harlow and lane , in antibodies : a laboratory manual , cold spring harbor press , cold spring harbor , n . y . ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). murine monoclonal antibodies are particularly preferred . balb / c mice are preferred for this purpose , however , equivalent strains may also be used . the animals are preferably immunized with approximately 25 μg of purified protein ( or fragment thereof ) that has been emulsified a suitable adjuvant ( such as titermax adjuvant ( vaxcel , norcross , ga .)). immunization is preferably conducted at two intramuscular sites , one intraperitoneal site , and one subcutaneous site at the base of the tail . an additional i . v . injection of approximately 25 μg of antigen is preferably given in normal saline three weeks later . after approximately 11 days following the second injection , the mice may be bled and the blood screened for the presence of anti - protein or peptide antibodies . preferably , a direct binding enzyme - linked immunoassay ( elisa ) is employed for this purpose . more preferably , the mouse having the highest antibody titer is given a third i . v . injection of approximately 25 μg of the same protein or fragment . the splenic leukocytes from this animal may be recovered 3 days later , and are then permitted to fuse , most preferably , using polyethylene glycol , with cells of a suitable myeloma cell line ( such as , for example , the p3x63ag8 . 653 myeloma cell line ). hybridoma cells are selected by culturing the cells under “ hat ” ( hypoxanthine - aminopterin - thymine ) selection for about one week . the resulting clones may then be screened for their capacity to produce monoclonal antibodies (“ mabs ), preferably by direct elisa . in one embodiment , anti - protein or peptide monoclonal antibodies are isolated using a fusion of a protein , protein fragment , or peptide of the present invention , or conjugate of a protein , protein fragment , or peptide of the present invention , as immunogens . thus , for example , a group of mice can be immunized using a fusion protein emulsified in freund &# 39 ; s complete adjuvant ( e . g . approximately 50 μg of antigen per immunization ). at three week intervals , an identical amount of antigen is emulsified in freund &# 39 ; s incomplete adjuvant and used to immunize the animals . ten days following the third immunization , serum samples are taken and evaluated for the presence of antibody . if antibody titers are too low , a fourth booster can be employed . polysera capable of binding the protein or peptide can also be obtained using this method . in a preferred procedure for obtaining monoclonal antibodies , the spleens of the above - described immunized mice are removed , disrupted , and immune splenocytes are isolated over a ficoll gradient . the isolated splenocytes are fused , using polyethylene glycol with balb / c - derived hgprt ( hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase ) deficient p3 × 63xag8 . 653 plasmacytoma cells . the fused cells are plated into 96 - well microtiter plates and screened for hybridoma fusion cells by their capacity to grow in culture medium supplemented with hypothanthine , aminopterin and thymidine for approximately 2 - 3 weeks . hybridoma cells that arise from such incubation are preferably screened for their capacity to produce an immunoglobulin that binds to a protein of interest . an indirect elisa may be used for this purpose . in brief , the supernatants of hybridomas are incubated in microtiter wells that contain immobilized protein . after washing , the titer of bound immunoglobulin can be determined using , for example , a goat anti - mouse antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase . after additional washing , the amount of immobilized enzyme is determined ( for example through the use of a chromogenic substrate ). such screening is performed as quickly as possible after the identification of the hybridoma in order to ensure that a desired clone is not overgrown by non - secreting neighbors . desirably , the fusion plates are screened several times since the rates of hybridoma growth vary . in a preferred sub - embodiment , a different antigenic form of immunogen may be used to screen the hybridoma . thus , for example , the splenocytes may be immunized with one immunogen , but the resulting hybridomas can be screened using a different immunogen . it is understood that any of the protein or peptide molecules of the present invention may be used to raise antibodies . as discussed below , such antibody molecules or their fragments may be used for diagnostic purposes . where the antibodies are intended for diagnostic purposes , it may be desirable to derivatize them , for example with a ligand group ( such as biotin ) or a detectable marker group ( such as a fluorescent group , a radioisotope or an enzyme ). the ability to produce antibodies that bind the protein or peptide molecules of the present invention permits the identification of mimetic compounds of those molecules . a “ mimetic compound ” is a compound that is not that compound , or a fragment of that compound , but which nonetheless exhibits an ability to specifically bind to antibodies directed against that compound . it is understood that any of the agents of the present invention can be substantially purified and / or be biologically active and / or recombinant . the nucleic acid molecules and fragments thereof of the present invention from library soymon018 are from soybean leaf tissue . leaves are the carbohydrate factories of crop plants , therefore , the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention will find great use in the isolation of a variety of agronomically significant genes , including but not limited to genes that are necessary for the interception and transformation of light energy via photosynthesis linked with plant growth , quality and yield . genes isolated using the disclosed nucleic acid molecules would also be in pathways including but not limited to a pathway such as nitrogen metabolism linked to fruiting and mobilization and distribution of nitrogen . the nucleic acid molecules and fragments thereof from library soymon028 are from drought stressed soybean root tissue at the r3 and r5 developmental stage . roots play a role in major vegetative organs which supply water , minerals , and substances essential for plant growth and development , therefore , the ests of the present invention will find great use in the isolation of a variety of agronomically significant genes , including but not limited to genes that result from drought stress , genes for absorption , anchorage , storage , transport , propagation , and nitrogen fixation . such genes are associated with plant growth , quality , and yield and could also serve as links in important plant developmental , metabolic and catabolic pathways . the nucleic acid molecules and fragments thereof of the present invention from libraries soymon018 , and soymon028 , are from soybean genotype a3244 . this genotype has disease resistance to brown stem rot ( phialophora gregata ) and phytophthora root rot ( phytophthora sojae ). libraries from this genotype are likely to find use in the isolation of genes involved in disease resistance against a number of agronomically important fungal pathogens . nucleic acid molecules and fragments thereof of the present invention may be employed to obtain other nucleic acid molecules . such molecules include the nucleic acid molecules of other plants or other organisms ( e . g ., alfalfa , rice , potato , cotton , oat , rye , barley , maize , wheat , arabidopsis , brassica , etc .) including the nucleic acid molecules that encode , in whole or in part , protein homologues of other plant species or other organisms , and sequences of genetic elements such as promoters and transcriptional regulatory elements . such molecules can be readily obtained by using the above - described nucleic acid molecules or fragments thereof to screen cdna or genomic libraries obtained from such plant species . methods for forming such libraries are well known in the art . such homologue molecules may differ in their nucleotide sequences from those found in one or more of seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complements thereof because complete complementarity is not needed for stable hybridization . the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention therefore also include molecules that , although capable of specifically hybridizing with the nucleic acid molecules may lack “ complete complementarity .” any of a variety of methods may be used to obtain one or more of the above - described nucleic acid molecules ( zamechik et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a ) 83 : 4143 - 4146 ( 1986 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; goodchild et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 85 : 5507 - 5511 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; wickstrom et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 85 : 1028 - 1032 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; holt , et al ., molec . cell . biol . 8 : 963 - 973 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; gerwirtz , et al ., science 242 : 1303 - 1306 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; anfossi , et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 86 : 3379 - 3383 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; becker , et al ., embo j . 8 : 3685 - 3691 ( 1989 ); the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). automated nucleic acid synthesizers may be employed for this purpose . in lieu of such synthesis , the disclosed nucleic acid molecules may be used to define a pair of primers that can be used with the polymerase chain reaction ( mullis , et al ., cold spring harbor symp . quant . biol . 51 : 263 - 273 ( 1986 ); erlich et al ., ep 50 , 424 ; ep 84 , 796 , ep 258 , 017 , ep 237 , 362 ; mullis , ep 201 , 184 ; mullis et al ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 683 , 202 ; erlich , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 582 , 788 ; and saiki , r . et al ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 683 , 194 , all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety ) to amplify and obtain any desired nucleic acid molecule or fragment . promoter sequence ( s ) and other genetic elements including but not limited to transcriptional regulatory elements associated with one or more of the disclosed nucleic acid sequences can also be obtained using the disclosed nucleic acid sequences provided herein . in one embodiment , such sequences are obtained by incubating est nucleic acid molecules or preferably fragments thereof with members of genomic libraries ( e . g . maize and soybean ) and recovering clones that hybridize to the est nucleic acid molecule or fragment thereof . in a second embodiment , methods of “ chromosome walking ,” or inverse pcr may be used to obtain such sequences ( frohman , et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 85 : 8998 - 9002 ( 1988 ); ohara , et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 86 : 5673 - 5677 ( 1989 ); pang et al ., biotechniques , 22 ( 6 ); 1046 - 1048 ( 1977 ); huang et al ., methods mol . biol . 69 : 89 - 96 ( 1977 ); hartl et al ., methods mol . biol . 58 : 293 - 301 ( 1996 ), all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety ). in one embodiment , the disclosed nucleic acid molecules are used to identify cdnas whose analogous genes contain promoters with desirable expression patterns . the nucleic acid molecules isolated from the library of the present invention are used to isolate promoters of tissue - enhanced , tissue - specific , developmentally - or environmentally - regulated expression profiles . isolation and functional analysis of the 5 ′ flanking promoter sequences of these genes from genomic libraries , for example , using genomic screening methods and pcr techniques would result in the isolation of useful promoters and transcriptional regulatory elements . these methods are known to those of skill in the art and have been described ( see for example birren et al ., genome analysis : analyzing dna , 1 , ( 1997 ), cold spring harbor laboratory press , cold spring harbor , n . y ., the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). promoters obtained utilizing the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention could also be modified to affect their control characteristics . examples of such modifications would include but are not limited to enhancer sequences as reported by kay et al ., science 236 : 1299 ( 1987 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety . such genetic elements could be used to enhance gene expression of new and existing traits for crop improvements . the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be used to isolate promoters of tissue enhanced tissue specific , cell - specific , cell - type , developmentally or environmentally regulated expression profiles . isolation and functional analysis of the 5 ′ flanking promoter sequences of these genes from genomic libraries , for example , using genomic screening methods and pcr techniques would result in the isolation of useful promoters and transcriptional regulatory elements . these methods are known to those of skill in the art and have been described ( see , for example , birren et . al ., genome analysis : analyzing dna , 1 , cold spring harbor laboratory press , cold spring harbor , n . y . ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). promoters obtained utilizing the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention could also be modified to affect their control characteristics . examples of such modifications would include but are not limited to enhancer sequences as reported by kay , et al science 236 : 1299 ( 1987 ), herein incorporated reference in its entirety . such genetic elements could be used to enhance gene expression of new and existing traits for crop improvements . in an aspect of the present invention , one or more of the nucleic molecules of the present invention are used to determine whether a plant ( preferably soybean ) has a mutation affecting the level ( i . e ., the concentration of mrna in a sample , etc .) or pattern ( i . e ., the kinetics of expression , rate of decomposition , stability profile , etc .) of the expression encoded in part or whole by one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention ( collectively , the “ expression response ” of a cell or tissue ). as used herein , the expression response manifested by a cell or tissue is said to be “ altered ” if it differs from the expression response of cells or tissues of plants not exhibiting the phenotype . to determine whether a expression response is altered , the expression response manifested by the cell or tissue of the plant exhibiting the phenotype is compared with that of a similar cell or tissue sample of a plant not exhibiting the phenotype . as will be appreciated , it is not necessary to re - determine the expression response of the cell or tissue sample of plants not exhibiting the phenotype each time such a comparison is made ; rather , the expression response of a particular plant may be compared with previously obtained values of normal plants . as used herein , the phenotype of the organism is any of one or more characteristics of an organism ( e . g . disease resistance , pest tolerance , environmental tolerance , male sterility , yield , quality improvements , etc .). a change in genotype or phenotype may be transient or permanent . also as used herein , a tissue sample is any sample that comprises more than one cell . in a preferred aspect , a tissue sample comprises cells that share a common characteristic ( e . g . derived from leaf , root , or pollen etc ). in one sub - aspect , such an analysis is conducted by determining the presence and / or identity of polymorphism ( s ) by one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention and more specifically , one or more of the est nucleic acid molecules or fragments thereof which are associated with phenotype , or a predisposition to phenotype . any of a variety of molecules can be used to identify such polymorphism ( s ). in one embodiment , one or more of the est nucleic acid molecules ( or a sub - fragment thereof ) may be employed as a marker nucleic acid molecule to identify such polymorphism ( s ). alternatively , such polymorphisms can be detected through the use of a marker nucleic acid molecule or a marker protein that is genetically linked to ( i . e ., a polynucleotide that co - segregates with ) such polymorphism ( s ). in an alternative embodiment , such polymorphisms can be detected through the use of a marker nucleic acid molecule that is physically linked to such polymorphism ( s ). for this purpose , marker nucleic acid molecules comprising a nucleotide sequence of a polynucleotide located within 1 mb of the polymorphism ( s ), and more preferably within 100 kb of the polymorphism ( s ), and most preferably within 10 kb of the polymorphism ( s ) can be employed . the genomes of animals and plants naturally undergo spontaneous mutation in the course of their continuing evolution ( gusella , ann . rev . biochem . 55 : 831 - 854 ( 1986 )). a “ polymorphism ” is a variation or difference in the sequence of the gene or its flanking regions that arises in some of the members of a species . the variant sequence and the “ original ” sequence co - exist in the species &# 39 ; population . in some instances , such co - existence is in stable or quasi - stable equilibrium . a polymorphism is thus said to be “ allelic ,” in that , due to the existence of the polymorphism , some members of a species may have the original sequence ( i . e ., the original “ allele ”) whereas other members may have the variant sequence ( i . e ., the variant “ allele ”). in the simplest case , only one variant sequence may exist , and the polymorphism is thus said to be di - allelic . in other cases , the species &# 39 ; population may contain multiple alleles , and the polymorphism is termed tri - allelic , etc . a single gene may have multiple different unrelated polymorphisms . for example , it may have a di - allelic polymorphism at one site , and a multi - allelic polymorphism at another site . the variation that defines the polymorphism may range from a single nucleotide variation to the insertion or deletion of extended regions within a gene . in some cases , the dna sequence variations are in regions of the genome that are characterized by short tandem repeats ( strs ) that include tandem di - or tri - nucleotide repeated motifs of nucleotides . polymorphisms characterized by such tandem repeats are referred to as “ variable number tandem repeat ” (“ vntr ”) polymorphisms . vntrs have been used in identity analysis ( weber , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 075 , 217 ; armour , et al ., febs lett . 307 : 113 - 115 ( 1992 ); jones , et al ., eur . j . haematol . 39 : 144 - 147 ( 1987 ); horn , et al ., pct application wo91 / 14003 ; jeffreys , european patent application 370 , 719 ; jeffreys , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 699 , 082 ; jeffreys . et al ., amer . j . hum . genet . 39 : 11 - 24 ( 1986 ); jeffreys . et al ., nature 316 : 76 - 79 ( 1985 ); gray , et al ., proc . r . acad . soc . lond . 243 : 241 - 253 ( 1991 ); moore , et al ., genomics 10 : 654 - 660 ( 1991 ); jeffreys , et al ., anim . genet . 18 : 1 - 15 ( 1987 ); hillel , et al ., anim . genet . 20 : 145 - 155 ( 1989 ); hillel , et al ., genet . 124 : 783 - 789 ( 1990 ), all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety ). the detection of polymorphic sites in a sample of dna may be facilitated through the use of nucleic acid amplification methods . such methods specifically increase the concentration of polynucleotides that span the polymorphic site , or include that site and sequences located either distal or proximal to it . such amplified molecules can be readily detected by gel electrophoresis or other means . the most preferred method of achieving such amplification employs the polymerase chain reaction (“ pcr ”) ( mullis , et al ., cold spring harbor symp . quant . biol . 51 : 263 - 273 ( 1986 ); erlich , et al ., european patent appln . 50 , 424 ; european patent appln . 84 , 796 , european patent application 258 , 017 , european patent appln . 237 , 362 ; mullis , european patent appln . 201 , 184 ; mullis , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 683 , 202 ; erlich ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 582 , 788 ; and saiki , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 683 , 194 , all of which are herein incorporated by reference ), using primer pairs that are capable of hybridizing to the proximal sequences that define a polymorphism in its double - stranded form . in lieu of pcr , alternative methods , such as the “ ligase chain reaction ” (“ lcr ”) may be used ( barany , proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 88 : 189 - 193 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). lcr uses two pairs of oligonucleotide probes to exponentially amplify a specific target . the sequences of each pair of oligonucleotides is selected to permit the pair to hybridize to abutting sequences of the same strand of the target . such hybridization forms a substrate for a template - dependent ligase . as with pcr , the resulting products thus serve as a template in subsequent cycles and an exponential amplification of the desired sequence is obtained . lcr can be performed with oligonucleotides having the proximal and distal sequences of the same strand of a polymorphic site . in one embodiment , either oligonucleotide will be designed to include the actual polymorphic site of the polymorphism . in such an embodiment , the reaction conditions are selected such that the oligonucleotides can be ligated together only if the target molecule either contains or lacks the specific nucleotide that is complementary to the polymorphic site present on the oligonucleotide . alternatively , the oligonucleotides may be selected such that they do not include the polymorphic site ( see , segev , pct application wo 90 / 01069 , the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). the “ oligonucleotide ligation assay ” (“ ola ”) may alternatively be employed ( landegren , et al ., science 241 : 1077 - 1080 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). the ola protocol uses two oligonucleotides which are designed to be capable of hybridizing to abutting sequences of a single strand of a target . ola , like lcr , is particularly suited for the detection of point mutations . unlike lcr , however , ola results in “ linear ” rather than exponential amplification of the target sequence . nickerson , et al . have described a nucleic acid detection assay that combines attributes of pcr and ola ( nickerson , et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a ) 87 : 8923 - 8927 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). in this method , pcr is used to achieve the exponential amplification of target dna , which is then detected using ola . in addition to requiring multiple , and separate , processing steps , one problem associated with such combinations is that they inherit all of the problems associated with pcr and ola . schemes based on ligation of two ( or more ) oligonucleotides in the presence of nucleic acid having the sequence of the resulting “ di - oligonucleotide ”, thereby amplifying the di - oligonucleotide , are also known ( wu , et al ., genomics 4 : 560 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), and may be readily adapted to the purposes of the present invention . other known nucleic acid amplification procedures , such as allele - specific oligomers , branched dna technology , transcription - based amplification systems , or isothermal amplification methods may also be used to amplify and analyze such polymorphisms ( malek , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 130 , 238 ; davey , et al ., european patent application 329 , 822 ; schuster et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 169 , 766 ; miller , et al ., pct application wo 89 / 06700 ; kwoh , et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 86 : 1173 - 1177 ( 1989 ); gingeras , et al ., pct application wo 88 / 10315 ; walker , et al ., proc . natl . acad sci . ( u . s . a .) 89 : 392 - 396 ( 1992 ), all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety ). the identification of a polymorphism can be determined in a variety of ways . by correlating the presence or absence of it in a plant with the presence or absence of a phenotype , it is possible to predict the phenotype of that plant . if a polymorphism creates or destroys a restriction endonuclease cleavage site , or if it results in the loss or insertion of dna ( e . g ., a vntr polymorphism ), it will alter the size or profile of the dna fragments that are generated by digestion with that restriction endonuclease . as such , individuals that possess a variant sequence can be distinguished from those having the original sequence by restriction fragment analysis . polymorphisms that can be identified in this manner are termed “ restriction fragment length polymorphisms ” (“ rflps ”). rflps have been widely used in human and plant genetic analyses ( glassberg , uk patent application 2135774 ; skolnick , et al ., cytogen . cell genet . 32 : 58 - 67 ( 1982 ); botstein , et al ., ann . j . hum . genet . 32 : 314 - 331 ( 1980 ); fischer , et al . ( pct application wo90 / 13668 ); uhlen , pct application wo90 / 11369 ). polymorphisms can also be identified by single strand conformation polymorphism ( sscp ) analysis . the sscp technique is a method capable of identifying most sequence variations in a single strand of dna , typically between 150 and 250 nucleotides in length ( elles , methods in molecular medicine : molecular diagnosis of genetic diseases , humana press ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); orita et al ., genomics 5 : 874 - 879 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). under denaturing conditions a single strand of dna will adopt a conformation that is uniquely dependent on its sequence conformation . this conformation usually will be different , even if only a single base is changed . most conformations have been reported to alter the physical configuration or size sufficiently to be detectable by electrophoresis . a number of protocols have been described for sscp including , but not limited to lee et al ., anal . biochem . 205 : 289 - 293 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; suzuki et al ., anal . biochem . 192 : 82 - 84 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; lo et al ., nucleic acids research 20 : 1005 - 1009 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; sarkar et al ., genomics 13 : 441 - 443 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). it is understood that one or more of the nucleic acids of the present invention , may be utilized as markers or probes to detect polymorphisms by sscp analysis . polymorphisms may also be found using a dna fingerprinting technique called amplified fragment length polymorphism ( aflp ), which is based on the selective pcr amplification of restriction fragments from a total digest of genomic dna to profile that dna . vos , et al ., nucleic acids res . 23 : 4407 - 4414 ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference . this method allows for the specific co - amplification of high numbers of restriction fragments , which can be visualized by pcr without knowledge of the nucleic acid sequence . aflp employs basically three steps . initially , a sample of genomic dna is cut with restriction enzymes and oligonucleotide adapters are ligated to the restriction fragments of the dna . the restriction fragments are then amplified using pcr by using the adapter and restriction sequence as target sites for primer annealing . the selective amplification is achieved by the use of primers that extend into the restriction fragments , amplifying only those fragments in which the primer extensions match the nucleotide flanking the restriction sites . these amplified fragments are then visualized on a denaturing polyacrylamide gel . aflp analysis has been performed on salix ( beismann , et al ., mol . ecol . 6 : 989 - 993 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); acinetobacter ( janssen , et al ., int . j . syst . bacteriol 47 : 1179 - 1187 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), aeromonas popoffi ( huys , et al ., int . j . syst . bacteriol . 47 : 1165 - 1171 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), rice ( mccouch , et al ., plant mol . biol . 35 : 89 - 99 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); nandi , et al ., mol . gen . genet . 255 : 1 - 8 ( 1997 ); cho , et al ., genome 39 : 373 - 378 ( 1996 ), herein incorporated by reference ), barley ( hordeum vulgare ) ( simons , et al ., genomics 44 : 61 - 70 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; waugh , et al ., mol . gen . genet . 255 : 311 - 321 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; qi , et al ., mol . gen . genet . 254 : 330 - 336 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; becker , et al ., mol . gen . genet . 249 : 65 - 73 ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), potato ( van der voort , et al ., mol . gen . genet . 255 : 438 - 447 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; meksem , et al ., mol . gen . genet . 249 : 74 - 81 ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), phytophthora infestans ( van der lee , et al ., fungal genet . biol . 21 : 278 - 291 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), bacillus anthracis ( keim , et al ., j . bacteriol . 179 : 818 - 824 ( 1997 )), astragalus cremnophylax ( travis , et al ., mol . ecol . 5 : 735 - 745 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), arabidopsis ( cnops , et al ., mol . gen . genet . 253 : 32 - 41 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), escherichia coli ( lin , et al ., nucleic acids res . 24 : 3649 - 3650 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), aeromonas ( huys , et al ., int . j . syst . bacteriol . 46 : 572 - 580 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), nematode ( folkertsma , et al ., mol . plant . microbe interact . 9 : 47 - 54 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), tomato ( thomas , et al ., plant j 8 : 785 - 794 ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), and human ( latorra , et al ., pcr methods appl . 3 : 351 - 358 ( 1994 )). aflp analysis has also been used for fingerprinting mrna ( money , et al ., nucleic acids res . 24 : 2616 - 2617 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; bachem , et al ., plant j 9 : 745 - 753 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). it is understood that one or more of the nucleic acids of the present invention , may be utilized as markers or probes to detect polymorphisms by aflp analysis for fingerprinting mrna . polymorphisms may also be found using random amplified polymorphic dna ( rapd ) ( williams et al ., nucl . acids res . 18 : 6531 - 6535 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) and cleaveable amplified polymorphic sequences ( caps ) ( lyamichev et al ., science 260 : 778 - 783 ( 1993 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). it is understood that one or more of the nucleic acids of the present invention , may be utilized as markers or probes to detect polymorphisms by rapd or caps analysis . polymorphisms are useful , through linkage analysis , to define the genetic distances or physical distances between polymorphic traits . a physical map or ordered array of genomic dna fragments in the desired region containing the gene may be used to characterize and isolate genes corresponding to desirable traits . for this purpose , yeast artificial chromosomes ( yacs ), bacterial artificial chromosomes ( bacs ), and cosmids are appropriate vectors for cloning large segments of dna molecules . although fewer clones are needed to make a contig for a specific genomic region by using yacs ( agyare et al ., genome res . 7 : 1 - 9 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; james et al ., genomics 32 : 425 - 430 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), chimerism in the inserted dna fragment can arise . cosmids are convenient for handling smaller - size dna molecules and may be used for transformation in developing transgenic plants . bacs also carry dna fragments and are less prone to chimerism . through genetic mapping , a fine scale linkage map can be developed using dna markers and , then , a genomic dna library of large - sized fragments can be screened with molecular markers linked to the desired trait . molecular markers are advantageous for agronomic traits that are otherwise difficult to tag , such as resistance to pathogens , insects and nematodes , tolerance to abiotic stress , quality parameters and quantitative traits such as high yield potential . the essential requirements for marker - assisted selection in a plant breeding program are : ( 1 ) the marker ( s ) should co - segregate or be closely linked with the desired trait ; ( 2 ) an efficient means of screening large populations for the molecular marker ( s ) should be available ; and ( 3 ) the screening technique should have high reproducibility across laboratories and preferably be economical to use and be user - friendly . the genetic linkage of marker molecules can be established by a gene mapping model such as , without limitation , the flanking marker model reported by lander and botstein , genetics 121 : 185 - 199 ( 1989 ) and the interval mapping , based on maximum likelihood methods described by lander and botstein , genetics 121 : 185 - 199 ( 1989 ) and implemented in the software package mapmaker / qtl ( lincoln and lander , mapping genes controlling quantitative . traits using mapmaker / qtl , whitehead institute for biomedical research , massachusetts , ( 1990 ). additional software includes qgene , version 2 . 23 ( 1996 ), department of plant breeding and biometry , 266 emerson hall , cornell university , ithaca , n . y ., the manual of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ). use of qgene software is a particularly preferred approach . a maximum likelihood estimate ( mle ) for the presence of a marker is calculated , together with an mle assuming no qtl effect , to avoid false positives . a log 10 of an odds ratio ( lod ) is then calculated as : lod = log 10 ( mle for the presence of a qtl / mle given no linked qtl ). the lod score essentially indicates how much more likely the data are to have arisen assuming the presence of a qtl than in its absence . the lod threshold value for avoiding a false positive with a given confidence , say 95 %, depends on the number of markers and the length of the genome . graphs indicating lod thresholds are set forth in lander and botstein , genetics 121 : 185 - 199 ( 1989 ) the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference and further described by arús and moreno - gonzález , plant breeding , hayward et al ., ( eds .) chapman & amp ; hall , london , pp . 314 - 331 ( 1993 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference . additional models can be used . many modifications and alternative approaches to interval mapping have been reported , including the use of non - parametric methods ( kruglyak and lander , genetics 139 : 1421 - 1428 ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). multiple regression methods or models can be also be used , in which the trait is regressed on a large number of markers ( jansen , biometrics in plant breeding , van oijen and jansen ( eds . ), proceedings of the ninth meeting of the eucarpia section biometrics in plant breeding , the netherlands , pp . 116 - 124 ( 1994 ); weber and wricke , advances in plant breeding , blackwell , berlin , 16 ( 1994 ), both of which is herein incorporated by reference in their entirety ). procedures combining interval mapping with regression analysis , whereby the phenotype is regressed onto a single putative qtl at a given marker interval and at the same time onto a number of markers that serve as ‘ cofactors ,’ have been reported by jansen and stam , genetics 136 : 1447 - 1455 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference and zeng , genetics 136 : 1457 - 1468 ( 1994 ) the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference . generally , the use of cofactors reduces the bias and sampling error of the estimated qtl positions ( utz and melchinger , biometrics in plant breeding , van oijen and jansen ( eds .) proceedings of the ninth meeting of the eucarpia section biometrics in plant breeding , the netherlands , pp . 195 - 204 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , thereby improving the precision and efficiency of qtl mapping ( zeng , genetics 136 : 1457 - 1468 ( 1994 )). these models can be extended to multi - environment experiments to analyze genotype - environment interactions ( jansen et al ., theo . appl . genet . 91 : 33 - 37 ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). selection of an appropriate mapping population is important to map construction . the choice of an appropriate mapping population depends on the type of marker systems employed ( tanksley et al ., molecular mapping plant chromosomes . chromosome structure and function : impact of new concepts , gustafson and appels ( eds . ), plenum press , new york , pp 157 - 173 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). consideration must be given to the source of parents ( adapted vs . exotic ) used in the mapping population . chromosome pairing and recombination rates can be severely disturbed ( suppressed ) in wide crosses ( adapted × exotic ) and generally yield greatly reduced linkage distances . wide crosses will usually provide segregating populations with a relatively large array of polymorphisms when compared to progeny in a narrow cross ( adapted × adapted ). an f 2 population is the first generation of selfing after the hybrid seed is produced . usually a single f 1 plant is selfed to generate a population segregating for all the genes in mendelian ( 1 : 2 : 1 ) fashion . maximum genetic information is obtained from a completely classified f 2 population using a codominant marker system ( mather , measurement of linkage in heredity , methuen and co ., ( 1938 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). in the case of dominant markers , progeny tests ( e . g . f 3 , bcf 2 ) are required to identify the heterozygotes , thus making it equivalent to a completely classified f 2 population . however , this procedure is often prohibitive because of the cost and time involved in progeny testing . progeny testing of f 2 individuals is often used in map construction where phenotypes do not consistently reflect genotype ( e . g . disease resistance ) or where trait expression is controlled by a qtl . segregation data from progeny test populations ( e . g . f 3 or bcf 2 ) can be used in map construction . marker - assisted selection can then be applied to cross progeny based on marker - trait map associations ( f 2 , f 3 ), where linkage groups have not been completely disassociated by recombination events ( i . e ., maximum disequilibrium ). recombinant inbred lines ( ril ) ( genetically related lines ; usually & gt ; f 5 , developed from continuously selfing f 2 lines towards homozygosity ) can be used as a mapping population . information obtained from dominant markers can be maximized by using ril because all loci are homozygous or nearly so . under conditions of tight linkage ( i . e ., about & lt ; 10 % recombination ), dominant and co - dominant markers evaluated in ril populations provide more information per individual than either marker type in backcross populations ( reiter et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 89 : 1477 - 1481 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). however , as the distance between markers becomes larger ( i . e ., loci become more independent ), the information in ril populations decreases dramatically when compared to codominant markers . backcross populations ( e . g ., generated from a cross between a successful variety ( recurrent parent ) and another variety ( donor parent ) carrying a trait not present in the former ) can be utilized as a mapping population . a series of backcrosses to the recurrent parent can be made to recover most of its desirable traits . thus a population is created consisting of individuals nearly like the recurrent parent but each individual carries varying amounts or mosaic of genomic regions from the donor parent . backcross populations can be useful for mapping dominant markers if all loci in the recurrent parent are homozygous and the donor and recurrent parent have contrasting polymorphic marker alleles ( reiter et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 89 : 1477 - 1481 ( 1992 )). information obtained from backcross populations using either codominant or dominant markers is less than that obtained from f 2 populations because one , rather than two , recombinant gametes are sampled per plant . backcross populations , however , are more informative ( at low marker saturation ) when compared to rils as the distance between linked loci increases in ril populations ( i . e . about 15 % recombination ). increased recombination can be beneficial for resolution of tight linkages , but may be undesirable in the construction of maps with low marker saturation . near - isogenic lines ( nil ) created by many backcrosses to produce an array of individuals that are nearly identical in genetic composition except for the trait or genomic region under interrogation can be used as a mapping population . in mapping with nils , only a portion of the polymorphic loci are expected to map to a selected region . bulk segregant analysis ( bsa ) is a method developed for the rapid identification of linkage between markers and traits of interest ( michelmore et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( usa ) 88 : 9828 - 9832 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). in bsa , two bulked dna samples are drawn from a segregating population originating from a single cross . these bulks contain individuals that are identical for a particular trait ( resistant or susceptible to particular disease ) or genomic region but arbitrary at unlinked regions ( i . e . heterozygous ). regions unlinked to the target region will not differ between the bulked samples of many individuals in bsa . it is understood that one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be used as molecular markers . it is also understood that one or more of the protein molecules of the present invention may be used as molecular markers . in accordance with this aspect of the present invention , a sample nucleic acid is obtained from plants cells or tissues . any source of nucleic acid may be used . preferably , the nucleic acid is genomic dna . the nucleic acid is subjected to restriction endonuclease digestion . for example , one or more est nucleic acid molecule or fragment thereof can be used as a probe in accordance with the above - described polymorphic methods . the polymorphism obtained in this approach can then be cloned to identify the mutation at the coding region which alters the protein &# 39 ; s structure or regulatory region of the gene which affects its expression level . in one aspect of the present invention , an evaluation can be conducted to determine whether a particular mrna molecule is present . one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention , preferably one or more of the est nucleic acid molecules of the present invention are utilized to detect the presence or quantity of the mrna species . such molecules are then incubated with cell or tissue extracts of a plant under conditions sufficient to permit nucleic acid hybridization . the detection of double - stranded probe - mrna hybrid molecules is indicative of the presence of the mrna ; the amount of such hybrid formed is proportional to the amount of mrna . thus , such probes may be used to ascertain the level and extent of the mrna production in a plant &# 39 ; s cells or tissues . such nucleic acid hybridization may be conducted under quantitative conditions ( thereby providing a numerical value of the amount of the mrna present ). alternatively , the assay may be conducted as a qualitative assay that indicates either that the mrna is present , or that its level exceeds a user set , predefined value . a principle of in situ hybridization is that a labeled , single - stranded nucleic acid probe will hybridize to a complementary strand of cellular dna or rna and , under the appropriate conditions , these molecules will form a stable hybrid . when nucleic acid hybridization is combined with histological techniques , specific dna or rna sequences can be identified within a single cell . an advantage of in situ hybridization over more conventional techniques for the detection of nucleic acids is that it allows an investigator to determine the precise spatial population ( angerer et al ., dev . biol . 101 : 477 - 484 ( 1984 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; angerer et al ., dev . biol . 112 : 157 - 166 ( 1985 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; dixon et al ., embo j . 10 : 1317 - 1324 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). in situ hybridization may be used to measure the steady - state level of rna accumulation . it is a sensitive technique and rna sequences present in as few as 5 - 10 copies per cell can be detected ( hardin et al ., j . mol . biol . 202 : 417 - 431 . ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). a number of protocols have been devised for in situ hybridization , each with tissue preparation , hybridization , and washing conditions ( meyerowitz , plant mol . biol . rep . 5 : 242 - 250 ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; cox and goldberg , in : plant molecular biology : a practical approach ( ed . c . h . shaw ), pp . 1 - 35 . irl press , oxford ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; raikhel et al ., in situ rna hybridization in plant tissues . in plant molecular biology manual , vol . b9 : 1 - 32 . kluwer academic publisher , dordrecht , belgium ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). in situ hybridization also allows for the localization of proteins within a tissue or cell ( wilkinson , in situ hybridization , oxford university press , oxford ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; langdale , in situ hybridization 165 - 179 in : the maize handbook , eds . freeling and walbot , springer - verlag , new york ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). it is understood that one or more of the molecules of the present invention , preferably one or more of the est nucleic acid molecules of the present invention or one or more of the antibodies of the present invention may be utilized to detect the level or pattern of a protein or fragment thereof by in situ hybridization . fluorescent in situ hybridization also enables the localization of a particular dna sequence along a chromosome which is useful , among other uses , for gene mapping , following chromosomes in hybrid lines or detecting chromosomes with translocations , transversions or deletions . in situ hybridization has been used to identify chromosomes in several plant species ( griffor et al ., plant mol . biol . 17 : 101 - 109 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; gustafson et al ., proc . nat &# 39 ; l . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .). 87 : 1899 - 1902 ( 1990 ), herein incorporated by reference ; mukai and gill , genome 34 : 448 - 452 . ( 1991 ); schwarzacher and heslop - harrison , genome 34 : 317 - 323 ( 1991 ); wang et al ., jpn . j . genet . 66 : 313 - 316 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; parra and windle , nature genetics , 5 : 17 - 21 ( 1993 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). it is understood that the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be used as probes or markers to localize sequences along a chromosome . it is also understood that one or more of the molecules of the present invention , preferably one or more of the est nucleic acid molecules of the present invention or one or more of the antibodies of the present invention may be utilized to detect the expression level or pattern of a protein or mrna thereof by in situ hybridization . another method to localize the expression of a molecule is tissue printing . tissue printing provides a way to screen , at the same time on the same membrane many tissue sections from different plants or different developmental stages . tissue - printing procedures utilize films designed to immobilize proteins and nucleic acids . in essence , a freshly cut section of an organ is pressed gently onto nitrocellulose paper , nylon membrane or polyvinylidene difluoride membrane . such membranes are commercially available ( e . g . millipore , bedford , mass .). the contents of the cut cell transfer onto the membrane , and the molecules are immobilized to the membrane . the immobilized molecules form a latent print that can be visualized with appropriate probes . when a plant tissue print is made on nitrocellulose paper , the cell walls leave a physical print that makes the anatomy visible without further treatment ( varner amd taylor , plant physiol . 91 : 31 - 33 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). tissue printing on substrate films is described by daoust , exp . cell res . 12 : 203 - 211 ( 1957 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , who detected amylase , protease , ribonuclease , and deoxyribonuclease in animal tissues using starch , gelatin , and agar films . these techniques can be applied to plant tissues ( yomo and taylor , planta 112 : 35 - 43 ( 1973 ); harris and chrispeels , plant physiol . 56 : 292 - 299 ( 1975 ). advances in membrane technology have increased the range of applications of daoust &# 39 ; s tissue - printing techniques allowing ( cassab and varner , j . cell . biol . 105 : 2581 - 2588 ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; the histochemical localization of various plant enzymes and deoxyribonuclease on nitrocellulose paper and nylon ( spruce et al ., phytochemistry , 26 : 2901 - 2903 ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; barres et al . neuron 5 : 527 - 544 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; reid and pont - lezica , tissue printing : tools for the study of anatomy , histochemistry , and gene expression , academic press , new york , n . y . ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; reid et al . plant physiol . 93 : 160 - 165 ( 1990 ), herein incorporate by reference ; ye et al . plant j . 1 : 175 - 183 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). it is understood that one or more of the molecules of the present invention , preferably one or more of the est nucleic acid - molecules of the present invention or one or more of the antibodies of the present invention may be utilized to detect the presence or quantity of a protein by tissue printing . further , it is also understood that any of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be used as marker nucleic acids and or probes in connection with methods that require probes or marker nucleic acids . as used herein , a probe is an agent that is utilized to determine an attribute or feature ( e . g . presence or absence , location , correlation , etc .) or a molecule , cell , tissue or plant . as used herein , a marker nucleic acid is a nucleic acid molecule that is utilized to determine an attribute , or feature ( e . g ., presence or absence , location , correlation , etc .) or a molecule , cell , tissue or plant . a microarray - based method for high - throughput monitoring of plant gene expression may be utilized to measure gene - specific hybridization targets . this ‘ chip ’- based approach involves using microarrays of nucleic acid molecules as gene - specific hybridization targets to quantitatively measure expression of the corresponding plant genes ( schena et al ., science 270 : 467 - 470 ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; shalon , ph . d . thesis . stanford university ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). every nucleotide in a large sequence can be queried at the same time . hybridization can be used to efficiently analyze large amounts of nucleotide sequence . several microarray methods have been described . one method compares the sequences to be analyzed by hybridization to a set of oligonucleotides representing all possible subsequences ( bains and smith , j . theor . biol . 135 : 303 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). a second method hybridizes the sample to an array of oligonucleotide probes . an array consisting of oligonucleotides complementary to subsequences of a target sequence can be used to determine the identity of a target sequence , measure its amount , and detect differences between the target and a reference sequence . nucleic acid molecules microarrays may also be screened with protein molecules or fragments thereof to determine nucleic acid molecules that specifically bind protein molecules or fragments thereof . the microarray approach may be used with polypeptide targets ( u . s . pat . no . 5 , 445 , 934 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 143 , 854 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 079 , 600 ; u . s . pat . no . 4 , 923 , 901 , all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety ). essentially , polypeptides are synthesized on a substrate ( microarray ) and these polypeptides can be screened with either protein molecules or fragments thereof or nucleic acid molecules in order to screen for either protein molecules or fragments thereof or nucleic acid molecules that specifically bind the target polypeptides . implementation of these techniques rely on recently developed combinatorial technologies to generate any ordered array of a large number of oligonucleotide probes ( fodor et al ., science 251 : 767 - 773 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). it is understood that one or more of the molecules of the present invention , preferably one or more of the nucleic acid molecules or protein molecules or fragments thereof of the present invention may be utilized in a microarray based method . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention microarrays may be prepared that comprise nucleic acid molecules where preferably at least 10 %, preferably at least 25 %, more preferably at least 50 % and even more preferably at least 75 %, 80 %, 85 %, 90 % or 95 % of the nucleic acid molecules located on that array are selected from the group of nucleic acid molecules that specifically hybridize to one or more nucleic acid molecule having a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group of seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complement thereof or fragments of either . a particular preferred microarray embodiment of the present invention is a microarray comprising nucleic acid molecules encoding genes or fragments thereof that are homologues of known genes or nucleic acid molecules that comprise genes or fragment thereof that elicit only limited or no matches to known genes . a further preferred microarray embodiment of the present invention is a microarray comprising nucleic acid molecules having genes or fragments thereof that are homologues of known genes and nucleic acid molecules that comprise genes or fragment thereof that elicit only limited or no matches to known genes . site - directed mutagenesis may be utilized to modify nucleic acid sequences , particularly as it is a technique that allows one or more of the amino acids encoded by a nucleic acid molecule to be altered ( e . g . a threonine to be replaced by a methionine ). three basic methods for site - directed mutagenesis are often employed . these are cassette mutagenesis ( wells et al ., gene 34 : 315 - 23 ( 1985 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), primer extension ( gilliam et al ., gene 12 : 129 - 137 ( 1980 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); zoller and smith , methods enzymol . 100 : 468 - 500 ( 1983 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; and dalbadie - mcfarland et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 79 : 6409 - 6413 ( 1982 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) and methods based upon pcr ( scharf et al ., science 233 : 1076 - 1078 ( 1986 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; higuchi et al ., nucleic acids res . 16 : 7351 - 7367 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). site - directed mutagenesis approaches are also described in european patent 0 385 962 , the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , european patent 0 359 472 , the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , and pct patent application wo 93 / 07278 , the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference . site - directed mutagenesis strategies have been applied to plants for both in vitro as well as in vivo site - directed mutagenesis ( lanz et al ., j . biol . chem . 266 : 9971 - 6 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; kovgan and zhdanov , biotekhnologiya 5 : 148 - 154 ; no . 207160n , chemical abstracts 110 : 225 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; ge et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 86 : 4037 - 4041 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , zhu et al ., j . biol . chem . 271 : 18494 - 18498 ( 1996 ), chu et al ., biochemistry 33 : 6150 - 6157 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , small et al ., embo j . 11 : 1291 - 1296 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , cho et al ., mol . biotechnol . 8 : 13 - 16 ( 1997 ), kita et al ., j . biol . chem . 271 : 26529 - 26535 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , jin et al ., mol . microbiol . 7 : 555 - 562 ( 1993 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , hatfield and vierstra , j . biol . chem . 267 : 14799 - 14803 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , zhao et al ., biochemistry 31 : 5093 - 5099 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). any of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may either be modified by site - directed mutagenesis or used as , for example , nucleic acid molecules that are used to target other nucleic acid molecules for modification . it is understood that mutants with more than one altered nucleotide can be constructed using techniques that practitioners skilled in the art are familiar with such as isolating restriction fragments and ligating such fragments into an expression vector ( see , for example , sambrook et al ., molecular cloning . a laboratory manual , cold spring harbor press ( 1989 )). sequence - specific dna - binding proteins play a role in the regulation of transcription . the isolation of recombinant cdnas encoding these proteins facilitates the biochemical analysis of their structural and functional properties . genes encoding such dna - binding proteins have been isolated using classical genetics ( vollbrecht et al ., nature 350 : 241 - 243 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) and molecular biochemical approaches , including the screening of recombinant cdna libraries with antibodies ( landschulz et al ., genes dev . 2 : 786 - 800 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) or dna probes ( bodner et al ., cell 55 : 505 - 518 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). in addition , an in situ screening procedure has been used and has facilitated the isolation of sequence - specific dna - binding proteins from various plant species ( gilmartin et al ., plant cell 4 : 839 - 849 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; schindler et al ., embo j . 11 : 1261 - 1273 ( 1992 ) the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). an in situ screening protocol does not require the purification of the protein of interest ( vinson et al ., genes dev . 2 : 801 - 806 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; singh et al ., cell 52 : 415 - 423 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). steps may be employed to characterize dna - protein interactions . the first is to identify promoter fragments that interact with dna - binding proteins , to titrate binding activity , to determine the specificity of binding , and to determine whether a given dna - binding activity can interact with related dna sequences ( sambrook et al ., molecular cloning : a laboratory manual , 2 nd edition . cold spring harbor laboratory press , cold spring harbor , n . y . ( 1989 ). electrophoretic mobility - shift assay is a widely used assay . the assay provides a simple , rapid , and sensitive method for detecting dna - binding proteins based on the observation that the mobility of a dna fragment through a nondenaturing , low - ionic strength polyacrylamide gel is retarded upon association with a dna - binding protein ( fried and crother , nucleic acids res . 9 : 6505 - 6525 ( 1981 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). when one or more specific binding activities have been identified , the exact sequence of the dna bound by the protein may be determined . several procedures for characterizing protein / dna - binding sites are used , including methylation and ethylation interference assays ( maxam and gilbert , methods enzymol . 65 : 499 - 560 ( 1980 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; wissman and hillen , methods enzymol . 208 : 365 - 379 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) and footprinting techniques employing dnase i ( galas and schmitz , nucleic acids res . 5 : 3157 - 3170 ( 1978 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), 1 , 10 - phenanthroline - copper ion methods ( sigman et al ., methods enzymol . 208 : 365 - 379 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) or hydroxyl radical methods ( dixon et al ., methods enzymol . 208 : 380 - 413 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). it is understood that one or more of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention , preferably one or more of the est nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be utilized to identify a protein or fragment thereof that specifically binds to a nucleic acid molecule of the present invention . it is also understood that one or more of the protein molecules or fragments thereof of the present invention may be utilized to identify a nucleic acid molecule that specifically binds to it . the two - hybrid system is based on the fact that many cellular functions are carried out by proteins that interact ( physically ) with one another . two - hybrid systems have been used to probe the function of new proteins ( chien et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 88 : 9578 - 9582 ( 1991 ) the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; durfee et al ., genes dev . 7 : 555 - 569 ( 1993 ) the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; choi et al ., cell 78 : 499 - 512 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; kranz et al ., genes dev . 8 : 313 - 327 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). interaction mating techniques have facilitated a number of two - hybrid studies of protein - protein interaction . interaction mating has been used to examine interactions between small sets of tens of proteins ( finley and brent , proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 91 : 12098 - 12984 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), larger sets of hundreds of proteins , ( bendixen et al ., nucl , acids res . 22 : 1778 - 1779 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) and to comprehensively map proteins encoded by a small genome ( bartel et al ., nature genetics 12 : 72 - 77 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). this technique utilizes proteins fused to the dna - binding domain and proteins fused to the activation domain . they are expressed in two different haploid yeast strains of opposite mating type , and the strains are mated to determine if the two proteins interact . mating occurs when haploid yeast strains come into contact and result in the fusion of the two haploids into a diploid yeast strain . an interaction can be determined by the activation of a two - hybrid reporter gene in the diploid strain . the primary advantage of this technique is that it reduces the number of yeast transformations needed to test individual interactions . it is understood that the protein - protein interactions of protein or fragments thereof of the present invention may be investigated using the two - hybrid system and that any of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention that encode such proteins or fragments thereof may be used to transform yeast in the two - hybrid system . synechocystis 6803 is a photosynthetic cyanobacterium capable of oxygenic photosynthesis as well as heterotrophic growth in the absence of light . the entire genome has been sequenced , and it is reported to have a circular genome size of 3 . 57 mbp containing 3168 potential open reading frames . open reading frames ( orfs ) were identified based upon their homology to other reported orfs and by using orf identification computer programs . sixteen hundred potential orfs were assigned based on their homology to previously identified orfs . of these 1600 orfs , 145 were identical to reported orfs ( kaneko et al ., dna research 3 : 109 - 36 ( 1996 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ). several prokaryote promoters have been used in synechocystis to express heterologous genes including the tac , lac , and lambda phage promoters ( bryant ( ed . ), the molecular biology of cyanobacteria , kluwer academic publishers , ( 1994 ); ferino and chauvat , gene 84 : 257 - 266 ( 1989 ), both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety ). several bacterial origins of replication such as rsf1010 and acyc are reported to replicate in synechocystis ( mermet - bouvier and chauvat , current microbiology 28 : 145 - 148 ( 1994 ); kuhlemeier et al ., mol . gen . genet . 184 : 249 - 254 ( 1981 ), both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety ). synechocystis has been used to study gene regulation by gene replacement through homologous recombination or by gene disruption using antibiotic resistance markers ( pakrasi et al ., embo 7 : 325 - 332 ( 1988 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ). in such gene regulation studies , double reciprocal homologous regions of the host genome flanking the gene of interest recombine to stably integrate the gene of interest into the genome . the gene of interest can be expressed once that gene has been stably integrated into the geriome . biochemical analysis can be performed to study the effect of the replaced or deleted gene . it is understood that the agents of the present invention may be employed in a synechocystis system . exogenous genetic material may be transferred into a plant cell and the plant cell regenerated into a whole , fertile or sterile plant . exogenous genetic material is any genetic material , whether naturally occurring or otherwise , from any source that is capable of being inserted into any organism . such genetic material may be transferred into either monocotyledons and dicotyledons including but not limited to the crops , maize and soybean ( see specifically , chistou , particle bombardment for genetic engineering of plants , pp 63 - 69 ( maize ), pp 50 - 60 ( soybean ), biotechnology intelligence unit . academic press , san diego , calif . ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference and generally chistou , particle bombardment for genetic engineering of plants , biotechnology intelligence unit . academic press , san diego , calif . ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). transfer of a nucleic acid that encodes for a protein can result in overexpression of that protein in a transformed cell or transgenic plant . one or more of the proteins or fragments thereof encoded by nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be overexpressed in a transformed cell or transformed plant . such overexpression may be the result of transient or stable transfer of the exogenous material . exogenous genetic material may be transferred into a plant cell by the use of a dna vector or construct designed for such a purpose . design of such a vector is generally within the skill of the art ( see , plant molecular biology : a laboratory manual eds . clark , springer , new york ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). a construct or vector may include a plant promoter to express the protein or protein fragment of choice . a number of promoters which are active in plant cells have been described in the literature . these include the nopaline synthase ( nos ) promoter ( ebert et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 84 : 5745 - 5749 ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), the octopine synthase ( ocs ) promoter ( which are carried on tumor - inducing plasmids of agrobacterium tumefaciens ), the caulimovirus promoters such as the cauliflower mosaic virus ( camv ) 19s promoter ( lawton et al ., plant mol . biol . 9 : 315 - 324 ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) and the camv 35s promoter ( odell et al ., nature 313 : 810 - 812 ( 1985 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), the figwort mosaic virus 35s - promoter , the light - inducible promoter from the small subunit of ribulose - 1 , 5 - bis - phosphate carboxylase ( ssrulbisco ), the adh promoter ( walker et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 84 : 6624 - 6628 ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), the sucrose synthase promoter ( yang et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 87 : 4144 - 4148 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), the r gene complex promoter ( chandler et al ., the plant cell 1 : 1175 - 1183 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), and the chlorophyll a / b binding protein gene promoter , etc . these promoters have been used to create dna constructs which have been expressed in plants ; see , e . g ., pct publication wo 84 / 02913 , herein incorporated by reference in its entirety . promoters which are known or are found to cause transcription of dna in plant cells can be used in the present invention . such promoters may be obtained from a variety of sources such as plants and plant viruses . it is preferred that the particular promoter selected should be capable of causing sufficient expression to result in the production of an effective amount of a protein to cause the desired phenotype . in addition to promoters which are known to cause transcription of dna in plant cells , other promoters may be identified for use in the current invention by screening a plant cdna library for genes which are selectively or preferably expressed in the target tissues or cells . for the purpose of expression in source tissues of the plant , such as the leaf , seed , root or stem , it is preferred that the promoters utilized in the present invention have relatively high expression in these specific tissues . for this purpose , one may choose from a number of promoters for genes with tissue - or cell - specific or - enhanced expression . examples of such promoters reported in the literature include the chloroplast glutamine synthetase gs2 promoter from pea ( edwards et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 87 : 3459 - 3463 ( 1990 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), the chloroplast fructose - 1 , 6 - biphosphatase ( fbpase ) promoter from wheat ( lloyd et al ., mol . gen . genet . 225 : 209 - 216 ( 1991 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), the nuclear photosynthetic st - ls1 promoter from potato ( stockhaus et al ., embo j . 8 : 2445 - 2451 ( 1989 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), the phenylalanine ammonia - lyase ( pal ) promoter and the chalcone synthase ( chs ) promoter from arabidopsis thaliana . also reported to be active in photosynthetically active tissues are the ribulose - 1 , 5 - bisphosphate carboxylase ( rbcs ) promoter from eastern larch ( larix laricina ), the promoter for the cab gene , cab6 , from pine ( yamamoto et al ., plant cell physiol . 35 : 773 - 778 ( 1994 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), the promoter for the cab - 1 gene from wheat ( fejes et al ., plant mol . biol . 15 : 921 - 932 ( 1990 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), the promoter for the cab - 1 gene from spinach ( lubberstedt et al ., plant physiol . 104 : 997 - 1006 ( 1994 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), the promoter for the cabir gene from rice ( luan et al ., plant cell . 4 : 971 - 981 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), the pyruvate , orthophosphate dikinase ( ppdk ) promoter from maize ( matsuoka et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 90 : 9586 - 9590 ( 1993 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), the promoter for the tobacco lhcb1 * 2 gene ( cerdan et al ., plant mol . biol . 33 : 245 - 255 . ( 1997 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), the arabidopsis thaliana suc2 sucrose - h + symporter promoter ( truemit et al ., planta . 196 : 564 - 570 ( 1995 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), and the promoter for the thylacoid membrane proteins from spinach ( psad , psaf , psae , pc , fnr , atpc , atpd , cab , rbcs ). other promoters for the chlorophyl a / b - binding proteins may also be utilized in the present invention , such as the promoters for lhcb gene and psbp gene from white mustard ( sinapis alba ; kretsch et al ., plant mol . biol . 28 : 219 - 229 ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). for the purpose of expression in sink tissues of the plant , such as the tuber of the potato plant , the fruit of tomato , or the seed of maize , wheat , rice , and barley , it is preferred that the promoters utilized in the present invention have relatively high expression in these specific tissues . a number of promoters for genes with tuber - specific or - enhanced expression are known , including the class i patatin promoter ( bevan et al ., embo j . 8 : 1899 - 1906 ( 1986 ); jefferson et al ., plant mol . biol . 14 : 995 - 1006 ( 1990 ), both of which are herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), the promoter for the potato tuber adpgpp genes , both the large and small subunits , the sucrose synthase promoter ( salanoubat and belliard , gene . 60 : 47 - 56 ( 1987 ), salanoubat and belliard , gene . 84 : 181 - 185 ( 1989 ), both of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety ), the promoter for the major tuber proteins including the 22 kd protein complexes and proteinase inhibitors ( hanapel , plant physiol . 101 : 703 - 704 ( 1993 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), the promoter for the granule bound starch synthase gene ( gbss ) ( visser et al ., plant mol . biol . 17 : 691 - 699 ( 1991 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), and other class i and ii patatins promoters ( koster - topfer et al ., mol gen genet . 219 : 390 - 396 ( 1989 ); mignery et al ., gene . 62 : 27 - 44 ( 1988 ), both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety ). other promoters can also be used to express a fructose 1 , 6 bisphosphate aldolase gene in specific tissues , such as seeds or fruits . the promoter for β - conglycinin ( chen et al ., dev . genet . 10 : 112 - 122 ( 1989 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ) or other seed - specific promoters such as the napin and phaseolin promoters , can be used . the zeins are a group of storage proteins found in maize endosperm . genomic clones for zein genes have been isolated ( pedersen et al ., cell 29 : 1015 - 1026 ( 1982 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ), and the promoters from these clones , including the 15 kd , 16 kd , 19 kd , 22 kd , 27 kd , and gamma genes , could also be used . other promoters known to function , for example , in maize , include the promoters for the following genes : waxy , brittle , shrunken 2 , branching enzymes i and ii , starch synthases , debranching enzymes , oleosins , glutelins , and sucrose synthases . a particularly preferred promoter for maize endosperm expression is the promoter for the glutelin gene from rice , more particularly the osgt - 1 promoter ( zheng et al ., mol . cell . biol . 13 : 5829 - 5842 ( 1993 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ). examples of promoters suitable for expression in wheat include those promoters for the adpglucose pyrophosphorylase ( adpgpp ) subunits , the granule bound and other starch synthases , the branching and debranching enzymes , the embryogenesis - abundant proteins , the gliadins , and the glutenins . examples of such promoters in rice include those promoters for the adpgpp subunits , the granule bound and other starch synthases , the branching enzymes , the debranching enzymes , sucrose synthases , and the glutelins . a particularly preferred promoter is the promoter for rice glutelin , osgt - 1 . examples of such promoters for barley include those for the adpgpp subunits , the granule bound and other starch synthases , the branching enzymes , the debranching enzymes , sucrose synthases , the hordeins , the embryo globulins , and the aleurone specific proteins . root specific promoters may also be used . an example of such a promoter is the promoter for the acid chitinase gene ( samac et al ., plant mol . biol . 25 : 587 - 596 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). expression in root tissue could also be accomplished by utilizing the root specific subdomains of the camv35s promoter that have been identified ( lam et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 86 : 7890 - 7894 ( 1989 ), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety ). other root cell specific promoters include those reported by conkling et al . ( conkling et al ., plant physiol 93 : 1203 - 1211 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). additional promoters that may be utilized are described , for example , in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 378 , 619 , 5 , 391 , 725 , 5 , 428 , 147 , 5 , 447 , 858 , 5 , 608 , 144 , 5 , 608 , 144 , 5 , 614 , 399 , 5 , 633 , 441 , 5 , 633 , 435 , and 4 , 633 , 436 , all of which are herein incorporated in their entirety . in addition , a tissue specific enhancer may be used ( fromm et al ., the plant cell 1 : 977 - 984 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). constructs or vectors may also include , with the coding region of interest , a nucleic acid sequence that acts , in whole or in part , to terminate transcription of that region . for example , such sequences have been isolated including the tr7 3 ′ sequence and the nos 3 ′ sequence ( ingelbrecht et al ., the plant cell 1 : 671 - 680 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; bevan et al ., nucleic acids res . 11 : 369 - 385 ( 1983 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), or the like . a vector or construct may also include regulatory elements . examples of such include the adh intron 1 ( callis et al ., genes and develop . 1 : 1183 - 1200 ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), the sucrose synthase intron ( vasil et al ., plant physiol . 91 : 1575 - 1579 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) and the tmv omega element ( gallie et al ., the plant cell 1 : 301 - 311 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). these and other regulatory elements may be included when appropriate . a vector or construct may also include a selectable marker . selectable markers may also be used to select for plants or plant cells that contain the exogenous genetic material . examples of such include , but are not limited to , a neo gene ( potrykus et al ., mol . gen . genet . 199 : 183 - 188 ( 1985 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) which codes for kanamycin resistance and can be selected for using kanamycin , g418 , etc . ; a bar gene which codes for bialaphos resistance ; a mutant epsp synthase gene ( hinchee et al ., bio / technology 6 : 915 - 922 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) which encodes glyphosate resistance ; a nitrilase gene which confers resistance to bromoxynil ( stalker et al ., j . biol . chem . 263 : 6310 - 6314 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); a mutant acetolactate synthase gene ( als ) which confers imidazolinone or sulphonylurea resistance ( european patent application 154 , 204 ( sep . 11 , 1985 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); and a methotrexate resistant dhfr gene ( thillet et al ., j . biol . chem . 263 : 12500 - 12508 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). a vector or construct may also include a transit peptide . incorporation of a suitable chloroplast transit peptide may also be employed ( european patent application publication number 0218571 , the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). translational enhancers may also be incorporated as part of the vector dna . dna constructs could contain one or more 5 ′ non - translated leader sequences which may serve to enhance expression of the gene products from the resulting mrna transcripts . such sequences may be derived from the promoter selected to express the gene or can be specifically modified to increase translation of the mrna . such regions may also be obtained from viral rnas , from suitable eukaryotic genes , or from a synthetic gene sequence . for a review of optimizing expression of transgenes , see koziel et al ., plant mol . biol . 32 : 393 - 405 ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference . a vector or construct may also include a screenable marker . screenable markers may be used to monitor expression . exemplary screenable markers include a glucuronidase or uida gene ( gus ) which encodes an enzyme for which various chromogenic substrates are known ( jefferson , plant mol . biol , rep . 5 : 387 - 405 ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; jefferson et al ., embo j . 6 : 3901 - 3907 ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); an r - locus gene , which encodes a product that regulates the production of anthocyanin pigments ( red color ) in plant tissues (( dellaporta et al ., stadler symposium 11 : 263 - 282 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); a β - lactamase gene ( sutcliffe et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 75 : 3737 - 3741 ( 1978 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), a gene which encodes an enzyme for which various chromogenic substrates are known ( e . g ., padac , a chromogenic cephalosporin ); a luciferase gene ( ow et al ., science 234 : 856 - 859 ( 1986 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) a xyle gene ( zukowsky et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 80 : 1101 - 1105 ( 1983 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) which encodes a catechol diozygenase that can convert chromogenic catechols ; an α - amylase gene ( ikatu et al ., bio / technol . 8 : 241 - 242 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); a tyrosinase gene ( katz et al ., j . gen . microbiol . 129 : 2703 - 2714 ( 1983 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) which encodes an enzyme capable of oxidizing tyrosine to dopa and dopaquinone which in turn condenses to melanin ; an α - galactosidase , which will turn a chromogenic α - galactose substrate . included within the terms “ selectable or screenable marker genes ” are also genes which encode a scriptable marker whose secretion can be detected as a means of identifying or selecting for transformed cells . examples include markers which encode a secretable antigen that can be identified by antibody interaction , or even secretable enzymes which can be detected catalytically . secretable proteins fall into a number of classes , including small , diffusible proteins detectable , e . g ., by elisa , small active enzymes detectable in extracellular solution ( e . g ., α - amylase , β - lactamase , phosphinothricin transferase ), or proteins which are inserted or trapped in the cell wall ( such as proteins which include a leader sequence such as that found in the expression unit of extension or tobacco pr - s ). other possible selectable and / or screenable marker genes will be apparent to those of skill in the art . methods and compositions for transforming a bacteria and other microorganisms are known in the art ( see for example sambrook et al ., molecular cloning : a laboratory manual , second edition , cold spring harbor laboratory press , cold spring harbor , n . y ., ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). there are many methods for introducing transforming nucleic acid molecules into plant cells . suitable methods are believed to include virtually any method by which nucleic acid molecules may be introduced into a cell , such as by agrobacterium infection or direct delivery of nucleic acid molecules such as , for example , by peg - mediated transformation , by electroporation or by acceleration of dna coated particles , etc . ( pottykus , ann . rev . plant physiol . plant mol . biol . 42 : 205 - 225 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; vasil , plant mol . biol . 25 : 925 - 937 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference . for example , electroporation has been used to transform maize protoplasts ( fromm et al ., nature 312 : 791 - 793 ( 1986 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). other vector systems suitable for introducing transforming dna into a host plant cell includes but is not limited to binary artificial chromosome ( bibac ) vectors ( hamilton et al ., gene 200 : 107 - 116 , ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference , and transfection with rna viral vectors ( della - cioppa et al ., ann . n . y . acad . sci . ( 1996 ), 792 ( engineering plants for commercial products and applications ), 57 - 61 , the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference . technology for introduction of dna into cells is well known to those of skill in the art . four general methods for delivering a gene into cells have been described : ( 1 ) chemical methods ( graham and van der eb , virology , 54 : 536 - 539 ( 1973 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); ( 2 ) physical methods such as microinjection ( capecchi , cell 22 : 479 - 488 ( 1980 ), electroporation ( wong and neumann , biochem . biophys . res . commun ., 107 : 584 - 587 ( 1982 ); fromm et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa , 82 : 5824 - 5828 ( 1985 ); u . s . pat . no . 5 , 384 , 253 ; and the gene gun ( johnston and tang , methods cell biol . 43 : 353 - 365 ( 1994 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ; ( 3 ) viral vectors ( clapp , clin . perinatol ., 20 : 155 - 168 ( 1993 ); lu et al ., j . exp . med ., 178 : 2089 - 2096 ( 1993 ); eglitis and anderson , biotechniques , 6 : 608 - 614 ( 1988 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ); and ( 4 ) receptor - mediated mechanisms ( curiel et al ., hum . gen . ther ., 3 : 147 - 154 ( 1992 ); wagner et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa , 89 : 6099 - 6103 ( 1992 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ). acceleration methods that may be used include , for example , microprojectile bombardment and the like . one example of a method for delivering transforming nucleic acid molecules to plant cells is microprojectile bombardment . this method has been reviewed by yang and christou , eds ., particle bombardment technology for gene transfer , oxford press , oxford , england ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). non - biological particles ( microprojectiles ) that may be coated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propelling force . exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten , gold , platinum , and the like . a particular advantage of microprojectile bombardment , in addition to it being an effective means of reproducibly , and stably transforming monocotyledons , is that neither the isolation of protoplasts ( cristou et al ., plant physiol . 87 : 671 - 674 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) nor the susceptibility of agrobacterium infection is required . an illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering dna into maize cells by acceleration is a biolistics g - particle delivery system , which can be used to propel particles coated with dna through a screen , such as a stainless steel or nytex screen , onto a filter surface covered with corn cells cultured in suspension . gordon - kamm et al ., describes the basic procedure for coating tungsten particles with dna ( gordon - kamm et al ., plant cell 2 : 603 - 618 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). the screen disperses the tungsten nucleic acid particles so that they are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates . a particle delivery system suitable for use with the present invention is the helium acceleration pds - 1000 / he gun which is available from bio - rad laboratories ( bio - rad , hercules , california ) ( sanford et al ., technique 3 : 3 - 16 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). for the bombardment , cells in suspension may be concentrated on filters . filters containing the cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriate distance below the microprojectile stopping plate . if desired , one or more screens are also positioned between the gun and the cells to be bombarded . alternatively , immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culture medium . the cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriate distance below the macroprojectile stopping plate . if desired , one or more screens are also positioned between the acceleration device and the cells to be bombarded . through the use of techniques set forth herein one may obtain up to 1000 or more foci of cells transiently expressing a marker gene . the number of cells in a focus which express the exogenous gene product 48 hours post - bombardment often range from one to ten and average one to three . in bombardment transformation , one may optimize the prebombardment culturing conditions and the bombardment parameters to yield the maximum numbers of stable transformants . both the physical and biological parameters for bombardment are important in this technology . physical factors are those that involve manipulating the dna / microprojectile precipitate or those that affect the flight and velocity of either the macro - or microprojectiles . biological factors include all steps involved in manipulation of cells before and immediately after bombardment , the osmotic adjustment of target cells to help alleviate the trauma associated with bombardment , and also the nature of the transforming dna , such as linearized dna or intact supercoiled plasmids . it is believed that pre - bombardment manipulations are especially important for successful transformation of immature embryos . in another alternative embodiment , plastids can be stably transformed . methods disclosed for plastid transformation in higher plants include the particle gun delivery of dna containing a selectable marker and targeting of the dna to the plastid genome through homologous recombination ( svab et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 87 : 8526 - 8530 ( 1990 ); svab and maliga , proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 90 : 913 - 917 ( 1993 ); staub and maliga , embo j . 12 : 601 - 606 ( 1993 ); u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 451 , 513 and 5 , 545 , 818 , all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety ). accordingly , it is contemplated that one may wish to adjust various aspects of the bombardment parameters in small scale studies to fully optimize the conditions . one may particularly wish to adjust physical parameters such as gap distance , flight distance , tissue distance , and helium pressure . one may also minimize the trauma reduction factors by modifying conditions which influence the physiological state of the recipient cells and which may therefore influence transformation and integration efficiencies . for example , the osmotic state , tissue hydration and the subculture stage or cell cycle of the recipient cells may be adjusted for optimum transformation . the execution of other routine adjustments will be known to those of skill in the art in light of the present disclosure . agrobacterium - mediated transfer is a widely applicable system for introducing genes into plant cells because the dna can be introduced into whole plant tissues , thereby bypassing the need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast . the use of agrobacterium - mediated plant integrating vectors to introduce dna into plant cells is well known in the art . see , for example the methods described ( fraley et al ., biotechnology 3 : 629 - 635 ( 1985 ); rogers et al ., meth . in enzymol , 153 : 253 - 277 ( 1987 ), both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety . further , the integration of the ti - dna is a relatively precise process resulting in few rearrangements . the region of dna to be transferred is defined by the border sequences , and intervening dna is usually inserted into the plant genome as described ( spielmann et al ., mol . gen . genet ., 205 : 34 ( 1986 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). modern agrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in e . coli as well as agrobacterium , allowing for convenient manipulations as described ( klee et al ., in : plant dna infectious agents , t . hohn and j . schell , eds ., springer - verlag , new york , pp . 179 - 203 ( 1985 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference . moreover , recent technological advances in vectors for agrobacterium - mediated gene transfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites in the vectors to facilitate construction of vectors capable of expressing various polypeptide coding genes . the vectors described have convenient multi - linker regions flanked by a promoter and a polyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptide coding genes and are suitable for present purposes ( rogers et al ., meth . in enzymol ., 153 : 253 - 277 ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). in addition , agrobacterium containing both armed and disarmed ti genes can be used for the transformations . in those plant strains where agrobacterium - mediated transformation is efficient , it is the method of choice because of the facile and defined nature of the gene transfer . a transgenic plant formed using agrobacterium transformation methods typically contains a single gene on one chromosome . such transgenic plants can be referred to as being heterozygous for the added gene . more preferred is a transgenic plant that is homozygous for the added structural gene ; i . e ., a transgenic plant that contains two added genes , one gene at the same locus on each chromosome of a chromosome pair . a homozygous transgenic plant can be obtained by sexually mating ( selfing ) an independent segregant transgenic plant that contains a single added gene , germinating some of the seed produced and analyzing the resulting plants produced for the gene of interest . it is also to be understood that two different transgenic plants can also be mated to produce offspring that contain two independently segregating added , exogenous genes . selfing of appropriate progeny can produce plants that are homozygous for both added , exogenous genes that encode a polypeptide of interest . back - crossing to a parental plant and out - crossing with a non - transgenic plant are also contemplated , as is vegetative propagation . transformation of plant protoplasts can be achieved using methods based on calcium phosphate precipitation , polyethylene glycol treatment , electroporation , and combinations of these treatments . see for example ( potrykus et al ., mol . gen . genet ., 205 : 193 - 200 ( 1986 ); lorz et al ., mol . gen . genet ., 199 : 178 , ( 1985 ); fromm et al ., nature , 319 : 791 , ( 1986 ); uchimiya et al ., mol . gen . genet . : 204 : 204 , ( 1986 ); callis et al ., genes and development , 1183 , ( 1987 ); marcotte et al ., nature , 335 : 454 , ( 1988 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ). application of these systems to different plant strains depends upon the ability to regenerate that particular plant strain from protoplasts . illustrative methods for the regeneration of cereals from protoplasts are described ( fujimura et al ., plant tissue culture letters , 2 : 74 , ( 1985 ); toriyama et al ., theor appl . genet . 205 : 34 . ( 1986 ); yamada et al ., plant cell rep ., 4 : 85 , ( 1986 ); abdullah et al ., biotechnology , 4 : 1087 , ( 1986 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ). to transform plant strains that cannot be successfully regenerated from protoplasts , other ways to introduce dna into intact cells or tissues can be utilized . for example , regeneration of cereals from immature embryos or explants can be effected as described ( vasil , biotechnology , 6 : 397 , ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). in addition , “ particle gun ” or high - velocity microprojectile technology can be utilized ( vasil et al ., bio / technology 10 : 667 , ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). using the latter technology , dna is carried through the cell wall and into the cytoplasm on the surface of small metal particles as described ( klein et al ., nature , 328 : 70 , ( 1987 ); klein et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa , 85 : 8502 - 8505 , ( 1988 ); mccabe et al ., biotechnology , 6 : 923 , ( 1988 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ). the metal particles penetrate through several layers of cells and thus allow the transformation of cells within tissue explants . other methods of cell transformation can also be used and include but are not limited to introduction of dna into plants by direct dna transfer into pollen , hess et al ., intern rev . cytol ., 107 : 367 , ( 1987 ); luo et al ., plant mol . biol . reporter , 6 : 165 , ( 1988 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ), by direct injection of dna into reproductive organs of a plant ( pena et al ., nature , 325 : 274 , ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), or by direct injection of dna into the cells of immature embryos followed by the rehydration of desiccated embryos ( neuhaus et al ., theor . appl . genet ., 75 : 30 , ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). the regeneration , development , and cultivation of plants from single plant protoplast transformants or from various transformed explants is well known in the art ( weissbach and weissbach , in : methods for plant molecular biology , ( eds . ), academic press , inc . san diego , calif ., ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). this regeneration and growth process typically includes the steps of selection of transformed cells , culturing those individualized cells through the usual stages of embryonic development through the rooted plantlet stage . transgenic embryos and seeds are similarly regenerated . the resulting transgenic rooted shoots are thereafter planted in an appropriate plant growth medium such as soil . the development or regeneration of plants containing the foreign , exogenous gene that encodes a protein of interest is well known in the art . preferably , the regenerated plants are self - pollinated to provide homozygous transgenic plants , as discussed before . otherwise , pollen obtained from the regenerated plants is crossed to seed - grown plants of agronomically important lines . conversely , pollen from plants of these important lines is used to pollinate regenerated plants . a transgenic plant of the present invention containing a desired polypeptide is cultivated using methods well known to one skilled in the art . there are a variety of methods for the regeneration of plants from plant tissue . the particular method of regeneration will depend on the starting plant tissue and the particular plant species to be regenerated . methods for transforming dicots , primarily by use of agrobacterium tumefaciens , and obtaining transgenic plants have been published for cotton ( u . s . pat . no . 5 , 004 , 863 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 159 , 135 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 518 , 908 , all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ); soybean ( u . s . pat . no . 5 , 569 , 834 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 416 , 011 , mccabe et al ., biotechnology 6 : 923 , ( 1988 ), christou et al ., plant physiol ., 87 : 671 - 674 ( 1988 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ); brassica ( u . s . pat . no . 5 , 463 , 174 , the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); peanut ( cheng et al ., plant cell rep . 15 : 653 - 657 ( 1996 ), mckently et al ., plant cell rep . 14 : 699 - 703 ( 1995 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ); papaya ( yang et al ., ( 1996 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); pea ( grant et al ., plant cell rep . 15 : 254 - 258 , ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). transformation of monocotyledons using electroporation , particle bombardment , and agrobacterium have also been reported . transformation and plant regeneration have been achieved in asparagus ( bytebier et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 84 : 5345 , ( 1987 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); barley ( wan and lemaux , plant physiol 104 : 37 , ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); maize ( rhodes et al ., science 240 : 204 , ( 1988 ), gordon - kamm et al ., plant cell , 2 : 603 , ( 1990 ), fromm et al ., bio / technology 8 : 833 , ( 1990 ), koziel et al ., bio / technology 11 : 194 , ( 1993 ), armstrong et al ., crop science 35 : 550 - 557 , ( 1995 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ); oat ( somers et al ., bio / technology , 10 : 1589 , ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); orchardgrass ( horn et al ., plant cell rep . 7 : 469 , ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); rice ( toriyama et al ., theor appl . genet . 205 : 34 , ( 1986 ); park et al ., plant mol . biol ., 32 : 1135 - 1148 , ( 1996 ); abedinia et al ., aust . j . plant physiol . 24 : 133 - 141 , ( 1997 ); zhang and wu , theor . appl . genet . 76 : 835 , ( 1988 ); zhang et al . plant cell rep . 7 : 379 , ( 1988 ); battraw and hall , plant sci . 86 : 191 - 202 , ( 1992 ); christou et al ., bio / technology 9 : 957 , ( 1991 ), all of which the entirety is herein incorporated by reference ); sugarcane ( bower and birch , plant j . 2 : 409 , ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ); tall fescue ( wang et al ., bio / technology 10 : 691 , ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ), and wheat ( vasil et al ., bio / technology 10 : 667 , ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 631 , 152 , the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference . assays for gene expression based on the transient expression of cloned nucleic acid constructs have been developed by introducing the nucleic acid molecules into plant cells by polyethylene glycol treatment , electroporation , or particle bombardment ( marcotte , et al ., nature , 335 : 454 - 457 ( 1988 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; marcotte , et al ., plant cell , 1 : 523 - 532 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; mccarty , et al ., cell 66 : 895 - 905 ( 1991 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; hattori , et al ., genes dev . 6 : 609 - 618 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; goff , et al ., embo j . 9 : 2517 - 2522 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). transient expression systems may be used to functionally dissect gene constructs ( see generally , mailga et al ., methods in plant molecular biology , cold spring harbor press ( 1995 )). any of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be introduced into a plant cell in a permanent or transient manner in combination with other genetic elements such as vectors , promoters enhancers etc . further any of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be introduced into a plant cell in a manner that allows for over expression of the protein or fragment thereof encoded by the nucleic acid molecule . cosuppression is the reduction in expression levels , usually at the level of rna , of a particular endogenous gene or gene family by the expression of a homologous sense construct that is capable of transcribing mrna of the same strandedness as the transcript of the endogenous gene ( napoli et al ., plant cell 2 : 279 - 289 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; van der krol et al ., plant cell 2 : 291 - 299 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). cosuppression may result from stable transformation with a single copy nucleic acid molecule that is homologous to a nucleic acid sequence found with the cell ( prolls and meyer , plant j 2 : 465 - 475 ( 1992 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) or with multiple copies of a nucleic acid molecule that is homologous to a nucleic acid sequence found with the cell ( mittlesten et al ., mol . gen . genet . 244 : 325 - 330 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). genes , even though different , linked to homologous promoters may result in the cosuppression of the linked genes ( vaucheret , c . r . acad . sci . iii 316 : 1471 - 1483 ( 1993 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). this technique has , for example been applied to generate white flowers from red petunia and tomatoes that do not ripen on the vine . up to 50 % of petunia transformants that contained a sense copy of the chalcone synthase ( chs ) gene produced white flowers or floral sectors ; this was as a result of the post - transcriptional loss of mrna encoding chs ( flavell , proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 91 : 3490 - 3496 ( 1994 )), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). cosuppression may require the coordinate transcription of the transgene and the endogenous gene , and can be reset by a developmental control mechanism ( jorgensen , trends biotechnol , 8 : 340344 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; meins and kunz , in : gene inactivation and homologous recombination in plants ( paszkowski , j ., ed . ), pp . 335 - 348 . kluwer academic , netherlands ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). it is understood that one or more of the nucleic acids of the present invention including those comprising seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or complement thereof or fragments of either or other nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be introduced into a plant cell and transcribed using an appropriate promoter with such transcription resulting in the co - suppression of an endogenous protein . antisense approaches are a way of preventing or reducing gene function by targeting the genetic material ( mol et al ., febs lett . 268 : 427 - 430 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). the objective of the antisense approach is to use a sequence complementary to the target gene to block its expression and create a mutant cell line or organism in which the level of a single chosen protein is selectively reduced or abolished . antisense techniques have several advantages over other ‘ reverse genetic ’ approaches . the site of inactivation and its developmental effect can be manipulated by the choice of promoter for antisense genes or by the timing of external application or microinjection . antisense can manipulate its specificity by selecting either unique regions of the target gene or regions where it shares homology to other related genes ( hiatt et al ., in genetic engineering , setlow ( ed . ), vol . 11 , new york : plenum 49 - 63 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). the principle of regulation by antisense rna is that rna that is complementary to the target mrna is introduced into cells , resulting in specific rna : rna duplexes being formed by base pairing between the antisense substrate and the target mrna ( green et al ., annu . rev . biochem . 55 : 569 - 597 ( 1986 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). under one embodiment , the process involves the introduction and expression of an antisense gene sequence . such a sequence is one in which part or all of the normal gene sequences are placed under a promoter in inverted orientation so that the ‘ wrong ’ or complementary strand is transcribed into a noncoding antisense rna that hybridizes with the target mrna and interferes with its expression ( takayama and inouye , crit . rev . biochem . mol . biol . 25 : 155 - 184 ( 1990 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). an antisense vector is constructed by standard procedures and introduced into cells by transformation , transfection , electroporation , microinjection , or by infection , etc . the type of transformation and choice of vector will determine whether expression is transient or stable . the promoter used for the antisense gene may influence the level , timing , tissue , specificity , or inducibility of the antisense inhibition . it is understood that protein synthesis activity in a plant cell may be reduced or depressed by growing a transformed plant cell containing a nucleic acid molecule whose non - transcribed strand encodes a protein or fragment thereof . antibodies have been expressed in plants ( hiatt et al ., nature 342 : 76 - 78 ( 1989 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; conrad and fielder , plant mol . biol . 26 : 1023 - 1030 ( 1994 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). cytoplamic expression of a scfv ( single - chain fv antibodies ) has been reported to delay infection by artichoke mottled crinkle virus . transgenic plants that express antibodies directed against endogenous proteins may exhibit a physiological effect ( philips et al ., embo j . 16 : 4489 - 4496 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; marion - poll , trends in plant science 2 : 447 - 448 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). for example , expressed anti - abscisic antibodies reportedly result in a general perturbation of seed development ( philips et al ., embo j . 16 : 4489 - 4496 ( 1997 )). antibodies that are catalytic may also be expressed in plants ( abzyrnes ). the principle behind abzymes is that since antibodies may be raised against many molecules , this recognition ability can be directed toward generating antibodies that bind transition states to force a chemical reaction forward ( persidas , nature biotechnology 15 : 1313 - 1315 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; baca et al ., ann . rev . biophys . biomol . struct . 26 : 461 - 493 ( 1997 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). the catalytic abilities of abzymes may be enhanced by site directed mutagensis . examples of abzymes are , for example , set forth in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 658 , 753 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 632 , 990 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 631 , 137 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 602 , 015 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 559 , 538 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 576 , 174 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 500 , 358 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 318 , 897 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 298 , 409 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 258 , 289 and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 194 , 585 , all of which are herein incorporated in their entirety . it is understood that any of the antibodies of the present invention may be expressed in plants and that such expression can result in a physiological effect . it is also understood that any of the expressed antibodies may be catalytic . in addition to the above discussed procedures , practitioners are familiar with the standard resource materials which describe specific conditions and procedures for the construction , manipulation and isolation of macromolecules ( e . g ., dna molecules , plasmids , etc . ), generation of recombinant organisms and the screening and isolating of clones , ( see for example , sambrook et al ., molecular cloning : a laboratory manual , cold spring harbor press ( 1989 ); mailga et al ., methods in plant molecular biology , cold spring harbor press ( 1995 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ; birren et al ., genome analysis : analyzing dna , 1 , cold spring harbor , n . y ., the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). the nucleotide sequence provided in seq id no : 1 , through seq id no : 27278 or fragment thereof , or complement thereof , or a nucleotide sequence at least 90 % identical , preferably 95 %, identical even more preferably 99 % or 100 % identical to the sequence provided in seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 27278 or fragment thereof , or complement thereof , can be “ provided ” in a variety of mediums to facilitate use fragment thereof . such a medium can also provide a subset thereof in a form that allows a skilled artisan to examine the sequences . in one application of this embodiment , a nucleotide sequence of the present invention can be recorded on computer readable media . as used herein , “ computer readable media ” refers to any medium that can be read and accessed directly by a computer . such media include , but are not limited to : magnetic storage media , such as floppy discs , hard disc , storage medium , and magnetic tape : optical storage media such as cd - rom ; electrical storage media such as ram and rom ; and hybrids of these categories such as magnetic / optical storage media . a skilled artisan can readily appreciate how any of the presently known computer readable mediums can be used to create a manufacture comprising computer readable medium having recorded thereon a nucleotide sequence of the present invention . as used herein , “ recorded ” refers to a process for storing information on computer readable medium . a skilled artisan can readily adopt any of the presently known methods for recording information on computer readable medium to generate media comprising the nucleotide sequence information of the present invention . a variety of data storage structures are available to a skilled artisan for creating a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a nucleotide sequence of the present invention . the choice of the data storage structure will generally be based on the means chosen to access the stored information . in addition , a variety of data processor programs and formats can be used to store the nucleotide sequence information of the present invention on computer readable medium . the sequence information can be represented in a word processing text file , formatted in commercially - available software such as wordperfect and microsoft word , or represented in the form of an ascii file , stored in a database application , such as db2 , sybase , oracle , or the like . a skilled artisan can readily adapt any number of data processor structuring formats ( e . g . text file or database ) in order to obtain computer readable medium having recorded thereon the nucleotide sequence information of the present invention . by providing one or more of nucleotide sequences of the present invention , a skilled artisan can routinely access the sequence information for a variety of purposes . computer software is publicly available which allows a skilled artisan to access sequence information provided in a computer readable medium . the examples which follow demonstrate how software which implements the blast ( altschul et al ., j . mol . biol . 215 : 403 - 410 ( 1990 )) and blaze ( brutlag et al ., comp . chem . 17 : 203 - 207 ( 1993 ), the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ) search algorithms on a sybase system can be used to identify open reading frames ( orfs ) within the genome that contain homology to orfs or proteins from other organisms . such orfs are protein - encoding fragments within the sequences of the present invention and are useful in producing commercially important proteins such as enzymes used in amino acid biosynthesis , metabolism , transcription , translation , rna processing , nucleic acid and a protein degradation , protein modification , and dna replication , restriction , modification , recombination , and repair . the present invention further provides systems , particularly computer - based systems , which contain the sequence information described herein . such systems are designed to identify commercially important fragments of the nucleic acid molecule of the present invention . as used herein , “ a computer - based system ” refers to the hardware means , software means , and data storage means used to analyze the nucleotide sequence information of the present invention . the minimum hardware means of the computer - based systems of the present invention comprises a central processing unit ( cpu ), input means , output means , and data storage means . a skilled artisan can readily appreciate that any one of the currently available computer - based system are suitable for use in the present invention . as indicated above , the computer - based systems of the present invention comprise a data storage means having stored therein a nucleotide sequence of the present invention and the necessary hardware means and software means for supporting and implementing a search means . as used herein , “ data storage means ” refers to memory that can store nucleotide sequence information of the present invention , or a memory access means which can access manufactures having recorded thereon the nucleotide sequence information of the present invention . as used herein , “ search means ” refers to one or more programs which are implemented on the computer - based system to compare a target sequence or target structural motif with the sequence information stored within the data storage means . search means are used to identify fragments or regions of the sequence of the present invention that match a particular target sequence or target motif . a variety of known algorithms are disclosed publicly and a variety of commercially available software for conducting search means are available and can be used in the computer - based systems of the present invention . examples of such software include , but are not limited to , macpattern ( embl ), blastin and blastix ( ncbia ). one of the available algorithms or implementing software packages for conducting homology searches can be adapted for use in the present computer - based systems . the most preferred sequence length of a target sequence is from about 10 to 100 amino acids or from about 30 to 300 nucleotide residues . however , it is well recognized that during searches for commercially important fragments of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention , such as sequence fragments involved in gene expression and protein processing , may be of shorter length . as used herein , “ a target structural motif ,” or “ target motif ,” refers to any rationally selected sequence or combination of sequences in which the sequences or sequence ( s ) are chosen based on a three - dimensional configuration which is formed upon the folding of the target motif . there are a variety of target motifs known in the art . protein target motifs include , but are not limited to , enzymatic active sites and signal sequences . nucleic acid target motifs include , but are not limited to , promoter sequences , cis elements , hairpin structures and inducible expression elements ( protein binding sequences ). thus , the present invention further provides an input means for receiving a target sequence , a data storage means for storing the target sequences of the present invention sequence identified using a search means as described above , and an output means for outputting the identified homologous sequences . a variety of structural formats for the input and output means can be used to input and output information in the computer - based systems of the present invention . a preferred format for an output means ranks fragments of the sequence of the present invention by varying degrees of homology to the target sequence or target motif . such presentation provides a skilled artisan with a ranking of sequences which contain various amounts of the target sequence or target motif and identifies the degree of homology contained in the identified fragment . a variety of comparing means can be used to compare a target sequence or target motif with the data storage means to identify sequence fragments sequence of the present invention . for example , implementing software which implement the blast and blaze algorithms ( altschul et al ., j . mol . biol . 215 : 403 - 410 ( 1990 )) can be used to identify open frames within the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention . a skilled artisan can readily recognize that any one of the publicly available homology search programs can be used as the search means for the computer - based systems of the present invention . having now generally described the invention , the same will be more readily understood through reference to the following examples which are provided by way of illustration , and are not intended to be limiting of the present invention , unless specified . the soymon018 cdna library is generated from soybean cultivar asgrow 3244 ( asgrow seed company , des moines , iowa u . s . a .) leaf tissue harvested 45 and 55 days post - flowering . leaves from field grown plants are harvested 45 and 55 days after flowering from the fourth node . approximately 27 g and 33 g of seeds are harvested from the respective seed pods and immediately frozen in dry ice . the harvested tissue is then stored at − 80 ° c . until rna preparation . seq id no : 1 through seq id no : 21357 are from soymon018 the cdna library is constructed as described in example 2 . the soymon028 cdna library is generated from soybean cultivar asgrow 3244 ( asgrow seed company , des moines , iowa u . s . a .) drought - stressed root tissue . seeds are planted in moist metromix 350 medium at a depth of approximately 2 cm in trays . the trays are placed in an environmental chamber set to a 12 h day / 12 h night cycle , 26 ° c . daytime temperature , 21 ° c . night temperature and 70 % relative humidity . daytime light levels are measured at 300μ einsteins / m 2 . soil is checked and watered daily to maintain even moisture conditions . at the r3 stage of development , water is withheld from half of the plant collection ( drought stressed population ). after 3 days , half of the plants from the drought stressed condition and half of the plants from the control population are harvested . after another 3 days ( 6 days post drought induction ) the remaining plants are harvested . a total of 27 g and 40 g of root tissue is harvested from plants at two time points and immediately frozen in dry ice . the harvested tissue is then stored at − 80 ° c . until rna preparation . total rna is prepared from the combination of equal amounts of drought stressed root tissue from both time points and the cdna library is constructed as described in example 2 . seq id no : 21358 through seq id no : 27278 are from soymon028 . the stored rna is purified using trizol reagent from life technologies ( gibco brl , life technologies , gaithersburg , md . u . s . a . ), essentially as recommended by the manufacturer . poly a + rna ( mrna ) is purified using magnetic oligo dt beads essentially as recommended by the manufacturer ( dynabeads , dynal corporation , lake success , new york u . s . a .). construction of plant cdna libraries is well - known in the art and a number of cloning strategies exist . a number of cdna library construction kits are commercially available . the superscript ™ plasmid system for cdna synthesis and plasmid cloning ( gibco brl , life technologies , gaithersburg , md . u . s . a .) is used , following the conditions suggested by the manufacturer . normalized libraries are made using essentially the soares procedure ( soares et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . ( u . s . a .) 91 : 9228 - 9232 ( 1994 )). this approach is designed to reduce the initial 10 , 000 - fold variation in individual cdna frequencies to achieve abundances within one order of magnitude while maintaining the overall sequence complexity of the library . in the normalization process , the prevalence of high - abundance cdna clones decreases dramatically , clones with mid - level abundance are relatively unaffected and clones for rare transcripts are effectively increased in abundance . normalized libraries are prepared from single - stranded and double - stranded dna . single - stranded and double - stranded dna representing approximately 1 × 10 6 colony forming units are isolated using standard protocols . rna , complementary to the single - stranded dna , is synthesized using the double stranded dna as a template . biotinylated datp is incorporated into the rna during the synthesis reaction . the single - stranded dna is mixed with the biotinylated rna in a 1 : 10 molar ratio ) and allowed to hybridize . dna - rna hybrids are captured on dynabeads m280 streptavidin ( dynabeads , dynal corporation , lake success , new york u . s . a .). the dynabeads with captured hybrids are collected with a magnet . the non - hybridized single - stranded molecules remaining after hybrid capture are converted to double stranded form and represent the primary normalized library . the cdna libraries are plated on lb agar containing the appropriate antibiotics for selection and incubated at 37 ° for a sufficient time to allow the growth of individual colonies . single colonies are individually placed in each well of a 96 - well microtiter plates containing lb liquid including the selective antibiotics . the plates are incubated overnight at approximately 37 ° c . with gentle shaking to promote growth of the cultures . the plasmid dna is isolated from each clone using qiaprep plasmid isolation kits , using the conditions recommended by the manufacturer ( qiagen inc ., santa clara , calif . u . s . a .). the template plasmid dna clones are used for subsequent sequencing . for sequencing the cdna libraries of soymon018 , and soymon028 , a commercially available sequencing kit , such as the abi prism drhodamine terminator cycle sequencing ready reaction kit with amplitaq ® dna polymerase , fs , is used under the conditions recommended by the manufacturer ( pe applied biosysteins , foster city , calif .). the ests of the present invention are generated by sequencing initiated from the 5 ′ end of each cdna clone . a number of sequencing techniques are known in the art , including fluorescence - based sequencing methodologies . these methods have the detection , automation and instrumentation capability necessary for the analysis of large volumes of sequence data . currently , the 377 dna sequencer ( perkin - elmer corp ., applied biosystems div ., foster city , calif .) allows the most rapid electrophoresis and data collection . with these types of automated systems , fluorescent dye - labeled sequence reaction products are detected and data entered directly into the computer , producing a chromatogram that is subsequently viewed , stored , and analyzed using the corresponding software programs . these methods are known to those of skill in the art and have been described and reviewed ( birren et al ., genome analysis : analyzing dna , 1 , cold spring harbor , n . y ., the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference ). | 2 |
the alkynols utilized in the present invention are well known compounds which are readily commercially available . there may be employed primary , secondary or tertiary alkynols of the general formula ## str1 ## wherein r 1 and r 2 are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , alkyl , cycloaklyl , or carbocycloaryl , wherein the alkyl groups contain from 1 - 12 , the cycloalkyl contain from 3 - 12 and the carbocycloaryl groups contain from 5 - 12 carbon atoms respectively , and r 1 and r 2 may be the same or different . as examples of primary alkynols that may be mentioned 1 - propyn - 2 - ol ; 1 - butyn - 4 - ol and 3 - hexyn - 1 - ol . as examples of secondary alkynols that may be mentioned 1 - butyn - 3 - ol ; 1 - pentyn - 3 - ol ; 4 - methyl - 1 - pentyn - 3 - ol and 3 - phenyl - 1 - propyn - 3 - ol . as examples of tertiary alkynols that may be mentioned 3 - methyl - 1 - butyn - 3 - ol ; 3 - methyl - 1 - pentyn - 3 - ol ; 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 1 - hexyn - 3 - ol ; 3 - methyl - 1 - nonyn - 3 - ol ; 3 - phenyl - 1 - butyn - 3 - ol and 1 - ethynylcyclohexanol . it is especially preferred to utilize tertiary alkynols such as 3 - methyl - 1 - butyn - 3 - ol and 3 - methyl - 1 - pentyn - 3 - ol . the increase in efficiency is fairly directly related to the amount of alkynol utilized . thus , at a ratio of about one part of alkynol to about 150 parts of regular gasoline in the tank ( circa . 6 parts of alkynol per 1000 parts of gasoline or about 400 ml . of alkynol per 16 gallons of gasoline ), there is noticed a mileage improvement of about four miles / gallon in 20 m . p . g . while at a ratio of 1 to 1020 ( 0 . 97 parts per thousand or 200 ml . of alkynol per 16 gallons of gas ) the change is only about 1 mile / gallon in 20 miles per gallon . where the alkynol is aspirated the improvement is even greater . while the invention is not to be considered as limited to the use of about one pint of alkynol per 16 gallons of gas , the use of larger amounts would probably not be cost effective . the alkynols may suitably be compounded with other non - acetylenic additives to economically formulate various fuel additive mixtures . such additives include alcohols , sitably lower alkanols of 1 - 5 carbon atoms , such as methanol , ethanol , isopropanol , n - butanol , secondary butanol , tertiary butanol ; lower dialkylethers of 1 - 5 carbon atoms , peralkyl moiety , diethylether , di - n - propylether , diisopropylether , methyl - tertiary - butylether , lower alkanes of 1 - 10 carbons , n - pentane , n - hexane , n - heptane , isooctane ; phenyl lower alkanes such as toluene xylenes and isomers of the preceeding hydrocarbons ; n , n - dimetylformamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide , low molecular weight ketones and esters and amines . where an additive is utilized , the total composition may contain between 5 and 80 % alkanol and between 20 and 80 % of alkanol and between 0 and 10 % of water . the composition which is employed will depend somewhat upon the mode of application of the additive mixture . thus where the additive mixture is added to the gas tank or other fuel reservoir the composition will be a matter of choice and might well be guided more by other factors , for example , the desirability of reducing fuel line freeze and the like . however , where the additive is used in the aspirator , it is preferable that the amount of alkynol not exceed 50 , suitably 46 %. indeed , compositions containing between 10 and 20 % of the alkynol are entirely satisfactory . the aspirator comprises a container 1 , suitably of cylindrical shape and constructed of a solvent resistant plastic , of glass , or of metal . the neck of vessel 1 is provided with a closure means 2 , suitably a screw top or tight stopper through which are journaled two openings thru which pass tubes 3 and 5 . the lower end of tube 3 projects slightly below closure means 2 . the upper end is securable into the air flow system of the burning means , for example , pcv return line 4 . the tube 5 protrudes into the lower portion of vessel 1 and is provided at the lower end thereof with a fritted or porous sparger piece 7 . the upper end of tube 5 is provided with an air needle valve 6 . the additive mixture is charged to vessel 1 to a level above sparger piece 7 and below the lower end of tube 3 . in the operation of the device the normal air flow thru the pcv system , or any other air intake system reduces the air pressure in the vessel above the additive mixture . this reduced pressure causes air to flow thru needle valve 6 down tube 5 and thru porous sparger 7 thus carrying air saturated with additive into the air space from which it is thence drawn into the engine . the amount of air flow can be controlled by valve 6 in the conventional manner . to 20 gallons of leaded or non - leaded gasoline is added 200 - 300 ml . ( 0 . 053 - 0 . 079 gal .) of a typical additive mixture shown below , the composition of which is expressed in volume - percent . ______________________________________formulation avolume - percent component______________________________________ 5 3 - methyl - 1 - butyn - 3 - ol40 methanol20 hexane15 toluene15 diisopropyl ether 5 n , n -- dimethylformamide______________________________________ with each new , 20 gallon addition of gasoline to the car tank , a 100 - 150 ml . portion of the above mixture is added to the gasoline tank . although the mixture is completely miscible in gasoline and related hydrocarbons , a rocking motion imparted to the car helps facilitate initial mixing . the aspirator vessel is filled to approximately 85 - 90 % of capacity with the following mixture : ______________________________________formulation bvolume - percent component______________________________________10 3 - methyl - 1 - butyn - 3 - ol20 isopropanol ( 20 propanol ) 40 methanol25 n - hexane 5 water______________________________________ ______________________________________formulation cvolume - percent component______________________________________10 3 - methyl - 1 - butyn - 3 - ol35 methanol10 toluene 5 diisopropyl ether 5 n , n -- dimethylformamide35 isopropanol ( 2 - propanol ) ______________________________________ in accordance with the procedures of examples i and ii in place of 3 - methyl - 1 - butyn - 3 - ol , there may be utilized any of the alkynols disclosed in the present specification , together with any of the alkanols similarly disclosed . table i__________________________________________________________________________highway mileage performance tests - alkynol based fuel saving mixtures total gallons car mileageadditive tank car ( mi ./ gal . ) formulation method car type gals . fuel additive miles additive control__________________________________________________________________________i a + b tank addit . + 1974 dodge swinger 758 2 . 01 14 , 400 19 aspiration none control 1974 dodge swinger 938 0 . 0 15 , 000 -- 16ii a + b tank addit . + 1972 dodge coronet aspiration trips : 1 . tank addit . + 60 0 . 160 1 , 250 21 aspiration 2 . tank addit . + 31 0 . 082 590 19 aspiration 3 . tank addit . + 152 0 . 210 3 , 200 21 aspiration 4 . tank addit . + 100 0 . 265 2 , 000 20 aspiration 5 . tank addit . + 13 0 . 034 263 20 aspiration 6 . tank addit . + 40 0 . 106 848 21 aspiration 7 . tank addit . only 45 0 . 119 851 19 total 365 0 . 976 7 , 402 av . 20 none control 1972 dodge coronet 8 . av . highway 311 0 . 0 5 , 286 17 9 . av . city 309 0 . 0 4 , 320 14iii c tank addit . 1973 ford ltd 77 0 . 31 1 , 028 13 . 4 station wagon control 1973 ford ltd 87 0 . 0 983 11 . 3 station wagon__________________________________________________________________________ mainly daily highway driving from east st . louis to baldwin , mo .- 60 miles per day and 5 days per week ; total mileage 14 , 400 miles using both the tank - additive ( formulation a ) and aspiration ( formulation b ) methods described in example i . test i was carried out during 1975 using as test vehicle , a 1974 dodge swinger . 8 cylinder car , 318 engine ( 48 h . p .). the amounts of formulations a and b that were used are the quantities described in example i . total consumption of additives and gasoline are summarized in tables i and ii . comprises 7 separate trips using as test vehicle , a 1972 dodge coornet , 8 cylinder , 318 engine ( 48 h . p .). the tank - additive and aspirator quantities are the same as in test i . trip ( 1 ) east st . louis to columbia , mo .- 250 miles round - trip ; total mileage 1250 miles for 5 identical trips ( 1975 - 1979 ). trip ( 2 ) east st . louis to chicago , ill .- 590 miles round - trip ( 1976 ). trip ( 3 ) east st . louis to lynchburg , va .- 1600 miles round - trip ; total mileage 3200 miles for two similar trips ( 1977 , 1978 ). trip ( 4 ) east st . louis to fallsburg , n . y .- 2 , 000 miles round - trip ( 1978 ). trip ( 5 ) east st . louis to columbia , mo .- 263 miles round - trip ( 1979 ). trip ( 6 ) east st . louis to washington , d . c .- 848 miles one - way ( 1979 ). trip ( 7 ) washington , d . c . to east st . louis - 848 miles one - way ( 1979 ); tank - mix additive only used . local winter driving during 1978 - 1979 at whitehouse station , n . j ., using as test vehicle a 1973 ford ltd station wagon , 400 standard engine ( 460 cu . in ); tank additive only used as formulation c , example ii . table ii__________________________________________________________________________highway fuel economics based on table i datagallons - fuel or additive gal . tank aspir .. sup . ( 1 ) total total mileage fuel . sup . ( 2 ) ratio fuel : test formulation fuel addit . addit . addit . car miles ( mi . gal .) saved total addit . __________________________________________________________________________i a + b 758 2 . 01 4 . 35 6 . 36 14 , 400 19 143 119i control 901 0 . 0 0 . 0 0 . 0 14 , 400 16 0 0ii . sup . ( 3 ) a + b 365 0 . 98 2 . 30 3 . 28 7 , 402 20 70 111 ( trips 1 - 7 ) ii control 435 0 . 0 0 . 0 0 . 0 7 , 402 17 0 0iii tank addit . 77 0 . 31 0 . 0 0 . 31 1 , 028 13 . 4 14 248iii control 91 0 . 0 0 . 0 0 . 0 1 , 028 11 . 3 0 0__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . ( 1 ) aspirator formulation usage is 0 . 528 gallons ( 2 . 0 liters ) per 1 , 700 miles highway travel . . sup . ( 2 ) fuel savings is equal to total mileage used with additives ( addit .) minus the control ; tests i , ii , iii . . sup . ( 3 ) all trips except ( 7 ) used the tank additive + aspirator method ( + b ); trip 7 used only tank additive , formulation ( c ). table iii__________________________________________________________________________highway mileage performance tests - use of only alkynol ( m . b .) total gallons car gals . tank car mileage ( 16 gal . tank ) alkynol method car type fuel additive miles ( mi . gal .) comments__________________________________________________________________________none tank addit . 1984 ford ltd 177 . 8 0 3 , 555 19 . 99 local + highway only wagon ( control ) methyl butynol tank addit . 1984 ford ltd 54 . 2 0 . 053 1 , 133 20 . 90 200 ml . m . b ./ 16 gal . ( m . b .) only wagon gas . local + highwaymethyl butynol tank addit . 1984 ford ltd 42 . 5 0 . 053 924 21 . 74 200 ml . m . b ./ 16 gal . ( m . b .) only wagon gas . local + highwaymethyl butynol tank addit . 1984 ford ltd 16 . 8 0 . 106 397 23 . 63 400 ml . m . b ./ 16 gal . ( m . b .) only wagon gas . local + highwaymethyl butynol tank addit . 1984 ford ltd 26 . 9 0 . 106 592 22 . 00 400 ml . m . b ./ 16 gal . ( m . b .) only wagon gas . local + highwaymethyl butynol tank addit . 1984 ford ltd 41 . 4 0 . 027 833 20 . 12 100 ml . m . b ./ 16 gal . ( m . b .) only wagon gas . local + highway__________________________________________________________________________ table iv__________________________________________________________________________aspirator only - highway mileage performanceformulation__________________________________________________________________________none aspirator 1972 dodge 36 . 9 0 . 0 506 13 . 71 control only coronet no methyl butynol45 . 5 % m . b . ; 45 % aspirator 1972 dodge 31 . 4 0 . 115 506 16 . 11 mb . -- ch . sub . 3 oh -- h . sub . 2 oh . sub . 2 o ; 50 % methanol only coronet mixture22 . 7 % m . b . ; 2 . 3 % aspirator 1972 dodge 32 . 4 0 . 115 506 14 . 21 mb . -- ch . sub . 3 oh -- h . sub . 2 oh . sub . 2 o ; 75 . 0 % methanol only coronet mixture__________________________________________________________________________ asspirator test : 1972 dodge coronet ; round trips st . to kansas city , 506 miles . | 5 |
with general reference to the figures and with special reference now to fig2 a general overview of an embodiment of the rfc manager of the present invention is shown and described next , applied to a situation in which the requestor application is systems management software and the target application is an integrated business application . conceptually , the implementation thereof consists of at least two processes , an rfc dispatcher ( rfcd ) and at least one rfc connector ( rfcc ) which physically may run on the same machine , or on different machines , as well . in a case of the same machine shared memory can be used for exchanging information between both processes . an adequate prior art information management can be accomplished when the manager is implemented as a distributed application , distributed over more than one machine . the rfc manager itself is represented by the frame 23 . each systems management software application 10 to 13 sends its rfc requests via socket communication in the above - mentioned one - machine case to one dedicated port 22 the rfc dispatcher 24 listens to . basically , the following information is sent from every systems management software application 10 to 13 to the rfc dispatcher 24 : the integrated business application login data ( described below ), the name of the rfc module to call , and the parameters of the rfc . the dispatcher 24 can manage , i . e ., create , use , and delete a predetermined number of so - called connectors 25 , 26 , 27 . those connectors represent the logical envelope for physical connections 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 to the different integrated business application systems denoted by reference signs 32 , 33 , 34 . the vertical line represents the spatial distance between the systems management software system and the three different business application systems . each of the connectors is implemented as a separate process . the rfc dispatcher 24 decides which of the existing rfc connectors 25 , 26 , 27 currently has free working resources , and routes the request to the appropriate one . the selected rfc connector opens the connection to the integrated business application system and executes the rfc . then it passes back the results over a predetermined port . this is done initially for the first request . assuming there is a permanent connection ( see the description below ), the rfc dispatcher 24 remembers the rfc connector process which is responsible for this connection . then it routes the new request to this process again . if necessary a new thread is created and managed for that new connection . it is also possible to have only one connector process . in this case the rfc manager can in general not handle that much workload as a rfc manager with several rfc connectors could , but the design of such an rfc manager is much more simple . the rfc manager 23 is started by starting the rfc dispatcher module 24 via an operating system - specific mechanism , as e . g ., a starter daemon on a unix platform or via a dedicated service for windows nt , for example . the rfc dispatcher 24 starts a predetermined number of rfc connector processes 25 , 26 , 27 . with additional reference now to fig3 each rfc connector process 25 , 26 , 27 consists of several working threads 31 a - 31 d , 32 a - 32 d , and 33 a - 33 d , as shown in fig3 . each thread can handle one rfc connection at a time . these threads are started during initialization , as well . after initialization it is possible to start more threads on request , up to a predetermined maximum number . the values for number of rfc connector processes , initial number of working threads per rfc connector , and maximum number of working threads per rfc connector are advantageously specified in a connection configuration file 34 , which the rfc dispatcher 24 reads during startup . these values should be able to be adjusted and revisited by the dispatcher 24 , depending on the dynamically varying workload of the whole system . this approach helps to provide a better scalability of the rfc manager 23 . because the number of threads per process is limited , the rfc manager can handle more rfc connections if multiple rfccs are available . on the other hand , if the number of connections to handle is smaller than the number of threads per process , a single rfcc is enough . next , and with additional reference to fig4 , some more details are given how the rfc dispatcher 24 and the rfc connectors 25 , 26 , 27 work together to process an application &# 39 ; s request . simply stated , the rfcd waits for and listens to rfc requests on a dedicated port 22 , step 405 . when it receives a request , step 410 , it copies the data from the port to a shared memory block and delegates the request to a free rfcc to execute . this is done with step 415 , reading the traffic data of the request , i . e ., in particular the target location , followed by step 420 where the connection configuration file 34 is confirmatorily checked . the delegation of the request is then done by checking , decision 430 , if one or more suited connections are already open to the concerned target application . if no , a respective connection is created and used thereafter , step 435 . if yes , however , the best connection is selected for the processing of the current request , step 440 . then the dispatcher 24 waits for the next request , i . e ., it is branched back to step 405 , while the control is delivered to the respective elected connector process for the request to be processed , step 445 . thus , concurrent processes are maintained : the dispatcher process and the plurality of connector processes . a preferred embodiment of the present invention assures that the dispatcher 24 needs not know any connectivity details , like which rfc should be called , nor what the parameters for the rfc might look like . to achieve this the protocol for the socket communication between the systems management software application and rfcd is proposed to look as specified below . it should be noted that this is a preferred protocol adapted to the present embodiment only . other applications require different protocols : according to the protocol the applications 10 , 11 , 12 , and 13 ( refer back to fig2 ) send data packets which consist of : name of the rfc size of rfc import parameters size of rfc export parameters size of rfc table parameters memory block of import parameters memory block of export parameters memory block of table parameters integrated business application login data flag : permanent connection or not the data packets are sent over the port in this form from the application by calling an application programming interface ( api ) as described next below : the application api consists of a set of routines , which are delivered in a dll . these routines replace the currently implemented calls to the rfc library . so the first disadvantage as discussed above is surmounted . it is not necessary for the application to link with the rfc library from the integrated business application anymore . only the header files with the data types for a certain rfc call must be included . integrated business application logon data or ‘ defaultuser ’ rfc name pointer to import parameter pointer to export parameter pointer to table parameter size of import parameter size of export parameter size of table parameter application keyword timeout value a suitable return value including error description is provided as well as what is required by the respective request . integrated business application logon data application keyword and a respective return value . sid ( 3 - letter system identifier ) hostname user name password system id ( a number between 0 and 98 to identify the integrated business application instance ) client interface keyword : the integrated business application has defined certain areas of rfc interfaces , for example a specific one for batch processing . to use an rfc call from these interfaces an additional logon is done . with this keyword the application specifies which interface it wants to log on to . pointers to rfc parameter : the application builds up the rfc parameters as is done according to prior art . these pointers are equal to the parameters in the rfcreceiveresp and rfccallreceive calls . application keyword : to remember a connection , the rfc manager uniquely identifies the application which sends the request . therefore an application - unique keyword is provided . the application keyword together with the integrated business application logon data uniquely identifies a connection . timeout value : time after which the call returns with an error if no response from the integrated business application system is available . 0 means indefinite wait . to provide maximum flexibility , the applications 10 to 13 can send requests to rfcd by calling smscallrfc with or without setting the hold - connection flag to true . in the first case the rfc manager will leave the connection open for further calls of smscallrfc . so the performance overhead can be minimized while opening a connection and doing the authorization checks in the integrated business application system . setting the hold - connection flag to false will cause the rfc manager to close the connection after the rfc call . the above - described interface can replace all currently implemented rfc calls in any systems management software application . an application builds the rfc parameters as it currently does , but has not to take care about rfc itself anymore . this means an application can include only the header files for the parameters and does not have to link against the rfc library . also all rfc error handling is done internally through the new interface . this saves a lot of duplicate coding in the application . the second call , smssetdefaultuser , sets a default user for a certain application . it is stored in a user configuration file . the password can be encrypted . if the keyword ‘ defaultuser ’ is specified for the user in a smscallrfc call , the default user of the application is used . all other integrated business application logon parameters can be set to null . this offers another possibility for the application to reduce its amount of administrative work . the rfc manager 23 consists of one rfcd process 23 and as many rfcc processes as specified in the connection configuration file . each rfcc 25 , 26 , 27 consists of several working threads 31 a - 31 d , 32 a - 32 d , 33 a - 33 d , which also can be specified in the connection configuration file . as it was already mentioned above , rfcd 23 decides which rfcc gets a certain request . the decision is advantageously made upon free resources , and / or former requests with an already open connection , respectively . rfcd 24 passes the rfc data as target login data , name of rfc module and module parameters , to a certain rfcc , and signals it to process the request . then the rfcc opens or uses an already opened connection to the integrated business application system to process the request . with reference back to fig4 the results of the rfc are sent back to the application over a specified port , step 450 . the socket communication including error handling and timeout is handled internally within the api layer , step 455 . then , the respective rfcc updates some internal administration data , step 460 , possibly closes the connection or leaves it open , step 470 , and waits for the next request , branch back to 445 . there might be as many requests per process in parallel as working threads are available . as should be revealed by the above description , the freedom of freely configuring the number of rfcc processes and working threads gives a great flexibility to adapt the rfc manager according to the required workload or the system resources available on the machine the rfc manager is running , respectively . due to the fact that only the rfc connector processes deal with the remote function calls themselves , only the rfcc code has to be linked with a respective rfc library . therefore the danger of runtime errors because of incompatible rfc libraries is dramatically reduced . in the foregoing specification the invention has been described with reference to a specific exemplary embodiment thereof . it will , however , be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . the specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded as illustrative rather than in a restrictive sense . for example , the concept of the present invention can be easily inverted in terms of requestor and target application . or , mechanisms other than remote function calls , e . g ., remote procedure calls ( rpcs ), in general all ip client - server communications , can be applied advantageously with the concepts of the current invention . or it can be applied to set up a multi - user system in which repetitive calls to a stock exchange management system are processed . the present invention can be realized in hardware , software , or a combination of hardware and software . a remote function call ( rfc ) manager tool according to the present invention can be realized in a centralized fashion in one computer system , or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems . any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited . a typical combination of hardware and software could be a general purpose computer system with a computer program that , when being loaded and executed , controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein . the present invention can also be embedded in a computer program product , which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein , and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods . computer program means or computer program in the present context mean any expression , in any language , code or notation , of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following : a ) conversion to another language , code or notation ; b ) reproduction in a different material form . | 7 |
as shown in fig1 a heating plate is provided with a heater and a temperature detector , and is maintained at a predetermined temperature , for instance 37 ° c ., according to reaction conditions . the heating plate 1 has straight grooves x1 and x2 and straight grooves y1 and y2 which are orthogonal to the former . these straight grooves x1 , y1 , x2 and y2 together form a circulation path . a partition wall 2 is formed between the straight grooves x1 and x2 , so that the corners of carriers 3 sliding on the straight grooves x1 and x2 will not be caught by or engaged with one another ; however , it is not always necessary to provide the partition wall 2 . pushing levers 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 are provided at the corners of the circulation path , respectively , so that the carrier 3 at a corner may be moved by one frame , or two frames as the case may be . a channel 9 is connected to an insertion inlet 8 , and a chemical analysis slide 10 is placed in the channel . body fluid is placed on the sample side of the slide 10 . after the body fluid has been spread , the slide 10 is moved by the pushing lever 11 , so that it is placed in a carrier 3 . the carrier 3 into which the chemical analysis slide 10 has been inserted , is moved to the left by one frame at a time along the straight groove x1 by the pushing lever 6 until it reaches the straight groove y1 . the carrier 3 , which has reached the straight groove y1 , is then moved by the pushing lever 5 until it reaches the straight groove x2 . the carrier 3 is further moved along the straight groove x2 by the lever 4 until it reaches the straight groove y2 . the carrier 3 is correctly positioned by the corner of the straight groove y2 , so that it may be subjected to colorimetric determination to perform a quantitative analysis of a particular component of the body fluid . after the colorimetric determination , the carrier 3 is moved to a discharge position by the pushing lever 7 . a discharging outlet 12 is provided at the discharge position . when the carrier 3 reaches the outlet 12 , only the slide 10 is allowed to drop into a container for receiving chemical analysis slides . the carrier 3 , after discharging the slide 10 , is pushed back to the inserting inlet 8 by the pushing lever 6 . the chemical analysis slide 10 is incubated at a predetermined temperature while being intermittently moved along the circulation path from the inserting inlet 8 to the measurement position . the period of incubation can be set to a desired value by controlling the timing of the operations of the pushing levers 4 through 7 . for instance in the case where glycosidase is employed as an enzyme to measure the density of glycoside in the blood , it is suitable for the incubating period to be six minutes at 37 ° c . the heating plate 1 is made of aluminum , which is excellent in thermal conductivity . the carrier 3 is made of a resin or metal which exhibits a small coefficient of friction . fig2 shows the arrangement of an analysis / measurement section . an upper cover 15 is placed on the heating plate 1 . the upper cover 15 is made of transparent glass or resin so that the operator can observe the movement of the carriers 3 . in order to maintain the circulation path at a uniform temperature , it is desirable to provide a heater for the upper cover 15 . if a heater is provided only for the upper cover 15 and not for the heating plate 1 , it is possible to set the temperature of the heating plate 1 to a certain value using only heat radiated from the upper cover 15 . a hole 16 is formed in the heating plate 1 at the aforementioned measurement position . a dark box or enclosure 17 is provided below the hole 16 . the dark box 17 incorporates an illuminating light source 18 , a lens 19 , a color filter 20 and a photo - detector 21 . the upper cover 15 has a hoel 15a above the aforementioned hole 16 . a dark box 22 is provided in such a manner as to surround the hole 15a . the chemical analysis slide 10 is made up of a measurement element 24 which is obtained by forming reagent layers in a dry multi - layer film , and a frame 25 which receives the measurement element 24 and has an upper hole 25a , namely , a liquid specimen receiving hole , and a lower hole 25b , namely , a photometric hole . in the reagent layer , the reagent reacts with the liquid specimen , as a result of which coloring is effected to a density corresponding to a particular material of the liquid specimen . the degree of the coloring reaction depends on the incubation time , the amount of moisture and the amount of oxygen . among these factors , the amount of moisture is most important ; that is , it is essential that there be a sufficient amount of moisture during the coloring reaction . since the amount of liquid specimen is very small , for instance 10 μl , the moisture dissipates through the hole 25a during incubation , as a result of which the coloring process may stop . on the other hand , no moisture dissipates through the hole 25b on the photometric side , because a base layer ( or a transparent plastic film ) closes the hole 25b . as the carrier 3 is placed on the specimen side to close the hole 25a , the evaporation of moisture can be effectively prevented and the coloring reaction may be sufficiently effected . a layer of air is formed in the hole 25a ; that is , a sufficient amount of oxygen is supplied for the reaction . when the chemical analysis slide 10 is set upside down so that the specimen side faces downwardly , the specimen side is brought into close contact with the heating plate 1 by the weight of the carrier 3 . in this case also , the evaporation of moisture can be prevented . in addition , it should be noted that the position of the box 17 is opposite to that of the dark box 22 in this case . if the chemical analysis slide 10 is set upside down when the carrier 3 is not used , then the specimen side is brought into close contact with the heating plate 1 by the weight of the slide 10 , so that the evaporation of moisture can be prevented . the chemical analysis slide 10 at the measurement position is illuminated by light from the light source 18 . light reflected from the reagent layer of the slide 10 advances through the hole 25b , the hole 16 , the lens 19 and the color filter 20 to the photo - detector 21 , where light of only a predetermined range of wavelengths is subjected to photo - electric conversion . when , after the colorimetric measurement , the pushing lever 7 is moved as shown in fig3 the carrier 3 is moved to the outlet 12 and the chemical analysis slide 10 is discharged therethrough . while the lever 7 is moved as described above , light reflected from a white point 7a below the lever 7 is measured by the photo - detector 21 . the white point is of titanium oxide or ceramic . when the pushing lever 7 is retracted as shown in fig4 there is nothing over the hole 16 . in this case , light reflected from the black interior of the dark box 22 is measured . the dark box 22 is used as a black reference point , and its photometric output or reflection factor is 0 %. the photo - metric output of the white reference point 7a is of a reflection factor of 100 %. therefore , when the reagent - layer is subjected to photometry by the detector using these outputs as reference levels , a correct reflection factor can be obtained from the output of the detector . the white reference point and the black reference point may be provided on the pushing lever 7 in such a manner that they are spaced from each other . in this case , pushing lever 7 would be pushed in two steps . the output of the photo - detector 21 is applied to an analysis control unit 27 , where quantitative analysis is carried out by referring to a preset standard curve , and the result thereof is output . usually , the results of the analysis are printed out along with the chemical analysis slide number . the analysis control device is a microcomputer which carries out the analysis process , as well as temperature and drive control . fig5 and 6 show the aforementioned carrier 3 in more detail . the carrier 3 has a recess 3a with an inlet 3b at the bottom thereof , so that the chemical analysis slide 10 can be inserted into the recess 3a via the inlet 3b . the inlet 3b is inclined so that the slide 10 can be smoothly inserted into the recess 3a . fig7 shows the insertion of the chemical analysis slide into the carrier . as the pushing lever 11 is pushed , the chemical analysis slide 10 is pushed into the recess 3a of the carrier 3 thereby . the height of the recess 3a is smaller than the thickness of the slide 10 . therefore , at the start of the insertion , the inlet 3b of the carrier 3 is raised . when the slide 10 has been completely inserted into the recess 3a , the carrier 3 is positioned on the chemical analysis slide 10 ; i . e ., it is brought into close contact with the specimen side thereof . since the end portion of the pushing lever 11 must move into the inlet 3b of the carrier 3 , it must be made relatively thin . fig8 illustrates the operation of the pushing lever 5 . the pushing lever 5 has a step 5a at the end thereof . the lever 5 pushes both the carrier 3 and the slide 10 until the latter moves along the straight groove y1 by one frame . fig9 shows the operation of the pushing lever 4 . when the pushing lever 4 is advanced , all of the series of carriers 3 in the groove x2 are moved along the groove by one frame . fig1 shows a pushing - lever drive device . a pulley 31 is mounted on the output shaft of a motor 30 . the rotation of the motor 30 is transmitted through the pulley 31 and a belt 32 to a pulley 33 . a cam 34 is provided coaxially with the pulley 33 . the cam 34 is substantially in the form of a semicircle obtained by cutting a portion of a circle . four followers 35 , 36 , 37 and 38 are rockably provided in such a manner that they are in contact with the cam 34 . the followers are coupled to the pushing levers through identical mechanisms , respectively . therefore , only the mechanism through which the follower 35 is coupled to the pushing lever 4 will be described . the follower 35 is pivotablly mounted on a shaft 40 , and has a roller 41 at one end , which is in contact with the periphery of the cam 34 . a connecting rod 42 is connected to the other end of the follower 35 , so that the motion of the follower 35 is transmitted to a lever 43 . the lever 43 is pivotablly mounted on a shaft 44 , and a roller 45 is mounted on one end of the lever . the roller 45 is fitted in a u - shaped rail 46 provided in the pushing lever 4 . the cam 34 has a circular cam surface and a straight cam surface . when the straight cam surface of the cam 34 comes to the position of the follower 35 as the cam 34 is turned , the follower 35 is turned counterclockwise , and accordingly the lever 43 is turned counterclockwise through the connecting rod 42 . as the lever 43 is turned counterclockwise , the pushing lever is moved to the right , thereby to shift carriers 3 along the groove x2 by one frame . as the cam 34 is further turned , the straight cam surface leaves the follower 35 . thereupon , the pushing lever 4 is moved to the left , thus retracting from the circulation path . as the cam 34 turns , the pushing levers 4 through 7 are operated successively . that is , as the cam makes one revolution , all the carriers 3 in the circulation path are advanced by one frame . the pushing lever 11 is provided to insert chemical analysis slides 10 into the carrier 3 as described above . the pushing lever 11 is moved back and forth by means of a pin 49 embedded in a cam 48 and engaged with an elongated hole 11a cut in the lever 11 . the cam 48 is synchronous with the aforementioned cam 34 , and therefore the lever 11 is moved forwardly while the pushing lever 6 is maintained stopped . in the above - described embodiment , no carrier is provided at one corner , and the pushing levers 4 through 7 are operated successively so that the empty corner is shifted forwardly . two empty corners may be provided , at the upper left corner and a the lower right corner . in this case , the pushing levers 5 and 7 may be operated simultaneously , and the pushing levers 4 and 6 may likewise be operated at the same time . in the above - described embodiment , the pushing levers 4 through 7 are operated by a cam mechanism ; however , if solenoids are provided for the levers , respectively , the levers can be driven independently . furthermore , if a valve plate is provided for the discharging outlet 12 , a chemical analysis slide 10 can be circulated plural times by operating the valve plate . the latter method is effective in simultaneously incubating chemical analysis slides which have different incubation times . fig1 and 12 show one modification of the carrier which is designed so as to prevent the vibration of the chemical analysis slide therein . a pawl 51a is formed in the inlet of the carrier 51 as shown in fig1 , to prevent relative movement between the chemical analysis slide 10 and the carrier 51 . fig1 shows another embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment , a step 53 is formed along the straight grooves . the inlet side of the carrier 3 is placed on the step 53 , while the side of the chemical analysis slide 10 is placed in contact with the side wall of the step 53 . fig1 illustrates another embodiment of the invention , in which the circulation path is in the form of a maze . in this case , a plurality of partition walls 57 and 58 are formed in the recess 56 of the heating plate 55 . the carriers in the circulation path are advanced by one frame by successively operating pushing levers a through d . the inserting inlets and the discharging outlets may be provided at any desired positions . as is apparent from the above description , according to the invention , a circulation path is formed on the heating plate , and the chemical analysis slides are inserted into the circulation path and are moved stepwise along the circulation path . therefore , a number of chemical analysis measurement units can be continuously and efficiently incubated . even when the heating plate is somewhat non - uniform in temperature distribution , the chemical analysis measurement units can be uniformly incubated as they are moved on the heating plate . furthermore , since the chemical analysis measurement units are intermittently moved from the inserting inlet to the discharging outlet , the incubation time is maintained constant . | 8 |
because vehicle engines are well known , the present description will be directed to particular elements forming parts of , or in cooperation directly with , the system in accordance with the present invention . it is to be understood that elements not specifically shown or described can take various forms well known to those skilled in the automobile engine art . referring to the drawings in detail , and particularly to fig1 an automobile engine having an intake system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown . the automobile engine has an engine block 1 formed with a cylinder 2 slidably receiving a piston 3 which forms combustion chamber 4 therein . facing the combustion chamber 4 , there are disposed intake and exhaust valves 5a and 6a respectively seated in intake and exhaust ports 5 and 6 formed in the engine block 1 . these intake and exhaust valves 5a and 6a are timely driven by a cam shaft 7 to open and close the intake and exhaust ports 5 and 6 . a spark plug ( not shown ), which is threaded into the engine block 1 at the top of the combustion chamber 4 and which cooperates with a distributor 8 , constitutes a firing system well known in the art . the combustion chamber 4 is in communication with intake and exhaust manifolds 10 and 30 . the intake manifold 10 , connecting an air cleaner 11 to the combustion chamber 4 , is provided , in order , with an air - flow sensor 12 disposed adjacent to the air cleaner 11 for detecting the amount of intake air , a throttle valve 13 following the air - flow sensor 12 for controlling quantity of air reaching the combustion chamber 4 , and a fuel injector 14 disposed adjacent to the intake port 5 for controlling the quantity of fuel . it is to be noted that in this embodiment , the air - flow sensor 12 is used as an engine control value detection means , i . e ., an acceleration detector for judging the acceleration of engine by metering the amount of intake air as an acceleration judging parameter . in association with the throttle valve 13 , a throttle opening sensor 15 is provided to send an appropriate output signal indicating the opening of the throttle valve 13 to a microcomputer as an engine control unit 50 . the intake manifold 10 is further provided with a bypass passage pipe 16 with an idle speed control ( isc ) valve 16a , which allows part of the intake air flow to bypass the throttle valve 13 so as to supply supplementary air into a downstream part of the intake manifold 10 . the exhaust manifold 30 , connecting the combustion chamber 4 to a catalytic converter 32 for significantly lowering emission levels of hydrocarbons , carbon monoxide , and , in the case of some converters , oxides of nitrogen , as is well known in the art , is provided with an oxygen sensor 31 near the exhaust port 6 . the engine control unit 50 receives signals from a crank angle sensor 41 provided in association with the cam shaft 7 for detecting engine speed , an intake air temperature sensor 42 provided in association with the air - flow sensor 12 , and engine coolant temperature sensor 43 and an idle sensor 44 which is kept turned on when the engine is idling , as well as from the air - flow sensor 12 , throttle opening sensor 15 and oxygen sensor 31 . the operation of the fuel control system depicted in fig1 is best understood by reviewing fig2 to 4 , which are flow charts illustrating various sequences for the microcomputer of the control unit 50 . programming a computer is a skill well understood in the art . the following description is written to enable a programmer having ordinary skill in the art to prepare an appropriate program for the microcomputer . the particular details of any such program would , of course , depend upon the architecture of the particular computer selected . referring to fig2 which is a flow chart of the asynchronous injection judgement sequence , the first step in step s1 is to make a decision whether the operating condition of the engine is in a fuel cut zone or deceleration zone or whether the engine is at the beginning of starting . the decision made in step s1 is repeated until the yes decision is provided . if , in fact , the answer to the decision is yes , this indicates that the engine is not under acceleration or that the engine has not been warmed up . then , a decision is made in step s2 as to whether or not a prohibition timer ( pt ) indicates a count of zero ( 0 ). the fuel control system is adapted to prohibit the first detection of acceleration for a certain time period after a predetermined number of asynchronous fuel injections . as long as the prohibition timer ( pt ) determines that the prohibition of asynchronous fuel injection is still occurring during acceleration , the first and second decisions in steps s1 and s2 are repeatedly made . if the prohibition timer ( pt ) has counted down and there is no prohibition of asynchronous fuel injection , a decision is made in step s3 as to whether the idle sensor ( id . sw ) 44 is turned off . this decision is made in order to avoid the misjudgment of acceleration resulting from the fluctuations of an output signal from the air - flow sensor 12 during idling . if the idle sensor ( id . sw ) 44 is turned on , this indicates that because of engine idling , no increase in fuel amount is required , and then , the asynchronous injection judgement sequence orders a return to the first decision in step s1 . if the idle sensor 44 is turned off , this indicates that the engine is possibly loaded . a decision is then made in step s4 as to whether the engine is still loaded . if the answer to the decision is yes , indicating that there is no engine load , then , a decision is made in step s5 as to whether a one - second time period has elapsed after the disappearance of engine load . if the answer to the decision is no , the asynchronous injection judgement sequence orders a return to the first decision in step s1 without increasing the amount of fuel . this is because it is presumed that the disappearance of engine load results from having shifted the transmission 2 to its neutral range . therefore , it is necessary to avoid misjudging the engine as being under acceleration if a rapid increase in engine speed after a speed range shift operation is detected . on the other hand , if the one second time period has elapsed , a decision is made in step s6 as to whether the temperature of engine coolant te is lower than - 40 ° c . if the answer to the decision indicates an engine coolant temperature of lower than - 40 ° c ., the asynchronous injection judgement sequence orders a return to the first decision in step s1 without increasing the amount of fuel . this is because , an increase in the fuel amount upon acceleration would certainly make the fuel mixture too rich , since the fuel system otherwise generally increases a basic amount of injected fuel when the temperature of the engine coolant te is lower than - 40 ° c . if the answer to the decision in step s6 is yes , decisions regarding changes of the intake air amount δvs are made in steps s9 and s10 . if the answer to the decision in step s4 regarding engine load is no , this indicates the engine is loaded . then , a decision is made in step s7 as to whether the transmission 2 is automatic ( abbreviated by a / t ) or manual ( abbreviated by m / t ). if it is decided that the transmission 2 is automatic , the decisions regarding changes in the intake air amount are made in steps s9 and s10 . on the other hand , if it is decided that the transmission 2 is manual , a decision is made in step s8 as to whether a one and one - half second time period has elapsed after the disappearance of engine load . if the answer to the decision is no , this indicates that the speed of the engine is not yet stable . the asynchronous injection judgement sequence then orders a return to the first decision in step s1 without increasing the amount of fuel in order to avoid the misjudgment of acceleration . if the answer to the decision regarding the elapse of the one and half - second time period is yes , the decisions regarding changes of intake air amount are made in steps s9 and s10 . the decisions made in steps s9 and s10 are made in order to decide whether a previous change of intake air amount δvsp per unit time and a current change of intake air amount δvsc per the unit time are equal to or larger than a specific value th , respectively . if either the previous or the current change in intake air amount is smaller than the specific value th , the asynchronous injection judgement sequence orders a return to the first decision in step s1 without increasing the amount of fuel for the presumable judgement of no demand for acceleration . on the other hand , if both the previous and current changes of intake air amount per unit time are equal to or larger than the specific value th , an asynchronous fuel injection flag afi is set in step s11 to execute an asynchronous fuel injection , since the engine has a demand for acceleration . the continuous decisions in steps s9 and s10 prevent a misjudgment of acceleration due to fluctuations of an output signal from the air - flow sensor 12 . referring to fig3 which is a flow chart of the critical level setting sequence , the first step in step s21 is to make a decision as to whether the transmission 2 is automatic ( a / t ) or manual ( m / t ) to set the specific value th suitably for the type of the transmission 2 . if it is determined that the transmission 2 is automatic , an appropriate specific value th is drawn from a specific value curve a / t shown in fig5 according to the temperature of engine coolant te , in step s22 . otherwise , if it is determined that the transmission 2 is manual ( m / t ), an appropriate specific value th is drawn from a specific value curve m / t shown in fig5 according to the temperature of engine coolant te in step s23 . as is apparent from fig5 the specific value th is established so as to be higher over the whole range of temperatures of engine coolant te for the manual transmission than for the automatic transmission . this is because the automatic transmission is subjected to a larger load than the manual transmission and , therefore , needs more fuel mixture in order to ensure a quick response to acceleration than the manual transmission . it is also apparent from fig5 that the lower the temperature of engine coolant te becomes , the lower the specific value th is . for this reason , as shown in fig7 and 8 , the number of executions of asynchronous fuel injection is higher before than after the engine has warmed up for a given change of intake air amount δvs per unit time before and after the engine has warmed up . referring to fig4 which is a flow chart of the asynchronous fuel injection sequence , the first step in step s31 is to make a decision as to whether the transmission 2 is automatic ( a / t ) or manual ( m / t ) in order to calculate the amount of fuel , f , in asynchronous fuel injection in step s32 or s33 . the amount of fuel f in asynchronous fuel injection is calculated in step s32 if the answer to the decision indicates that the transmission 2 is manual ( m / t ) or in step s33 if the answer to the decision indicates that the transmission 2 is automatic ( a / t ). for the calculation of the amount of fuel according to a change of intake air amount δvs per unit time for every asynchronous injection , a map shown in fig6 is prepared . in fig6 curves m1 and m2 are used for the manual transmission , and curves a1 and a2 are used for the automatic transmission . the curve m1 or a1 gives the amount of fuel in asynchronous fuel injection when fuel is injected without any increase after the engine has started , while the curve m2 or a2 gives the amount of fuel in asynchronous fuel injection when fuel is injected with an increase after the engine has started . after the calculation of the amount of fuel , f , in asynchronous fuel injection in step s32 , or s33 , a decision is made in step s34 as to whether a current amount of fuel fc is equal or larger than a previous amount of fuel fp . taken as an eventual amount of fuel is the current amount of fuel fc , if it is equal to or larger than the previous amount of fuel fp , in step s35 , or the previous amount of fuel fp , if the current amount of fuel fc is smaller than the previous amount of fuel fp , in step s36 . thereafter , a decision is made in step s37 to test an asynchronous fuel injection flag afi to determine whether the asynchronous fuel injection conditions are satisfied and , if the decision made in step s37 , the asynchronous fuel injection is executed in step s38 . either after the execution of the asynchronous fuel injection in step s38 or , if the asunchronous fuel injection flag afi is down and the decision made in step s37 is no the asynchrounous fuel injection sequence orders return to the first decision in step s31 . as is apparent from the description of the fuel control system according to the preferred embodiment of present invention , the asynchronous fuel injection is executed when the change of intake air amount δvs per the unit time reaches a critical level , or the specific value th , so as to increase the amount of fuel to be injected , and the fuel mixture is prevented from temporarily becoming lean upon acceleration . because the critical level or the specific value th is set higher when the engine has warmed up , the asynchronous fuel injection is executed upon rapid acceleration or the like only , thereby avoiding an unnecessary increase of fuel so as to prevent the fuel mixture from becoming overly rich . furthermore , because the critical level or the specific value th is set lower when the engine has not warmed up , the asynchronous fuel injection is executed even upon starting or quick and slight acceleration so as to increase the amount of fuel to be inejction , thereby preventing fuel mixture from becoming lean , so as to improve the responsiveness of the acceleration . it is apparent from the above description that the asynchronous injeciton judgement sequence and asynchronous fuel injection sequence shown in fig2 and 4 , respectively , act as fuel increase means which controls the fuel injector 14 so as to increase the amount of fuel to be injected when the air - flow sensor 12 , acting as an acceleration detector detects that the change of intake air amount per unit time has reached a critical level . the specific value setting sequence shown in fig3 acts as critical level change means for setting a lower critical level in the fuel increase means when a temperature sensor , such as the engine coolant temperature sensor 43 , detects that the engine has warmed up . it is to be understood that although the invention has been described in detail with respect to a preferred embodiment , nevertheless , various other embodiments and variants are possible which are within the spirit and scope of the invention , and such are intended to be covered by the following claims . | 5 |
in describing the preferred embodiment , certain terminology will be utilized for the sake of clarity . such terminology is intended to encompass the recited embodiment , as well as all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner for a similar purpose to achieve a similar result . the present invention relates to an injection implant comprising two separate delivery vehicles of the same biologically active ingredient . the first vehicle is capable of providing an immediate - release of the ingredient to the animal system whereas the second vehicle is capable of providing a sustained or extended release of the same active . by the term “ implant ” is meant any physical device containing the biologically active material in multiple delivery vehicles such that the vehicles are delivered to the animal &# 39 ; s system via an injection . in most embodiments the implant contains the immediate - release and sustained - release vehicles such that they both be administered in a single injection , but embodiments where multiple injections of either the immediate - release and / or sustained - release vehicles occurring at different points in time is expressly covered . the concept of injectable implants is well known to those skilled in the art and it is submitted that one could envision any of a number of embodiments designed to simultaneously deliver the multiple vehicles via a single injection . for example , an injectable implant system is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 874 , 098 . to the extent necessary for completion , this reference is expressly incorporated by reference . the term “ immediate - release ” defines a vehicle that , within a finite period of time , for example 24 hours , releases in vivo enough of the biologically active material to begin to achieve a desired effect in the patient . for example , an implant which releases at least 30 % percent of its active material within 24 hours as defined by the methodology of example 1 could qualify as such a vehicle . the term “ sustained - release ” defines a vehicle that releases the same active material at a slower rate as compared to the “ immediate - release ” vehicle . for example , an implant which retains at least 30 % percent of its active material within 24 hours as defined by the methodology of example 1 , provided that its release rate is slower than that of the immediate - release vehicle could qualify as such a vehicle . the concept of immediate - release and sustained - release compositions are known in the art . however , the use of an implant containing multiple delivery vehicles which can deliver the same active both immediately and over a sustained period of time is novel . furthermore , the time period defined by “ immediate - release ” or “ sustained - release ” is often determined by the disease or disorder being treated . for example , for some diseases or disorders , an immediate - release will produce a desired effect in minutes or hours , whereas for other diseases or disorders , an immediate - release will produce a desired effect in a matter of days or weeks . the first delivery vehicle comprises a delivery system capable of immediately releasing enough active material to generate a desired effect in a patient shortly after administration . there are many ways to design a vehicle capable of this and such vehicles are considered as being within the skill of the artisan . examples of immediate - release vehicles include , but are not limited to the following : coated solids or liquids where the coating wall material is very thin , coated solids or liquids where the coating wall material is very soluble in body fluids , porous or freeze - dried solids having an increased surface area contact , a solid tablet or pellet containing a disintegrating agent which causes the solid tablet to rapidly break down when in body fluids , a solid or pellet containing a relatively small or micronized active particle size , an osmotic delivery system where the osmotic system is such that a substantial amount of the active is released upon implantation , and mixtures thereof . the above listing is considered merely representative and one skilled in the art could envision other immediate - release mechanisms / embodiments . the second delivery vehicle comprises a sustained release delivery system . as a practical matter , the skilled artisan may select any of the following non - limiting sustained release delivery vehicles to contain the actives of the implant of the claimed invention : encapsulated solutions or suspensions , biodegradable solid substances , conventional tablet / pellet formulations optionally utilizing either disintegrating agents and / or active particle size to modulate release , conventional tablet / pellet formulations coated with a polymeric membrane to control release ( e . g ., ethylcellulose ), matrix - tablets based on gel - forming excipients ( e . g ., hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ), matrix - type systems based on non - biodegradable polymers ( e . g ., medical grade silastics ), membrane - type systems based on non - biodegradable polymers ( e . g ., medical grade silastics ), matrix - type systems based on biodegradable polymers ( e . g ., polylactic acid and polyglycolic acid homo and copolymers of various compositions ), matrix - type systems based on lipidic excipients ( e . g ., cholesterol , waxes ), mass transfer systems based on osmotic pressure pumping through a hole in an impermeable coating and mixtures thereof . the above listing is considered merely representative and one skilled in the art could envision other sustained release mechanisms / embodiments . in particularly preferred embodiments , the implant comprises a magazine containing solid biodegradable pellets containing the same actives and having differential release characteristics it is still further contemplated that a magazine containing greater than two pellets could be used in accordance with the present invention . selection of the specific implant embodiment is largely determined by the specific end result desired . in a preferred embodiment , the biologically active ingredient can be provided in the form of a immediate - release component containing a disintegrating agent and a sustained - release component that does not contain a disintegrating agent . the immediate - release component can be provided in the form of granules or pellets containing the biologically active ingredient and can be formed by conventional granulation practices or through direct compression processes . the pellets typically contain from about 1 to 99 wt . % of the biologically active ingredient with the remainder being conventional tableting ingredients such as magnesium stearate , stearic acid , colloidal silicon dioxide , talc , titanium dioxide , magnesium , calcium and aluminum salts , lactose , povidone , high molecular weight polyethylene glycols and derivatives thereof , bioerodible polymers such as poly ( orthoesters ) and polyanhydrides and anhydride co - polymers , polyoxystearates , carboxymethylcellulose , cellulose esters such as acetate phthalate , acetate succinate and cellulose acetate , n , n - diethylamino acetate , polyvinyl alcohol , hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose , and the like . in the immediate - release vehicle , a disintegrating agent is also preferably present in order to enable the immediate - release of the pharmacologically active ingredient once it is implanted into the subject . conventional disintegrating agents used in tableting processes can be used in the present invention with sodium crosscaramellose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , microcrystalline cellulose , powdered cellulose , colloidal silicon dioxide , crospovidone , guar gum , magnesium aluminum silicate , methyl cellulose , alginic acid , calcium carboxymethylcellulose , potassium polacrilin ( and other cation exchange resins such as amberlite resins ), starch , pregelatinized starch , sodium starch glycolate , and sodium alginate being especially preferred . the disintegrating agent typically is contained in the pellet in an amount of 0 . 1 - 50 % by weight , based on the total weight of the pellet , with 0 . 5 - 15 % by weight being preferred and 1 - 6 % by weight being especially preferred . the pellets are formed according to conventional methods that involve the mixing of the ingredients , wet , dry , or fluid - bed granulation , or extrusion / spheronization , followed by screening , drying , screening / sizing , lubrication and compression . these steps are well known in the art . as discussed above , the implant dose is comprised of a combination of the two types of pellets . the time release properties of the implant composition can be controlled by varying the number of pellets containing the disintegrating agent with respect to the pellets not containing a disintegrating agent . the number of pellets containing a disintegrating agent and the number of pellets which do not contain a disintegrating agent in the implant composition can be readily determined depending on the drug being administered , the subject to whom the drug is being administered and the desired duration of treatment . alternatively , differential active loadings can also be utilized to achieve desired results . the method of choice is considered as falling within the skill of the artisan . in the present invention , the biologically active ingredient contained in the implant composition is not critical and can be any substance such as enzymes or other organic catalysts , ribozymes , organometalics , proteins and glycoproteins , peptides , poly ( amino acids ), antibodies , nucleic acids , steroids , antibiotics , antimycotics , anti - narcotics , cytostatics , cytotoxics , cytokines , carbohydrates , oleophobics , lipids , antihistamines , laxatives , vitamins , decongestants , gastrointestinal sedatives , anti - inflammatory substances , antimanics , anti - infectives , coronary vasodilators , peripheral vasodilators , cerebral vasodilators , psychotropics , stimulants , anti - diarrheal preparations , anti - anginal drugs , vasoconstrictors , anticoagulants , antithrombotic drugs , analgesics , antipyretics , hypnotics , sedatives , antiemetics , antinauseants , anticonvulsants , neuromuscular drugs , hyperglycemic and hypoglycemic agents , antivirals , antineoplastics antidepressants , anticholinergics , antiallergic agents , antidiabetic agents , antiarrythmics , antihormones , antihistamines , β - blockers , cardiac glycosides , contraceptives , contrast materials , radiopharmaceuticals , dopaminergic agents , lipid - regulating agents , uricoscurics , tranquilizers , thyroid and antithyroid preparations , diuretics , antispasmodics , uterine relaxants , mineral and nutritional additives , antiobesity drugs , hormones , antihelmentics , pharmaceuticals and other therapeutic agents . the invention may also be employed for the delivery of microorganisms , either living , attenuated or dead such as bacteria , and viruses such as indigenous vira , enterovira , bacteriophages . the present invention is especially suited for the immediate and sustained delivery of hormones and steroids such as androgens , such as testosterone , trenbolone acetate ( tba ), dihydroepiandroterone , and other androgenic steroids , estrogens , such as estradiol - 17 - β , estradiol benzoate , zeralanone , and other estrogenic steroids , progestins , such as progesterone , melengestrol acetate ( mga ), megestrol acetate , medroxyprogesterone acetate , norgestemet , norethidrone , and other progestin compounds , releasing factors , such as leutinizing hormone releasing hormone and analogs , growth hormone releasing hormone and analogs , thyroid releasing hormone and analogs , and other releasing factors and analogs , growth hormones / somatotropin , such as natural and recombinant somatotropins and analogs from various species , growth factors , such as insulin - like growth factor , epidermal growth factor and other such factors . it is also especially suited for delivery of antihelmintics , such as invermectins , and antigens . an especially preferred use of the present invention is in the suppression of estrus , inhibition of pregnancy and increased body weight of cattle through the implantation of the implant composition of the present invention in the body of the cattle containing mga , a combination of mga and tba or a combination of mga , tba and estradiol as the biologically active ingredient . a preferred embodiment for this use comprises an implant containing one to four , more preferably one to two immediate - release pellets and four to six , more preferably three to five sustained - release pellets . an even more preferred embodiment for this use comprises an implant containing one immediate - release pellet and five sustained - release pellets . in practice , the active ingredients are contained in the delivery vehicle , for example pellets , preferably in an amount of from 1 to 99 % and preferably from 50 to 90 wt . %. in particularly preferred embodiments , when used to administer mga and / or tba , the present invention can provide beneficial and advantageous results in the hormonal control of the reproductive cycle in animals , for example , by reducing the post - partum anestrual period in cattle ; by synchronization of the estrual period in a group of cattle ; by preventing estrual activity in fattening meat animals ; by controlling the estrual period in individual animals ; and by providing compositions and methods to further weight gain with lessened side effects in beef cattle . when mga or tba are the biologically active compositions , each delivery vehicle contains between about 5 to about 200 mg of mga or tba . in addition , the carcass composition of the animal may be improved ; for example , a carcass having increased lean and less fat may result . in addition to the active ingredients , each of the delivery vehicles of the implant may independently contain standard granulating aids such as lubricants , diluents , binders and glidants , magnesium stearate , stearic acid , colloidal silicon dioxide , talc , titanium dioxide , magnesium , calcium and aluminum salts , lactose , cyclodextrins and derivatives thereof , starches , povidone , high molecular weight polyethylene glycols and derivatives thereof , bioerodible polymers such as poly ( orthoesters ) and polyanhydride and anhydride co - polymers , polystearates , carboxymethyl cellulose , cellulose esters such as acetate phthalate , acetate succinate and cellulose acetate , n , n - diethylamine acetate , polyvinyl alcohol , hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose , other biologically active or inactive substances , other pharmaceutically active or inactive substances , and the like . the implant composition of the present invention can be administered subcutaneously , intramuscularly , intraperitoneally , intracranially , etc ., depending on the most desirable site of administration for the biologically active ingredient . in a particularly preferred embodiment , the implant is injected via needle subcutaneously in the posterior of the ear of the animal . the implanter used to inject the needle may be any of those commonly used in the art , with an implanter equipped with a hypodermic needle being particularly preferred . the implant composition of the present invention can be used to deliver the active ingredient on an immediate and a sustained release basis to the following types of animals : cows , horses , sheep , swine , dogs , cats or any other suitable animal , including humans . in particularly preferred embodiments the implant containing differentially releasing mga and / or tba is injected into a heifer . to use the implant of the present invention , the implant composition containing the immediate and sustained release vehicles is first prepared and then packaged for injectable use , typically as a magazine . thereafter , the magazine is inserted into the implanter housing and the operator activates the implanter to puncture the skin of the animal . this is typically accomplished by a hypodermic needle . the implant composition thereafter traverses through the bore of the needle and into the puncture site . the operator thereafter withdraws the needle , leaving the implant device in the animal . because of the physical or chemical nature of the immediate - release vehicle , the active is immediately released to the body and once distributed into the body is able to achieve an immediate and desired result . for example in a heifer , an immediate - release of substantial amount of mga ( e . g ., in one pellet ) can immediately inhibit pregnancy of the heifer . because of the physical or chemical nature of the sustained release vehicle , the same active is distributed to the animal over a desired period of time ( e . g ., in five pellets ). using the above example , the sustained release of mga can inhibit pregnancy for an extended period of time . in the preferred embodiment where mga ( either alone or in combination with other actives ) is contained in differential releasing pellets , the composition is capable of providing immediate and sustained release properties so that one injection will yield desired results in the animal first , immediately , and then for between about 60 to about 365 days with a more preferred range of from about 150 to about 200 days and a most preferred range of from about 180 to about 200 days . by utilizing the implant composition and method as claimed herein , the following advantages are provided to the operator : dual effect by using the same biologically active material , modification of release rate providing for both immediate and sustained duration of effectiveness , potential reduction of residues that would occur if only one type of vehicle were used and treatment dosage only for the desired duration since a larger - than - optimal dose is not needed in order to achieve a rapid - onset of action , and possible carcass improvement in the case where the animal subject to treatment is a food animal . two sets of biologically active pellets are formulated by conventional tableting technology , such as wet granulation with water as a granulation liquid or dry granulation , followed by screening , sizing and tablet compression . mg per component pellet immediate - release pellets : melengestrol acetate micronized 24 mg lactose monohydrate nf bolted 5 . 0 mg crosscaramellose sodium nf type a 1 . 5 mg pregelatinized starch nf 6 . 0 mg colloidal silicon dioxide nf 0 . 2 mg magnesium stearate nf powder food grade 1 . 0 mg sustained - release pellets : melengestrol acetate micronized 24 mg lactose monohydrate nf bolted 8 . 235 mg sorbitol nf crystalline 0 . 355 mg sucrose nf granular 0 . 2755 pregelatinized starch nf 2 . 0 mg colloidal silicon dioxide nf 0 . 2 mg magnesium stearate nf powder food grade 1 . 0 mg in - vitro release characteristics of the rapid - release and slow - release pellets of example 1 are shown in fig1 for dissolution testing carried out in a usp dissolution apparatus no . ii ( paddle ) at 37 ° c ., in a dissolution medium composed of 0 . 3 % sds ( sodium dodecyl sulfate ), at 25 rpm . referring to fig1 the combining of the immediate - release and sustained - release pellets in different proportions in the same implant dose will allow for a wide range of in - vitro release profiles to be created , and thereby giving a range of in - vivo release rates . for the same total dose of active agent , an implant comprising of a larger number of rapid - releasing pellets , when compared to another comprising fewer of the rapid - releasing pellets , will provide a more rapid onset of action and also a shorter total duration of effect . one or more of each of the immediate - release and sustained - release pellets of example 1 are inserted into the magazine of an implanter device containing a hypodermic needle . for example , the implant may contain one immediate - release pellet and five sustained - release pellets . the operator activates the implanter to first puncture the skin , then deliver the implant composition through the needle and into the animal . in the case where the animal is a heifer , it is preferred that the puncture occurs at the posterior portion of the ear . the immediate - release pellet of the implant delivers the mga in an amount of and rate sufficient to immediately inhibit pregnancy . the sustained - release pellets of the implant delivers the mga in an amount of and rate sufficient to deliver to the heifer on a sustained release basis in order to exhibit growth increase , estrus suppression and inhibit pregnancy for an additional time period of from 150 to 200 days . various modifications of the present invention can be made without departing from the spirit or scope thereof and it should be understood that the invention is intended to be limited only as defined in the appended claims . | 0 |
examples are provided to further illustrate the process and intermediates according to the present disclosure . nevertheless , the following examples are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure . a synthetic route involved in examples 1 to 80 of the present disclosure is shown as follows . a cryostat was turned on , and the temperature was set at − 12 ° c . 500 ml dichloromethane was measured with a 1 l graduated cylinder and added into a 1 . 0 l three - necked bottle . the three - necked bottle was placed in the cryostat to be cooled under agitation . 50 g ( 0 . 068 mol ) of compound 2 was weighed with a counter balance and added into the reaction flask , and 300 ml of dichloromethane was measured with the 1 l graduated cylinder and added therein . the mixture was stirred , dissolved and cooled . an inner temperature of the reaction flask was cooled to 0 - 5 ° c . to the reaction solution , the temperature of which is kept at 0 - 5 ° c ., was slowly added dropwise a mixed solution of 11 . 98 ml of benzyl chloroformate and 60 ml of dichloromethane . after the addition of the mixed solution , the reaction was carried out under the same temperature for 1 h . the reaction progress was monitored through thin layer chromatography ( developing solvent : dichloromethane / methanol = 10 : 1 , with addition of two drops of ammonia ). after the reaction was completed , the resulting reaction solution was concentrated under vacuum ( with a temperature being ≦ 50 ° c . and a vacuum degree being ≦− 0 . 086 mpa ) to give about 300 ml of compound 3 . a low temperature cooling device was turned on , and the temperature was set at − 75 ° c . temperature was cooled to a range from − 70 to − 60 ° c . the 300 ml compound 3 liquid obtained from the concentration according to example 1 was transferred to a 1 . 0 l three - necked reaction flask . 106 . 46 ml ( 117 . 11 g or 1 . 498 mol ) of dimethyl sulfoxide was added into the reaction flask under room temperature ( 25 - 30 ° c .). after dimethyl sulfoxide was added , the reaction flask was placed in the cryostat to be cooled under agitation to a temperature in a range from − 70 to 60 ° c . 21 . 55 ml ( 0 . 152 mol or 31 . 865 g ) of trifluoroacetic anhydride was slowly added dropwise , a dropping speed thereof being controlled , so that a temperature of the reaction solution can be maintained in a range from − 65 to − 60 ° c . the reaction was carried out under the same temperature for 0 . 5 h . under the condition that the temperature of the reaction solution was maintained in the range from − 65 to − 60 ° c ., 47 . 3 ml ( 0 . 339 mol , 34 . 35 g ) of triethylamine was slowly added dropwise , and then stirred for 0 . 5 h under the same temperature . after the completion of the reaction , the reaction solution was warmed to the room temperature . the reaction liquid at room temperature ( 20 - 30 ° c .) was transferred to a 2 . 0 l separating funnel , into which 350 ml of purified water was added . after extraction , a water layer was discarded and an organic layer was obtained . the organic layer was extracted again with 250 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution , from which an organic layer was obtained and a water layer was discarded . the organic layer obtained was extracted again with 350 ml of purified water , from which a water layer was discarded and an organic layer is obtained . the organic layer was transferred to a 1 . 0 l beaker , into which 20 g of anhydrous magnesium sulfate was added . after agitation for 20 minutes , the mixture in the beaker is dried and dehydrated . then , magnesium sulfate was filtered out , and pale yellow filtrate was obtained . the pale yellow filtrate was concentrated to a volume of 125 ml under vacuum , with a temperature being ≦ 60 ° c . and a vacuum degree being ≦− 0 . 086 mpa . to the concentrate , was added 135 ml of isopropanol , and concentrated again to a volume of 135 ml . the liquid finally obtained from the concentration was transferred into the 1 . 0 l three - necked reaction flask . 700 ml of tert - butyl methyl ether was added into the reaction flask , and 11 . 2 ml ( 0 . 1497 mol , 17 . 07 g ) of trifluoroacetic acid was slowly added therein dropwise at room temperature . the resulting mixture was crystallized under stirring at room temperature . after suction filtration , the filter cake was washed with n - heptane ( 200 ml × 2 ) by stirring for 30 min . the filter cake was dried by forced air at 30 ° c ., to afford 8 . 2 g of compound 4 , with a yield of 82 . 2 % and hplc purity of 91 % ( applying hplc - waters symmetry c8 , 15 cm × 3 . 9 mm column , mobile phase : methanol : ammonium acetate ( 25 : 75 ), flow rate : 2 . 0 ml / min , residence time : 5 . 07 min ). to a 3 . 0 l beaker were added 50 g ( 0 . 0456 mol ) of compound 4 of example 2 and 80 ml of dichloromethane . after uniform mixing , the solution was dried with 15 g of anhydrous magnesium sulfate for 20 min and then filtered by suction filtration . the filtrate was dried for the second time with 7 g of anhydrous magnesium sulfate for 20 min and then filtered by suction filtration . the filter residue , which was washed with dichloromethane , and the filtrate , which was refilled with dichloromethane to a volume of 160 ml ( the measured content of moisture in the filtrate should be less than 0 . 3 %) were reserved for later use . a low temperature cooling device was turned on and set at − 8 ° c . 170 ml of tetrahydrofuran ( dried with anhydrous magnesium sulfate for 30 min and filtered by suction filtration ) was added into a 1 . 0 l three - necked bottle . the three - necked bottle was placed in a cryostat to be cooled under agitation to a temperature in a range from − 5 to 0 ° c . 20 g ( 0 . 1273 mol ) of trimethylsulfonium bromide was added into the three - necked bottle , and 20 g ( 0 . 11 . 786 mol ) of potassium tert - butoxide was added therein at − 5 - 0 ° c . after being vacuumized by a circulating water pump , the three - necked bottle was filled with nitrogen . the reaction mixture was stirred for for 15 min under nitrogen atmosphere . the temperature of the low temperature cooling device was adjusted to − 75 ° c ., and an inner temperature thereof was reduced to a range from − 65 to − 60 ° c . the solution , which has been deoxidized and dried , was slowly added into the reaction flask dropwise , meanwhile timekeeping begun . in this course , the temperature of the reaction solution was kept in a range from − 65 to − 60 ° c . after the addition of the solution , the reaction was carried out at − 65 to − 60 ° c . till the timekeeping reached 3 h . reaction progress was monitored by thin layer chromatography ( developing solvent : dichloromethane / methanol = 10 : 1 , with addition of two drops of ammonia ). after the reaction was completed , to the reaction mixture was added a solution of 21 . 5 g ( 0 . 405 mol ) of ammonium chloride in 120 ml of water . the resulting mixture was stirred for 15 min at 5 - 10 ° c . after stratification , the water layer was extracted once with 200 ml of dichloromethane ; and organic phases were combined , and washed with water for four times ( 4 × 100 ml ). the organic layer was concentrated under vacuum until no more distillate was observed . remaining solvent was vaporized by being substituted with 200 ml methanol . after two substitutions , the solution was concentrated , thereby obtaining compound 5 . compound 5 prepared in example 3 was dissolved in 350 ml of methanol and transferred to a 1 . 0 l three - necked bottle . 16 g of palladium and 142 g ( 0 . 2246 mol ) of ammonium formate were added into the three - necked bottle . the reaction was carried out at 50 ° c . for 2 h . reaction progress was monitored by thin layer chromatography ( developing solvent : dichloromethane / methanol = 10 : 1 , with addition of two drops of ammonia ). after the reaction was completed , the reaction solution was cooled to lower than 30 ° c ., and then filtered by suction . the filtrate was concentrated under vacuum until about 200 ml of mixture remained , and the filter cake was kept sealed with water . the concentrate was slowly added into 550 ml of water dropwise within 20 min , and crystallized under stirring for 1 h . after suction filtration , the filter cake was washed with methanol / water ( 1 : 3 ), and then dried , to afford compound 6 ( applying waters acquity uplc beh c18 chromatographic column ( 2 . 1 × 50 mm , 1 . 7 μm ); mobile phase : acetonitrile - 0 . 01 mol / l ammonium acetate in water ( 55 : 45 ), flow rate : 0 . 20 ml / min , residence time : 2 . 77 min , detecting wavelength : 210 nm , column temperature : 40 ° c ., and inj . vol : 2 . 5 μl ). compound 6 ( 0 . 5 g , 0 . 6698 mmol ), potassium iodide ( 1 . 11 g , 0 . 698 mmol ) and cyclopropylamine ( 2 . 43 ml , 2 . 00 g , 35 mmol ) were dissolved under vibration at 50 ° c . in 5 ml isopropanol in a 50 ml round - bottom flask , and the resulting mixture was stirred at 50 ° c . reaction progress was monitored by tlc . after the reaction was completed , the resulting reaction mixture was concentrated , and the residue was dissolved in water ( 50 ml ) and ethyl acetate ( 100 ml ). after standing stratification , the water layer was washed with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 50 ml ). the organic phases were combined , washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 50 ml ) and brine ( 40 ml ), dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate , and filtered . the filtrate was concentrated under vacuum to afford crude product . the crude product was purified by silica gel chromatograph ( gradient of eluents of methanol : dichloromethane : ammonia water from 4 : 95 . 6 : 0 . 4 to 6 : 93 . 5 : 04 ) to afford 0 . 38 g of the titled compound ( 2r , 3s , 4r , 5s , 8r , 10r , 11r , 12s , 13s , 14r )- 13 -[( 2 , 6 - dideoxy - 3 - c - methyl - 3 - o - methyl - 4 - c -[( cyclopropylamino ) methyl ]- α - l - ribopyranosyl ) oxy ]- 2 - ethyl - 3 , 4 , 10 - trihydroxy - 3 , 5 , 8 , 10 , 12 , 14 - hexamethyl - 11 -[[ 3 , 4 , 6 - trideoxy - 3 -( dimethylamino )- β - d - xylo - hexopyranosy ] oxy ]- 1 - oxa - 7 - azacyclopentadecan - 15 - one . compound 6 ( 0 . 5 g , 0 . 6698 mmol ), tetrabutylammonium iodide ( 0 . 74 , 2 . 0 mmol ) and n - butylamine ( 0 . 395 ml , 0 . 2938 , 4 mmol ) were dissolved under vibration in 5 ml methanol at 50 ° c ., and the resulting mixture was stirred at the same temperature . reaction progress was monitored by tlc . after the reaction was completed , the resulting reaction mixture was concentrated , and residue was dissolved in 20 ml of water and 20 ml of ethyl acetate . after standing stratification , the water layer was washed with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 20 ml ). the organic extractants were combined and washed with 40 ml of brine , dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate , and filtered . the filtrate was concentrated under vacuum , thereby obtaining crude product . the crude product was purified by silica gel chromatograph ( gradient of eluents of methanol : dichloromethane : ammonia water from 4 : 95 . 6 : 0 . 4 to 6 : 93 . 5 : 0 . 4 ) to afford 0 . 0888 g of the titled compound ( 2r , 3s , 4r , 5s , 8r , 10r , 11r , 12s , 13s , 14r )- 13 -[( 2 , 6 - dideoxy - 3 - c - methyl - 3 - o - methyl - 4 - c -[( butylamino ) methyl ]- α - l - ribopyranosyl ) oxy ]- 2 - ethyl - 3 , 4 , 10 - trihydroxy - 3 , 5 , 8 , 10 , 12 , 14 - hexamethyl - 11 -[[ 3 , 4 , 6 - trideoxy - 3 -( dimethylamino )- β - d - xylo - hexopyranosy ] oxy ]- 1 - oxa - 7 - azacyclopentadecan - 15 - one . compound 6 ( 0 . 5 g , 06694 mmol ) and n - propylamine ( 0 . 5 g ) were dissolved under vibration in isopropanol ( 10 ml ) at 50 ° c ., and the resulting mixture was stirred at the same temperature for 48 h . reaction progress is monitored by tlc . after the reaction was completed , the resulting reaction mixture was concentrated , and residue was added into saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 50 ml ) and dichloromethane ( 80 ml ). the mixture was vibrated uniformly , and stood to be stratified . the organic phase dichloromethane was washed with water ( 3 × 50 ml ), dried with mgso 4 , and concentrated under vacuum to dryness . the resulting substance was dissolved in dichloromethane , and applied on gf254 silica gel . thin layer chromatography separation was performed with an eluent of 4 / 1 cyclohexane / diethylamine or 4 / 1 / 0 . 01 dichloromethane / methanol / ammonia water . the chromatographic band corresponding to the desired product was scraped off and further purified by silica gel chromatography eluted with a mixture of dichloromethane / methanol / ammonia in a ratio of 4 / 1 / 0 . 01 . the mobile phase was concentrated at 50 ° c . under vacuum and dried , thereby obtaining 0 . 16 g of ( 2r , 3s , 4r , 5s , 8r , 10r , 11r , 12s , 13s , 14r )- 13 -[( 2 , 6 - dideoxy - 3 - c - methyl - 3 - o - methyl - 4 - c -[( propylamino ) methyl ]- α - l - ribopyranosyl ) oxy ]- 2 - ethyl - 3 , 4 , 10 - trihydroxy - 3 , 5 , 8 , 10 , 12 , 14 - hexamethyl - 11 -[[ 3 , 4 , 6 - trideoxy - 3 -( dimethylamino )- β - d - xylo - hexopyranosy ] oxy ]- 1 - oxa - 7 - azacyclopentadecan - 15 - one as pure amine . compounds according to examples 5 to 80 have structures shown by the following general formula 1 . in examples 5 to 80 , r is a group shown by table 1 , and nitrogen or sulfur in r is directly attached to methylene of r 3 . r ′ in each of examples 5 to 80 is h . specific reaction time for each of compounds of examples 6 to 80 prepared according to the above general preparation process 1 , general preparation process 2 and general preparation process 3 of example 5 is shown in table 1 . in table 1 , data relating to structures , yields and mass spec are the data of the final compounds . 600 ml of dichloromethane was added into a 2 l three - necked bottle . the three - necked bottle was placed in the cryostat to be cooled under agitation . 30 g ( 0 . 3861 mol ) of compound 11 , which was prepared according to the process as described in chinese patent cn102239174a , was measured and added into the reaction flask to be dissolved under stirring , and then cooled to 0 - 5 ° c . to the reaction solution , the temperature of which is kept at 0 - 5 ° c ., was slowly added dropwise a mixed solution of 6 . 8 ml ( 0 . 424 mol , 82 . 32 g ) of benzyl chloroformate and 60 ml of dichloromethane . after the addition of the mixed solution , the reaction was carried out under 0 - 5 ° c . for 1 h . the reaction solution was concentrated under vacuum , with a temperature being ≦ 50 ° c . and a vacuum degree being ≦− 0 . 086 mpa , to give 180 ml of concentrate of compound 7 . the concentrate of compound 7 was transferred to the 2 l three - necked reaction flask , into which 60 . 6 ml ( 66 . 6 g , 8 . 532 mol ) of dimethyl sulfoxide was added at room temperature ( 20 - 30 ° c .). after dimethyl sulfoxide was added , the reaction flask was placed in the cryostat to be cooled under agitation to a temperature in a range from − 70 to − 60 ° c . 12 . 18 ml ( 0 . 864 mol , 181 . 32 g ) of trifluoroacetic anhydride was slowly added dropwise , a dropping speed thereof being controlled , so that a temperature of the reaction solution can be maintained in a range from − 65 to − 60 ° c . the reaction was carried out at the same temperature for 0 . 5 h . under the condition that the temperature of the reaction solution was maintained in the range from − 65 to − 60 ° c ., 26 . 88 ml ( 1 . 932 mol , 195 . 3 g ) of triethylamine was slowly added dropwise , and then stirred for 0 . 5 h at the same temperature . after the reaction was completed , the reaction solution was warmed to the room temperature , and then transferred to a 2 l separating funnel , into which 210 ml of purified water was added . after extraction , an organic layer was obtained and a water layer was discarded . the organic layer was extracted again with 150 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution , from which an organic layer was obtained and a water layer was discarded . again , the organic layer obtained was extracted with 200 ml of purified water , from which a water layer was discarded and an organic layer was obtained . the organic layer was transferred to a 1 . 0 l beaker , into which 120 g of anhydrous magnesium sulfate was added . after agitation for 20 minutes , the mixture in the beaker is dried and dehydrated . then , magnesium sulfate was filtered out , and pale yellow filtrate was obtained . the pale yellow filtrate was concentrated under vacuum to dryness , with a temperature being ≦ 60 ° c . and a vacuum degree being ≦− 0 . 086 mpa , to afford compound 8 . 170 ml of tetrahydrofuran was added into a 1 . 0 l three - necked bottle . the three - necked bottle was placed in a cryostat to be cooled under agitation to a temperature in a range of − 5 - 0 ° c . trimethylsulfonium bromide ( 0 . 12256 mol , 19 . 25 g ) was added into the three - necked bottle , and potassium tert - butoxide ( 0 . 17156 mol , 19 . 25 g ) was added therein at − 5 - 0 ° c . the reaction mixture was stirred for 15 min under nitrogen atmosphere . an inner temperature was reduced to − 70 ° c ., and a dichloromethane solution of compound 8 prepared according to example 81 was slowly added dropwise into the three - necked bottle , meanwhile timekeeping begun . in this course , the temperature of the reaction solution was kept in a range from − 65 to − 60 ° c . after the addition of the solution , the reaction was carried out under nitrogen atmosphere till the timekeeping reached 3 h . to the reaction solution was added a solution of 20 . 85 g ( 0 . 39 mol , 20 . 85 g ) of ammonia chloride in 120 ml of water . the resulting mixture was stirred for 15 min at 5 - 10 ° c . after stratification , the water layer was extracted once with 200 ml of dichloromethane . the dichloromethane layer and the organic phase were combined , and washed with water ( 4 × 200 ml ). the organic layer was concentrated under vacuum until no more distillate was observed . remaining solvent was vaporized by being substituted with 200 ml methanol . after two substitutions , the solution was concentrated , thereby obtaining compound 9 . compound 9 prepared in example 82 was dissolved in 170 ml of methanol . 16 g of palladium and 13 . 63 g ( 0 . 2164 mol , 13 . 63 g ) of ammonium formate were added into the resulting solution . the reaction was carried out at 50 ° c . for 2 h . after the reaction was completed , the reaction solution was cooled and then filtered . the filter cake was kept sealed with water , and the filtrate was concentrated under vacuum until about 80 ml of mixture remained . the concentrate was slowly added dropwise into 250 ml of water within 20 min . the concentrate was regulated with 10 % sodium hydroxide solution until the ph thereof reached 10 . 5 ± 0 . 5 , and crystallized under stirring for 1 h . after suction filtration , the filter cake was washed with methanol / water ( 1 : 3 ), and then dried under forced air at 40 ° c ., thereby affording compound 10 . in a 50 ml round - bottom flask , compound 10 ( 0 . 5 g , 0 . 6698 mmol ) prepared according to example 83 , potassium iodide ( 1 . 11 g , 0 . 698 mmol ) and cyclopropylamine ( 2 . 43 ml , 2 . 00 g , 35 mmol ) were dissolved under vibration at 50 ° c . in 5 ml of isopropanol , and the resulting mixture was stirred at 50 ° c . reaction progress was monitored by tlc . after the reaction was completed , the resulting reaction mixture was concentrated , and the residue was dissolved in water ( 50 ml ) and ethyl acetate ( 100 ml ). after stratification , the water layer was washed with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 50 ml ). the organic phases were combined , washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 50 ml ) and brine ( 40 ml ), dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and filtered . the filtrate was concentrated under vacuum to afford a crude product . the crude product was purified by silica gel chromatograph ( gradient of eluents of methanol : dichloromethane : ammonia water from 4 : 95 . 6 : 0 . 4 to 6 : 93 . 5 : 0 . 4 ) to afford 0 . 38 g of the titled corn pound . compound 10 ( 0 . 5 g , 0 . 6698 mmol ) prepared according to example 83 , tetrabutylammonium iodide ( 0 . 74 , 2 . 0 mmol ) and n - butylamine ( 0 . 395 ml , 0 . 2938 , 4 mmol ) were dissolved under vibration in 5 ml methanol at 50 ° c ., and the resulting mixture was stirred at the same temperature . reaction progress was monitored by tlc . after the reaction was completed , the resulting reaction mixture was concentrated , and the residue was dissolved in water ( 20 ml ) and ethyl acetate ( 20 ml ). after stratification , the water layer was washed with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 20 ml ). the organic extractants were combined and washed with 40 ml of brine , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and filtered . the filtrate was concentrated under vacuum , thereby obtaining a crude product . the crude product was purified by silica gel chromatography ( gradient of eluents of methanol : dichloromethane : ammonia water being in a range from 4 : 95 . 6 : 0 . 4 to 6 : 93 . 5 : 0 . 4 ) to afford 0 . 0888 g of the titled compound . compound 10 ( 0 . 5 g , 0 . 6694 mmol ) prepared according to example 83 and n - propylamine ( 0 . 5 g , 25 nlmmol ) were dissolved under vibration in isopropanol ( 10 ml ) at 50 ° c ., and the resulting mixture was stirred at the same temperature for 72 h . reaction progress was monitored by tlc . after the reaction was completed , the resulting reaction mixture was concentrated , and the residue was added into saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 50 ml ) and dichloromethane ( 80 ml ). the mixture was vibrated uniformly , and stood to be stratified . the organic phase dichloromethane was washed with water ( 3 × 50 ml ). the organic phases were combined , dried over mgso 4 , and concentrated under vacuum to dryness . the resulting substance was dissolved in dichloromethane , and applied on gf254 silica gel . thin layer chromatography separation was performed with an eluent of 4 / 1 cyclohexane / diethylamine or 4 / 1 / 0 . 01 dichloromethane / methanol / ammonia water . the chromatographic band corresponding to the desired product was scraped off and further purified by silica gel chromatography eluted with a mixture of dichloromethane / methanol / ammonia in a ratio of 4 / 1 / 0 . 01 . the mobile phase was concentrated at 50 ° c . under vacuum and dried , thereby obtaining 0 . 16 g of the titled compound as a pure amine . compounds of examples 85 - 187 each have a structure shown by the following general formula 1 , in which substituent group r is as shown by table 2 . compounds of examples 85 - 187 are prepared according to the general preparation process ( a ), general preparation process ( b ) and general preparation process ( c ) of the above example 84 . specific reaction time for preparation of each of compounds of examples 85 to 187 is shown in table 2 . in table 2 , structures , yields and mass spec are data of the final compounds . in examples 84 to 187 , r is a group shown by table 2 , and nitrogen or sulfur in r is directly attached to methylene of r 3 . r ′ in each of examples 84 to 187 is n - propyl . although the present disclosure is described based on specific examples , certain changes and equivalents are obviously understandable for a person skilled in the art , which fall within the scope of the present disclosure . table 3 shows structural formulas of some compounds in table 1 and table 2 . in accordance with the performance standards for antimicrobial disk susceptibility tests : approved standard published by the us national committee for clinical laboratory standards , the antibacterial activities of compounds prepared according to examples 5 to 187 were tested . the mics ( minimum inhibitory concentration ) of the medicaments prepared according to the examples on the following bacterial strains were measured through mini broth dilution technique . staphylococcus aureus cvcc26003 , streptococcus equines cvcc556 . actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae cvcc262 , haemophilus parasuis , and pasteurella multocida cvcc399 , which were purchased from the control institute of veterinary bioproducts and pharmaceuticals , china . gamithromycin prepared by a process referring to that described in cn102239174a , the content thereof being 95 . 2 %; and tulathromycin prepared by a process referring to that described in cn1530370a , the content thereof being 96 . 4 %. an sw - cj - 2fd model clean bench manufactured by suzhou anti airtech co ., ltd , a dnp - 9272bs - iii model electro - thermal incubator manufactured by shanghai xinmiao medical instruments manufacturing co ., ltd , mba of batch no . 20120921 manufactured by qingdao hope bio - technology co ., ltd , mhb of batch no . 20120229 manufactured by qingdao hope bio - technology co ., ltd , new - born calf serum of batch no . 20120824 manufactured by weikesheng biotech co ., ltd , liquid culture medium : camhb . to mhb ( prepared according to the specification of the final product ) were added cacl 2 and mgcl 2 , so that a final concentration of ca 2 + in the culture medium was 20 mg / l and that of mg 2 + therein was 10 mg / l . solid culture medium : nina prepared according to the specification of the final product . liquid culture medium : camhb with 10 % calf serum and 0 . 005 % nad +. solid culture medium : mha with 10 % calf serum and 0 . 005 % nad +. the strains were taken out of a refrigerator at − 20 ° c . to be revived , and were spreaded by streaking on the solid culture medium with an inoculating loop . the inoculated culture medium was cultured at 35 ° c . in a constant temperature incubator for 20 h . monoclonal antibodies were selected from a well - grown culture plate and streaked on the solid culture medium . the inoculated culture medium was cultured at 35 ° c . in the constant temperature incubator for 20 h . the compounds of examples 5 to 80 and the compounds of examples 84 to 187 each were prepared with 100 % dmso into a solution having a concentration of 8 . 8 mg / ml . a 96 - well plate was used , and 100 μl of dmso was added into each of wells 2 to 11 , and 200 μl of ready - prepared medicament solution was added into the 1 st well , 100 μl of the medicament solution was extracted from the 1 st well and added into the 2 nd well . double dilution was performed until the 11 th well , thereby forming 11 gradients . in this case , compound of parent plate was prepared . 3 μl of double diluted medicament solution was extracted with a 12 - channel pipettor and added into wells 1 - 11 of a new disposable 96 - well culture plate . the 12 th well thereof is a control well . for each medicament , there are two adjacent rows which are parallel . the transferred compound plate was reserved for later use . representative bacterial colony was selected from the plate prepared in the above section 4 . 2 and added into normal saline , an od 600 value being adjusted to a range of 0 . 14 - 0 . 15 . the dilution ratio was recorded , and the bacterial liquid for the tests was diluted according to the recorded dilution ratio . subsequently , the bacterial suspension and the liquid culture medium were diluted in the proportion of 1 : 200 . the diluted solution was reserved for later use . the medicaments and bacterial liquid were added into the compound plates from section 4 . 3 , two rows for each medicament , and one plate for one bacterium . the test results are as shown in table 5 . the mics of partial compounds failed to be determined in one test , thus further tests were performed under new diluted concentration , so as to further determine the mics of the compounds . the in vivo antibacterial activity was measured by conventional animal experiment process well known to the person skilled in the art , and the test animals were balb / c mice . test materials : standard strain of streptococcus pneumoniae , under accession number cmcc 31203 , purchased from the national center for medical culture collections ; and tulathromycin prepared by a process referring to that described in cn1530370a . test medicaments : compounds ( syzx - 1 , syzx - 2 , syzx - 6 ) prepared according to the three general preparation processes of example 5 , and compounds prepared in example 6 ( syzx - 3 ), example 8 ( syzx - 5 ), example 12 ( syzx - 10 ), example 13 ( syzx - 11 ), example 14 ( syzx - 12 ), example 15 ( syzx - 14 ), example 16 ( syzx - 15 ), example 17 ( syzx - 17 ), example 18 ( syzx - 101 prepared according to the general preparation process ( c )), example 26 ( syzx - 30 ), example 30 ( syzx - 35 ), example 38 ( syzx - 47 ), example 45 ( syzx - 58 ), example 52 ( syzx - 65 ), example 53 ( syzx - 66 ), example 54 ( syzx - 67 ), and example 170 ( syzx - 213 ). in the meantime , tulathromycin was used for comparison . the compounds each were dissolved in absolute ethyl alcohol . the mixture was supplemented until the volume reached a required level , and sufficiently mixed to afford solution with a concentration of 1 mg / ml . mice each weighed in a range of 18 - 20 g were selected from 350 mice of 5 to 6 weeks and divided into different cages , with 10 mice in each cage . the mice were breeded for 72 h , and entered into tests if observations turned out normal . before the tests started , streptococcus pneumoniae was cultured in a blood plate for 24 h , and then added into a sterility broth containing serum for shaking culture ( 120 r / min ) at 37 ° c ., for 20 h , so that an enriched culture can be conducted . viable count was performed . the bacteria were diluted to 5 × 10 8 cfu / ml , with sterilized saline water . the mice each were infected with 0 . 5 ml of the bacterial liquid by intraperitoneal injection . the day after the infection , compounds prepared according to the above examples and the medicament for comparison were administered to the mice by subcutaneous injection via neck at a dose of 5 mg per kg of body weight for 3 consecutive days . in the meantime , control groups , such as blank control groups and medicament control groups , were arranged . the blank control groups were not administered with any medicament after being infected . the mice in the medicament control groups each were injected with tulathromycin at a dose of 10 mg per kg of body weight after being infected . after infection and administration , the mice were observed every day , and the death count in each group was recorded until the seventh day , table 6 shows the influence of the compounds shown in the general formula of the present disclosure on the survival rate of mice infected by streptococcus pneumoniae . as shown in table 6 , administration of the compounds shown by the formula of the present disclosure at a dose of 5 mg per kg of body weight can reduce deaths of the mice due to infection by streptococcus pneumoniae . as compared with the control groups , the compounds of the present disclosure can significantly improve the survival rate of the infected mice , and have manifested evident in vivo antibacterial activity . name of the medicaments : compound no . syzx - 24 , and tulathromycin having a content of 96 . 4 % prepared by the process referring to that described in chinese patent cn1530370a . balb / c mice , each weighed 16 . 0 - 19 . 0 g , were selected . the mice were half male and half female . before the tests started , the mice were fed in different cages and observed for 3 days . 12 ( half male and half female ) healthy and brisk mice were selected for tests . the mice were prohibited from feeding , but not water , for 14 h ( from 6 pm to 8 am the next morning ) before administration . a mice gavage device , a 1 ml disposable syringe , a 50 ml beaker and a 100 ml beaker , individual ventilated cages ( ivc ), ophthalmologic operating scissors , tweezers , a medical tray , 0 . 5 % basic fuchsin dye liquor , medical rubber gloves , an analytical balance , and electronic scales . three groups were arranged for the tests , each having four mice ( half male and half female ). the three groups were respectively tulathromycin group , syzx - 24 group , and solvent control group . the mice were marked with 0 . 5 % basic fuchsin dye liquor . the marked parts of mice in the tulathromycin group were respectively left upper shoulders ( female ), left ribs ( female ), right upper shoulders ( male ) and right ribs ( male ). the marked parts of mice in the syzx - 24 group were respectively left hinder limbs ( female ), necks ( female ), right hinder limbs ( male ), and necks ( male ). the mice in the solvent control group were not marked . mice in the administered group were administered at a dose of 2000 mg / kg · d - 1 ( it was reported that the minimum lethal dose of tulathromycin in orally intoxicated mice is higher than 2000 mg / kg · d - 1 ). 0 . 2 g of sodium carboxymethylcellulose was added into 40 ml of purified water and dissolved therein under stirring at 80 ° c ., thereby forming 0 . 5 % sodium carboxymethylcellulose solution as solvent for preparing the medicament . the test medicament was added into the 0 . 5 % sodium carboxymethylcellulose solution according to the dosage of administration , which gave 170 mg / ml suspension . 0 . 5 % sodium carboxymethylcellulose solution of the same volume was added into the suspension and screened through a 100 mesh , whereby a suspension having a concentration of 85 mg / ml was prepared . the medicaments were formulated into 85 mg / ml suspensions and administered by gastric perfusion once at a dose of 2000 ing / kg · d - 1 . in other words , the medicament was administered to each mouse at a dose of 0 . 47 ml per 20 g of body weight . specific grouping and administration are shown in table 7 . after administration of the medicaments , toxic symptoms and deaths of the animals within 6 h after administration were observed and recorded . the animals were continuously observed for 30 min after administration , and observed once from 1 h to 4 h after administration . subsequently , the animals were observed once a day until recovery . toxic symptoms and deaths were recorded , and dead animals were dissected without delay , so that organs , such as heart , liver , spleen , lungs , kidneys , stomach and intestines , can be observed . 3 . 1 death rates after 6 h upon infection were compared . table 8 shows the death status and death rates of the groups . 1 ml disposable plastic sterile syringe , small operating scissors , disposable rubber gloves , a wkz - 4 model pulverizer , a mortar , a measuring cylinder , a beaker , tianyija2003 electronic scales , a medical tray , carbazotic acid dye , medical rubber gloves , a mice gavage device ( no . 12 ), sodium carboxymethylcellulose ( tianjin kemiou chemical reagent co ., ltd ), and the like . compounds ( syzx -, syzx - 2 , syzx - 6 ) prepared through the three general preparation processes according to example 5 , compound of example 6 ( syzx - 3 ), compound of example 8 ( syzx - 5 ), compound of example 12 ( syzx - 10 ), compound of example 13 ( syzx - 11 ), compound of example 14 ( syzx - 12 ), compound of example 15 ( syzx - 14 ), compound of example 16 ( syzx - 15 ), compound of example 17 ( syzx - 17 ), compound of example 45 ( syzx - 58 ), compound ( syzx - 101 ) prepared in general preparation process ( c ) of example 84 , and compound of example 170 ( syzx - 213 ). spf level konmin mice purchased from henan provicial laboratory animal center , license number being scxk ( ) 2010 - 0002 . the mice comprise half male and half female , each weighed 18 - 22 g . the female mice and the male mice are separated and fed in individual ventilated cages . rearing condition of the mice include sterilized complete teed , free choice feeding and drinking , room temperature in a range of 10 - 24 ° c ., and relative humidity in a range of 40 - 60 %. 0 . 2 g of sodium carboxymethylcellulose was dissolved in 100 ml of purified water , placed overnight for swelling , and then stirred uniformly for later use . 2 . 1 . 2 the compounds of some examples were powdered using a mortar , and sifted through mesh ( 100 - mesh ) for later use . trial tests were performed repeatedly , so that an interval range between ld 0 and ld 100 can be determined and divided into groups , thereby grouping and determining the difference between the groups . in official tests , 60 mice each weighed in a range of 18 - 22 g were selected for each medicament . male mice and female mice were separated and respectively weighed . mice of the same weight range ( for example a range of 18 . 0 - 18 . 9 g or a range of 19 . 0 - 19 . 9 g ) were marked and fed in the same cage . the male mice and the female mice were respectively divided into 6 groups at random based on weight , so that mice of different gender and different weight can be evenly distributed in each group , and each group included 10 mice , in which half were male and half were female . before the mice were infected , the medicament was prepared with 0 . 2 % sodium carboxymethylcellulose solution based on a predetermined concentration . the mice each were gavaged once at a dose of 0 . 2 ml per 10 g of body weight . the mice were prohibited from feeding , but not from water , within 12 - 16 h before gavaging . the general health conditions , toxic symptoms , and the death process of the mice were minutely observed and recorded right after the gavaging . the dead mice were roughly dissected without delay , and continuously observed for 7 days . per os ld 50 and 95 % fiducial limit ( fl ) were calculated according to improved karber method . the calculation equations are as follows : ld 50 = lg - 1 [ x m - i ( ∑ p - 0 . 5 ) ] s x 50 = i ∑ pq n the 95 % fiducial limit : fl = lg − 1 ( lgld 50 ± 1 . 96 × s x50 ) in the above equations , x m — logarithmic value of the maximum dosage , according to the ld 50 dosage grading stardards for acute toxicity of chemicals in the guidelines for acute toxicity of veterinary drugs , a drug , the ld 50 , of which is in a range of 501 - 5000 mg / kg body weight , is assessed as low toxic . obviously , the compounds prepared according to the present disclosure have lower toxicity . it is known to the person skilled in the art that the higher the value of ld 50 , the lower the toxicity . the above embodiments are described only for better understanding , rather than restricting , the present disclosure . various modifications and variants to the present disclosure may be made by anyone skilled in the art , without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure . the scope of the present disclosure should still be subjected to the scope defined in the claims . | 0 |
referring to the only figure , a one - step loading adapter 10 is shown in perspective . adapter 10 is removably attached to a mounting table , not shown , on a lifting device , not shown , such as an mj - 1 lift truck or an a / m32a - 88 manual lift universal dolly . adapter 10 includes a mounting plate 12 having fixedly attached thereon two i beam tracks 14 in parallel , a boom trolley 16 , a boom assembly 18 , a cradle assembly trolley 20 , a lateral track assembly 22 , a lateral cradle trolley 24 , a cradle base 26 , a cradle 28 , a hold down belt 30 , a boom actuator 32 removably attached to boom trolley 16 , a boom base 56 , a boom 36 , and a hoist beam 38 . tracks 14 on mounting plate 12 are shaped like i beams and thus have an outside track 40 and an inside track 42 . stops 44 being bolts or pins prevent boom trolley 16 and cradle assembly trolley 20 from running off their respective tracks 14 . boom trolley 16 has two support plates 46 and a fixed connecting member 48 such as a metal tube between plates 46 . two cam - follower type bearings 50 are attached to each support plate 46 and ride in outside track 40 . bearings 50 closely fit within track 40 so as to prevent tilting of boom assembly 18 when a load is lifted . pins 44 prevent bearings 50 from running off tracks 40 . a pivoting post 52 supports boom assembly 18 and a pin lock 54 thereon functions to prevent rotation as desired and allows removal of boom assembly 18 from adapter 10 for storage or when needed for clearance under an aircraft wing . boom assembly 18 includes a base 56 that is pivotally connected to pivoting post 52 and a first boom section 58 . first vertical boom section 58 pivots about a pin 60 attached to base 56 . also fixedly attached is manual actuator 14 . an actuator shaft 62 is pivotally attached by pin 64 to first vertical boom section 58 . a second vertical boom section 66 is pivotally attached to first vertical boom section 58 by pin 68 . second boom section 66 can be rotated to the aft direction to store the boom assembly 18 but when attached it typically is held in the near vertical position as shown by a stop internal to first boom section 58 . a horizontal boom section 70 is pivotally attached to second boom section 66 by pivot pin 72 . a stop , not shown , prevents the downward movement of horizontal boom 70 relative to second vertical boom section 66 and thus boom 70 and boom section 66 are at about a 90 degree angle . a bracket 74 is fixedly attached by bolts 76 to horizontal boom 70 . a coupling 78 is mounted between bracket 74 and hoisting beam 38 . actuator 14 can be either manually driven or hydraulically driven . the greater the usage would most likely require hydraulic means , not shown . handle 80 can be removed from handle shaft 81 and a hydraulic drive place thereon . ball screw actuator 14 is manually operated by a ratchet handle 80 to raise and lower a store . handle 80 rotation is selected by a lever , not shown , on ratchet handle 80 that can be positioned to either side of neutral for clockwise or counterclockwise handle rotation . the neutral position of the lever allows handle 80 to assume a free wheeling condition . a no - back feature is built into a gear box portion 82 of actuator 14 . the no - back prevents the inadvertent dropping of a missile supported by hoist beam 38 if ratchet handle 80 is unrestrained and free to rotate . the no - back consists of two sets of clutches that lock in a fail safe mode to avoid dropping the store being handled . actuator 14 has a gear drive release button 84 located adjacent to crank handle 80 that places the actuator drive mechanism in a free - wheeling mode for the rapid manual positioning of the unloaded boom 18 in preparation for attaching a store to beam 38 for lifting ; release button 84 can be actuated while there is no load on lift boom 36 only by first applying a moderate manual force at the lift boom 36 / actuator 32 attach point ( as though attempting to retract the actuator piston ). while maintaining a constant force towards the actuator piston , one depresses release button 84 to disengage the actuator drive mechanism to a free - wheeling mode . the actuator piston can then be rapidly extended or retracted to any position by applying an appropriate force at the lift boom 36 . once the store is attached to hoist beam 38 , the store is raised and positioned over cradle assembly 28 . cradle assembly trolley 20 is constructed of two parallel beams 86 having two cam - follower type bearings 88 on each beam 86 which ride inside tracks 42 of tracks 14 . attached to the other ends of beams 86 is lateral track assembly 22 that is made of two &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; shaped tracks 90 . lateral cradle trolley 24 having cam - follower type bearings , not shown , rides in c - shaped tracks 90 to provide a lateral degree of freedom . fixedly attached to lateral cradle trolley 24 is a cradle base 26 beam constructed of two support rods 92 that are further attached to two end plates 94 . end plates 94 have two cam - follower type bearings 96 . bearings 96 ride in cradle tracks 98 . cradle tracks 98 are fixedly held in position by connecting rods 100 . a plurality of four pivoting support pads 102 provide support for the store when placed in cradle 28 . although not shown , conventional locks are provided to prevent the motion of cradle tracks 98 , lateral track assembly 24 , and cradle assembly trolley 20 once the store is loaded thereon . each lock can be individually released to allow movement for positioning the store accurately under the aircraft attach lugs on whatever is used for holding the store . the details of one - step loading adapter ( osla ) 10 are provided in table 1 . table 1__________________________________________________________________________ general maximum operating temp 71 ° c . 160 ° f . minimum operating temp - 40 ° c . - 40 ° f . weight 62 kg 135 pounds ( approx .) size 483 mm × 508 mm × 19 &# 34 ; w × 20 &# 34 ; h × 1117 . 6 mm 44 &# 34 ; l operation full travel of boom handle 30 revolutions ( cranks ) crank handle force 16 pounds ( approx .) crank motion side to side ± 4 inches ( lateral travel ) cradle motion fore and aft ± 61 / 2 inches ( axis travel ) boom motion rotation ± 90 ° boom motion rotation pin lock - 90 °, 0 °, + 90 ° ( 3 positions ) cradle motion in roll 90 ° travel cradle stores sizes 5 &# 34 ; dia 7 &# 34 ; dia and 8 &# 34 ; dia . cradle or boom capacity 510 pounds hydraulics ( with mj - 1 lift truck ) hydraulic kit ( 6452a0001 - 01 ) pressure 1500 psi operating flow less than 1 gpm required to operate the osla motor volume per revolution 1 . 21 cu . in . accessories required for hydraulic motor operation : p / n 4b45c - 2 ( fmc 98296 ) ( gfe ; nsn 17300 - 00 - 894 - 0323 ) power take off kit osla compatible with aircraft : f - 15 , f - 16 and f - 4 osla compatible with missles : aim - 9 , aim - 7 , aim - 120a , agm - 45 ( requires p / n 53e120002 - 1001 hoisting beam . ) __________________________________________________________________________ a . rotate the crank handle 80 clockwise ( cw )/ counterclockwise ( ccw ) to raise / lower boom assembly 18 . b . attach hoist beam 38 to the lugs of the missile . position the hoist beam fork clevis on the forward lug of the missile . remove the ball lock pin 104 to release the telescoping rod equipped with a fitting for engaging the missile aft lug . slide the rod rearward into the missile lug and secure the rod with ball lock pin 104 . if the missile is oriented in the wrong direction for installation of the aircraft launcher , it can be rotated , tail first , under the truck / dolly boom , while suspended from hoist beam 38 of one - step adapter 10 . this operation is accomplished with the wings and fins removed from the missile . c . manually rotate the crank handle 80 cw to retract actuator 32 and raise the horizontal boom 70 and missile to the elevated position . d . slide cradle assembly 28 under missile ( rotate cradle slightly to clear missile waveguide tunnel ). e . lower missile by rotating crank handle 80 ccw . position waveguide tunnel , if such , located on bottom of missile into the appropriate notch in the bottom of cradle 28 . f . tighten side to side , fore and aft and roll locks as deemed necessary . g . with the weight of the missile on cradle assembly 28 , disconnect hoist beam 38 from missile lugs . h . three ( 3 ) options are available to facilitate hoist beam / boom assembly clearance with the aircraft during the missile loading phase . the hoist beam / boom assembly may be rotated ± 90 ° about post 52 , as a first option of positioning the beam / boom assembly 36 . ( the spring loaded lock pin is released at the base of the post to facilitate this rotational action .) a second option is to elevate and rotate the hoist beam 38 / boom assembly 18 back until it is resting over the crank handle 80 and gear box assembly 82 . ( this option may be used in conjunction with option 1 , if necessary , to clear aircraft structure during loading operation .) a third option is to completely remove the hoist beam 38 / boom assembly 18 by lifting it out of post 52 . i . secure the missile in cradle 98 with missile holddown belt 30 provided with osla 10 ; and j . one - step loading adapter 10 is then ready to be moved with the missile in place . the missile can be accurately positioned to be attached to the missile launcher on the aircraft by only one person . clearly , many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and it is therefore understood , that within the inventive scope of the inventive concept , the invention may be practiced otherwise than specifically claimed . | 1 |
in carrying out the method of this invention , cultures of suspended plant cells having at least part of their plant cell walls , such as cell suspension cultures , can be obtained from monocotyledonous plants in a conventional manner ( li et al ( 1990 ) plant mol . biol . rep . 8 : 276 wen et al ( 1991 ) plant mol . biol . rep . 9 : 308 hodges et al ( 1991 ) in &# 34 ; rice biotechnology &# 34 ; ed . khush and toenniessen , c . a . b . international , united kingdom , p . 157 ; yang et al ( 1991 ) aust . j . plant physiol . 18 : 445 ; redway et al ( 1990 ) plant cell reports 8 : 714 ; jahne et al ( 1991 ) theor . appl . genet . 82 : 74 ; gordon - kamm et al ( 1990 ) the plant cell 2 : 603 ; fromm et al ( 1990 ) bio / technology 8 : 833 ; rhodes et al ( 1988 ) bio / technology 6 : 56 ; vasil and vasil ( 1986 ) j . plant physiol . 124 : 399 ; kamo and hodges ( 1986 ) plant science 45 : 111 ). since cell suspension cultures have typically been generated so as to provide protoplasts , which can then be transformed and cultured to produce transgenic plants , procedures for making such cell cultures have generally been directed towards establishing and maintaining regenerable suspension cultures ( i . e ., cell suspension cultures from which regenerable callus can be obtained ). however , since regeneration in cereals occurs mainly means of embryogenesis , cell suspension cultures of cereals , from which regenerable ( in this case , callus can be obtained , will generally be embryogenic suspension cultures . hence , in the following description and examples , the method of this invention is described mainly with reference to embryogenic suspension cultures cereals , such as rice , as a starting material . however , the method of the invention can be applied to any culture suspended walled cells obtained from any monocotyledonous plant species , particularly to any culture of regenerable suspended cells , including any culture of cells regenerable by organogenesis , as well as to walled monocotyledonous cells which can be used to form such cultures of suspended walled cells . preferred cultures of suspended cells are the various types of liquid cultures which can be obtained by conventional methods , in the course of establishing cell suspension cultures , and which are characterized by : initially , suspended callus clumps , and later , progressively more homogeneous suspended cell aggregates in liquid culture media . the method of this invention is equally applicable to the initial and the later stages but will be particularly exemplified with respect to preferred cultures of suspended cell clumps or aggregates . whether a culture of suspended walled cells , such as a culture of suspended cell clumps or a cell suspension culture ( e . g ., an embryogenic suspension culture ), of a particular line of a monocot species ( e . g ., rice ) is suitable for plant regeneration can be determined by plating a large number ( i . e ., at least 100 ) of cell aggregates derived from the suspension ( or calli derived from such cell aggregates on a suitable propagation medium ) on a suitable regeneration medium and determining what proportion of the aggregates give rise to phenotypically normal , fertile plants . if normal fertile plants are obtained from at least about 10 %, preferably at least 25 %, particularly at least 50 %, of the cell aggregates , the suspension culture can be considered to be suitable for the purposes of using the method of this invention to obtain transgenic monocotyledonous plants . embryogenic suspension cultures of this invention can be established and maintained by conventional procedures . the embryogenic suspension cultures can generally be described as fast growing and homogeneous in cell type . they consist of well - dispersed aggregates , which are composed of a few to approximately 200 tightly packed embryogenic cells , in livid ( e . g ., aqueous ) medium . the embryogenic cells are round - or oval - shaped , actively dividing and rich in cytoplasm , they can contain lipid droplets and starch grains , and they retain at least part , preferably all , of their cell walls . the embryogenic cells can have doubling times of , for example , 27 to 32 hours and , after plating on suitable media , can give rise to embryogenic calli , from which plants can be regenerated . the specific appearance and characteristics of a given regenerable suspension culture , for example the size of cell clusters , the growth rate , or the color , and the time required for establishing the suspension culture , may depend on the plant species and cultivar use , on the media , and on the physical culture conditions . cultures of suspended cells that are not cell suspension cultures ( i . e ., cultures of suspended cell clumps ) will generally consist essentially of cell aggregates that 1 ) are relatively more heterogeneous in size ( and the cultures may even contain a large number of relatively large cell clumps ) and cell type , and 2 ) contain cells that readily divide and generally do not show signs of necrosis ( e . g ., browning ). procedures that can be used for establishing and maintaining embryogenic suspension cultures have been described , for example , for : rice ( li et al ( 1990 ) plant mol . biol . rep . 8 : 276 ; wen et al ( 1991 ) plant mol . biol . rep . 9 : 308 ; hodges et al ( 1991 ) in &# 34 ; rice biotechnology &# 34 ; ed . khush and toenniessen , c . a . b . international , united kingdom , p . 157 ), wheat ( yang et al ( 1991 ) aust . j . plant physiol . 18 : 445 ; redway et al ( 1990 ) plant cell reports 8 : 714 ), barley ( jahne et al ( 1991 ) theor . appl . genet . 82 : 74 ), and corn ( gordon - kamm et al ( 1990 ) the plant cell 2 : 603 ; fromm et al ( 1990 ) bio / technology 8 : 833 ; rhodes et al ( 1988 ) bio / technology 6 : 56 ; vasil and vasil ( 1986 ) j . plant physiol . 124 : 399 ; kamo and hodges ( 1986 ) plant science 45 : 111 ). likewise , general procedures for establishing cultures , especially regenerable cultures , of suspended cells , particularly of cell clumps , of this invention are well known to those skilled in the art . in fact , media and procedures that are conventionally used during the establishment of cell suspension cultures can generally be used for the establishment of such cultures of suspended cells , irrespective of whether cell suspension cultures could be obtained from them . in fact , it is believed that the establishment of such a culture of suspended cells is generally easier than the establishment of a cell suspension culture . explants that can be used to induce callus , from which suitable cultures of suspended cells of this invention can be obtained , are well known . for rice , for example , such explants include dry seeds , immature embryos , young leaf bases , immature inflorescenses , anthers , microspores , nodes and roots ( particularly root tips ), but for other cereals , some of the above explants cannot be used as effectively . it is generally believed that immature embryos are the preferred explants for the induction of callus , particularly regenerable callus . it is believed , however , that those skilled in the art will generally be able to modify and optimize existent media and procedures for use with particular plant species or for particular lines and genotypes within a plant species . for the purposes of this invention , particularly where the transformed cells are to be regenerated into transgenic plants , it is preferred that the suspension cultures be relatively young , preferably not older than about four months , especially not older than three months , particularly for suspensions of rice cells . thus , it is often preferred that electroporation of suspended cells , as described below , be carried out before the fourth month , preferably before the third month , after initiation of the suspension culture . it is also preferred that the majority of the cells of the embryogenic suspension culture have a chromosome number that is normal for the plant species , from which the culture is derived . in this respect , it is preferred that at least about 50 %, preferably at least 75 %, particularly 80 %, quite particularly 90 %, of such cells have a normal chromosome number . hence , cultures of suspended cells are preferably used which are significantly younger than established cell suspension cultures in order to reduce significantly any somaclonal variations and other adverse effects in plants that are regenerated from such cells . the present invention is based on the surprising finding that cultures of suspended walled monocotyledonous cells , particularly cultures of such cells from which regenerable ( e . g ., embryogenic ) callus can be obtained , especially relatively young embryogenic suspension cultures of such cells , as well as walled monocotyledonous cells capable of being used to form such cultures of suspended cells , are competent , not only with respect to regeneration of phenotypically normal plants , but also with respect to dna uptake by means of electroporation and to subsequent integrative transformation . the walled monocot cells , to be transformed by the method of this invention , will usually be part of cell aggregates . whenever such cell aggregates are obtained from cell suspension cultures , particularly embryogenic cell suspension cultures , such cell aggregates will consist of a few to several hundred ( i . e ., up to about 500 ) cells and will generally have an average diameter that is smaller than about 0 . 5 mm . when such cell aggregates are obtained from tissue or callus , preferably regenerable callus , that can be used to form a liquid culture of cell aggregates , they will usually be much larger , with an average diameter of between about 0 . 5 and 3 mm , preferably with an average diameter of between 1 and 2 mm . when such cell aggregates are obtained from a liquid culture of suspended cells such as from a culture obtained during the establishment of a cell supension culture , they will generally be rather heterogeneous in size , with average dimensions between about 0 . 5 and 3 mm . however , the dimensions of cell aggregates , described above and in the examples , are considered preferred dimensions in view of the dimensions of the electroporation cuvettes , which are described below , and are not necessary dimensions for this invention . in accordance with this invention , electroporation can be carried out in a conventional manner ( see , e . g ., fromm et al ( 1987 ) meth . enzymol . 153 : 351 ). in this regard , walled cells , particularly aggregates of walled cells much as are contained in a culture of suspended cells ( e . g ., an embryogenic suspension culture ) or such as can be used to form such a culture , can be transferred to a cuvette suitable for use with an electroporation apparatus ( e . g ., as described by dekeyser et al ( 1990 ) the plant cell 2 : 591 ). alternatively , the walled cells , particularly aggregates thereof , can be suspended in electroporation buffer and transferred by pipette to the cuvette , or the liquid medium can be removed from a suspension culture and its walled cells can then be transferred by spatula to cuvettes that already contain a suitable volume of electroporation buffer . preferably , about 30 mg to 150 mg , particularly 50 mg to 125 mg , most particularly 75 mg to 100 mg , of cell aggregates per 100 to 200 μl , preferably 100 to 150 μl , of electroporation buffer are transferred to the cuvette . prior to transfer to the cuvettes , it is preferred that the walled cell aggregates be suspended in the electroporation buffer , preferably while shaking , for a period of about 15 minutes to 3 hours , preferably for a period of about 45 minutes to 1 . 5 hours , but the period can be decreased down to a few ( i . e ., 1 to 5 ) minutes . also , the incubation of a cell material need not be carried out in the electroporation buffer but can in fact be carried out in any hypertonic buffer . prior to electroporation , it may also be desirable to treat briefly the cell aggregates with plant cell wall - degrading enzymes or with mechanical forces ( such as sieving through a fine mesh ) in order to damage slightly the cell walls or to make the cell aggregates more homogenous in size . when used , such an enzyme pretreatment should preferably not be for longer than 30 minutes , particularly not for longer than 10 minutes , quite particularly not for longer than3 to 5 minutes . enzymes or enzyme compositions that can be used for this purpose are well known ( see , e . g ., power and chapman ( 1985 ) in &# 34 ; plant cell tissue culture : a practical approach &# 34 ;, irl press , oxford ). after the dna fragments are added to the cuvette containing the walled cells , particularly aggregates thereof , in electroporation buffer , the electroporation can be carried out in accordance with this invention . preferably , the dna is coincubated for as long as about two or three hours or as little as about five to fifteen minutes ( and as low as about one minute ), but typically for about one hour , with the walled cells prior to electroporation . it is believed that best results can be obtained with linear , rather than circular , dna of relatively small size , preferably smaller than about 20 kb , especially smaller than 15 kb , particularly smaller than 10 kb , quite particularly smaller than 6 kb ( e . g ., down to about 2 - 3 kb ). in this regard , multiple linear dna fragments of different composition can be used to transform the competent monocot plant cells of this invention with multiple genes of interests . preferably , about 5 to 30 μg , particularly about 10 to 25 μg , quite particularly about 10 or 20 μg , of dna are added to the cuvette containing the cell aggregates . substances that prevent dna degradation , such as spemidine , can be added . particular electroporation conditions are not believed to be critical , and good results can be obtained ( e . g ., in rice ) with one pulse with an electrical field strength of between about 600 and 700 v / cm discharged from a capacitor of about 800 to 900 μf . although optimal electroporation conditions for different types of cells and their aggregates ( e . g ., from suspension cultures ) are likely to be different , conditions as described by fromm et al ( 1987 ) meth . enzymol . 153 : 351 and dekeyser et al ( 1990 ) supra can generally be used . in this regard , optimal electroporation conditions for any type of cell aggreate are believed to be dependent on the plant species , being transformed and , when using suspension cultures , the age and general condition of the suspension , and such conditions can be experimentally determined . hence , it is generally preferred that an exploratory experiment to be carried out initially with the cell aggregates , in which experiment no dna is added to the electroporation cuvette containing the cell aggregates in electroporation buffer and that , after the electroporation pulse , at least about 50 %, preferably at least 75 %, particularly at least 90 %, of the cell aggregates develop into calli after plating on solid culture medium . the composition of the electroporation buffer is also not believed to be critical , and generally , conventional electroporation buffers can be used ( see , e . g ., fromm et al ( 1987 ) supra ). when the transformation by electroporation is completed , the cell aggregates , containing the transformed monocot cells , are transferred to a suitable culture medium ( which may be a solid medium , a bead - type medium , or even a liquid medium ), preferably a selective medium when the transformed cells contain dna fragments encoding a selectable marker . this transfer should be as soon as possible after , preferably immediately after , the transformation event and especially within about one to three days after the transformation event . preferably , cell aggregates transformed with dna fragments encoding a selectable marker are cultured using conventional culture conditions , culture procedures , and culture media ( see , e . g ., references in vasil ( 1988 ) supra ) supplemented with a selective agent . the selection of the selective agent wall depend on the selectable marker used in the dna fragments to transform the walled cells , as discussed below . the concentration of the selective agent should provide a suitable selective pressure on the transformed cells so that only stably transformed cells , in which the dna fragments encoding the selectable marker are integrated , preferably fully integrated , in the genome of the cells , survive and can be isolated . although such transformed cell aggregates can be cultured for a few days on non - selective medium , it is preferred that they be transferred to selective medium as soon as possible and maintained for a sufficiently long period ( e . g ., as long as about six months ), preferably at least about one month , especially two to three months , to produce significant amounts of transformed morphogenic callus , such as transformed embryogenic callus , which can be used to regenerate a phenotypically normal plant . it is also preferred that the hypertonicity of the medium be maintained for a limited time ( e . g ., up to about two to three weeks ), for instance by supplementing the medium with mannitol . in accordance with this invention , any dna fragment can be integrated in the genome , particularly the nuclear genome , of a monocotyledonous plant . generally , the dna fragment contains a foreign or endogenous gene or other dna sequence which is functional in the transformed plant cells and confers an additional property to such cells and to plants regenerated from the cells . to this end , the dna fragment preferably comprises one or more chimaeric genes which contain the following operably linked dna sequences : 1 ) a promoter sequence capable of directing expression of a coding sequence in the plant cell ( a &# 34 ; promoter &# 34 ;); 2 ) a sequence ( a &# 34 ; coding sequence &# 34 ;) coding for a protein with a specific activity within the plant cell ( a &# 34 ; protein of interest &# 34 ;): and 3 ) suitable 3 &# 39 ; transcription regulation signals . in order to obtain the required functionality of the protein , it may also be necessary that the protein be targeted to one or more particular compartments of the plant cell , such as the cytosol , mitochondria , chloroplasts or endoplasmatic reticulum . for targeting to the cytosol , the chimaeric gene ( s ), as described above , can be used as such . however for targeting to the other compartments , it is required that there be an additional sequence ( a &# 34 ; targeting sequence &# 34 ;) between the dna sequences 1 ) and 2 ) of the chimaeric gene ( s ). if required , the chimaeric gene ( s ) can also contain transcriptional and / or translational enhancers , and the codon usage of the dna sequences can be optimized or expression in plant cells . chimaeric genes in accordance with this invention can be constructed according to well - established principles and techniques . in this regard , the various dna sequences should be linked so that translation is initiated at the initiation codon of the coding sequence of the protein ( or of the targeting sequence , when present ). it is believed that the various constitutive and organ - and tissue - specific promoters that are presently used to direct expression of genes in transformed dicotyledonous plants will also be suitable for use in transformed monocots of this invention . in this regard , particular plant cells can be transformed with a chimaeric gene comprising : a coding sequence encoding a protein of interest and upstream ( i . e ., 5 &# 39 ;) thereof , either a foreign or an endogenous promoter suitable for expression of the coding sequence . suitable foreign constitutive promoters include : the promoter of the cauliflower mosaic virus (&# 34 ; camv &# 34 ;) isolates cm1841 ( gardner et al ( 1981 ) nucl . acids . res . 9 : 2871 ) and cabbb - b ( franck et al ( 1980 ) cell , 21 : 285 ) ( the &# 34 ; 35s promoter &# 34 ;) which directs constitutive expression of heterologous genes ( odell et al ( 1983 ) nature 313 : 810 ); a related promoter ( the &# 34 ; 3583 promoter &# 34 ;) which can be isolated from the camv isolate cabbb - ji ( hull and howell ( 1978 ) virology 86 : 482 ) and which differs from the 35s promoter in its sequence ( the sequence of the 3583 promoter is disclosed in european patent publication (&# 34 ; ep &# 34 ;) 359617 ) and in its greater activity in transgenic plants ( harpster et al ( 1988 ) mol . gen . genet . 212 : 182 ) and the tr1 &# 39 ; and the tr2 &# 39 ; promoters which drive the expression of the 1 &# 39 ; and 2 &# 39 ; genes , respectively , of the t - dna of agrobacterium ( velten et al ( 1984 ) embo j . 3 : 2723 ) and are wound - induced promoters . suitable organ - specific , tissue - specific and / or inducible foreign promoters are also known ( see , e . g ., references cited in kuhlemeier et al ( 1987 ) ann . rev . plant physiol . 38 : 221 ) such as the promoters of the small subunit genes ( such as the 1a gene ) of 1 , 5 - ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase of arabidopsis thaliana ( the &# 34 ; ssu &# 34 ; promoter ) which are light inducible promoters ( krebbers et al ( 1988 ) plant mol . biol . 11 : 745 ) active only in photosynthetic tissue ; the anther - specific promoters disclosed in ep 344029 : and the seed - specific promoters of , for example , arabidopsis thaliana ( krebbers et al ( 1988 ) plant physiol . 87 : 859 ). promoters of particular usefulness for transforming monocots to render them male - sterile , as described in european patent publication (&# 34 ; ep &# 34 ;) 344029 , are the tapetum - specific promoters pta29 , pta26 and pta13 , particularly pta29 , of ep 344029 . likewise , it is believed that known 3 &# 39 ; transcription regulation sequences and polyadenylation signals used in transformed dicotyledonous plants can be used in transformed monsters of this invention . such 340 transcription regulation signals can be provided downstream ( i . e . 3 &# 39 ;) of the coding sequence . in this regard , a particular plant cell can be transformed with a chimaeric gone containing either foreign or endogenous , transcription termination and polyadenylation signals suitable for obtaining expression of the chimaeric gene . for example , the foreign 3 &# 39 ; untranslated ends of genes , such as gene 7 ( veltan and schell ( 1985 ) nucl . acids res . 13 : 6998 ), the octopine synthase gene ( gielen et al ( 1983 ) embo j . 3 : 835 ) and the nopaline synthase gene of the t - dna region of agrobacterium tumefaciens ti - plasmid can be used . for construction of a chimaeric gene which can be expressed in a transformed plant cell , preferably in its cytoplasm followed by translocation of its protein of interest to the cell &# 39 ; s mitochondria , chloroplasts and / or lumen of the endoplasmatic reticulum , suitable targeting sequences are known . selection of such targeting sequences is not believed to be critical , and a particular plant cell can be transformed with a chimaeric gene containing either a foreign or endogenous targeting sequence encoding a targeting peptide which will provide translocation of the expression product of the gene . by &# 34 ; targeting peptide &# 34 ; is meant a polypeptide fragment which is normally associated , in an eucaryotic cell , with a chloroplast or mitochondrial protein or subunit of the protein or with a protein translocated to the endoplasmatic reticulum and which is produced in a cell as part of precursor protein encoded by the nuclear dna of the cell . the targeting peptide is responsible for the translocation process of the nuclear - encoded chloroplast or mitochondrial protein or subunit into the chloroplast or the mitochondria or the lumen the endoplasmatic reticulum . during the translocation process , the targeting peptide is separated or proteolytically removed from the protein or subunit . a targeting sequence can be provided in the chimaeric gene to express a targeting peptide which can translocate an expressed protein of interest within a transformed plant cell as generally described in european patent applications (&# 34 ; epa &# 34 ;) 85402596 . 2 and 88402222 . 9 . a suitable targeting peptide for transport into chloroplasts is the transit peptide of the small subunit of the enzyme 1 , 5 - ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase ( krebbers et al ( 1988 ) plant mol . biol . 11 : 745 epa 85402596 . 2 ), but other chloroplast transit peptides , such as those listed by watson ( 1924 ) nucl . acids res . 12 : 5145 and von heijne et al ( 1991 ) plant mol . biol . rep . 9 : 104 , can also be used . suitable mitochondrial targeting peptides are the mitochondrial transit peptides as described by schatz ( 1987 ) eur . j . biochem . 165 : 1 and listed by watson ( 1924 ) supra . suitable targeting peptides that can translocate a protein of interest to the lumen of the endoplasmatic reticulum of a plant cell are , for instance , the signal peptides described by von heijne ( 1988 ) biochem . biophys . acta 947 : 307 and listed by watson ( 1984 ) supra . coding sequences that can be used in the production transgenic dicotyledonous plants arm well known ( see , for example , the coding sequences listed in weising et al ( 1982 ) annual rev . genet . 22 : 421 ), and it is believed that such coding sequences can be put to equally good use in transformed monocotyledonous plants in accordance with this invention . in this respect , the coding sequences can be either foreign or endogenous to the plants and can , for example , code for proteins which : are toxic to insect species , thus protecting the plants against insect attack ( ep 193259 , ep 305275 and ep 358557 ); protect the plants against stress conditions ( ep 359617 ) confer on the plants a resistance or tolerance to specific herbicides ( ep 242236 ); kill or disable plant cells in which the proteins are expressed so that , when the coding sequences are under the control of a male or female organ - specific promoter ( ep 344029 , wo 92 / 00274 and wo 92 / 00275 ), the proteins can render the plants respectively male sterile ( ep 344029 ) or female sterile ( ep 412006 ); can be extracted from the plants or selected plant organs and optionally be further processed so that the plants can be used as sources of economically important peptides or proteins ( ep 319353 ); or are enriched in nutritionally important amine acids so that transformed plants or their organs , in which the proteins are expressed , can be used as food with enhanced nutritional value for animals or humans ( ep 318341 ). coding sequences of particular usefulness for transforming monocots to render them insect - resistant are the genes isolated from bacillus thuringiensis (&# 34 ; bt &# 34 ;) strains and truncated portions thereof that code for insecticidal crystal proteins and their insecticidal polypeptide toxins ( for a review , see : hofte and whiteley ( 1989 ) microbiol . rev . 53 : 242 ). the following bt genes are believed to be particularly important for insect control in cereals ( e . g ., rice , wheat , corn and barley ): the cryiab gene ( ep 193259 ) and cryiac gene for control of helicoverpa species ( e . g ., h . zea and h . armigera ); the cryiab gene and the cryib gene ( ep 358557 ) for control of ostrinia species ( e . g ., o . nubilalis ) in corn ; the cryiac gene for the control of agrotis species in con and wheat ; and the cryid and cryie genes ( ep 358557 ) for the control of spodoptera species ( e . g ., s . frugiperda ) in corn . to achieve sufficient expression of such genes in tissues of transgenic plants , it is preferred that the genes be modified as described in pct application pct / ep 91 / 00733 ( pct publication wo 91 / 16432 ). selectable markers in accordance with this invention can be encoded by chimaeric genes in which the coding sequences encode proteins which confer on the plant cells , in which they are expressed , resistance to a selective agent such as an antibiotic and / or herbicide . screenable markers in accordance with this invention can be encoded by chimaeric genes in which the coding sequences encode proteins which confer on the plant cells , in which they are expressed , a different appearance , such as a different color , making plants transformed with the screenable marker separable manually . the selection of coding sequences for a selectable or screenable marker , preferably a selectable marker , for transforming a monocotyledonous plant in accordance with this invention is not believed to be critical , and it is believed that coding sequences for conventional selectable and screenable markers can be used ( see , for example , the markers listed in weising et al ( 1988 ) supra ). examples of suitable coding sequences for selectable markers are : the neo gene ( beck et al ( 1982 ) gene 19 : 327 ) that codes for the enzyme neomycin phosphotransferase which confers resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin ; the hvg gene ( gritz and davies ( 1983 ) gene 25 : 179 ) that codes for the enzyme hygromycin phosphotransferase which confers resistance to the antibiotic hygromycin ; and the bar gene ( ep 242236 ) that codes for phosphinothricin acetyl transferase which confers resistance to the herbicidal compounds phosphinothricin and bialaphos . in using a selectable marker gene coding for a protein that confers tolerance or resistance to a herbicide or other selective agent that acts on chloroplast metabolism , such as the bar gene , it is preferred that the marker gene be part of a chimaeric gene together with a chloroplast targeting sequence as described above . examples of suitable coding sequences for screenable markers are the gus gene ( jefferson et al ( 1986 ) pnas 6 : 3901 ) encoding beta - glucuronidase and the luciferase gene ( ow et al ( 1986 ) science 234 : 856 ). during the culturing of transformed cell aggregates of this invention , the selection pressure , provided by the presence of a selective agent in the culture media , should be high enough and should be maintained long enough to separate transformed cells from untransformed cells . it is believed , however , that particular selection pressures and durations are not critical and that the chaise of selection pressures and their durations can be made in a conventional manner . however , when the bar gene is used as a selectable marker gene , phosphinothricin ( ppt ) is preferably used in concentrations of about 0 . 5 mg to 50 mg , particularly 2 mg to 20 mg , per liter of the culture medium . morphogenic sectors , preferably embryogenic sectors , of morphogenic callus , preferably embryogenic callus , produced in a culture of transformed cells of electroporated walled cell aggregates ( e . g ., from suspension cultures ) of this invention , can then be regenerated into phenotypically normal ( e . g ., mature and fertile ) plants in a conventional manner ( see , e . g ., references in vasil ( 1988 ) supra , lazzeri and lorz ( 1988 ) supra , and lynch et al ( 1991 ) in &# 34 ; rice biotechnology &# 34 ; ed . khush and toenniessen , c . a . b . international , united kingdom , p . 135 and references cited therein ). the regenerated plants , thus obtained , will be transgenic and will at least contain and dna fragments encoding a selectable or screenable marker , preferably a selectable marker , stably integrated into their nuclear genome . the presence and expression of other genes of interest can then be evaluated in a conventional manner , such as by means of southern blotting and / or by the polymerase chain reaction ( sambrook et al ( 1989 ) molecular cloning : a laboratory manual , second edition , cold spring harbor laboratory press , n . y .) and / or by ascertaining the phenotypic expression of the genes of interest . for the purposes of this invention , a phenotypically normal plant as produced by the transformation and regeneration procedures of this invention should be understood as at least one plant that does not differ substantially from an untransformed plant of the same line in any of its phenotypic characteristics except in those characteristics that are added or changed due to the expression of the dna fragment ( s ) introduced in the plant &# 39 ; s genome during transformation in accordance with this invention . of course , any procedure that results in transgenic plants usually produces a number of transgenic plants that display a variety of phenotypes , only some of which are phenotypically normal as defined above . the method of this invention can be applied to all monocotyledonous plant species , from which liquid cultures of suspended walled cells , particularly liquid cultures of walled cell aggregates , such as suspension cultures , preferably suspension cultures from which regenerable callus , particularly embryogenic callus , can be obtained by in vitro culture of explants derived from various explant sources such as immature and mature zygotic embryos , leaf bases , young inflorescences , anthers , microspores , etc . the method will be especially useful or the transformation of economically important gramineous crops , particularly the major cereals , such as rice , wheat , oats , barley , corn , sorghum , rye and millet . the resulting transgenic plants of this invention can be used to create , in a rapid and efficient manner , novel lines and / or cultivate of high agronomic value . this invention provides a rapid , efficient and reproducible method for transforming walled cells of monocotyledonous plants by : electroporation of cultures of the suspended cells ( e . g ., cell suspension cultures ), as well as walled cells capable of forming such cultures ( e . g ., cells obtained from explant - derived callus ). when regenerable ( e . g ., embryogenic ) suspension cultures of walled cells are electroporated in accordance with this invention , cultures of transformed morphogenic callus can be produced , from which phenotypically normal , fertile plants can be regenerated . this is surprising as electroporation of such walled cells , particularly those embryogenic suspension cultures , has generally not been regarded as a suitable method for obtaining stable transformants in monocotyledonous plants ( see , e . g ., potrykus ( 1991 ) annu . rev . plant physiol . plant mol . biol . 42 : 205 ). the electroporation of such walled cells , particularly without any enzymatic or mechanical pretreatment thereof , in accordance with this invention is a distinct improvement on existing monocot transformation methods . because the method of this invention requires only a relatively short period of in vitro culture , the method is far less time and labor consuming than most previous methods . the short tissue culture period also ensures that the occurrence of somaclonal variation is reduced . the method of this invention can be used to produce novel , phenotypically normal ( e . g ., fertile ), transgenic monocotyledonous plants , particularly gramineous plants , quite particularly cereals , most particularly rice , wheat and barley , which are transformed with at least one ( e . g ., foreign ) gene of interest , stably integrated into their nuclear genome . the method is believed to be relatively independent of the genotype of the plant , being transformed , and capable of transforming cells of any plant , from which regenerable ( e . g . embryogenic ) suspension cultures can be obtained from at least one of its tissues . this makes it possible to transform the majority of monocot species and a substantial number of lines within each species . indeed , the capacity to form suitable regenerable suspension cultures can be transferred , by means of classical breeding programs , from one plant line that posesses such capacity to another line that does not , making the method of this invention applicable to even more plant lines . as described above , stably transformed monocotyledonous plant cells can be advantageously obtained by electroporation of cultures of suspended walled plant cells in accordance with this invention . in this regard , if regenerable callus ( such as embryogenic callus ) can be obtained from the cultures of suspended cells , some of the so - transformed plant cells of the callus can subsequently be regenerated in accordance with this invention into transgenic monocotyledonous plants that contain at least one gene of interest stably integrated into the genome of all of its cells . however , it is believed that a culture of suspended cells of this invention need not be a &# 34 ; cell suspension culture &# 34 ; in the strict sense of the term as it is used with respect to a cell culture to be used for the preparation of protoplasts . indeed , it is believed that , in accordance with this invention , essentially the same results in the transformation and regeneration of plant cells can be obtained by electroporation of any culture of plant cells which retain their cell wall sandals suspended in a liquid ( e . g ., aqueous ) medium . in this regard , a culture of suspended cells of this invention should be understood as encompassing any liquid culture of cell aggregates obtained from plant tissue or from a callus obtained from plant tissue . in fact , the use of a liquid culture of suspended cell aggregates obtained from callus in the method of this invention could further reduce in vitro culture time and any subsequent somaclonal variation in transformed cells and / or plants . furthermore , it appears that essentially the same results can be obtained by electroporation of cells from a certain type of callus for each plant species which can be used to form a culture of suspended cells of this invention . for example , in rice , such callus can be part of explant - derived ( e . g ., embryo - derived ) embryogenic callus and consist of compact yellow and / or whitish , often round - or oval - shaped , cell clumps that can be easily separated from the rest of the callus tissue . the examples , which follow , illustrate this invention . unless otherwise indicated , all experimental procedures for manipulating recombinant dna were carried out by the standardized procedures described in sambrook et al ( 1989 ) molecular cloning : a laboratory manual , cold spring harbor laboratory press , n . y . any oligonucleotides were designed according to the general rules outlined by kramer and fritz ( 1968 ) methods in enzymology 154 : 350and synthesized by the phosphoramidite method of beaucage and caruthers ( 1981 ) tetrahadron letters 22 : 1859 on an applied biosystems 380a dna synthesizer ( applied biosystems b . v ., maarssen , netherlands ). the compositions of the 2n6 , n67 , aa , n683 , and hormone - free n6 media , used in the examples , were kindly provided by japan tobacco inc ., plant breeding and genetics research laboratory , 700 higashibara , toyoda , iwata , shizuoka 438 , japan . in the following examples , reference will be made to the following sequence listing : cell suspension cultures of the rice cultivate nipponbare and kochihibiki were made from seed - derived callus as follows . mature dry rice seeds were dehulled , surface sterilized and plated on solid 2n6 medium ( n6 medium as described by chu et al ( 1975 ) sci . sin . peking 18 : 659 supplemented with 0 . 5 mg / l nicotinic acid , 0 . 5 mg / l pyridoxine hcl , 1 . 0 mg / l thiamine hcl , 2 . 0 mg / l 2 , 4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid ( 2 , 4 - d ), 30 g / l sucrose , 2 . 0 g / l gelrite , ph 5 . 8 ). the plates were incubated at 30 ° c . for 4 weeks , after which , approximately one gram of compact whitish and / or yellow parts of embryo - derived compact and embryogenic callus was transferred to 65 ml aa medium ( macronutrients , amine acids , growth regulators and sugar as described for the a medium of toriyama and hinata ( 1985 ) plant science 41 : 179 with micronutrients and vitamins from the ms medium as described by murashige and skoog ( 1962 ) physiol . plant . 15 : 473 , ph 5 . 8 ) in a 250 ml erlenmeyer flask . these cultures were maintained in the dark on a rotary shaker at approximately 20 rpm . the cultures were subcultured weekly . after the first subculture , all aa medium was removed from the culture flask and replaced by 65 ml fresh aa liquid medium . during subsequent subcultures , 1 to 2 ml of packed cell volumes of smaller , usually creamy or yellow , cell clumps , which were formed when bigger cell clusters dissociated into smaller fragments , were selected and transferred to 65 ml fresh aa medium . at each subculture , care was taken to eliminate cell clusters with brown ureas ( necrosis ). after 1 - 2 months of subculture , clean ( i . e ., no brown cell clusters ) suspension cultures , consisting well dispersed and compact cell aggregates of different sizes , were obtained . the cell suspension cultures of the two cultivate were then maintained by transferring 1 ml packed cell volumes to 65 ml fresh medium during each subculture . the cell clusters of the suspensions were regularly checked for their potential of regenerating plants by plating them on n683 medium ( n6 medium , but with major salts at half strength , supplemented with 0 . 5 mg / l nicotinic acid , 0 . 5 mg / l pyridoxine hcl , 1 . 0 mg / l thiamine hcl , 876 mg / l glutamine , 266 mg / l aspartic acid , 174 mg / l arginine , 7 . 5 mg / l glycine , 1 . 0 g / l casamino acids , 0 . 2 mg / l naphthaleneacetic acid ( naa ), 1 . 0 mg / l kinetin , 20 g / l sucrose , 4 . 0 g / l gelrite , ph 5 . 8 ) for plant regeneration . transformation of rice cell suspension cultures with a herbicide resistance gene the cell suspension cultures from rice cultivate nipponbare and kochihibiki of example 1 were transformed with a herbicide resistance gene , and transformed cells were regenerated into transgenic plants as follows . a cell suspension culture was established and maintained for a period of two months . four days after the last subculture , the aa culture medium was removed , the cell clusters were washed with electroporation buffer aa ( 35 mm l - aspartic acid , 35 mm l - glutamic acid , 5 mm d - gluconic acid , 5 mm 2 - n - morpholino ! ethane sulfonic acid ( mes ), 0 . 4m mannitol , ph 5 , 8 ( tada et al ( 1990 ) theor . appl . genet . 80 : 475 )) and kept in this buffer for one hour on a shaker at 30 rpm . thereafter , the cell aggregates were washed twice with electroporation buffer aa . approx . 75 mg to 100 mg of cell clusters were transferred to electroporation cuvettes and resuspended in approx . 100 to 150 μl electroporation buffer aa . 15 μg of pde110 plasmid dna , linearized with hindiii , were added to each cuvette . plasmid pde110 is a plasmid with a length of 4883 bp and contains the phosphinothricin ( ppt ) resistance gene ( bar ) under control of the camv 3583 promoter ( ep 359617 ). the complete sequence of pde110 is given in seq id no . 1 . after addition of the plasmid dna , the cuvettes were put on ice for 10 min . then , a single pulse with a field strength of 700 v / cm was discharged from a 800 82 f capacitor to the mixture of cell clusters and dna . immediately after the pulse , liquid n67 medium ( n6 medium supplemented with 0 . 5 mg / l nicotinic acid , 0 . 5 mg / l pyridoxine hcl , 1 . 0 mg / l thiamine hcl , 1 . 0 mg / l 2 , 4 d , 0 . 5 mg / l 6 - benzyleminopurine , 20 g / l sucrose , 30 g / l sorbitol , ph 5 . 8 ) was added to the cell clusters , which were then plated on to solid selective n67 medium ( n6 medium supplemented with 0 . 5 mg / l nicotinic acid , 0 . 5 mg / l pyridoxine hcl , 1 . 0 mg / l thiamine hcl , 1 . 0 mg / l 2 , 4 - d , 0 . 5 mg / l 6 - benzylaminopurine , 20 g / l sucrose , 30 g / l sorbitol , 2 . 0 g / l gelrite , ph 5 . 8 ) containing 5 mg / l ppt . the plates were incubated at 26 ° c . under a light / dark regime of 16 / 8 hours . after 6 weeks of culture , ppt - resistant calli developing from the treated suspension aggregates were placed on fresh n67 medium plus ppt for another 12 days . thereafter , ppt - resistant calli were transferred to plant regeneration medium n623 supplemented with 5 mg / l ppt . from two of the selected calli , plants could be regenerated . as soon as the developing plantlets reached a height of approximately 10 cm ( usually within one to two months ), they were transferred to hormone - free n6 medium ( n6 medium supplemented with 0 . 5 mg / l nicotinic acid , 0 . 5 mg / l pyridoxine hcl , 1 . 0 mg / l thiamine hcl , 1 . 0 g / l casamino acids ( vitamin assay ), 20 g / l sucrose , 2 . 0 g / l gelrite , ph 5 . 8 ) end cultured on this medium until they were strong enough to be transferred to soil and to the greenhouse ( usually after a period of one to three weeks ). a cell suspension culture was established and maintained for a period of 4 . 5 months . four days after the last subculture , the aa culture medium was removed , the cell clusters were washed with electroporation buffer 9 ( 0 . 4m mannitol , 10 mm kcl , 4 mm cacl 2 . 2h 2 o , 10 mm n - 2 - hydroxyethylpiperazine - n &# 39 ;- 2 - ethanesulfonic acid ( hepes ), ph 7 . 2 ) and kept in this buffer on a shaker for one hour . thereafter , the cell clusters were washed twice with electroporation buffer 9 . approx . 75 to 100 mg of cell aggregates were transferred to electroporation cuvettes end resuspended in approximately 100 to 150 μl electroporation buffer 9 per cuvette . 12 μg of pde110 plasmid dna , linearized with ecori , were added to each cuvette and coincubated with the cell clusters for 45 min at room temperature ( 25 ° c .). the cuvettes were placed on ice for 10 min ., and the cell aggregates in each cuvette were electroporated by applying a single pulse discharged from a capacitor with one of the following voltage - capacitance characteristics : 700 v / cm - 800 μf ( 4 cuvettes ), 600 v / cm - 900 μf ( 4 cuvettes ), 700 v / cm - 900 μf ( 5 cuvettes ). liquid n67 medium was added to each cuvette immediately after the pulse , and the cell clusters were plated on solid selective n67 medium supplemented with 5 mg / l ppt . the plates were incensed at 26 ° c . under a light / dark regime of 16 / 8 hours for 19 days . developing ppt - resistant calli were isolated and transferred to fresh n67 medium plus 5 mg / l ppt and propagated for another 18 days . after this second selection cycle , the well - developing ppt - resistant calli were place on plant regeneration medium n683 supplemented with 5 mg / l ppt . plants were regenerated from 17 of the selected calli ; five calli were from cell aggregates electroporated with a 700 v / cm - 800 μf pulse ; two calli were from cell aggregates electroporated with a 600 v / cm - 900 μf pulse ; and ten calli were from cell aggregates electroporated with a 700 v / cm - 900 μf pulse . as soon as the developing plantlets reached a height of approximately 10 cm ( usually within one to two months ), they were transferred to hormone - free n6 medium and cultured on this medium until they were strong enough to be transferred to soil and to the greenhouse ( usually after a period of one to three weeks ). in a second round of experiments , the same kochihibiki suspension culture , described above , was used 5 months after initiation . five days after the last subculture , the cell clusters were washed in electroporation buffer 9 , kept for 45 min . in this buffer on a shaker , and washed twice thereafter with the same buffer . approximately 75 to 100 mg of cell clusters were transferred to each of 16 electroporation cuvettes and resuspended in approximately 100 to 150 μl electroporation buffer 9 per cuvette . 15 μg of pde110 plasmid dna , linearized with hindiii , were added to each cuvette . eight of these cuvettes ( batch a ) were put on ice for 10min and then pulsed ; the other eight cuvettes ( batch b ) were kept at room temperature for one hour prior to electroporation . pulses of 600 v / cm - 900 μf ( four cuvettes from each batch ) and 700 v / cm - 900 μf ( four cuvettes from each batch ) were applied to the mixture of cell clusters and dna . immediately after the pulse , n67 liquid medium was added to each cuvette , and the cell clusters were plated on selective n67 medium supplemented with 5 mg / l ppt . the plates were incubated as above . after 23 days , the developing ppt - resistant calli derived from plated suspension clusters were transferred to fresh selective n67 medium plus 5 mg / l ppt for a second selection cycle and further propagation . after 21 days , well growing calli were transferred to plant regeneration medium n683 plus 5 mg / l ppt . plants could be regenerated from 24 of the selected calli ; two calli were from cell aggregates of batch a electroporated with a 600 v / cm - 900 μf pulse ; three calli were from cell aggregates of batch a electroporated with a 700 v / cm and 900 μf pulse ; nine calli were from cell aggregates of batch b electroporated with a 600 v / cm - 900 μf pulse ; and ten calli were from cell aggregates of batch b electroporated with a 700 v / cm - 900 μf pulse . as soon as the developing plantlets reached a height of approximately 10 cm ( usually within one to two months ), they were transferred to hormone - free n6 medium and cultured on this medium until they were strong enough to be transferred to soil and to the greenhouse ( usually after a period of one to three weeks ). the plants of example 2 were cultivated in the greenhouse and sprayed with a 0 . 5 % basta ( ppt ) solution 4 - 6 weeks after transfer to soil . all of the plants were basta - resistant , whereas non - transformed control plants turned brown and died within one week after herbicide treatment . southern analysis was performed on 13 selected primary transformants ( in vitro plants derived from 13 separate regenerating calli ). for southern analysis , the rice was digested with the restriction enzymes , ecorv , bglii and pvuii , southern blotted , and probed with pde110 dna . the southern analysis showed that three of the plants carried single copy inserts of the complete pde110 - derived chimaeric bar gene ( i . e ., the bar gene with promoter and 3 &# 39 ; untranslated end ), integrated into the rice genome . five of the plants had one to three copies of pde110 - derived dna integrated into their genome , with at least one of the copes containing the complete chimaeric bar gene . three of the plants carried multiple inserts of pde110 - derived dna , while two other plants had only parts of the chimaeric bar gene integrated into the genome . three of the plants , regenerated from one of two independently transformed calli of nipponbare of example 2 . 1 , were grown to maturity and set seed . one of these plants was analyzed in detail . southern analysis of this plant proved that its genome contained an insert , at a single locus in the rice genome , that comprises one almost complete copy of the transforming dna ( pde110 ), including the p358 - bar - 3 &# 39 ; nos chimeric gene . from this plant ( designated as e253 ), s1 seeds ( after selfing ) were harvested . some of the seeds were used for an analysis of the segregation of the bar gene in the progeny plants . 93 seedlings were sprayed with basta : 73 / 93 seedlings were basta resistant , 20 / 93 seedlings were basta sensitive ( x 2 = 0 . 52 , which is not significantly different from mendelian segregation at a single dominant locus ). four of the basta - resistant progeny plants were analyzed in southern blots . all four plants had the same hybridization pattern as determined for primary transformant e253 . for kochihibiki , integration of the transforming dna was confirmed by southern analysis of in vitro shoots or regenerated plants obtained from various calli . one regenerated plant ( designated as x32 ), obtained from one of the 24 independently transformed calli of example 2 . 2 was analyzed in more detail and was shown to contain an almost complete copy of the transforming dna ( pde110 ), including the complete p358 - bar - 3 &# 39 ; nos chimeric gene . from primary transformant k32 , the s1 seeds were harvested , and segregation of the bar gene was analyzed in 98 progeny plants by basta spraying : 80 / 98 seedlings were basta - resistant , 18 / 98 seedlings were basta - sensitive ( x 2 = 2 . 36 , which is not significantly different from mendelian segregation at a single dominant locus ). four of the basta - resistant progeny plants were analyzed in southern blots . all four plants had the same hybridization pattern as determined for primary transformant k32 . mature dry seeds of the rice cultivars kochihibiki and chiyonishiki were dehulled , surface sterilized and plated on solid 2n6 medium . the plates were incubated at 30 ° c . for approximately 1 month . embryogenic suspension cultures were then initiated using the small , round - and oval - shaped , yellow and whitish callus clumps ( some of which have globular structures on the surface which may represent proembryos ) that appeared in the resulting callus and that constituted the majority of the observed callus types in the culture or were located at the surface of larger calli . these callus clumps were usually not attached to the surfaces of the larger calli or to each other , and they were easily removed individually with a pair of forceps . the callus clumps , with an average maximum diameter of about 2 mm , were carefully transferred immediately to electroporation buffer 9 and kept in this buffer for one hour on a shaker ( 30 rpm ). thereafter , the callus clumps were washed once with electroporation buffer 9 . approx . 75 to 100 mg of callus clumps were transferred to electroporation matts , and resuspended in approx . 150 μl buffer 9 . 10 μg of pde4 plasmid dna were added to each cuvette . plasmid pde4 is a plasmid with a length of 5642 bp and contains a gene ( gus ) encoding beta - glucuronidase ( jefferson et al ( 1986 ) pnas 83 : 8447 ) under the control of the camv 3583 promoter ( ep 359617 ). the complete sequence of pde4 is given in seq id no . 2 . the plasmid dna was coincubated with the callus clumps for 45 min . at room temperature . the cuvettes were then placed on ice for 10 min . thereafter , a single pulse with a field strength of 600 v / cm was discharged from a 900 μf capacitor to the mixture of callus clumps and dna . immediately after the pulse , liquid aa medium was added to each cuvette , and the callus clumps were transferred to a petri dish ( 3 . 5 mm diameter ). the liquid was removed and replaced by 2 ml aa medium per petri dish . the callus clumps were cultured in the dark for 5 days . thereafter , the callus clumps were transferred to x - gluc ( 5 - bromo - 4 - chloro - 3 - indolyl glucuronide ) solution for in situ detection of beta - glucuronidase ( gus ) activity ( as described in denecke et al ( 1989 ) methods in mol . and cell . biol ., jan / feb 1989 , 19 - 27 ). after incubation for 24 to 48 hours at 37 ° c . the blue - colored products of gus activity were visible , and the number of blue areas ( i . e ., blue cells indicating gus expression ) was counted under a stereo microscope . approx . 30 % of the treated callus clumps showed one or several blue areas ( kochihibiki : 12 of 41 electroporated callus clumps ; chiyonishiki : 10 of 35 electroporated callus clumps ). immature zygotic embryos were isolated from surface sterilized developing rice kernels ( in milky stage ) of greenhouse - grown plants of the rice cultivars kochihibiki and chiyonishiki . the immature embryos were placed , embryo axis towards the medium , on solid 2n6 medium ( see example 1 ). the plated explants were kept at 27 ° c . in darkness . within 2 - 3 weeks after culture initiation , small compact yellowish callus clumps with a smooth surface grew out from primary callus and directly from the explant . approximately 30 of such callus clumps of different size , with diameters of between 0 . 1 mm and 2 . 0 mm , were each transferred into 65 ml of n6 liquid medium ( chu et al ( 1975 ) supra ), supplemented with 0 . 3 g / l casamino acid ( vitamin assay ), 30 g / l sucrose and 1 mg / l 2 , 4 - d , in a 250 ml erlenmeyer flask . these flasks with the cultures were kept in the dark on a rotary shaker at approximately 120 rpm . subculturing was done weekly ; at the first subculture ( one week after culture initiation ), soft and whitish callus pieces were discarded , and all medium was removed and replaced by 65 ml of fresh n6 liquid medium . the same procedure was used at the second subculture ( 2 weeks after culture initiation ). during the first two weeks , the original callus clumps grew into bigger pieces . an the third week of culture , newly developed small cell aggregates started to separate from the bigger callus clumps . at the third subculture , these smaller aggregates and the big yellow compact pieces were selected and transferred to fresh liquid n6 medium at the fourth subculture , only small compact yellow clumps were selected and transferred to fresh medium ; the bigger clumps were discarded . at the following subcultures , 1 - 2 ml packed cell volume ( pvc ) of selected small compact yellow aggregates were tranferred to 65 ml fresh n6 medium . the cultures of suspended cell clumps from rice cultivars kochihibiki and chiyonishiki of example 5 were transformed with a herbicide resistance gene , and transformed cells were regenerated into transgenic plants as follow : a culture of suspended cell clumps was established and maintained in n6 medium for 18 days prior to electroporation . four days after the second weekly subculture , the n6 medium was removed , the cell clumps were washed with electroporation buffer 9 and then kept in this buffer for 1 hour at room temperature . the cell clumps were washed in buffer 9 again and transferred to electroporation cuvettes and resuspended in approximately 120 μl of buffer 9 . about 13 μg of pde110 dna , linearized with hindiii , was added per cuvette , and the mixture of cell aggregates in buffer 9 and dna was incubated , first for 45 min at room temperature and then for 10 min on ice . then , a single pulse with a field strength of 650 v / cm was discharged from a 900 μf capacitor to the mixture of cell clumps and dna . liquid n67 medium was then added to the cuvettes , and the electroporated cell clumps were transferred to solid n67 medium supplemented with 5 mg / l ppt . after 23 days , the developing calli were transferred to fresh n67 medium plus ppt . after another 21 days on selective n67 medium , the selected calli were transferred to selective regeneration medium . after 35 days on regeneration medium , shoots were transferred to n6 hormone - free medium . for each callus , three in vitro plantlets of approximately 10cm height were transferred to soil and to the greehouse . in similar experiments , cultures of suspended cell aggregates were electroporated 6 days or 12 days after establishing the culture . from these experiments , transformed calli were obtained , from which transgenic plants were regenerated . a culture of suspended cell clumps was established and maintained using essentially the sue procedures as described above for kochihibiki in example 6 . 1 . however , cell clumps for electroporation were harvested four days after the third weekly subculture . electroporation , subsequent callus initiation and propagation , and regeneration of plants were also carried out essentially as described in example 6 . 1 . some of the cell clumps were electroporated with pde110 , and other cell clumps were electroporated with plasmid dna hat contained both a chimeric bar gene and another chimaeric gene containing the dna coding for barstar under the control of one of the following stamen - specific promoters of rice : pt72 , pt42 and pe1 ( wo 92 / 00274 ). six kochihibiki plants of example 6 . 1 , derived from two independent transgenic callus lines , were cultivated in the greenhouse , were sprayed with basta , and were found to be basta - resistant . two plants , designated as kb25 and kb28 , each of which was derived from a different transgenic callus line , were analyzed in detail . both plants scored positive in enzymatic assays for phosphinotricin acetyl transferase ( pat ) activity . for southern analysis , the rice genomicdna was digested with the restriction enzymes xhoi , bglii and pvuii , southern blotted and probed with pde110 dna . in both plants , the pde110 - derived dna was found to be located on a single xhoi restriction fragment . kb25 and kb28 both contained a functional 35s promoter linked to the complete bar gene as indicated by the 1 . 54 kb bglii fragment and the 1 . 65 kb pvuii fragment . kb25 carried multiple inserts , and kb28 carried 1 to 4 copies of pde110 - derived dna . both plants were found to set seed . plants regenerated from a selected callus of example 6 . 2 , after transformation with pde110 , were cultivated in the greenhouse , sprayed with basta , and were found to be basta - resistant . one plant , designated as cb23 , scored positive in a pat assay and was found to contain 1 - 3 almost complete copies of pde110 dna in a southern hybridization performed as described above for kochihibiki . plants regenerated from selected calli of example 6 . 2 , after transformation with dna containing two chimaeric genes , including the barstar gene , were found to be basta - resistant , to be pat - positive , and to contain both the chimaeric bar gene and the chimaeric barstar gene . expression of the barstar gene in immature spikelets is determined by northern analysis . __________________________________________________________________________sequence listing ( 1 ) general information :( iii ) number of sequences : 2 ( 2 ) information for seq id no : 1 :( i ) sequence characteristics :( a ) length : 4883 base pairs ( b ) type : nucleic acid ( c ) strandedness : double stranded ( d ) topology : circular ( ii ) molecule type : pde110 : plasmid dna replicable in e . coli ( ix ) feature :( d ) other information : 1 - 395 : puc18 derived sequence396 - 1779 : &# 34 ; 35s3 &# 34 ; promoter sequence derived fromcauliflower mosaic virus isolate cabbb - ji1780 - 2331 : coding sequence of phosphinotricinacetyltransferase gene2332 - 2619 : 3 &# 39 ; regulatory sequence containing thepolyadenylation site derived from agrobacteriumt - dna nopaline synthase gene2620 - 4883 : puc18 derived sequenceother information : plasmid is replicable in e . coli , confers ampicillin resistance to the bacterium ( xi ) sequence description : seq id no : 1 : tcgcgcgtttcggtgatgacggtgaaaacctctgacacatgcagctcccg50gagacggtcacagcttgtctgtaagcggatgccgggagcagacaagcccg100tcagggcgcgtcagcgggtgttggcgggtgtcggggctggcttaactatg150cggcatcagagcagattgtactgagagtgcaccatatgcggtgtgaaata200ccgcacagatgcgtaaggagaaaataccgcatcaggcgccattcgccatt250caggctgcgcaactgttgggaagggcgatcggtgcgggcctcttcgctat300tacgccagctggcgaaagggggatgtgctgcaaggcgattaagttgggta350acgccagggttttcccagtcacgacgttgtaaaacgacggccagtgaatt400ccaatcccaccaaaacctgaacctagcagttcagttgctcctctcagaga450cgaatcgggtattcaacaccctcataccaactactacgtcgtgtataacg500gacctcatgccggtatatacgatgactggggttgtacaaaggcagcaaca550aacggtgttcccggagttgcgcataagaagtttgccactattacagaggc600aagagcagcagctgacgcgtatacaacaagtcagcaaacagataggttga650acttcatccccaaaggagaagctcaactcaagcccaagagctttgcgaag700gccctaacaagcccaccaaagcaaaaagcccactgctcacgctaggaacc750aaaaggcccagcagtgatccagccccaaaagagatctcctttgccccgga800gattacaatggacgatttcctctatctttacgatctaggaaggaagttcg850aaggtgaaggtgacgacactatgttcaccactgataatgagaaggttagc900ctcttcaatttcagaaagaatgctgacccacagatggttagagaggccta950cgcagcaggtctcatcaagacgatctacccgagtaacaatctccaggaga1000tcaaataccttcccaagaaggttaaagatgcagtcaaaagattcaggact1050aattgcatcaagaacacagagaaagacatatttctcaagatcagaagtac1100tattccagtatggacgattcaaggcttgcttcataaaccaaggcaagtaa1150tagagattggagtctctaaaaaggtagttcctactgaatctaaggccatg1200catggagtctaagattcaaatcgaggatctaacagaactcgccgtgaaga1250ctggcgaacagttcatacagagtcttttacgactcaatgacaagaagaaa1300atcttcgtcaacatggtggagcacgacactctggtctactccaaaaatgt1350caaagatacagtctcagaagaccaaagggctattgagacttttcaacaaa1400ggataatttcgggaaacctcctcggattccattgcccagctatctgtcac1450ttcatcgaaaggacagtagaaaaggaaggtggctcctacaaatgccatca1500ttgcgataaaggaaaggctatcattcaagatgcctctgccgacagtggtc1550ccaaagatggacccccacccacgaggagcatcgtggaaaaagaagacgtt1600ccaaccacgtcttcaaagcaagtggattgatgtgacatctccactgacgt1650aagggatgacgcacaatcccactatccttcgcaagacccttcctctatat1700aaggaagttcatttcatttggagaggacacgctgaaatcaccagtctctc1750tctataaatctatctctctctctataaccatggacccagaacgacgcccg1800gccgacatccgccgtgccaccgaggcggacatgccggcggtctgcaccat1850cgtcaaccactacatcgagacaagcacggtcaacttccgtaccgagccgc1900aggaaccgcaggagtggacggacgacctcgtccgtctgcgggagcgctat1950ccctggctcgtcgccgaggtggacggcgaggtcgccggcatcgcctacgc2000gggcccctggaaggcacgcaacgcctacgactggacggccgagtcgaccg2050tgtacgtctccccccgccaccagcggacgggactgggctccacgctctac2100acccacctgctgaagtccctggaggcacagggcttcaagagcgtggtcgc2150tgtcatcgggctgcccaacgacccgagcgtgcgcatgcacgaggcgctcg2200gatatgccccccgcggcatgctgcgggcggccggcttcaagcacgggaac2250tggcatgacgtgggtttctggcagctggacttcagcctgccggtaccgcc2300ccgtccggtcctgcccgtcaccgagatctgatctcacgcgtctaggatcc2350gaagcagatcgttcaaacatttggcaataaagtttcttaagattgaatcc2400tgttgccggtcttgcgatgattatcatataatttctgttgaattacgtta2450agcatgtaataattaacatgtaatgcatgacgttatttatgagatgggtt2500tttatgattagagtcccgcaattatacatttaatacgcgatagaaaacaa2550aatatagcgcgcaaactaggataaattatcgcgcgcggtgtcatctatgt2600tactagatcgggaagatcctctagagtcgacctgcaggcatgcaagcttg2650gcgtaatcatggtcatagctgtttcctgtgtgaaattgttatccgctcac2700aattccacacaacatacgagccggaagcataaagtgtaaagcctggggtg2750cctaatgagtgagctaactcacattaattgcgttgcgctcactgcccgct2800ttccagtcgggaaacctgtcgtgccagctgcattaatgaatcggccaacg2850cgcggggagaggcggtttgcgtattgggcgctcttccgcttcctcgctca2900ctgactcgctgcgctcggtcgttcggctgcggcgagcggtatcagctcac2950tcaaaggcggtaatacggttatccacagaatcaggggataacgcaggaaa3000gaacatgtgagcaaaaggccagcaaaaggccaggaaccgtaaaaaggccg3050cgttgctggcgtttttccataggctccgcccccctgacgagcatcacaaa3100aatcgacgctcaagtcagaggtggcgaaacccgacaggactataaagata3150ccaggcgtttccccctggaagctccctcgtgcgctctcctgttccgaccc3200tgccgcttaccggatacctgtccgcctttctcccttcgggaagcgtggcg3250ctttctcaatgctcacgctgtaggtatctcagttcggtgtaggtcgttcg3300ctccaagctgggctgtgtgcacgaaccccccgttcagcccgaccgctgcg3350ccttatccggtaactatcgtcttgagtccaacccggtaagacacgactta3400tcgccactggcagcagccactggtaacaggattagcagagcgaggtatgt3450aggcggtgctacagagttcttgaagtggtggcctaactacggctacacta3500gaaggacagtatttggtatctgcgctctgctgaagccagttaccttcgga3550aaaagagttggtagctcttgatccggcaaacaaaccaccgctggtagcgg3600tggtttttttgtttgcaagcagcagattacgcgcagaaaaaaaggatctc3650aagaagatcctttgatcttttctacggggtctgacgctcagtggaacgaa3700aactcacgttaagggattttggtcatgagattatcaaaaaggatcttcac3750ctagatccttttaaattaaaaatgaagttttaaatcaatctaaagtatat3800atgagtaaacttggtctgacagttaccaatgcttaatcagtgaggcacct3850atctcagcgatctgtctatttcgttcatccatagttgcctgactccccgt3900cgtgtagataactacgatacgggagggcttaccatctggccccagtgctg3950caatgataccgcgagacccacgctcaccggctccagatttatcagcaata4000aaccagccagccggaagggccgagcgcagaagtggtcctgcaactttatc4050cgcctccatccagtctattaattgttgccgggaagctagagtaagtagtt4100cgccagttaatagtttgcgcaacgttgttgccattgctacaggcatcgtg4150gtgtcacgctcgtcgtttggtatggcttcattcagctccggttcccaacg4200atcaaggcgagttacatgatcccccatgttgtgcaaaaaagcggttagct4250ccttcggtcctccgatcgttgtcagaagtaagttggccgcagtgttatca4300ctcatggttatggcagcactgcataattctcttactgtcatgccatccgt4350aagatgcttttctgtgactggtgagtactcaaccaagtcattctgagaat4400agtgtatgcggcgaccgagttgctcttgcccggcgtcaatacgggataat4450accgcgccacatagcagaactttaaaagtgctcatcattggaaaacgttc4500ttcggggcgaaaactctcaaggatcttaccgctgttgagatccagttcga4550tgtaacccactcgtgcacccaactgatcttcagcatcttttactttcacc4600agcgtttctgggtgagcaaaaacaggaaggcaaaatgccgcaaaaaaggg4650aataagggcgacacggaaatgttgaatactcatactcttcctttttcaat4700attattgaagcatttatcagggttattgtctcatgagcggatacatattt4750gaatgtatttagaaaaataaacaaataggggttccgcgcacatttccccg4800aaaagtgccacctgacgtctaagaaaccattattatcatgacattaacct4850ataaaaataggcgtatcacgaggccctttcgtc4883 ( 2 ) information for seq id no : 2 :( i ) sequence characteristics :( a ) length : 5642 base pairs ( b ) type : nucleic acid ( c ) strandedness : double stranded ( d ) topology : circular ( ii ) molecule type : pde4 : plasmid dna replicable in e . coli ( ix ) feature :( d ) other information : 1 - 395 : puc18 derived sequence396 - 1284 : &# 34 ; 35s3 &# 34 ; promoter sequence derived fromcauliflower mosaic virus isolate cabbb - ji1285 - 3093 : coding sequence of - glucuronidase gene3094 - 3378 : 3 &# 39 ; regulatory sequence containing thepolyadenylation site derived from agrobacteriumt - dna nopaline synthase gene3379 - 5642 : puc18 derived sequenceother information : plasmid is replicable in e . coli , confers ampicillin resistance to the bacterium ( xi ) sequence description : seq id no : 2 : tcgcgcgtttcggtgatgacggtgaaaacctctgacacatgcagctcccg50gagacggtcacagcttgtctgtaagcggatgccgggagcagacaagcccg100tcagggcgcgtcagcgggtgttggcgggtgtcggggctggcttaactatg150cggcatcagagcagattgtactgagagtgcaccatatgcggtgtgaaata200ccgcacagatgcgtaaggagaaaataccgcatcaggcgccattcgccatt250caggctgcgcaactgttgggaagggcgatcggtgcgggcctcttcgctat300tacgccagctggcgaaagggggatgtgctgcaaggcgattaagttgggta350acgccagggttttcccagtcacgacgttgtaaaacgacggccagtgaatt400cgagctcggtacccggggatcctctagagtcgacctgcaggcatgcaagc450tcctacgcagcaggtctcatcaagacgatctacccgagtaacaatctcca500ggagatcaaataccttcccaagaaggttaaagatgcagtcaaaagattca550ggactaattgcatcaagaacacagagaaagacatatttctcaagatcaga600agtactattccagtatggacgattcaaggcttgcttcataaaccaaggca650agtaatagagattggagtctctaaaaaggtagttcctactgaatctaagg700ccatgcatggagtctaagattcaaatcgaggatctaacagaactcgccgt750gaagactggcgaacagttcatacagagtcttttacgactcaatgacaaga800agaaaatcttcgtcaacatggtggagcacgacactctggtctactccaaa850aatgtcaaagatacagtctcagaagaccaaagggctattgagacttttca900acaaaggataatttcgggaaacctcctcggattccattgcccagctatct950gtcacttcatcgaaaggacagtagaaaaggaaggtggctcctacaaatgc1000catcattgcgataaaggaaaggctatcattcaagatgcctctgccgacag1050tggtcccaaagatggacccccacccacgaggagcatcgtggaaaaagaag1100acgttccaaccacgtcttcaaagcaagtggattgatgtgacatctccact1150gacgtaagggatgacgcacaatcccactatccttcgcaagacccttcctc1200tatataaggaagttcatttcatttggagaggacacgctgaaatcaccagt1250ctctctctataaatctatctctctctctataaccatggtccgtcctgtag1300aaaccccaacccgtgaaatcaaaaaactcgacggcctgtgggcattcagt1350ctggatcgcgaaaactgtggaattgatcagcgttggtgggaaagcgcgtt1400acaagaaagccgggcaattgctgtgccaggcagttttaacgatcagttcg1450ccgatgcagatattcgtaattatgcgggcaacgtctggtatcagcgcgaa1500gtctttataccgaaaggttgggcaggccagcgtatcgtgctgcgtttcga1550tgcggtcactcattacggcaaagtgtgggtcaataatcaggaagtgatgg1600agcatcagggcggctatacgccatttgaagccgatgtcacgccgtatgtt1650attgccgggaaaagtgtacgtatcaccgtttgtgtgaacaacgaactgaa1700ctggcagactatcccgccgggaatggtgattaccgacgaaaacggcaaga1750aaaagcagtcttacttccatgatttctttaactatgccggaatccatcgc1800agcgtaatgctctacaccacgccgaacacctgggtggacgatatcaccgt1850ggtgacgcatgtcgcgcaagactgtaaccacgcgtctgttgactggcagg1900tggtggccaatggtgatgtcagcgttgaactgcgtgatgcggatcaacag1950gtggttgcaactggacaaggcactagcgggactttgcaagtggtgaatcc2000gcacctctggcaaccgggtgaaggttatctctatgaactgtgcgtcacag2050ccaaaagccagacagagtgtgatatctacccgcttcgcgtcggcatccgg2100tcagtggcagtgaagggcgaacagttcctgattaaccacaaaccgttcta2150ctttactggctttggtcgtcatgaagatgcggacttacgtggcaaaggat2200tcgataacgtgctgatggtgcacgaccacgcattaatggactggattggg2250gccaactcctaccgtacctcgcattacccttacgctgaagagatgctcga2300ctgggcagatgaacatggcatcgtggtgattgatgaaactgctgctgtcg2350gctttaacctctctttaggcattggtttcgaagcgggcaacaagccgaaa2400gaactgtacagcgaagaggcagtcaacggggaaactcagcaagcgcactt2450acaggcgattaaagagctgatagcgcgtgacaaaaaccacccaagcgtgg2500tgatgtggagtattgccaacgaaccggatacccgtccgcaagtgcacggg2550aatatttcgccactggcggaagcaacgcgtaaactcgacccgacgcgtcc2600gatcacctgcgtcaatgtaatgttctgcgacgctcacaccgataccatca2650gcgatctctttgatgtgctgtgcctgaaccgttattacggatggtatgtc2700caaagcggcgatttggaaacggcagagaaggtactggaaaaagaacttct2750ggcctggcaggagaaactgcatcagccgattatcatcaccgaatacggcg2800tggatacgttagccgggctgcactcaatgtacaccgacatgtggagtgaa2850gagtatcagtgtgcatggctggatatgtatcaccgcgtctttgatcgcgt2900cagcgccgtcgtcggtgaacaggtatggaatttcgccgattttgcgacct2950cgcaaggcatattgcgcgttggcggtaacaagaaagggatcttcactcgc3000gaccgcaaaccgaagtcggcggcttttctgctgcaaaaacgctggactgg3050catgaacttcggtgaaaaaccgcagcagggaggcaaacaatgaxxxxxxg3100aattgatccgaagcagatcgttcaaacatttggcaataaagtttcttaag3150attgaatcctgttgccggtcttgcgatgattatcatataatttctgttga3200attacgttaagcatgtaataattaacatgtaatgcatgacgttatttatg3250agatgggtttttatgattagagtcccgcaattatacatttaatacgcgat3300agaaaacaaaatatagcgcgcaaactaggataaattatcgcgcgcggtgt3350catctatgttactagatcgggaagatcctctagagtcgacctgcaggcat3400gcaagcttggcgtaatcatggtcatagctgtttcctgtgtgaaattgtta3450tccgctcacaattccacacaacatacgagccggaagcataaagtgtaaag3500cctggggtgcctaatgagtgagctaactcacattaattgcgttgcgctca3550ctgcccgctttccagtcgggaaacctgtcgtgccagctgcattaatgaat3600cggccaacgcgcggggagaggcggtttgcgtattgggcgctcttccgctt3650cctcgctcactgactcgctgcgctcggtcgttcggctgcggcgagcggta3700tcagctcactcaaaggcggtaatacggttatccacagaatcaggggataa3750cgcaggaaagaacatgtgagcaaaaggccagcaaaaggccaggaaccgta3800aaaaggccgcgttgctggcgtttttccataggctccgcccccctgacgag3850catcacaaaaatcgacgctcaagtcagaggtggcgaaacccgacaggact3900ataaagataccaggcgtttccccctggaagctccctcgtgcgctctcctg3950ttccgaccctgccgcttaccggatacctgtccgcctttctcccttcggga4000agcgtggcgctttctcaatgctcacgctgtaggtatctcagttcggtgta4050ggtcgttcgctccaagctgggctgtgtgcacgaaccccccgttcagcccg4100accgctgcgccttatccggtaactatcgtcttgagtccaacccggtaaga4150cacgacttatcgccactggcagcagccactggtaacaggattagcagagc4200gaggtatgtaggcggtgctacagagttcttgaagtggtggcctaactacg4250gctacactagaaggacagtatttggtatctgcgctctgctgaagccagtt4300accttcggaaaaagagttggtagctcttgatccggcaaacaaaccaccgc4350tggtagcggtggtttttttgtttgcaagcagcagattacgcgcagaaaaa4400aaggatctcaagaagatcctttgatcttttctacggggtctgacgctcag4450tggaacgaaaactcacgttaagggattttggtcatgagattatcaaaaag4500gatcttcacctagatccttttaaattaaaaatgaagttttaaatcaatct4550aaagtatatatgagtaaacttggtctgacagttaccaatgcttaatcagt4600gaggcacctatctcagcgatctgtctatttcgttcatccatagttgcctg46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the entire disclosure of u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 082 , 495 , entitled surgical instrument incorporating an electrically actuated articulation mechanism , filed on mar . 17 , 2005 , now u . s . pat . no . 7 , 506 , 790 , is incorporated herein by reference . the entire disclosure of u . s . pat . no . 6 , 667 , 825 , entitled stable conjugated polymer electrochromic devices incorporating ionic liquids , issued on jan . 3 , 2002 , is incorporated herein by reference . the entire disclosure of u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 061 , 908 , entitled surgical instrument incorporating a fluid transfer controlled articulation mechanism , filed on feb . 18 , 2005 , now u . s . pat . no . 7 , 559 , 450 , is incorporated herein by reference . in fig1 - 3 , a surgical stapling instrument 10 has at its distal end an end effector , depicted as a staple applying assembly 12 , spaced apart from a handle 14 ( fig2 ) by an elongate shaft 16 . the staple applying assembly 12 includes a staple channel 18 for receiving a replaceable staple cartridge 20 . pivotally attached to the staple channel 18 is an anvil 22 that clamps tissue to the staple cartridge 20 and serves to deform staples 23 ( fig3 ) driven up from staple holes 24 in the staple cartridge 20 against staple forming recesses 26 ( fig6 ) in an anvil undersurface 28 into a closed shape . when the staple applying assembly 12 is closed , its cross sectional area , as well as the elongate shaft 16 are suitable for insertion through a small surgical opening , such as through a cannula of a trocar ( not shown ). with particular reference to fig1 , correct placement and orientation of the staple applying assembly 12 is facilitated by controls on the handle 14 . in particular , a rotation knob 30 causes rotation of the shaft 16 about its longitudinal axis , and hence rotation of the staple applying assembly 12 . additional positioning is enabled at an articulation joint 32 in the shaft 16 that pivots the staple applying assembly 12 in an arc from the longitudinal axis of the shaft 16 , thereby allowing placement behind an organ or allowing other instruments such as an endoscope ( not shown ) to be oriented behind the staple applying assembly 12 . this articulation is advantageously effected by an articulation control switch 34 on the handle 14 that transmits an electrical signal to the articulation joint 32 to an electroactive polymer ( eap ) actuator 36 , powered by an eap controller and power supply 38 contained within the handle 14 . once positioned with tissue in the staple applying assembly 12 , a surgeon closes the anvil 22 by drawing a closure trigger 40 proximally toward a pistol grip 42 . once clamped thus , the surgeon may grasp a more distally presented firing trigger 44 , drawing it back to effect firing of the staple applying assembly 12 , which in some applications is achieved in one single firing stroke and in other applications by multiple firing strokes . firing accomplishes simultaneously stapling of at least two rows of staples while severing the tissue therebetween . retraction of the firing components may be automatically initiated upon full travel . alternatively , a retraction lever 46 may be drawn aft to effect retraction . with the firing components retracted , the staple applying assembly 12 may be unclamped and opened by the surgeon slightly drawing the closure trigger 40 aft toward the pistol grip 42 and depressing a closure release button 48 and then releasing the closure trigger 40 , thereby releasing the two stapled ends of severed tissue from the staple applying assembly 12 . while an articulation joint 32 is depicted in fig1 , for clarity and as an alternative application , the surgical stapling instrument 10 of fig2 - 14 omit an articulation joint 32 . it should be appreciated , however , that aspects of the present invention have particular advantages for articulation as described below with regard to fig1 - 18 . in fig1 - 3 , the staple applying assembly 12 accomplishes the functions of clamping onto tissue , driving staples and severing tissue by two distinct motions transferred longitudinally down the shaft 16 over a shaft frame 70 . this shaft frame 70 is proximally attached to the handle 14 and coupled for rotation with the rotation knob 30 . an illustrative multi - stroke handle 14 for the surgical stapling and severing instrument 10 of fig1 is described in greater detail in the co - owned u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 674 , 026 , entitled surgical stapling instrument incorporating a multistroke firing position indicator and retraction mechanism , now u . s . pat . no . 7 , 364 , 061 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety , with additional features and variation as described herein . while a multi - stroke handle 14 advantageously supports applications with high firing forces over a long distance , applications consistent with the present invention may incorporate a single firing stroke , such as described in commonly owned u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 441 , 632 , entitled surgical stapling instrument having separate distinct closing and firing systems , now u . s . pat . no . 7 , 000 , 818 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . with particular reference to fig3 , the distal end of the shaft frame 70 is attached to the staple channel 18 . the anvil 22 has a proximal pivoting end 72 that is pivotally received within a proximal end 74 of the staple channel 18 , just distal to its engagement to the shaft frame 70 . the pivoting end 72 of the anvil 22 includes a closure feature 76 proximate but distal to its pivotal attachment with the staple channel 18 . thus , a closure tube 78 , whose distal end includes a horseshoe aperture 80 that engages this closure feature 76 , selectively imparts an opening motion to the anvil 22 during proximal longitudinal motion and a closing motion to the anvil 22 during distal longitudinal motion of the closure tube 78 sliding over the shaft frame 70 in response to the closure trigger 40 . the shaft frame 70 encompasses and guides a firing motion from the handle 14 through a longitudinally reciprocating , two - piece knife and firing bar 90 . in particular , the shaft frame 70 includes a longitudinal firing bar slot 92 that receives a proximal portion of the two - piece knife and firing bar 90 , specifically a laminate tapered firing bar 94 . it should be appreciated that the laminated tapered firing bar 94 may be substituted with a solid firing bar or of other materials in applications not intended to pass through an articulation joint , such as depicted in fig2 - 14 . an e - beam 102 is the distal portion of the two - piece knife and firing bar 90 , which facilitates separate closure and firing as well as spacing of the anvil 22 from the elongate staple channel 18 during firing . with particular reference to fig3 - 4 , in addition to any attachment treatment such as brazing or an adhesive , the knife and firing bar 90 are formed of a female vertical attachment aperture 104 proximally formed in the e - beam 102 that receives a corresponding male attachment member 106 distally presented by the laminated tapered firing bar 94 , allowing each portion to be formed of a selected material and process suitable for their disparate functions ( e . g ., strength , flexibility , friction ). the e - beam 102 may be advantageously formed of a material having suitable material properties for forming a pair of top pins 110 , a pair of middle pins 112 and a bottom pin or foot 114 , as well as being able to acquire a sharp cutting edge 116 . in addition , integrally formed and proximally projecting top guide 118 and middle guide 120 bracketing each vertical end of the cutting edge 116 further define a tissue staging area 122 assisting in guiding tissue to the sharp cutting edge 116 prior to being severed . the middle guide 120 also serves to engage and fire the staple applying apparatus 12 by abutting a stepped central member 124 of a wedge sled 126 ( fig5 ) that effects staple formation by the staple applying assembly 12 , as described in greater detail below . forming these features ( e . g ., top pins 110 , middle pins 112 , and bottom foot 114 ) integrally with the e - beam 102 facilitates manufacturing at tighter tolerances relative to one another as compared to being assembled from a plurality of parts , ensuring desired operation during firing and / or effective interaction with various lockout features of the staple applying assembly 12 . in fig6 - 7 , the surgical stapling instrument 10 is shown open , with the e - beam 102 fully retracted . during assembly , the lower foot 114 of the e - beam 102 is dropped through a widened hole 130 in the staple channel 18 and the e - beam 102 is then advanced such that the e - beam 102 slides distally along a lower track 132 formed in the staple channel 18 . in particular , the lower track 132 includes a narrow slot 133 that opens up as a widened slot 134 on an undersurface of the staple channel 18 to form an inverted t - shape in lateral cross section , as depicted particularly in fig7 and 8 , which communicates with the widened hole 130 . once assembled , the components proximally coupled to the laminate tapered firing bar 94 do not allow the lower foot 114 to proximally travel again to the widened hole 130 to permit disengagement . in fig9 , the laminate tapered firing bar 94 facilitates insertion of the staple applying assembly 12 through a trocar . in particular , a more distal , downward projection 136 raises the e - beam 102 when fully retracted . this is accomplished by placement of the downward projection 136 at a point where it cams upwardly on a proximal edge of the widened hole 130 in the staple channel 18 . in fig1 , the laminate tapered firing bar 94 also enhances operation of certain lockout features that may be incorporated into the staple channel 18 by including a more proximal upward projection 138 that is urged downwardly by the shaft frame 70 during an initial portion of the firing travel . in particular , a lateral bar 140 is defined between a pair of square apertures 142 in the shaft frame 70 ( fig3 ). a clip spring 144 that encompasses the lateral bar 140 downwardly urges a portion of the laminate tapered firing bar 94 projecting distally out of the longitudinal firing bar slot 92 , which ensures certain advantageous lockout features are engaged when appropriate . this urging is more pronounced or confined solely to that portion of the firing travel when the upward projection 138 contacts the clip spring 144 . in fig6 - 7 , the e - beam 102 is retracted with the top pins 110 thereof residing within an anvil pocket 150 near the pivoting proximal end of the anvil 22 . a downwardly open vertical anvil slot 152 ( fig2 ) laterally widens in the anvil 22 into an anvil internal track 154 that captures the top pins 110 of the e - beam 102 as they distally advance during firing , as depicted in fig9 - 10 , affirmatively spacing the anvil 22 from the staple channel 18 . thus , with the e - beam 102 retracted , the surgeon is able to repeatably open and close the staple applying assembly 12 until satisfied with the placement and orientation of tissue captured therein for stapling and severing , yet the e - beam 102 assists in proper positioning of tissue even for a staple applying assembly 12 of reduced diameter and correspondingly reduced rigidity . in fig2 - 3 , 5 - 6 , 8 - 14 , the staple applying assembly 12 is shown with the replaceable staple cartridge 20 that includes the wedge sled 126 . longitudinally aligned and parallel plurality of downwardly open wedge slots 202 ( fig8 ) receive respective wedges 204 integral to the wedge sled 126 . in fig8 - 10 , the wedge sled 126 thus cams upwardly a plurality of staple drivers 206 that are vertically slidable within staple driver recesses 208 . in this illustrative version , each staple driver 206 includes two vertical prongs , each translating upwardly into a respective staple hole 210 to upwardly force out and deform a staple 23 resting thereupon against a staple forming surface 214 ( fig1 ) of the anvil 22 . a central firing recess 216 ( fig3 ) defined within the staple cartridge 20 proximate to the staple channel 18 allows the passage of the bottom , horizontal portion 218 ( fig5 ) of the wedge sled 126 as well as the middle pins 112 of the e - beam 102 . specifically , a staple cartridge tray 220 ( fig3 ) attaches to and underlies a polymer staple cartridge body 222 that has the staple driver recesses 208 , staple holes 210 , and central firing recess 216 formed therein . as staples 23 are thus formed to either side , the sharp cutting edge 116 enters a vertical through slot 230 passing through the longitudinal axis of the staple cartridge 20 , excepting only a most distal end thereof . firing the staple applying assembly 12 begins as depicted in fig1 with the two - piece knife and firing bar 90 proximally drawn until the downward projection 136 cams the middle guide 120 on the e - beam 102 upward and aft , allowing a new staple cartridge 20 to be inserted into the staple channel 18 when the anvil 22 is open as depicted in fig2 . in fig1 , the two - piece knife and firing bar 90 has been distally advanced a small distance , allowing the downward projection 136 to drop into the widened hole 130 of the lower track 132 under the urging of the clip spring 144 against the upward projection 138 of the laminate tapered firing bar 94 . the middle guide 120 prevents further downward rotation by resting upon the stepped central member 124 of the wedge sled 126 , thus maintaining the middle pin 112 of the e - beam within the central firing recess 216 . in fig1 , the two - piece knife and firing bar 90 has been distally fired , advancing the wedge sled 126 to cause formation of staples 23 while severing tissue 242 clamped between the anvil 22 and staple cartridge 20 with the sharp cutting edge 116 . thereafter , in fig1 , the two - piece knife and firing bar 90 is retracted , leaving the wedge sled 126 distally positioned . in fig1 , the middle pin 112 is allowed to translate down into a lockout recess 240 formed in the staple channel 18 ( also see fig7 ). thus , the operator would receive a tactile indication as the middle pin 112 encounters the distal edge of the lockout recess 240 when the wedge sled 126 ( not shown in fig1 ) is not proximally positioned ( i . e ., missing staple cartridge 20 or spent staple cartridge 20 ). in fig1 , an articulation joint 32 is depicted that advantageously benefits from the flexible strength of the two - piece knife and firing bar 90 . in fig1 - 18 , the articulation joint 32 is depicted as a flex neck joint 300 formed by vertebral column body 302 having laterally symmetric pairs of arcing recesses 304 that allow articulation in an articulation plane . it is generally known to simultaneously compress and expand respective lateral sides 306 , 308 by selective movement of control rods ( not shown ) that longitudinally pass through the respective lateral sides 306 , 308 . depicted , however , are eap plate actuators 310 , 312 , each capable of powered deflection to one or both lateral directions . a central passage 320 ( fig1 ) defined longitudinally through the vertebral column body 302 receives a pair of support plates 322 , 324 that prevent buckling and binding of the laminate tapered firing bar 94 . in the illustrative version , each support plate 322 , 324 has a proximal fixed end 326 ( fig1 ) and a sliding end 328 to accommodate changes in radial distance during articulation . having a firing bar 94 of a thinner thickness is thus supported . while the present invention has been illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in considerable detail , it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail . additional advantages and modifications may readily appear to those skilled in the art . for example , while there are a number of advantages to having a wedge sled integral to a staple cartridge , in some applications consistent with aspects of the present invention , the wedge sled may be integral instead to an e - beam . for instance , an entire end effector may be replaceable rather than just the staple cartridge . | 0 |
fig1 shows in a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment of a cube - shaped object 10 consisting of twenty - seven individual building blocks 20 . the building blocks 20 are in the assembled state of the cube - shaped object 10 arranged three in width , three in depth and three in height . each of the building blocks 20 is provided with at least four differently designed side faces 21 , which are in this exemplary embodiment and for purposes of ease of explanation of the principle of the invention realized herein in the form of numbers as the connecting means . the numbers as possible embodiments of the side faces 21 of the building blocks 20 are , however , merely to be understood only as examples , and other motifs or color designs or design forms of the side faces 21 of building blocks 20 , such as geometric forms , simple colors or pictorial designs may be used for this purpose , as shown by way of example in fig4 a and 4 b . in the correctly assembled predefined state of the cube - shaped object 10 , the cube - shaped object 10 has on each of its six outer sides a respective uniform design of the outer face 11 ; for example , in the example of fig1 , on the top face the continuous representation with the number five and on the front face with the number two . the differently formed side faces 21 of the individual building blocks 20 thus represent both connecting means for constructing the cube - shaped object 10 as well as in the correct , i . e . form - congruent structure of the cube - shaped object 10 , a part of the respective form or design of the entire outer faces 11 . the design of the individual building blocks 20 thus has a dual function , i . e . on the one hand , the visualization of the respective defined form of the outer faces 11 as well as coding for the respective assembly of adjacent building blocks 20 of a respective cube - shaped object 10 . here , each building block 20 in this example is designed with at least five different side faces 21 and is in this embodiment also a unique feature within each cube - shaped object 10 . in other words , in this cube - shaped object 10 consisting of twenty - seven individual building blocks 20 , the specific form and design of each building block 20 appear only once . the design of the individual building blocks 20 is selected such that with a correct , form - congruent assembly of the cube - shaped object , not only are uniform outer faces 11 of the cube - shaped object 10 formed on all six sides ( see . fig1 ), but the design of the side faces 21 that each face adjacent building blocks 20 or abut each other also matches in the interior . this is illustrated in the fig1 by way of a corner building block 20 that has been removed . the back side of the building block 20 illustrated in fig1 has , for example , the number one , while the bottom side has the number three corresponding to the adjacent building blocks 20 . according to the invention , a specific embodiment of the respective individual building blocks 20 of the modular cube - shaped object 10 is thus realized wherein not only similarities in the design or implementation of the side faces result , which together form the respective outer faces 11 of the cube - shaped object 10 , but also of the abutting side faces 21 of each building block 20 disposed in the interior of the cube - shaped object 10 . an embodiment with numbers is given here only an example to facilitate illustration of the principle of the invention . other embodiments of the sides of the building blocks by way of designs , symbols , colors , or relief - like faces are also possible within the scope of the invention , as long as they allow for a kind of coding for the modular block - like assembly of the entire cube - shaped object . according to the invention , this produces not only a three - dimensional match of side faces of the building blocks 20 in the vertical and horizontal layers , but also design of the outer faces 11 of the cube - shaped object 10 on the outer six faces . this is achieved by forming each building block 20 of each cube - shaped object 10 in at least four and at most six different versions . this will be explained in more detail in conjunction with the other exemplary embodiments illustrated in fig2 through 3 d . fig2 shows a building block 20 of a second exemplary embodiment of a cube - shaped object in the form of a polyhedral net and a partially three - dimensionally folded polyhedral net to illustrate the representations of the building blocks 20 of the cube - shaped systems in the form of polyhedral nets . fig3 shows a third embodiment of a possible form of building blocks 20 for an exemplary embodiment of a polyhedral net of a cube in corresponding representations as a polyhedral net ( left hand side ) and the three - dimensional composition of the individual side faces 21 of the building block 20 , which are each formed with at least five different designs on the side faces 21 . in the illustrations in the form of cubes crosses , the center square is always the bottom side face 21 and the bottom face is the respective side face 21 on the top side of the building block 20 . the other four faces form the respective lateral side faces , i . e . rear , front , right and left side faces . as can be clearly seen in fig2 and 3 , the building block 20 of the cube - shaped object 10 is characterized by at least four different designs of side faces 21 , i . e . only at least one form of a side face is repeated , in the example of fig3 the top and right side faces 21 . the building blocks 20 of the cube - shaped object are here regular squares and can be made for example of wood or another material that can be realized with different forms of side faces . the different forms of the side faces 21 of the building blocks 20 of each cube - shaped object 10 are preferably realized in the form of color designs or with motifs from pictures or with symbols . however , the side faces 21 may also differ in their form , as long as at least four differently formed side faces 21 are present in each building block 20 . this specific different design of the individual side faces of the building blocks produces the modular cube - shaped object 10 , as shown for example in the perspective view of fig1 . the individual forms of the exemplary embodiments according to fig2 and 3 , i . e . the respective designs of their individual building blocks 20 , will be described in the following based on the polyhedral net representations in the different layers of each cube - shaped object 10 of fig2 a to 3 d . in fig2 a , the building blocks 20 of the lowest layer of one exemplary embodiment of a cube - shaped object 10 according to the invention are shown with twenty - seven individual building blocks 20 . fig2 b shows the form of the individual building blocks 20 of the middle layer and the fig2 c shows the form of the individual building blocks 20 of the top layer of the building blocks of this exemplary embodiment . it can be seen from fig2 a that the building blocks 20 are realized such that they are identically constructed in the assembled state at the outer side faces 20 and the lower side ( bottom ). the center side face of each polyhedral net of a cube 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . 3 . 3 is here realized identically with the points in the center gray area and diagonal hatching in all building blocks 20 . likewise , this is true for the polyhedral nets 1 . 3 . 1 , 1 . 3 . 2 and 1 . 3 . 3 for the rear side face 21 ( upper square with white points motif ) as well as at the respective lateral side faces at the outer sides of the cube - shaped object 10 , i . e . the left column and the right column of the polyhedral nets in fig2 a . the layer 2 and layer 3 of the cube - shaped object are similar , as shown in fig2 b and 2 c . thus , the respective outer faces 11 of the cube - shaped object 10 are each implemented uniformly . the individual building blocks 20 are designed such that only matching forms of side faces face each other in the interior . for example , in fig2 b , the building block 2 . 2 . 2 with his black design will abut the likewise black design of the left side face 21 of the building block 2 . 2 . 3 . this correspondence or match of respective abutting side faces 21 thus forms in the embodiment according to the invention a kind of coding for the three - dimensional assembly of the individual building blocks 20 of the cube - shaped object 10 in order to obtain uniform outer designs of the outer faces 11 of the finished modular cube - shaped object . the differently designed side faces 21 of the building block 20 thus represent a kind of connecting means for the assembly of the cube - shaped object , which can be implemented by way of a different design with motifs , colors , symbols or the like , but also by way of different forms . an example of connecting means is shown in fig5 , depicting elevations 22 and depressions 23 on the side faces 21 . while fig2 a to 2 c show an embodiment of a cube - shaped object with twenty - seven individual building blocks 20 , fig3 a to 3 d show another exemplary embodiment of a cube - shaped object of the present invention 10 with sixty - four individual building blocks , i . e . with four layers and each having four individual building blocks arranged in depth , width and height of the assembled cube - shaped object . unlike the previous embodiment , the individual side faces 21 of the differently designed building blocks 20 are here implemented in a different form , in order to explain that the type or form of the motifs or the color of the side faces are not important , but rather the fact that according to the invention at least four different side faces 21 are implemented on each individual building block 20 . in this further embodiment shown in fig3 a to 3 d , the outer faces 11 of the entire cube - shaped object 10 as well as the opposing side faces 21 of the building blocks 20 in the interior have only matching forms of side faces 21 . as clearly seen in fig3 a , the opposing side faces 21 of the cubes 1 . 1 . 1 and 1 . 1 . 2 , are designed white , whereas the side faces of the cubes 1 . 2 . 1 and 1 . 2 . 2 disposed above have a checkered pattern . here too , the different versions of the side faces 21 of the building blocks 20 realized with motifs , forms or colors form both the means for the predefined correct assembly of the cube - shaped object 10 as well as , in relation to the outer faces 11 , a part or a building block of the uniform embodiment of the cube - shaped object 10 that forms the outer faces 11 . the other three layers of the cube - shaped object constructed from sixty - four individual building blocks 20 , which each represent a unique feature in this exemplary embodiment , are evident from the corresponding representations of the polyhedral nets in fig3 b , 3 c and 3 d . when the respective cube - shaped object 10 is assembled with its individual building blocks 20 in the pre - defined form of the composition ( see . fig1 ), all six outer faces 11 of the cube - shaped object 10 have different contents , representations or motifs , i . e . six different designs on all six sides of the cube - shaped object . simultaneously , due to the special form and design of the individual building blocks 20 , a coding of the assembly of the particular modular cube - shaped object 10 due to the respective structure of the side faces 21 of the building blocks 20 is provided , which is used in the proper construction and defines the composition of the building blocks 20 . advantageously , each building block 20 is unique , i . e . is different from any other building block 20 of a cube - shaped object 10 due to the at least five different side faces 21 per building block 20 . the side faces 21 of the building blocks 20 of the cube - shaped object 10 thus match in each horizontal and each vertical inner layer . the respective outer faces 11 of the entire cube - shaped object 10 are also formed identically or with matching designs , whether by way of color coding , an alphanumeric identification or by way of pictorial motifs or partial motives that can be used for applications of the cube - shaped object 10 as a visualization medium or as a multi - dimensional display or the like . as an example , five of the outer faces 11 of the cube - shaped object 10 may be each realized in a same color , while the sixth outer face 11 in the form - congruent assembly , i . e . with a color matching structure formed in the interior , may for example have an image of a national flag . the latter would then be quasi the top side or front side of the finished cube - shaped object for visualization purposes . the modular cube - shaped object 10 illustrated as an example is in particularly well suited as a device for training the spatial imagination . due to the special design and construction of the individual building blocks 20 , a three - dimensional spatial assembly of all six sides of each building block 20 can be consistently observed in order to obtain the predefined , correct form of the assembly of the cube - shaped object from the building blocks 20 . unlike previous conventional systems , such as the so - called rotary cubes , the form does not only match on the outer sides of the elements in the defined state , but the respective design of the interior side faces 21 must also always still be taken into account . the individual building blocks 20 according to the illustrated exemplary embodiments can be both loosely assembled in various ways as well as assembled by using detachable connection means which ensure easy assembly and a better grip of the building blocks 20 to one another . the illustrated embodiments relate to a cube - shaped object 10 with twenty - seven or sixty - four building blocks 20 , respectively . however , a greater number of building blocks 20 may be provided , for example , one hundred twenty five or two hundred and sixteen , as long as the individual building blocks 20 and the outer faces 11 of the cube - shaped object are implemented with uniform cube - shaped forms that are prepared with at least four and at most six different designs on each side face 21 . | 0 |
referring now to the drawings , in which like numerals refer to like components or steps , there are disclosed broad aspects of various exemplary embodiments . a direct sequence spread spectrum ( dsss ) signal is a commonly used type of spread spectrum signal . a dsss signal will be used as an example of a spread spectrum signal in the description of embodiments below . this is not intended to limit these embodiments to dsss signals , but rather these embodiments may be used with other types of spread spectrum signals . a test for the presence of a desired dsss input signal may be based on the known properties of the autocorrelation function of the expected input signal . the test may simply work on the incoming data samples and may not require any synchronization to the spreading code sequence to work well . the idea behind this method may be to compute the autocorrelation function of the incoming data samples for a window of limited size and compare the results against the known pattern of the autocorrelation function over the same window for the desired dsss input signal . of course this assumes that any unwanted interferer will not be able to produce an autocorrelation function result , which matches the autocorrelation function of the desired dsss input signal . accordingly , it may be possible to compute the autocorrelation function only for a number of points of interest and not over the entire length of the chosen spreading code sequence . this will be shown with respect to fig1 and 2 below . this may help to limit the extra hardware and / or software resources needed to implement the method . fig1 is a plot illustrating an auto correlation function of a spread spectrum signal using a gold code of length 2047 . as can be seen in fig1 there is a very sharp mainlobe 105 and low sidelobes 110 . the peak of the mainlobe reaches 2047 , which is the length of the spreading code ( including oversampling if employed ), in this example perfect correlation occurs at zero offset . outside the mainlobe region 110 , the autocorrelation function has a very low value . fig2 is the plot illustrating the shape of the mainlobe of an auto correlation function of a spread spectrum signal using a gold code of length 2047 as shown in fig1 . fig2 illustrates the fact that the mainlobe 105 actually has a triangular shape due to oversampling of the dsss signal . fig2 further illustrates that outside the mainlobe 105 , the sidelobes 110 have a limited magnitude . it is these characteristics of the autocorrelation function that may be used to efficiently determine the presence of a dsss signal . for example , threshold values 115 and 120 are illustrated . these threshold values 115 and 120 bound the range of the expected sidelobe values of the autocorrelation function . in the alternative , the threshold values may be a single absolute magnitude value that may be compared to the magnitude of the sidelobe values of the autocorrelation function . for a dsss signal with an oversampling ratio of , for example , 3 × or 6 ×, a method may be used to capture the shape of the triangle around zero offset of a dsss signal autocorrelation function and then verify that the measured autocorrelation function has a value close to zero at distances away from the zero offset , for example , distances corresponding to five and / or eight chips from the offset . the hardware required to implement this method may include a delay line for the desired offsets and one complex multiplier and accumulator unit for each point of the autocorrelation function that may be observed . further , the method may use a sufficiently wide accumulator to compute the autocorrelation results for the desired width of the correlation window . the width of the correlation window may be chosen such that the signal to noise ratio for a desired input signal may be positive with a comfortable margin . for an example of a spreading code of length 225 chips and an oversampling ratio of 3 ×, the window size might be chosen to be 1350 samples ( or two data bit periods ). fig3 is a block diagram illustrating a system that determines the presence of a spread spectrum signal . fig4 is a diagram illustrating correlation windows used for determining the presence of a spread spectrum signal . fig4 also illustrates the data structure of the incoming data stream and the relative position of proposed windows used to perform the autocorrelation . the position of the correlation windows may be arbitrary and may not be aligned with the start of the spreading code sequence . the system 300 may include : delay lines 310 a , 310 b , 310 c , 310 d , and 310 e ; multipliers 315 a , 315 b , 315 c , 315 d , 315 e , and 315 f ; accumulators 320 a , 320 b , 320 c , 320 d , 320 e , and 320 f ; and signal presence determiner 325 . the system 300 may receive input samples 305 . the input samples move through the delay lines 310 where the input samples are delayed by various amounts : δ , δ , pδ , kδ , and qδ , where δ is a time delay based upon the sampling rate of the input samples and p , k , and q are integers . the complex conjugate of current input sample may be applied to each of the multipliers 315 . if the input samples are only real valued then the complex conjugate of the input sample is the same as the input sample . the other input to the multipliers are the delayed input samples based upon the amount of delay applied by the various delay lines 310 . the outputs of the multipliers 315 are applied to accumulators 320 which sum the outputs received from the multipliers 315 . once all of the input samples in the correlation window have been processed , the accumulators output autocorrelation function results g 0 ( nt ), g 1 ( nt ), g 2 ( nt ), g p + 2 ( nt ), g k + p + 2 ( nt ), and g k + p + q + 2 ( nt ). these autocorrelation function results are applied to signal presence determiner 325 . the signal presence determiner 325 may apply the following tests to the autocorrelation function results in order to positively identify a desired signal . first , the autocorrelation function results for the first mainlobe correlation points need to be in descending order , i . e ., g 0 ( nt ), g 1 ( nt ), and g 0 ( nt ) must be in descending order . this corresponds to the triangle portion of the mainlobe as shown above in fig2 . next , the autocorrelation function results for the k correlation points outside the mainlobe need to be within a predetermined threshold range , i . e ., g p + 2 ( nt ), g k + p + 2 ( nt ), and g k + p + q + 2 ( nt ). alternatively , if only the magnitude of the autocorrelation function results are used , then the threshold is a single value that the results must be below . if both of these conditions are met , then the signal presence determiner may indicate the presence of a dsss signal . the signal presence determiner may operate on as few as two mainlobe correlation points and two correlation points outside the mainlobe . while more points may provide more reliable determination of the presence of a dsss signal , it may increase the amount of processing and resources needed . therefore , a balance between these competing needs may be made in order to select the desired number of points to calculate for any give environment , application , and design . while the system 300 has been discussed as implemented in hardware , the system may also be implemented using software in a computer or processor . the processor may be a general purpose processor , a graphic processor , or a signal processing element , or any other type of computing device . further , the system 300 may be implemented as an integrated circuit . the following discussion provides specific mathematical details of the method . although in this analysis the signals are all shown as real signals , the actual implementation may accommodate complex input signals . as described above , the method computes the autocorrelation function of the input data with itself for a number of specific offsets that would reflect points of interest for the input dsss signal that is expected . the correlation may be computed over an arbitrary correlation window size of length m samples . the size m may be chosen such that it is at least as large as a single data bit , e . g ., 675 samples for a 225 chip spreading sequence length with 3 × oversampling . this correlation window does not have to be aligned with the data frame structure of the incoming data stream , although the computations are basically the same regardless of which output may be observed , the first output , g 0 ( nt ) may be analyzed separately from all the others for convenience . for the correlation point with zero offset , g 0 ( nt ): g 0 ( nt )= σ i = 0 m − 1 ( s ( t 0 + it )+ n ( t 0 + it ))( s ( t 0 + it )+ n ( t 0 + it )) ( 1 ) in equation ( 1 ) to is an arbitrary offset , where the computation of the correlation starts . g 0 ( nt )= σ i = 0 m − 1 s 2 ( t 0 + it )+ σ i = 0 m − 1 n 2 ( t 0 + it )+ 2 σ i = 0 m − 1 s ( t 0 + it ) n ( t 0 + it )) ( 2 ) the first term represents the value of the autocorrelation function of the input signal s ( nt ) with zero offset or the power of the wanted input signal . the second term reflects the power of the ( thermal ) noise contained in the input stream . the third term reflects the cross - correlation of the wanted input signal and the noise and on average should vanish as the wanted signal and the noise input are not correlated . the result g 0 ( nt ) will directly reflect the signal to noise ratio , and for negative signal to noise ratios the result g 0 ( nt ) will primarily reflect the input noise level . in particular from equation ( 2 ), it is noted that g 0 ( nt ) will not enjoy spreading gain according to the spreading factor used . it should further be noted that the result in ( 2 ) is different from the output of a classical matched filter tuned to the desired input signal s ( nt ), which does not contain the n 2 ( ) term and includes only one of the cross - terms . g k ( nt )= σ i = 0 m − 1 ( s ( t 0 + it )+ n ( t 0 + it ))( s ( t 0 + it + kδ )+ n ( t 0 + it + k δ )) ( 3 ) breaking up the product summation into individual summations produces the following four components in the correlation result gk ( nt ): g k , 1 ( nt )= σ i = 0 m − 1 s ( t 0 + it ) s ( t 0 + it + kδ ) ( 4 ) g k , 2 ( nt )= σ i = 0 m − 1 s ( t 0 + it ) n ( t 0 + it + kδ ) ( 5 ) g k , 3 ( nt )= σ i = 0 m − 1 s ( t 0 + it + k δ ) n ( t 0 + it ) ( 6 ) g k , 4 ( nt )= σ i = 0 m − 1 n ( t 0 + it ) n ( t 0 + it + kδ ) ( 7 ) the first term , equation ( 4 ), corresponds to the value of the autocorrelation function of the desired input signal s ( nt ) at offset ka . this component allows the method to take advantage of the a - priori knowledge of the autocorrelation properties of the desired spread spectrum input signal . as before , equation ( 4 ) does not give any indication that there may be any benefit from spreading gain . the second and third terms , equations ( 5 ) and ( 6 ), correspond to the cross - correlation of the wanted signal and the noise and on average should vanish . the forth term , equation ( 7 ), is the value of the autocorrelation function of the noise input and for white gaussian noise assumed here should also vanish on average . similar calculations may be used when the input signal is complex and not real valued . in such a case , the complex input samples may be multiplied with the complex conjugate time delayed signals , and all multiplications will be complex . as for the time delays to choose , the ml mainlobe correlation computations may be carried out within the mainlobe of the autocorrelation function of the desired input signal , i . e ., within one chip offset , and k correlation computations outside this mainlobe . the delays corresponding to the k computations outside this mainlobe may be placed at distances that are not equal . this may provide the benefit of preventing sinusoidal interference from correlating in the sidelobe region . the correlation window size m may be chosen such that sufficiently high margin against thermal noise input may be ensured for the targeted system . the specific size may depend on the actual application . the embodiments described above may be applied in any wireless communications system which employs direct sequence spread spectrum methodology with relatively short spreading sequences . typical examples include wireless long distance remote access systems ( automotive applications ), wireless sensor networks , remote meter reading , home automation . further , these embodiments may be applied to other spread spectrum signal systems . the method for determining the presence of a spread spectrum signal may be used to determine the presence of the spread spectrum signal before synchronization of the signal is accomplished . this allows for fewer resources to be used in receiver hardware and / or software until an actual spread spectrum signal is found to be present . at that time , full acquisition and synchronization of the spread spectrum signal may begin . further , the method may be used to determine the continued presence of a spread spectrum signal in an established communication link utilizing a spread spectrum signal . once the spread spectrum signal has been found to have been absent for a specified period of time , the communication link may be terminated , and hardware and software resources conserved . accordingly , this method may lead to reduced power usage in communication systems , especially those that have infrequent communication . 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 . although the various exemplary embodiments have been described in detail with particular reference to certain exemplary aspects thereof , it should be understood that the invention is capable of other embodiments and its details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects . as is readily apparent to those skilled in the art , variations and modifications can be affected while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the foregoing disclosure , description , and figures are for illustrative purposes only and do not in any way limit the invention , which is defined only by the claims . | 7 |
the foregoing and other objects , features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention , as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views . the drawings are not necessarily to scale , emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention . methane hydrates form when water molecules bond with methane molecules . both water and methane contain hydrogen . one methane molecule contains one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms ( ch 4 ); one water molecule contains one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms ( h 2 o ). methane hydrates are a form of “ clathrate ,” which are compounds formed when molecules of one type form a lattice structure around a cavity and molecules of another type are included in the cavity . in its simplest form , a methane hydrate crystal consists of methane molecules surrounded by cages of water molecules as shown in fig1 . there are three structures of hydrates : i , ii , and h , as shown in fig2 a - 2 c . each structure has different numbers of water and gas molecules . the ratio of water molecules to gas molecules is called the “ hydrate number .” the amount of gas actually contained in a hydrate is called “ the degree of filling .” structure i hydrates contain 46 water molecules per 8 gas molecules . the hydrate number is 5 . 75 . the water molecules form two small pentagonal dodecahedral voids and six large tetradecahedral voids . these voids can hold only small gas molecules ( methane , ethane ) with molecular diameters not exceeding 5 . 2 angstroms . structure ii hydrates contain 136 water molecules per 24 gas molecules . the hydrate number is 5 . 67 . the water molecules form 16 small dodecahedral voids and 8 large hexakaidecahedral voids . they may contain gases with molecular dimensions from 5 . 9 to 6 . 9 , such as propane , a three - carbon hydrocarbon , and isobutane . structure ii hydrate was first produced in laboratory experiments . it was first found in a natural environment in 1983 at a depth of 530 meters . structure h hydrates contain 34 water molecules per 6 gas molecules . the hydrate number is 5 . 67 . this structure is large enough to hold molecules like isopentane , a branched - chain hydrocarbon molecule with five carbon atoms . structure h was first found in nature in 1993 , at a similar water depth to structure ii , near jolliet field , a large oil and gas producing area in the gulf of mexico . in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 800 , 576 and 5 , 997 , 590 , the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference , it is taught that the highest - energy molecular electron orbitals of a pentagonal dodecahedral water cluster of the type forming the structure 1 hydrate cage ( fig1 and 2 ) are in the form of gigantic “ s ,” “ p ,” and “ d ” orbitals ( fig3 a - 3 c ). this unique electronic structure of a water clathrate cage gives rise to 300 to 3000 ghz frequency ( submillimeter wavelength ) “ hg squashing ” vibrational modes of the type shown in fig3 d - 3 f , where the vibrational amplitudes are represented by arrows . while not intending to be bound by the mechanism involved , it is believed that methane molecules clathrated in a dodecahedral water - molecule cage like that shown in fig1 , 2 a - 2 c and 3 a - 3 f interact with the cage electronically via the overlapping water - cluster molecular orbitals ( fig3 a - 3 c ) and vibrationally via the 300 to 3000 ghz frequency water - cluster “ hg squashing ” vibrational modes shown in fig3 d - 3 f . the resulting vibronic coupling between each clathrated methane molecule within its water - cluster cage can produce large - amplitude , 300 to 3000 ghz frequency oscillations of the methane molecule resonant with the water - cluster cage vibrations , as shown in the fig4 resulting from ab initio quantum - chemistry computations . similar results are obtained for methane hydrate structures ii and h in fig2 b and 2c , as well as for other hydrocarbon ( e . g . neopentane ) gas hydrates of small linear dimension . it should be emphasized that the vibrations of a free methane molecule or other hydrocarbon gas molecule are confined to much higher - frequency c - h “ stretching ” modes , so the vibronic property is unique to gas hydrates . submillimeter radiation optimized to the 300 to 3000 ghz frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum is applied to methane hydrate to excite the preferred large - amplitude methane - hydrate vibrations . such vibrations cause the energy gap between the highest - energy occupied methane - hydrate bonding molecular orbitals ( homos ) and lowest - energy , otherwise unoccupied methane - hydrate antibonding molecular orbitals ( lumos ), shown in fig5 to close , pouring electrons from the bonding into the antibonding methane - hydrate orbitals and thereby causing the release of methane from its water - clathrate cages . generally , the method of the invention includes an electromagnetic wave - induced molecular vibronic process for recovering gas from gas hydrates , comprising exposing gas hydrate to radiation in the wavelength of between about 0 . 1 and about 1 mm ( between about 3000 and about 300 ghz frequency ) of the electromagnetic spectrum , resulting in the release of gas molecules and recovering the released gas . in one embodiment , the hydrate is present beneath the ocean floor and exposure to the electromagnetic radiation occurs in situ . in another embodiment , the gas hydrate is in permafrost and , again , exposure to electromagnetic radiation by the method of the invention occurs in situ . alternatively , the gas hydrate that is exposed to electromagnetic radiation by the method of the invention can be in a storage zone or a gas pipeline . the gas contained in the gas hydrate can be selected from the group , for example , of methane , natural gas , and other hydrocarbon gas molecules of small linear dimension . in one specific embodiment , the gases contained in the gas hydrate are hydrocarbon gas molecules of small linear dimension together with other light gases . in another embodiment , the invention is a system for recovering gas from a gas hydrate , comprising a generator for producing radiation having a wavelength in a range of between about 0 . 1 mm and about 1 mm ( between about 3000 ghz and about 300 ghz ), and a recovery means for capturing gas released from the gas hydrate which has been exposed to the radiation . in one embodiment , the generator is a free electron laser . in another embodiment , the radiation generator is an array of submillimeter - wavelength small - dish antennae connected remotely via wave guides to gyrotrons . the recovery means can be , for example , a capture cone . in one specific embodiment , the generator produces radiation that predominantly has a wavelength in a range of between about 0 . 1 mm and about 1 mm ( between about 3000 ghz and about 300 ghz frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum ). [ 0038 ] fig6 a and 6b are side and plan views , respectively , of a system of the invention for recovering gas from gas hydrate . as shown therein , system 10 includes radiation generator 12 . radiation generator 12 includes power / signal conduit 14 , capture cone 15 and terahertz signal radiator 16 . when in use , radiation generator 12 rests on or within hydrate deposit 18 . activation of system 10 generates electromagnetic waves in a wavelength between about 0 . 1 to 1 mm ( 3000 to 300 ghz frequency ) and consequent release of gas molecules from hydrate deposit 18 by the method of the invention . the released gas is collected and transported through capture cone 15 and power / signal conduit 16 by suitable means to a collection vessel , not shown . [ 0039 ] fig7 is a three - dimensional representation of a system of the invention in a typical application . as shown in fig7 system 20 includes terahertz signal radiator 21 . terahertz signal radiator 21 is suspended within well 22 by cable 24 . cable 24 connects terahertz signal radiator 21 to terahertz transmitter electronics 26 , which can be located on , for example , an ocean or permafrost surface 28 . terahertz signal radiator 21 is located within gas hydrate layer 30 . typically , gas hydrate layer is located between sediment layers 32 and 34 . during use , terahertz signal radiator denerates electromagnetic radiation at a wavelength in a range of between about 0 . 1 and about 1 mm ( between about 3000 and about 300 ghz frequency ). the gas that is released from a hydrate state by use of the terahertz signal radiator 20 is conducted to ocean or permafrost surface 28 through conduit 36 at the perimeter of well 22 . a methane hydrate is formed as follows : to a 200 cc pressure vessel is added 100 g water . the vessel is jacketed and has a transducer capable of emitting an electromagnetic radiation predominately of 0 . 2 mm wavelength ( a frequency of 1 , 500 ghz ) and a thermocouple mounted in the bottom . the water is cooled to 0 ° c ., thereby freezing it . a vacuum is drawn . the system is sealed off and the water melted . vacuum is drawn again . the water is heated to 10 ° c . to the gas connection is added 20 . 96 g of methane ( 29 . 33 l , at standard temperature and pressure ( stp )). as the first 5 . 27 g is added , the pressure rises to 1110 psig and stabilizes there while the rest of the methane is added . this indicates that hydrate formation has taken place . methane then is released from the methane hydrate through the practice of this invention , as follows : the transducer is activated with 2 watts , energy and emits an electromagnetic radiation predominately of a 0 . 6 mm wavelength . the temperature of the system rises to 12 ° c . methane gas is allowed to bleed off , maintaining a pressure of 1400 psig . the system stays at 12 ° c . until no more methane is given off . the methane is collected in a series of inverted 10 l graduates . after 30 minutes , 19 . 5 l of methane is recovered in the graduates . this indicates almost complete methane recovery . as a counter or control experiment , the same experiment is carried out on the same amount of methane hydrate , except that the transducer , activated with the same 2 watts of energy , is adjusted to emit a frequency of 1 ghz ( 300 mm wavelength electromagnetic radiation ). the water heats only very slowly and never reaches 12 ° c . because of the cooling of the jacket . the pressure in the system rises only a few pounds to about 1125 psig , indicating that little or no methane was released in 30 minutes of operation . 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 . | 4 |
the electrical circuit of the present invention is illustrated by specific embodiments , along with methods for forming the electrical circuits . one embodiment provides a method for producing an rfid tag utilizing an integrated circuit that is designed to require an external connection of the first and second terminal of an inductor coil antenna , first terminal coupling to the back surface of the integrated circuit and second terminal to a pad on the front surface of the integrated circuit . fig4 is a top view diagram illustrating this embodiment of the present invention . a conductive layer is formed and patterned on unitary substrate 1 . such patterning can be achieved utilizing any of a variety of methods including printing with conductive ink such as polymer ink with silver particles , chemically etching a deposited conductive layer , or stamping of a suitable conductive foil and adhering the stamped foil to unitary substrate 1 . in describing the pattern of the conductive layer , it is useful to figuratively divide unitary substrate 1 into two portions around a fold line 35 , forming second substrate 40 and first substrate 41 . inductor coil 3 is formed on second substrate 40 . in the center of inductor coil 3 is a conductive region forming the substrate contact pad 33 , a contact to the inner terminal of inductor coil 3 . on first substrate 41 , another conductive region forms substrate contact pad 31 . substrate contact 31 is connected to the outer terminal 11 of inductor coil 3 with conductor trace 32 . the back surface of the integrated circuit is now attached on top of substrate pad 33 , thereby making electrical contact between substrate pad 33 and the back surface of the integrated circuit . such attachment could be accomplished with a number of techniques including the use of conductive adhesive . fig5 is a top view of the structure after integrated circuit 5 is placed . a conductive trace 50 connecting the inner terminal of inductor coil 3 to substrate contact 33 is now underneath integrated circuit 5 , making electrical contact to the back surface of integrated circuit 5 . integrated circuit pad 30 on integrated circuit 5 is now visible in the top view presented in fig5 . a dielectric layer is now formed on top of the conductive layer such that if unitary substrate 1 were folded about fold line 35 , no electrical connection is formed between the conductors that fold onto each other except substrate pad 31 and integrated circuit pad 30 . in the case of this embodiment , this can be achieved by forming a dielectric layer in the area marked 37 of fig5 . this dielectric region serves only to avoid an electrical connection between conductive trace 32 on first substrate 41 and inductor coil 3 on the second substrate 40 . as such , this dielectric region is not subjected to tight alignment tolerances . further , this dielectric region is not subjected to tight thickness requirements . as long as the dielectric region electrically isolates the conductors on the top and bottom of the dielectric region , this dielectric region is not subjected to tight quality requirements either . such standards could be achieved at very low cost , such as by applying tape made of dielectric material over region 37 of fig5 . fig6 is a cross sectional view of the above - described structure , like numbers indicating like elements . conductive adhesive is applied to either the surface of substrate contact 31 or the contact pad 30 of integrated circuit 5 . unitary substrate 1 is now folded around fold line 35 . integrated circuit contact pad 30 on second substrate 40 aligns with substrate contact 31 on first substrate 41 , thereby making electrical contact between substrate contact 31 and integrated circuit contact 30 . fig7 illustrates a cross section of the resulting structure . second substrate 40 is now upside down on top of first substrate 41 . since substrate contact 31 is coupled to the outer terminal 11 of inductor coil 3 and since substrate contact 33 is coupled to the back surface of integrate circuit 5 , the inner and outer terminals of antenna coil 3 are coupled to respective contacts on integrated circuit 5 . in order to reduce the alignment tolerance required to align integrated circuit pad 30 with substrate pad 31 , integrated circuit pad 30 on integrated circuit 5 could be enlarged utilizing a layer of metal covering the surface of integrated circuit 5 , in whole or part , that is electrically insulated from all other conductors on the integrated circuit , and coupling that metal layer to integrated circuit pad 30 . though this surface may not be suitable for some conventional bonding techniques , such as ball bonding , due to possible damage that may result on the structures below and in the vicinity of the contact point , this surface is suitable for the type of bonding technique appropriate in this embodiment , such as conductive adhesive . in an alternative to this embodiment , integrated circuit 5 can be mounted upside down onto pad 31 of first substrate 41 instead of mounting the integrated circuit right side up on pad 33 on the second substrate 40 . when first substrate 41 and second substrate 40 are folded onto each other , pad 33 on second substrate 40 will align with the back surface of integrated circuit 5 . this method has the benefit of a lower required alignment tolerance when folding the substrate than if bond pad 30 of integrated circuit 5 needs to align with contact pad 31 . an alternative to this embodiment provides for a method of forming a high quality dielectric layer . after the back surface of integrated circuit 5 is adhered to substrate pad 33 , a dielectric layer is formed , thereby covering the conductive layer on unitary substrate 1 and integrated circuit 5 mounted on unitary substrate 1 . now openings in the dielectric are formed on substrate pad 33 and integrated circuit pad 30 . second substrate 40 is then folded onto first substrate 41 , thereby making electrical contact between substrate pad 31 and integrated circuit pad 30 . an alternative to this embodiment provides a method for enlarging the size of integrated circuit pad 30 using a second conductive layer on unitary substrate 1 . after the back surface of integrated circuit 5 is adhered to substrate pad 33 , a dielectric layer is formed , thereby covering the conductive layer on unitary substrate 1 and integrated circuit 5 mounted on unitary substrate 1 . now openings in the dielectric are formed on substrate pad 31 and integrated circuit pad 30 . a second conductive layer is now formed that is electrically insulated from all conductive traces on unitary substrate 1 by the , dielectric , but is coupled to integrated circuit pad 30 via the opening in the dielectric . second substrate 40 is then folded onto first substrate 41 , thereby making electrical contact between substrate pad 31 and integrated circuit pad 30 . another alternative to this embodiment provides for another method of forming a high quality dielectric layer . before integrated circuit 5 is placed on unitary substrate 1 , a dielectric layer is formed on the conductive layer . openings in the dielectric are formed on substrate contact 33 and substrate contact 31 . integrated circuit 5 is now adhered to substrate contact 33 through the opening in the dielectric , thereby making electrical contact between substrate contact 33 and the back surface of integrated circuit 5 . second substrate 40 is then folded onto first substrate 41 , thereby making electrical contact between substrate pad 31 and integrated circuit pad 30 . another alternative to this embodiment is to produce second substrate 40 and first substrate 41 independently by the methods above described , and then to adhere the surface of second substrate 40 to the surface of first substrate 41 . fig8 illustrates of another variation of this embodiment wherein a capacitor circuit element is also produced utilizing the methods disclosed in the present invention . utilizing one of the methods described above , integrated circuit 5 is adhered on substrate contact 33 , thereby making electrical contact with the back surface of integrated circuit 5 . integrated circuit pad 30 is now visible in the top view presented in fig8 . substrate contact 31 is placed so that if unitary substrate 1 is folded around fold line 35 , the substrate contact 31 and integrated circuit pad 30 align . in addition , a conductive region 56 is formed on second substrate 40 , electrically coupled to the inner terminal of inductor coil 3 and to the back surface of integrated circuit 5 via conductive trace 57 . a corresponding conductive region 55 is formed on first substrate 41 placed so that if unitary substrate 1 were folded around fold line 35 , conductive regions 55 and 56 would align . conductive region 55 is electrically coupled to the substrate pad 31 via conductive trace 58 and 53 and to the outer terminal of inductor coil 3 via conductive trace 58 and 54 . no openings are formed in the dielectric on conductive regions 55 and 56 . fig9 is a cross sectional drawing of the resulting structure . fig1 is a cross sectional drawing when unitary substrate 1 is folding around fold line 35 . a capacitor is now formed between conductive region 56 and conductive region 55 , separated by the dielectric layer on top of the conductive region 56 and the dielectric layer on conductive region 55 . in a variation of this embodiment , a dielectric opening could be made over conductive region 56 or conductive region 55 , then forming a capacitor with one half of the dielectric thickness . an alternative embodiment provides a method for producing an rfid tag utilizing an integrated circuit that is designed to require an external connection of first and second terminal of an inductor coil antenna , first and second terminals coupling to two pads on the front surface of the integrated circuit . fig1 illustrates a top view drawing of this embodiment . coil inductor 3 is formed on second substrate 40 with substrate contact 60 connecting to the inner terminal and substrate contact 63 to the outer terminal . in addition , substrate contact 61 and 62 are placed inside coil inductor 3 . on first substrate 41 , integrated circuit 5 is adhered to the dielectric layer , and placed such that integrated circuit pads 70 and 71 would align with substrate contact 60 and substrate contact 61 , respectively , if unitary substrate 1 were folded about fold line 35 . further , substrate contacts 72 and 73 are placed on the first substrate 41 such that substrate contacts 62 and 63 would align with substrate contacts 72 and 73 , respectively , if unitary substrate 1 were folded about fold line 35 . now unitary substrate 1 is folded about fold line 35 , thereby coupling substrate contact 60 to integrated circuit pad 70 , substrate contact 61 to integrated circuit pad 71 , substrate contact 62 to substrate contact 72 , and substrate contact 63 to substrate contact 73 . consequently , integrated pad 70 is connected to inner terminal 60 of coil inductor 3 . outer terminal 63 of coil inductor 3 couples to integrated circuit pad 71 through a sequence of connections , specifically outer terminal 63 of coil inductor 3 couples with substrate contact 73 , which in turn is coupled to substrate contact 73 via conductor trace 75 , which in turn is coupled to substrate contact 62 , which in turn is coupled to substrate contact 61 via conductor trace 65 , which in turn is coupled to integrated circuit pad 71 . fig1 illustrates a variation of this embodiment wherein capacitor circuit elements are also produced utilizing the methods disclosed in the present invention . coil inductor 3 is formed on second substrate 40 , substrate contact pad 80 and substrate contact 81 placed on the inner terminal and substrate contact 84 placed on the outer terminal . substrate contact 82 and 83 are placed inside the inner loop of coil inductor 3 , coupled by conductor trace 88 . substrate contact 84 is coupled to conductive region 85 via conductor trace 86 . substrate contact 90 , 93 , and 94 are placed on substrate left 41 such that if unitary substrate 1 were folded about fold line 35 , these contacts would align with substrate contacts 80 , 83 , and 84 , respectively . integrated circuit 5 is adhered to the dielectric layer in first substrate 41 such that integrated circuit pads 91 and 92 would align with substrate contacts 81 and 82 if unitary substrate 1 were folded about fold line 35 . substrate contact 94 is coupled to substrate contact 93 via conductor trace 96 . substrate contact 90 is coupled to a conductive region 95 via conductor trace 97 . conductive region 95 is placed on first substrate 41 such that it would align with conductive region 85 if unitary substrate 1 were folded about fold line 35 . dielectric openings are made on substrate contacts 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 90 , 93 , 94 , and integrated circuit pads 91 and 92 . no dielectric openings are made in conductive regions 85 and 95 . now unitary substrate 1 is folded about fold line 35 , thereby coupling substrate contact 80 to substrate contact 90 , substrate contract 81 to integrated circuit pad 91 , substrate pad 82 to integrated circuit pad 92 , substrate contact 83 to substrate contact 93 , and substrate contact 84 to substrate contact 94 . conductive regions 85 and 95 align , but are separated by the dielectric covering the conductive regions , thereby forming a capacitor with electrodes 85 and 86 , separated by the dielectric covering those conductive regions . integrated circuit pad 91 is , now coupled to the inner terminal of coil inductor 3 by coupling to substrate pad 81 . integrated circuit pad 91 is also coupled to the bottom electrode 95 of the capacitor by a series of connections , specifically integrated circuit pad 91 couples to substrate contact 81 , which in turn is coupled to substrate contact 80 via conductor trace 87 , which in turn in coupled to substrate contact 90 , which in turn is connected to conductive region 95 via conductor trace 97 . integrated circuit pad 92 is now coupled to the outer terminal 84 of coil inductor 3 by a series of connections , specifically integrated circuit pad 92 couples to substrate contact 82 , which in turn couples to substrate contact pad 83 via conductive trace 88 , which in turn couples to substrate contact 93 , which turn couples to contact pad 94 via conductive trace 96 , which in turn couples to the outside terminal of inductor coil 3 , substrate contact 84 . integrated circuit pad 92 is also coupled to the top electrode 85 of the capacitor through a series of connections , specifically integrated circuit pad 92 is coupled to substrate contact 82 , which in turn is coupled to substrate contact 83 via conductor trace 88 , which in turn is coupled to the top electrode 85 of the capacitor . therefore , integrated circuit pad 91 is now coupled to the inner terminal of coil inductor 3 and bottom electrode 95 of the capacitor . integrated circuit pad 92 is now coupled to the outer terminal of coil inductor 3 and the top electrode of the capacitor 85 . a variation of this embodiment provides a method of producing a capacitor circuit element having twice the capacitance by forming an opening on either conductive region 85 or 95 . when unitary substrate 1 is folded about fold line 35 , the dielectric thickness separating electrode 85 and 95 is one half the thickness when compared to having no openings in the dielectric on conductive regions 85 and 95 , thereby providing twice the capacitance . fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment wherein an external antenna inductor 116 , a tuning capacitor 111 , and a coupling capacitor 112 are produced on the substrate and are connected to an rfid integrated circuit without making openings in the dielectric layer . circuitry 119 resides on the integrated circuit . fig1 is a cross sectional diagram illustrating the mounting of the integrated circuit in this embodiment . the integrated circuit has a first terminal 110 on the back surface and a second terminal 102 on the front surface . second terminal 102 comprises a metal layer on the front surface of the integrated circuit overlying inter - dielectric 113 on the integrated circuit , making contact with underlying conductive layer 114 via opening 115 in inter - dielectric 113 . the integrated circuit is mounted with conductive adhesive onto substrate contact 101 , first terminal 110 of the integrated circuit thereby coupled to substrate contact 101 . a dielectric layer 118 is then formed over the integrated circuit and the conductive pattern formed on the substrate . no openings are made in dielectric layer 118 . fig1 is a top view illustrating the conductive pattern formed on the substrate to form the circuit elements of fig1 , like structures having like numbers . in the planar view , second terminal 102 of the integrated circuit is visible . underneath the integrated circuit is substrate pad 101 to which first terminal 110 of the integrated circuit is coupled . when first substrate 41 is folded onto second substrate 40 , second terminal 162 of the integrated circuit forms one plate of coupling capacitor 112 . substrate pad 103 forms the other plate of capacitor 112 . substrate pad 103 is coupled to substrate pad 104 , forming one plate of capacitor 111 , the other plate being formed by substrate pad 107 , which is coupled to substrate pad 101 which is in turn coupled to first terminal 110 of the integrated circuit . substrate pad 103 is also coupled to the outside terminal 106 of the antenna inductor 116 . the inside terminal 105 of antenna inductor 116 is coupled to substrate pad 101 which is in turn coupled to the first terminal 110 of the integrated circuit . the circuit illustrated in fig1 is thereby formed . one advantage of this embodiment is that no openings are made in the dielectric overlying the integrated circuit and the conductive layer on the substrate , thereby providing significant cost savings . another advantage of this embodiment is first substrate 41 and second substrate 40 can be folded on top of each other with non - critical alignment tolerance requirements . substrate pad 103 can be made larger than conductive layer 102 on the integrated circuit to further reduce alignment tolerance requirements . similarly , substrate pad 104 can be made larger than unitary substrate 107 to further reduce alignment tolerance requirements . such looser alignment tolerance requirements increase yield and reduce production costs . fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment wherein an external antenna inductor 134 , a tuning capacitor 135 , a top coupling capacitor 136 and a bottom coupling capacitor 137 are produced on the substrate and are connected to an rfid integrated circuit without making openings in the dielectric layer . circuitry 138 resides on the integrated circuit . fig1 is a cross sectional diagram illustrating the mounting of the integrated circuit in this embodiment . a conductive layer is deposited on the surface of unitary substrate 131 , and is then patterned and etched . a dielectric layer 132 is formed on top of conductive layer 121 . the integrated circuit is mounted on top of dielectric layer 132 . the integrated circuit has a first terminal 133 on the back surface and a second terminal 122 on the front surface . second terminal 122 comprises a metal layer on the front surface of the integrated circuit overlying an inter - dielectric layer on the integrated circuit , making contact to conductive layers below utilizing appropriate openings in the inter - dielectric layer on the integrated circuit . in one embodiment , a dielectric layer 139 is formed on the front surface of the integrated circuit . in another embodiment , dielectric layer 139 is not formed . no openings are made in dielectric layer 132 . fig1 is a top view illustrating the conductive pattern formed on the substrate to form the circuit elements of fig1 , like structures having like numbers . in the planar view , second terminal 122 of the integrated circuit is visible . underneath the integrated circuit , first terminal 133 forms one plate of capacitor 137 , substrate pad 121 forming the other plate . substrate pad 121 is coupled to the inside terminal 125 of the antenna coil . unitary substrate 121 is also coupled to substrate pad 127 , forming one plate of tuning capacitor 135 . when first substrate 40 is folded onto second substrate 41 , substrate pad 123 forms the other plate of capacitor 135 . substrate pad 124 is coupled to the outside terminal 126 of the antenna coil . substrate pad 124 is also coupled to substrate pad 123 , forming one plate of top coupling capacitor 123 , the other plate being formed by the second terminal 122 of the integrated circuit . the circuit illustrated in fig1 is thereby formed . in another embodiment , substrate contact pads 124 and 123 of fig1 can be merged into a single large conductive structure on first substrate 41 . the appropriate capacitors are then formed where the large conductive structure overlaps contact pad 122 of the integrated circuit and substrate contact pad 127 . fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment wherein an external antenna inductor 147 and a coupling capacitor 148 are produced on the substrate and are connected to an rfid integrated circuit without making openings in the dielectric layer . circuitry 149 resides on the integrated circuit . fig2 is a cross sectional diagram illustrating the mounting of the integrated circuit in this embodiment . the integrated circuit has a first terminal 151 on the back surface and a second terminal on the front surface 142 . second terminal 142 comprises a metal layer on the front surface of the integrated circuit . the integrated circuit is mounted with conductive adhesive onto substrate contact 151 , first terminal thereby coupled to substrate contact 151 . in one embodiment , a , dielectric layer 152 is then formed over the integrated circuit and the conductive pattern formed on the substrate . in another embodiment , a dielectric layer is formed on the surface of the integrated circuit , and dielectric layer 152 is not formed . in this case , the integrated circuit couples to the conductive pattern on the substrate utilizing capacitive coupling without making direct electrical contact . fig2 is a top view illustrating the conductive pattern formed on the substrate to form the circuit elements of fig1 , like structures having like numbers . in the planar view , second terminal 142 of the integrated circuit is visible . underneath the integrated circuit is substrate pad 141 to which the first terminal of the integrated circuit is coupled . when first substrate 40 is folded onto second substrate 41 , second terminal 142 of the integrated circuit forms one plate of coupling capacitor 148 and substrate pad 143 forms the other plate . substrate pad 143 is coupled to the outside terminal 146 of the inductor antenna 147 . the inner terminal 145 of the inductor antenna 147 is coupled substrate pad 141 , which is in turn coupled to first terminal 151 of the integrated circuit . the circuit illustrated in fig1 is thereby formed . fig2 is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment wherein an external antenna inductor 156 , a top coupling capacitor 155 and a bottom coupling capacitor 157 are produced on the substrate and are connected to an rfid integrated circuit without making openings in the dielectric . circuitry 158 resides on the integrated circuit . fig2 is a cross sectional diagram illustrating the mounting of the integrated circuit in this embodiment . a conductive layer is deposited on top of unitary substrate 161 , and is then patterned and etched . a dielectric layer 172 is formed on top of conductive layer 161 . the integrated circuit is mounted on top of dielectric layer 172 . the integrated circuit has a first terminal 163 on the back surface and a second terminal 162 on the front surface . second terminal 162 comprises a metal layer on the front surface of the integrated circuit overlying an inter - dielectric layer on the integrated circuit , making contact to conductive layers below via appropriate openings in the inter - dielectric layer on the integrated circuit . in one embodiment , a dielectric layer 173 is formed on the front surface of the integrated circuit . in another embodiment , a dielectric layer is formed oh the integrated circuit and dielectric layer 173 is not formed . no openings are made in dielectric layer 172 . fig2 is a top view illustrating the conductive pattern formed on the substrate to form the circuit elements of fig2 , like structures having like numbers . in the planar view , second terminal 162 of the integrated circuit is visible . underneath the integrated circuit , first terminal 163 forms one plate of capacitor 157 , substrate pad 161 forming the other plate . substrate pad 161 is coupled to the inside terminal 165 of the antenna inductor 156 . when first substrate 40 is folded onto second substrate 41 , substrate pad 169 and second terminal 162 of the integrated circuit form the plates of capacitor 155 . substrate pad 169 is coupled to the outside terminal 166 of antenna inductor 156 . the circuit illustrated in fig2 is thereby formed . in another embodiment , the circuit of fig2 is produced utilizing an integrated circuit that has first terminal 162 and second terminal 163 on the front surface . fig2 illustrates the mounting of the integrated circuit with first terminal 162 and second terminal 163 on the front surface of the integrated circuit . a first conductive layer 182 is formed on the unitary substrate 180 , and is then patterned and etched . the integrated circuit is then mounted on unitary substrate 180 in a region where the conductive material in the first conductive layer 182 has been etched away . first dielectric layer 183 is formed over the integrated circuit and on top of first conductive layer 182 . second conductive layer 184 is formed over first dielectric layer 184 , and is then patterned and etched . connections between conductive traces of first conductive layer 182 is coupled to conductive traces of second conductive layer 184 via openings formed in first dielectric layer 184 . second dielectric layer 185 is formed on top of second conductive layer 184 . no openings are formed in second dielectric layer 185 . fig2 is a top view illustrating the conductive pattern in first conductive layer 182 and second conductive layer 184 to form the circuit of fig2 . when first substrate 40 is folded onto second substrate 41 , substrate contact pad 169 and integrated circuit terminal 169 forms capacitor 155 . substrate contact pad 169 is coupled to the inside terminal 165 of antenna coil 156 via conductive trace 190 of the first conductive layer , opening 193 in the first dielectric layer , conductive trace 191 of the second conductive layer , opening 194 in the first dielectric layer , and conductive trace 195 . the outer end terminal 166 of antenna inductor 156 is coupled to substrate pad 161 . substrate contact 161 and integrated circuit terminal 163 form the plates of capacitor 157 . the circuit illustrated in fig2 is thereby formed . in summary , the present invention provides a method for producing an electrical circuit , such as an rfid tag , on a substrate utilizing simple and economical methods to form antenna structures , capacitor structures and conductive traces to interconnect the circuit elements formed on the substrate and to connect the contact pads of one or more integrated circuits that are mounted on the substrate . these circuit elements are used to form antennas , tuning capacitors , and coupling capacitors of resonant circuits external to the integrated circuit . a conductivity layer is formed and patterned on a substrate , substrate comprising paper , sheets of plastic , polypropylene , polyolefin , or like materials . a dielectric layer is formed on top of the conductive layer . in one embodiment , openings through the dielectric layer to the conductive layer are formed in regions where contact to the conductive layer is desired . in another embodiment , no openings are made in the dielectric layer . the integrated circuit is then adhered to the substrate , either on the dielectric layer or in an opening making contact with the conductivity layer , depending on the electrical connections desired . a portion of the substrate is then folded onto itself so that contact points on one side of the fold will align with contact points on the other side of the fold or to contact pads on the integrated circuit , thereby electrically coupling the aligned contact points . in addition , capacitor circuit elements are formed when two conductive regions on the substrate covered with the dielectric layer align when a portion of the substrate is folded onto itself . alternatively , the folded portion of the substrate and the unfolded portion of the substrate could be cut apart rather than folded , or the two portions could be produced separately . the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention . various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention . in particular , wherever a device is connect or coupled to another device , additional devices may be present between the two connected devices . further , though the above described embodiments make reference to an integrated circuit having one pad or two pads on the surface of a single integrated circuit , the invention can apply to any number of pads on any number of integrated circuits . further , though the above - described embodiments make reference to a coil antenna , the present invention also applies to other type of antenna constructed with conductive layers including dipole antennas and fractal antennas . further , though the above - described embodiments make reference to “ folding ” the two portions of the substrate , the portions of substrate could also be cut apart or produced independently . further , the rfid tags described in the embodiments herein could be laminated in order to protect the components on the substrate while still encompassing the scope of this invention . further , though the electrodes of the capacitors formed in the above - described embodiments refer to the electrodes completely aligning , a smaller capacitance could be provided if the electrodes overlapped only partially . further , though reference is made in the embodiments to a coil inductor antenna , other antenna types formed with other patterns in the conductive layer are within the scope of this invention . further , though the embodiments described utilize primarily a single layer metal process on the substrate , the principles of this invention apply to two level metal processes and multi - level metal process on the substrates . accordingly , the present invention embraces all such alternatives , modifications , and variances that fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . an example of structure of the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 . the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the present invention includes , as the principal structural elements a memory circuit 1101 formed of flip - flop circuit ( d - ff ) as the memory circuit to hold the data contents and a control circuit 1102 for outputting a data storing position control signal to the memory circuit 1101 . the memory circuit 1101 includes a plurality of entries 1111 , 1112 , . . . for holding data . each entry 1111 , 1112 , . . . forming the memory circuit 1101 of fig1 respectively has a structure that enables data input and output for the left adjacent entry and that for the right adjacent entry . the control circuit 1102 in the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the present invention executes the data output control by outputting the load signal to the vacant entry nearest to the output terminal of a plurality of entries forming the memory circuit 1101 , storing the data via the input line and outputting the data shift signal based on the clock signal to the entry of the output terminal forming the memory circuit 1101 , namely to the entry 1111 in fig1 and also executes the control by outputting the data shift signal ( shift write signal ) to the entry that enables data shift to sequentially store the data from the entry nearer to the output terminal in a plurality of entries forming the memory circuit 1101 . with this control , data shift is sequentially executed among the entries to realize the fifo type data input and output . as will be understood from fig1 , the data selecting means ( selector circuit ) used in the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the related art is not provided in the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the present invention . therefore , the physical size of circuit can be reduced and since the data selection and transfer process in the data selecting means ( selector circuit ) are no longer required , high speed data read operation is enabled . [ 0054 ] fig1 illustrates a detail structure of an entry , for example , the entry 1111 or entry 1112 of the memory circuit 1101 forming the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the present invention . as illustrated in fig1 , an entry of the memory circuit 1101 is provided with a plurality of 4 - input / 1 - output ( 4 - to - 1 ) multiplexers 1201 and flip - flop circuits ( d - ff ) 1202 to form a structure to input , as the control signals , to each 4 - input / 1 - output ( 4 - to - 1 ) multiplexer , ( 1 ) the load signal as the instruction signal to latch the data input to the entry , ( 2 ) the shift right signal to instruct to latch the output of left entry ( left data input ) to the entry as the input data and ( 3 ) the shift left signal to instruct to latch the output of the right entry ( right data input ) to the entry as the input data . these control signals are inputted to each 4 - input / 1 - output ( 4 - to - 1 ) multiplexer from the control circuit 1102 illustrated in fig1 . in the fifio type data input / output apparatus of this embodiment , the extremely right end entry 1111 of the memory circuit 1102 is formed as the output end terminal . in this case , the shift left signal ( 3 ) to instruct to latch the output of the right side entry ( right data input ) to the entry as the input data is not always essential and the control signal outputted from the control circuit 1102 may be formed only of the shift right signal to instruct to latch , to the entry , the input data of ( 1 ) the load signal as the instruction signal to latch the data input to the entry and ( 2 ) the output of the left entry ( left data input ) each entry 1111 , 1112 , . . . forming the memory circuit 1101 of fig1 illustrates an example of structure that enables data outputs to the adjacent left entry and the right adjacent entry , but in the case of above structure , it is also possible to delete the structure for data output to the left adjacent entry and data input from the adjacent right entry . namely , each entry may be structured to enable only the data input from the data input line , data output to the right adjacent entry and data input from the left adjacent entry . the time series sequence in the data input / output process of the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig1 to fig1 . [ 0058 ] fig1 to fig1 illustrate the data input / output condition , data storing condition in the memory circuit 1101 in the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the present invention of the clock timings 0 to 6 and the control signal outputted from the control circuit 1102 . first , fig1 illustrates the condition of the memory circuit 1101 at the time 0 , namely the initial condition thereof . in this condition , the data is not yet stored and there is no output of control signal from the control circuit 1102 . [ 0060 ] fig1 illustrates the condition at the time 1 . in this condition , the load signal is inputted to the right end entry 1111 of the memory circuit 1101 from the control circuit 1102 and the data a is stored as the input data in the entry 1111 . [ 0061 ] fig1 illustrates the condition at the time 2 . in this condition , the load signal is inputted to the entry 1112 of the memory circuit 1101 from the control circuit 1102 and the data b is stored as the input data in the entry 1112 . [ 0062 ] fig1 illustrates the condition at the time 3 . in this condition , the shift right signal is inputted to the entry 1111 of the memory circuit 1101 from the control circuit 1102 , the data a stored in the entry 1111 is read and the data b stored in the left side entry 1112 is shifted to the entry 1111 and is then stored in the entry 1111 . [ 0063 ] fig1 illustrates the condition at the time 4 . in this condition , the load signal is inputted to the entry 1112 of the memory circuit 1101 from the control circuit 1102 and the data c is stored as the input data in the entry 1112 . [ 0064 ] fig1 illustrates the condition at the time 5 . in this condition , the shift right signal is inputted to the entry 1111 of the memory circuit 1101 from the control circuit 1102 and the data b stored in the entry 1111 is read and the data c stored in the left side entry 1112 is shifted to the entry 1111 and is then stored in the entry 1111 . next , fig1 illustrates the condition at the time 6 . in this condition , the shift right signal is inputted to the entry 1111 of the memory circuit 1101 from the control circuit 1102 and the data c stored in the entry 1111 is read and the data d stored in the left side entry 1112 is shifted to the entry 1111 and is then stored in the entry 1111 . the control circuit 1102 in the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the present invention executes the control to output the data shift signal to the entry that enables data shift in order to store the data via the input line by outputting the load signal to the vacant entry nearest to the output end among a plurality of entries forming the memory circuit 1101 and sequentially store the data from the entry near to the output end among a plurality of entries forming the memory circuit 1101 . with this control , the data shift is sequentially executed among the entries to execute the fifo type data input and output . as will be apparent from above explanation , the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the present invention does not require the data selector circuit to extract the data , unlike the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the related art . therefore , the multiplexer structure of multiple stages forming the data selecting means ( selector circuit ) of the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the related art is not eliminated to simplify the circuit structure . moreover , a delay time required to extract data output is determined with a delay in the circuit up to the q terminal output from the clock of the d type flip - flop ( d - ff ) circuit , not depending on the number of words of the memory circuit . thereby , delay of output can be reduced remarkably . in the fifo type data input / output apparatus of the present invention , when delay up to the q terminal output from the clock of the flip - flop ( d - ff ) circuit is defined as tpdff , the delay time tpdtotal becomes equal to tpdff . this delay becomes constant , not depending on the word of the memory circuit . the present invention has been explained in detail with reference to the particular embodiments . however , it is apparent that the present invention allows those who are skilled in this art to make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope of the present invention . namely , the present invention has been disclosed with reference to the preferred embodiments and shall not be interpreted with limitation thereto . the present invention will be well understood only from the claims of the present invention . | 6 |
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . fig5 and 6 illustrates a section and a plan showing a structure of a thermopile sensor in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig5 and 6 , the thermopile sensor in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a silicon substrate 11 having a central portion etched to expose a thin diaphragm 15 of a first oxide film 12 , a nitride film 13 , and a second oxide film 14 , and a plurality of thermocouples of a first thermoelectric material 16 and a second thermoelectric material 17 connected in series . the first thermoelectric material 16 is a semiconductor , and the second thermoelectric material 17 is a conductor , both having a great thermoelectric power of opposite polarities . and , there is a metal conductor 18 with a low resistance formed on the first thermoelectric material 16 for reducing a resistance of the device . the metal conductor 18 is of a material the same with the second thermoelectric material 17 in a form of a stripe . the metal conductor 18 is formed on a surface of the first thermoelectric material 16 not in contact with the second thermoelectric material 17 . each of the thermocouples has a hot junction disposed on an hot region and a cold junction disposed on a cold region , which hot junction and cold junction are thermally isolated to each other . in general , the cold junction is disposed on the silicon substrate 11 for heat sink , and there is a black body 21 close to the hot junction for absorbing an infrared ray . though the present invention is similar to the related art , the present invention is different form the related art in that there is a metal conductor 18 formed on the first thermoelectric material 16 for reducing an internal resistance of the device . as shown in fig5 and 6 , a basic concept of the present invention is stacking a metal on a semiconductor , the first thermoelectric material which affects the internal resistance of the device , for reducing the internal resistance of the device based on the related art thermopile sensor . as shown in fig2 the related art thermopile sensor has a semiconductor resistance r 1 and a metal resistance r 2 connected in series , wherein the internal resistance is substantially the semiconductor resistance r 1 since the metal resistance r 2 is negligible compared to the semiconductor resistance r 1 . because the thermopile sensor can not but have a total length of the thermocouples which is substantially long in view of a structure of the thermopile sensor , an overall internal resistance of the thermopile sensor also can not but be great . fig7 illustrates a detailed view of “ a ” part in fig6 . referring to fig7 if the first thermoelectric material 16 , a semiconductor , has specific resistance ρ , a thickness t , a line width w , a length c , the internal resistance r t1 of the related art thermopile sensor can be expressed as follows . r t1 = ρ · c w · t = ρ · ( 2 a + b ) w · t and , the internal resistance r t2 of the related art thermopile sensor can be expressed as follows . r t2 = 2 ( ρ · a w · t ) as a & lt ; b , r t1 & gt ; r t2 , eventually . that is , of the resistance of the first thermoelectric material 16 , a portion (‘ b ’ region ) of the resistance the metal conductor 18 is stacked is negligible , the internal resistance is reduced as much . accordingly , the - internal resistance of the sensor can be adjusted with easy by adjusting a length of the metal conductor 18 , to adjust a line width ‘ a ’ of the thermocouple . fig9 illustrates a plan view showing a structure of a thermopile sensor in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig9 the thermopile sensor in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of metal conductors 18 formed on a first thermoelectric material 16 for preventing transfer of a heat of an incident infrared ray from a hot junction to a cold junction through the metal conductor . though the metal conductor 18 is formed in a form of stripe in the first embodiment of the present invention , the metal conductor 18 is divided into many pieces in the second embodiment of the present invention , for reducing , not only the internal resistance , but also a sensitivity loss of the sensor caused by the metal conductor 18 . the metal conductor 18 is formed only on a region of a surface of the first thermoelectric material 16 except a portion in contact with the second thermoelectric material 17 . since the metal conductor 18 is not formed over a boundary portion of the substrate 11 and the hole the diaphragm 15 is exposed thereto , the heat transfer from the hot junction to the cold junction through the metal conductor 18 can be reduced . fig1 illustrates a flow chart showing the steps of a method for fabricating a thermopile sensor of the present invention . referring to fig1 , the method for fabricating a thermopile sensor of the present invention starts with the step of selecting a silicon substrate of ( 100 ) crystal orientation as a substrate 11 , for back - side etching in a later fabrication process . then , a first oxide film 12 is deposited on both sides of the substrate 11 to approx . 2000 å by thermal oxidation , and a nitride film 13 is deposited on the first oxide film 12 to 3000 å by lpcvd . the nitride film 13 is used as an etch mask in etching the substrate 11 , as well as an etch stop layer for stopping the etching . then , a second oxide film 14 is deposited on the nitride film 13 to approx . 7000 å by lpcvd . thus , a diaphragm composed of the oxide film / the nitride film / the oxide film ( ono ; oxide / nitride / oxide ) is formed so that residual stresses of the films are compensated by each other , to provide a mechanically stable diaphragm . that is , in general , as a general oxide film has a compressive stress , and an lpcvd nitride film has a tensile stress , the stresses are compensated by each other . after formation of the diaphragm 15 , a first thermoelectric material is deposited , and patterned on the second oxide film 14 over the substrate 11 . and , alike the first thermoelectric material 16 , a second thermoelectric material 17 is deposited and patterned , and a metal conductor 18 is formed on the first thermoelectric material 16 to a required length . the first thermoelectric material 16 is a semiconductor , and the second thermoelectric material 17 and the metal conductor 18 are conductors . then , a protection film 19 is formed on an entire surface , inclusive of the first and second thermoelectric materials 16 and 17 , and the metal conductor 18 for protection of the sensor device from an external environment , and a pad 20 is formed to be in contact with the thermocouple to connect an output from the sensor to an external circuit . then , a black - body 21 is formed for absorbing an infrared ray , and a back - side of the silicon substrate 11 is etched , to expose the diaphragm 15 . in this instance , potassium hydroxide ( koh ) water solution is used as the etch solution , to proceed the etching in a direction tilted by 54 . 74 ° from a bottom of the substrate 11 as the potassium hydroxide water solution almost does not etch in an ( 111 ) orientation of a silicon crystalline direction . and , because the silicon nitride film 13 is not almost etched in the potassium hydroxide water solution , the silicon nitride film 13 is used , not only as an etch mask , but also an etch stop layer for solving a problem of a non - uniform etch surface which is caused when the entire substrate 11 is not etched on the same time at an end of the etching . in the present invention , as the metal conductor 18 for reducing a resistance is formed on the same time with the formation of the second thermoelectric material 17 , the metal conductor 18 can be formed by using the present fabrication process only without any additional process , with easy . the infrared ray sensor of a low resistance and a high sensitivity , and a method for fabricating the same of the present invention has the following advantages . first , the formation of a metal conductor on the first thermoelectric material permits to reduce an internal resistance significantly , and maintain a high sensitivity . second , the simultaneous formation of the second thermoelectric material and the metal conductor eliminates necessity for a separate fabrication process . third , the reduction of the internal resistance permits to reduce jhonson noise in an application circuit . fourth , the easy adjustment of the internal resistance of the sensor by adjusting a length of the metal conductor can improve a production yield since a range of error can be made smaller . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the infrared ray sensor , and the method for fabricating the same of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . | 6 |
in the following detailed description , numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosed subject matter . however , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the disclosed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known methods , procedures , components , and circuits have not been described in detail so as to not obscure the disclosed subject matter . fig1 is a cross sectional diagram of a microelectronic package illustrating an embodiment in accordance with the disclosed subject matter . in this embodiment , the cross section of the package includes a substrate 108 . a number of micro - channels 106 may be etched into the substrate 108 . however , it is contemplated that the micro - channels may be formed by techniques other than etching . it is contemplated that the micro - channels may have a variety of cross sectional shapes , such as , for example , rectangular . it is contemplated that , in this context , when orienting terms , such as , for example , “ top ,” “ above ,” or “ side ,” are used , the terms are simply for illustrative purposes and do not mean that the disclosed subject matter is fixed to a certain orientation . the disclosed subject matter is obviously not limited to the described orientation and may be , for example , turned upside down from the described embodiment . micro - channels 106 may run substantially within the substrate 108 . for example , the micro - channels may , if examined from the top ( fig1 ), appear to run from left to right across the substrate . it is contemplated that the micro - channels may be run in a variety of patterns and the disclosed subject matter is not limited to any one micro - channel pattern . it is further contemplated that the micro - channel patterns may be selected based upon a variety of reasons , such as , for example , the heat generation characteristics of the microelectronic package , the heat generation characteristics / geometry of the active and passive electrical devices , or , in another embodiment , ease of manufacture . it is also contemplated that the micro - channels may run both within and without the substrate , through a number of layers . it is yet further contemplated that the micro - channels 106 may intersect or include control elements . a stop layer 110 may be placed or coupled on top 108 t of the substrate 108 . this hard layer may be in contact with and even bound micro - channels 106 . it is contemplated that micro - channels may run through the stop layer . stop layer 110 may have a substantially high thermal conductivity , so as to allow the transmittal of heat from layers above the stop layer 110 to the micro - channels 106 . these layers may be coupled with the top 110 t of the stop layer . stop layer 110 may have a thermal conductivity in excess of 2 w / cm - k . in one embodiment , the stop layer may be comprised of diamond that may have a thermal conductivity of 6 . 3 w / cm - k . it is contemplated that other materials may be used besides or in addition to diamond and that this is merely one illustrative example . it is further contemplated that the stop layer may be sufficiently hard , or , in another example , substantially chemically different to provide a mechanism to stop the micro - channels 106 from being etched beyond the substrate 108 . a microelectronic wafer 102 or additional substrate 102 may be coupled to the bottom 108 b of substrate 108 . it is contemplated that , in one embodiment , the microelectronic wafer 102 may be coupled with the substrate 108 utilizing a layer of thermally conductive adhesive 104 . however , this is merely one technique to bond the microelectronic wafer 102 with the substrate 108 may be used , such as , for example , direct or eutectic bonding . microelectronic wafer 102 may also cap the micro - channels 106 . the enclosed micro - channels 106 may be sufficiently sealed to allow the passage of a fluid through the micro - channels . the micro - channels 106 may facilitate the transference of heat from a layer above the stop layer 110 to the fluid passing through the micro - channels . it is contemplated that the package may allow for the entrance and exit of the fluid . for example , the fluid may exit or enter the package utilizing holes ( not shown ) in the substrate 108 or microelectronic wafer 102 . however , the disclosed subject matter is not limited by any particular plumbing architecture . it is further contemplated that the fluid may have sufficient thermal conductivity to act as a coolant , such as , for example , air , purified water , or oil . it is also contemplated that the fluid may go through a phase transition ( e . g ., liquid to gas ) such that the heat of vaporization may absorb a significant amount of energy . however , the disclosed subject matter is not limited to any particular fluid . it is further contemplated that the fluid may be utilized in cooling components outside of the microelectronic package or , conversely , the fluid may just be utilized to cool the microelectronic package . stop layer 110 may be coupled with a number of layers that are coupled to heat generating elements . stop layer 110 may be coupled with a fill layer 112 . it is contemplated that the fill layer may include polished single or poly - crystalline silicon . it is further contemplated that , in one embodiment , the fill layer may include a number of active electrical devices , such as for example , transistors or electro - osmotic pumps . however , it is contemplated that the fill layer may include non - electrical heat generating elements or passive electrical devices , such as thermal sensors . it is also contemplated that in some embodiments , the fill layer 112 may be the top layer of the microelectronic package . in one embodiments of the disclosed subject matter , the fill layer 112 may be coupled with a layer of silicon 118 . it is contemplated that the layer of silicon may include any of the active or passive elements described above . in one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter , the layer of polished silicon and the layer of single crystal may be bonded utilizing a first bonding layer 114 , and a second bonding layer 116 . in one embodiment , one or both bonding layers may include silicon dioxide . however , it is contemplated that other bonding techniques may be utilized . it is also contemplated that micro - channels 106 may run through or within some or all of the layers between the substrate and the layer containing the heat generating devices , for example , layers 108 , 110 , 112 , 114 , & amp ; 116 . it is contemplated that the path of the micro - channels may depend , in one embodiment , on the thermal transference and placement of any elements that control the flow of the fluid within the micro - channels . however , this is merely one embodiment and the path of the micro - channels may be selected based upon other factors . it is contemplated that the layers of the microelectronic package without active electrical devices , in one embodiment , the layers between , and including , the microelectronic wafer 102 and the second bonding layer 116 , may be considered inactive or electrically insulating material . conversely , the layer or layers with active electrical devices , in one embodiment the layer of silicon 118 , may be considered the active layer . it is further contemplated that , the micro - channels 106 may provide mechanical stress relief to the microelectronic package . fig2 through 12 are a series of cross sectional diagrams of a microelectronic package illustrating one embodiment of a technique to fabricate an embodiment in accordance with the disclosed subject matter . it is contemplated that these figures illustrate a number of actions that may be removed or altered from additional embodiments of the disclosed technique . fig2 illustrates that a substrate 108 may be selected . it is contemplated that the substrate may include , for example , single or poly - crystal silicon . it is further contemplated that the substrate has substantially flat top and bottom surfaces . fig3 illustrates that a stop layer 110 , may be deposited upon the top of the substrate . it is contemplated that the stop layer may be deposited utilizing a number of known sputter or chemical vapour deposition techniques . fig4 illustrates that a fill layer 112 may be deposited on top of the stop layer 110 . it is contemplated that the fill layer may include single or poly - crystal silicon . it is contemplated that the fill layer may be deposited utilizing a number of known techniques . fig5 illustrates that the fill layer may be polished . it is contemplated that the stop layer 110 may be too hard to polish . fig6 illustrates that a first bonding layer 114 may be grown on top of the fill layer 112 . fig7 illustrates that a cleave plane 122 may be formed within a second substrate , separating the substrate into a sacrificial layer 124 and a silicon substrate 118 . it is contemplated that the second substrate may include single or poly - crystal silicon . fig8 illustrates that a second bonding layer 116 may be grown on top of the silicon substrate 118 . fig9 illustrates that the second substrate may be bonded with the fill layer 114 utilizing the two bonding layers 114 & amp ; 116 . it is contemplated the other bonding techniques , such as , for example , copper bonding , may be utilized . fig1 illustrates that the sacrificial layer 124 and the cleave plane 122 may be removed , or cleaved off . it is contemplated that , a described above in regard to fig1 , active or passive devices , including electrical devices , may be fabricated utilizing silicon substrate 118 . fig1 illustrates that a layer of resist 120 may be used to pattern the micro - channels on the first or bottom substrate 108 . fig1 illustrates that the micro - channels 106 may be etched into the substrate 108 . it is contemplated that other techniques besides etching may be used to fabricate the micro - channels . it is further contemplated that the etching process may stop when the substrate has been etched through to the stop layer 110 . fig1 illustrates the final action , in one embodiment of the technique . it is contemplated that other embodiments may include additional actions . a microelectronic wafer 102 may be bonded to the substrate 108 to cap the micro - trenches 106 . the microelectronic wafer 102 may be bonded utilizing a layer of thermally conductive adhesive 104 . it is contemplated that a number of other techniques may be used to bond the substrate 108 and the microelectronic wafer 102 . the micro - channels 106 may be sufficiently capped so as to facilitate the passage of fluid . it is contemplated that in one embodiment , the actions illustrated by fig6 through 10 may be skipped and any active electrical devices may be fabricated utilizing the fill layer 112 . it is also contemplated that in one embodiment , the illustrated actions may be performed in a substantially different order . it is further contemplated that in other embodiments , additional devices and layers may be fabricated and that the micro - channels 106 may run or etched through additional layers besides the substrate 108 . while certain features of the disclosed subject matter have been illustrated and described herein , many modifications , substitutions , changes , and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art . it is , therefore , to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes that fall within the true spirit of the disclosed subject matter . | 7 |
bittern , a by - product of salt industry , having a density of 29 - 30 ° be ′ is treated with calcium chloride as described in the pending pct patent application no . pct / in01 / 00185 dated oct . 22 , 2001 . desulphated bittern is taken into a solar pan where it undergoes evaporation with the deposition of common salt and density of bittern is raised . the density to which bittern is required to be raised depends upon quantity of excess salt required to be removed by solar evaporation which further depends upon the desired composition of potassium chloride and sodium chloride in the final product . this composition may range from 20 % kcl to 70 % kcl which is equivalent to density of bittern in this crystallizer to be in the range from 30 . 5 ° be ′ to 33 ° be ′. after removal of excess salt bittern is taken to carnallite crystallizer pans where mixture of carnallite ( kcl . mgcl 2 . 6h 2 o ) and sodium chloride crystallizes out in the density range 33 to 36 ° be ′. the mixture of carnallite double salt and sodium chloride is treated with 0 . 3 - 0 . 5 kg water / kg of solid mixture in a stirred vessel as per known procedure to decompose the double salt and produce a solid mixture of sodium chloride and potassium chloride . the solid - liquid mixture is centrifuged and the supernatant liquid , comprising mainly mgcl 2 and some ( 30 - 55 g / l ) dissolved potassium chloride and sodium chloride is recycled to the carnallite pan to recover residual quantity of potassium chloride and sodium chloride . the solid residue obtained after centrifugation is dried in a tray drier at a temperature between 90 - 130 ° c ., treated with 0 . 01 - 0 . 05 % light magnesium carbonate ( 100 - 150 g / l density ) and dried to make the same free flowing . if required , the low sodium salt may be iodized with aqueous kio 3 solution ( 10 - 50 ppm i ) to make it saleable as free flowing iodized low sodium salt . in the field of chemical technology the recovery of low sodium salt from bittern , a by - product of salt industry , has assumed importance on account of its nutritive value . the process involves chemical treatment of bittern with cacl 2 - containing distiller by - product waste of soda ash industry or pure calcium chloride , to separate sulphate ; concentrating bittern in solar pans to produce mixture of salt and carnallite and finally processing the mixture to produce low sodium salt . this salt is optionally made free flowing and iodized with suitable additives . the present invention discloses the preparation of low sodium salt containing different proportions of nacl and kcl directly from brine / bittern in solar pans and it obviates the need of any external addition of food grade kcl and other nutrients in salt . the inventive steps adopted in the present invention are : ( i ) realization that desulphated bittern of density 29 - 30 ° be ′ that yields a mixture of sodium chloride and carnallite upon further evaporation can be a source for recovery of low sodium salt directly , ( ii ) control of bittern density of desulphated bittern and charging of carnallite pan in a manner so as to adjust nacl content in crude carnallite mixture , ( iii ) decomposition of the double salt in the solid mixture in a manner so as to achieve the nacl / kcl mixture of desired ratio with highest possible yield , ( iv ) simple method of industrial centrifugation to yield low sodium salt composition with desired purity without any need for washing of the solid , and ( v ) recycling of the supernatant into carnallite pan so as to maximize yield of low sodium salt from given quantity of bittern . the following examples are given by way of illustration and therefore should not be construed to limit the scope of the present invention . in this example 35 l of bittern of subsoil source , with density 29 ° be ′ and having the following chemical analysis : mg 2 + = 48 . 0 g / l ; ca 2 + = 0 . 5 g / l ; na + = 37 g / l ( 95 g / l as nacl ); k + = 11 . 2 g / l ( 21 . 5 g / l as kcl ); cl − = 191 . 1 g / l ; so 4 2 − = 26 . 7 g / l ( 0 . 278 m ) was used for the production of low sodium salt . this bittern containing 9 . 73 moles of so 4 2 − was desulphated by using 9 . 75 moles of ca 2 + [( 2 . 46 l of calcium chloride solution ( obtained by dissolution of limestone and hydrochloric acid ) containing 440 g / l cacl 2 ]. after removal of gypsum , desulphated bittern is evaporated to a density of 35 . 5 ° be ′. 7 kg of crude carnallite containing a mixture of sodium chloride and carnallite was separated out . crude carnallite had the following chemical composition : mg 2 + = 5 . 46 %; ca 2 + = 0 . 35 %; na + = 16 . 69 % ( 42 . 09 % as nacl ); k + = 5 . 26 % ( 10 . 05 % as kcl ); cl − = 47 . 49 %; so 4 2 − 0 . 38 %; h 2 o = 24 . 4 %. the total material was treated with 2 . 8 l of water in a stirred vessel and stirring continued for 30 min . the supernatant solution was decanted and the solid residue , weighing 2 . 61 kg , had the following chemical analysis after filtration : mg 2 + = 0 . 52 %; ca 2 + = 0 . 55 %; so 4 2 − = 0 . 4 %; nacl = 76 . 1 %; kcl = 21 . 5 %. the volume of the supernatant was 4 . 02 l and contained mainly mgcl 2 besides small quantities of nacl and kcl . this liquid is evaporated to 35 . 5 ° be ′ and the carnallite obtained was processed in similar manner as above to obtain an additional 0 . 4 kg of low sodium salt . overall recovery on kcl basis worked out to be nearly 87 %. in this example the experiment was conducted in the field using bittern of sub - soil origin and utilizing solar energy for evaporation in shallow pans lined with thin gauge plastic to avoid percolation loss . 1500 l of the bittern of example 1 having total sulphate content of 417 moles was processed for this purpose . the bittern was desulphated using sulphate equivalent of calcium chloride solution of concentration as in example 1 . after removal of gypsum , the desulphated bittern was added into solar pans and left for evaporation up to 32 . 5 ° be .′ the bittern is allowed to evaporate further in a second pan where a mixture of carnallite and sodium chloride weighing 205 kg is deposited at a liquid density of 35 . 5 ° be ′. this mixture had the following chemical analysis of the main components : mg 2 + = 7 . 81 %; na + = 6 . 34 %; k + = 7 . 37 %; cl − = 39 . 38 %. the above solid after separation from end bittern is treated with 82 l of water in a stirred vessel for one hour and centrifuged when practically the entire magnesium goes into the supernatant liquid ( 180 l ) along with some fraction of sodium and potassium chlorides , and 55 kg of low sodium salt of following composition is obtained : mg 2 + = 0 . 57 %; ca 2 + = 0 . 35 %; so 4 2 − = 0 . 25 %; nacl = 53 . 58 %; kcl = 44 . 52 %. the supernatant liquid is evaporated in solar pans in similar manner as in example 1 and solid deposited is processed with water as before to recover 6 . 0 kg of additional low sodium salt giving a total yield of 61 kg . in this example high sulphate bittern of sea water origin was used for low sodium salt preparation . chemical analysis of this bittern is given below : mg 2 + = 50 . 45 g / l ; ca 2 + = 0 . 41 g / l ; na + = 37 . 39 g / l ( 95 g / l as nacl ); k + = 13 . 90 g / l ( 26 . 5 g / l as kcl ); cl − = 167 . 33 g / l ; so 4 2 − = 66 . 80 g / l . bittern was desulphated with calcium chloride obtained as liquid distiller by - product from soda ash industry . analysis of the liquid by - product is given below : water = 834 g / l ; na + = 26 . 03 g / l ; ca 2 + = 55 . 47 g / l ; cl − = 132 . 4 g / l ; oh − = 2 . 8 g / l ; caco 3 = 9 . 96 g / l ; caso 4 = 2 . 49 g / l ; mgo = 3 . 74 g / l . the above distiller by - product was settled to remove suspended impurities and a clear liquid supernatant was obtained containing 66 g / l and 128 . 7 g / l nacl and cacl 2 , respectively . 1500 l of 29 ° be ′ bittern ( containing a total of 1044 moles so 4 2 − ) was treated with 900 l of the settled distiller by - product ( containing a total of 1044 moles cacl 2 ) in a plastic - lined solar pan . mixed liquid was allowed to evaporate in the pan , to ensure complete deposition of calcium sulphate till density of 29 ° be ′ was achieved again . clear liquid from mixing pan was transferred to second pan which was also lined with plastic lining and was allowed to evaporate till liquid density of 35 . 5 ° be ′ as achieved . 300 kg of solid which was a mixture of sodium chloride and carnallite was separated from end bittern . the chemical analysis of solid mixture is given below : mg 2 + = 6 . 0 %; ca 2 + = 0 . 35 %; so 4 2 − = 0 . 4 %; na + = 16 . 31 % ( 41 . 45 % as nacl ); k + = 5 . 79 % ( 11 . 05 % as kcl ). the solid mixture was treated with 135 l of water in a stirred vessel for one hour and centrifuged . 240 l of supernatant liquid and 120 kg of low sodium salt with the composition : mg 2 + 0 . 3 %; ca 2 + = 0 . 4 %; nacl = 74 . 3 %; kcl = 22 . 2 % were obtained . in this example low sodium salt as produced above was treated with potassium iodate and light magnesium carbonate in order to provide free flowing properties to salt . accordingly 60 kg of low sodium salt was first dried at 110 ° c . and after pulverization was treated with 3 g of potassium iodate ( in the form of a 10 % solution ), followed by 12 g of light magnesium carbonate and was immediately packed tightly in bags . ( 1 ) the homogeneous mixture of sodium chloride and potassium chloride , which constitutes low sodium salt , can be produced directly from 29 - 30 ° be ′ bittern instead of producing such salt through artificial mixing of the two solids as presently undertaken . ( 2 ) the ratio of potassium chloride and sodium chloride can be adjusted in the range from 20 % kcl to 70 % kcl according to customer requirements by varying the baume density at which the carnallite crystallizer pan is charged . ( 3 ) the process involves no heating or cooling except final drying of product in an oven and the production of crude carnallite is carried out under ambient conditions with the help of solar energy while subsequent processing of the carnallite for recovery of low sodium salt is also carried out under ambient conditions . ( 4 ) other nutrients like calcium and magnesium which are beneficial in small amounts are drawn from bittern itself and need not be added from outside . ( 5 ) the supernatant liquor remaining after formation of low sodium salt can be recycled in the carnallite pan to boost yield of the process . ( 6 ) a variety of calcium ion - containing raw material can be used for the desulphatation of bittern required for carnallite production when the bittern contains high levels of sulphate . ( 7 ) compared to the high cost of production of low sodium salt by conventional route as shown in table 1 , the low sodium salt can be produced at considerably lower cost by the method of the present invention , especially when produced from sub - soil bittern as illustrated in table 2 and / or when distiller by - product of soda ash industry , after clarification , is used as calcium chloride source which would greatly reduce the calcium chloride raw material cost in table 2 and / or when low sodium salt is produced by salt manufacturers who would have bittern available at no cost since it is mostly being discharged as waste . | 2 |
the embodiment of the buckle according to the present invention will further be described with reference to the attached drawings . the buckle according to the present invention , showed in the unassembled state in the prospective view in fig1 , 2 and 3 , is an insert type buckle and it consists of the insert member ( male member ) a , casing ( female member ) b and cover c of casing . the insert ( male ) member a ( fig1 ) is intended to be inserted to the casing ( female member ) b ( fig2 ) with cover ( fig3 ). it is made from the polyoxymethylene ( pom ), but it can also be made from other thermoplastic material , in various colours , including combinations of colours . the insert member a ( male member ) of the buckle consists of body 2 having flexible arms 3 disposed on both its sides , which extend from the bottom end of the body 2 upwards . the body 2 of the insert member a equipped with arms 3 is intended to be attached to the casing b of the buckle after its inserting in guiding grooves of the casing — in guiding groove 6 of the front part and guiding groove 7 of the rear part . on the upper part of the body 2 of the insert member a there is a shaped hanging element 1 with opening 1 . 1 , which ( opening ) serves for passing the lanyard and hanging the buckle . on body 2 of the casing , approximately in the middle , there is preferably a shaped couple of protrusions 2 . 2 , which define movement of shaped arms 3 towards body 2 when inserting in the casing and pulling from it , as well as one longitudinal guiding protrusion 2 . 1 on the rear part of the body 2 , which provides for a continuous movement of the insert member and prevents from an incorrect inserting of body 2 with arms 3 in casing b of the buckle . in the longitudinal guiding protrusion 2 . 1 there can be a shaped longitudinal recess 2 . 1 . 1 for decreasing friction during inserting . the flexible arms 3 of insert member a are equipped with shaped “ locking ” protrusions 4 , which are situated opposite each other in one level on the rear part of flexible arms 3 . when inserting the arms 3 into the casing 2 the lateral surfaces 4 . 1 of the shaped protrusions 4 get into contact with lateral surfaces 9 . 1 of the shaped surfaces 9 of casing 2 and when the inserting continues , the flexible arms 3 are pressed further towards the body 2 . when the insert part a reaches the necessary depth , the pressed flexible arms 3 return to their original position , the shaped protrusions 4 snap in the relevant openings 8 in the rear part of the casing 2 , and by their upper surfaces 4 . 2 they get into contact with the bottom surfaces 9 . 2 of the shaped surfaces 9 , thus providing attachment of the insert member a to the casing b . a correct position of the insert member in the casing can also be identified according to the position of embossed protrusions 17 ( fig7 ) in the front part of arms 3 , which are in case of a correct insertion visible as “ eyes ” in the openings 18 ( fig8 ) in the front part of the casing b ( fig9 ). the parts are detached by pressing the flexible arms 3 towards body 2 and pulling the insert part a from casing b . the casing b is designed as a shaped hollow housing having a circular section . on the inner side of the front part there is a shaped guiding groove 6 for inserting the body 2 of the insert member , and on the inner side of the rear part there is a guiding groove 7 for inserting the longitudinal protrusion 2 . 1 of the body 2 of the insert member . further , in the rear part of the casing there are two openings 8 for inserting the shaped protrusions 4 of flexible arms 3 , and between openings 8 and guiding groove 7 there is a shaped surface 9 for guiding and fixing the shaped protrusions 4 of arms 3 . on the outer part of the rear part the casing b is equipped with shaped fixing protrusions 13 , which are situated next to the outer sides of the openings 8 and serve for attaching the casing b to the cover c ( fig2 ). the front part of the casing is preferably equipped with openings 18 ( fig8 ), which can not only control a correct position of arms 3 of insert member together with a shaped beak - like element 19 and protruding ends of arms 3 , but they also have an aestehetic function : after attaching the insert member to the casing they form a buckle in the shape of “ duck ”. moreover , the casing b ( female member ) is in the upper end of the outer surface of the rear part equipped with a system of elements for winding a cord , which comprises a hanging element 10 for attaching the cord 20 with the accessory ( e . g . a cell phone ), a peg 11 ended with extended part 11 . 1 and preferably a centring element 12 for central fixing of the hung cord 20 . this centring element 12 is situated in the bottom end , under the peg 11 . further , in the rear part of the casing there are two openings 8 for inserting the shaped protrusions 4 of flexible arms 3 , and shaped fixing protrusions 13 , which are situated next to the outer sides of the openings 8 and serve for attaching the casing b to the cover c . the casing b comprises cover c with openings 14 for inserting the shaped fixing protrusions 13 of the rear part of the casing . by pressing the cover c the shaped fixing protrusions 13 are inclined towards the central axis and they are directed to pass through the openings 14 . when the cover gets into its position and the protruding elements as well as the cord 20 are overlapped , the shaped protrusions 13 get into their original positions and fix the cover c . also , on its bottom part the casing has a groove 16 for guiding the cord 20 and preferably the lateral grooves 15 to facilitate opening of the cover in case of need for handling the cord . the cover is opened simply — the male member is pulled out of the casing , the flat element 5 of male member is inserted in one of the grooves 15 and the cover is detached from the casing by soft levering . 2 . 1 longitudinal guiding protrusion of rear body part 8 openings of rear part of casing ( for protrusions 4 ) | 8 |
an end view 52 and a cross section view 54 of a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 and is a substantially tubular outer structure 56 having a first section 62 with an opening 64 into the outer structure 56 . the first section 62 opening 64 is typically symmetrical about a longitudinal axis extending the length of the outer structure 56 , and has a substantially uniform opening throughout the length of the opening 64 and is sized to lightly grip the shaft portion of a penis . the embodiment of the present invention shown provides some movement of the penis relative to the outer structure 56 and is shown in a rearward position 50 a as well as a maximally forward position 50 b and typically assumes a position between the forward and rearward positions . in one embodiment , the first section is approximately 1 ″ in length having an opening diameter of 0 . 75 ″, and a wall 76 thickness of about 0 . 187 ″. a second section 70 of the outer structure also has an opening 71 that aligns with the opening 64 , gradually expands from the opening 64 diameter to a larger diameter 74 , and is substantially symmetrical about the axis 60 . in one embodiment , the larger diameter 74 is about one - eight larger than opening 62 , which is approximately 0 . 85 ″ and the second section axially extends approximately 1 . 25 ″ from the first section 62 . the second section 70 has a wall 76 of thickness typically diminishing from the wall 76 thickness , and has an opening 71 typically has a rounded interior end distal from the first section 62 which is seen as a rapidly diminished diameter , at which point a third section 80 begins . the second section is typically dimensioned to retain and enclose the penis head . in the embodiment of fig1 , the third section 80 has a substantially reduced diameter opening 82 typically sized to receive a catheter therethrough , and providing a slight additional margin around the catheter to permit catheter insertion and / or retention without binding or pulling on the catheter 90 inserted into the opening 82 . in this embodiment , the opening 82 is substantially uniform in diameter along the axis 60 , and is typically centered about the axis 60 . an opening 82 in one embodiment is 0 . 185 ″ through a third section length of 0 . 75 ″ a second embodiment of the present invention shown in fig2 by an end view 86 and a cross section view 88 and is has a substantially tubular outer structure 84 having a first section 62 and second section 70 substantially the same as provided by the prior embodiment of fig1 . the second embodiment includes a third section 91 substantially the same as the third section 80 of the prior embodiment of fig1 , except that the longitudinal or axial opening 92 is non - uniform , and as shown in fig2 , tapers from a minimum opening end 93 to a maximum opening end 94 ( proximal the penis head ). in one embodiment , the minimum opening end 93 is slightly larger than the catheter 90 , e . g . approximately 3 / 16 ″ for a 14 french catheter , and the maximum opening 94 expands amounts up to at least 100 percent of the minimum opening . a third embodiment of the present invention shown in fig3 by an end view 102 and a cross section view 104 and is has a substantially tubular outer structure 106 having a first section 62 and second section 70 substantially the same as provided by the prior embodiment of fig1 . the third embodiment includes a third section 110 substantially the same as the third section 80 of the prior embodiment of fig1 , except that the longitudinal or axial opening 112 is enlarged and receives a sleeve 100 into the enlarged opening 112 . the sleeve 100 can be a single element having a cylindrical opening to receive the catheter 90 , or a multisectioned element as shown , with 2 ( or more ) mating pieces 114 , 116 , which in the embodiment shown in fig3 , includes members 118 which extend radially outward from the mating pieces 114 , 116 and each engage a corresponding recess 120 extending radially from the opening 112 in the third section 110 . a fourth embodiment of the present invention shown in fig4 by an end view 132 and a cross section view 134 and is has a substantially tubular outer structure 84 having a first section 62 and second section 70 substantially the same as provided by the prior embodiment of fig1 . in the embodiment of fig4 , the third section 130 has a substantially reduced diameter opening 138 typically sized to receive a catheter therethrough , and providing a slight additional margin around the catheter to permit catheter insertion and / or retention without binding or pulling on the catheter 90 inserted into the opening 138 , and to accommodate a lubricant , e . g . a dry , ptfe , etc . lubricant 142 between the catheter 90 and the opening 138 surface . in this embodiment , the opening 138 is substantially uniform in diameter along the axis 60 , and is typically centered about the axis 60 . an opening in one embodiment is 0 . 185 ″ through a third section length of 0 . 75 ″ a further embodiment includes a washer 140 having an inner opening sized to permit the catheter to pass through yet small enough to urge the lubricant 142 to be retained in the opening 138 without restricting movement of the catheter 90 . a typical use of the embodiments fig1 - 4 is to insert the catheter 90 into the head of the penis a desired amount and then to apply the embodiments of fig1 - 4 around the penis either by guiding the formed outer structure over the penis , or if comprising multiple section , carefully closing the outer structure over the penis . a further alternate embodiment 150 is shown in fig5 , comprising two longitudinal halves , each having a relatively rigid outer shell 152 which substantially surrounds and retains a resilient insert 154 . typically , the insert 154 comprises a softer material 154 such as foam , and are shaped to proved a sequence of longitudinal openings within sections 162 , 164 and 166 of the insert to accommodate the penis shaft , the penis head and the catheter with a corresponding sequence of inner axially aligned openings of appropriate diameters , which in one embodiment corresponds to the openings sections 62 , 70 and 80 of the embodiment of fig1 , and have wall 170 thickness defined by the section openings and the shell 152 inner dimensions . in one embodiment , the insert 154 comprises a flexible foam to allow for body changes and a compression grip about the penis shaft and / or head . moreover , the insert implementation of the present invention provide low - cost accommodation of various penis sizes by correspondingly dimensioned inner openings with different pairs of inserts 154 while maintaining the same outer shell 152 . alternate embodiments of this and other embodiments include a polypropylene or other water absorbing or water - wicking layer 157 disposed to be in contact with the penis , or porous foam 156 and / or shell 152 , or equivalent in the other embodiments of the present invention . an optional shell inner extension 158 extends into the insert recess 168 and into which the catheter is initially inserted . typically the shells 152 mate and include a means to secure the shells 152 together such as clips 160 which engage corresponding portions or recesses in the typically identical mating shell ( not shown ). alternately , the shells ( and inserts therein ) can be secured together with encircling elements ( not shown ) and a recess 172 may be included within the periphery of the shell 152 . a further embodiment 180 is shown in fig6 , wherein the catheter support comprises two mating pieces 182 a , 182 b mating on a plane substantially including the axis , and connected by a hinge 184 . in the embodiment shown , the catheter support includes 3 axially contiguous regions 192 , 194 and 196 having inner openings substantially axially aligned , and may comprise the dimensions of the corresponding openings 64 , 72 and 82 as may be proportioned to the anticipated penis dimensions . to guide the closing together of the mating catheter support pieces 182 a , 182 b about the hinge 184 , ridge guides 186 and complementary mating ridge guide recesses 188 are formed and positioned to receive the corresponding guide elements from the other of the mating pieces . in the instant embodiment , they are longitudinally disposed on the divided wall edge of the catheter holder 180 parallel to the axis 60 . in addition to the closure devices previously discussed regarding other embodiments and applied hereto , still further closure devices 190 a , 190 b or as may be known in the art may be applied to the embodiments of the present invention . closure devices applicable to this and other embodiments include tape , snaps , velcro ( a trademark of velcro corp . ), buttons and / or clasps . a typical use of the embodiments fig5 and 6 is to insert the catheter 90 into the head of the penis a desired amount and then to apply the embodiments of fig5 and 6 around the penis either by guiding the formed outer structure over the penis , or if comprising multiple section , carefully closing the outer structure over the penis . alternate embodiments of the catheter support 180 of fig6 ( or 150 of fig5 ) may further include a substantially rigid single outer shell having an central top opening through which the catheter is received , such as formed according to two mating shells 152 of fig6 applied over mating pieces 182 a , 182 b ( or two of 170 , fig5 ). this substantially rigid outer shell is applied over the inserts 154 or mating pieces 182 a , 182 b after being closed over the penis , and may further extend the entire length of the insert or mating pieces or partially therealong . the further alternate embodiment 200 of fig7 comprises a tubular member 210 having an opening 202 at one end sized to receive the penis head and shaft and a smaller opening 204 at the opposite end of the tubular member 210 through which a catheter ( not shown ) is received and supported as described in the above embodiments . the tubular member 210 includes a slot 206 extending along the wall of the tubular member 210 ( including slot in each of a penis shaft support , a penis head support and a catheter support as describe in the above embodiments aligned or otherwise in communication ) from the opening into which the penis is received , to the smaller opening 204 and through which the catheter may be moved and ultimately be place through the smaller opening 204 and into the center of the tubular member 210 . the slot 206 and other slots ( not shown ) extending along a smaller portion of the length of the tubular member may provide ventilation or air movement and mitigate the build - up of moisture , and such slots are applicable to other embodiments shown herewith . the embodiment may also include a slot 206 with walls 208 and raised portions 212 ( or other mechanism ) which urges the catheter to remain in the smaller opening 204 . alternate embodiment provide a resilient tubular member having adhesive disposed on the slot walls 208 permitting all or portions of the slot to be closed around the penis . a further alternate embodiment 220 according to the present invention comprising a tubular member 230 having a opening 222 disposed at one end of the tubular member into the penis shaft and penis head is received and a smaller opening at the opposite end of the tubular member through which a catheter 224 passes ( and is supported as provided with the above embodiments ) and forms an assembly together with the tubular member 230 . this embodiment ( and other above embodiments ) may further include apertures 232 disposed along the length of the tubular member extending inward to provide a ventilation passageway providing a flow of air proximal or in contact with the penis ( or internal moisture controlling layers , e . g . 157 of fig5 ) to reduce moisture or heat ( or both ) within the embodiments of the present invention . a further alternate embodiment 240 is shown in fig9 , wherein the catheter support end of tubular member , also receiving the penis shaft and penis head in an opposite end opening , comprises several sections 244 extending radially outward from the catheter support end opening 242 . the section 244 tips 246 converge but stop short and form the opening 242 through which the catheter passes , and may comprise the thickness necessary for catheter support as described for the above embodiments or may merely provide a sufficiently rigid outer structure to protect and support the catheter from moving radially against the head of the penis as radial or other forces are applied to the catheter outside the catheter support , having a thickened insert material therebehind to provide the above described catheter support . the embodiments provided herein are understood to be exemplary and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto . modifications and substitutions as may be known to one of ordinary skill in the art are included herewith . the scope of the claims is not limited except by the claims which follow . | 0 |
this disclosure , its aspects and implementations , are not limited to the specific components , encapsulation types , or methods disclosed herein . many additional components and assembly procedures known in the art consistent with determining packet error rate ( per ) for wireless encapsulated network packet data communications links are in use with particular implementations from this disclosure . accordingly , for example , although particular implementations are disclosed , such implementations and implementing components may comprise any components , models , versions , quantities , and / or the like as is known in the art for such systems and implementing components , consistent with the intended operation . this disclosure relates to a method for determining the packet error rate ( per ) for encapsulated network packet data capable wireless communications links . the term per relates to the ratio of errored or missing packets verses the total number of transmitted packets over a communications link . particular implementations of determining packet error rate ( per ) for wireless encapsulated network packet data communications links disclosed herein may be specifically employed in satellite communications systems . however , as it will be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure , the principles and aspects disclosed herein may readily be applied to any electromagnetic ( if , rf and optical ) communications system , such as cellular phone or terrestrial broadcast network without undue experimentation . this disclosure relates to , but is not limited to , determining packet error rate ( per ) for wireless encapsulated network packet data communications links . the methods disclosed herein remove the need for special error rate test equipment or synchronous interfaces associated with ber test equipment . as disclosed herein , implementations of the methods use native packet encapsulation techniques to determine the per for a given network . these implementations support either er stimulus that is generated externally or internally to the system for determining the per of a link . particular implementations described herein may use , but are not limited to , field - programmable gate arrays ( fpga ), programmable logic devices ( pld ), programmable integrated circuits ( pic ), digital signal processors ( dsp ), application specific integrated circuits ( asic ) or microprocessors . particular implementations of the described methods and systems apply to wireless satellite communications , but the technology described is not limited to satellite communications . by knowing the optimal payload size of the data for an encapsulated system , and setting the data to an appropriate size to completely fill the transport payload size , one may determine the per for the transmission network . fig1 demonstrates a non - limiting packetized wireless satellite communications network that uses dvb - s technology using international organization / international electrotechnical commission ( iso / iec ) using the iso / iec 13818 - 1 mpeg 2 transport stream with etsi en 301 192 dvb specification for data broadcasting multi - protocol encapsulation ( mpe ) for carrying network packets over a satellite link which is an example of a typical wireless satellite network supporting encapsulated data transmission between two remotely - distributed communications locations where network data packets are received at a transmission site and forwarded to an encapsulating device 100 where the network packet data is packetized as an mpe packet and then framed as a 188 - byte mpeg 2 transport stream for transmission over the wireless satellite link . one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the term network data protocol is synonymous with ip , ipx , netbeui , etc ., which are carried over a local area network ( lan ) for local ( interfacility ) communications . the encapsulation of data into a wireless network allows the data introduced into the network to be abstracted from the internal , packetized - transport layer . as shown , the encapsulating device 100 encapsulates the network data packet in an encapsulation format and then frames the encapsulation packet for prior to modulation 110 , up - conversion 120 , power amplification 130 , and transmission by a transmit antenna 140 over the wireless satellite link . at the receiving site 150 , the framed packet is received , de - encapsulated , and forwarded as a network packet to the lan for delivery . fig2 shows how the er , namely the ber , is obtained in the prior art for non - lan enabled links . external devices must be connected to the transmission gear via synchronous connections such as telecommunications industry association ( tia ) recommended standard - 232 ( rs - 232 ) unbalance serial communications , rs - 422 balanced serial communications , or european standard ( en - 50083 - 9 ) asynchronous serial interfaces ( asi ) operating over a synchronous 270 mbps interface . in many instances , the rs - 232 , rs - 422 , asi , etc . interfaces may not be available on the wireless satellite equipment . as shown , the external ber tester ( bert ) 200 requires a synchronous interface 210 such as , for example , a bit serial interface such as rs - 232 ( unbalanced serial interface ), rs - 422 ( balanced serial interface ) or asynchronous serial interface ( asi ) running at 270 mbps supporting a native transport stream format to interface to the wireless network equipment . in these configurations , external test equipment 200 must be present on both the transmitting and receiving side of the link . a known pattern is injected at a pre - determined rate and transmitted over the wireless satellite link to verify the ber of the link . in another embodiment , synthetic ber data may be injected by the transmission equipment into the wireless satellite link and extracted by the receiving device and an end - to - end ber may be obtained . fig3 demonstrates how the methods described herein may be used to obtain the per of a link using common network enabled transmission equipment . there is no need for use of special equipment or interfaces to take advantage of the described method . more specifically , fig3 shows how the described method may be used for external stimulus to determine the per of the network using externally generated 300 network packet data for the determination of the per . as shown , the methods described herein may be used with a native local area network ( lan ) input interface 310 between the transmitting device , over the link and output at the receiving device to externally determine 320 the per of the end - to - end network . implementations of these methods may operate the same for both external stimuli 300 as for internally generated ( synthetic ) error rate data as shown in fig4 in which the network per generator 400 and per receiver 410 are internal to the system . the network data packets ( internal or external ) used for the error patterns are fed into the payload of the network data packets and may be fixed ( a priori ) bit or byte sequences , self - synchronizing prn sequences , sequential count sequences , or any other sequence known to one of ordinary skill in the art . the methods described in this disclosure may employ digital signal processing ( dsp ) techniques such as , but not limited to , encapsulation , framing and packetization techniques which can easily be implemented in field - programmable gate arrays ( fpga ), programmable logic devices ( pld ), programmable integrated circuits ( pic ), digital signal processors ( dsp ), application specific integrated circuits ( asic ) or microprocessors using conventional implementation methods known in the art by those with knowledge of this disclosure . the need to determine the error rate ( er ) performance of a network is critical to ensure proper operation . for wireless networks , the er performance is directly related to the power of the signal as it is received at the distant end . in the art , the error rate performance as a function of the power and / or energy is plotted in a chart known as an error rate curve . the vertical axis or “ y - axis ” contains the er performance , represented as “ ber ” or “ per ,” and the horizontal axis or “ x - axis ” contains either the bit energy over the noise density of the system , represented as eb / no , or symbol energy over the noise density of the system , represented as es / no in decibels . a decibel is a power rating expressed as 10 * log 10 ( x ) of the ratio of symbol energy ( es ) over the noise density ( no ) or ( es / no ) db . the es / no ratio is expressed in db using 10 log 10 ( es / no ). an example of the per verses ( es / no ) db curve is shown in fig9 . knowing the error rate performance as a function of the available energy allows one to know the overall performance of the system . in the art , a “ link budget ” is used in conjunction with er curves to arrive at the expected er performance based on the available power / energy and path losses to determine the appropriate system components that are required to meet the desired performance of a network . in a typical wireless transmission network , some level of error checking ( ec ) and forward error correction ( fec ) may be performed . for links with fec , the link may be operated as a less than perfect link ( containing bit errors ) and still provide a nearly error free link , known in the art as quasi - error free ( qef ), where the low - level link may be taking errors , but the higher - level link is running error free due to the fec making corrections to the erroneous bits as they are received . for dvb - s ( as specified in etsi en 300 421 ) the qef point is considered to be a “ ber ” of 1e - 10 . however , for dvb - s2 ( as specified in etsi en 302 307 ) the qef point is considered to be a “ per ” of 1e - 7 , but it is noteworthy to state a per of 1e - 7 is approximately the same as a ber of 1e - 10 , since an mpeg 2 transport frame is considered to be 188 bytes in length with 8 bits per byte provides : 1e7 packets * 8 bits / byte * 188 bytes / frame = 1 . 5e10 bits , and one packet is equivalent to one mpeg 2 transport stream frame . fig5 - 8 demonstrate implementations of methods for encapsulation of both mpe and gse network packet data , however one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that any other appropriate encapsulation protocol such as , but not limited to ultra - lightweight encapsulation or unidirectional lightweight encapsulation ( ule ) may also be used . in particular , fig5 demonstrates the abstraction of serial or packetized network data using mpe encapsulation 500 through a network and fig6 a - b show the framing from mpe 500 to mpeg 2 600 transport stream frames using non - section and section packing , respectively . additionally , fig7 shows the described methods as used for network data 510 to gse encapsulation 710 , and fig8 depicts the framing from gse 710 to dvb - s2 base - band ( bb ) frames 800 . the method may be used by first knowing the most basic level of framing for the end - to - end link . for the described method , a network data packet 510 , which may be an internet packet ( ip ), internetwork packet exchange ( ipx ), netbios extended user interface ( netbeui ), or any other appropriate type of packet is encapsulated into an mpe packet 500 and then further framed into a 188 - byte mpeg2 transport stream frame 600 . since the mpeg 2 transport stream frame 600 is the most primitive level of framing for the link , the 188 - byte frame is considered as the smallest payload to be considered for the described methods . to obtain the true per of the network , the 188 - byte frame must be filled to 100 % capacity to ensure the packet loss of only the mpeg 2 transport stream frame layer is calculated to determine the true per of the network . for an mpe / mpeg 2 network , the encapsulation device supports 188 - byte mpeg 2 transport stream frames . the described method may support both section packed transmission configurations ( mpe data may start in the middle of an mpeg 2 frame ) or non - section packed transmission configurations ( where mpe data may only start at the beginning of an mpeg 2 frame ) as shown in fig6 a - b , respectively . in either configuration , the 188 - byte mpeg 2 transport stream frame 600 is capable of supporting 184 bytes of payload and four bytes are allocated for control information for section packed configurations , and 183 bytes of payload and five bytes of control information . for section packed configurations , the mpe data is constructed to fit 184 bytes of payload . the fifth byte is the 1st byte of the mpe packet as shown in fig6 b . for non - section packed configurations , the payload start unit indicator ( pusi ) is automatically set to ensure a fifth byte is enabled , and the result is four control bytes and a fifth byte added as a pointer field . the fifth byte must have an offset of hexadecimal zero ( 0x00 ) resulting in the sixth byte being the 1st byte of the mpe packet 500 as shown in fig5 . in the non - section packed configuration , the mpe packet 500 is 183 bytes in length . in many mpe / mpeg transmission systems , section packing may be turned off , resulting in a 183 byte payload being used to transmit a frame containing the first section of an mpe packet 500 , but in lieu of forcing the transmission system to turn off section packing , the payload may be forced to 184 bytes which will result in an mpe packet 500 fitting within an mpeg 2 transport stream frame 600 for every transmission slot . fig7 shows another type of encapsulation known as generic stream encapsulation ( gse ). gse is a more efficient type of encapsulation than mpe that may be carried over mpeg 2 transport stream . in a preferred embodiment for a wireless satellite network , the gse framed packets 710 are provided directly to a dvb - s2 base - band ( bb ) frame 800 . in dvb - s2 , the bb frame 800 has a payload that is dependent on several factors such as : for each dvb - s2 bb frame configuration , the network packet 510 may be different . the described methods may be implemented in an external fashion , but the fec type and frame size configuration may be fixed to ensure each bb frame 800 is the same during the per test , however , one of ordinary skill in the art would realize that this is not a requirement . a mechanism may be used to alert a lan device as to what the available payload size is for optimally packing the bb frame 800 for running the per test . in a preferred embodiment , the bb frames 800 may be filled with network packets 510 synthetically and injected directly into the bb frame 800 to ensure the bb frame 800 is packed optimally before transmission . implementations of the combined methods may determine the overall per by knowing the total number of packets transmitted and then accounting for the number of erroneous ( damaged , lost , out sequence , missing , etc .) packets , and the total per may be determined without the need for a specific ber or per test unit as has been required in the prior art . one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the per performance is determined by the following equation : fig9 shows a comparison of an actual per test using both a synchronous per tester used in the prior art verses a lan enabled per tester using the described method . fig9 shows the actual results using implementations of the described methods in which the output of a synchronous asi per tester is compared with the output using the described methods with an external lan per data . the following are provided as non - limiting examples of particular implementations of determining packet error rate ( per ) for network data capable wireless communications links : a wireless satellite network that supports a lan connection for network packet data and supports mpe over an mpeg 2 transport stream has a personal computer ( pc ) that generates a fixed number of network packets at a rate that meets the supported payload of the wireless satellite encapsulation and framing system . the mpe encapsulation device has section packing disabled and thus , can support exactly 183 bytes of payload for each mpeg 2 frame . the network packets are set to a length to precisely account for a length such that the 12 - byte mpe header and 4 - byte crc may be added to precisely fill a single mpeg 2 frame to 100 %. the contents of the network packets are an a priori sequence of changing bytes in the payload and are checked at the distant end by a network enabled pc to ensure they are correct . at the end of the transmission sequence , the total number of bytes transmitted are compared to the number received to determine the total per obtained through the network . depending on the quality of the transmission link , the per verses es / no may be determined . the wireless satellite network described in example 1 that supports a lan connection for network packet data and supports mpe over an mpeg 2 transport stream has a personal computer ( pc ) that generates a fixed number of network packets at a rate that meets the supported payload of the wireless satellite encapsulation and framing system . the mpe encapsulation device has section packing enabled , and thus , can support exactly 184 bytes of payload for each mpeg 2 frame . the network packets are set to a length to precisely account for a length such that the 12 - byte mpe header and 4 - byte crc may be added to precisely fill a single mpeg 2 frame to 100 %. the contents of the network packets are an a priori sequence of changing bytes in the payload and are checked by a network enabled pc at the distant end to ensure they are correct . at the end of the transmission sequence , the total number of bytes transmitted is compared to the number received to determine the total per obtained through the network . depending on the quality of the transmission link , the per verses es / no may be determined . a wireless satellite network that supports a lan connection for network packet data and supports mpe over an mpeg 2 transport stream synthetically generates a fixed number of network packets at a rate that meets the supported payload of the wireless satellite encapsulation and framing system . the mpe encapsulation device has section packing disabled and thus , can support exactly 183 bytes of payload for each mpeg 2 frame . the network packets are set to a length to precisely account for a length such that the 12 - byte mpe header and 4 - byte crc may be added to precisely fill a single mpeg 2 frame to 100 %. the contents of the network packets are an a priori sequence of changing bytes in the payload and are checked at the distant end to ensure they are correct by the receiving device . at the end of the transmission sequence , the total number of bytes transmitted is compared to the number received to determine the total per obtained through the network . depending on the quality of the transmission link , the per verses es / no may be determined . the wireless satellite network described in example 3 that supports a lan connection for network packet data and supports mpe over an mpeg 2 transport synthetically generates a fixed number of network packets at a rate that meets the supported payload of the wireless satellite encapsulation and framing system . the mpe encapsulation device has section packing enabled and thus , can support exactly 184 bytes of payload for each mpeg 2 frame . the network packets are set to a length to precisely account for a length that the 12 - byte mpe header and 4 - byte crc may be added to precisely fill a single mpeg 2 frame to 100 %. the contents of the network packets are an a priori sequence of changing bytes in the payload and are checked at the distant end to ensure they are correct by the receiving device . at the end of the transmission sequence , the total number of bytes transmitted are compared to the number received to determine the total per obtained through the network . depending on the quality of the transmission link , the per verses es / no may be determined . a wireless satellite network that supports a lan connection for network packet data and supports gse formatted stream over a dvb - s2 transmission link has a personal computer ( pc ) that generates a fixed number of network packets at a rate that meets the supported payload of the wireless satellite encapsulation and framing system . the gse encapsulation device encapsulates a network packet to fill the gse frame or frames . the base - band frames may be precisely filled to 100 % or partially filled , and the remaining unused payload may be padded to fill up the base - band frame before transmission . the contents of the network packets are an a priori sequence of changing bytes in the payload and are checked at the distant end to ensure they are correct by a network enabled pc . at the end of the transmission sequence , the total number of bytes transmitted are compared to the number received to determine the total per obtained through the network . depending on the quality of the transmission link , the per verses es / no may be determined . a wireless satellite network that supports a lan connection for network packet data and supports gse formatted stream over a dvb - s2 transmission generates synthetic data for a fixed number of network packets at a rate that meets the supported payload of the wireless satellite encapsulation and framing system . the gse encapsulation device encapsulates a network packet to fill the gse frame or frames . the base - band frames may be precisely filled to 100 % or partially filled , and the remaining unused payload may be padded to fill up the base - band frame before transmission . the contents of the network packets are an a priori sequence of changing bytes in the payload and are checked at the distant end to ensure they are correct by the receiving device . at the end of the transmission sequence , the total number of bytes transmitted are compared to the number received to determine the total per obtained through the network . depending on the quality of the transmission link , the per verses es / no may be determined . in places where the description above refers to particular implementations of telecommunication systems and techniques for transmitting data across a telecommunication channel , it should be readily apparent that a number of modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof and that these implementations may be applied to other to telecommunication systems and techniques for transmitting data across a telecommunication channel . | 7 |
in a preferred embodiment of this invention an induction heating means is placed at the exit of the forming member of an extrusion apparatus . the previously described plastically deformable material comprising electrically conductive matter is then placed in the extrusion apparatus and processed according to typical extrusion processing methods , see for example u . s . pat . no . 4 , 758 , 272 , which is incorporated by reference herein . while the inventors do not wish to be bound by theory , it appears that the inventive aspect here is that as the plastically deformable material is contained in or exits the forming member , electronic and / or magnetic activity is induced within the electrically conductive matter which comprises the plastically deformable material . as the electronic activity is induced within the material , the temperature of the plastically deformable material increases , thus uniformly raising the temperature of the extrudate . another preferred embodiment of this invention involves the extrusion of plastically deformable material comprising electrically conductive matter into a &# 34 ; honeycomb &# 34 ; type structure . the honeycomb is defined by intersecting walls surrounding open , elongated cells extending longitudinally through the formed body . when formed into such a structure , said plastically deformable material , upon final sintering , forms an article which is particularly well suited for use as a catalyst - bearing substrate or porous particulate filter . the catalyst - bearing substrate may be placed within a fluid stream in which it is desired to catalytically convert components of the stream to a different composition . the present invention is particularly well suited to being used with the process of extruding honeycomb type structures ( such as is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 790 , 654 , which is incorporated by reference herein ) since the as extruded honeycomb body has generally low wet strength , particularly when extremely thin , 0 . 008 inch ( 0 . 20 mm ), and desirably less than 0 . 005 inch ( 0 . 13 mm ) inch thickness , internal walls are formed . such a structure generally is not wholly self - supporting thus making it subject to damage through sagging and / or handling deformation of the extruded body . such deformation of the extruded wet honeycomb structure is particularly likely when the internal walls of the honeycomb structure are very thin . the generally uniform generation of heat throughout the entire cross - section of the extruded honeycomb structure extending through the length of the structure which is in proximity to the induction device appears to either dry the extruded body through relatively uniform evaporation of water , gel a polymeric thickener ( when present ), or accomplish a combination of both . the inventors do not wish to be bound by theory but the three preceding possibilities are offered as potential explanations for the reality of the stiffening of the extruded body when placed in proximity to an induction device to effect the desired heating . it will be apparent to those familiar with the art that the advantages of the present invention , which serves to uniformly heat plastically deformable material to cause stiffening , include : ( 1 ) reduction of sagging or handling deformation through lack of adequate wet green strength , ( 2 ) reduction of surface defects , which in the past have been generally caused by non - uniform drying through the application of heat , and ( 3 ) the ability to produce bodies , particularly honeycomb - type structures , with much thinner walls which become self - supporting through the immediate stiffening , or drying step provided by the inventive method . unless otherwise specified , plastically deformable material comprising metal particles which was used for the following examples was prepared as follows : ______________________________________material supplier weight______________________________________fe / 50 al powder shieldalloy 23 lbs . ( screened - 400 mesh ) ( 10 . 45 kg ) oleic acid mallinckrodt 0 . 5 lbs . ( reagent grade ) (. 23 kg ) methyl cellulose dow chemical 3 lbs . ( 1 . 36 kg ) iron powder basf 27 lbs . ( carbonyl om ) ( 12 . 27 kg ) ______________________________________ the above components were mixed for five minutes under an argon blanket in a littleford mixer . since finely divided metal powders are highly flammable , argon was used as an inert gas blanket in the mixture to prevent oxygen intrusion . after mixing , the batch was wrapped in plastic and chilled overnight in a refrigerator . a quantity of deionized water was also chilled over night in a separate container . using a medium - sized , chilled simpson mix - muller , 7 . 1 lbs . ( 3 . 23 kg ) of water was added over a two minute mulling period to the previously described chilled batch . upon completion of the addition of the chilled deionized water , the mix - muller was run for an additional two minutes . the resulting plastically deformable material was then checked for its suitability for extrusion in a ram type extruder by one who is skilled in the art of extrusion . if additional water was required , in small amounts , to reach the desired extrusion consistency , the mix - muller was then run for two minutes after each additional aliquot of water . the mix - muller was then run for an additional five minute period after the final addition of water . again , for safety reasons , the mix - muller was operated under a blanket of argon to prevent oxygen intrusion . the batch was then transferred in plastic bags to a ram type extruder which was fitted with a &# 34 ; spaghetti making die &# 34 ;. the batch was fed into the extruder barrel and the barrel was brought down to form a seal . the exit end of the extruder was sealed with a rubber stopper such that the barrel could be evacuated . a vacuum was established for two minutes after which the ram was slowly advanced compacting the plastically deformable material and extruding it through a multi - orifice die so as to turn it into densely packed wet &# 34 ; spaghetti &# 34 ;. after all of the &# 34 ; spaghetti &# 34 ; had been formed , the multi - orifice die was changed and replaced with one designed to produce a three inch ( 7 . 6 cm ) diameter honeycomb with 0 . 003 &# 34 ; ( 0 . 76 mm ) internal walls and 550 cells per square inch ( about 85 per cm 2 ) in a transverse cross section . the extruder barrel was loaded with the formed &# 34 ; spaghetti &# 34 ; and the ram was advanced slowly until two to three feet of formed plastically deformable material in honeycomb shape was outside the extruder . all extrusions were conducted vertically . the honeycomb shaped plastically deformable material was carefully supported and cut into 4 - 6 inch ( 10 - 16 cm ) lengths . these short pieces were then placed in 500 ml beakers in an ice chest containing dry ice for between three and four hours . the hard frozen pieces were then carefully wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in a freezer at - 10 ° c . to be transported to an off - site laboratory having induction heating facilities . during transport to the off - site laboratory the honeycombed shaped pieces of plastically deformable material were kept in an ice chest with dry ice . the solidly frozen pieces of material were then placed inside an induction heating coil with a 4 inch ( 10 cm ) inside diameter , an overall length of 5 inches ( 13 cm ), and a total of eight turns . this induction heating coil is represented in fig1 where electric current from source ( 1 ) is conducted through the coils ( 2 ) to induce a current or cause hysteresis loss , and thereby cause heating , in a formed article ( 3 ). temperature measurements were made at five different points of a transverse section of the formed material . these measurements were taken with a k - type thermocouple . movement of the thermocouple along the longitudinal axis of the test pieces did not reveal any gross thermal gradients along that axis . the five points where temperatures were measured were at the center ( c ), at opposite sides ( a and e ) just inside the skin of the formed piece , and mid - way between the center of the piece and the outer edges ( points b and d ). this scheme of temperature measurement is demonstrated in fig2 where a , b , c , d , and e represent the locations of entry of the thermocouple and range ( 4 ) represents the general area where the tip of the thermocouple actually ended up during temperature measurement . generally , measurements were taken serially from left to right in alphabetical order , therefore , small temperature differences between points a and e may be attributable to the heating or cooling which was taking place during the time of measurement . the examples below demonstrate the relatively uniform heating which may be accomplished through the inventive use of induction heating for honeycomb structures formed from plastically deformable material comprising electrically conductive particles . total heating time is in seconds and it should be noted that readings were taken while the induction device was shut off . this means that initial readings were taken , the induction device was turned on for the period of time indicated , the device was then turned off , and temperature readings were taken . it should also be noted that the time periods given indicate cumulative time of application of power through the induction device to the piece being tested . as indicated , the pieces were weighed at each step . since the pieces were capable of being handled for weighing , it was apparent that substantial stiffening had occurred even early in the experiments . in this case , weight loss is probably attributable to water loss through evaporation . it is assumed that full drying did not occur in experiments in which a constant weight was not obtained for the pieces . a frequency of 2 . 5 mhz was applied at 7 . 5 kw for this experiment . the results are shown in table 1 . table 1______________________________________2 . 5 mhz / 7 . 5 kwtotal heating time temperatures ( c . )( seconds ) a b c d e weight ( g ) ______________________________________ 0 27 26 26 25 26 266 30 46 44 42 43 43 262 . 9120 88 90 99 96 76 260 . 3180 83 89 89 88 78 257 . 1240 87 91 92 90 84 253 . 3300 95 95 88 89 87 250 . 1360 97 96 94 94 92 254 . 9420 125 96 94 94 114 236 . 6______________________________________ another experiment was run on a new formed unit on the same induction device . all conditions were the same except that heating intervals were altered . the results are presented in table 2 below . table 2______________________________________2 . 5 mhz / 7 . 5 kwtotal heating time temperatures ( c . )( seconds ) a b c d e weight ( g ) ______________________________________ 0 25 25 25 25 25 273 . 2300 85 92 92 92 90 260 . 7360 82 91 93 91 85 256 . 6420 99 94 94 92 96 253 . 1______________________________________ another extruded honeycomb formed from plastically deformable material comprising electrically conductive particulate matter was tested in an induction coil with a 4 inch ( 10 cm ) inside diameter , which was 4 . 5 inches ( 11 . 5 cm ) in overall length , and had a total of eight turns . this was run on a 100 kw solid state instrument operating at 6 khz . the results of this experiment are presented in table 3 below . table 3______________________________________6 khz / 100 kwtotal heating time temperatures ( c . )( seconds ) a b c d e weight ( g ) ______________________________________ 0 25 25 25 25 25 270 . 4after tune * 35 35 42 42 38 -- 60 64 81 83 80 60 267 . 4240 90 98 98 96 84 260 . 3______________________________________ * the piece underwent some heating while the instrument was being tuned . it should be noted here that relatively even heating did occur in the test piece , as is demonstrated by the above temperature readings , but heating was nowhere near as rapid at this lower frequency , in spite of the more than tenfold increase in power output over the previous two experiments . a new extrudate was tested on a 40 kw generator with the same coil which was used in example 3 . the frequency used in this experiment was 200 khz . the results for this experiment are presented in table 4 below . table 4______________________________________30 kw / 200 khz approximatetotal heating time temperatures ( c . )( seconds ) a b c d e weight ( g ) ______________________________________ 0 26 25 25 25 25 286 . 830 40 41 41 42 39 -- 60 49 57 59 58 52 282 . 7______________________________________ again , it may be noted that even heating is occurring , but it is at a lower rate than was seen in the earlier experiments . the same machine was used for another experiment but frequency was raised to 375 khz . power output was maintained at 30 kw . the results of this experiment are presented in table 5 below . table 5______________________________________375 khz / 30 kwtotal heating time temperatures ( c . )( seconds ) a b c d e weight ( g ) ______________________________________ 0 27 26 26 25 25 269 . 230 91 96 96 94 88 265 . 660 100 102 101 99 92 258 . 575 94 100 99 98 92 253 . 790 96 97 98 97 92 249 . 2______________________________________ this experiment used the same conditions as those which were used in example 5 but the heating intervals were varied . the results of this experiment are presented in table 6 below . table 6______________________________________375 khz / 30 kwtotal heating time temperatures ( c . )( seconds ) a b c d e weight ( g ) ______________________________________ 0 25 25 25 25 25 284 . 260 95 97 99 98 92 273 . 890 100 102 102 101 98 265 . 5120 144 128 119 112 167 257 . 7______________________________________ examples 5 and 6 demonstrate clearly the uniform heating until most of the water is removed from the formed article . at that point the heating rate rapidly increases , particularly in areas where there is likely to be less water concentration as is demonstrated by the two outside temperature readings ( points a and e ) at the 120 second interval in example 6 . a second series of experiments were conducted at another off - site laboratory using only solid state induction heating equipment which operates at generally lower frequencies than is possible with the tube type equipment which was used for the first six examples . for this series of experiments , articles were formed from plastically deformable material comprising electrically conductive particulate matter in a similar manner to the articles that were formed for the first series of six experiments . again , cylindrical samples 5 inches ( 12 . 7 cm ) long with a 3 inch ( 7 . 6 cm ) diameter having 0 . 003 inch ( 0 . 076 mm ) internal walls and 550 cells per square inch ( about 85 per cm 2 ) on a transverse cross - section were produced . according to the method described earlier , these pieces were then frozen and transported to the off - site laboratory specializing in the use of solid state induction heating equipment . the induction device being used for this series of experiments was a coil of eight turns with a total length of 6 inches ( 15 . 25 cm ) and a 31 / 2 inch ( 8 . 9 cm ) inside diameter . again , the times indicated are cumulative heating times , the temperatures were taken in the same manner as the previously described series of six experiments , and weights were measured at the time of each set of temperature measurements . it should be noted , however , that for this series of experiments the weights included ceramic setters weighing 172 . 3 grams , so that actual article weights equal the stated weights minus 172 . 3 grams . this experiment was run at a frequency of 128 khz and a power output of 25 kw . the results of this experiment are presented in table 7 below . table 7______________________________________128 khz / 25 kwtotal heating time temperatures ( c . )( seconds ) a b c d e weight ( g ) ______________________________________ 0 20 19 19 19 19 489 . 6 40 54 54 56 57 51 489 . 3100 79 87 89 87 73 487 . 4160 93 98 97 95 86 483 . 3220 95 98 98 96 89 478 . 0280 98 100 101 98 94 472 . 7340 101 102 100 98 89 466 . 9400 88 100 100 97 91 461 . 7460 119 127 127 140 130 458 . 6______________________________________ uniform heating was noted here but it did not occur at a rapid rate . in an effort to increase the heating rate , the frequency generator was altered by increasing the capacitance of the tank circuit within the generator . the effect of this modification was to increase the applied frequency to something greater than 128 khz but the exact frequency is unknown . the results of this experiment are presented in table 8 below . table 8______________________________________25 kw /& gt ; 128 khztotal heating time temperatures ( c . )( seconds ) a b c d e weight ( g ) ______________________________________ 0 20 19 18 18 19 466 . 8 40 59 60 61 65 67 465 . 8100 91 97 90 94 84 460 . 5160 96 100 100 102 89 452 . 5220 100 102 100 100 98 444 . 2280 113 110 106 110 125 436 . 2______________________________________ as this set of experiments demonstrates , uniform heating of formed articles does occur but it occurs at a much lower rate on the lower frequency solid state equipment than that which occurs when using the tube type equipment . this result appears to occur in spite of the approximately equal power outputs of the two devices . the conclusion drawn here is that while lower frequencies will indeed offer the same uniform heating which may be obtained at higher frequencies , better heating efficiencies compared with power output may be obtained at higher frequencies . another set of experiments were run using sponge iron as one of the components rather than the carbonyl precipitated iron which was used in the first eight experiments . a new batch of plastically deformable material comprising electrically conductive particulate matter was made in a similar manner as described for the material which was made for the first eight experiments but a different composition was created according to the following recipe : ______________________________________material supplier weight______________________________________sponge iron mh300 hoeganaes archer 27 lbs (- 270 mesh ) ( 12 . 27 kg ) iron aluminum shieldalloy 23 lbsfe / al 50 ( 10 . 45 kg ) zinc fisher scientific 0 . 25 lbs ( lot 880435 ) ( 114 g ) oleic acid mallinckrodt 0 . 5 lbs ( reagent grade ) ( 228 g ) zinc stearate witco 0 . 5 lbs ( 228 g ) methyl cellulose dow chemical 4 lbs ( 1 . 82 kg ) cold deionized water -- 7 . 25 lbs ( 3 . 3 kg ) ______________________________________ following the earlier described processing steps , plastically deformable material comprising electrically conductive particulate matter was produced from this recipe and was extruded through a honeycomb type die which is designed to produce articles having 0 . 006 &# 34 ; ( 0 . 15 mm ) thick internal walls and 400 cells per square inch ( about 62 per cm 2 ) on a transverse cross - section . articles were produced in a manner similar to that described earlier and were transported in a similar fashion to an off - site laboratory specializing in the use of induction heating equipment . an induction coil made from rectangular copper tubing was attached to a 25 kw solid state induction heating generator operating at 123 khz . these experiments were run in a fashion similar to those described earlier and again for these two experiments , the weights include ceramic setters weighing 172 . 3 grams . the results of the first such experiment are presented in table 9 below . table 9______________________________________123 khz / 25 kwtotal heating time temperatures ( c . )( seconds ) a b c d e weight ( g )* ______________________________________ 0 18 18 18 96 18 538 . 7 40 95 97 96 96 92 535 . 7100 101 101 100 99 97 518 . 6130 122 102 103 102 114 506 . 5160 160 134 110 103 200 498 . 0______________________________________ * includes ceramic setters weighing 172 . 3 grams another article from the same batch of plastically deformable material comprising electrically conductive particulate matter was tested in the same manner as in example 9 with only the heating interval being varied . the results of this experiment are presented in table 10 below . table 10______________________________________123 khz / 25 kwtotal heating time temperatures ( c . )( seconds ) a b c d e weight ( g )* ______________________________________ 0 25 27 26 29 30 516 . 560 102 101 100 98 95 510 . 390 101 100 99 98 96 501 . 3120 117 102 101 100 101 490 . 3______________________________________ * includes ceramic setters weighing 172 . 3 grams it may be noted from these last two examples that uniform heating of the article placed in proximity to the induction device does occur but it is at a lower rate than the results noted in the earlier set of experiments . this slow rate may result from any of three possibilities , all of which constitute a change from the earlier set of experiments : ( 1 ) a lower frequency solid state induction heating generator was used , ( 2 ) the articles produced in the experiments for examples 9 and 10 had internal walls approximately twice as thick as the previous sets of experiments , or ( 3 ) the nature of the electrically conductive particulate matter which was a component in the plastically deformable material used for experiments in examples 9 and 10 was altered by the use of sponge iron which replaced the precipitated carbonyl used in the earlier sets of experiments . as described earlier , due to lack of induction equipment at the facilities where forming occurred , individual pieces were cut from the continuous forming line , frozen and transported to an independent laboratory with induction facilities . ideally , at least stiffening should occur immediately as the formed material exits the forming member in a continuous fashion . this will allow for easy cutting to proper length and easy handling for further processing at later stages in the production process . this technique is illustrated schematically in fig3 in which material moves in direction ( f ) through a material delivery means ( 5 ), such as an extruder , and into a forming member ( 6 ) such as an extrusion die , and immediately into an induction heating means ( 7 ), such as a coil . alternatively , if it were somehow advantageous , it would be possible to locate the heating means ( 7 ) downstream some distance along direction ( f ) from its shown location to allow cutting prior to stiffening but still to accomplish stiffening prior to other handling . the flexibility of this invention should also allow development of a forming member and induction heating means combination wherein stiffening of very low viscosity plastically deformable materials may be initiated as formation is occurring . this concept is schematically represented in fig4 in which material travels in direction ( g ) through a delivery means ( 8 ), such as an extruder , and into then through a forming member and induction heating means combination ( 9 ), such as an extrusion die with an integral induction device . in such a system , at least that portion of the forming member in which heating is desired to take place must be made of a material which is not an induction susceptor . such a material might be a glass , ceramic , glass - ceramic or plastic material . such a forming member may be made , for example , by incorporating an induction device within the extrusion die made of non - susceptor material described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 826 , 603 , which is incorporated by reference herein . such a system , with an induction device positioned within the outlet end of a glass or glass - ceramic die would allow formation of a continuous extremely thin - walled article which can be cut and handled very close to the exit of the forming member and induction means combination since will have been at least stiffened during formation . with the inherent flexibility of this invention , it will be possible to place induction devices downstream from the operation which at least stiffens the article to accomplish complete drying , curing , burnout , sintering , or any combination of these options . | 7 |
in order to improve gps satellite reception , in one embodiment , the gps antenna is moved from the base of the acu as shown in fig1 to being attached to the radome itself as shown in fig2 . fig2 presents a three - dimensional perspective view of patch antenna 4 connected to radome 8 . the radome is preferably fabricated using a method of thermoforming . thermoforming is a manufacturing process which transforms a thin thermoplastic sheet or film into a formed component . in one method of thermoforming , a sheet or film is heated between infrared heaters to its forming temperature and then is stretched over a temperature - controlled , single - surface metal mold . the sheet or film is held against the mold until it cools . with reference still to fig2 , gps patch antenna 4 lies within thermoformed antenna cup 16 which is adhered to radome 8 by adhesive ring 20 . circular shaped ground plane 17 is adhered to cup 16 by a second adhesive ring ( not shown ). a soldered connection 14 of predetermined length joins ground plane 17 to patch antenna 4 . the length of connection 14 has bearing on the gain associated with antenna 4 . gps coaxial antenna cable 22 is connected to ground plane 17 and is adhered to and along a wall of radome 8 enclosing , among other things , patch antenna 4 and rotating messaging antenna 10 . cable 22 is connected at another end to circuitry 21 within the transceiver formed by acu 2 . in one aspect , radome 8 is preferably constructed from a thin polycarbonate . however , the thin - walled thermoformed radome is not conducive toward allowing radome attachment of cup 16 and cable 22 by way of rivet , other conventional threaded fasteners ( e . g ., screws ) or other commonly available measures since the thermoplastic can easily crack in connection with such measures , thus creating a moisture ingress path from the region of penetration . this is particularly deleterious to acu 2 since base 6 and radome 8 , in one aspect , are sealed to help isolate acu 2 from the surrounding environment . in experimental tests , ultrasonic weld and solvent bond methods of adhesion of cup 16 to radome 8 proved unacceptable , causing radome 8 to become embrittled . adhesion of cup 16 and cable 22 using 3m ™ vhb ™ 5952 pressure sensitive adhesive tape obviated any need for screws , rivets , and silicones . one challenge in implementing the attachment of cable 22 and cup 16 , containing patch antenna 4 , to radome 8 lie in identifying a robust mount that would be able to withstand years of fatigue in an outdoor mobile application while potentially being exposed to the earth &# 39 ; s most extreme climates . acu 2 is frequently deployed in harsh , inhospitable regions of the world and as such , it must operate reliably when exposed to diverse climatic conditions offered by high humidity scenarios encountered in the amazon river basin , extreme heat typical of desserts in the american southwest and rugged terrain and winter temperatures reaching − 40 ° c . in northern alaska . the method of attachment would be subjected to rapid excursions in temperature , extended exposure to hot and cold extremes , and high impact stress at severe cold temperatures . preferably , the bonding agent used for adherence would have low water absorption properties and demonstrate a high degree of radio frequency ( rf ) transparency over a range of frequencies . after much experimental testing , adhesion to radome 8 was obtained using a double - sided adhesive tape . it was determined that commercially available 3m ™ vhb ™ 5952 tape was best suited to adhere cup 16 , containing patch antenna 4 , and gps antenna cable 22 to radome 8 . 3m ™ vhb ™ 5952 is a very high bond , double - sided acrylic foam tape . as illustrated in fig2 , two strips of tape 24 are applied to adhere cable 22 to the enclosing wall of radome 8 . as shown , cable 22 is captured under a strap fastened to radome 8 with two ends of tape 24 . tape 24 is deformable so as to securely affix cable 22 to the surface of radome 8 through the foam surface . adhesive ring 20 is a double - sided adhesive used to secure cup 16 on one side and radome 8 on the other , made from 3m ™ vhb ™ 5952 tape in a preferred embodiment . a smaller adhesive ring ( not shown ) is likewise a double - sided adhesive ring made from 3m ™ vhb ™ 5952 tape which secures ground plane 17 to cup 16 . the high performance tape holding the gps antenna cup to the radome was required to demonstrate durability under a number of stringent tests . a primary goal of this testing was to observe the stress responses of the tape in order to maintain its suitability and long - term reliability in the radome mounted gps application . thermal shock tests were performed to determine the ability of the high performance tape to withstand sudden changes in temperature . specifically , vibration tests were conducted to demonstrate the capacity of the tape to withstand the dynamic stress typically encountered in a usage environment . vibration tests over hot and cold temperatures were also performed to demonstrate the ability of the tape to survive under conditions most likely to cause tensile or shear failures . heavy impact tests were done to meet limited market requirements contemplated for customers concerned with vandalism . further , aggressive side impact tests were performed to assure that a low - hanging tree branch striking the side of the radome would not result in adhesion failure . the present embodiments are further illustrated by the following examples demonstrating the testing undergone by the foregoing described adhesive tape in which the tape held its bond during such testing . it was determined that an improved bond could be obtained using an adhesion promoter during adhesion of cup 16 and cable 22 to radome 8 . further , thermal shock testing demonstrated improved results by increasing the surface area of the affixed tape . fifteen thermal shock cycles in an air - to - air thermal shock chamber (− 50 ° c . to + 85 ° c .) followed by 9 hr 5 . 2 ( root mean squared ) rms random vibe ( 10 - 1000 hz ) and a quantity of 54 , 20 g amplitude bump shocks ( half sine , 11 ms ). cold random vibration ( 1 hr . 5 . 2 grms , 10 - 1000 hz ) performed in the vertical axis while acus were held at 50 ° c . ( worst case condition due to reduced tensile strength of the tape at cold temperature ). hot vibration ( 1 hr , 5 . 2 grms , 10 - 1000 hz ) performed in the horizontal axis while acus were held at + 85 ° c . ( worst case condition due to reduced tape shear strength at high temperature ). − 40 ° c . to + 70 ° c . and 90 % relative humidity ( rh ), 8 hr cycle , 17 day duration . − 50 ° c . to + 85 ° c ., 8 hr cycle , 17 day duration . three strikes from a 20 oz mass hitting the radome at an impact speed of 28 mph . three radome strikes from a 20 oz mass dropped 12 in . ( free - fall ) while acu is cold (− 50 °). one strike from a spring - loaded bar hitting the radome at an impact speed of 25 mph . one strike from a spring - loaded bar hitting the radome at an impact speed of 25 mp while the acu is cold ( 50 ° c .). although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments , it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention . for example , messaging antenna 10 of fig2 can represent a phased array antenna . further , although , described herein with reference to a transceiver , the foregoing embodiments can be modified to operate with solely a receiver or solely a transmitter . it is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings . fig1 shows a first embodiment of a matrix driver according to the present invention . the illustrated matrix driver includes a diode matrix composed of light emitting diodes d , having m rows and n columns . that is , ( m × n ) light emitting diodes are arranged in the form of a matrix , indicated by d 11 - d 1n , d 21 - d 2n , . . . , d m1 - mn . signals for driving and controlling these light emitting diodes d are supplied through a cpu 10 . specifically , a plurality of row control signals sl 1 - sl p are provided form row signal output terminals ol 1 - ol p of the cpu 10 , and a plurality of column control signals sr 1 - sr q are provided from column signal output terminals or 1 - or q of the cpu 10 . these row control signals sl 1 - sl p are supplied to corresponding signal input terminals i 1 - i p of a row address decoder 20 . the column control signals sr 1 - sr q are supplied to corresponding signal input terminals i 1 - i q of a column address decoder 30 . signal output terminals o 1 - o m of the row address decoder 20 are connected through pnp transistors t 1 - t m to the corresponding bases of m pnp transistors ql 1 - ql m for driving the row side of the diode matrix and provide row signals sl 1 - sl m serving as scanning signals . the bases of the transistors t 1 - t m are connected in common and grounded . similarly , signal output terminals o 1 - o n of the column address decoder 30 are connected through pnp transistors t &# 39 ; 1 - t &# 39 ; n to the corresponding bases of n npn transistors qr 1 - qr n for driving the column side of the diode matrix and provide column signals sr 1 - sr n . the bases of the transistors t &# 39 ; 1 - t &# 39 ; n are connected in common with a q terminal of a re - triggerable monostable multivibrator 40 . as this re - triggerable monostable multivibrator 40 an integrated circuit &# 34 ; hd74ls123 &# 34 ; is used in the embodiment which has a and b inputs and a clear input . the a input is fixed to &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; and the b input is fixed to &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;, and the clear input is connected to a control terminal con of the cpu 10 . with the a and b inputs of the retriggerable monostable multivibrator 40 being fixed as described above , an &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; pulse signal is provided from the q terminal when an &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; pulse signal is applied to the clear input , whereas the level of the q terminal transfers to &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; when an &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; pulse signal is applied to the clear input . on the other hand , if the clear input is held at &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;, the q terminal is kept in the &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; state . the emitters of the transistors ql 1 - ql m are connected in common with a driving voltage source + vcc , and the collector of each transistor is connected in common with the anodes of the light emitting diodes of the corresponding row . the emitters of the transistors qr 1 - qr n are connected in common and grounded , and the collector of each transistor is connected through a resistor , r 1 - r n , in common to the cathodes of the light emitting diodes of the corresponding column . the operation of the matrix driver of the foregoing configuration according to the present invention will now be described . the cpu 10 receives a pulse signal of a certain period from a pulse oscillator not shown and provides the row control signals sl 1 - sl p and the column control signals sr 1 - sr q so that in response to these control signals the individual light emitting diodes located at desired rowcolumn positions within the diode matrix are successively caused to emit light one at a time . these control signals sl 1 - sl p and sr 1 - sr q are of the square waveform type . consider now the case of causing one diode d 22 , for example , to emit light . this diode d 22 is positioned at the spot of 2nd row and 2nd column , so the row address must be &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; and the column address must be &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;. during the operation , the cpu 10 provides the row control signal sl 2 and the column control signal sr 2 . consequently , the signal input terminals i p , . . . , i 2 , i 1 of the row address decoder 20 are supplied with address signals &# 34 ; o , . . . , 1 , o &# 34 ;; thus , the row address decoder 20 decodes these address signals as &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; and provides the row signal sl 2 serving as the scanning signal from the signal output terminal o 2 . similarly , since the signal input terminals i q , . . . , i 2 , i 1 of the column address decoder 30 are supplied with address signals &# 34 ; o , . . . , 1 , o &# 34 ;, the column address decoder 30 decodes these address signals as &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; 0 and provides the column signal sr 2 serving as the scanning signal from the signal output terminal o 2 . however , during the non - scanning interval , the signal output terminals o 1 - o m of the row address decoder 20 are held at &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;, and the foregoing row signal sl 2 of 2nd row is now given in the form of an &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; signal . therefore , the collector of the transistor t 2 is changed to &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; and it is turned on ; thus , the base voltage of the driving transistor ql 2 of 2nd row is changed to &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;. similarly , during the non - scanning interval , the signal output terminals o 1 - o n of the column address decoder 30 are held at &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;, and the foregoing column signal sr 2 of 2nd column is now given in the form of an &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; signal . on the other hand , the cpu 10 provides a pulse signal p of &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; level from its control terminal con each time it provides the column signal , and this pulse signal p is supplied to the clear input of the re - triggerable monostable multivibrator 40 ; thus , the q terminal is changed to &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;. as a result , the bases of the transistors t &# 39 ; 1 - t &# 39 ; n are changed to &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;. consequently , the emitter of the transistor t &# 39 ; 2 is changed to &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; owing to the column signal sr 2 and it is turned on , then the base voltage of the driving transistor qr 2 of 2nd column is changed to &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;. accordingly , there is formed a closed circuit passing through the positive voltage source + vcc , the emitter - collector of the tansistor ql 2 , the diode d 22 , the resistor r 2 , the collector - emitter of the transistor qr 2 , and the ground , so that only one light emitting diode d 22 is energized to emit light . the foregoing relates to the control operation for causing the diode d 22 to emit light . in the same way as the above , other diodes of the matrix can be controlled individually so as to emit light by the row control signals sl 1 - sl p and the column control signals sr 1 - sr q provided for the cpu 10 . during the operation , if either the pulse oscillator or the cpu 10 has become abnormal , the row signal sl 2 and the column signal sr 2 , for example , are fixed to either &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;. in such a case , the transistor ql 2 of 2nd row and the transistor qr 2 of 2nd column tend to be held in the conducting state to thereby cause the diode d 22 to emit light continuously . in this embodiment , however , the clear input of the re - triggerable monostable multivibrator 40 is connected with the control terminal con of the cpu 10 . therefore , when either the pulse oscillator or the cpu 10 has become abnormal , the control terminal con of the cpu 10 is fixed to either &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;, as a result , the clear input of the re - triggerable monostable multivibrator 40 is held at &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; and its q terminal is maintained in the &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; state . consequently , the transistors t &# 39 ; 1 - t &# 39 ; n become the non - conducting state and all the driving transistors qr 1 - qr n become the non - conducting state too . accordingly , the other light emitting diodes d , as well as the light emitting diode d 22 , cannot be energized and are prevented from becoming destroyed . fig2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , a counter 1 and a counter 2 of the cpu 10 count a pulse signal given from the pulse oscillator not shown and provided individually the row control signals sl 1 - sl p and the column control signals sr 1 - sr q each time of counting . a counter 3 of the cpu 10 provides a negative pulse signals p &# 39 ; each time a certain number of clock pulses are supplied from a clock circuit 10a . this negative pulse signal p &# 39 ; is applied through a condenser ct and a resistor rt to the bases of the transistors t &# 39 ; 1 - t &# 39 ; n . the time constant of these condenser ct and resistor rt is set equal to or larger than the period of the pulse signal p &# 39 ;. the bases of the transistors t &# 39 ; 1 - t &# 39 ; n are applied through the resistor rt with the source voltage + vcc . for reference , the clock circuit 10a is used also as a means for synchronizing the respective counters . normally , in this embodiment , each time the row signals sl 1 - sl n and the column signals sr 1 - sr n are provided from the row address decoder 20 and the column address decoder 30 , the pulse signal p &# 39 ; is provided from the counter 3 of the cpu 10 , and this pulse signal p &# 39 ; turns on the transistors t &# 39 ; 1 - t &# 39 ; n ; thus , the light emitting diodes d are scanned successively to emit light . during the operation , if either the pulse oscillator or the cpu 10 has become abnormal , the counter 3 of the cpu 10 is fixed to &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; and the source voltage + vcc is continuously applied through the resistor rt to the bases of the transistors t &# 39 ; 1 - t &# 39 ; n . consequently , the transistors t &# 39 ; 1 - t &# 39 ; n are made non - conductive , and thus , energization of all the light emitting diodes d is terminated in a similar manner to the foregoing . fig3 shows a third embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , there are interposed reset - equipped one - shot multivibrators 50 between the signal output terminals o 1 - o m of the row address decoder 20 and the driving pnp transistors ql 1 - ql m . further , reset - equipped one - shot multivibrators 50 &# 39 ; are interposed between the signal output terminals o 1 - o n of the column address decoder 30 and the driving npn transistors qr 1 - qr n . the multivibrator 50 has , as shown in fig4 a reset input to be connected with each signal output terminal of the row address decoder 20 , and a q terminal to be connected with the base of each pnp transistor , ql 1 - ql m . the time constant of a condenser ct &# 39 ; and a resistor rt &# 39 ; is set so that a negative pulse is provided from the q terminal whose pulse duration is equal to or larger than that of the row signal . this reset - equipped multivibrator 50 provides a negative pulse from its q terminal each time a negative pulse is applied to the reset input . accordingly , when some row signal , for example , the row signal sl 2 , of &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; level is provided from the row address decoder 20 , a negative pulse is provided from the q terminal of the corresponding resetequipped multivibrator 50 and the pnp transistor ql 2 is turned on . similarly , the other reset - equipped multivibrator 50 &# 39 ; has a reset input to be connected with each signal output terminal of the column address decoder 30 and a q terminal to be connected with the base of each npn transistor , qr 1 - qr n , whose time constant on the output side is set in a similar manner to the above . this reset - equipped multivibrator 50 &# 39 ; provides a positive pulse from its q terminal each time a positive pulse is applied to the reset input . accordingly , if , for example , the column signal sr 2 of &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; level is provided form the column address decoder 30 , a positive pulse is provided from the q terminal of the corresponding reset - equipped multivibrator 50 &# 39 ; and the npn transistor qr 2 is turned on . as a result , the light emitting diode d 22 is driven to emit light . if either the pulse oscillator or the cpu 10 has become abnormal , the row signals sl 1 - sl m and the column signal sr 1 - sr n come to a standstill ; thus , all the q terminals of the reset - equipped multivibrators 50 are held at &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; level , whereas all the q terminals of the reset - equipped multivibrators 50 &# 39 ; are held at &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; level . accordingly , the driving transistors ql 1 - ql m and qr 1 - qr n are maintained in the non - conducting state , and energization of all the diodes d is terminated . for reference , in the embodiment shown in fig3 the same effect can be attained by the use only of either group of reset - equipped multivibrators 50 or 50 &# 39 ;. fig5 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention . in this drawing , the diode matrix comprises m rows and n columns and includes ( m × n - 1 ) light emitting diodes . specifically , these light emitting diodes distributed are indicated by d 11 - d 1n , d 21 - d 2n , d 31 - d 3n , . . . , d ml - d m ( n - 1 ), and the position of d mn has no light emitting diode . signals for driving and controlling these light emitting diodes d are supplied through the cpu 10 . specifically , a plurality of row control signals sl 1 - sl p are provided from the row signal output terminals ol 1 - ol p , and another plurality of column control signals sr 1 - sr q are provided from the column signal output terminals or 1 - or q . these row control signals sl 1 - sl p are supplied through a plurality of condensers cl 1 - cl p to the signal input terminals i 1 - i p of the row address decoder 20 , and the column control signals sr 1 - sr g are supplied through a plurality of condensers cr 1 - cr g to the signal input terminals i 1 - i q of the column address decoder 30 . the input terminals i 1 - i p of the row address decoder 20 are grounded through resistors rl 1 - rl p , and the input terminals i 1 - i q of the column address decoder 30 are grounded through resistors rr 1 - rr q . the signal output terminals o 1 - o m of the row address decoder 20 are connected to the bases of m pnp transistors ql 1 - ql m for driving the row side of the diode matrix , thus supply the row signals sl 1 - sl m thereto . similarly , the signal output terminals o 1 - o n of the column address decoder 30 are connected to the bases of n npn transistors qr 1 - qr n for driving the column side of the diode matrix , thus supply the column signals sr 1 - sr n thereto . the emitters of the transistors ql 1 - ql m are connected in common with the driving voltage source + vcc , and each collector is connected in common with the anodes of light emitting diodes of the corresponding row . similarly , the emitters of the transistors qr 1 - qr n are grounded in common , and each collector is connected through a resistor , r 1 - r n , to the cathodes of light emitting diodes of the corresponding column in common . the row address decoder 20 operates in such a manner that when a given row control signal is applied as the address signal it provides the row signals sl m from the signal output terminal o m , and if no address signal is applied it also provides the row signal sl m from the signal output terminal o n . similarly , the column address decoder 30 operates in such a manner that when a given column control signal is applied as the address signal it provides the column signal sr n from the signal output terminal o n , and if no address signal is applied it also provides the column signal sr n from the signal output terminal o n . the cpu 10 receives a pulse signal of a certain period from the pulse oscillator not shown and provides the row control signals sl 1 - sl p and the column control signals sr 1 - sr g so that in response to these control signals the individual light emitting diodes located at desired row - column positions within the diode matrix are successively caused to emit light one at a time . these control signals sl 1 - sl p and sr 1 - sr g are of the square waveform type . consider now the case of causing one diode d 22 , for example , to emit light . this diode d 22 is positioned at the spot of 2nd row and 2nd column , so the row address must be &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; and the column address must be &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;. during the operation , the cpu 10 provides the row control signal sl 2 and the column signal sr 2 . consequently , the signal input terminals i p , . . . , i 2 , i 1 of the row address decoder 20 are supplied with address signals &# 34 ; o , . . . , 1 , o &# 34 ;; thus , the row address decoder 20 decodes these address signals as &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; and provides the row signal sl 2 from the signal output terminal o 2 . similarly , since the signal input terminals i q , . . . , i 2 , i 1 of the column address decoder 30 are supplied with address signals &# 34 ; o , . . . , 1 , o &# 34 ;, the column address decoder 30 decodes these address signals as &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; and provides the column signal sr 2 from the signal output terminal o 2 . however , during the non - scanning interval , the signal output terminals o 1 - o m of the row address decoder 20 are held at &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;, and the foregoing row signal sl 2 of 2nd row is now given in the form of an &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; signal . therefore , the base voltage of the driving transistor ql 2 of 2nd row is changed to &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;. similarly , during the non - scanning interval , the signal output terminals o 1 - o n of the column address decoder 30 are held at &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;, and the foregoing column signal sr 2 of 2nd column is now given in the form of an &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; signal . therefore , the base voltage of the driving transistor qr 2 of 2nd column is changed to &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;. accordingly , there is formed a closed circuit passing through the positive voltage source + vcc , the emittercollector collector of the transistor ql 2 , the diode d 22 , the resistor r 2 , the collector - emitter of the transistor qr 2 , and the ground , so that the two transistors ql 2 and qr 2 are turned on and only the diode d 22 is energized to emit light . the foregoing relates to the control operation for causing the diode d 22 to emit light . in the same way as the above , other diodes of the matrix can be controlled individually so as to emit light by the row control signals sl 1 - sl p and the column control signals sr 1 - sr q provided from the cpu 10 . during the operation , if either the pulse oscillator or the cpu 10 has become abnormal , the row signal sl 2 and the column signal sr 2 , for example , are fixed to either &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;. in such a case , if the condensers cl 2 and cr 2 were not included , the row address decoder 20 and the column address decoder 30 are held in the foregoing abnormal state . as a result , the transistor ql 2 of 2nd row and the transistor qr 2 of 2nd column are held in the conducting state , so that the diode d 22 emits light continuously . on the contrary , in this embodiment , the row control signals sl 1 - sl p and the column control signals sr 1 - sr q are supplied through the respective condensers to the decoders 20 and 30 , respectively . therefore , in the foregoing abnormal state , the row signal sl 2 and the column signal sr 2 are prevented from reaching the subsequent stages by both condensers cl 2 and cr 2 . specifically , two voltages to be applied to the individual signal input terminals i 2 of the two decoders 20 and 30 are varied by the time constant of the resistor rl 2 and the condenser cl 2 and the time constant of the resistor rr 2 and the condenser cr 2 . or , in accordance with these time constants the row control signal rl 2 and the column control signal rr 2 are changed smoothly from &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;. consequently , any part of the address signal does not become supplied to the row address decoder 20 and the column address decoder 30 . as a result , the row signal sl m is provided from the signal output terminal o m of the row address decoder 20 and the column signal sr n is provided from the signal output terminal o n of the column address decoder 30 , and the driving transistors ql m and qr n are turned on . accordingly , at the abnormal time , the position of d mn within the diode matrix is surely scanned and since this position has no light emitting diode arranged there , destruction of any light emitting diode can surely be prevented . although the row control signals sl 1 - sl p and the column control signals sr 1 - sr q are supplied through the capacitive elements to either the address decoder 20 or 30 , these elements may be replaced with monostable multivibrators . in the latter case , in response to the rising of each control signal each pulse signal of a certain duration is applied to the input terminal , i 1 - i p , i 1 - i q , of the decoder , 20 , 30 . therefore , even if some control signal maintains its outputting state , no influence results after generation of one pulse ; thus , it is possible to scan successively the d mn position having no light emitting diode , similarly to the other positions . in this embodiment , it is also possible to define external row - column positions not included in the diode matrix . if so modified , when the row and column control signals are prevented from changing , thereby resulting in the abnormal state , these external row - column positions are designated by the two decoders 20 and 30 . according to the present invention , since the driving means for causing the light emitting diodes to emit light are deactivated when the scanning signals come to a standstill , the continued emission action of the light emitting diodes that would otherwise be caused owing to , for example , a trouble of the device can surely be prevented . thus , there can be provided the matrix driver capable of causing the light emitting diodes to emit light stably over a long time . further , since the position where no light emitting diode exists is automatically designated when the signals for controlling the row and column have become abnormal , a peculiar light emitting diode can be prevented from emitting light continuously . thus , there can be provided the matrix driver which does not destroy any diodes and shorten the lifetime . | 6 |
u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 766 , 801 , filed feb . 14 , 2013 , which is assigned to the assignee of the present patent application and whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference , describes depth engines that generate 3d mapping data by measuring the time of flight of a scanning beam . a light transmitter , such as a laser , directs short pulses of light toward a scanning mirror , which scans the light beam over a scene of interest . a receiver , such as a sensitive , high - speed photodiode ( for example , an avalanche photodiode ) receives light returned from the scene via the same scanning mirror . processing circuitry measures the time delay between the transmitted and received light pulses at each point in the scan . this delay is indicative of the distance traveled by the light beam , and hence of the depth of the object at the point . the processing circuitry uses the depth data thus extracted in producing a 3d map of the scene . for compactness , low cost , and low power consumption , the scanning mirror in this sort of scanning system may be produced using mems technology ( possibly by means of the sorts of techniques that are described in the above - mentioned u . s . pat . no . 7 , 952 , 781 ). to enhance the sensitivity of the system , it is advantageous that the mirror be as large as possible ( typically with an active area in the range of 5 - 25 mm 2 ). at the same time , for 3d mapping , as well as other scanning applications , it is desirable that the mirror scan mechanically about at least one axis over large angles ( typically ± 10 - 25 °) at high frequency ( typically 2 - 10 khz ). ( the scan range about the second scan axis may be even larger , but the scan frequency is typically lower .) the need for high scan frequency and range conflicts with the desire to increase mirror size , and it may be infeasible to make a single scanning mirror of the desired size , range , and frequency capabilities given the limitations of the material ( such as a silicon wafer ) from which the scanner is made . embodiments of the present invention that are described herein seek to overcome these design constraints by using an array of multiple , adjacent mirrors . the mirrors scan in mutual synchronization , and thus behave optically as though they were a single mirror , of dimensions equal to the size of the entire array . a weak mechanical link between the mirrors in the array is used to couple the oscillations of the mirrors and thus maintain the synchronization between them . in the embodiments that are illustrated in the figures , the synchronized mirror array comprises two micromirrors , which operate in phase and are mounted on a gimbaled base for two - axis scanning . ( the term “ micromirror ” is used herein simply to refer to very small mirrors , which are typically no more than a few millimeters across , although it may be possible to apply the principles of the present invention to larger mirrors .) alternatively , such mirror arrays may comprise a larger number of mirrors , and may be deployed with or without gimbaling . further alternatively or additionally , other forms of synchronization , such as anti - phased rotation of the mirrors in the array , can be implemented by appropriate design of the mirrors and the mechanical link between them . fig1 schematically illustrates elements of an optical scanning head 40 comprising a gimbaled micromirror array 100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . with the exception of the micromirror array itself , optical scanning head 40 is similar to the optical scanning head that is described in the above - mentioned u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 766 , 801 . a transmitter 44 emits pulses of light toward a polarizing beamsplitter 60 . typically , only a small area of the beamsplitter , directly in the light path of transmitter 44 , is coated for reflection , while the remainder of the beamsplitter is fully transparent in the transmitted wavelength range ( or even anti - reflection coated for it ) to permit returned light to pass through to a receiver 48 . the light from transmitter 44 reflects off beamsplitter 60 and then a folding mirror 62 toward micromirror array 100 . a mems scanner 64 scans the micromirror array in x - and y - directions with the desired scan frequency and amplitude . details of the micromirror array and scanner are shown in the figures that follow . light pulses returned from the scene strike micromirror array 100 , which reflects the light via folding mirror 62 through beamsplitter 60 . to limit the amount of unwanted ambient light that reaches receiver 48 , a bandpass filter ( not shown ) may be incorporated in the receiver path , possibly on the same substrate as beamsplitter 60 . receiver 48 senses the returned light pulses and generates corresponding electrical pulses . a controller 30 drives transmitter 44 and scanner 64 and analyzes the time delay between the transmitted pulses and the corresponding pulses from receiver 48 in order to measure the time of flight of each pulse . based on this time of flight , the controller computes the depth coordinate of each point in the scene that is scanned by scanning head 40 and thus generates a depth map of the scene . to enhance sensitivity of detection , the overall area of beamsplitter 60 and the aperture of receiver 48 are considerably larger than the area of the transmitted beam . it is also desirable that the micromirrors in micromirror array 100 be as large as possible , within the inertial constraints imposed by the scanner . for example , the area of each micromirror may be about 12 . 5 mm 2 , and the overall area of the micromirror array may be about 25 mm 2 . the specific mechanical and optical designs of the optical head shown in fig1 are described here by way of example , and alternative designs implementing similar principles are considered to be within the scope of the present invention . fig2 is a schematic , pictorial illustration of mems scanner 64 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . this scanner is produced and operates on principles similar to those described in the above - mentioned u . s . pat . no . 7 , 952 , 781 , but enables two - dimensional scanning of micromirror array 100 . the micromirror array is produced by suitably etching a semiconductor substrate 68 to separate micromirrors 102 in the array from a support 72 ( also referred to as a gimbal ), and to separate the support from the remaining substrate 68 . after etching , micromirrors 102 ( to which a suitable reflective coating is applied ) are able to rotate in the y - direction relative to support 72 on spindles 106 , while support 72 rotates in the x - direction relative to substrate 68 on spindles 74 , which are coupled to wings 104 of support 72 . micromirrors 102 and support 72 are mounted on a pair of rotors 76 , which typically comprise permanent magnets . ( only one of the rotors is visible in this figure .) rotors 76 are suspended in respective air gaps of magnetic cores 78 . cores 78 are wound with respective coils 80 of conductive wire , thus creating an electromagnetic stator assembly . although a single coil per core is shown in fig2 for the sake of simplicity , two or more coils may alternatively be wound on each core ; coils may be wound at different places on the cores ; and different core shapes may also be used . alternative core and coil designs are shown , for example , in u . s . provisional patent application 61 / 675 , 828 , filed jul . 26 , 2012 , which is incorporated herein by reference . driving an electrical current through coils 80 generates a magnetic field in the air gaps , which interacts with the magnetization of rotors 76 so as to cause the rotors to rotate or otherwise move within the air gaps . specifically , coils 80 are driven with high - frequency differential currents so as to cause micromirror 46 to rotate resonantly back and forth about spindles 70 at high frequency ( typically in the range of 2 - 10 khz , as noted above ). this resonant rotation generates the high - speed y - direction raster scan of the output beam from engine 22 . at the same time , coils 80 are driven together at lower frequency to drive the x - direction scan by rotation of support 72 about spindles 74 through the desired scan range . alternatively , other stator configurations and drive schemes may be used for these purposes , as described in the above - mentioned u . s . provisional patent application 61 / 675 , 828 , for example . the x - and y - rotations together generate the overall raster scan pattern of micromirror 46 . assembly of optical head 40 from discrete optical and mechanical components , as shown in fig1 , requires precise alignment and can be costly . in alternative embodiments , all parts requiring precise placement and alignment ( such as the light transmitter , receiver , and associated optics ) may be combined in a single integrated package on a silicon optical bench ( siob ). this approach can save costs and may make the depth engine easier to handle . various alternative designs of these sorts are shown in the above - mentioned u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 766 , 801 , and may be adapted , as well , for use with a micromirror array . fig3 is a schematic rear view of gimbaled micromirror array 100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . array 100 as pictured in fig3 differs in some details of shape and orientation from the micromirror array that is show in fig1 and 2 , but its elements and principles of operation are the same . as noted earlier , array 100 comprises two parallel micromirrors 102 , which are connected to support 72 by respective spindles 106 . magnetic rotors 76 are attached to wings 104 of support 72 , which are coupled to substrate 68 by spindles 74 , perpendicular to spindles 106 . in operation , rotors 76 are suspended within the air gaps of cores 78 , as shown in fig2 and explained above . mirrors 102 are linked mechanically to one another by flexible coupling members in the form of belts 108 , as explained below . fig4 is an enlarged , detail view of micromirrors 102 , showing details of one of belts 108 . this belt is produced in the same photolithographic process in which the mirrors and their spindles are etched apart from substrate 68 . belt 108 thus comprises a thin strip of silicon , typically about 10 - 100 μm wide , which is separated by grooves etched through the substrate from support 72 on one side and from micromirrors 102 on the other . the thickness of the belt ( i . e ., the dimension perpendicular to the wafer surface ) may be the full thickness of the wafer . alternatively , belt 108 may be thinned to alter the belt connection stiffness and to enable bending and stretching modes of the belt in addition to the torsion mode that is illustrated in fig5 . each end of the belt is connected to a respective one of the micromirrors , and the belt is anchored to support 72 at a central pivot point 110 . fig5 is a schematic pictorial view of array 100 in operation , powered by a mems scanner as shown above . the mems scanner drives both micromirrors 102 to rotate simultaneously about the x - axis ( as defined in fig2 ). the elastic force exerted by belts 108 couples the motion of the two micromirrors together , so that they rotate in perfect phase synchronization and have the same angular orientation during oscillation . even if the actual force exerted by the belts is small , it is sufficient to maintain mechanical phase locking and thus synchronize the two adjacent oscillators ( i . e ., the micromirrors ), which have approximately the same resonant frequency . thus , array 100 behaves optically as though it were a single oscillating mirror , with dimensions equal to the combined dimensions of both micromirrors 102 together . physically speaking , spindles 106 act as torsion springs , and belt 108 adds a third spring to the system , coupling together the masses of micromirrors 102 . when the masses are coupled via this third spring , two modes of motion are possible : one in which , the masses move in the same direction , and the other in which the masses move in opposite directions . ( each mode has its own frequency , which is shared by both mirrors , as opposed to the individual frequencies of the two mirrors in the absence of a coupling member .) the stiffness of the third spring can be adjusted , even to the point at which belt 108 is the primary spring , exerting greater force than pivots 106 . fig6 is a schematic diagram illustrating principles of operation of a gimbaled micromirror array 200 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . this figure illustrates how the principles described above may be extended to arrays of three micromirrors 202 , 204 , 206 ( labeled m 1 , m 2 and m 3 ), or more . mirrors m 1 , m 2 and m 3 are mounted on pivots 208 ( such as the sort of spindles described above ), represented as springs k 3 , k 4 , k 5 , while the mirrors are linked by belts 210 represented as springs k 1 and k 2 . this arrangement can be used to synchronize the rotation of the three mirrors in the same manner as in the two - mirror embodiments described above . the three ( or more ) mirrors may likewise be mounted together on a gimbaled support . regardless of whether the array includes two , three , or more mirrors , the springs may be implemented either as the sort of pivots and belts that are shown in the preceding figures or using other sorts of flexible , elastic elements , which may be fabricated by any suitable technique that is known in the art . although the operation of micromirror array 100 is described above primarily in the context of optical head and 3d mapping , the principles of array 100 may similarly be applied in optical scanners of other types , for substantially any application requiring a compact , high - frequency resonant scanner . such scanners may be driven magnetically , as in the embodiments described above , or using any other suitable sort of drive mechanism that is known in the art , including various types of magnetic and electrostatic drives , for example . furthermore , as noted earlier , the mirrors may be coupled and driven so that while rotating at the same frequency , the mirrors are oriented at different angles during their respective scans . this latter mode of operation can be useful in synchronized multi - beam scanning systems . 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 . | 6 |
in the figures there is shown a paperboard blank 10 for producing a basket - type carton 11 for carrying a number of articles as a multipack . in the arrangement shown , the articles are bottles 12 having bottle closures 13 and the carton 11 is designed to carry a total of six bottles 12 in two rows of three . it will be evident on reading the specification , however , that other articles could be carried and there could be more than three articles in each row . the blank 10 provides two main handle panels 14 which are connected along a fold line a - a . the main handle panels 14 each have a handle aperture 15 complete with a tuck flap 16 , which is known for providing added comfort when the loaded carton 11 is being carried . each main handle panel 14 is hingedly connected at each lengthwise end to an interconnecting web 17 . reinforcing panels 18 which have handle reinforcing portions 19 and web reinforcing sections 20 are hingedly connected to the respective main handle panels 14 and to the interconnecting webs 17 along fold lines b - b and c - c . each main handle panel 14 also has an extension 21 which terminates in a hook formation 22 at one end . each interconnecting web 17 is hingedly connected remote from the handle panel 14 to a side wall 23 which in turn is hingedly connected at its lower edge 24 to a main base panel 25 at one side and a secondary base panel 25 in the form of a glue panel at the other side . alternatively , interlocking formations could be employed to secure the base , as is known in the industry . each side wall 23 has an interconnecting web 17 at each lengthwise end . the main base panel 25 has a lengthwise fold 41 which is centrally disposed between the side walls 23 when the carton is assembled . at each end edge 26 of each side wall 23 , a partial end wall 27 , 28 is hingedly connected . hingedly connected along folds 29 to each partial end wall 27 , 28 is a partial center wall 30 , 31 . lateral dividers 32 , 33 are cut from the partial center walls 31 to be hinged about folds 34 , 35 . each lateral divider 32 , 33 has an adhesive tab 36 cut therefrom which tab is hingedly connected to the lateral divider by means of fold 37 . assembly of the carton 11 is as follows . first , the reinforcing panels 18 are folded about folds b - b and c - c and adhesively secured to the inside of the main handle panels 14 and the interconnecting webs 17 . next , the partial center walls 31 are folded through 180 ° about folds 29 so as to lie against the adjacent partial end wall 28 and the side wall 23 . glue is applied to the adhesive tabs 36 of the lateral dividers 32 , 33 to secure them to the respective side walls 23 . the other partial center walls 30 together with their associated partial end walls 27 are then folded through 180 ° about the edges 26 . glue is applied to the upper part of the partial center walls 30 to secure them to the respective partial center walls 31 which is overlapped . the part - assembled carton 11 is then folded about fold a - a and the two reinforced handle panels 14 are adhesively secured to each other , but the extensions 21 are not secured to each other . also adhesively secured together are the parts of the partial walls 30 , 31 around , but not including , the lateral dividers 32 , 33 . the base panels 25 can then be secured relative to each other either before or after bottles have been inserted into the article receiving compartments defined by the partial end walls , the center wall , the side walls and the base panels . each extension 21 remains on the outside of its respective center wall . it will be clear that the assembled carton 11 can in this embodiment be assembled into a flat condition which can be opened up when articles are to be inserted . when the carton 11 is opened up , hook receiving edges or notches 38 become apparent where the lateral dividers 33 hinge out of the plane of the partial center wall 31 . the handle section 14 , 21 is attached to the article receiving compartments only by means of the four reinforced interconnecting webs 17 . the handle section 14 , 21 is , therefore , movable up and down relative to the center wall 30 , 31 of the carton 11 . the pair of extensions 21 which , when assembled , extend downwardly from the main handle panels 14 on both sides of the center wall are dimensioned such that the hook formations 22 can engage in the notches 38 so as to retain the handle section 14 , 21 in a lowered position . the extensions each have at each end an angled cutaway 42 below the hook formation 22 to allow passage of the lateral divider 33 when the pack is being opened up and the handle lowered as shown clearly in fig3 and 4 . the provision of unglued extensions 21 both either side of the central wall gives the pack symmetry and helps to keep the central wall central . generally , with the bottles 12 inserted , the main handle panels 14 do not project above the bottles when the handle section 14 , 21 is in its lowered position . this is ideal for storage and stacking . an end user can , however , grasp the handle by way of the handle apertures 15 and lift the handle . the interengagement of the hook formations 22 in the notches 38 is readily overcome to allow the handle section 14 , 21 to move upwardly such that the handle apertures 15 are above the bottles 12 . optional creases 39 in the interconnecting webs 17 may be provided to facilitate the movement between the lowered and raised positions . the carton 11 illustrated has a four ply handle area 14 with reinforced webs 17 , but the reinforcement may not be necessary depending on the weight to be carried and the strength of the paperboard . also , the carton 11 could be readily modified to carry more or even less bottles than the six illustrated . | 1 |
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings , wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout . as schematically illustrated in fig1 , control units sta and stb are located in two mobile switching centers msc a and msc b respectively , the control units being able to store the user request for a higher - grade service . the request for a service change ( upgrade ) is always stored locally in the control unit which detects that , at its end , e . g . because of radio access network limitations , the change to the higher - grade service 1 is not possible . the control logic is shown in fig2 in the form of a state diagram , taking the example of upgrading from “ speech ” to “ multimedia ”. according to the related art , a user can set up a speech call or a multimedia call ( transition ( 1 ) from “ start ” state to “ speech ”, or transition ( 2 ) from “ start ” to “ multimedia ”). if a multimedia call has been successfully set up and one of the two mscs is subsequently forced to downgrade from multimedia to speech , e . g . because of the deteriorating quality of the radio channel , this is memorized locally by the control logic in that msc ( transition ( 14 ) from “ multimedia ” state to “ speech ”, upgrade if possible ”). the control unit in the msc also remembers that a change to multimedia is requested : a ) if during call setup a multimedia call is requested , but the msc can only set up a speech call in the radio cell in which the mobile user controlled by the msc is located ( transition ( 3 ) from “ start ” state to “ speech , upgrade if possible ”); b ) if a connection for speech is already set up and one of the two users signals that he or she would like to upgrade to multimedia , but the change is not possible locally in the radio cell in which the mobile user controlled by the msc is located ( transition ( 12 ) from “ speech ” state to “ speech , upgrade if possible ”); and c ) if the local radio access network is temporarily unable to assign the desired radio bearer e . g . because of a high traffic load in the cell ( transition ( 13 ) from “ local bearer upgrade initiated ” to “ speech , upgrade if possible ”). in per se known manner the service change is later initially offered locally by msc a to user a ( calling party ) if , in the state “ speech , upgrade if possible ”, a change to multimedia becomes locally possible ( 15 ), e . g . after a handover of user a from a gsm to a umts cell or if the radio access network reports that the traffic load in the cell has reduced so greatly that the desired radio bearer can be assigned . if user a declines , the user request is deleted in the control unit ( 10 ). if user a accepts ( 16 ), the change is signaled to msc b . if the change is accepted at the b - end ( 6 ), the radio access bearer is also switched over locally so that the connection can be used for multimedia ( 7 ). should an error occur here , e . g . because the traffic load in the cell is too high , the network falls back to the old configuration for speech , and memorizes the user request for multimedia ( 13 ). if the service change fails at the b - end for any reason ( 5 ), the user request is deleted in the control unit of msc a . in this case the control unit in msc b knows whether the change to multimedia has been declined by user b ( called party ) or by msc b itself for network - initiated reasons . in the first case , the control unit in msc b remains in the “ speech ” state , or changes thereto if it was previously in another state , e . g . “ speech , upgrade if possible ”. in the second case , if the change has been declined by msc b , the control unit changes to the state “ speech , upgrade if possible ”, i . e . the user request for a service change remains stored in the network . however , the location where it is stored has now changed from msc a to msc b . the system also includes permanent or removable storage , such as magnetic and optical discs , ram , rom , etc . on which the process and data structures of the present invention can be stored and distributed . the processes can also be distributed via , for example , downloading over a network such as the internet . the system can output the results to a display device , printer , readily accessible memory or another computer on a network . a description has been provided with particular reference to an embodiment configurations and situation illustrated in the drawings and explained above , but is likewise possible in a large number of variations of same within the scope of competent practice ; thus , it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the claims which may include the phrase “ at least one of a , b and c ” as an alternative expression that means one or more of a , b and c may be used , contrary to the holding in superguide v . directv , 358 f3d 870 , 69 uspq2d 1865 ( fed . cir . 2004 ). | 7 |
fig1 - 8 illustrate a vehicle end gate ( tail gate ), indicated generally at 10 , and portions thereof , in accordance with the present invention . the end gate 10 has an outer surface 12 that faces in an aft direction of the vehicle ( not shown ) and an inner surface 14 that faces in a forward direction of the vehicle . the inner surface 14 may be , for example , at a rear of and facing into a cargo box ( not shown ) of a pickup truck , when the end gate 10 is in its closed ( vertical ) position . the outer surface 12 includes a handle opening 16 , around which are located three tab slots 18 . the inner surface 14 includes three fastener holes 20 opposite the handle opening 16 . the upper two of the three fastener holes 20 receive a pair of top fasteners 22 , while the lower of the three fastener holes 20 receives a bottom fastener 24 . the fasteners may be , for example , bolts or screws . a latch assembly 26 assembles into a latch handle assembly 28 . the latch handle assembly 28 may be assembled to the end gate 10 by inserting the latch handle assembly 28 into the handle opening 16 , connecting the latch handle assembly 28 to latch rods 32 , and then securing the latch assembly 26 to the end gate 10 by inserting the fasteners 22 , 24 through the fastener holes 20 and screwing them into fastener holes 30 in the latch assembly 26 . the latch rods 32 may engage catches 34 ( only left side shown ) that operatively engage the vehicle to hold the end gate 10 in its closed position . the catches 34 are selectively releasable by the latch handle assembly 28 to allow the end gate 10 to pivot about hinges 36 ( only left side shown ) into an open ( horizontal ) position . a handle bezel 40 includes main body 41 with a handle opening 42 for receiving the handle portion 44 of the latch handle assembly 28 therethrough . the handle bezel 40 can be installed immediately after or during installation of the latch handle assembly 28 , or at a later time . the handle bezel 40 has three integral tabs 46 extending from the main body 41 that are located to align with and slide into the tab slots 18 when the handle bezel 40 is in the correct location and orientation relative to the handle opening 16 . each of the integral tabs 46 may include a retention spring 48 mounted thereon to provide a biasing force to help retain the integral tabs 46 in their respective tab slots 18 . the handle bezel 40 also includes a mount 50 for mounting a key cylinder 52 thereto . the key cylinder 52 engages with the latch handle assembly 28 to lock and unlock the assembly based on which direction a key ( not shown ) is turned in the key cylinder 52 . the key cylinder and its engagement with the latch handle assembly 28 may be conventional , if so desired , and so will not be discussed or shown in more detail herein . in addition , the handle bezel 40 includes a retainer bracket 54 extending from the main body 41 . the retainer bracket 54 is located to align with — and has support flanges 56 that are located to extend partially around — the bottom fastener 24 when the handle bezel 40 is mounted to the end gate 10 . a retainer clip 58 mounts in the retainer bracket 54 . it has mounting flanges 60 that are received in slots 57 of and supported by the support flanges 56 . a pair of bracket retention tabs 62 extend from the retainer clip 58 and engage with the slots 57 to prevent the retainer clip 58 from sliding out of the support flanges 56 . a stiffening flange 64 extends from the retainer clip 58 and is located between the slots 57 . the stiffening flange 64 helps minimize the flexing of the retainer bracket 54 when out of plane forces are applied to the bracket 54 . the retainer clip 58 also includes a fastener opening 66 in a main surface 70 , with fastener retention tabs 68 extending radially inward toward the center of the opening 66 . the fastener retention tabs 68 are angled out of plane from the main surface 70 . the fastener retention tabs 68 are oriented to extend radially inward and aft when the handle bezel 40 is mounted in the end gate 10 , with the fastener retention tabs 68 extending radially inward far enough to engage with threads on the bottom fastener 24 . assembly of the handle bezel 40 to the end gate 10 may include assembling the key cylinder 52 to the handle bezel 40 at the same time as a key cylinder ( not shown ) for a passenger door ( not shown ) is installed in that door so that the key cylinders will unlock with the same key ( not shown ). the handle bezel 40 for the end gate 10 may then be kept with the vehicle until such time as it is desirable to install the handle bezel 40 to the end gate 10 . of course , other sequencing may be employed in the assembly plant instead , if so desired . the handle bezel 40 is assembled to the end gate 10 by aligning each integral tab 46 with its corresponding tab slot 18 and pushing it into position . while pushing it into position , the retention springs 48 on the integral tabs 46 will each engage with its corresponding tab slot 18 , and the retainer clip 58 will slide over the bottom fastener 24 , with the fastener retention tabs 68 engaging the threads of the bottom fastener 24 . the bottom fastener 24 will already have been installed previously while securing the latch assembly 26 to the end gate 10 . the retainer clip 58 on the retainer bracket 54 of the handle bezel 40 , then , allows one to assemble the handle bezel 40 to the end gate 10 without having to lower the end gate 10 , and without having to add — or remove and reinstall — any additional fasteners to secure it in place . accordingly , once the vehicle reaches a final trim station in an assembly plant , for example , the handle bezel 40 can be assembled to the end gate 10 , even though a lock cylinder for a passenger door and the latch handle assembly 28 have been installed at previous stations in the assembly plant . moreover , since the fastener retention tabs 68 on the retainer clip 58 are angled to extend in the aft direction ( i . e ., extending back toward the bezel 40 and away from the head of the fastener 24 ), they will flex around the fastener threads during assembly of the handle bezel 40 to the end gate 10 , but will flex into the fastener threads to prevent removal of the handle bezel 40 if one attempts to remove it — thus effectively acting like barbs on a christmas tree type of fastener . unlike a christmas tree type of fastener , though , the handle bezel 40 can be removed for service . one need only to unscrew the bottom fastener 24 to disengage it from the fastener retention tabs 68 on the retainer clip 58 , and then pull on the handle bezel 40 to cause the integral tabs 46 to release from the tab slots 18 . thus , while the handle bezel 40 can be assembled with only access to the outer surface 12 , it cannot be removed without having access to the bottom fastener 24 on the inner surface 14 . this ensures that the added security provided by the key cylinder 52 is not compromised . another step that may be included in the installation of the handle bezel 40 is to apply a double sided tape 72 ( shown in fig6 ) to portions of the inner ( forward ) side of the handle bezel 40 . then , when the handle bezel 40 is slid into place , the double sided tape 72 will adhere to the outer surface 12 around the perimeter of the handle opening 16 , providing additional retention capability . even though a handle bezel and key cylinder for an end gate of a vehicle have been discussed herein , such a bezel with a retainer clip may also be employed for assembly of other bezels to other vehicle closures . while certain embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail , those familiar with the art to which this invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing the invention as defined by the following claims . | 4 |
a first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to fig1 ˜ 3 and 7 . this embodiment is formed by applying the present invention to a cellular phone as a portable mobile unit . the construction of a circuit of the cellular phone in this mode of embodiment is shown in fig1 , and an external appearance of the cellular phone in fig7 . the cellular phone in this mode of embodiment is formed so that the cellular phone receives at a receiver circuit 2 a downlink signal from a base station ( not shown ) with an uplink signal outputted from a transmitter circuit 3 to the base station , i . e ., by - directional communication can be made between the cellular phone and the base station . a downlink signal from the base station is received at an antenna 1 , and amplified and demodulated in the receiver circuit 2 . an output from the receiver circuit 2 is supplied to a signal demodulator 4 in a signal processor 7 . the signal processor 7 has a control processor 6 and a signal modulator 5 in addition to the signal demodulator 4 . the signal demodulator 4 divides an output from the receiver 2 into a communication signal and a control signal by demodulating a cdma signal . namely , a received signal is converted into a digital signal in the demodulator 4 and subjected to despreading and pn code demodulation , the resultant signal being divided into an aural ( data ) signal as a communication signal and a control signal . the control signal is supplied to the control processor 6 , which controls the operation of the cellular phone on the basis of the control signal . the audio signal is converted into an analog signal , which is outputted from a receiver 8 . in the case of a data signal , it is shown on a display 11 , or sent to an external apparatus 21 , if any , which is connected to the cellular phone at its outside , via an outer interface 13 . concrete examples of the external apparatus 21 include an apparatus used to send and receive data , such as a personal computer , an information terminal apparatus or a telemeter system . the connection of the cellular phone to the external apparatus 21 can be attained by wireless or by a medium , such as infrared rays , not to mention by wire . a transmitter 9 is for convert voice into an input audio signal . this input audio signal is converted into a digital signal , which is then inputted into the signal modulator 5 . data signals from an input section 12 and an interface member 14 of an external interface 13 are inputted into a signal modulator 5 via the control processor 6 . in the signal modulator 5 , an input audio signal or a data signal inputted thereinto is subjected to pn code modulation as cdma signal modulation and spreading , and the resultant signal is converted into an analog signal , which is sent to the transmitter circuit 3 . in the transmitter circuit 3 , an output from the signal modulator 5 is amplified and modulated , and then sent out as an uplink signal from the antenna 1 . in this mode of embodiment , the cellular phone has a function of alarming the worsening of the uplink speech quality to its user in case of deterioration of the uplink speech quality , in addition to the function of alarming the deterioration of downlink speech quality . the latter is performed in accordance with the detection of a decrease in electric field intensity ( rssi ) and an increase in an error rate of a received signal , which occur when a received electric wave is weak enough to cause the downlink speech quality to lower , by using a function of measuring rssi of a received electric wave and a function of measuring an error rate of a received signal at the receiver circuit 2 as are employed in a regular digital cellular phone system . the receiver circuit 2 , transmitter circuit 3 , signal demodulator 4 , signal modulator 5 , control processor 6 , receiver 8 , microphone 9 , display 11 and input section 12 are contained or installed in a casing . as shown in fig7 , the antenna 1 is provided so as to project from the casing , and the receiver 8 , microphone 9 , display 11 and input section 12 on an outer surface of the casing . the display 11 is formed of a liquid crystal display , and the input section 12 has cursor direction keys ( up , down , right , left ) for moving a cursor on the display 11 and scrolling a display screen , function keys for setting or selecting various kinds of functions , and number keys for inputting telephone numbers or data . fig2 is a diagram showing an example of variation of transmission power of the cellular phone in this mode of embodiment . as shown in the drawing , the cellular phone controls its output power in accordance with a control signal sent from a base station . in a cdma system , the transmission power of a cellular phone in service is controlled by an electric power control signal , and , in an is - 95 system , fine control operations of 800 times per second are conducted . in a normal condition , a transmission power control range is within a range controlled by cellular phone in normal condition . when the uplink speech quality is deteriorated with the intensity of a received signal within a predetermined range though the receiver circuit normally receives a downlink signal , the base station transmits an uplink signal intensity control signal as a downlink signal , and the control processor 6 controls a transmission output ( po ) of the cellular phone so that the transmission output ( po ) increases . however , the transmission output ( po ) of the cellular phone is limited by and saturated at its maximum transmission output level ( pmax ). when the uplink speech quality is not yet improved , the base station continues to send out a intensity control signal so as to increase the transmission output ( po ) of the cellular phone , and , in accordance with a command of the intensity control signal , the transmission output ( po ) of the cellular phone is put in a saturated state at a maximum transmission output level ( pmax ) continuously . in such a case , the intensity of the received signal is in a normal range . accordingly , the user of the cellular phone can hear the voice of the other party but the other party cannot hear the voice of the user . in such condition , the base station holds the line for a certain period of time but , when the uplink speech quality is not improved during this time , the base station cuts off the line . when the base station continues to send out a intensity control signal so as to increase the transmission output ( po ) from the cellular phone though the downlink signal intensity is within a predetermined normal range , there is a possibility that an uplink signal does not reach or fails to reach the base station . therefore , when the condition in which the transmission output ( po ) from the cellular phone is saturated at a maximum transmission output level ( pmax ) continues to be held for a period of time not shorter than a certain period of time ( to ), the control processor 6 judges the condition as failure in uplink or the condition in which the transmission signal does not reach or fails to reach the other party or the object person , and sends out an uplink speech quality alarm signal before the line is cut off by the base station . this enables the user of the cellular phone to be informed that there is the possibility that the line is cut off . the alarming of the user may be done by producing sounds or by displaying words on a display screen of the display 11 as shown in fig7 . moreover , both the method of producing sounds and the method of displaying words on a display screen may be used together . when the user is alarmed of the worsening of the uplink speech quality by a sound producing method , the intervals of producing sounds are set different from those of producing sounds for alarming a user of the worsening of the downlink speech quality in the related techniques so that the user of the cellular phone in this mode of embodiment can distinguish the sounds from each other . for example , the intervals of a sound ( which the user hears as “ pip ” sound ) continuing for a predetermined period of time ( for example , 0 . 4 seconds ) at a predetermined frequency ( for example , 1 khz ) are changed . in a concrete example , when the downlink speech quality lowers , longer and shorter sounds are repeatedly produced ( for example , a one - second sound and a 0 . 2 - second sound are produced alternately in repetition ) so that these sounds are heard as “ pip - pip , pip - pip , pip - pip , pip - pip , pip - pip . . . ”. when the uplink speech quality lowers , the intervals of sounds are set to a predetermined larger levels ( for example , 0 . 6 seconds ) so that the sounds are heard as “ pip , pip , pip , pip , pip . . . ”. when both the downlink speech quality and uplink speech quality lower , the intervals of sounds are set to predetermined smaller levels ( for example , 0 . 1 seconds ) so that the sounds are heard as “ pip - pip - pip - pip - pip - pip - pip . . . ”. these sounds may be outputted from the receiver , or from a ringer or a speaker which produces an arrival signal sound . instead of providing intervals of producing sounds , sounds of different frequencies , different tone qualities or different rhythms or different melodies may be used so that one speech quality alarm can be distinguished from another . this enables the user to recognize a deterioration of the speech quality by his / her aural sense . also , a vibrator may be operated to appeal to tangible sense of the user . the deterioration of the speech quality can also be appealed to the visual sense of the user . as shown in fig7 , during regular oral talking or data communication , a message 34 “ uplink speech quality worsening ” may be shown on the display 11 , an indication 32 of an antenna may be blinked , or a mark or an icon instead of a message may be displayed . especially , when a color liquid crystal is used for the display 11 , the color of the indication 32 of an antenna displayed may be changed from that of the normal reception condition ( for example , when the reception condition is normal , the indication 32 is colored black , and , when the uplink speech quality lowers , it is colored red ), or the color of the letters displayed or that of the background may be changed from that of the normal reception condition when the uplink speech quality deteriorates . an arrival signal indicating led 30 not used in the talking condition may be flashed or blinked . when the led 30 is capable of emitting plural colors of light , it may be lit continuously or flashed in a color different from the color used in a normal reception condition . since this led 30 is usually provided in a position in which the led can be seen easily , the led is effective as an alarm . therefore , a visual uplink speech quality alarm can be given by using this led 30 as necessary . when the external apparatus 21 , such as a personal computer or a mobile terminal is connected to the cellular phone , an alarm signal may be sent to the external apparatus to have the external apparatus 21 give an aural or visual alarm . when this method is practiced , the user can directly know ( without examining the cellular phone ) a decrease in throughput occurring due to a deterioration in the line speech quality fig3 is a flow chart showing the processing of an uplink speech quality alarm in the cellular phone in this embodiment , with reference to which a flow of the alarm processing operation will be described . first , a function of giving an uplink speech quality alarm is checked as to whether the function is effective or not . whether the function is effective or ineffective is determined by the user &# 39 ; s operations for selecting and setting this function . when the function of giving an uplink speech quality is set “ ineffective ”, the processing operation is immediately finished ( step 101 ). when the function of giving an uplink speech quality alarm is set “ effective ”, a timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is started ( step 201 ). the cellular phone is then checked ( step 202 ) as to whether it is in service . when the cellular phone is not in service , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is stopped to finish ( step 203 ) the alarm processing operation . when the cellular phone is in service , a transmission output ( po ) is measured ( or a set value of a transmission output level is referred to ) ( step 301 ). the transmission output ( po ) is checked ( step 302 ) as to whether it is greater than or equal to a maximum transmission output level ( pmax ). when an actual transmission output ( po ) level is lower than the maximum transmission output level ( pmax ), the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is reset , and the processing operation is returned ( step 303 ) to the step of checking the condition of the cellular phone . when the actual transmission output ( po ) level is greater than or equal to the maximum transmission output ( pmax ) level , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is updated ( step 311 ) by a period of time corresponding to the time elapsed , and a timer value ( t ) for the actual uplink speech quality alarm is checked as to whether it is smaller than a set value ( to ) or not . when the timer value ( t ) for the uplink speech quality alarm is smaller than the set value ( to ), the processing operation is returned ( step 312 ) to the step of checking the condition of the cellular phone . when the actual timer value ( t ) for the uplink speech quality alarm is not smaller than the set value ( to ), an uplink speech quality alarm signal is sent out for a specified period of time , and the processing operation is returned ( step 313 ) to the step of checking the condition of the cellular phone . therefore , when the actual transmission output ( po ) level is greater than or equal to the maximum transmission output ( pmax ) level for a period of time not shorter than the time represented by the set level ( to ) of the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm , the uplink speech quality alarm signal is sent out continuously . the above - described processing operation shown in the flow chart of fig3 is executed by the control processor 6 , and an uplink speech quality alarm signal is sent out from the control processor 6 to the receiver 8 via the signal demodulator 4 . in this embodiment , an alarm is given when the condition in which the actual transmission output ( po ) level is greater than or equal to the maximum transmission output ( pmax ) level continues for a period of time not shorter than the time represented by the timer set level ( to ) but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment . the cellular phone may be formed so that an alarm is given when the length of the time of the condition in which the level of a transmission output level ( po ) of the cellular phone is greater than or equal to that of a maximum transmission output level ( pmax ) continues is greater than or equal to a predetermined time ratio . namely , a ratio of a period of time during which a transmission output level ( po ) of the cellular phone is saturated at a maximum transmission output level ( pmax ) to a total predetermined period of time including the mentioned period of time is determined . when this ratio exceeds a predetermined level , the uplink speech quality is regarded as low , and an uplink speech quality alarm may then be given . this procedure is effective for giving an alarm when the condition where the transmission output level ( po ) is greater than or equal to the maximum transmission output level ( pmax ) occurs frequently , though the length of the time of each occurrence is lower than the timer set level ( to ). a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig4 . the software of this embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment but the construction of the hardware in this embodiment is basically same as that of the first embodiment . in the second embodiment , the control processor 6 judges whether a signal having an intensity that brings the uplink signal into maximum level is generated continuously for a period of time longer than or equal to a predetermined period of time while the downlink signal is received normally at a receiver circuit 2 . when the length of the time of the signal having the intensity capable of maximizing the uplink signal exceeds a predetermined level , the uplink speech quality is regarded as low or deteriorated , and an uplink speech quality alarm signal is generated . in this embodiment , the flow of a processing operation is the same as that of the processing operation shown in fig3 except that the operations of steps 301 and 302 are substituted by the operations of steps 401 and 402 . namely , a function of giving an uplink speech quality alarm is checked first as to whether the function is effective or not . when the function of giving the uplink speech quality alarm is set “ ineffective ”, the processing operation is immediately finished ( step 101 ). when the function of giving the uplink speech quality alarm is set “ effective ”, a timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is started ( step 201 ). a cellular phone is then checked ( step 202 ) as to whether it is in service . when the cellular phone is not in service , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is stopped and the cellular phone finishes ( step 203 ) the processing operation . when the cellular phone is in service , a intensity control signal is read ( step 401 ), and a command of this signal is checked ( step 402 ) as to whether the command is a maximum value command . when the command is a maximum value command , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is reset , and the processing operation is returned ( step 303 ) to the cellular phone condition checking step . when the command is not a maximum value command , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is updated ( step 311 ) by a period of time corresponding to a time elapsed , and an actual timer value ( t ) of the uplink speech quality alarm is checked as to whether the value ( t ) is smaller than a set value ( to ). when the timer value ( t ) is smaller than the set value ( to ), the processing operation is returned ( step 312 ) to the cellular phone condition checking step . when the actual timer value ( t ) for the uplink speech quality alarm is not smaller than the set value ( to ), an uplink speech quality alarm signal is sent out for a specified period of time , and the processing operation is returned ( step 313 ) to the cellular phone condition checking step . therefore , when the command of the intensity control signal is a maximum value command for a period of time longer than or equal to the time represented by the set value ( to ), an uplink speech quality alarm signal is sent out continuously . a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig5 . the software of this embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment but the construction of the hardware on this embodiment is basically the same as that of the first embodiment . in the third embodiment , the number of base stations with which a control processor 6 can communicate is determined , and , when this number is one , an alarm is generated . when there is only one base station with which the control processor 6 can communicate , an uplink signal does not reach the base station in some cases due to topographical conditions , though a downlink signal reaches the control processor . therefore , in such a case , a judgement is given that there is a fear of deterioration in the uplink speech quality , and an uplink speech quality alarm signal is generated . in this * embodiment , the flow of the processing operation is identical with that of the processing operation shown in fig3 except the operations of steps 401 and 402 . namely , a function of giving an uplink speech quality alarm is checked first as to whether the function is effective or not . when the function of giving the uplink speech quality alarm is set “ ineffective ”, the processing operation is immediately finished ( step 101 ). when the function of giving the uplink speech quality alarm is set “ effective ”, a timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is started ( step 201 ). a cellular phone is then checked ( step 202 ) as to whether it is in service . when the cellular phone is not in service , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is stopped to finish ( step 203 ) the processing operation . when the cellular phone is in service , the number of the base stations is counted ( step 501 ), and the counted number of the base stations is checked ( step 502 ) as to whether the number is not smaller than two . when the number of the base stations is not smaller than two , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is reset , and the processing operation is returned ( step 303 ) to the cellular phone condition checking step . when the number of the base stations is one , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is updated ( step 311 ) by a period of time corresponding to the length of the time elapsed , and an actual value ( t ) of the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is checked as to whether the value ( t ) is smaller than a set value ( to ) or not . when the timer value ( t ) is smaller than the set value ( to ), the processing operation is returned ( step 312 ) to the cellular phone condition checking step . when the actual value ( t ) of the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is not smaller than the set value ( to ), an uplink speech quality alarm signal is sent out for a specified period of time , and the processing operation is returned ( step 313 ) to the cellular phone condition checking step . therefore , when the number of the base stations is one for a period of time longer than or equal to the time represented by the set value ( to ) of the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm , an uplink speech quality alarm signal is sent out continuously . a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig6 . this mode of embodiment relates to a communication system including a base station , and a portable mobile unit which is capable of making bi - directional wireless communication with the base station , and which is provided with a controller for control a transmission intensity of a signal on the basis of a intensity control signal contained in a downlink signal sent from the base station . when the condition in which a intensity of a reception uplink signal is lower than a predetermined level continues for a period of time longer than or equal to a predetermined period of time even though the base station sends out a intensity control signal containing a command to set a transmission intensity of the uplink signal to a maximum transmission output level , the base station judges that the uplink signal does not reach the base station . at this time , the base station transmits an alarm signal representative of the deterioration of the line speech quality to a portable mobile unit , which receives this signal and carries out at least either the displaying of the abnormality or the giving of an alarm for the abnormality . a typical example of the portable mobile unit is a cellular phone . such a system is made up of a base station in the possession of an telecommunication company ( carrier ), and a portable mobile unit belonging to a user or a subscriber who made a contract with the carrier , and a process for putting on the user the charge for a telephone call made by utilizing the wireless communication system is carried out . however , the condition in which an uplink signal does not reach or fails to reach the base station though a downlink signal normally reaches the mobile unit indicates that a telephone conversation is not established . in this embodiment , an alarm signal is sent in such a case from the base station to the portable mobile unit to stop the charging process . this enables the carrier to give improved services to the user , and the carrier &# 39 ; s competitive power with respect to that of other companies of the same trade to be improved . a flow of the processing operation will now be described with reference to fig6 . the base station first checks ( step 601 ) a downlink signal , which is transmitted to the portable mobile unit , as to whether the signal is normal or not . when this signal is not normal , the processing operation is immediately finished via a charging procedure finishing step ( step 606 ). when the downlink signal is normal , the charging procedure for the portable mobile unit is started ( step 602 ). the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is then started ( step 603 ), and the cellular phone is checked ( step 604 ) as to whether the phone is in service . when the cellular phone is not in service , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is stopped ( step 605 ), and the charging procedure is finished ( step 606 ) to end the processing operation . when the cellular phone is in service , the uplink signal sent out from the portable mobile unit is measured ( step 607 ). the intensity of the uplink signal is checked ( step 608 ) as to whether the intensity is normal or not . when the uplink signal is normal , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is reset , and the processing operation is returned ( step 609 ) to the cellular phone condition checking step . when the intensity of the uplink signal is not normal , the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is updated ( step 611 ) by a period of time corresponding to the length of the time elapsed , and the value ( t ) of the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is checked as to whether the value is smaller than the set value ( to ). when the value ( t ) of the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is smaller than the set value ( to ), the processing operation is returned ( step 612 ) to the cellular phone condition checking step . when the value ( t ) of the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm is not smaller than the set value ( to ), the uplink speech quality alarm signal is sent out ( step 613 ) to the portable mobile unit for a specified period of time , and the charging procedure is temporarily stopped ( step 614 ). the processing operation is returned to the step ( step 603 ) of starting the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm . therefore , when the intensity of the uplink signal is not normal for a period of time not shorter than the length of the time corresponding to the set value ( to ) of the timer for the uplink speech quality alarm , the uplink speech quality alarm signal is sent out continuously . according to the above - described modes of embodiment , the user perceiving an uplink speech quality alarm can judge that a transmission signal from the cellular phone in use does not reach the base station , and avoid the cutoff of the telephone communication by trying to improve the speech quality by extending the antenna or changing the talking position . | 7 |
fig1 shows one example of a pressure control device . a valve block 10 is provided with channels 9 which may be opened to allow flow / pressure communication , or closed to prevent communication , by opening or closing a respective dome type valve body 21 . valve bodies 21 extend from surface 11 of valve block . valve bodies 21 are shown in their closed positions , and are movably downward from the positions shown to open communication . a cap cover 30 is provided to enclose the valve body arrangements . the cap cover includes side plates 31 and top board 32 . cap cover 30 is mounted by fixing side plates 31 to the surface 11 of the valve block by , e . g ., bolts , screws or the like . a cushioning member 40 , which may be made of rubber or resin , or the like , for example , is placed between an inner surface of top board 32 cover 30 and the solenoid valves 20 , and particularly between the doughnut type coils 22 of the valves 20 and the top board 32 . a curb frame 33 is provided to interact with each respective coil 22 , to contain the respective coil 22 within certain radial and axial limits . a control circuit board 50 is fixed on the outer or top side of top board 32 and is electrically connected to the coils 22 as described below . an electronic circuit is printed on the control circuit board 50 and a control chip is installed on the control circuit board 50 . the control circuit board 50 is protected by an end cover 34 installed on the cover 30 . a window opening 35 is provided through the top board 32 to allow electrical interconnections between the solenoid valves 20 and circuit board 50 to pass therethrough . lead wire terminal 23 , which is electrically connected to coil 22 on one side of top board 32 , passes though window hole 35 and is electrically connected to circuit board 50 on the opposite side of top board 35 . a potting material 36 , such as a soft resin , seals the window hole 35 around the lead wire terminal 23 . each coil 22 is equipped with a resin bobbin 24 , a solenoid coil 25 rolled over the bobbin 24 , and a permeable case 26 . the lead wire terminal 23 is provided at and electrically connected with each end of the solenoid coil 25 . fig2 and 3 each show an enlarged partial view of a pressure control device , with particular attention paid to an electrical connection between a solenoid valve 20 and control circuit board 50 . a pair of flexible , elastic arms 27 , 27 are integrally formed on the upper portion of bobbin 24 , and extend radially away from bobbin 24 , as shown in fig2 . alternatively , one elastic arm 27 may be formed on one bobbin 24 , and a pair of the lead wire terminals 23 , 23 may share one elastic arm 27 . known solenoid valves have connection terminals which extended upwardly ( or axially ) from the coil to be connected with the control circuit board . the present invention , with its radially extending elastic arms 27 , allows more flexibility in design positioning of the lead wire terminal 23 . that is , providing a directional elastic arm 27 ( the direction , shape and length of which may be varied ) many different designs and relative positioning of the components are possible , thereby allowing not only more reliable connections , but more flexibility in designing the arrangements to be compact . thus , various designs in positioning the electrical connection between the pair of lead wire terminals 23 , 23 and the control circuit board 50 become possible . for example , in fig2 the respective lead wire terminal 23 , is arranged along elastic arm 27 or is embedded in the elastic arm 27 ( e . g ., see fig4 ) and further extends vertically upward from an end portion of elastic arm 27 . the lead wire terminal 23 passes through window opening 35 , as described above , and through control circuit board 50 . the end of the lead wire terminal which passes through the control circuit board 50 is soldered or welded 42 to the top side of the control circuit board 50 ( e . g ., see fig2 ). this structure allows relative movement of the lead wire terminal 23 between the coil 20 and the control circuit board 50 , without breaking or otherwise disrupting the solder connection of the lead wire terminal to the control circuit board 50 . the control circuit board 50 may have a variety of chips mounted on it , and the chips are often concentrated centrally on the board 50 , with the peripheral portion of the control circuit board 50 tending to comprise mainly dead space . thus , it is advantageous to take advantage of the dead space by locating the lead wire terminals 23 , 23 there and forming the solder joints on the peripheral portion . the present invention facilitates such peripheral placement of the lead wire terminals 23 , 23 thereby freeing up the central region of the control circuit board 50 for maximum usage by placement and arrangement of circuits thereon . this enables further minimization / miniaturization of the size of the control circuit board 50 . alternatively , the flexibility provided by the designs of the present application would also allow central placement of the lead wire terminals on the control circuit board , should it be advantageous to do so , due to a particular circuit design , for example . due to the flexibility of the elastic arms 27 , movement of the solenoid valve 20 ( and particularly the coil 22 ) in an axial direction can be tolerated without disrupting or breaking the electrical connection between the coil 20 and the control circuit board 50 . the elastic arms 27 provide some capacitance by bending or flexing during the axial movements of the coil , thereby reducing or eliminating stresses on the electrical connections at both ends of the lead wire 23 which would otherwise occur during such movements . the elasticity of the elastic arms enables the arms 27 to return to their normal configuration at such time that the coil returns to its starting position . in the same manner , elastic arms 27 also allow torquing ( radial ) or tilting motions of the coil to take place , while protecting the integrity of the electrical connections . the lead wire terminal 23 may be designed in a corrugated , or accordion folded configuration ( e . g ., see fig3 ), to allow movements of the coil and to extend with the elastic arm 27 as it flexes , without pulling at either terminal end of the lead wire 23 , so as not to disturb the electrical connections . although the elastic arms 27 may be formed to extend straight in a radial direction away from the coils 22 , as shown in fig2 it is noted that the present invention is not limited to straight configurations . for example , in addition to forming the lead wires 27 to have an accordion - folded shape , the elastic arms may be similar configured to have an accordion shape , thereby providing further capacitance or “ slack ” to be taken up by movements of the coil with respect to the control circuit board . in this example , the lead wires can have conforming accordion bends , allowing the lead wires 23 to be embedded in the respective elastic arms 27 , or the wires can be run externally of the elastic arms . the previous embodiments explain the case when the elastic arms 27 , 27 are integrally formed with the bobbin 24 . however , for example , individual and separate elastic arms 27 , 27 may be pressed fit with the bobbin 24 or may be fixed with the bobbin 24 by traditional fixing means such as adhesion and heat welding . due to the flexibility of elastic arms 27 , the present invention eliminates the need to provide an additional part , such as an interrupting conductor , which is commonly used in current pressure control devices . because no interrupting conductor or other additional part is necessary , the direct connection of the conductor of the coil with the control circuit board allows greater ease of manufacturing pressure control devices , and a reduction in their cost . since the elastic arm ( s ) may be integrally formed with the bobbin , no additional manufacturing process for the formation is necessary , thereby facilitating the manufacturing process . setting the protruding direction and length of the elastic arm allows the location of the electrical connection between the elastic arm and the control circuit board to be custom designed . advantageously , any dead space on the control circuit board may be used to locate the lead wire terminal connection , which enables a minimized control circuit board . since the elastic arms are multidirectionally flexible , they effectively allow the movement of the coil in any direction , while preventing stress on the electrical connection between the control circuit board and the lead wire terminal , as well as on the connection between the coil and the lead wire terminal . even if the cover is pressed on the valve block , the movement of the coil is allowed by the lead wire terminal without transmitting the movement energy , thereby giving a higher sealing effect . it should be understood that the specific form of the invention here in above described is intended to be representative only , as certain modifications within the scope of these teachings will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , reference should be made to the following claims in determining the full scope of the invention . | 7 |
according to the present invention , hot water is used to displace oily wastes from their ground - contaminating locations . hot - water displacement of oily wastes depends on the mobility of water relative to the mobility of the organic liquid phase . this relative mobility is typically expressed as the mobility ratio of water to oil . the mobility of each liquid phase is the ratio of relative permeability to viscosity , where the relative permeability indicates the ability of one fluid to flow relative to another , and the viscosity is a measure of internal resistance to flow . an ideal mobility ratio is 1 . 0 , and oil mobility decreases at higher mobility ratios . conventional petroleum waterfloods have been operated at mobility ratios as high as 40 ( neil et al ., &# 34 ; waterflooding and improved waterflooding &# 34 ;, interstate oil compact commission : oklahoma city , okla ., chapter 1 , 1983 ). in petroleum reservoirs , waterflooding reduces the volume of oil in the pore space to residual saturation . at residual saturation , the remaining oil is immobile and is further recovered only by dissolution . high saturations of the organic liquid phase increase oily waste mobility for hot - water displacement in the process . organic liquid phase saturations of 35 - 60 % of pore volume have been reported at one wood treating site . using standard permeability correlations ( craft et al ., &# 34 ; applied petroleum reservoir engineering &# 34 ;, prentice - hall , inc ., englewood cliffs , n . j ., 1959 ; smith , &# 34 ; mechanics of secondary oil recovery &# 34 ;, reinhold publishing corp ., new york , 1966 ) and the measured oily waste viscosity , the estimated mobility ratio of the oily waste is in the range of 2 - 130 at natural groundwater temperatures . this estimate indicates that the mobility of the more concentrated oily wastes is in the range of conventional technology for petroleum waterfloods . in fig1 a production well is shown at 11 , with oil and water being extracted from the original oil accumulation 13 at 12 . hot water is injected through injection well 19 at inlet 18 ; steam - stripped water is injected at 20 , and low quality steam is injected at 21 . the steam injection at 23 permeates the residual oil saturation 22 and oil bank 16 , so that the hot water displaces the oil bank at 15 . the absorption layer is shown at 17 . oily waste mobility is improved significantly in the process according to the present invention by increasing the temperature to reduce the viscosity of the organic liquid phase . using a standard correlation ( perry et al ., &# 34 ; perry &# 39 ; s chemical engineer &# 39 ; s handbook &# 34 ;, 4th ed . mc - graw hill book co ., new york , 1963 ) to extrapolate reported viscosities ( ch2m hill , &# 34 ; laramie , wyoming railroad tie treating plant , phase i , ii , iii , and iv reports &# 34 ;, union pacific railroad , omaha , nebr ., 1984 ; villaume , op . cit . ), the mobility ratio of water to oil is reduced to the range of 1 - 50 near the boiling point of water . at temperatures near the boiling point of water , the oily waste viscosity is about the same as the viscosity of tar sand bitumen at the saturated steam temperature . this equivalence of tar sand bitumen and oily waste viscosities at the corresponding temperatures for hot - water displacement is illustrated in fig2 . heating oily waste accumulations also reverses the density difference between the organic liquid phase and water . based on published measurements of oily waste densities at both a manufactured gas site , as disclosed by villaume and a wood treating plant ( ch2m hill op . cit . ), the densities of the organic liquid phase and water are nearly equivalent at a temperature of about 100 ° f . at higher temperatures , the organic liquid phase has a lower density than water . the thermal expansion of oily wastes and water are compared in fig3 using a standard relationship for extrapolating hydrocarbon densities ( perry et al . op . cit .). in the process according to the present invention , the downward penetration of dense organic liquids is reversed by the controlled heating of oily waste accumulations . in the process of the present invention , low - quality steam and hot water are injected to control the heating and mobilization of oily wastes . the low - quality steam and hot water may be injected together as a mixture . the low - quality steam injection is controlled to heat groundwater below the deepest penetration of organic liquids . after the steam condenses , rising hot water dislodges and sweeps buoyant organic liquids upward into more permeable regions . hot water is injected above impermeable barriers to heat and mobilize the main accumulations of oily wastes . heating the oily wastes reduces both the density and viscosity of the organic liquid phase to achieve the same oil mobilities that are typical of conventional petroleum waterfloods and tar sand steamfloods . mobility control polymers can further improve oily waste mobilization in the process according to the present invention . commercial water - soluble polymers such as polyacrylamides or xanthan gum polysaccharides are commonly used to enhance petroleum recovery ( gogarty , j . petr . tech ., 1089 - 1101 , august , 1978 ). although relatively uniform permeability distributions are expected at oily waste sites , the polymer additives can increase the water viscosity to reduce the mobility ratio for hot - water displacement . the polymer additives can also increase the water density to enhance the buoyancy of oily wastes . in the process according to the present invention , mobilized oily wastes are recovered by hot - water displacement . after organic liquids are mobilized above impermeable barriers , hot - water injection and product recovery rates are controlled to sweep accumulated oily wastes through the more permeable regions . as in conventional petroleum waterfloods and tar sand steamfloods , displacement of oily wastes increases organic liquid saturations in the subsurface pore space to form an oil bank . within the oil bank , high saturations of the organic liquid phase increase the relative permeability of oily wastes , so that injected hot water displaces the oil bank to production wells . behind the oil bank , the oil saturation is reduced to an immobile residual saturation in the subsurface pore space . hot - water displacement of oily wastes closely resembles tar sand bitumen recovery using steamflood technology . in the steamflood process . condensation of injected steam heats the tar sand , and the bitumen is displaced by hot water in the steam front . as indicated in fig2 the tar sand bitumen and oily waste viscosities are nearly the same at the corresponding temperatures of the processes . laboratory simulations of tar sand steamflood technology have nearly duplicated field test results . in the field test , the displacement process has reduced the bitumen saturation to 18 . 7 % of the pore volume ( pv ). the corresponding , three - dimensional laboratory simulation has achieved a residual bitumen saturation of 16 . 5 % pv . the one - dimensional laboratory tests have also indicated that the residual saturation depends only on the physical properties of the tar sand and not on the original saturation of the bitumen . the tar sand bitumen is always displaced to the same residual saturation , so oil recovery depends only on the original bitumen saturation in the pore space . creosote displacement by hot - water injection has also been demonstrated in a two - dimensional laboratory experiment . for this test , a commercial grade of creosate wood preservative was introduced into a bed of water - saturated silica sand . hot - water injection recovered 70 % of the creosote from the sand bed . this experiment demonstrated lateral displacement of creosote between injection and production wells at the same elevation in the sand bed and vertical displacement of creosote form permeable regions of the sand bed beneath the production well . micellar flooding additives have the ability to improve oily waste displacement in the process according to the present invention . in micellar flooding of petroleum , as reported by gogarty , j . petr . tech ., 1089 - 1101 , august , 1978 and meldau et al ., j . petr . tech ., 1279 - 1291 , july , 1983 , water - soluble surfactants reduce the surface tension between the aqueous and oil phases to form microemulsions . the surfactants also displace oil from solid surfaces by adsorption . this adsorption of surfactants on solid surfaces adversely affects the economics of petroleum recovery . however , enhanced displacement of oily wastes in comparison with other site remediation technologies may more than compensate for the cost of biodegradable surfactant losses . in situ leaching of oily wastes depends on the saturation of the organic liquid phase , the concentrations of water - soluble contaminants , and the effective solubility of the contaminants . these relationships are illustrated in fig4 by assuming that in situ leaching operates as an efficient countercurrent extraction and that the original contaminant concentration is constant for different oily waste saturations . based on these assumptions , fig4 indicates the pore volumes of water that are required for complete extraction of a contaminant from the organic liquid phase . natural groundwater permeation and conventional pump - and - treat methods are relatively ineffective for leaching water - soluble contaminants from oily waste accumulations . most oily wastes are composed primarily of organic compounds with low water solubilities . at high organic liquid saturations , decades or groundwater permeation are required for complete extraction of these contaminants , even when the groundwater is assumed to permeate uniformly through the oily waste accumulation . if the low relative permeability to water at high organic liquid saturations precludes uniform groundwater permeation , then the pore volumes of water for complete extraction of contaminants are even greater than indicated in fig4 . organic liquid recovery in the process according to the present invention reduces the pore volumes of water for complete extraction of water - soluble contaminants . hot - water displacement of the organic liquid phase recovers most of the highly water - soluble compounds and lowers the quantity of relatively insoluble groundwater contaminants . by recovering a portion of the organic liquids , the process also increases the relative permeability to water . based on the tar sand processing trials , a uniform residual saturation is expected regardless of any variations in the original oily waste saturation . these more permeable and uniform conditions are ideally suited for controlling extraction of water - soluble compounds in the process according to the present inventions . chemical additives are used in the process according to the present invention to extract specific compounds that pose an immediate environmental concern or resist microbial degradation . fig4 illustrates the potential enhancement of extraction efficiency when chemical additives increase the effective solubility product of specific compounds . by extracting specific compounds that are toxic to groundwater bacteria , the process of the present invention can also accelerate in situ biological treatment of residual oily wastes . the process of the present invention contains oily wastes vertically by controlling temperatures during the hot - water displacement . low - quality steam injection beneath oily waste accumulations heats the organic liquid phase , which thermally expands to a density that is less than the surrounding hot water . flotation of the heated organic liquid phase is limited by injecting cooler water above the oily waste accumulations . in this cooler water , the organic liquid phase contracts and becomes more dense than the surrounding water . cooler water temperatures above the oily waste accumulation are maintained by operating the displacement process in the laminar flow regime and by natural conductive heat losses to the ground surface . stratified laminar flow of cool water on top of hot water has been demonstrated using a two - dimensional bed of water - saturated silica sand . for this demonstration , cool water dyed blue was injected above a flow of warm water dyed yellow . a single production well at the same elevation as the warm water injection was pumped at a rate equal to the combined injection of both warm and cool water . at these conditions , the two laminar flows remain stratified , and no green coloration from mixing of the dyes is evident . when water dyed red is injected in place of either previous water color , the red water completely displaces the former water color . there results indicate that no water remains stagnant on either side of the boundary between the stratified laminar flows . cooler water injection above oily waste accumulations also controls vapor emissions from the process according to the present invention . lower water temperatures reduce the vapor pressure of volatile components near the ground surface . this cooler water can also serve as an absorber for volatile compounds during the hot - water displacement . in this case , both the temperature and concentration of soluble , volatile compounds are controlled to avoid vapor emissions at the ground surface . recovering oily wastes to residual saturation immobilizes any remaining organic liquid phase . at residual saturation , the organic liquid phase remains immobilized within the subsurface pore space and does not move during injection operations for chemical solution treatment or induced microbial degradation . during oily waste displacement in the process according to the present invention , only lateral containment of the site is required to isolate any residual organic liquid saturation from the surrounding groundwater system . oily wastes and soluble contaminants are contained laterally by groundwater isolation . in the process according to the present invention , a pattern of injection and production wells is used to sweep the entire oily waste accumulation and to recover both the organic liquid and aqueous phases . based on specific hydraulic measurements at a site , the well pattern and pumping rates are designed to contain all of the mobilized liquid phases within site boundaries . this design can also incorporate a physical groundwater barrier such as a slurry wall to assist lateral containment of a site . fig5 shows one embodiments of a groundwater isolation barrier for a specific set of hydraulic site characteristics . in this example , the process of the present invention is operated with production wells surrounding the oily waste accumulation . the production operations are designed to recover all of the mobilized liquid phases by depressing the potentiometric surface elevation around the site . alternatively , a surrounding ring of injection wells may isolate some process applications more effectively by maintaining a freshwater buffer around the site . the design of a groundwater isolation barrier always depends on a thorough characterization of the geohydrologic environment at any specific site . the process according to the present invention minimizes wastewater treatment if the hot - water displacement is operated by re - injecting recovered process water . in this simplest case , illustrated in fig6 only the boiler feed and discharge water are treated after separating the product oil and water phases . this wastewater treatment corresponds only to the steam injection and groundwater influx rates . injection of cooler water to control volatile emissions may also require hot - gas or steam stripping . all of the recovered water is treated when the process of the present invention is operated to remove soluble contaminants from the oily waste . suspended oils and solids are removed from the wastewater before other treatment steps . in conventional heavy oil production , suspended oils and solids are removed by gravity separation , chemical flocculation , gas flotation , mechanical filtration , or a combination of these methods . in synfuels process research , it was found that chemical additives have successfully enhanced the gravity separation of oil and water emulsions ( robertson , liquid fuels technology , 1 ( 4 ), 325 - 333 , 1983 ), and coagulation - flocculation has removed suspended oils and solids from tar sand process waters . coagulation - precipitation with cationic polymers has removed solids and acetone - soluble tar from condensates , and solvent sublation has simultaneously removed both suspended solids and dissolved phenols from condensates ( nolan et al ., &# 34 ; physical - chemical treatment of ucg wastewater by solvent sublation &# 34 ;, 11th underground coal gasification symposium proceedings , morganstown , w . va ., 1985 ). biological oxidation most economically reduces high levels of dissolved organic compounds in a variety of wastewaters from synfuel production processes . process waters from tar sand recovery have been treated successfully in two separate studies ( torpy et al ., argonne national laboratory report number anl / es - 115 , 1981 ; klock , &# 34 ; biological treatment of tar sands wastewater &# 34 ;, doe report de - ac20 - 83lc11003 , 1985 ). recent tests have also demonstrated the breakdown of phenols in wastewaters ( adams et al ., &# 34 ; phenol degradation by indigenous bacteria in underground coal gasification wastewaters , laramie , wyo ., 1986 ). combinations of physical - chemical treatments have also been developed to meet current water discharge requirements . for chemically complex wastewaters from oil shale retorting , dissolved volatiles , organics , and solids are removed by the treatment sequence of steam stripping , carbon adsorption , and reverse osmosis . groundwater affected by the process operations has also been treated using nearly the same process sequence with the addition of coagulation - precipitation to remove selected metals and calcium hardness ( nolan et al ., &# 34 ; summary report on physical - chemical treatment of ucg wastewater &# 34 ;, laramie , wyo ., 1986 ). remediation of oily waste sites is completed using in situ biological treatment in the process according to the present invention . during this final remediation , the injection and production wells are used to induce and monitor microbial activity . the process operations are complete when groundwater contaminants are no longer detected in any water samples from the site . recovering a major portion of the oily waste accumulation reduces in situ biological treatment requirements . in addition to reducing the quantity of oily wastes by hot - water displacement , chemical extraction of the residual organic liquids can reduce concentrations of oily wastes by hot - water displacement , chemical extraction of the residual organic liquids can also reduce concentrations of specific compounds that are toxic to groundwater bacteria or resist microbial degradation . also , the process according to the present invention immobilizes any residual organic liquids to prevent deeper groundwater contamination . in some cases , these preliminary treatments may adequately facilitate further site remediation strictly by natural microbial activity . the process of the present invention also enhances conditions for inducing microbial activity to accelerate complete remediation of oily waste sites . reducing oily waste accumulations to the residual saturation of the organic liquid phase increases the relative permeability to water and the uniformity of the permeability distribution . at these more uniform and permeable conditions , bacteria inoculation , nutrient addition , environmental manipulation , and byproduct removal are controlled more effectively to accelerate complete remediation . the foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept , and therefore such adaptations and modifications are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments . it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation . | 8 |
fig1 shows a typical mobile elevating work platform , which includes a wheeled base 2 , a hydraulically operated extending structure comprising a boom 4 and a lifting structure 5 , and a cage 6 for a human operator 8 . the boom 4 , which is shown here in two different operating configurations , may be retracted and folded onto the wheeled base 2 for transportation or storage . movement of the boom is controlled by various hydraulic cylinders 10 , which are connected to a hydraulic drive system ( not shown ). hydraulic motors may also be provided for driving the wheels of the wheeled base 2 . apart from the operator cage 6 , the components shown in fig1 are all conventional and will not therefore be described in detail . it should be understood that the mobile elevating work platform may take various alternative forms . the first operator cage 6 shown in fig2 to 5 includes a substantially rectangular base unit 22 , a support bracket 24 , a fence assembly 25 comprising six upright support posts 26 , an upper guard rail 28 and a lower guard rail 30 , and a control console 32 . in this example , two of the support posts 26 are located at the ends of the cage and the remaining six support posts are located adjacent the sides of the cage . the number of posts and their position may of course be varied . a portion of the lower guard rail 30 is omitted to provide a gateway 33 , allowing access to the operator cage . the base unit 22 , the upper guard rail 28 , the lower guard rail 30 and the control console 32 are all moulded plastic or composite components . the support frame 24 is preferably made of metal , for example welded steel or cast aluminium . the support posts 26 are preferably cylindrical aluminium tubes having internal screw threads at both ends . preferably , the internal screw threads are provided by inserting star nuts into the ends of the tubes having an interference fit therewith . alternatively , the tubes may be made of a plastic or composite material , for example by a pultrusion moulding process . the operator cage is assembled from the above - mentioned components , which are fixed together using screws or bolts 34 . this allows individual components to be easily removed and replaced if repair is required . it also allows the operator cage to be collapsed for shipping as shown in fig4 . after delivery , the cage can be assembled on site and mounted on the boom of the mewp . the base unit 22 is formed as a single moulding from a fire - retardant and uv - stable plastic or composite material . it is preferably hollow , comprising an outer skin enclosing a sealed cavity . a number of moulded formations interlinking the opposite surfaces may be provided to increase the strength and rigidity of the unit . the enclosed cavity may optionally be filled with a rigid foam material for even greater strength and rigidity . the floor of the base unit 22 includes upper and lower surfaces that are separated by a distance of approximately 25 mm . this double floor arrangement provides increased safety as compared to conventional single floor cages . the upper floor surface 35 is surrounded by a raised toe guard or bumper 36 , which has a reduced height entry portion 38 . a number of moulded formations 40 for receiving the lower ends of the support posts 26 are formed around the inner periphery of the toe guard 36 . the toe guard 36 prevents the operator &# 39 ; s feet from slipping off the platform and protects them from collision with any obstacles . it also serves to increase the strength and rigidity of the base unit 22 . a number of slots ( not shown ) may be formed in the floor of the base unit 22 for drainage and visibility . these slots are formed during moulding and interconnect the upper and lower floor surfaces for increased strength and rigidity . the support frame 24 is attached to the underside of the base unit with bolts 34 that pass through the support frame 24 and the base unit 22 and are screwed into the threaded ends of the side posts 26 . the support frame 24 includes a conventional fixing allowing it to be attached to the end of the operating boom 4 of the mewp . the moulded plastic or composite base unit 22 is lighter than a conventional metal component and has improved rigidity . it also has improved robustness as the resilience of the plastic or composite material gives it the ability to recover its shape after an impact . the plastic or composite material is corrosion resistant and it may be moulded in any colour or in a luminescent material for high visibility , and does not require painting . the moulded base unit is simple to manufacture and it also provides improved soundproofing as compared to a conventional metal base unit . the upper guard rail 28 comprises a single part moulding , which is made from a fire - retardant and uv - stable plastic or composite material . the upper guard rail 28 is in the shape of a hoop having moulded formations 42 on its underside for receiving the upper ends of the support posts 26 . these are secured in position with bolts 34 that are screwed through the guard rail into the threaded upper ends of the support posts 26 . the front section of the guard rail is omitted to allow it to accommodate the control console 32 . the upper guard rail 28 includes an entry portion 44 that is raised to allow easy access to the cage through the gateway 33 . the raised portion 44 of the upper guard rail also provides protection from overhead obstructions while reversing . preferably , the height of the raised portion 44 is at least 30 cm greater than the height of the control console 32 , to ensure that there is sufficient clearance to prevent an operator being crushed against an unseen overhead obstruction . optionally , one or more crush sensors and / or proximity sensors may be mounted on the raised portion 44 . the control console 32 preferably includes a hand rail 80 that extends across the front of the console . this hand rail 80 provides the operator 8 with a support that he or she can hold to avoid overbalancing when maneuvering the cage 6 . this helps to prevent inadvertent operation of the controls if the operator reaches for support when overbalancing . the lower guard rail 30 is also a single part moulding , which is preferably made from a fire - retardant and uv - stable plastic or composite material . it is in the shape of a hoop and has moulded formations 46 for receiving the support posts 26 . it is secured by bolts 34 that are screwed through the rail into the support posts . the rear portion of the lower guard rail 30 is omitted to provide a gateway 33 allowing access to the operator cage . optionally , a conventional sliding guard bar ( not shown ) may be mounted on the fence posts 26 on either side of the gateway 33 . in use , the sliding bar may be raised to allow access to the operator cage then dropped back into position level with the lower guard rail to complete the loop of the lower guard rail . as shown in fig5 , the lower guard rail 30 may optionally include a number of moulded features such as ergonomic hand grips 48 or handles , tool holders 50 or anchor lugs 52 for a safety harness . similar formations may also be provided on the upper guard rail 28 . a preferred form of an ergonomic hand grip 48 is shown in fig1 . this hand grip 48 is oval in shape with a major axis dimension of about 54 mm and a minor axis dimension of about 44 mm , the major axis being tilted at an angle of about 30 ° from the vertical . the lower guard rail 30 is shaped so that it extends outwards beyond the upper guard rail 28 by a distance of approximately 30 mm . it therefore acts as a bumper that helps to prevent the upper guard rail 28 from colliding with upright obstacles and serves as a finger guard to protect the hands of an operator holding the upper guard rail 28 . the console 32 carries the controls ( not shown ) for the mewp drive system . the console is made as a single part moulding from a fire - retardant and uv - stable plastic or composite material . it is attached to the support posts and the upper and lower guard rails in the front portion of the operator cage by bolts 34 that are screwed into the ends of the support posts 26 . the second operator cage shown in fig6 to 10 is similar to the first operator cage , except that it includes a pivoting gate 54 in the gateway 33 in the rear part of the cage . the gate 54 is attached to the lower guard rail 30 and pivots inwards as shown in fig7 and 9 to allow an operator 8 to enter or leave the cage . a spring return mechanism 56 is incorporated into the lower guard rail 30 to ensure that the gate 54 returns automatically to the closed position as shown in fig6 and 8 . a latching mechanism ( not shown ) for retaining the gate 54 in the closed position may optionally be provided . when the gate 54 is open as shown in fig7 and 9 , it restricts access to the control console , thereby ensuring that the operator 8 closes the gate before attempting to operate the mewp . as shown in detail in fig1 , the gate 54 comprises a substantially u - shaped plastic or composite moulding having two parallel horizontal bars 58 that are interconnected at the free end of the gate by a vertical crosspiece 60 . the horizontal bars 58 include at their inner ends two axially - aligned vertical bores 62 and a pair of inwards - facing recesses 64 that accommodate a pair of torsion springs 66 . when assembled , the gate 54 is supported by one of the fence assembly support posts 26 , which passes through the bores 62 at the inner ends of the horizontal bars 58 , and by the moulded formation 46 at the end of the lower guard rail 30 . the torsion springs 66 are accommodated within recesses 68 in the ends of the moulded formation 46 . in use , the springs 66 are pre - stressed so that they urge the gate 54 towards the closed position . the gate 54 may take various different forms , according to the requirements of the operator . for example , a taller gate may be provided . this may allow the height of the cage gateway 33 to be increased , since current safety regulations ( en280 standard ) require that the maximum gap between entry portion 44 of the upper guard rail 28 and the top of the gate 54 is 550 mm . providing a taller gate thus allows the height of the gateway to be increased by , for example , 100 mm , 200 mm or 500 mm . as with the first cage shown in fig4 , the cage 6 may be disassembled and collapsed for shipping in “ flat - pack ” configuration , with the upper and lower guard rails 28 , 30 placed on top of the base unit 22 . the other components ( not shown ) including the support posts , the console , the gate and the fastening bolts may be placed on top of the base unit 22 . upon delivery , the cage can be easily assembled and attached to the mewp . if any parts of the cage are damaged , they can be easily removed and replaced with new parts . fig1 to 15 illustrate another embodiment of the invention in which the operator cage 6 includes a crush sensor for sensing external crush forces applied to the operator cage , as may be caused for example by a collision between an obstruction ( not shown ) and either the cage 6 or the operator 8 . such a situation might arise for example when the operator cage 6 is being raised or driven backwards , if the operator 8 does not see the obstruction . as a result , the operator 8 might be trapped between the obstruction and the control console 32 as illustrated in fig1 and 13 . this might cause a serious risk of injury , particularly if the operator 8 is trapped in a position that actuates the controls , causing the operator cage 6 to be driven further towards the obstruction . in this embodiment , the crush sensor comprises a hand rail 70 that extends across the front of the control console 32 . the hand rail 70 is u - shaped and is connected by a pivot joint 72 at each end of the handle 70 to the sides of the control console 32 . the control console 32 is supported in turn by the upper guard rail 28 of the fence assembly 25 , which is mounted on the moulded plastic or composite base unit 22 . as shown in fig1 , the hand rail 70 is biased upwards by a strong compression spring 74 . however , if a sufficient downwards force is applied to the hand rail 70 in the direction of arrow a , the bias force of the spring 74 can be overcome allowing the hand rail to activate a sensor switch 76 located beneath the rail . this switch 76 is connected to a control device ( not shown ) that controls or restricts operation of the machine when activated . the downward movement of the hand rail 70 also helps to relieve the crushing force felt by the operator 8 . therefore , if the operator 8 is crushed against the control console 32 as shown in fig1 and 13 , the crush sensor senses the external crushing force and activates the control device , which then prevents further movement of the cage 6 . the control device may include an override control , which allows limited movement of the cage after activation , for example allowing the cage to be moved away from the obstruction . generally , any such movement will be restricted to a very low speed . the control device may also actuate an alarm . it may also include a reset control , allowing normal operation to be resumed after the crushing force has been removed . an alternative form of crush sensor is illustrated in fig1 and 17 . in this arrangement , the control console 32 includes an integral hand rail 80 that extends across the front of the console and is supported on either side by a moulded plastic or composite support structure 82 . v - shaped slots 78 are formed in the front edges of the support structure on either side of the console 32 in order to weaken the structure . if an excessive downwards force is applied to the hand rail 80 , the support structure 82 buckles in the weakened regions around these slots 78 , allowing the hand rail 80 to be displaced downwards . this relives some of the force felt by the operator and at the same time displacement of the hand rail is sensed , thereby activating the control device ( not shown ). the control device then activates an alarm and controls or restricts operation of the machine as described previously . displacement of the hand rail 80 may be sensed by means of a switch , a fuse or any other suitable device . alternatively , pressure sensors or strain gauges may be provided to sense an excessive crush force applied to the console or a hand rail or support in the vicinity of the console . a crush sensor may be provided elsewhere on the cage , for example on the raised portion 44 at the rear of the upper guard rail 28 . alternatively or additionally , one or more ultrasonic proximity sensors may be mounted on the cage to provide a warning and / or to control or restrict movement of the cage if it comes into close proximity with an obstacle . various modifications of the invention are of course possible . for example , the gateway may be positioned at one end rather than at the rear of the cage , and the raised portion of the upper rail may be positioned away from the gateway . the extending structure may take various other forms , including scissor structures and extending links . the support frame may be moulded into the base . the upper rail may include a reinforcing material such as a steel cord or a fibrous reinforcing material ( e . g . kevlar ™) to reduce the risk of the rail being damaged during use , for example from contact with a cutting tool . the second portion of the upper rail may be hinged , removable or otherwise adjustable such that it can alternatively be located in a lower position , for example level with the first portion of the upper rail . in certain circumstances it may be desirable to place the second portion of the rail in this lower position to avoid obstructing any operations being carried out by the operator . furthermore , certain aspects of the invention , for example the raised portion of the upper rail and / or the pivoting gate and / or the crush sensor , may be embodied in an operator cage that is not designed to be disassembled and / or that does not include components made of a plastic or composite material . the operator cage or features thereof may also be used or designed for use with various types of machine other than mobile elevating work platforms . for example , the operator cage may be designed for use with machines such as telescopic handling machines (“ telehandlers ”) or other machines where an operator cage is provided to accommodate ( and generally protect ) the operator . | 1 |
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 program modules , being executed by a personal computer . generally , program modules include routines , programs , objects , components , data structures , 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 . fig1 illustrates an example of a suitable computing environment 120 on which the subsequently described methods and apparatuses may be implemented . exemplary computing environment 120 is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the improved methods and systems described herein . neither should computing environment 120 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in computing environment 120 . the improved methods and apparatuses herein are operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations . examples of well known computing systems , environments , and / or configurations that may be suitable include , but are not limited to , personal computers , server computers , thin clients , thick clients , hand - held or laptop devices , multiprocessor systems , microprocessor - based systems , set top boxes , programmable consumer electronics , network pcs , minicomputers , mainframe computers , distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices , and the like . as shown in fig1 , computing environment 120 includes a general - purpose computing device in the form of a computer 130 . the components of computer 130 may include one or more processors or processing units 132 , a system memory 134 , and a bus 136 that couples various system components including system memory 134 to processor 132 . bus 136 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures , including a memory bus or memory controller , a peripheral bus , an accelerated graphics port , and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures . by way of example , and not limitation , such architectures include industry standard architecture ( isa ) bus , micro channel architecture ( mca ) bus , enhanced isa ( eisa ) bus , video electronics standards association ( vesa ) local bus , and peripheral component interconnects ( pci ) bus also known as mezzanine bus . computer 130 typically includes a variety of computer readable media . such media may be any available media that is accessible by computer 130 , and it includes both volatile and non - volatile media , removable and non - removable media . in fig1 , system memory 134 includes computer readable media in the form of volatile memory , such as random access memory ( ram ) 140 , and / or non - volatile memory , such as read only memory ( rom ) 138 . a basic input / output system ( bios ) 142 , containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 130 , such as during start - up , is stored in rom 138 . ram 140 typically contains data and / or program modules that are immediately accessible to and / or presently being operated on by processor 132 . computer 130 may further include other removable / non - removable , volatile / non - volatile computer storage media . for example , fig1 illustrates a hard disk drive 144 for reading from and writing to a non - removable , non - volatile magnetic media ( not shown and typically called a “ hard drive ”), a magnetic disk drive 146 for reading from and writing to a removable , non - volatile magnetic disk 148 ( e . g ., a “ floppy disk ”), and an optical disk drive 150 for reading from or writing to a removable , non - volatile optical disk 152 such as a cd - rom / r / rw , dvd - rom / r / rw /+ r / ram or other optical media . hard disk drive 144 , magnetic disk drive 146 and optical disk drive 150 are each connected to bus 136 by one or more interfaces 154 . the drives and associated computer - readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules , and other data for computer 130 . although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk , a removable magnetic disk 148 and a removable optical disk 152 , it should 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 , random access memories ( rams ), read only memories ( rom ), and the like , may also be used in the exemplary operating environment . a number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk , magnetic disk 148 , optical disk 152 , rom 138 , or ram 140 , including , e . g ., an operating system 158 , one or more application programs 160 , other program modules 162 , and program data 164 . the improved methods and systems described herein may be implemented within operating system 158 , one or more application programs 160 , other program modules 162 , and / or program data 164 . a user may provide commands and information into computer 130 through input devices such as keyboard 166 and pointing device 168 ( such as a “ mouse ”). other input devices ( not shown ) may include a microphone , joystick , game pad , satellite dish , serial port , scanner , camera , etc . these and other input devices are connected to the processing unit 132 through a user input interface 170 that is coupled to bus 136 , but may be connected by other interface and bus structures , such as a parallel port , game port , or a universal serial bus ( usb ). a monitor 172 or other type of display device is also connected to bus 136 via an interface , such as a video adapter 174 . in addition to monitor 172 , personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices ( not shown ), such as speakers and printers , which may be connected through output peripheral interface 175 . video adapter 174 typically includes a video graphics device . computer 130 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers , such as a remote computer 182 . remote computer 182 may include many or all of the elements and features described herein relative to computer 130 . logical connections shown in fig1 are a local area network ( lan ) 177 and a general wide area network ( wan ) 179 . such networking environments are commonplace in offices , enterprise - wide computer networks , intranets , and the internet . when used in a lan networking environment , computer 130 is connected to lan 177 via network interface or adapter 186 . when used in a wan networking environment , the computer typically includes a modem 178 or other means for establishing communications over wan 179 . modem 178 , which may be internal or external , may be connected to system bus 136 via the user input interface 170 or other appropriate mechanism . depicted in fig1 , is a specific implementation of a wan via the internet . here , computer 130 employs modem 178 to establish communications with at least one remote computer 182 via the internet 180 . in a networked environment , program modules depicted relative to computer 130 , or portions thereof , may be stored in a remote memory storage device . thus , e . g ., as depicted in fig1 , remote application programs 189 may reside on a memory device of remote computer 182 . it will be appreciated that the network connections shown and described are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used . an embodiment of the invention provides a perforation software application to run within a computer aided design program in a computer environment 120 depicted in fig1 . an example of a computer aided design program is autocad , but the invention is not limited to only such a program . further , the perforation software application implemented using visual basic application ( vba ) as described in the exemplary embodiments may use any software compatible with a computer aided design program . the preferred embodiment of invention describes the perforation software application implemented in vba and the computer aided design program to be autocad . further , the preferred embodiment lays the perforation patterns onto ceiling panel systems . however , the invention is not limited to this embodiment . fig2 is a flow diagram illustrating the top level steps of a method of an exemplary embodiment of the invention . at step 200 , a user selects an autocad object that represents an edge of a ceiling shape . at step 205 , a user selects an autocad object that represents an additional edge of the ceiling shape . the application provides the user with an option to offset the perforation pattern from an edge by a certain distance . at step 210 , the perforation application locates the geometric center for the perforations of a panel by intersecting the connecting lines between the start and end of each segment of the edges . this gives a perforation pattern that is located on radials if the ceiling edges are arcs rather than straight lines . if the connecting lines happen to be parallel then the perforation array is also parallel . at step 215 , the perforation application lays out a default perforation pattern . if the ceiling edges are arcs , the perforation pattern is located in a parallel radial pattern . the application lays out the radial perforation pattern such that the pattern is closely square to the middle of the ceiling . at step 220 , the application adjusts the perforation pattern such that there is no odd spacing at the ceiling edge . the application iterates this function until the spacing reaches a pleasing aesthetic . at step 225 , the perforation application allows the user to change the parameters of the perforation patterns such as hole size , hole spacing , hole shape , and edge spacing . once the parameters are changed , the application updates the perforation pattern automatically . fig3 - 7 are exemplary user interfaces , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . in addition , fig3 - 7 correspond to some of the steps depicted in fig2 . fig3 illustrates a screen shot of the autocad software environment 300 . the autocad program opens an autocad drawing file containing a ceiling shape 305 . the ceiling shape contains ceiling edges that are arc segments ( 310 , 315 ). the crosshair cursor 320 allows the user to select a ceiling edge segment 310 and an additional ceiling edge segment 315 . as discussed when describing fig2 , once the user selects two ceiling edge segments , the perforation application locates the geometric center of the perforation pattern by intersecting the connecting lines between the start and end of each segment of the edges . thus , when the ceiling edge segments are arcs as in fig3 , the perforation pattern is located on radials . in addition , if the connecting lines are parallel as in the case of the ceiling shape in fig3 , then the perforation array is also parallel . fig4 illustrates the perforation application laying out a default perforation pattern 400 . the perforation pattern places radial perforation patterns such that they are closely square in the middle of the ceiling 405 . the perforation application provides a dialog box 410 that reports the number of perforation holes 415 along the short axis 417 of the ceiling shape 405 . in addition , the dialog box 410 reports the hole spacing 420 , panel edge offset 425 , and hole diameter 430 . further , the perforation application reports to the user whether the holes are square or round 435 . fig5 illustrates the manner in which the perforation application updates the perforation pattern when changing pattern parameters . the perforation application updates the perforation pattern from fig4 to the pattern 500 depicted in fig5 by changing several pattern parameters . examining the perforation application module dialog box 410 , the number of holes along the short axis has been decreased from eleven to nine ( 415 , 505 ), the panel edge offset is modified from 1 . 5 to 3 ( 420 , 515 ), and the hole diameter has been changed from 0 . 5 to 0 . 375 ( 430 , 520 ). the updated perforation pattern 500 continues to create an aesthetically pleasing array that fits the ceiling shape with no odd spacing 525 . in addition , the application creates the radial pattern where each radial is parallel to each other and the ceiling edge segments 500 . further , the pattern located the perforations to be closely square in the center of the ceiling that contributes to the pleasing aesthetic 530 . fig6 illustrates characteristic information that is reported by the “ info ” tab ( see fig5 ) of the dialog box 410 . note , the invention is not limited to this set of characteristic information . the perforation application reports that the perforation pattern occupies a total area 9620 . 66 ( 600 ), contains a total number of holes of 999 ( 605 ), area removed of 110 . 34 ( 610 ), and the percentage of open area of 1 . 15 % ( 615 ). fig7 illustrates the perforation application updating a perforation pattern when a user changes the perforation parameters and that it reports different results . the perforation pattern 700 now contains seven holes 705 across the short axis of the ceiling shape . in addition , the perforation pattern has panel edge offset of 3 ( 715 ), hole diameter of 1 ( 720 ), and contains square perforations 725 . the perforation application dialog box 410 reports that the perforation pattern 700 contains a total area of 9620 . 66 ( 730 ), total holes of 581 ( 735 ), area removed of 581 ( 740 ) and percentage of open area of 6 . 04 % ( 745 ). fig8 is a functional block diagram , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . data is transmitted and received between a computer aided drawing ( cad ) program 800 and the perforation application module 805 through a communication link 810 . communication link 810 is typically a logical interface established between these software applications , which permits the exchange of data . fig9 is a flow diagram illustrating another embodiment of the invention . this flow diagram assumes that both the cad application and the perforation module are executing on a computer at the same time . at step 900 , a user instructs a cad application to display the program containing the ceiling shape . the cad application and perforation application module thereafter cooperatively allow a user to select ceiling edge segment objects , step 905 . at step 910 , the cad application passes the ceiling edge objects to the perforation application module , which is monitoring the selection of a ceiling edge . the perforation application thereafter receives the ceiling edge segment objects from the cad application , step 915 . at step 920 , the perforation application module calculates a default perforation pattern based on default perforation parameters . the perforation application module passes objects representing the default perforation pattern to the cad application , step 925 , which then prompts the cad application to display a dialog box allowing a user to update perforation pattern parameters . at step 930 , the cad application receives and displays the objects representing the default perforation pattern onto the ceiling shape . the cad application further displays a dialog box ( based on prompting from the perforation application ) allowing a user to update perforation parameters . further , the dialog box allows the user to access pattern information such as total area , total number of holes , area removed , and percentage of open area . a user may then update perforation parameters , step 935 . at step 940 , the cad application passes ceiling edge objects and updated perforation parameters , and at step 945 , the perforation application module receives the ceiling edge segment objects and the updated perforation parameters . the perforation application module thereafter calculates an updated perforation pattern based on the updated perforation parameters , step 950 . the perforation application module also passes cad objects representing an updated perforation pattern , step 955 , and prompts the cad application to display a dialog box to allow the user to update perforation parameters . at step 960 , cad displays the updated perforation pattern and displays the dialog box allowing a user to update perforation parameters . further , the dialog box allows the user to access pattern information such as total area , total number of holes , area removed , and percentage of open area . fig1 is an exemplary ceiling panel system that contains a perforation pattern that can be laid out using the perforation application . for example , an architect designing a ceiling panel system 1000 sends the perforation designer a cad drawing of the ceiling shape . the perforation designer uses the perforation application to lay out a perforation pattern . fig1 a - b illustrate exemplary perforation patterns ( 1100 , and 1105 ) that can be laid out by the perforation application . the perforation designer sends the cad computer file containing the ceiling shape and perforation panel to a manufacturing facility . the ceiling panel manufacturers convert the cad file into instructions to drive manufacturing equipment , such as computer numerical control ( cnc ) machine tools to produce the perforation patterns on metal ceiling panels . all references , including publications , patent applications , and patents , cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein . the use of the terms “ a ” and “ an ” and “ the ” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention ( especially in the context of the following claims ) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural , unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context . the terms “ comprising ,” “ having ,” “ including ,” and “ containing ” are to be construed as open - ended terms ( i . e ., meaning “ including , but not limited to ,”) unless otherwise noted . recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range , unless otherwise indicated herein , and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein . all methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . the use of any and all examples , or exemplary language ( e . g ., “ such as ”) provided herein , is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed . no language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non - claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention . preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein , including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention . variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description . the inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate , and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . accordingly , this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law . moreover , any combination of the above - described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . | 4 |
in the following description , for the purposes of explanation , specific devices , method steps and arrangements are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art , however , that the invention may be practiced without these specifically enumerated details and that the preferred embodiment can be modified so as to provide other capabilities . in some instances , well - known structures and methods have not been described in detail . fig1 shows in perspective the angioplasty device of the invention . the angioplasty device 10 comprises a combination catheter 20 and a guide wire 15 . what is shown is only the distal end of the catheter illustrating the features of the invention . like conventional vascular catheters , the catheter is very long . in medicine , a catheter typically refers to a tube that can be inserted into a body cavity or duct . catheters used in angioplasty are adapted to be inserted into major arteries that make up portions of the body &# 39 ; s vascular system . catheters are typically manufactured from a variety of different polymers , including silicone rubber latex and thermoplastic elastomers . silicone is one of the most common choices because it is inert and non - reactive to body fluids and a range of medical fluids with which it might come into contact . in the present invention , the combination catheter 20 is flexible , and able to bend into a variety of different configurations and shapes . this type of catheter is known in the art as a “ soft ” catheter . referring now to all of fig1 , 2 and 3 , the device 20 includes a first catheter portion 22 , which is attached at one end to an inflatable angioplasty balloon 24 , shown schematically . the angioplasty balloon 24 in turn is attached to a second catheter portion 26 , the catheter structure continuing through the balloon . exit holes 27 are provided in the catheter , preferably ( but not necessarily ) both distal and proximal of the balloon . at a minimum at least one exit hole is provided ; preferably the holes are positioned such that they extend around the periphery of the catheter . located at the distal end of the combination catheter 20 is a valve tip 28 and the second catheter portion 26 preferably tapers to a narrow distal end 29 at the valve tip 28 . the catheter has the shape of a long , flexible tube . the angioplasty device is intended to be inserted into a patient &# 39 ; s artery . the combination catheter 20 is therefore sized accordingly . in the preferred embodiment , the first and second catheter portions 22 and 26 have a diameter that corresponds to standard sizes used in the industry . these standard sizes are referred to in french sizes ( 3 fr = 1 mm ), and one typical size is about 5 french ( 3 and 4 fr are also used ). the first catheter portion 22 can vary in length , and has a much greater length than schematically depicted . in a preferred embodiment , the catheter ranges in size from about 40 cm to 120 cm . the particular length that is chosen will depend on the specific therapeutic purpose for which the catheter will be used on a patient ; dimensions given herein are not limiting , but are intended to show the typical size of the catheter device that will be commonly used . the cross section of the combination catheter 20 is illustrated in fig2 , as seen along the plane 2 - 2 in fig1 . as shown , in a preferred embodiment there are two channels or lumens 31 and 32 that run along the long axis of the combination catheter 20 . the first lumen 31 is used to accept the guide wire 15 ( not shown in fig2 ), and extends along the entire length of the combination catheter 20 . it terminates at the distal end of the catheter at the valve tip , which is described in more detail below . the first lumen 31 provides a pathway for the guide wire which has first been inserted in the patient &# 39 ; s artery and which supports and guides the catheter device as it is advanced into the artery . the first lumen 31 preferably is connected to the openings 27 in the side of the catheter ( unless more than two lumens are provided ). referring again to fig1 , during an angiogram , a contrast agent is inserted into the first lumen 31 and exits through the openings or series of exit holes 27 , the lumen 31 preferably being larger in diameter than the guide wire to allow the contrast liquid to be delivered without removing the guide wire . the second lumen 32 is used to inflate the angioplasty balloon 24 during an angioplasty procedure . the second lumen 32 does not extend the length of the entire catheter . rather , it ends at and is connected directly to the angioplasty balloon 24 . fig4 is another cross section taken inside the balloon , showing the lumens 31 and 32 . this section is essentially at the distal end of the lumen 32 , showing the lumen fluidly connected to the balloon interior . fig5 and 6 show another embodiment of the two lumens , these being cross section views just proximal to the balloon ( fig5 ) and at the balloon ( fig6 ). fig5 shows that the balloon inflation channel or lumen can comprise a smaller tube 32 a positioned within the basic catheter tube 22 . the guide lumen 31 a is thus defined by the main space within the larger tube 22 . at the balloon , the tube 32 a has a terminal , closed end , and a side hole ( not shown ) in the small tube and through the wall of the catheter body 22 is in fluid communication with the interior of the balloon , similar to what is shown in fig4 . fig6 shows the balloon 24 surrounding the basic catheter tube 22 , just distal of the distal end of the inflation lumen or channel 32 a , with the space 31 b within the tube 22 comprising the guide lumen . in fig5 the holes for administering contrast agent are shown schematically at 27 . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , additional lumens ( not shown ) can be added to the combination catheter 20 . the additional lumens can , for example , facilitate the delivery of medication or additional contrast as needed by the patient . the guide wire 15 is substantially circular in cross - section ( although other cross - sections can be used with equal effectiveness ). it is sized so that it will fit in one of the lumens illustrated in fig2 , 4 , 5 and 6 and discussed above . in a preferred embodiment the guide wire has a diameter in the approximate range of 0 . 018 to 0 . 035 inches ( about 1 . 4 french to about 2 . 7 french ). as is well known , the guide wire is sufficiently rigid so that it can be inserted ( pushed ) into the patient &# 39 ; s arteries or veins . at the same time , the guide wire has enough flexibility to permit it to conform to curves or deviations present in the arteries . the guide wire preferably is not of the same rigidity along its entire length ; the distal end is substantially more flexible . this prevents the guide wire from inadvertently puncturing the walls of the veins or arteries as it is being inserted . as noted above , the first and second catheter portions 22 and 26 preferably both include series of exit holes 27 that are located adjacent to the inflatable angioplasty balloon 24 . these holes are disposed around the entire circumference of the combination catheter 20 . they provide openings from the first lumen or channel 31 ( or 31 a ) to the exterior of the combination catheter 20 , for administering the contrast agent . although two sets of holes 27 are shown , one proximal and one distal of the balloon 24 , the device 10 can be provided with only series of holes , at one of these locations . the catheter is capable of being shifted on the guide to adjust its proximal / distal position in the blood vessel so that one set of holes can be sufficient for delivering the contrast agent at the location desired . the valve tip 28 comprises a flexible rubber or plastic material that is located at the distal end of the catheter device 10 . the valve tip 28 surrounds the end of the lumen 31 , which may comprise the interior volume of the second catheter portion 26 . when the guide wire 15 is fully inserted in the catheter device it passes through an opening in the distal end 29 , pushing and holding the valve tip 28 open . when the guide wire is withdrawn , the valve tip occludes the opening . the resilient nature of the valve tip , which may be connected to the catheter distal end 29 by integral plastic or rubber material , causes it to close and substantially seal against the distal end 29 in the event the guide wire is pulled back . in an alternative embodiment , the catheter is without the valve tip 28 ; instead , the distal end 29 narrows significantly to a small diameter such that the guide wire 15 substantially fills and occludes the distal end 29 and thus closes the lumen 31 . in a third embodiment the catheter tip tapers to such a small opening ( which can be pushed larger by the guide wire when present ) that the tip opening strongly impedes contrast flow , so that contrast is expelled out the exit holes 27 , even without the guide wire present . in any of these embodiments the opening at the distal end 29 is substantially sealed when contrast medium is administered , preventing any substantial amount of contrast from flowing through the distal end . this arrangement causes the contrast agent to exit through the exit holes 27 thereby facilitating the angiogram . the foregoing description has made reference to the first catheter portion 22 , inflatable angioplasty balloon 24 and second catheter portion 26 . these various elements are not necessarily separate components , and in a preferred embodiment , at least the catheter portions 22 and 26 will be produced as a single unit during the manufacturing process . the balloon can also be included with the original extruded catheter , in a known blow molding process . the reference to the various elements herein is only intended to provide a clear illustration of the structure and operation of the invention . it will also be apparent to those of skill in the art that in alternative embodiments the first catheter portion 22 , inflatable angioplasty balloon 24 and second catheter portion 26 could all be manufactured separately and joined together in a final assembly process , along with the inner balloon - inflation lumen 32 and any other inner lumen other than the catheter body interior . an alternative configuration for the angioplasty catheter device 10 a is shown in fig7 . here , the distal end 29 a of the catheter device is formed in a bend as shown , to provide steerability of the catheter through relatively tight turns in the artery . angled - tip catheters are known for devices different from those of the invention . in operation of the angioplasty device of the invention , a physician first identifies an area of interest inside a patient &# 39 ; s artery or vein that requires treatment . the area of interest can be identified using common treatment techniques well known in the art . the physician then commences treatment by inserting the guide wire 15 into the patient &# 39 ; s artery , in the normal manner . the combination catheter 20 is placed over the guide wire and advanced until the inflatable angioplasty balloon 24 has passed the area of interest ( or lesion ) which requires treatment , or until one set of exit holes 27 is properly adjacent to the area of interest for delivery of contrast . the guide wire 15 is then either left in place , for the embodiment in which the guide wire lumen 31 is oversized and the guide wire is relied on to close the distal catheter end 29 , or the guide wire is pulled back or removed from the artery by withdrawing it from the combination catheter 20 . in the latter case the valve tip 28 seals off the lumen , preventing blood from entering the device and contrast liquid from flooding out the end . the physician then injects liquid contrast agent through the lumen 31 in the combination catheter . this can be through the lumen 31 with the guide wire in place , or with the guide wire removed . the liquid passes through the holes 29 and into the artery . an angiogram can then be performed , using methods well known to those of skill in the art . it will be assumed for the purposes of illustration that the results of the angiogram indicate that angioplasty is required to treat the patient . ( if angioplasty is not required , the catheter can be withdrawn , and the treatment process is concluded .) the combination catheter 20 is pulled back slightly ( or moved forward along the guide wire , depending on catheter position , position of holes and presence or absence of guide wire ) until the angioplasty balloon 24 is adjacent to the lesion . the angioplasty balloon 24 is inflated by using a pressurized liquid injected through the second lumen 32 of the catheter . after an appropriate period of time , the angioplasty balloon is deflated . the combination catheter 20 is again moved so that the angioplasty balloon 24 is no longer over the lesion , but with holes 27 in position to deliver contrast medium appropriately . the physician then performs a post - angioplasty angiogram using the methods described above . if the results of the angiogram indicate that additional angioplasty is required , then the catheter can be moved , and the angioplasty balloon 24 re - inflated . again , the guide wire can be left in place during these steps , in one embodiment of the invention . after the physician is satisfied that the angioplasty has had its desired effect , the catheter is withdrawn from the patient &# 39 ; s artery . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing description is for illustrative purposes only , and that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . the full extent of the present invention is defined and limited only by the following claims . | 0 |
in a preferred embodiment , the fecal occult blood testing device 1 for use in the present invention comprises a base sheet 10 to which is secured a charged , absorbant test medium 20 ( fig1 ). a test sample volume control cover sheet 30 overlies test medium 20 and includes a plurality of openings 31 therein a portion of fecal material wiped onto volume control cover sheet 30 ( fig2 ) passes through openings 31 onto test sheet 20 , and the remaining portion of the sample is removed by removing cover sheet 30 ( fig3 ) and disposing of it . base sheet 10 is preferably made of a pliable , water - resistant material . by making base sheet 10 pliable , device 1 can be used as a wipe rather than as a receptor upon which a fecal sample is smeared using a small paddle . of course , in the broader aspects of the invention , the use of a small paddle to smear a sample of fecal material onto device 1 is contemplated . a suitable pliable , water - resistant base sheet is a 3 . 5 mil ( 0 . 0035 inch ) thick sheet of vinyl plastic material . test medium 20 comprises a sheet of filter paper impregnated with a suspension of charged material such as silica . since hematin is negatively charged , the silica must be positively charged , which it is at a ph of around 6 . 4 . the key requirement for test medium 20 is that it allow retention of a stool sample , allow the passage of solvent and can be made to carry a charge materially different from either hematin or hemoglobin . test medium 20 is adhered to base sheet 10 by a suitable adhesive such as an emulsion base acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive . the specific grade of filter paper is not particularly critical . medium grade filter paper such as watman no . 1 is operable . numerous silicas are available to those skilled in the chromatography arts , many of which are applicable in the present invention . aerosil ™ 200n is operable . the only requirement for the charged particle material is that it be differentially attractive to hematin and hemoglobin such that separation can be effected . the silica particles are approximately two hundred nanometers in diameter . they comprise a very fine , light powder which is fairly widely used . suitable impregnation can be achieved by forming a thin paste of silica in a 70 % ethanol and water carrier . this slurry is then pressed into the filter paper with a roller and the paper is allowed to dry . while impregnating filter paper with silica as described above constitutes the best mode presently contemplated for the invention , it is possible that charged medium can be created by other techniques , as for example treating filter paper with charged organic molecules such as stearates . another possibility which has not been specifically tested would be to place filter paper in a sulfuric / nitric acid mixture in order to create nitrocellulose paper . volume control cover sheet 30 controls the quantity of fecal material which is actually applied to test medium 20 . it is a sheet of thin , water - resistant material . a suitable material is a silicone coated tissue paper , at a thickness of about 2 mils . the holes or openings 31 are approximately 0 . 05 to 0 . 10 inch in diameter and eight to sixteen such openings are arranged in a pattern in one - half of cover sheet 30 . cover sheet 30 is preferably releasably adhered to test medium 20 along end edge 32 so that it can readily be lifted at end edge 33 and peeled away from test sheet 20 and deposited in the toilet . openings 31 are preferably arranged in a circle . the solvent used to facilitate migration can be placed in the approximate center of the circle defined by openings 31 and will tend to flow radially outwardly . the migration of hematin and hemoglobin will thus be in a consistent , radial pattern with respect to the circle of apertures 31 . the solvent 50 must be one which will dissolve hematin and hemoglobin in order the cause them to migrate through the test medium 20 . in the preferred embodiment , solvent 50 must also dissolve a buffering agent which helps to ensure an appropriate ph for optimum interaction between the test medium and the hematin . the ph is preferably from about six to about seven , most preferably about 6 . 4 . sodium acetate is a suitable buffer for this purpose . water is a good solvent for hematin and hemoglobin , as well as for the buffer . on the other hand , the solvent preferably includes ethanol , which facilitates the characteristic color change reaction of indicators such as guaiac . the solvent preferably includes between about 60 and about 80 % by volume ethanol to facilitate the guaiac or other oxygen colored dye color indication reaction while leaving enough water in the solvent mixture to dissolve the acetate buffer and to facilitate the migration of hematin and hemoglobin . the acetate buffer included in the solution is at a level of about 0 . 05 normal . the means for indicating the presence of hematin and hemoglobin comprise an oxygen colored dye and a peroxide developer which releases oxygen upon exposure to hematin and hemoglobin . the oxygen colored indicator dye reagent can be gum guaiac , orthodianisidine , tetramethylbenzidine , or the like , with guaiac being preferred . the concentration of oxygen colored dye , most preferably guaiac , is from about 5 to about 25 mg ./ ml ., most preferably about 7 mg ./ ml . the guaiac should not be so concentrated that it either makes the test too sensitive or obscure the peroxidase reaction . if the test is too sensitive , it will detect the minor amounts of blood normally found in the stool . the preferred solvent used is ethanol . the peroxide solution is preferably about a 1 % peroxide solution . the peroxide developer and the indicator dye can be combined in a single solution provided a peroxide stabilizer such as edta ( ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid ) is also included in the solution . in use , device 1 is preferably used as a wipe in such a way that fecal material is wiped onto volume control cover sheet 30 . a portion of the fecal material engages test sheet 20 through volume control openings 31 . cover sheet 30 is lifted from end 33 , peeled off at end 32 and disposed of . solvent is then applied by dropper 51 approximately , to the center of the circle defined by dots of fecal material 40 on test sheet 20 ( fig3 ). four drops or about 0 . 2 ml . of solvent is normally sufficient . as the solvent migrates outwardly through the test medium , it causes hematin 41 and hemoglobin 42 to migrate differently , due to the attractive charges between hematin and the charged test medium 20 . about 30 seconds to one minute are allowed for solvent migration . after the solvent has radiated outwardly approximately the distance indicated in fig4 the indicator reagent containing hydrogen peroxide and guaiac or other color indicator is applied to test medium 20 . the guaiac colors do indicate the location of hematin 41 and hemoglobin 42 in the manner indicated . stool samples which contain only blood from the upper gastrointestinal tract will show color only in close proximity to the test sample dots 40 . thus , in the lower portion of fig4 a showing for hematin 41 only is indicated in close proximity to the adjacent dot of fecal material 40a . on the other hand , stool samples containing blood only from the lower gastrcintestinal tract will tend to form an area 42 extending away from dot 40b of fecal material as indicated in the center of fig4 . if the fecal sample contains blood originating in both the upper and the lower gastrointestinal tracts , a mixed pattern will be seen as indicated with the hematin ring 41 and hemoglobin patch 42 radiating away from fecal dot 40c . the alternative embodiment device 100 ( fig5 ) makes it possible to incorporate a hydrogen peroxide &# 34 ; developer &# 34 ; directly into the solvent system . alternative embodiment 100 includes a base sheet 110 which is just like base sheet 10 . however , sheet 120 differs from test medium sheet 20 in that sheet 120 is a piece of plain , absorbant filter paper . it is not treated with charged particles such as the silica discussed above . it is , however , impregnated with guaiac or other indicator dye . a large test dot 121 which is also made of filter paper is impregnated with a suspension of silica in the manner described above . it is adhered to sheet 120 by means of a solvent impermeable adhesive layer 123 ( fig6 ). a fecal sample is applied to test dot 121 through the use of a volume control sheet 130 having openings 131 identical to openings 31 , which fall within the circumference of test dot 121 ( fig5 ). the solvent 150 used in connection with alternative embodiment device 100 contains not only acetate buffer as discussed above , but also 1 % hydrogen peroxide . the solvent solution is thus a solvent / developer , whereas in the first embodiment , the migration solvent 50 contains a buffer , but no peroxide . fig7 discloses yet another alternative embodiment device 200 which comprises a base sheet 210 , an absorbant test medium pad 220 and a volume control cover sheet 230 ( fig7 ). alternative embodiment 200 is designed so that a patient can use the device at home to collect a feces specimen , seal device 200 and bring it or mail it to the doctor or laboratory . to accomplish the foregoing , pliant base sheet 210 is coated with a pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive as described above , over its entire surface . a fold line 211 is provided laterally across base sheet 210 , approximately in the center thereof , by scoring base sheet 210 along fold line 211 . a strip of silicone coated release paper 212 is adhered along one end edge of base sheet 210 so that a user can readily grasp the cover sheet 230 along its leading edge 232 when one wants to peel cover sheet 230 off of base sheet 210 . test medium pad 220 is adhered to the surface of base sheet 210 via the pressure sensitive adhesive . test pad 220 is located on that half of base sheet 210 which is opposite the end where release liner tab 212 is located . on that half of base sheet 210 located toward release liner tab 212 , base sheet 210 is cut at spaced intervals along parallel lines 213 to define a test door 214 . test door 214 includes a fold line 215 scored in base sheet 210 at the base of door 214 . a tab of silicone release paper 216 is placed along the end of door 214 opposite fold line 215 and a matching strip of silicone release paper 217 is located along the same edge of base sheet 210 , adjacent test pad 220 . in that manner , when base sheet 210 is folded shut along fold line 211 , silicone release liner tabs 216 and 217 will line up and will make it possible to slip one &# 39 ; s finger or thumb under the end of test door 214 and peel it back away from base sheet 210 . another sheet of silicone release liner 218 is placed on the surface of test door 214 which lines up with test medium pad 220 so that the adhesive on the surface of test door 214 does not peel any portion of test pad 220 away when door 214 is opened . test pad 220 can be made exactly like test pad 20 or exactly like test pad 120 . in the former case , test pad 220 would be impregnated with silica so as to comprise a charged medium over its entire surface area . in the latter case , test pad 220 would be uncharged , but would include a test dot such as dot 121 in alternative embodiment 100 which would be charged and which would be in alignment with the volume control openings 231 in volume control cover sheet 230 . in use , volume control cover sheet 230 would initially be flat against base sheet 210 , covering test door 214 and test pad 220 . the patient would wipe with device 200 so that fecal material would pass through volume control openings 231 onto test pad 220 . cover sheet 230 would then be peeled away from base sheet 210 and disposed of . the user would then fold base sheet 210 in half along fold line 211 , pressing the two halves against one another so that the pressure sensitive adhesive on the surface of base sheet 210 would seal base sheet 210 closed around the perimeter of test pad 220 containing the dots of fecal material . the test pad so sealed can then be mailed in an envelope to a laboratory or doctor . the test for fecal occult blood would be conducted in either of the manners described above , depending on whether one used a charged test pad such as test pad 20 , or an uncharged test pad with a charged dot such as test pad 120 and dot 121 . the material of base sheet 210 and volume control cover sheet 230 are the same as described above . fig8 shows an alternative embodiment test pad 320 mounted on base sheet 210 of the alternative embodiment device 200 shown in fig7 . it is contemplated that this combination will be the best mode for practicing the invention . test pad 320 comprises an absorbant sheet of paper 320a which is generally rectangular in configuration ( fig9 and 11 ). sheet 320a is impregnated with guaiac indicator dye , also described above . superimposed over absorbant filter paper 320a is a second rectangular sheet of filter paper 321 which is the same width as sheet 320a , but which is slightly shorter in length such that sheet 320a has an exposed upper surface at each end of sheet 321 . sheet 321 is separated from sheet 320a by a solvent impermeable barrier layer 323 which , like sheets 320a and 321 is generally rectangular in configuration , and is of the same width as sheets 320a and 321 . however , solvent impermeable barrier layer 323 is slightly shorter than sheet 321 such that a portion of sheet 321 makes direct contact with sheet 320a at each of the opposed ends of sheet 321 . sheet 321 is itself divided into two halves , half 321a which is impregnated with a suspension of charged material such as silica , as described above . silica impregnation in half 321a is illustrated in cross section by small circles in half 321a ( compare cross sections of 321a to 321b in fig8 and 12 ). the other half 321b is not impregnated with a charged material . when alternative test pad 320 is used in alternative embodiment device 200 , the pattern of holes 231 in volume control cover sheet 230 has to be changed from a circular pattern to two parallel lines of holes . the lines of holes are spaced such that from six to ten openings will overlie each half 321a and 321b of sheet 321 . thus when a user wipes with device 200 , six to ten dots of fecal material 40 will be deposited on each half 321a and 321b of sheet 321 ( fig9 ). to determine the fecal occult blood content of the dots of fecal material 40 as applied to test pad 320 , several drops of solvent / developer solution 150 are deposited generally along the centerline which divides top sheet 321 into halves 321a and 321b ( fig9 and 10 ). as discussed above , solvent / developer 150 comprises 0 . 05 normal acetate buffer and 1 % hydrogen peroxide in an ethanol water mixture , wherein ethanol comprises 60 to 80 % of volume of the solution ( fig1 and 12 ). as the solvent developer spreads away from the center of sheet 321 , it will carry any hemoglobin present from the lower intestine towards the ends of sheet 321 and past the ends of solvent impermeable barrier 323 . the hemoglobin is indicated by shading on fig1 . the hemoglobin will thus continue to migrate down into the guaiac impregnated lower sheet 320a where oxygen released by the hemoglobin - peroxide peroxidase reaction will immediately cause the guaiac dye to color blue . thus blue colored patches will appear at each end of sheet 321 , on the exposed ends of sheet 320a ( fig9 ). in contrast , if the only fecal occult blood in fecal material 40 comes from the upper intestine , it will comprise hematin and other hemoglobin breakdown products which are charged . alternatively , if only dietary blood or other dietary peroxidase is present , it will also be charged . these charged blood particles will &# 34 ; stick &# 34 ; to the silica impregnated half 321a of sheet 321 . thus , the hematin and hemoglobin breakdown products and other dietary false - positives will not migrate as the solvent / developer 150 passes through them . these materials ( indicated by shading in fig1 ) will not migrate to the left end ( as viewed in fig1 ) of sheet 321 . on the other hand , both hematin and hemoglobin breakdown products will migrate through the right half 321b of sheet 321 , past the end of barrier 323 and downwardly into the lower guaiac impregnated sheet 320a . thus where blood in fecal material 40 has originated in the upper intestine , or comprises a dietary false - positive , it will create colored patches only at the right end of guaiac impregnated sheet 320a ( fig1 and 12 ). of course , it is understood that the foregoing is a preferred embodiment of the invention and that various changes and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and broader aspects thereof . | 8 |
the following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings . the same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements . also , the following detailed description does not limit the invention . instead , the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof . fig1 a depicts a prior art hub - spoke metallization pattern on an optical sensor window . as can be seen in the diagram , the entire sensor window is covered with a metallized hub - spoke pattern for emi shielding . fig1 b shows the hub - spoke pattern in more detail . as can be seen , the solid circles , or “ hubs ” 110 are connected to each - other ( and therefore to any eventual ground or dissipation means ) by spokes 120 . this ensures that there are no electrically isolated metallized circles on the sensor window . the remaining un - metallized portions 130 allow both optical and infra - red radiation to pass through the sensor window . through the use of fourier analysis , it was determined that the spokes in the hub - spoke grid were actually detrimental and should be eliminated , and that the circles could indeed overlap , rather than having to be arranged in tangential , non - overlapping contact with adjacent circles . elimination of the spokes eliminated all sources of − 13 db side lobe scattering characteristic of straight - line diffraction . fig2 shows an embodiment of a spoke - free optical sensor window elliptical metallization pattern according to the present invention . the embodiment depicted uses circle shapes . each circle 210 may be made of an electro - magnetically opaque metal or metallic substance such as gold , aluminum , platinum , various resistive alloys , graphite , or other similar materials . some embodiments may also employ an appropriate interfacing primer coating to the substrate to increase bonding durability . the optical substrate 220 between the circles is not coated with conductive material . as can be seen from the diagram , the positions of the circle centers are not uniformly spaced , but instead are uniformly randomized over the window aperture . in the embodiment shown , the circles in the pattern are electrically continuous to each other , with no floating “ islands ” ( clumps of circles contiguous to each other but not to the rest of the grid ). embodiments of rf absorptive mesh patterns utilizing rcg meshes that deliberately utilize rf - resonant organization of clumps of either conductive or resistive circle patterns may also be generated according to the present invention . in the embodiment depicted , the diameters of the circle centers were randomized using a gaussian randomization over a roughly 3 × range ( typically 200 - 600 microns with 400 micron mean diameter ). the positions of the circles are preferably randomized to some extent to reduce periodicity in the pattern , thereby reducing potentially detrimental effects of laser diffraction sidelobe reinforcement and contrast reduction in sensor imagery . other embodiments may use different randomization methods , but embodiments using randomized shape size , orientation and location distribution are generally preferred over embodiments having a discernible , repeating pattern . some embodiments may use elliptical shapes or combinations of elliptical shapes and circles . also , an embodiment with a randomized metallization pattern is easier to produce as it requires a lesser degree of precision than one having a regular pattern , such as a pattern where all the circles are uniformly sized and tangent without overlapping . fig3 shows an embodiment of a spoke - free optical sensor window metallization according to the present invention that employs a randomized elliptical grid metallization pattern . embodiments of randomization in elliptical grid approaches may include slight randomization of the ratio of minor to major axes and / or changes to the angular orientation of the major axes of the ellipses . further embodiments may allow for mixed approaches using circles and ellipses . embodiments using randomization may further reduce generation of discernable structure in far - field diffraction patterns . in an embodiment of a conductive emi / emp mesh , the individual metallized ellipses are preferably electrically continuous to each other , with no floating “ islands ” ( clumps of ellipses contiguous to each other but not to the rest of the grid ). embodiments of rf absorptive mesh patterns utilizing randomized elliptical meshes of either conductive or resistive materials with ellipses arranged in electrically isolated rf - resonant patterns may also be generated according to the present invention . in the embodiment depicted , both the ratio of the minor and major axes as well as the angular orientation of the ellipses 310 may be varied in addition to randomly dispersing them on the sensor window . the clear areas 320 are the un - metallized portions of the sensor window . the ellipses 310 depicted in this embodiment are therefore hollow in order to minimally obscure the passage of electro - optical radiation through the metallized sensor window . in the embodiment depicted , there are preferably no straight lines to generate straight - line diffraction effects , and no readily discernible pattern that may cause consistent or specific diffraction or noise under normal operating conditions . embodiments of metallizations similar to those depicted in fig2 and 3 may be fabricated with 1 - 2 micron deposition thickness and a nominal 10 micron feature width for the metallization . fabrication techniques may include etching , plating , lithography , chemical or plasma vapor deposition , sputtering , screen printing , and any other suitable technique for the creation of patterned metallization layers . an embodiment of a metallization pattern according to the present invention may be created using a variety of tools and techniques , including using calculation algorithms based on particular random distributions and / or seed values that may indicate or be predicated on any of : a desired pattern density , overall shape size , extent of variation in shape size , extent of variation in shape orientation , desired average major or minor axis values , level of variation in major or minor axis values , average thickness of a deposited shape , level of variation in shape thickness , and any gradation or change in one or more of the preceding parameters throughout the metallization pattern . an embodiment of a pattern generation and fabrication process is depicted in the flowchart on fig4 . the metallization pattern generation 410 process may be divided into steps of selecting seed values for shapes 4101 , selecting a shape distribution scheme 4105 , and selecting a shape variation scheme 4109 . embodiments of seed values for shapes may include ranges or baseline values for the major and minor ellipse axes , ranges or baseline values for ellipse rotation angles , and ranges or baseline values for shape outline thickness . further embodiments may include a specific “ circles only ” or “ no circles ” feature allowing selection of only circle shapes ( ellipses having equal major and minor axes ) or suppression of the same . yet further embodiments may include desired average shape size and rotation values with configurable standard deviation sizes or preset probability distribution curves . yet further embodiments may permit a desired mean or mode associated with one or more seed values . some further embodiments may replace or supplement seed values or variation ranges with automatically calculated values based on known or expected performance requirements embodiments of selecting a shape distribution scheme 4105 may include selecting one or more desired baseline or average pattern densities or pattern density ranges . some embodiments may allow the selection of multiple pattern densities for different local areas of a metallization pattern . other embodiments may permit the establishment of pattern density gradations and directions such as an increasing or decreasing density value in a particular direction . embodiments may include selecting a pattern density seed value as a center value in an increasing or decreasing gradation moving across a sensor window or starting from a particular point on the window and radiating outward in two or more directions . yet further embodiments may have multiple gradations and gradation directions associated with multiple pattern spread directions , such as a pattern originating from a corner of a rectangular window and having increasing density in an x - direction and decreasing density in a y - direction . yet further embodiments may employ arbitrary origination points or seed points and may employ multiple non - orthogonal spread directions . some embodiments may replace or supplement seed values with automatically calculated values based on known or expected performance requirements . in some further embodiments , pattern density may be increased toward the edge of an optical substrate aperture to synthesize electrical tapering for better impedance matching to the surrounding support frame . an embodiment having increased pattern density towards the edge of a sensor window is depicted in fig5 . yet further embodiments may include selecting or generating a probability distribution curve based on seed values or automatically calculated values based on performance requirements . some embodiments may include multiple distribution curves for different local areas of a sensor window . probability distribution curves may be linear , gaussian , skewed , logarithmic , or of any other suitable form based on operating requirements and / or design specifications . embodiments of selecting a shape variation scheme 4109 may include selecting or generating probability functions associated with the seed values , ranges , or automatically calculated values generated in the selecting seed values 4101 step . as with embodiments of selecting a shape distribution , embodiments of probability curves dictating shape variation types and ranges may be associated with a pattern or local pattern areas and may further have associated gradients dictating changes in variation range across a pattern or local pattern area . some embodiments of selecting shape variation schemes may also employ differing deposition thicknesses and / or feature widths to spatially vary rf conductivity or absorptivity . feature widths may include the sizes of major and minor ellipse axes . in the embodiment shown , after a metallization pattern is generated 410 , the substrate receiving the metallization may need to be prepared 420 . for embodiments where a substrate is a sensor window , preparation may include various forms of cleaning ( chemical cleaning , plasma cleaning , polishing ). some embodiments may include applying light - absorbing or non - reflective coatings to the sensor window substrate . further embodiments may include plating the entire substrate with the metallization or applying a precursor layer to those portions of the substrate that will eventually be metallized . in some embodiments , the process of substrate preparation may be omitted or included as part of metallization application 430 . in some embodiments , once the substrate is prepared , the metallization pattern may be applied or created 430 . for embodiments where a substrate is fully metallized during substrate preparation , embodiments of pattern creation may include application of masks or templates and an etching process to remove the unwanted portions of the metallization . alternate embodiments may include chemical or plasma deposition , lithography , screen printing , sputtering , or plating onto prepared or masked - out areas . embodiments having precursor layers may also employ etching to selectively remove portions of a blanket metallization layer and , in some embodiments , portions of underlying layers . embodiments using circles produce bessel function diffraction side lobes beginning at about 17 db below the main lobe . this is fully 4 db lower than the sin ( x )/ x diffraction side lobes caused by straight - line hub - spoke segments , which have main side lobes 13 db down from the main lobe . embodiments using elliptical patterns produce diffraction sidelobes at similar levels , with the sidelobe ellipticity oriented 90 degrees to each pattern ellipse orientation . gaussian randomization of the circle radii and / or ellipse major and minor axes and major axis orientations about a mean value may , in some embodiments , further smooth and broaden the 17 db sidelobes , improving the uniformity of the far - field diffraction pattern . although shapes having straight edges may be employed in some embodiments of randomized grid patterns , the presence of the straight edges in the shapes may lead to increased diffraction . embodiments using a circular or mixed circular / elliptical grid without straight edges are therefore preferable for their reduced levels of diffraction . grid embodiments that reduce or eliminate the spokes of the hub - spoke design realize reductions in scattering and haze . the scattered haze produced by propagation through an embodiment of an rcg pattern may be one - fourth the scattering produced by a traditional straight - line mesh or grid of equal emi / emp shielding , and may be several db lower than the hub - spoke pattern . specific amounts of scattering and haze reduction may vary based on the particular pattern distribution used in an embodiment . in embodiments where circle centers are uniformly spaced in x and y , the resulting periodicity may coherently add up in the far field to produce undesirable diffraction side lobes and modulation transfer function effects . in embodiments where the positions of the circles or ellipses are randomized while guaranteeing continuous electrical conductivity , the diffraction side lobes and periodic image structure may be eliminated , allowing for substantially improved broadband optical / ir images for a given conductivity . in some randomized embodiments , circle or ellipse randomization may be accomplished with a uniform probability distribution . in embodiments seeking to achieve higher conductivity and lower sheet resistance , more random circles and ellipses may be applied , with an attendant reduction in optical / ir transmission . embodiments seeking to achieve non - uniform conductivity , such as , for example , increasing the conductivity toward the window frame in a gradual taper for better broadband rf impedance matching between an optical window or lens and its surrounding frame , more circles and ellipses may be applied at the periphery of the window or lens than at the center . for embodiments configured to detect incident laser radiation , such as in a semi - active laser ( sal ) seeker device , laser reflections from a randomized circular grid may be greatly reduced by embodiments having multiple layers , beginning with a light - absorbing surface binder directly on the exterior glass surface . an embodiment of such a multi - layered structure is depicted in fig6 . in the embodiment shown , a first light - absorbing layer 620 disposed on the exterior glass surface 630 may be followed by a primer layer 610 that promotes better adherence of the conductive or resistive material 601 to the absorbing layer . embodiments using a thin deposition thickness and randomization of metallized ellipses may exhibit reduced sensitivity to incidence angle , thereby minimizing reflection of incident laser signal . such measures are especially advantageous in laser - guided munitions applications where signal reflection may reveal the trajectory of a munition ( and therefore allow for location or identification of the source of said munition ). reflection of laser radiation may also lead to discrepancies in target tracking on the part of the munition or other , nearby , similarly - guided munitions , so a solution that reduces or eliminates reflection of laser radiation from the surface metallization of an optical sensor window would clearly be advantageous . in some embodiments , the primer 610 as well as the metallization 601 may be patterned . in further embodiments , a light - absorbing binder layer 620 may cover the entire substrate 630 to provide improved light absorption and reduced reflection or glare . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 8 |
an optical disk reproduction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing an optical disk reproduction apparatus for reproducing data from an optical disk according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig2 is a block diagram showing a disk drive section for driving the optical disk shown in fig1 . fig3 shows the structure of the optical disk shown in fig1 and 2 . fig4 shows the recording format of the optical disk shown in fig2 and 3 . various data , e . g ., moving picture , audio , and sub - picture data compressed by the mpeg scheme , are recorded on optical disk 10 , from which data is reproduced by the optical disk reproduction apparatus in fig1 according to a data format corresponding to a system layer of mpeg2 . sub - picture data is obtained by performing run length compression of character data and simple animation data . in the optical disk reproduction apparatus , when a user operates key operation section & amp ; display section 4 , recorded data pieces ( i . e ., video data pieces , sub - picture data pieces , and audio data pieces ) are reproduced from optical disk 10 . the reproduced data pieces are then converted into audio and video signals in the apparatus . the converted signals are reproduced as pictures at monitor section 6 outside the apparatus , and as sounds at speaker sections 8 outside the apparatus . key operation & amp ; display section 4 is used by the user to perform various instructing operations such as &# 34 ; playback &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; stop &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; fast forward playback &# 34 ;, and &# 34 ; rewind playback &# 34 ; of optical disk 10 , display of subtitles or captions ( sub - pictures ), cancellation of parental control ( restriction on reproduction or presentation ), channel selection , menu selection , and so on . &# 34 ; parental control &# 34 ; is performed to impose restrictions ( e . g ., nationality , religion , and age ) on video data , audio data , text data , etc ., recorded in optical disk 10 . as will be described later , this parental control is executed according to parental information ( id ) described in optical disk 10 , with three hierarchical levels , i . e ., sequence , cell , and gop levels ( or with two hierarchical levels of title set and program chain levels ). this optical disk reproduction apparatus is a system for reproducing , based on the mpeg system layer , the mpeg - compressed moving picture data , the mpeg - compressed audio data , and sub - picture data used for characters of subtitles or captions and for simple animated cartoons , from optical disk 10 . characters or simple animated cartoons can be constituted by run - length - compressed bit - mapped images . hereinafter , the run - length compressed data will be referred to as sub - picture data . there are various structures for optical disk 10 . for example , as shown in fig3 there is a super high recording density type for the optical disk . this disk comprises one pair of structures 18 each having a recording layer , or reflecting layer 16 , formed on transparent substrate 14 . structures 18 are bonded to each other through adhesive layer 20 such that recording layers 16 are sealed therein . center hole 22 is formed in the center of optical disk 10 having the above structure . the spindle of spindle motor 12 can be inserted into center hole 22 . clamping area 24 is formed around center hole 22 so as to hold optical disk 10 during its rotation . information recording area 25 is defined between clamping area 24 and the outer periphery of optical disk 10 . information can be recorded on recording area 25 of optical disk 10 . the two - sided optical disk shown in fig3 and 4 has information recording areas 25 on its upper and lower surfaces . an outer peripheral area of each information recording area 25 is defined as leadout area 26 on which no information is generally recorded . similarly , an inner peripheral area of each information recording area 25 , which is in contact with clamping area 24 , is defined as lead - in area 27 on which no information is generally recorded . data recording area 28 is defined between leadout area 26 and lead - in area 27 . generally , tracks as areas on which data are to be recorded are spirally and continuously formed on recording layer 16 on information recording area 25 . as shown in fig4 each of these continuous tracks is divided into a plurality of logical sectors ( minimum recording units ) each having a predetermined storage capacity . data is recorded on the basis of these logical sectors . the recording capacity of one logical sector and the data length of one pack ( to be described later ) are set to be 2 , 048 bytes . data recording area 28 of information recording area 25 serves as an actual data recording area , on which management data , main image ( main picture ) data , sub - image ( sub - picture ) data , and audio data are recorded as physical state changes , e . g ., pits , as will be described later . when optical disk 10 is of a read - only type super high density optical disk ( or sd - rom ), pit arrays ( or pit trains ) are pre - formed by a stamper in transparent substrate 14 . a reflecting layer is formed , by vapor deposition or by sputtering , on the surface of transparent substrate 14 in which the pit arrays / bit trains are formed , and the reflecting layer is formed as recording layer 16 . in general , in this read - only optical disk 10 , no special grooves as tracks are formed , but pit arrays are set as tracks . in the optical reproduction apparatus for reproducing data from optical disk 10 , disk drive section 30 for driving optical disk 10 searches optical disk 10 with a light beam . more specifically , as shown in fig2 optical disk 10 is placed on spindle motor 12 which is driven by motor driving circuit 11 . the placed optical disk is then rotated by spindle motor 12 based on given servo control method ( e . g ., zone constant line velocity control , or zone clv control ). an optical head , or optical pickup 32 , which is used to focus a light beam or a laser beam is disposed below optical disk 10 . optical pickup 32 is mounted on a guide mechanism ( not shown ) to be movable in the radial direction of optical disk 10 so as to search information recording area 25 , particularly to search data recording area 28 . optical pickup 32 on the guide mechanism is moved by feed motor 33 , which is driven by a driving signal from driving circuit 37 , in the radial direction of optical disk 10 . objective lens 34 is held below optical disk 10 to be movable along the optical axis . objective lens 34 is moved along the optical axis in response to a driving signal from focus driving circuit 36 to be always maintained in a focused state , so that a small beam spot is formed on recording layer 16 . objective lens 34 is also held to be finely moved along the radial direction of optical disk 10 . objective lens 34 is finely moved in response to a driving signal from track driving circuit 38 to be always maintained in a tracking state , so that tracks on recording layer 16 of optical disk 10 can be traced with a light beam . optical pickup 32 detects a light beam reflected by optical disk 10 . the detection signal is supplied from optical pickup 32 to servo processing circuit 44 through head amplifier 40 . servo processing circuit 44 generates a focus signal , a tracking signal , and a motor control signal from the detection signal , and supplies these signals to focus driving circuits 36 , 38 , and 11 , respectively . with this operation , objective lens 34 is maintained in a focused state and a tracking state . in addition , spindle motor 12 is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed , and tracks on recording layer 16 are searched with a light beam from optical pickup 32 at a constant line velocity ( of zone clv or of conventional clv ). when system cpu section 50 of fig1 supplies a control signal ( access signal ) to servo processing circuit 44 , servo processing circuit 44 supplies a moving signal to driving circuit 37 . optical pickup 32 is then moved along the radial direction of optical disk 10 , and a predetermined sector of recording layer 16 is accessed . as a result , reproduction data obtained by this accessing is amplified by head amplifier 40 and output from disk drive section 30 . the reproduction data output from disk drive section 30 is stored in data ram section 56 , via system cpu section 50 and system processor section 54 which are controlled by programs stored in system rom / ram section 52 . the reproduction data stored in data ram section 56 is processed by system processor section 54 and classified into video data , audio data , and sub - picture data . the classified video data , audio data , and sub - picture data are respectively supplied to video decoder section 58 , audio decoder section 60 , and sub - picture decoder section 62 , and the supplied data pieces are decoded therein . the decoded video data , audio data , and sub - picture data are converted by d / a & amp ; reproduction processing circuit 64 into analog signals of video , audio , and sub - picture . the analog video and sub - picture signals are then subjected to mixing processing . the resultant video and sub - picture signals are supplied to monitor section 6 , and the analog audio signal is supplied to speaker section 8 . as a result , a picture ( video ) is displayed on monitor section 6 , and sound is reproduced from speaker section 8 . programs ( software or firmware ) for controlling the operation of this apparatus are stored in the rom portion of system rom / ram section 52 . these programs are automatically loaded and executed by system cpu section 50 when the system power is turned on . in addition , in the rom portion of system rom / ram section 52 , character data for displaying information indicating that parental processing is being executed is also stored . further , a reference level of parental restriction levels ( e . g ., one of five different levels ) is preset in this rom in advance . this level is the parental restriction level of the optical disk reproduction apparatus , and a parental restriction with respect to the nationality can be set , for example . the parental restriction level in the rom may be changed by an in - line package switch ( or dip - type switch ; not shown ) or the like in the manufacturing process . after completing this change , a parental restriction of nationality can be automatically activated . since the above reference level is disabled to change by a user with key operation section & amp ; display section 4 , a nationality restriction on video / pictures , audio / sound , writing / character - expressions , and so on can be automatically achieved . with this operation , a level for parents and children can be set within a level more moderate than the above reference level . incidentally , a work area for data processing is set in the ram portion of system rom / ram section 52 . the operation of the optical disk apparatus in fig1 will be described in detail later , together with the logic format of optical disk 10 , which will be described in detail next . data recording area 28 extending from lead - in area 27 to leadout area 26 of optical disk 10 in fig3 has a volume structure as a logic format like the one shown in fig5 which complies with the iso9660 standard . this volume structure is constituted by volume management information area 70 having a hierarchical structure and file area 80 . volume management information area 70 corresponds logical block numbers 0 to 23 which are specified complying with iso9660 . system area 72 and volume management area 74 are allocated to volume management information area 70 . system area 72 is generally used as an empty area in which no contents are specified , but is provided for , e . g ., a user who edits data to be recorded on optical disk 10 . a system program for driving the optical disk apparatus in accordance with the choice of the user is stored in system area 72 , as needed . volume management area 74 stores volume management information ( i . e ., information for managing the recording positions , recording sizes / capacities , and file names of all files ) for managing disk information files 76 of file area 80 ( to be simply referred to as disk information file 76 hereinafter ), and files 78 such as movie and music files . files 76 and 78 of file numbers 0 to 99 which are designated by logical block number 24 and the subsequent logical block numbers are arranged in file area 80 . file 76 of file number 0 is allocated as disk information file 76 , and files 78 of file numbers 1 to 99 are allocated as movie files , i . e ., video files and music files . as shown in fig6 disk information file 76 is constituted by file management information area 82 and menu picture data area 84 . file management information for selecting sequences which are recorded on the entire surfaces of optical disk 10 and can be selected , i . e ., the titles of video and audio data , are written in file management information area 82 . image data for a menu screen for displaying selection menu including titles and the like is stored , as menu data cells 90 , in menu picture data area 84 in units of cells . as will be described later , the menu picture data in menu picture data area 84 is divided into units each having a necessary size in accordance with a purpose . the respective units are set as i menu data cells 90 which are consecutively numbered , starting with # 1 , in the order of recording on menu picture data area 84 of optical disk 10 . video data and sub - picture data , or audio data associated with selection of a movie or audio title , selection of a program corresponding to each title , and the like are stored in each menu data cell 90 . as shown in fig6 file management information area 82 includes three information areas , i . e ., disk structure information area 86 in which disk structure information ( dsinf : disk search information , or data search information ) as information about the structure contents of each movie or music file recorded on optical disk 10 is stored , menu structure information area 87 in which menu structure information ( msinf ) is stored , and menu cell information table ( mcit ) 88 in which menu cell information ( mci ) is stored . these areas are arranged in the order named . the disk structure information ( dsinf ) in disk structure information area 86 is information about the structure contents of each movie or audio file recorded on optical disk 10 . as shown in fig7 this information is constituted by the following parameters : ffname ( file name ), ffid ( file identifier ), dsinf ( number of files ), fsinf ( file type / number of sequences subjected to title selection ), fcinf ( intra - file sub - picture / audio information ), and tsinf ( title information ). ffname is used to identify a file name . as this parameter , the same contents as those of a corresponding file identifier in a directory record are written . as ffid , a file identifier as information for identifying a disk information file is written . as dsinf , the number of movie or music files ( the number of reproduction files 78 in fig5 ) on optical disk 10 is written . as fsinf , the file type or category ( e . g ., movie or music ) of each file , the number of self - terminating type sequences ( or the number of program chains when one file is constituted by one pgc ), and the number of connection type start sequences ( or the number of leading program chains when one file is constituted by two or more pgc &# 39 ; s ) are written . fcinf is constituted by fnast ( number of audio streams ), fnspch ( number of sub - picture channels ), facode ( number of audio streams ), and fspcode ( sub - picture channel type ). as fnast , the number of audio streams in each file is written . as fnspch , the number of sub - picture channels in each file is written . as facode , the language codes ( english , japanese , and the like ) of audio streams are consecutively written in the order of audio stream numbers . if an audio stream type is data other than languages , ffh is written . as fspcode , the language codes ( english , japanese , and the like ) of sub - picture channels are consecutively written in the order of channel numbers . if corresponding data is not a sub - picture type , ffh is written . as tsinf , parental control data for the respective titles and the numbers of angles and programs in the titles are written in the order of title numbers , starting with # 1 . the number of titles is the sum total of self - terminating type sequences and connection type start sequences in each movie or music file . the title numbers continue in the ascending order of sequence numbers in file number # 1 , with title # 1 corresponding to a sequence of file number # 1 . after the last sequence subjected to title selection , the title number follows file # 2 sequence # 1 . as the parental control data , the parental level of each sequence is written . as the number of angles , the number of angle cells in an angle block contained in a sequence is written . if there is no angle block , &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; is written . as the number of programs , the number of programs in each sequence is written . the menu structure information ( msinf ) in menu structure information area 87 is the position information of picture data for a menu which is stored in each file . as shown in fig8 the menu structure information is constituted by the following parameters : momcel ( number of menu cells ), tmscel ( title menu start cell number ), admscel ( audio menu start cell number ), spmscel ( sub - picture menu start cell number ), pemscel ( program menu start cell number ), and agmscel ( angle menu start cell number ). as momcel , the number of menu cells recorded on this file is written . if there is no picture data for a menu is the file , 00h is written . as tmscel , a title menu start cell number is written . if there is no title menu cell , 00h is written . as admscel , an audio menu start cell number is written . if there is no audio menu cell of the corresponding file number , 00h is written . as spmscel , a sub - picture menu start cell number is written . if there is no sub - picture menu cell of the corresponding file number , 00h is written . as pemscel , a program menu start cell number is written . if there is no program menu cell of the corresponding title number , 00h is written . as agmscel , an angle menu start cell number is written . if there is no angle menu cell , 00h is written . menu cell information table ( mcit ) 88 is a table in which pieces of menu cell information ( mci ) such as positions , sizes , and reproduction times required to reproduce menu cells 90 are consecutively written . in menu cell information table 88 , the pieces of menu cell information ( mci ) are defined by a set of i menu cell information areas 89 written in the order of menu cell numbers . as shown in fig9 each menu cell information ( mci ) in menu cell information table 88 is constituted by the following parameters : mccat ( menu cell type , or menu cell category ), mcsscr ( menu cell start pack ), mcslbn ( menu cell start logical block number ), and mcnlb ( number of ( constituent logical blocks ). as mccat ( menu cell type / category table ), the following pieces of information are written : copy control information indicating whether a copy operation is permitted or inhibited , parental control information indicating the parental levels of all picture data constituting each menu cell , menu type information indicating a title menu , a program menu , an audio menu , a sub - picture menu , or an angle menu , and a language code of a menu cell . as mcsscr , the upper 32 bits of scr ( system clock reference ; system time reference value ) written in a menu cell start pack are written . as mcslbn , an offset logical block number from the file start position as the menu cell start address is written . as mcnlb , the number of logical blocks constituting each menu cell is written . in this case , the disk structure information ( dsinf ) and the menu structure information ( msinf ) are consecutively written in file management information area 82 . menu cell information table ( mcit ) 88 is aligned with a logical block boundary . music and movie data of one or a plurality of titles are respectively stored in movie and music files 78 corresponding to file numbers 1 to 99 . as shown in fig1 , each file 78 has a file structure constituted by file management information area 101 and video data area 102 . in file management information area 101 , management information ( address information and reproduction control information , etc .) is written . in video data area 102 , the video data of file 78 ( video , audio , and sub - picture data pieces , etc . are simply referred to as video data ) is written . in video data area 102 , video data is divided in units of cells , similar to menu data cells 90 of disk information file 76 . that is , the video data is arranged as j picture data cells 105 . in general , movie or audio data of a given title is expressed as a set of consecutive sequences ( or consecutive program chains ) 106 . for example , a movie story is expressed by consecutive sequences 106 corresponding to &# 34 ; introduction &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; development &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; turn &# 34 ;, and &# 34 ; conclusion &# 34 ;. video data area 102 of each file 78 can be defined as a set of sequences ( or program chains ) 106 , as shown in fig1 . each sequence 106 is expressed by a plurality of video programs ( chapters ) 107 corresponding to various scenes of the story . each video program 107 is constituted by a plurality of picture data cells 105 . incidentally , in fig1 , the file including one or more sequences is indicated as a video title set vts ; the sequence ( or program chain pgc ) including one or more programs is indicated as video object set vobs ; and the program including one or more cells is indicated as video object vob . in this case , each cell is formed of one or more information packs , and each pack is formed of a pack header and one or more packets . each picture data cell 105 is constituted by a plurality of image groups ( gop : group of pictures ) each including disk search / data search information ( dsi ) pack 92 , main picture pack 93 , sub - picture pack 95 , and audio pack 98 , as shown in fig1 . the arrangement of picture data cell 105 is almost the same as that of menu data cell 90 . in video data area 102 ( fig1 ), movie , audio , sub - picture data and the like compressed according to a compression standard such as the mpeg ( moving picture expert group ) standard are recorded according to a data format corresponding to the system layer of mpeg2 . that is , the data in video data area 102 is a program streamer specified by the mpeg standard . packs 92 , 93 , 95 , and 98 each have a pack structure constituted by pack header 97 and packet 99 corresponding to a pack . the main picture pack of the above movie is constituted by i -, p -, and b - pictures ( intra - picture , predictive - picture , and bidirectionally predictive - picture ). a plurality of sub - picture packs constitute a sub - picture unit . one still image is obtained from this sub - picture unit . at least one sub - picture unit can be formed in one cell . file management information area 101 ( fig1 ) is constituted by file management table ( fmt ) 113 , sequence information table ( sit ) 114 , cell information table ( cit ) 115 , etc . the picture data cells in video data area 102 are consecutively numbered in the order of recording on the optical disk 10 , starting with # 1 . these cell numbers are written in cell information table 115 , together with pieces of information about cells in connection with the cell numbers . more specifically , cell information table 115 is defined by a set of areas 117 in which j pieces of cell information ( ci ), which are written as information required for reproduction of picture data cells in the order of cell numbers , are stored . as this cell information ( ci ), information such as the position , size , reproduction time , etc . of a cell in file 78 is written . fig1 shows the contents of cell information ( ci ) stored in cell information table 115 . as cell information ( ci ) written in cell information area 117 , the start position of a picture cell obtained by dividing video data into units in accordance with a purpose , a size , etc . are written in the form of parameters . more specifically , this cell information ( ci ) is constituted by cell type ( or cell category ) information ( ccat ) indicating the contents of the picture cell which indicate whether the picture cell belongs to a movie , karaoke data , or an interactive menu ; cell reproduction information ( ctime ) indicating the total reproduction time of the picture cell ; system time information ( csscr ) described in the cell start pack ; cell start position information ( cslbn ) indicating the start position of the picture cell , i . e ., the start address ; and full size information ( cnlb ) indicating the size of the picture cell . the cell type / category information ( ccat ) is formed of copy control information indicating whether a copy operation is permitted or inhibited , parental control information indicating the parental level of the video data constituting the video / picture cell , cell type / category information indicating whether the video / picture cell belongs to a movie , karaoke data , or an interactive menu , and a language code ( if the cell type / category information indicates an interactive menu ). sequence information table 114 is defined by a set of areas 116 in which i pieces of sequence information ( si ), each written as information indicating , e . g ., the order of selection and reproduction of cells 105 within a range designated in units of sequences 106 , are stored . as each sequence information ( si ), reproduction control information , with respect to the reproduction order and reproduction operation of picture data cells 105 recorded in sequence 106 , is written . sequence 106 includes a self - terminating type sequence ( or a single program chain pgc ) which is completed by itself , and connection type sequences ( or a plurality of program chains pgc &# 39 ; s ) which can be branched off and connected to the next sequence ( or subsequent program chain ). the connection type sequences include a start sequence of video data representing multi - story programs . these connection type sequences are formed of : a connection type start sequence which can be branched off and connected to the next sequence ( i . e ., a connection type start sequence with which the story is changed in accordance with the manner of selection ); a connection type intermediate sequence which can be branched off from another connection type sequence and is connected to still another sequence ; and a connection type end ( or termination ) sequence to which another connection type sequence is connected to terminate this sequence , i . e ., a connection type end sequence with which the story is terminated . the numbers of these pieces of sequence information are defined as sequence numbers 1 to i , and the start position information of each sequence is written in file management table 113 . fig1 shows the contents of one piece of sequence information ( si ) stored in sequence information table 114 in file management information area 101 shown in fig1 . as shown in fig1 , the reproduction order of picture cells , sequence information , etc . are written in sequence information area 116 ( fig1 ). the numbers of these pieces of sequence information ( si ) coincide with the sequence numbers ( or program chain numbers ), and are allocated to sequence information table 114 in the order of the sequence numbers . sequence number 1 corresponds to a default reproduction sequence . the cells constituting the sequence are preferably arranged consecutively in a designated order . sequence information area 116 is formed of sequence type / category information ( scat ), the number of programs constituting the sequence ( snprg ), the number of cells constituting the program ( sncel ), a sequence reproduction time ( stime ), number information of connection sequences ( sncsq ), sequence number list information ( scsqn ), and sequence control information ( scinf ). described for sequence type / category information ( scat ) are the following pieces of information : copy control information indicating whether a copy is permitted or inhibited ; parental control information indicating the parental level of the sequence which level represents the maximum value of the parental level of a cell ( or cells ) contained in the sequence ; sequence type / category information ; and sequence application information indicating whether the sequence belongs to a movie , karaoke data , or an interactive menu . the above sequence type / category information indicates whether the sequence is : a self - terminating type sequence which is terminated when the reproduction of this sequence is completed ; a connection type start sequence which is the start sequence of video data representing a multi - story and can be branched off and connected to the next sequence ; a connection type intermediate sequence which is branched off from another connection type sequence and is connected to still another sequence ; or a connection type end sequence to which another connection type sequence is connected to terminate the sequence . described in the sequence constituting program number ( snprg ) is the number of programs ( or video objects ) constituting respective sequences ( or program chains ). described in the program constituting cell number ( sncel ) is the number of cells constituting respective programs . as the sequence reproduction time ( stime ), the total reproduction time of the sequence is written . as the connection sequence count information ( sncsq ), the number of sequences which can be connected to the connection type sequence after it is reproduced is written . as the sequence number list information ( scsqn ), a list of sequence numbers ( which indicate the sequences to which the sequence can be connected ) corresponding to the connection sequence count information ( sncsq ) is written . as the sequence control information ( scinf ), the reproduction order of cells constituting the sequence is written . in accordance with this information , the cells are reproduced and the sequence is executed . an interval in which one cell is selected from a plurality of cells and reproduced is written in the form of a block as a set of cells . by designating the block , the sequence of the block is executed . in a sequence , programs as reproduction units , each having a combination of one or more cells to be reproduced consecutively , are defined , and the program numbers are written . the program numbers are allocated to the sequence in the ascending order , starting with # 1 . file management table ( fmt ) 113 in fig1 shows numerical information associated with video file 78 . file management table 113 describes the corresponding file name and a file identifier for identifying the file as a file which can be reproduced by the optical disk reproduction apparatus in which the optical disk is loaded . in addition , in file management table 113 , the following pieces of information are written : the start address of sequence information table 114 defined by a relative distance from the top or beginning of file 78 ; the start address of cell information table 115 defined by a relative distance from the top or beginning of file 78 ; the start address of video data area 102 defined by a relative distance from the top or beginning of file 78 ; data attribute information for reproduction of each data ; and so on . described in sequence information table 114 are the numbers &# 34 ; i &# 34 ; of pieces of sequence information 116 and the respective start addresses of sequence information pieces 116 each defined by a relative distance from the top or beginning of file 78 . described in cell information table 115 are the numbers &# 34 ; j &# 34 ; of pieces of cell information 117 and the respective start addresses of cell information pieces 117 each defined by a relative distance from the top or beginning of file 78 . file management table ( fmt ) 113 is , as shown in fig1 , constituted by areas in which a plurality of parameters are written . the size ( fszfmt ) of the file management table ( fmt ) which is written in the form of the number of logical blocks ; the number of packs ( fndsip ) of disk search ( or data search ) information ( dsi ) present in the video data of the file ; the start address ( fsasit ) of sequence information table 114 in the file which is indicated by an offset logical block number from the beginning of the file ; the start address ( fsacit ) of cell information table 115 in the file which is indicated by an offset logical block number from the beginning of the file ; a disk search ( or data search ) map start address ( fsadsm ) in the file which is indicated by an offset logical block number from the beginning of the file ; a video data start address ( fsadvd ) in the file which is indicated by an offset logical block number from the beginning of the file ; the start addresses ( offset byte numbers from the top or beginning of sequence information table 114 ), and sizes ( fsaesi ) of respective pieces of the sequence information in sequence information table 114 of the file , which start addresses are written in the order of writing by the number of the sequence information pieces ; the smallest cell number of the cells used in the respective sequences presented in the file , and the number of cells ( fsncib ) between the smallest cell number and the maximum cell number , which are written in the order of writing by the number of sequences ; video data attributes ( fvatr ) indicating the reproduction form of the video data recorded in the file ; the number of audio streams ( fnast ) indicating the number of audio data streams ( data strings ) which are recorded in the file and can be reproduced in the same time zone as that of the video data ; the audio stream attributes ( faatr ) which are recorded in the order corresponding to the stream numbers of the respective streams ; the number of sub - picture channels ( fnspch ) indicating the number of channels of the sub - picture data which are recorded in the file and can be reproduced in the same time zone as that of the video data ; sub - picture channel attributes ( fspatr ) which are recorded in the order corresponding to the channel numbers of the respective channels ; a sub - picture color palette ( fspplt ) used in all the channels of the video data in the file ; a vendor definition ( fvdef ) for defining an area which can be arbitrarily used by a vendor for a specific purpose ; and the like . referring to fig1 , when the number of audio streams is n , succeeding audio data attributes are consecutively recorded in the order of the stream numbers from # 1 to # n . similarly , when the number of sub - picture channels is m , succeeding sub - picture data attributes are consecutively recorded in the order of the channel numbers from # 1 to # m . if the number of audio streams or the number of sub - picture channels is zero ( 0 ), neither audio data attribute nor sub - picture data attribute is recorded . as shown in fig1 to 12 and 16 , the video data is a set of main picture ( video ) data , audio data , sub - picture data , and disk search ( or data search ) information ( dsi ) data . each type of data is recorded in units of packs . as shown in fig1 to 23 , the above pack is constituted by a pack header and a packet which is formed of main picture data , sub - picture data , or disk search / data search information ( dsi ). the pack length of the above pack is adjusted to 2 , 048 bytes or 2k bytes (= one logical sector ). a pack header is constituted by a 4 - byte pack start code ( 000001bah ), a 6 - byte scr ( system clock reference : system time reference value ), a 3 - byte multiplexing rate ( mux rate ; 0468a8h ), and one to seven stuffing bytes ( 00h ). a standard packet consists of 2 , 034 bytes . in this packet , a padding packet ( supplementary data 00h having no meanings as data are recorded in units of bytes ) for pack length adjustment is set , as needed . the above packs include disk search / data search information ( dsi ) pack 92 constituted by disk search / data search information data , main picture pack 93 constituted by main picture data , sub - picture pack 95 constituted by sub - picture data , and audio pack 98 . as shown in fig1 , disk search / data search information pack ( dsi pack ) 92 is arranged immediately before a main picture pack containing the start data of one gop , and is constituted by a 14 - byte pack header , a 24 - byte system header , and a dsi packet as a data area in which a 6 - byte packet header and disk search / data search information data up to the 2 , 004th byte can be stored . as described above , the pack header is constituted by a 4 - byte pack start code ( 000001bah ), a 6 - byte scr ( system clock reference : system time reference value ), a 3 - byte multiplexing rate ( mux rate ; 0468a8h ), and one to seven stuffing bytes ( 00h ). the system header is constituted by a 4 - byte system header code ( 000001bbh ), 2 - byte header length data , and the like . the packet header is constituted by a 3 - byte packet start code ( 000001h ), a 1 - byte stream id , 2 - byte pes ( packetized elementary stream ) packet length data . as shown in fig1 , main picture pack 93 is constituted by a 14 - byte pack header and a main picture packet as a data area in which a 9 - byte packet header and main picture data up to the 2 , 025th byte can be stored . or , as shown in fig1 , main picture pack 93 is constituted by a 14 - byte pack header and a main picture packet as a data area in which a 19 - byte packet header and main picture data up to the 2 , 015th byte can be stored . the arrangement of these pack headers may be the same as that of dsi pack 92 . as shown in fig1 , when the packet header is constituted by 9 bytes , the 9 - byte packet header includes a 3 - byte packet start code ( 000001h ), a 1 - byte stream id , 2 - byte pes ( packetized elementary stream ) packet length data , and 3 - byte data associated with the pes . as shown in fig1 , when the packet header is constituted by 19 bytes , the 19 - byte packet header includes a 5 - byte pts ( presentation time stamp ; time management information for reproduction output ) and a 5 - byte dts ( decoding time stamp ; time management information for decoding ), in addition to the above 9 - byte data . these pts and dts are written in only the main picture packet containing the start data of the i - picture of each gop . as shown in fig2 , audio pack 95 is constituted by a 14 - byte pack header and an audio packet data area in which a 14 - byte packet header and audio data up to the 2 , 020th byte can be stored ( when audio data is compressed data encoded based on , e . g ., ac3 ; trade mark ). or , as shown in fig2 , audio pack 95 is constituted by a 14 - byte pack header and an audio acket data area in which a 14 - byte packet header , a 1 - byte sub - stream id , and audio data up to the 2 , 019th byte can be stored ( when audio data is encoded as a linear pcm ). the arrangement of these pack headers may be the same as that of dsi pack 92 . the packet header as shown in fig2 or 21 is constituted by a 3 - byte packet start code ( 00001h ), a 1 - byte stream id , 2 - byte pes ( packetized elementary stream ) packet length data , 3 - byte pes contents , and a 5 - byte pts ( presentation time stamp ; time management information for reproduction output ). as shown in fig2 , a code representing a linear pcm stream is added to a sub - stream id added to audio data based on linear pcm . as shown in fig2 , sub - picture pack 98 is constituted by a 14 - byte pack header and a sub - picture packet as a data area in which a 9 - byte packet header , a 1 - byte sub - stream id , and sub - picture data up to the 2 , 024th byte can be stored . or , as shown in fig2 , sub - picture pack 98 is constituted by a 14 - byte pack header and a sub - picture packet as a data area in which a 14 - byte packet header , a 1 - byte sub - stream id , and sub - picture data up to the 2 , 019th byte can be stored . the arrangement of these pack headers may be the same as that of dsi pack 92 . a code representing a sub - picture stream is added to the sub - stream id shown in fig2 or 23 . as shown in fig2 , the 9 - byte packet header is constituted by a 3 - byte packet start code ( 000001h ), a 1 - byte stream id , 2 - byte pes ( packetized elementary stream ) packet length data , and 3 - byte data associated with the pes . as shown in fig2 , the 14 - byte packet header includes a 5 - byte pts ( presentation time stamp ; time management information for reproduction output ), in addition to the above 9 - byte data . this pts is written in only the sub - picture packet containing the start data of respective sub - picture units . the scr ( system clock reference ) written in each pack increases in the order of recording on optical disk 10 , with the value of the start pack of video data for each file being set to 0 . the disk search / data search information ( dsi ) written in disk search / data search information pack ( dsi pack ) 92 is set at the beginning of one gop ( group of picture ). as shown in fig2 , disk search / data search information is constituted by general information , reproduction synchronization information , dsi pack address information , angle address information , effect information , and highlight information . as shown in fig2 , the general information is constituted by parameters dscr , vspts , dlbn , celn , and pctl ( or ptl -- lvl ). parameter dscr is the scr ( system clock reference : or system time reference value ) of dsi . parameter vspts is the reproduction time stamp of the gop . parameter dlbn is the logical block number of the dsi . parameter celn is a cell number . parameter pctl ( or ptl -- lvl ) is a parental control level . as the scr of the dsi , a scr to be written in a pack header is written . as the reproduction time stamp of a gop , the reproduction start time of the code display start frame of the gop is written . as the logical block number of the dsi , the address of this dsi pack is written in the form of an offset logical block number from the beginning of the file . as the cell number , the cell number to which the gop belongs is written . as the parental control level , a parental control level ( e . g ., 5 to 8 levels or less ) during a gop reproduction period is written . this parental level coincides with that of the cell to which the information belongs . the reproduction synchronization information includes the reproduction start time and position information of a gop , audio data to be reproduced in synchronism with video data , and the reproduction start time and position information of sub - picture data . the reproduction synchronization information is constituted by the pts of an i - picture of the mpeg , the address of a pack containing the i - picture , the pts of audio data , the address of the audio pack , the pts of sub - picture data , and the address of the sub - picture pack . as the pts of the i - picture , the reproductions start time of the i - picture is written in the form of an offset pts from the reproduction time stamp of the gop . as the address of the pack containing the i - picture , the address of the video pack containing the i - picture is written in the form of an offset logical block number from the dsi pack . as the pts of the audio data , the pts of the audio packet having the nearest reproduction start time after the reproduction start time of the i - picture is written in the form of an offset pts from the reproduction time stamp of the gop . as the audio pack address , the address of the audio pack for the pts of the audio data is written in the form of an offset pts from the dsi pack . as the pts of the sub - picture data , the reproduction start and end times of the sub - picture pack to be reproduced during a gop reproduction period are written in the form of an offset pts from the reproduction time stamp of the gop . as the sub - picture pack address , the address of the sub - picture pack for the pts of the sub - picture data is written in the form of an offset logical block number from the dsi pack . the dsi pack address information is the position information of another dsi pack 92 . as the effect information , information about various effect processes to be performed during a gop reproduction period is written . the highlight information includes the positions of selection items on a menu screen and changed color / contrast information . this information is effective only when the cell to which the information belongs is a menu cell or interactive menu cell . the highlight information is constituted by selection item start number / item count and the positions , colors , and contrasts of the selection items . as the selection item start number / item count , the start number of a selection item displayed on the menu screen in the form of a sub - picture , and the number of selection items are written . as the positions , colors , and contrasts of the selection items , the display rectangular areas corresponding to the selection items on the menu screen , and pieces of information representing colors and contrasts to which selected items are changed are written in order from the start selection number in quantity corresponding to the number of selection items . each display rectangular area is defined by x - and y - coordinates with the origin being set at the upper left position on the screen . system processor section 54 of fig1 includes packet transfer processing section 200 for determining the type of packet and transferring the data in the packet to each decoder . as shown in fig2 , packet transfer processing section 200 comprises memory interface section ( memory i / f section ) 201 , stuffing length detecting section 202 , pack header end address calculating section 203 , pack type discriminating section 204 , packet data transfer control section 205 , and decoder interface section ( decoder i / f section ) 206 . memory i / f section 201 outputs pack data from data ram section 56 to stuffing length detecting section 202 , pack type discriminating section 204 , packet data transfer control section 205 , and decoder i / f section 206 via data buses . stuffing length detecting section 202 detects the specific number of bytes of a stuffing length in a pack header in the pack data supplied from memory i / f section 201 . this detection result is output to pack header end address calculating section 203 . pack header end address calculating section 203 calculates a pack header end address from the stuffing length supplied from stuffing length detecting section 202 . this calculation result is output to pack type discriminating section 204 and packet data transfer control section 205 . in accordance with the pack header end address supplied from pack header end address calculating section 203 , pack type discriminating section 204 discriminates , on the basis of the contents of 4 - byte data supplied next to the address in the pack data obtained from memory i / f section 201 , whether the received pack is a main picture , audio , sub - picture , or dsi pack . this discrimination result is output to packet data transfer control section 205 . more specifically , pack type discriminating section 204 discriminates the pack as a dsi pack if a 4 - byte system header start code is supplied ; a main picture pack if a 3 - byte packet start code and a stream id indicating a 1 - byte main picture stream are supplied ; an audio pack if a 3 - byte packet start code and a 1 - byte stream id are supplied ; and a sub - picture pack if a 3 - byte packet start code and a 1 - byte stream id are received . if , however , a private stream is supplied as a stream id , pack type discriminating section 204 discriminates from a sub - stream id following a packet header whether the received pack is an audio or sub - picture pack . packet data transfer control section 205 determines a destination and a packet start address in accordance with a pack header end address and a pack type discrimination result respectively supplied from pack header end address calculating section 203 and pack type discriminating section 204 . packet data transfer control section 205 also determines a packet length in the packet header of the supplied pack data . in addition , packet data transfer control section 205 supplies a signal representing the destination as a transfer control signal to decoder i / f section 206 , and supplies a packet end address to memory i / f section 201 on the basis of the packet start address . in accordance with the transfer control signal supplied from packet data transfer control section 205 , decoder i / f section 206 outputs main picture data , audio data , or sub - picture data , as packet data containing a packet header , supplied from memory i / f section 201 , and controlled by packet data transfer control section 205 , to a corresponding one of decoder sections 58 , 60 , and 62 , or outputs dsi as packet data to data ram section 56 . reproduction of movie data having the logic format in fig5 to 16 and supplied from optical disk 10 will be described next with reference to fig1 . referring to fig1 the solid line arrows between the blocks represent data buses , and the broken line arrows represent control buses . in the optical disk apparatus in fig1 when the power supply is turned on , system cpu section 50 reads out an initial operation program from system rom / ram section 52 , and sets up disk drive section 30 . then , disk drive section 30 starts to read data from read - in area 27 , and reads out volume management information from volume management area 74 of volume management information area 70 subsequent to read - in area 27 . more specifically , system cpu section 50 generates a read instruction to disk drive section 30 to read out volume management information from volume management area 74 which is recorded at a predetermined position on optical disk 10 set in disk drive section 30 . in response to the generated instruction , system cpu section 50 fetches the contents of the volume management information , and the fetched contents are temporarily stored in data ram section 56 through system processor section 54 . further , system cpu section 50 extracts information , such as the recording position , capacity of each file and other pieces of information required for management , from the data strings of the volume management information stored in data ram section 56 , and transfers / holds the information at a predetermined location in system rom / ram section 52 . subsequently , system cpu section 50 acquires disk information file 76 corresponding to file number 0 from system rom / ram section 52 by referring to the information of the recording position and capacity of each of the previously acquired files . more specifically , system cpu section 50 supplies a read instruction to disk drive section 30 by referring to the information of the recording position and capacity of each of the previously acquired files to read out the file management information of disk information file 76 corresponding to file number 0 from system rom / ram section 52 . the readout file management information is stored in data ram section 56 through system processor section 54 . similarly , system cpu section 50 transfers / stores the acquired information at a predetermined location in system rom / ram section 52 . system cpu section 50 reproduces the sequence ( title ) selection menu in menu picture data area 84 and displays it on the screen by using the disk structure information , menu structure information , and cell information of the file management information in disk information file 76 . on the basis of selection numbers displayed on the menu screen , a user operates key operation section & amp ; display section 4 designates to select a sequence ( title ) to be reproduced . with this operation , the file number and sequence information of the selected sequence are specified . in this sequence selecting operation , a user may select all sequences on the basis of the screen . alternatively , the user may select a start sequence first , and then selects the next sequence from a menu cell contained in a picture cell at the end of the start sequence . the process of acquiring designated video file 78 and reproducing video data 102 will be described next . in order to acquire sequence information corresponding to a designated sequence number , system cpu section 50 reads out file management information 101 of video file 78 to which the sequence to be reproduced belongs by using the recording position and capacity of video file 78 obtained from volume management information 74 , and stores the readout information in data ram section 56 , as in the case of disk information file 76 described above . system cpu section 50 acquires video , audio , and sub - picture attributes from file management table 113 of the file management information stored in data ram section 56 , and outputs control signals corresponding to the respective attributes to video decoder section 58 , audio decoder section 60 , sub - picture decoder section 62 , and d / a & amp ; reproduction processing circuit 64 . system cpu section 50 acquires sequence information corresponding to the designated sequence number from sequence information table 114 of file management information area 101 stored in data ram section 56 , and transfers / stores the acquired data and cell information in cell information table 115 which is required to reproduce the sequence to / in system rom / ram section 52 . system cpu section 50 acquires cell information to be reproduced first in accordance with cell reproduction order information in the sequence information acquired in this manner , and supplies a read instruction for read access from the target address to disk drive section 30 on the basis of a video data reproduction start address and size in this cell information . disk drive section 30 drives optical disk 10 in accordance with the read instruction , and reads out the data at the target address from optical disk 10 . disk drive section 30 then sends the readout data to system processor section 54 . system processor section 54 temporarily stores the sent data in data ram section 56 , and discriminates the type ( e . g ., main picture , audio , sub - picture , or disk search / data search information ) of the data on the basis of header information added thereto . system processor section 54 transfers the main picture , audio , or sub - picture data to a corresponding one of decoder sections 58 , 60 , and 62 in accordance with the discriminated type , and transfers the disk search / data search information to data ram section 56 . this processing will be described with reference to the flow chart of fig2 and 28 . system cpu section 50 transfers a read command and the logical sector address of a pack to be reproduced to disk drive section 30 ( step s01 ). disk drive section 30 performs error correction of the data at the target data , and transfers the main data portion of the logical sector data to system processor section 54 ( step s03 ). system processor section 54 holds the data of the readout logical sector in data ram section 56 ( step s04 ). system processor section 54 reads out a pack header from the beginning of the data of the logical sector held in data ram section 56 , and holds the scr ( system time reference value ) ( step s05 ). in this case , since the beginning of the logical sector coincides with that of the pack data , data can be easily extracted . system processor section 54 then compares the self - stc with the scr of each of the stored packs , and determines a pack corresponding to an scr which has reached the stc , i . e ., a pack to be reproduced / output . system processor section 54 reads out the determined pack from data ram section 56 , discriminates the type of data in packet transfer processing section 200 , and transfers the data to one of decoder sections 58 , 60 , and 62 or data ram section 56 in accordance with the discriminated type ( step s06 ). the corresponding one of decoder sections 58 , 60 , and 62 decodes the data in accordance with the corresponding data format and the above set coding scheme , and sends the resultant data to d / a & amp ; reproduction processing circuit 64 . d / a & amp ; reproduction processing circuit 64 converts the digital signal , obtained by decoding of the video data , into an analog signal . the analog signal is subjected to frame rate processing , aspect processing , pan / scan processing , etc . on the basis of the above set conditions . the resultant data is output to monitor section 6 . d / a & amp ; reproduction processing circuit 64 converts the digital signal , obtained by decoding of the audio data , into an analog signal on the basis of the above set conditions , and performs mixing processing of the analog signal on the basis of the above set conditions . the resultant data is output to speaker section 8 . further , d / a & amp ; reproduction processing circuit 64 converts the digital signal , obtained by decoding of the sub - picture data , into an analog signal , and outputs the analog signal to monitor section 6 ( step s07 ). the above processing of steps s03 to s07 is repeated until reproduction is completed . processing performed by packet transfer processing section 200 will be described next . pack data read out from data ram section 56 is supplied to stuffing length detecting section 202 , pack type discriminating section 204 , packet data transfer control section 205 , and decoder i / f section 206 via memory i / f section 201 ( step s11 ). with this operation , a stuffing length is detected by stuffing length detecting section 202 ( step s12 ), and data representing the stuffing length is output to pack header end address calculating section 203 . pack header end address calculating section 203 calculates a pack header end address from the supplied stuffing length ( step s13 ). the calculated pack header end address is supplies the address to pack type discriminating section 204 and to packet data transfer control section 205 . in accordance with the supplied pack header end address , pack type discriminating section 204 discriminates , on the basis of the contents of 4 - byte data supplied next to this address , whether the received pack is a main picture , audio , sub - picture , or dsi pack ( step s14 ). the result of this discrimination is supplied to packet data transfer control section 205 . pack type discriminating section 204 discriminates that the received pack is a dsi pack if a 4 - byte system header start code is supplied ; a main picture pack if a 3 - byte packet start code and a stream id representing a 1 - byte main picture stream are supplied ; an audio pack if a 3 - byte packet start code and a 1 - byte stream id are supplied ; and a sub - picture if a 3 - byte packet start code and a 1 - byte stream id are supplied . if , however , a private stream is supplied as a stream id , pack type discriminating section 204 discriminates from a sub - stream id following a packet header whether the received pack is an audio or sub - picture pack . packet data transfer control section 205 determines a destination and a packet start address in accordance with the supplied pack type discrimination result and pack header end address , and also determines a packet length in the packet header of the supplied pack data ( step s15 ). with this operation , packet data transfer control section 205 supplies a signal representing the destination , as a transfer control signal , to decoder i / f section 206 , and supplies the packet end address from the packet start address to memory i / f section 201 . as a result , substantially effective packet data is supplied from memory i / f section 201 to decoder i / f section 206 via a data bus . thereafter , the data is transferred to one of the decoder sections 58 , 60 , and 62 or data ram section 56 as the destination corresponding to the pack type ( step s16 ). in this case , since the above pack data has a fixed length , the stored state of the data in data ram section 56 is constant , i . e ., the start addresses are arranged at given fixed intervals . in other words , the beginnings of the pack data in data ram section 56 are held at addresses arranged at equal intervals . pack data management therefore does not require address management and can be realized by managing only pack numbers . if it is determined in the process of discriminating a data type that the data is disk search / data search information ( dsi ) representing the reproduction position , etc . of video data , this disk search / data search information is not transferred to any decoder section , but is stored in data ram section 56 . this reproduction information is referred to by system cpu section 50 , as needed , to be used for a monitoring operation in reproducing video data . when reproduction of one cell is completed , cell information to be reproduced next is acquired from cell reproduction order information in sequence information , and reproduction processing for the acquired cell information is continued in the same manner as described above . assume that the optical disk apparatus reproduces a parental control target portion of optical disk 10 on which parent information is recorded . a basic operation for such a case will be described next with reference to the flow chart of fig2 to 32 . first of all , disk structure information ( dsinf ) in a disk information file is loaded into data ram section 56 ( step s21 ). parental information about all sequences recorded on optical disk 10 is referred to on the basis of loaded disk structure information dsinf , so as to display a title subjected to parental control on monitor section 6 ( step s22 ). a specific user ( authorized on the basis of a password or the like ) operates key operation section & amp ; display section 4 to key - input the information indicating whether to validate the reproduction restriction of the above title subjected to parental control ( step s23 ). note that the specific user can cancel only parental control of a level more moderate than the reference level recorded in system rom / ram section 52 . when the user cancels the parental control , parental cancellation information is stored in system rom / ram section 52 . when the user does not cancel the parental control ( step s24 , no ), he / she operates key operation section & amp ; display section 4 to key - input the information indicating a desired level ( or levels ) of parental control with respect to the sequence , cell , or gop level ( steps s25 ). incidentally , the number of hierarchical levels of program sources to be subjected to the parental control may be two , for example , the file level ( or title set level ) and the sequence level ( or program chain level ). if the restriction ( parental control ) of reproduction or presentation for the sequence level ( or program chain level ) is selected in step s25 , each sequence information ( si ) in sequence information table ( sit ) 114 is loaded into data ram section 56 ( step s26 in fig3 ). then , a reproduction / presentation restriction start sequence number and a reproduction restriction end sequence number are detected . thereafter , respective sequences ( or program chains ) are sequentially loaded ( step s27 ), and it is checked whether each sequence ( program chain ) is subjected to specific parental control , or is subjected to restriction of reproduction or presentation ( step s28 ). more specifically , it is checked from the parental level of each sequence ( program chain ), whether each sequence ( program chain ) is to be subjected to restriction of the parental control , or is to be subjected to reproduction restriction . if it is determined that a given sequence ( program chain ) is to be subjected to the reproduction restriction ( step s28 , yes ), this sequence ( program chain ) is not reproduced ( step s29 ), and characters indicating that parental control is being performed are displayed on monitor section 6 ( step s30 ). the next sequence is then loaded . if the next sequence is not subjected to parental control ( step s28 , no ), reproduction is resumed ( step s31 in fig2 ). incidentally , at step 29 of fig3 , if the sequence ( or program chain ) to be reproduced next is subjected to parental control , in place of reproducing this next sequence ( program chain ), another sequence ( or program chain ), which is not subjected to the parental restriction , may be reproduced . if the reproduction / presentation restriction of the cell level is selected at step s25 in fig2 , cell information in the cell information table ( cit ) is loaded into data ram section 56 ( step s44 * in fig2 , or step s32 in fig3 ). then , a reproduction restriction start cell number and a reproduction restriction end cell number are detected . the respective cells are sequentially loaded ( step s33 ), and it is checked whether each cell is to be subjected to restriction of reproduction or presentation ( step s34 ). more specifically , it is checked from the parental level of each cell whether each cell is to be subjected to parental control , or is to be subjected to reproduction restriction . if it is determined that a given cell is to be subjected to reproduction restriction ( step s34 , yes ), a reproduction inhibition signal is output to each of decoder sections 58 , 60 , and 62 , so as to stop output of any decoded signal ( step s35 ). alternatively , if the cell representing a specific scene of a given title is subjected to the parental control , this scene may be replaced with another scene , or switching to another angle of multi - angle pictures prepared separately may be performed ( step s35 ). thereafter , characters indicating that parental control is being performed are displayed on monitor section 6 ( step s36 ). when the reproduction restriction period of the cell comes to an end ( step s34 , no ), unless other parental restriction exists , reproduction inhibition or picture replacement is canceled ( step s37 in fig2 ), and reproduction is resumed ( step s31 ). if the reproduction / presentation restriction of the gop level is selected at step s25 in fig2 , pack data are sequentially loaded into data ram section 56 ( step s45 * in fig2 , or step s38 in fig3 ). then , the parental information of each gop is read from disk search / data search information ( dsi ) arranged for each gop ( step s39 ). it is checked from the read information whether a target gop is to be reproduced ( step s40 ). or , it is checked from the parental level of the target gop whether the gop is to be subjected to reproduction restriction . if it is determined that the gop is to be subjected to reproduction control ( step s40 , yes ), a reproduction inhibition signal is output to each of decoder sections 58 , 60 , and 62 , so as to stop outputting of any decoded signal ( step s41 ). thereafter , characters indicating that parental control is being performed are displayed on monitor section 6 ( step s42 ). when the reproduction restriction period of the gop comes to an end ( step s40 , no ), unless other parental restriction exists , reproduction inhibition or picture replacement is canceled ( step s37 in fig2 ), and reproduction is resumed ( step s31 ). referring to fig3 , steps s26 to s30 constitute a parental check routine for the sequence level ( or program chain level ). in fig3 , steps s32 to s36 constitute a parental check routine for the cell level . in fig3 , steps s38 to s42 constitute a parental check routine for the gop level . as shown in fig2 , after a parental check of the sequence level is performed ( allowed at s43 ), a parental check of the cell level as processing of a lower layer is performed . after a parental check of the cell level is performed ( allowed at s44 ), a parental check of the gop level as processing of a further lower layer is performed . as mentioned above , a multi - stage parental check mechanism ( steps of s43 to s45 , or any two of s43 to s45 ) is adapted . with the operation of such a multi - stage parental check mechanism , even if a reproduction skip ( or a jump of laser beam tracking of the optical pickup ) is caused by a shock , vibrations , or the like , and data to be subjected to parental control is loaded , a parental check routine at the lower level will inhibit reproduction of restricted data by parental control . a method of recording video data on optical disk 10 , from which the video data is to be reproduced , according to the logic format in fig5 to 14 and a recording system to which the recording method is applied will be described next with reference to fig3 to 45 . fig3 shows an encoder for creating a video file by decoding video data . in the system in fig3 , for example , video tape recorder ( vtr ) 211 , audio tape recorder ( atr ) 212 , and sub - picture reproduction unit ( sub - picture source ) 213 are used as main picture , audio , and sub - picture data sources . these sources generate main picture data , audio data , and sub - picture data , under the control of system controller 215 . the generated data are supplied to video encoder ( venc ) 216 , audio encoder ( aenc ) 217 , and sub - picture encoder ( spenc ) 218 . similarly , the supplied data are a / d - converted and encoded by encoders 216 , 217 , and 218 according to the respective compression schemes under the control of system controller 215 . the encoded main picture data , audio data , and sub - picture data ( comp video , comp audio , comp sub - pict ) are respectively stored in memories 220 , 221 , and 222 . system controller 215 outputs the main picture data , audio data , and sub - picture data ( comp video , comp audio , comp sub - pict ) to file formatter ( ffmt ) 224 . each data is then converted into data having the same file structure as that of video data used in this system described above , and system controller 215 stores information of the set conditions , attributes , etc . of each data , as a file , in memory 226 . a flow chart of typical encoding processing in system controller 215 for creating a file from video data will be described below . the main picture and audio data are encoded in accordance with the flow chart of fig3 to create encoded main picture data and audio data ( comp video , comp audio ). more specifically , when encoding is started , parameters required for encoding of the main picture data and audio data in step s70 of fig3 are set . some of the set parameters are held by system controller 215 and also used by file formatter ( ffmt ) 224 . in step s71 , the main picture data is pre - encoded by using the parameters to calculate the optimal code amount distribution . in step s72 , the main picture data is encoded on the basis of the code amount distribution obtained by pre - encoding . at the same time , encoding of the audio data is executed . in step s73 , the main picture data is partly re - encoded , as needed , and the re - encoded portion of the main picture data is replaced . with the series operation of the above steps , the main picture data and audio data are encoded . in addition , in steps s74 and s75 , the sub - picture data is encoded to create encoded sub - picture data ( comp sub - pict ). more specifically , parameters required to encode the sub - picture data are set in the same manner as described above . in step s74 , some of the set parameters are held by system controller 215 , and are used by file formatter ( ffmt ) 224 . the sub - picture data is encoded on the basis of these parameters . with this processing , the sub - picture data is encoded . in accordance with the processing of the flow chart in fig3 , the encoded main picture data , audio data , and sub - picture data ( comp video , comp audio , comp sub - pict ) are combined , and the combined data is converted into one having the same file structure as that of the video file described with reference to fig1 . more specifically , in step s76 , cell 105 is set as the minimum unit of picture data , and cell information table ( cit ) 115 is created . in step s77 , the structure of cells 105 constituting sequence 106 , the attributes of the main picture , sub - picture and audio , and respective parental levels , etc . are set ( as part of these pieces of attribute information , information obtained in each encoding operation is used ), and file management information ( fmi ) containing cell information table ( cit ) 115 is created . in step s78 , the encoded main picture data , audio data , and sub - picture data ( comp video , comp audio , comp sub - pict ) are divided into predetermined packs , and the respective data cells are arranged , while dsi packs 92 whose parental levels are set in units of gops are inserted , such that reproduction or presentation can be performed in the order of the time codes assigned to the respective data . as a result , the data cell are formatted into the same structures as those of disk information file 76 and file 78 such as a movie file in fig6 and 10 . in this case , packs are formed in accordance with the logical sector length . in step s77 in the flow chart of fig3 , the sequence information is written in sequence information table ( sit ) 114 by using a database of system controller 215 or re - inputting data ( parental level or the like ), as needed . fig3 shows a disk formatter system for recording files 76 and 78 , which are formatted in the above manner , on an optical disk . in the disk formatter system in fig3 , file data are supplied to volume formatter ( vfmt ) 236 from memories 230 and 232 in which created information file 76 and file 78 of , e . g ., a movie file are stored . volume formatter ( vfmt ) 236 adds volume information 74 of the disk to files 76 and 78 in the arrangement order shown in fig5 to create logical data to be recorded on optical disk 10 . in disk formatter ( dfmt ) 238 , error correction data is added to the logical data created by volume formatter ( vfmt ) 236 , and the error correction data added data is re - converted into physical data to be recorded on optical disk 10 . modulator 240 converts the physical data created by disk formatter ( dfmt ) 238 into record data to be actually recorded on optical disk 10 . typical flow charts for creating the above disk will be explained with reference to fig3 and 38 . fig3 is a flow chart for creating logical data to be recorded on optical disk 10 . more specifically , in step s80 , parameter data such as the number of video data files , the arrangement order , and the size of each video data file are set first . in step s81 , volume information is created from the set parameters and the file management information of each video data file . in step s82 , the volume information and the video data files are arranged at the corresponding logical blocks in the this order to create logical data to be recorded on optical disk 10 . subsequently , physical data to be recorded on optical disk 10 is created in accordance with the flow chart of fig3 . more specifically , in step s83 , logical data is divided into a predetermined number of bytes , and error correction data is created . in step s84 , the logical data divided into the predetermined number of bytes and the created error correction data are combined to produce physical sectors . in step s85 , the physical sectors are combined to provide physical data . modulation processing based on a predetermined rule is executed for the physical data created in accordance with the flow chart of fig3 to create record data . thereafter , this record data is recorded on disk 10 . in the flow chart in which the encoded main picture data , audio data , and sub - picture data ( comp video , comp audio , comp sub - pict ) described with reference to fig3 are combined and converted into the file structure of the video data , sequence information and a cell reproduction order are produced in the process of creating one or more sequences ( or program chains ). this process will be described in more detail with reference to fig3 to 45 . fig3 and 40 show the relationship between cell information ( ci ) associated with video cell 105 and sequence information ( si ) associated with sequence 106 . note that the drawings of fig3 and 40 can be combined , at the corresponding position , into one drawing . fig4 is a flow chart showing the process of creating the sequence information and the cell reproduction order shown in fig3 and 40 . consider a case wherein a sequence ( seq - n ) ( or nth program chain ) is created , as shown in fig3 and 40 . in step s90 in fig4 , a plurality of picture cells ( video cells ) are prepared in the hard disk or memory of a personal computer or work station , by dividing video data into units each having a prescribed size in accordance with a purpose . in step s92 , the size ( sna ) and reproduction time ( tna ) of each picture cell prepared in the above manner , a type ( cna ) representing the contents , etc . of each picture cell , a corresponding language code ( lna ), a parental level , etc . are acquired as cell information ( ci ). in step s93 , the respective pieces of cell information ( ci ) are arranged into a table in the writing order to create a cell information table ( cit ). in step s94 , cell numbers (# n , # n + 1 , # n + 2 ) constituting the sequence ( seq - n ) are extracted from the cell information table ( cit ) created in the above manner , thereby determining the number of cells constituting the sequence . in addition , a sequence reproduction time is obtained from the total time ( tna + tnb + tnc ) of the constituent cells . in step s95 , the cell numbers based on the number of cells constituting the sequence are stored in the order in which the pieces of cell information are written , starting with # 1 , to create a cell reproduction order list for determining the reproduction order of sequences , thereby creating cell reproduction order lists , as shown in fig4 to 44 . the pieces of information described above , i . e ., the number of cells constituting the sequence , the sequence reproduction time , and the cell reproduction order list , etc ., are combined into sequence information ( si ) # n . in step s96 , the next sequence is created in the same manner as described above . if there is no sequence to be created , all pieces of sequence information ( si ) are stored in the sequence information table ( sit ), with numbers being assigned thereto in the writing order from # 1 . the sequence creation processing is completed . finally , the total number of sequences , the start position of the sequence information table , the start position of each sequence information , the start position of the cell information table are stored at predetermined locations in the file management table to create a file . fig4 shows a modification of fig1 . in the example of fig4 , the file of fig1 is constituted by a plurality of video object sets vobs ; the sequence , by a plurality of video objects vob ; the program , by a plurality of cells ; the cell , by various data packs ( nav pack containing navigation data , video pack containing main picture data , sp pack containing sub - picture data , audio pack containing voice / sound data , and so on ); and each of the data packs , by a pack header and one or more data packets . fig4 is a block diagram for explaining a case wherein data is played back or reproduced from a super high density optical disk in which video information encoded according to the present invention is recorded . the reproduced data is directly on - aired or distributed via cables , and the on - aired or cable - distributed data is decoded at a user side or at a subscriber side . the parental control of the present invention is performed at a parental controller / parental processor in the receiver side . more specifically , in fig4 , optical disk player 300 basically has the same configuration as a conventional optical disk playback apparatus ( such as a compact disk player or a laser disk player ). however , optical disk player 300 has a special configuration that a digital signal , obtained before decoding the information ( i . e ., an encoded digital signal ), can be output from inserted optical disk od . since the encoded digital signal is compressed , the transmission bandwidth necessary to the encoded digital signal can be narrower than that necessary to non - compressed data . the compressed digital signal from optical disk player 300 is on - aired or is output to a communication cable , via modulator / transmitter 210 . the on - aired compressed digital signal or the cable - output compressed digital signal is received by receiver / demodulator 400 of a user or subscriber . receiver 400 is provided with a decoder and a parental processor . the decoder of receiver 400 decodes the compressed digital signal having been received and demodulated . the parental processor of receiver 400 is responsive to the parental control code in the decoded data . the parental processor executes , based on this parental control code , the multi - level parental control as explained with reference to the flow charts of fig2 to 32 . according to the result of the executed parental control , the parental processor outputs video information containing the original data before encoded which is allowed to be reproduced or presented . fig4 explains the process of writing to a read / write optical disk an encoded program source with parental information and the process of reading from the read / write optical disk the program source with parental information . encoder 500 of fig4 is so constructed that it performs the processing of fig2 to 32 based on a software or hardware ( containing a firmware or wired - logic circuits ). the record signal encoded by encoder 500 is subjected to , for example , a ( 2 , 7 ) rll modulation at modulator / laser driver 702 . the modulated record signal is sent from laser driver 702 to a high - power laser diode mounted in optical head 704 . a particular pattern corresponding to the record signal is written in a magneto - optical disk or phase - change optical disk od by means of the recording laser from optical head 704 . thereafter , the information written in disk od is read by a laser pickup of optical head 706 . the read information is then demodulated at demodulator / error correction circuit 708 in which an error correction is performed , if necessary . the demodulated and error - corrected signal is subjected to various data processing at data processor 710 for audio / video information , so that information , equivalent to the original information before recording , is played back or reproduced . data processor 710 includes a parental processing portion for executing a parental control corresponding to the flow charts of fig2 to 32 . fig4 shows a block diagram wherein various data pieces with parental information are communicated between two arbitrary computers via a communication network ( e . g ., an internet ). user # 1 having user &# 39 ; s source # 1 , which is managed by a host computer ( not shown ), has personal computer 5001 . various input / output devices 5011 and various external memory units 5021 are connected to computer 5001 . modem card 5031 incorporating the encoder and the decoder of the present invention and having a function required for communication is inserted in an internal slot ( not shown ) of personal computer 5001 . similarly , user # n having user &# 39 ; s source # n has personal computer 500n . various input / output devices 501n and various external memory units 502n are connected to computer 500n . modem card 503n incorporating the encoder and the decoder of the present invention and having a function required for communication is inserted in an internal slot ( not shown ) of personal computer 500n . assume that user # 1 operates computer 5001 to communicate with computer 500n of another user # n through line 600 such as an internet . in this case , since both users # 1 and # n have modem cards 5031 and 503n incorporating the encoders and the decoders , compressed image data can be efficiently exchanged within a short period of time . according to the system of fig4 , respective computers ( 5001 , 500n , etc .) can perform a multi - level parental control as described with reference to the flow charts of fig2 to 32 on the basis of software . for instance , assume that a catalog of adult goods for a mail order sale is circulated in an electric market on the internet . in this case , if the catalog ( or order sheet ) of that goods is subjected to the parental restriction of a prescribed parental control level , any unsuitable access by persons under age ( or children ) to that goods can be prevented . fig5 shows an outline of an ic device containing parental processor which executes parental control and its related processing with respect to fig2 to 32 . thus , the parental controller based on the present invention can be reduced to practice , with necessary peripheral circuits , in the form of a semiconductor ic . such an ic can be used in various instruments or devices , thereby providing various parental controllable instruments / devices . fig5 explains a hierarchical data structure constituted by a volume , title sets , program chains , and so on , wherein parental information is assigned only to two hierarchical levels ( title set level and program chain level in this example ). more specifically , one or more title sets each having parental id &# 39 ; s ( parental codes ) are arranged under the level of a volume manager ( vmg ), one or more program chains each having parental id &# 39 ; s ( parental codes ) are arranged under the level of the title set , and disk / data search information dsi or playback / presentation control information pci without parental id &# 39 ; s ( parental codes ) are arranged under the level of the program chain . note that , in the case of fig1 , the number of the hierarchical levels of parental information is three ( sequence level , cell level , and gop level ). and the three - level parental control is performed according to the flow charts of fig2 to 32 . on the other hand , in the case of fig5 , a two - level parental control is performed . this can be achieved by removing , for example , the gop level parental processing from the flow chart of fig2 . in this case , parental control of the title set level can be performed by a manner similar to fig3 , and parental control of the program chain level can be performed by a manner similar to fig3 . fig5 explains a plurality of different parental levels which vary for countries . more specifically , country codes ( of japan , usa , france , etc .) are assigned to the volume manager ( vmg ) of fig5 . each of the country codes is provided with not higher than 8 parental levels for various parental restrictions ( which may vary for respective country codes ). assigned to each parental level are corresponding volume manager ( vmg ) and corresponding one or more video title sets ( vts # 1 to vts # n ). thus , a manner of applying the parental restrictions can be modified in detail according to the country ( or area ). for this reason , even if all programs ( containing specific video / audio to be restricted to produce in certain country or inhibited to playback for children ) are recorded in super - high density optical disk 10 , actually - reproducible programs from that disk can be changed depending on the country ( or area ). for instance , in japan , a person of 18 years old or more adult can playback the programs of parental levels # 1 to # 6 from disk 10 , but the programs of higher than level # 6 cannot . however , in usa , since the parental coding differs from japan , an adult or grown - up person can playback the programs of level # 7 and # 8 from the same disk 10 . as described above , pieces of parental information of the sequence , cell , and gop levels are written with respect to pictures of which reproduction must be restricted . even if , therefore , a reproduction skip is caused by a shock , vibrations , or the like , the parental attribute of the resultant picture can be easily discriminated at the cell or gop level . this allows reliable parental control on the reproduction side . in imposing a restriction on reproduction of a movie or the like to be restricted , scenes to be subjected to reproduction restriction are specified in units of cells , and only the specified scenes can be partially replaced with other scenes , instead of inhibiting a whole title . if a specific user cancels parental control , users can listen to the sounds of reproduced pictures and watch the pictures without parental control . a high recording density is used as a recording medium . however , the present invention can be applied to recording media other than an optical disk , e . g ., a magnetic disk and a recording medium capable of a high - density recording operation by another physical means . other targets , except for video ( movies ) data and audio data , of parental control for restricting or inhibiting the playback or use are character data , still picture data , computer programs ( game programs ), and so on . as has been described in detail above , according to the present invention , there is provided a recording medium which allows management and discrimination at a parental level on the reproduction side , in particular , a recording apparatus for recording data on the recording medium , a recording method therefor , a reproduction apparatus for reproducing data from the recording medium , and a reproduction method therefor . 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 , representative devices , and illustrated examples 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 . | 8 |
referring to the drawings , which are for the purpose of illustrating the present preferred embodiments of the invention and not for the purpose of limiting the same , fig1 shows a schematic circuit diagram of a matrix converter comprising 6 input phases and 3 output phases which is designed and controlled to allow natural commutations only . such a matrix converter has been disclosed in de - a - 100 51 222 as well as in the corresponding european application . a matrix converter as described in these documents as well as its mode of operation as described therein shall form the basis for the examples given here . the matrix converter 10 , when being used to convert the frequency of the voltage generated by the generator 11 to a frequency as requested by the load 12 , i . e . the grid to which the generator is connected , in a time sequence connects phases g 1 , . . . , g 6 of a generator 11 to the 3 phases l 1 , . . . , l 3 of a load 12 . the power component 13 required for it comprises 18 bi - directional switches 14 in the form of antiparallel switched thyristors . the switches 14 are arranged in a ( 6 × 3 ) matrix . a control system 17 is provided for selecting the switches 14 , said control receiving time signals from a clock 18 ( a clock frequency ). the switching state of the switches 14 ( on , off ) is monitored and in each case reported to the control system 17 via a first signal line 20 . in each instance the switches 14 are selected by the control system 17 via a control line 19 . in each of the individual phases g 1 , . . . , g 6 of the generator 11 , a current measuring device 15 is arranged in each instance which reports the sign of the phase current via a second signal line 21 , to the control system 17 . in addition , voltage measuring devices 16 are arranged between the phases g 1 , . . . , g 6 of the generator 11 , said voltage measuring devices reporting the sign of the respective phase difference voltage to the control system 17 via a third signal line 22 . as disclosed in de - a - 100 51 222 , a commutation criterion can be derived for commutation within the matrix converter 10 , said commutation criterion being essentially based on the sign of the product of the phase difference voltage between the phase to be switched off and the phase to be switched on and of the phase current in the phase to be switched off . if this product is negative , commutation between these two phases is allowed . otherwise commutation is prohibited . commutation is triggered by the control system 17 , if a commutation is present after a specified time and if the commutation criterion is met . since for commutation a “ free ” phase of the generator 11 is required and since in each instance certain switches 14 must not be activated , so as to avoid short circuits , the control system 17 must know at all times which of the phases g 1 , . . . , g 6 are free , i . e . in which of the phases g 1 , . . . , g 6 all associated switches 14 are open , i . e . not carrying any power . the control system 17 must also know to which of the output phases l 1 , . . . , l 3 the phase which is to be commuted is switched , so as to precisely switch on that switch which is suitable for this commutation . the above - mentioned commutation criterion is based on the physical premise that a natural commutation between two phases of the generator 11 can only be carried out successfully if at the point of time of commutation to the absolute value of the current igx of the phase gx from which one wants to commutate , is falling , while the absolute value of the current igy of the phase gy to which one wants to commutate , is rising . this necessary condition means that the phase to which one wants to commutate , has a higher electromotive force than , and the same sense of direction as , the phase from which one wants to commutate . however , since the electromotive force can only be measured during idling , the criterion is to be established with easily accessible or measurable quantities . as discussed extensively in de - a - 100 51 222 , one can find a commutation criterion to select natural commutations only , which is given by : i k ·( v k − v l )· k ijkl & gt ; 0 ( 1 ) with the constant k ijkl depending on the mutual inductances of the phases of the generator and the inductance of the load . thus if the constants k ijkl determined by the self - inductances and mutual inductances of the generator and the load are known , by means of the easily measurable quantities phase current i k and phase difference voltage v k - v l signs it can be determined at all times whether or not an intended natural commutation between the phases k and l of the generator can be carried out . the condition or rule ( 1 ) only depends on the signs of the currents and voltages , not however on their actual values . thus the information necessary for the commutation condition can be obtained with very simple detectors or measuring devices . the decision process which in the case of a matrix converter 10 according to fig1 leads to selection of the switches 14 , is very simple : first the clock 18 tells the control system 17 at what point in time according to the desired frequency and if applicable according to any feedback information , a new commutation is to take place , i . e . at what point in time the phases presently connected to the load 12 are to be replaced by other phases . as a result of continuous monitoring of the switches 14 and the phases g 1 , . . . , g 6 , the control system 17 knows which phases are free , i . e . do not carry any current , and which phases can subsequently be safely commutated . if one or two commutations are possible , the associated switches 14 are triggered . as has already been mentioned above , simultaneous commutation of three phases is avoided . any second and third commutations ( possible per se ) are postponed until they can be carried out safely . in order to determine a method for controlling the matrix converter , first of all the frequency of commutation has to be evaluated . the principles of how this can be done under standard conditions shall be outlined as follows : at time t , phase k of generator is connected to phase c of converter . we can then write the equality of voltages : v g ( t ) = e cos ( ω t - ( k - 1 ) 2 π n + φ g ) = e cos ( ω r t - ( c - 1 ) 2 π n r + φ c ) φ g and φ c being respectively the phase shifts of generator and converter voltages . ω t - ( k - 1 ) 2 π n + φ g = ± ( ω r t - ( c - 1 ) 2 π n r + φ c ) we notice that there are two possible frequencies of commutation . we keep the first solution , because it corresponds to the lower frequency of commutation , and consequently to the smaller number of commutations . the instants of commutations for controlling the converter can now be found as follows : if the converter voltage v c is in phase with generator voltage v g , the relationship between time t and generator phase k to be connected to network phase c is : t k = ( k - 1 2 + ɛ k + k 0 ) δ t εk : shifting of commutation k , in p . u . of δt k0 : global shifting of network phase , in p . u . of δt ( 0 for phase 1 ) when the generator frequency f is greater than network frequency f r , each network phase commutes successively on generator phases in increasing order . generator phase g k is connected to one network phase during the time interval [ t k − 1 ; t k ]. the converter output voltage is given by : v c ( t ) = e · cos [ ω t - ( k - 1 ) 2 π n ] on the contrary , in case of increasing the frequency , the order of commutations must be inverted : we commute from phase k to phase ( k − 1 ) instead of ( k + 1 ). during the time interval [ t k − 1 ; t k ], the phase g k , will be connected instead of phase g k , with k ′=( 2 − k ) modulo n . we can combine both cases , by introducing the sign of commutation frequency into the formula : v c ( t ) = e · cos [ ω t - s c ( k - 1 ) 2 π n ] note : in both cases , phase g 1 is connected to n 1 during time interval [− δt / 2 ; δt / 2 ] if commutations are regular . according to the present invention , this target curve is now adapted for obtaining the advanced clock sequence . v c ( t ) = e · cos [ ω t - ( k - 1 ) 2 π n ] in which k holds for the index of the phase which should be connected at time t to the grid phase c . departing from the above relationship ( ω - ω r ) t = ( k 1 - 1 ) 2 π n - ( c - 1 ) 2 π n r - φ g + φ c the current value of k can easily be calculated to be : the phase number thus increases linearly over time ( straight line ). it &# 39 ; s rounded to the closest integer value . the target curve for the advanced clock sequence is now set up as follows : the advanced clock sequence has a phase versus time function k ( t ) which is no longer a straight line but a broken line made of a succession of segments . each segment is defined by a starting time t i and a pulsation ω i . the function k ( t ) is continuous . the pulsation being constant over the duration of a segment , the output voltage is an arch of a cosine wave . the output voltage is also a continuous function . as a consequence of k ( t ) being a continuous function there is no zero - crossing jumps like in a “ cyclo ” sequence . the resulting number of commutations is as low as with the basic clock . therefore the commutation losses are low and the voltage output is not be lowered by the averaging effect of the high frequency part of the “ cyclo ” sequence . the benefit of defining the sequence by a handful of straight segments is to be able to predict harmonic distortion with simple formulas , i . e . with pre - calculated fourier transforms . more elegant waveforms are possible . the sequence is periodical . it has to be defined over half of a grid period . therefore the advanced clock management is done with a reduced time : with 2 segments per half grid - period : it is possible to generate a sequence where commutations are immediately done while the phase of the converter output voltage is controlled . with 3 segments per half grid - period : it is in addition possible to tune the voltage amplitude . with 4 segments per half grid - period : the fourth segment can be used to shape further the voltage , for instance to prevent commutation which would occur too close to the zero - crossing of current . the advanced clock is in the following defined by a set of 4 segments over half a grid period . additional segments can be added whenever necessary and appropriate . k ( t ) = 1 + n 2 π ( ω i ( t - t i ) + θ 0 i + ( c - 1 ) 2 π n r + φ g - φ c ) θ 0i is the required offset angle to make k ( t ) a continuous function . fig2 shows the corresponding results , i . e . the resulting output voltage waveform with the advanced clock 32 in relation to the current waveform 31 as well as to the generator voltage waveform 33 , wherein in this example t 4 = t 5 . the plot of fig2 shows the waveform of voltage , assuming a very large number of generator phases . the time parameters are also shown . the parameters of the curve are defined as follows : t 1 is the time of zero crossing of the output current . from t 1 to t 2 the pulsation is ω 1 . during this period of time the commutations to the next phase are impossible , therefore ω i should be equal to the generator pulsation ω or higher . t 2 is the first time , after t 1 , when the generator voltage reaches its maximum value . afterward normal commutation ( i −& gt ; i + 1 ) can again be done . from t 2 to t 3 the pulsation is ω i . during this period voltage is expected to be close to the peak value of the generator voltage . the voltage is maximum when ω 2 is equal to zero . when ω 2 is not set to zero , for thd improvement reasons , it should preferably be at least positive . t 3 is a the ending time of the segment with high voltage . the duration of the segment t p = t 3 - t 2 has a significant impact on the root mean square value of the voltage . from t 3 to t4 the pulsation is ω 3 . t 4 is a free parameter . after t 4 the pulsation is ω 4 . one possible use of this segment is to prevent commutations before the zero crossing of the current . in this case ω 4 = ω 1 . t 5 = t 1 + π / ω is the ending time of the considered half grid - period . it is equal to the next value of t 1 . the advanced clock sequence is defined by eight parameters in case of four segments , four characteristic times and four pulsations . generally it is defined by twice as many parameters as there is segments . some are fixed by operating conditions while others are free , within limits . ω 2 = 0 in order to maximize voltage utilization . ω 4 = ω 1 = ω in order to avoid commutation request from t 1 to t 2 and from t 4 to t 5 . ω 3 results from the equation ω 1 ( t 2 − t 1 )+ ω 3 ( t 4 − t 3 )+ ω 4 ( t 4 − t 4 )= π t 1 : time of zero - crossing of the current coming from monitoring / settings t 2 : is obtained by solving the equation s 1 = 0 t 3 and t 4 are free parameters which however one chosen of course determine the value of t 2 . for the case of the above parameterization with t 4 = t 5 for example the harmonic functions are given by : the proposed method allows for a voltage tuning capability . the most important parameter is the duration , t p = t 3 − t 2 , of the segment from t 2 to t 3 with pulsation ω 2 . in fig3 , showing the tuning possibilities , the parameter t p as been varied from 0 ms to 3 ms in small steps . fig4 essentially shows the same as fig2 with 27 phase configuration . with the waveforms of fig4 the output voltage is , most of the time , larger than the generator voltage . the following table 1 shows the amplification factors for the curves of fig4 . | 7 |
an illustrative aspect of the present invention will be hereinafter explained with reference to fig1 to 9 . as illustrated in fig1 , a facsimile system 1 comprises a client computer 10 and a multifunction apparatus 20 . in the illustrative aspect , the client computer 10 functions as a client device and a computer . in the illustrative aspect , a facsimile is abbreviated to fax . the client computer 10 ( an example of a client device and a computer ) comprises a cpu 11 , a rom 12 , a ram 13 , a storing section 14 , a display section 15 , an operation section 16 and an usb interface ( usb i / f ) 17 . the client device is configured to execute a facsimile application program . the cpu 11 ( an example of a computer to perform a first receiving step , a first determining step , a transferring step , an obtaining step and a second determining step ) executes various computations based on programs stored in the rom 12 and the storing section 14 and controls each component in the client computer 10 . the rom 12 stores various programs that are executed by the cpu 11 and data . the ram 13 is a main memory that is used when the cpu 11 executes various processes . the storing section 14 is an external memory for storing various programs and data using a non - volatile storing medium such as a hard disk or a flash memory . the storing section 14 stores an operating system ( os ), a fax application ( an example of a facsimile application program ), a fax driver ( an example of a facsimile driver program ) and permission database ( permission db ). in the present illustrative aspect , linux ( registered trademark ) is used as an os . the os is not limited to linux but may be other different os . the display section 15 is comprised of a display device such as a crt or a liquid crystal display . the operation section 16 ( an example of a registering step ) is comprised of an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard . the usb interface 17 ( an example of a second receiving step ) is connected to the multifunction apparatus 20 via a usb cable . in the present illustrative aspect , it is supposed that a plurality of users use a fax application via one client computer 10 . in such a case , each user may go to the client computer 10 to directly login the computer 10 and use the fax application or may use the fax application with remote login to the computer 10 from another computer via a communication network . in the permission db , transmission source information representing transmission sources of at commands ( an example of a facsimile command ) that are permitted to communicate with the multifunction apparatus 20 is registered . the transmission source represents a user who transmits the at command , a group to which a user belong or a fax application . namely , although the number of the client computer 10 is one , the transmission sources of the at commands are not necessarily same . in the permission db , permission or prohibition of communication ( permission or prohibition of fax transmission or fax reception ) is set by a unit of , for example , a user , a group to which a user belong or a fax application . hereinafter , the unit ( a user , a group or a fax application ) is simply referred to as a transmission source . an administrator of the client computer 10 operates the operation section 16 to register the transmission source information in the permission db and set permission or prohibition of communication in the permission db . the multifunction apparatus 20 ( an example of a facsimile device ) has a fax transmission / reception function , a printing function , a scanning function and a copying function . the multifunction apparatus 20 includes a control section 21 , a facsimile section 22 , a printer section 23 , a scanner section 24 , an operation section 25 and a usb interface ( usb i / f ) 26 . the control section 21 comprises a cpu , a rom and a ram . the cpu controls each component in the multifunction apparatus 20 based on various programs stored in the rom . the rom stores various programs and data used at the time of a control operation by the cpu . the ram is a main memory used when the cpu executes various processing . the facsimile section 22 comprises a fax modem 22 a and a fax data storing section 22 b and is connected to a telephone line . in the facsimile section 22 , the received fax data is printed by the printer section 23 and the image read by the scanner section 24 is transmitted via fax . further , the facsimile section 22 receives data from a pc via the usb i / f and transmits the received data to an external facsimile device via a telephone line and also the facsimile section 22 receives fax data from the external facsimile device and transmits the received fax data to the pc via the usb i / f . in such a case , the client computer 10 directly accesses to the fax modem 22 a via the usb interface 26 . the communication between the pc 10 and the fax modem 22 a is executed with using at commands that have been known . when the received fax data is transmitted to the client computer 10 , the whole fax data is temporally stored in the data storing section 22 b and a signal informing of incoming ( ring ) is transmitted to the client computer 10 after disconnection of the telephone line . the fax modem 22 a is different from an ordinary fax modem in this point . the client computer 10 may reject to receive the fax data from an external facsimile device . however , in the multifunction apparatus 20 according to the present illustrative aspect , the received fax data is temporally stored in the fax data storing section 22 b and then transmitted to the client computer 10 . accordingly , even if the client computer 10 rejects to receive the fax data , the external facsimile device already completes transmission of the fax data . therefore , a user of the external facsimile device is not forced to transmit the fax data again even if the client computer 10 rejects to receive the fax data . the printer section 23 forms images on a recording medium such as a paper by a laser method , an led method or an ink jet method . the scanner section 24 reads images formed on a document such as a paper by a linear image sensor under control of the cpu and generates image data . the operation section 25 includes operation buttons with which a user controls the multifunction apparatus 20 and a display for displaying various information . the usb interface 26 is connected to the client computer 10 via the usb cable . as illustrated in fig2 , the fax driver 30 is a program for relaying communication between the fax application 40 and the fax modem 22 a , and it comprises a driver r / w request processing program 31 , an at command monitor program 32 , a ring monitor program 33 and a usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 . the fax driver 30 other than the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 is comprised as a kernel driver of linux . a buffer 1 and a buffer 2 are buffer areas prepared in the ram 13 . the cpu 11 functions as a fax driver section according to the fax driver 30 and functions as a fax application section according to a fax application 40 . the cpu 11 functions as a driver r / w request processing program section according to the driver r / w request processing program 31 , functions as an at command monitor program section according to the at command monitor program 32 , functions as a ring monitor program section according to the ring monitor program 33 , and functions as a usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program section according to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 . the driver r / w request processing program 31 is executed for receiving a write request and a read request from the fax application 40 . the write request and the read request will be explained later . when receiving a write request , the driver r / w request processing program 31 transfers the write request to the at command monitor program 32 . when receiving a read request , the driver r / w request processing program 31 transfers the read request to the ring monitor program 33 . when the write request of data is received from the fax application 40 , the at command monitor program 32 is executed for writing the data in the buffer 1 . the data that is written in the buffer 1 includes various at commands transmitted to the fax modem 22 a and fax data transmitted to external facsimile devices . when writing data in the buffer 1 , the at command monitor program 32 monitors the requested write data and changes control according to the data . this process will be explained later . when a read request is received from the fax application 40 , the ring monitor program 33 is executed for transmitting the data written in the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 that has transmitted the read request . the data written in the buffer 2 includes a response code ( result code ) from the fax modem 22 a in response to the at command transmitted to the fax modem 22 a , fax data received from external facsimile devices and error information . the ring monitor program 33 monitors data read from the buffer 2 and changes control according to the data . this process will be explained later . the fax driver 30 also includes another program that is not illustrated in fig2 . according to the program , when a read request is received from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 , the data written in the buffer 1 is transmitted to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 , and when a write request is received from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 , the data is written in the buffer 2 . the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program ( usb - fax pipe monitor daemon ) 34 is executed for monitoring the usb interface and relaying communication between the fax driver 30 and the fax modem 22 a . a usb standard is not defined such that data is voluntarily transmitted from the usb interface to the application side . therefore , the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 is included in the fax driver 30 to monitor the usb interface 17 from the fax driver 30 side . if rs - 232c is used for an interface with the multifunction apparatus 20 for example , a monitor program such as the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program is not necessary . a sequence of the fax transmission will be explained with reference to fig3 . the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 is illustrated as a separate program from the fax driver 30 in fig3 for easier explanation . when receiving a command of fax transmission by a user , the fax application 40 transmits a write request of a command ( atd command ) to which a dial number is followed to the fax driver 30 . after the transmission of the write request of the atd command , the fax application 40 transmits a read request to the fax driver 30 at predetermined time intervals . when receiving the write request of the atd command from the fax application 40 , the fax driver 30 determines whether or not to permit communication with the fax modem 22 a according to the transmission source of the write request ( permission determination , an example of determination that is made based on predetermined conditions ). this determination will be explained later . when determining that the communication is not permitted , the fax driver 30 writes a result code representing an error in the buffer 2 . when receiving a read request from the fax application 40 after writing of the error result code in the buffer 2 , the fax driver 30 transmits an error written in the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 in response to the read request . thus , the atd command is not actually transmitted to the fax modem 22 a . however , the fax application 40 recognizes that the fax modem 22 a transmits an error in response to the atd command . therefore , the fax application 40 executes an error process that is executed for an ordinary error ( for example , line disconnection ). namely , the fax application 40 is not required to execute any special processing and this provides versatility to the program . when determining to allow the communication with the fax modem 22 a , the fax driver 30 writes the atd command in the buffer 1 . the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 transmits a read request to the fax driver 30 at predetermined time intervals . when receiving a read request from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 , the fax driver 30 transmits the atd command written in the buffer 1 to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 in response to the read request . when receiving the atd command , the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program transmits a write request of the atd command to the fax modem 22 a via the usb interface 17 . the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 transmits a read request to the fax modem 22 a at predetermined time intervals . when receiving a result code representing whether fax transmission is available or not from the fax modem 22 a in response to the read request , the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 transmits a write request of the result code to the fax driver 30 . for example , if the result code is “ connect ”, fax transmission is available , and if the result code is “ busy ” or “ no carrier ”, fax transmission is not available . when receiving the write request of the result code from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 , the fax driver 30 writes the result code in the buffer 2 . when receiving a read request from the fax application 40 after writing of the result code in the buffer 2 , the fax driver 30 transmits the result code written in the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 in response to the read request . the fax application 40 determines whether the received result code represents permission of fax transmission . if determining that the result code represents availability of fax transmission , the fax application 40 transmits a write request of fax data to the fax driver 30 . the fax data is transmitted to the fax modem 22 a and transmitted to an external facsimile device from the fax modem 22 a . if determining that the result code represents unavailability of fax transmission , the fax application 40 terminates the transmission process . general explanation of fax reception will be made with reference to fig4 . the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 is omitted here for easy understanding . when receiving a connection request from an external facsimile device via the telephone line , the fax modem 22 a connects the line and receives fax data and stores the received fax data in the fax data storing section 22 b . when completing the fax reception , the fax modem 22 a disconnects the line . processing after the line disconnection is different in a case that the fax modem 22 a is set such that automatic incoming is not executed and in a case that the fax modem 22 a is set such that automatic incoming is executed . a sequence of the fax reception in which automatic answer is not set to the fax modem 22 a will be explained with reference to fig4 . when disconnecting the line , the fax modem 22 a transmits a signal informing of incoming ( ring ) to the fax application 40 to inform of the fax incoming . when receiving ring , the fax application 40 transmits a forced answer command ( ata command ) to the fax modem 22 a . if a user of the fax application 40 determines not to respond to the fax incoming , the command is not transmitted . when receiving the ata command from the fax application 40 , the fax modem 22 a transmits fax data stored in the fax data storing section 22 b to the fax application 40 . when disconnecting the line , the fax modem 22 a transmits ring a predetermined number of times , and then , if no ata command is transmitted from the client computer 10 , the fax modem 22 a automatically transmits fax data to the fax application 40 . a sequence in which the fax modem 22 a informs the fax application 40 of fax incoming ( ring ) will be explained with reference to fig5 . when receiving a read request from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 after line disconnection , the fax modem 22 a transmits ring to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 . when receiving ring from the fax modem 22 a , the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 transmits a write request of the ring to the fax driver 30 . when receiving the write request of the ring , the fax driver 30 writes the ring in the buffer 2 . when receiving a read request from the fax application 40 , the fax driver 30 determines whether or not to transfer the ring according to the transmission source of the read request . this determination will be explained later . when determining to transfer the ring , the fax driver 30 transmits the ring stored in the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 . when determining not to transfer the ring , the fax driver 30 deletes the ring from the buffer 2 . a sequence of fax reception will be explained with reference to fig6 . in the sequence , the fax application 40 that is informed of the fax incoming requests fax reception to the fax modem 22 a . when receiving the ring , the fax application 40 transmits a forced answer command ( att command ) to the fax driver 30 . a flow of transmitting the ata command from the fax application 40 to the fax modem 22 a is substantially same as the flow of the transmission of the atd command , and therefore explanation will be omitted . when receiving the ata command , the fax modem 22 a transmits the fax data stored in the fax data storing section 22 b to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 . when receiving the fax data from the fax modem 22 a , the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 transmits a write request of the fax data to the fax driver 30 . when receiving the write request of the fax data , the fax driver 30 writes the fax data in the buffer 2 . when receiving a read request from the fax application 40 , the fax driver 30 transmits the fax data stored in the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 in response to the read request . automatic answer is set by transmitting an ats0 command to the fax modem 22 a . a command of atsn = x represents that a setting value of x is set to the nth register . the register satisfying that n = 0 stores the setting value of automatic answer . when x is 0 , the automatic answer is not executed . when x is set to a value other than zero , the automatic answer is executed . a user can set automatic answer at any time while the fax modem 22 a is in an idle state . the sequence for transmitting an ats0 command is substantially same as the sequence for transmitting an atd command or an ata command . ( 4 ) determination whether communication with fax modem is permitted or not as described above , when receiving a write request from the fax application 40 , the fax driver 30 determines whether communication between the fax application 40 and the fax modem 22 a is permitted . the determination will be explained below . a flow of determination when receiving a write request will be explained with reference to fig7 . the cpu 11 executes the at command monitor program to execute this process . this process is started when the cpu 11 receives a write request via the fax application 40 or the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 . at step 101 , the cpu 11 determines whether the received write request is transmitted according to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 . if the cpu 11 determines that it is transmitted according to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 , the process proceeds to step 102 and if the cpu 11 determines that it is not transmitted according to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 ( it is transmitted according to the fax application 40 ), the process proceeds to step 103 . at step 102 , the cpu 11 writes the data ( ring , a result code , fax data ) received according to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 in the buffer 2 . at step 103 , the cpu 11 obtains transmission source information representing a transmission source that transmitted the write request . the fax driver 30 is a kernel driver of linux . therefore , information representing a calling host in the kernel driver is automatically set to an internal variable . in the present illustrative aspect , the information is used as transmission source information . the transmission source information includes , for example , a user id ( an example of user identification information ) of a user who activates the fax application 40 to transmit the write request and a group id of a group to which the user belongs . at step 104 , the cpu 11 reads the permission db from the storing section 14 . at step 105 , the cpu 11 determines whether fax transmission or fax reception is allowed for the transmission source information with reference to the permission db ( permission determination ). the permission determination will be explained later . if the cpu 11 determines that fax transmission and fax reception are not allowed , the process proceeds to step 106 , and if the cpu 11 determines that at least one of fax transmission and fax reception is allowed , the process proceeds to step 107 . at step 106 , the cpu 11 writes an error in the buffer 2 and terminates the process . at step 107 , the cpu 11 determines whether the data that is requested to be written by the write request is a forced answer command ( ata command ). if the cpu 11 determines that the data is an ata command , the process proceeds to step 108 and if the cpu 11 determines that the data is not an ata command , the process proceeds to step 109 . if the cpu 11 has determined that fax reception is allowed in step 108 , the process proceeds from step 108 to step 113 , and if the cpu 11 has determined that fax reception is not allowed , the process proceeds to step 106 and the cpu 11 writes an error in the buffer 2 . at step 109 , the cpu 11 determines whether the data that is requested to be written is an automatic answer setting command ( ats0 command ). if the cpu 11 determines that the data is an automatic answer setting command , the process proceeds to step 110 , and if the cpu 11 determines that the data is not an automatic answer setting command , the process proceeds to step 111 . if the cpu 11 has determined that the fax reception is allowed in step 110 , the process proceeds from step 110 to step 113 , and if the cpu 11 has determined that the fax reception is not allowed , the process proceeds to step 106 and the cpu 11 writes an error in the buffer 2 . at step 111 , the cpu 11 determines whether the data that is requested to be written is a dial command ( atd command ). if the cpu 11 determines that the data is an atd command , the process proceeds to step 112 , and if the cpu 11 determines that the data is not an atd command , the process proceeds to step 113 . if the cpu 11 has determined that the fax transmission is allowed in step 112 , the process proceeds from step 112 to step 113 , and if the cpu 11 has determined that the fax transmission is not allowed , the process proceeds to step 106 and the cpu 11 writes an error in the buffer 2 . at step 113 , the cpu writes the data ( at command , fax data ) that is transmitted according to the fax application 40 in the buffer 1 . there are various kinds of at commands . if the data that is requested to be written is a command other than an ata command , an ats0 command and an atd command ( examples of a predetermined facsimile command ), it is transmitted to the fax modem 22 a without execution of the permission determination if at least one of fax transmission and fax reception is allowed . as described above , when receiving a read request from the fax application 40 with the ring being written in the buffer 2 , the fax driver 30 determines whether to transfer the ring . the determination will be explained below . a determination flow at the time of reception of a read request will be explained with reference to fig8 . the cpu 11 executes the ring monitor program to execute this process . this process is started when the cpu 11 receives a read request according to the fax application 40 or the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 . at step 201 , the cpu 11 determines whether a read request is transmitted according to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 . if the cpu 11 determines that the read request is transmitted according to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 , the process proceeds to step 202 , and if the cpu 11 determines that the read request is not transmitted according to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon program 34 ( the read request is transmitted according to the fax application 40 ), the process proceeds to step 204 . at step 202 , the cpu 11 transmits the data written in the buffer 1 to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 . at step 203 , the cpu 11 deletes the data from the buffer 1 . at step 204 , the cpu 11 reads data from the buffer 2 . at step 205 , the cpu 11 determines whether the data read from the buffer 2 is empty . if the cpu 11 determines that the data read from the buffer 2 is empty , the process proceeds to step 206 , and if the cpu 11 determines that the data is not empty , the process proceeds to step 207 . at step 206 , the cpu 11 transmits the empty data to the fax application 40 that has transmitted the read request and this process is terminated . at step 207 , the cpu 11 obtains transmission source information like step 103 . at step 208 , the cpu 11 reads the permission db from the storing section 14 . at step 209 , the cpu 11 determines whether the data read from the buffer 2 is ring . if the cpu 11 determines that the data is ring , the process proceeds to step 210 and if the cpu 11 determines that the data is not ring , the process proceeds to step 213 . at step 210 , the cpu 11 determines whether a predetermined time has passed after the writing of the ring in the buffer 2 . if determining that the predetermined time has passed , the cpu 11 determines to be time out and the process proceeds to step 211 . if the cpu 11 determines that the predetermined time has not passed , the process proceeds to step 212 . at step 211 , the cpu 11 deletes the ring from the buffer 2 and the process proceeds to step 206 . if a predetermined time has passed after the writing of the ring in the buffer 2 , the ring is already old and the fax modem 22 a may not wait for a response to the ring . therefore , in the present illustrative aspect , if the predetermined time has passed , the ring is deleted from the buffer 2 . when the ring is deleted from the buffer 2 and the fax modem 22 a is still waiting for a response to the ring , ring is transmitted again from the fax modem 22 a after a short time . at step 212 , the cpu 11 determines whether fax reception is allowed for the transmission source information with reference to the permission db ( permission determination ). the permission determination will be explained later . if the cpu 11 determines that the fax reception is allowed , the process proceeds to step 213 . if the cpu 11 determines that the fax reception is not allowed , the process proceeds to step 206 and empty data is transmitted to the fax application 40 that has transmitted the read request . accordingly , the ring is not transferred to the fax application 40 , and therefore the fax application 40 cannot detect the ring . the fax application 40 does not start processing that is to be started in response to the ring ( transmission of an ata command ). even if the cpu 11 determines that fax reception is not allowed and empty data is transmitted to the fax application 40 , the ring is not deleted but remains in the buffer 2 . therefore , if new transmission source information that is registered to the permission db , the determination at step 212 for a read request from the new transmission source is affirmative . at step 213 , the cpu 11 transmits data read from the buffer 2 to the fax application 40 . at step 214 , the cpu 11 deletes data from the buffer 2 . permission determination is made to determine whether fax transmission and fax reception are allowed for transmission source information with reference to the permission db . a flow of the permission determination will be explained with reference to fig9 . at step 301 , the cpu 11 determines whether permission ( permission or prohibition of fax transmission and reception ) is set for a user id ( an example of information as to a fax application program ). if determining that permission is set for the user id , the cpu 11 determines whether fax transmission and fax reception are allowed according to the permission setting of the user . at step 302 , the cpu 11 determines whether permission is set for a group id ( an example of information concerning a fax application program ). if determining that permission is set for the group id , the cpu 11 determines whether fax transmission and fax reception are allowed according to the permission setting of a group to which the user belongs , the user activating the fax application 40 . at step 303 , the cpu 11 determines whether a user is a root user . if determining that a user is a root user , the cpu 11 determines that fax transmission and fax reception are allowed . at step 304 , the cpu 11 determines whether default permission is set . if determining that default permission is set , the cpu 11 determines whether fax transmission and fax reception are allowed according to the default permission setting . the default permission is applied to all users without exception . if determining that the default permission is not set , the cpu 11 determines that fax transmission is allowed and fax reception is not allowed . in the illustrative aspect of the present invention , the restricting function for using the fax modem 22 a and performing facsimile transmission is achieved according to the fax driver 30 . therefore , the restricting function is achieved with a fax modem 22 a that has no such a restricting function . according to the fax driver 30 , the restricting function with high versatility is achieved . further , according to the fax driver 30 , transmission sources that make communication with the fax modem 22 a are restricted to certain ones with reference to the permission db . further , according to the fax driver 30 , the transmission source information representing the transmission source of the at command is obtained from an os . the at command is not configured such that transmission source information representing a transmission source is added thereto , and therefore general fax applications 40 are not configured to have function of transmitting transmission source information to the fax driver 30 . therefore , even if a facsimile device has a function of user permission , the function cannot be used in transmission and reception between a computer and the facsimile device . however , according to the fax driver 30 , the transmission source information representing the transmission source of the at command is obtained from the os . therefore , the restricting function can be achieved with using general fax applications that does not have a function of transmitting transmission source information to the fax driver 30 . according to the fax driver 30 , the restricting function of high versatility is achieved . further , according to the fax driver 30 , a user id of a user who executes a fax application 40 is used as the transmission source information . therefore , the restricting function is achieved by a unit of a user . further , according to the fax driver 30 , it is determined whether communication with the fax modem 22 a is allowed for a predetermined facsimile command . therefore , the restricting function is achieved with more precisely . further , according to the fax driver 30 , if a user who is not allowed to perform fax reception is a transmission source of a read request and even if ring is written in the buffer 2 , the ring is not transferred to the fax application 40 that has transmitted the read request . therefore , unnecessary informing of incoming is not performed to a user who is not allowed to perform fax reception . in the present illustrative aspect , concerning fax reception , in addition to the permission determination whether fax transmission and fax reception are allowed , the permission determination whether ring transmission is allowed is executed . according to some fax applications 40 , a pop - up screen may be displayed on the display section 15 at the time of reception of the ring to make a user to select permission or prohibition of the fax reception . in such a case , the pop - up screen may not be displayed on the display section 15 if it is determined that the ring transmission is not allowed . accordingly , the following problem is not caused . although allowance to the fax reception is input from the pop - up screen by the user , the fax reception is not performed according to the permission determination . another illustrative aspect of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig1 . in the another illustrative aspect , a program name of a fax application 40 is obtained as information relating to the fax application 40 . in the permission db according to the another illustrative aspect , permission or prohibition of communication ( permission or prohibition of fax transmission and permission or prohibition of fax reception ) is registered by a unit of each program name of fax applications . a flow of permission determination for a fax application 40 will be explained with reference to fig1 . fig1 illustrates a flowchart that is applied commonly to determination of a write request and determination of a read request , and for the flowchart of the permission determination that is not illustrated in fig1 , the flowchart in fig7 is applied to the determination of a write request and the flowchart in fig8 is applied to the determination of a read request . at step 401 , the cpu 11 determines whether the received write request / read request is transmitted from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 . if the cpu 11 determines that it is transmitted from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 , the process proceeds to step 402 , and if the cpu 11 determines that it is not transmitted from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 ( it is transmitted from the fax application 40 ), the process proceeds to step 403 . at step 402 , the cpu 11 writes data in the buffer 2 in response to the write request transmitted from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 or transmits data written in the buffer 1 to the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 in response to the transmitted read request . at step 403 , the cpu 11 obtains from the permission db a list ( allowance list ) of fax applications 40 that are allowed to perform fax communication . at step 404 , the cpu 11 obtains from the os a program name of the fax application 40 according to which the write request or the read request is transmitted to the fax driver 30 , and determines whether the obtained program name is registered in the allowance list . if determining that the obtained program name is registered in the allowance list , the cpu 11 determines that the obtained program is a fax application 40 that is allowed to perform fax communication . when a write request is received , the process proceeds to step 103 in fig7 , and when a read request is received , the process proceeds to step 204 in fig8 . if determining that the obtained program name is not registered in the allowance list , the cpu 11 determines that the obtained program is a fax application 40 that is not allowed to perform fax communication , and the process proceeds to step 405 . at step 405 , the cpu 11 writes an error in the buffer 2 and terminates the process . according to the fax driver 30 of the another illustrative aspect , a program name of a fax application 40 is used as transmission source information . therefore , the restricting function is achieved by a unit of a fax application 40 . for example , log management may be performed for fax transmission and fax reception . the log management may be performed according to the fax driver 30 or the fax application 40 . in performing the log management according to the fax application 40 , logs are centrally managed by allowing to use only the fax application 40 having a function of writing a log in a common location . next , an additional illustrative aspect of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig1 . according to the additional illustrative aspect , if the number of transmission times of the ring is three or less , only a user having a first priority is allowed to perform fax reception , and if the number of transmission times of the ring is four or greater , among all the users who are allowed to perform fax reception , a user who transmits a read request first ( a fax application 40 according to which a read request is transmitted first ) is allowed to perform fax reception . a determination flow in receiving a read request will be explained with reference to fig1 . the cpu 11 executes the ring monitor program to execute this process . this process is started when the cpu 11 receives a read request from the fax application 40 or the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 . at step 501 , the cpu 11 determines whether the read request is transmitted from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 . if the cpu 11 determines that it is transmitted from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 , the process proceeds to step 202 in fig8 . if the cpu 11 determines that it is not transmitted from the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 ( it is transmitted from the fax application 40 ), the process proceeds to step 502 . at step 502 , the cpu 11 reads data from the buffer 2 . at step 503 , the cpu 11 determines whether the data read from the buffer 2 is empty or not . if the cpu 11 determines that the data is not empty , the process proceeds to step 504 , and if the cpu 11 determines that the data is empty , the process proceeds to step 206 in fig8 . at step 504 , the cpu 11 determines whether the data read from the buffer 2 is ring . if the cpu 11 determines that the data is ring , the process proceeds to step 505 and if the cpu 11 determines that the data is not ring , the process proceeds to step 213 in fig8 . at step 505 , the cpu 11 counts the number of transmission times of the read ring . specifically , a series of ring is transmitted from the fax modem 22 a to the fax application 40 after the disconnection of the line , and the series of ring is transmitted again after a predetermined time , if no response ( ata command ) is transmitted from the fax application 40 . the number of transmission times of a series of ring is predetermined . every time the cpu 11 receives a series of ring , the cpu 11 increments a counter by one to count the number of transmission times of ring . the counter is reset to zero when the fax application 40 responds to the ring or in case of time out . if the ring is ignored without being responded by the fax application 40 for a predetermined time or more and the series of ring is transmitted from the fax modem 22 a , the counter counts from one again . at step 506 , the cpu 11 determines whether the number of transmission times of the ring is three or less . if the cpu 11 determines that the number of transmission times of the ring is three or less , the process proceeds to step 507 . if the cpu 11 determines that the number of transmission times of the ring is four or more , the process proceeds to step 510 . at step 507 , the cpu 11 determines whether the user ( who started the fax application 40 according to which the read request is transmitted ) who transmitted the read request ( that makes this process to be executed ) has a first priority . if the cpu 11 determines that the user has a first priority , the process proceeds to step 508 and if the cpu 11 determines that the user does not have a first priority , the process proceeds to step 512 . at step 508 , the cpu 11 transmit the ring to the fax application 40 that transmitted the read request . at step 509 , the cpu 11 deletes the ring from the buffer 2 . at step 510 , the cpu 11 determines whether a predetermined time has passed after the ring was written in the buffer 2 . if the cpu 11 determines that the predetermined time has not passed , the process proceeds to step 511 , and if determining that the predetermined time has passed , the cpu 11 determines to be time out and the process proceeds to step 513 . at step 511 , the cpu 11 performs permission determination of the user who transmitted the read request to determine whether the fax reception is allowed . if the cpu 11 determines that the fax reception is allowed , the process proceeds to step 508 and if the cpu 11 determines that the fax reception is not allowed , the process proceeds to step 512 . at step 512 , the cpu 11 transmits empty data to the fax application 40 that transmitted the read request and terminates the process . at step 513 , the cpu 11 deletes the ring from the buffer 2 . according to the fax driver 30 of the additional illustrative aspect , if a plurality of fax applications 40 ( client devices ) are allowed to perform communication with the fax modem 22 a , the cpu 11 determines to which one of the fax applications 40 the informing of incoming is transferred according to a predetermined priority order . therefore , if a plurality of fax applications 40 are allowed to perform communication with the fax modem 22 a , the fax application 40 to which the ring is transferred is appropriately determined . the present invention is not restricted to the aspects explained in the above description made with reference to the drawings . the following aspects may be included in the technical scope of the present invention , for example . ( 1 ) in the above illustrative aspects , when a connection request is received from an external facsimile device via a telephone line , the line is connected to receive fax data and the received fax data is stored in the fax data storing section 22 b . when a connection request is received from an external facsimile device , the ring may be transmitted to the fax application 40 and the line may be connected after an ata command is received . ( 2 ) in the above illustrative aspects , the client computer 10 functions as a client device and a computer . however , a computer and a client device may be configured independently of each other . ( 3 ) in the above illustrative aspects , the cpu 11 functions as a computer to execute the fax driver 30 , the fax application 40 , the driver r / w request processing program 31 , the at command monitor program 32 , the ring monitor program 33 , the usb - fax pipe monitor daemon 34 . however , an independent cpu may be provided for each of the programs . | 7 |
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